TomatoMania!

Everyone has their fix, right? We purposely decided to go overboard with tomatoes this year... Just because we can. Kicking the habit of cultivating everything possibly tasty hasn't been easy, but we're not so worried about the addiction. Can you ever have too many brightly colored globes of goodness to eat and share with your friends I ask? Nope! So we're making sure of a summer cornucopia by handing out plants to everyone with a pad of soil and a heartbeat.
Our crop of tomato seedlings' roots were sneaking and creeping out of their seed cubes, telling us it was time to get them into the ground. They were accustomed to the comfy warmth of the grow room, so we reduced the heat night after night, and eventually transitioned them to the garden, still in their cubes. Also, because they'd only experienced relatively low light from the closet's fluorescent tubes, they needed to be gently acclimated to the intense spring sunlight. We slowly moved them out from beneath the eave of the roof a little more each day, 'til they were in full backyard sun. After a little cube time we planted six of the plants directly into garden soil, gave many away, and the rest we potted into 4" pots to grow for future endeavors.
As if we weren't deep enough into tomato mania, we heard of Cal Poly's annual event dedicate to you know what... We were greeted by a maze of rooms and hallways in the hort dept stacked with tall gangly specimens in 1 gallon pots. Their names were Yellow Jelly Bean, Henry's Mortgage Lifter, Silver Fir Tree, Bloody Butcher, Black Cherry, Sweet Chelsea, Tiny Tim. We left with a shopping basket of 10 that will do well through a foggy coastal summer, and others carted off 20 or more. All in all, Poly sold around 8,000 plants. Are you thinking what we're thinking? That's a whole lotta salsa! These new tall guys will dwarf the seedlings we started from seed, so they're going to live against an opposing fence. No need to intimidate the little guys, right?We thought of everyone we could possibly introduce to the fabulous world of homegrown produce, and got them a plant. We pulled out of campus surrounded by a jungle of tomato skunkiness, and high on hopes of a fruitful summer.

Choy To The World

Say what?? Choy, baby... Choy... You know... It's the other white Asian vegetable, and the newest edition to our seed garden. It's the the pork of your veggiepatch, the honkey in your harvest basket, the cracker in your collection. The simple crunch of its stalk will leave you breathless, desperately seeking another bite of cchhrrrrunnnchhhhh and a wild fondess for its mild cabbagy flavor. So where can I meet this Asian wonder, you wonder.

The species has gone through many incarnations and sometimes shapeshifts from plant to plant. Bok choy, Pac choi, and Pac choy, are all spellings for the same leafy vegetable that rocks your stir fry's world. Asians are quite picky about their choy and have preserved certain forms over the years for their distinct features. Some rosesttes are dwarfed and stay low with their wide spoon-shaped leaves , and others get tall, plump, meaty petioles for the ultimate crunch. With titles like Mei Qing choi, Tatsoi, there's no need to resist the asian invasion... Now go get your crunch on...

My Node Or Yours

Was it Shakespeare who first said "A node by any other name would smell as sweet"? And Gertrude Stein who wrote "A node is a node is a node"? Those people knew what they were talking about. Their houses were probably littered with glasses half-filled with water and stuck with cuttings, just like ours is. Because what's more inspiring than a full glass of new growth? Not much? We thought so.
The beautiful thing about plants is just how willingly and dilligently they'll propagate themselves, even from small slices of their original flesh. Plants accumulate their energy in growth points called "nodes," and from there sprout new shoots and leaves. This means that if you're going to pilfer your neighbor's coveted Brown Turkey Fig, it's wise to cut just below a node. From there you can cultivate your prize in a container of water until lengthy white roots form. Roots sprouted in water are different from roots that push against the resistance of soil, and are pretty tender. When you translplant them to soil it's good to be gentle with them. And actually, if you're going to propagate, it's better to just stick your cutting in soil. With a plastic pot of earth you can increase the aeration around the roots by adding lots of Pearlite, which cuttings want. We chopped this maple (shown here in two parts) at a low node to encourage it to grow low and bushy. The top part we jabbed into a patch of open ground, watered it in, and wished it good luck.

The "apical meristem" lives atop any green growing thing, and is basically the plant's brain. It regulates the growth pattern of the whole plant, deciding which leaves will grow the biggest, which flowers will bloom first, how tall or compactly to shape itself (think team captain). The meristem or "leader" is easily identified as the tallest point in the plant that isn't a flower. Since flowers are more temporary, and die off more quickly, they can't be the boss. If they happen to be a part of the same stalk as the apical meristem, however, they have a chance of taking the leader out when they kick it. Obviously, being in charge has its risks. Other branches grow at the Alpha Stalk's feet, waiting to take over should anything happen. Just for fun, you can give your plant a lobotomy if you want other branches to vy for first place. Don't be fooled by their pretty leaves; plants are cutthroat, just like the interns on The Apprentice. Everyone wants to be Donald Trump.

