The Garden Darling

Gardening 101:

So, before we get started making those big beautiful gardens full of yummy things to eat, we should start exploring some gardening terminology.  Since it was mentioned in the previous post and will be again in later logs (and quite frequently at that) today we’ll cover soil pH!

Simply put, the pH of your soil is a measure of how acidic or alkaline it is.  It should go with out saying that too much of one or the other is a bad thing!  But even small variables can have a big effect on your plants.  The acidity or basicity of the soil a plant is grown in will affect the chemical forms of the nutrients present in the ground and in turn affect how the plants can absorb them. So, how do you tell how acidic your soil is?  Well, first you’ll probably need to get a soil test done.  You can get testing kits from your local university extension office or home improvements store.  Make sure to read and follow the instructions exactly: failure to do so can result in false or inaccurate results!  The pH of your soil is usually expressed as a number.  The higher the number the more alkaline the soil, and the lower, the more acid respectively.

Once you know how acidic (or not) your dirt is, you can plan on how to plant your garden space or make amendments to the soil. Many different plants have different preferences for how they like their soil but they also have a wide range of tolerances. For a vegetable garden, a good place to aim for is a pH of 6.5- that’s slightly acidic.  Don’t worry too much about being exact right away.  It takes time for amendments added to the soil to actually fully integrate.  Instead, focus on placing your seedling transplants in which ever areas are better suited for them and work towards establishing healthy, balanced soil as you go.  another option is to create raised planting beds and add good organic soil from a garden center.  It will take a lot less time and effort starting with soil has been prepared for you, but be careful of your sources and make sure that it’s all coming from an organic source!


Spotlight Plant: Tomato!




Today we’ll take a look at America’s favorite garden staple, the tomato!  No kidding this is the favorite; people who don’t even have gardens have started growing tomatoes.  You’ve all seen those hanging planters with up-side-down tomato vines growing out of the bottom!  But, believe it or not, the tomato was not always so well look on by the public.  Originating in South America, Meso-Americans domesticated the plant at some point.  When the Spanish arrived, they eventually exported the plant to Europe.  It thrived in Spain, and Italy, France and many places abroad and even made it’s way into southern Asia.  However, in Britain and the American colonies, the tomato was long thought to be poisonous and inedible, and there are many theories as to why.  Anything from its relationship to the Nightshade family tree to the acidic properties of it’s juices causing the lead in noble’s fancy lead pewter dinner ware to leach out have been suggested, but what ever the cause, eventually we caught on with the rest on Europe and accepted the tomato into our homes and onto our tables.  And boy did it catch on!  The tomato is the most popular plant for people to try to grow at home, followed by the pepper.  If you haven’t tried for yourself- well, why not start this year?

Give your tomato plants lots of time to get big and strong and let the weather get to the right conditions by starting them indoors about 8 weeks before the last frost date of your area.  Don’t transplant outdoors till two weeks after last frost date or at least when night time temperatures are consistently 50 degrees.  Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep and place in warm, sunny location.  Provide a strong light source once the seeds have germinated. When seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall and have several sets of true leaves, you’ll have to prick out and transfer them to deeper containers.  This means carefully lifting each seedling out with a chopstick, pencil or something similar, handling the seedlings by their leaves- never their stems- and separating them.  Then plant them each into their own pot where they will be till the time comes to transplant them into the garden. You’ll actually want to plant them deep enough to cover most of the stem.  The tomato is a fascinating plant and it will grow new roots along its stem when it's buried in the dirt!  When the time comes, harden off the seedlings before transplanting.  If a plant is more than 6 inches tall, you can remove some of the bottom leaves and bury more of the stem to help form more roots.  Tomatoes like their soil pH around 6.0 to 6.8.  Water well then let soil dry out a bit between waterings.  Tomatoes can be harvested and eaten green (Fried green tomatoes, yum!), picked and ripened indoors on a paper bag or, the best and most flavorful way, left to ripen on the vine.

Varieties to try:  This year we are trying two tomato types.  Sparks Earliana for a slicing tomato and Red pear for a nice cherry type.  Earliana was chosen for just that quality, it’s a fast growing tomato, just perfect for our northern climate and short growing season.  I don’t remember what drew me to the red pear but we’ll see if it’s as tasty as the pictures make it look!  Next year, we’ll try adding San Marzano, a Roma type and the classic go-to saucing tomato and Seattle’s Best of All, a variety developed right here in the northwest, as the name implies!