Ebb 'N' Flow

Most all of the seeds that we directly sowed into the garden 3 weeks ago are off and running. Peas and beans are reaching skyward with their first delicate twining shoots, while our red romaine, spinach, mesclun mix and kale patches are filling out into dense pockets of leafy goodness. Even though the seedlings stand only an inch tall, their emerging leaves are starting to show distinct characher.
As for our inside seeds... Well, casualties are to be expected whether you're a new or a seasoned gardener, and we are sad to report that we lost a number of little seedy soldiers 2 weeks ago. Due to our place in the learning curve, we were uncertain of exactly how often to water the Oasis cubes, a whole flat of our beautiful Sun Gold tomatoes went the way of the Dodo. A word to those interested in germinating seeds: You want to do two things with the Oasis cubes. One, you want to water them when they're dry. The best way to check your flats' saturation is by weight. A well-watered tray will bow in the middle from the water content. A dry tray will lift evenly. You might hear the scratching sounds of the Grim Reaper if it's been too long. "Watering" means using a hose on a gentle setting or a watering can to soak the roots. The time between waterings can vary depending on the room temperature and the intensity of air circulation. In our case, it was the well-meaning fan that claimed the lives of our Sun Golds. Too much of a good thing.
Two, as we mentioned before, you want to mist your plantitas with a very diluted nutrient solution. Seaweed or fish emulsion are both good organice water-soluble foods for your plants. Misting is important in the morning, because that's when the plants' pores (or "stomata"--not to be confused with stigmata) are most receptive to fluid and gas exchange. No, seriously. It's all about fluid exchange. We don't make this stuff up. Initially, we got a little excited about planting seeds and didn't take into account that melons (cucumbers and gourds are in the melon or "cucurbit" family) like to cut their teeth on warmer temperatures. And so our melons are MIA. We have hope that they could be late-bloomers, but we know they could also be under the soil rotting from lack of heat. Poor little guys... Cross your fingers for our melons!

We Like It Raw!

Part of the inspiration for a supply of fresh vegetables is a recent class we took on raw food preparation. The class was taught by our friend Debbie Bennett, a vegan chef who eats 100% raw, who says that most people are not getting enough raw fruits and vegetables in their diet. In her amazing class we learned specific sprouting instructions, protein myths, and incredible recipes--appetizers, main dishes, drinks and desserts. If you're on the central coast and interested in health, well-being, or changing your diet in some way, track down this woman!


Nuts are an easy way to go raw. (Raw is an easy way to go nuts??) If you don't happen to have a nut tree available to you, your local co-op should have several options for raw, organic nuts. Find some clean mason jars, or peanut butter, like we did, pour in the nuts, and then pour in some filtered water. Make sure to leave a bit of room at the top of your jar for swellage, and don't put on the lid! Do this at night, and by morning you'll have enzyme-happy nuts waiting to be dried. You can use a dehydrator, or just leave them near a window to sun.


At first we thought it would be difficult to replace the happy, full feeling one gets from a big plate of cooked comfort food, but we were pleasantly surprised with the contentness of our bellies. We realized that the value of the raw food diet needn't be an all or nothing approach. We introduced the concept slowly by mixing one raw ingredient into each dish we prepared.
Debbie's rawtip was this: Try to eat something raw with every meal. It sounds alternatively daunting and unappealing, but it's possible, and it's a fun goal to shoot for when you're feeling ambitious. Some of our favorites:
--use leaves as wrappers for your favorite breakfast burritos, egg rolls, stir fries
--use leaves in place of chips or crackers for hummos, guacamole or salsa
--poach eggs and lay them on beds of chopped greens
--squeeze lime or lemon juice on chopped chard or kale, and to make it really extra yummy, add avocado
Massage some of the more fibrous greens like kale, beet greens, or chard with olive oil for a minute or two to break down their coarse texture, making them much more palatable. And they're still raw!

From the Seed

As we said before, different types of tomatoes enjoy different weather patterns. If there were only one variety, this would be bad news. But there are hundreds, so it's relatively easy to find one that will like your neighborhood. Your salads and pasta sauces will be all the better for it, and they're a pretty good housewarming gift. Or, in our case, with all of our budding seedage, it's going to be a "Hey, we like you and we have a lot of tomato plants, so take a couple, okay?" gift.
After we divided our treasured tomato seeds into different piles, we dropped them into Oasis seed cubes, one seed per cube. When starting anything from seed, it's important to consider and try to mimic its ideal conditions, at least for a little while. Since these tomatoes are from tropical regions like Mexico and Peru, they need to live in a warm sanctuary for a month or so. For us this means a closet, complete with grow lights, twice-daily spritzes with a kelp foliar/water solution (for those all-important micronutrients), and a gentle fan-powered breeze to help them grow up big and strong (seedlings that aren't started in enough light or air circulation can become weak and leggy). In short: It's important to coddle your tomatoes, but not too much.
In a previous post we mentioned sex in the garden and everyone got all perky, right? The proliferation of everything around us relies on this pleasurable phenomenon that we tend to think of as exclusive to man and beast. In fact, every time you see a flower, a pine cone, or grind fresh pepper (a seed) onto your food, dynamic copulation is directly responsible. You see, dolphins aren't the only non-human species that enjoy a potent libido. If it weren't for the many buzzing insects and wind currents going 24/7 to make pollen transfer possible, our plant cousins would be hard up with no seed to share. Thus, we are thankful once again that sex is king.

Outside Plantin'!

Back at the house, we transitioned the pea and bean seeds from the safety of their pouches to the beds on the opposite side of the yard. They receive bright morning sun here and the stakes we leaned against the house will soon become their climbing habitat. Only a few days later, shoots were arching their skinny backs into the beaming sun.
The other cold-tolerant veggies (kale, spinach, chard, lettuce mix, cucumbers, gourds) we also planted just under the surface of the soil in the main raised beds. Three diagonally placed redwood panels gave us walking space and sectioned the garden into different planting areas. Tomatoes, the vining gourds, and cucumbers will be along the back fences, with room for 2 of our different greens between each set of boards.
Watering these guys when they're still seeds or just starting to grow roots must be done with a little bit of care. If you like to turn on the spigot and let water pour freely from the open hose, you're going to saturate the garden, but you're going to wash away your seedlets. When they're small like this they need a chance to establish some hardy roots, so overhead watering is best. Get a simple nozzle that separates the spray or jab your handy-dandy thumb into the hose and let the water trickle down. The idea is to soak the soil and its jewels, and not wash them away. We installed a porous soaker hose that circulates through the beds, but until these guys get their earth-legs, gentle overhead watering is best.