Developing tomatoes: Lemonboy and Sungold

Lemonboy was productive last year - the first large tomato that I have been able to grow here. This plant has the most and largest so far - about plum size - but they will probably continue to grow until they ripen. My guess is that we will get fresh tomatoes in late July.

Sungold is listed on many garden sites as the "best and tastiest" cherry tomato. The small white flowers are cilantro (cilantro plants make coriander seeds, so they are the same thing) - planted for fresh leaves when small and to attract beneficial insects when blooming.

Main crop figs starting to develop: Brunswick

It's not certain yet if this is a Brunswick (= Magnolia = Dalmatian = Madonna) but it matches most of the descriptions. Like other varieties, it is grown around the US and in Europe - here is a photo of a Brunswick fig in France - it does look like this. In 1860 Brunswick figs apparently looked like this (page down to the drawing).

I like this fig. It is the first one that I grew from a cutting. Last year there were several figs on this tree, and they were juicy and sweet, with a good 'fig' flavor.

It's still better to bike

Still achy from yesterday. I went to Fred Meyer on my way to work and bought some wrist straps, since the wrists are what hurt the most.

Naproxen helps.

It's not as bad today as I worried that it would be. Still hurts to breathe deeply. I will be back on the bike by either the weekend or next week, for sure.

It's still better to bike if possible.

Vancouver bike link.

Biking is better for the environment.

Biking is good for your health except when it kills you.

Today I fell off my bike.

Ow ow ow ow. I stopped too fast on a bump, flew over the front. What hurts? Left wrist, Left calf, Right knee, Right rib or diaphram - it hurts to take a deep breath. I dont think anything is fractured - I would know. Charlie is attentive as always - or maybe he just wants a cookie. Not in the mood for philosophizing. Think I'll turn in now.

Veggies=good.

Veggies are better for you and better for the environment.

If you grow your own, then they can be free of pesticides, more flavorful, and there when you want them. You know where they've been. You can fertilize them with compost and coffee grounds.

There are lots of good arguments for avoiding meat. I used to think that every meal needed meat - but for 25 years, I've gone without. It isnt missed at all.

The main thing is that people just dont think that way. Even though I love eating food, I dont feel like I miss anything just because my diet doesnt include meat. I get the full effect of flavors that I think would be muted by meat. I love spices, strong flavors like garlic and hot pepper, and rich flavors like coffee and chocolate. I think that meat would leave my palate less able to taste those great flavors. But I realize I am in a minority.

If people just started to think of beef as the dietary equivalent of an SUV (conspicuous consumption, not necessary, bad for the environment, bad for safety and health) then maybe quantities used would decrease and people, and the world, would be healthier.

Man's Best Friends

Posted so that there would be a profile photo. Spring 2006.

Tomatoes are the holy grail of the home gardener

Tomatoes are not as easily grown in the Pacific Northwest as in other parts of the country - in the SPring and Fall, the days are too short, and during the summer, the nights are too cool. Even so, after 4 years of trying, last year there were lots of tomatoes - big ones, cherry tomatoes, red, and yellow. The "secret" seems to be a combination of factors: right variety, right location, right soil treatment, right grooming (some would say pruning).

For variety, my luck has been best with hybrids such as Better Boy, Lemon Boy, and Celebrity. Heritage varieties, like Brandywine and Cherokee do have great flavor, but it's a lot of effort to get just a couple of tomatoes. Of the Cherries, Sweet100 has been very productive. This year, Lemon Boy and Better Boy both have small tomatoes the size of small plums. I am growing Sweet100 again, which has bebe sized fruit now. New varieties for this year include Sungold (also with bebe sized fruits), Sugar Snack, Tomande, and Sweet Baby Girl. Plus a few more. So, a few proven performers, a few to experiment on, and 2 heritage varieties (Cherokee and Yellow Brandywine).

For location, some are in a bed on the south side of the house. This is starting to be shaded by grape vines, so may not be as productive this year. Others are in a free-standing bed, and get full sun all day.

For soil treatment, the beds were treated with many bags of leaves last fall, turned into the soil. They were given kitchen scraps dug into the soil for compost. In the Spring, the soil was covered with a layer of leaf compost. When it became warmer, they were mulched with bark dust.

For grooming, they are all being trained to stakes, and each sucker pruned off after the first leaf ("missouri pruning")

None of this is scientific. Maybe this year will be productive, and maybe it wont - but it's starting to look promising.

Of course, there are as many ways to grow tomatoes as there are gardeners. Even upside down - this one is Sweet100. A close look shows lots of blossoms and a few bebe sized tomatoes on this plant too. This one is in full sun on the south side of the house.

Small things add up: Coffee grounds for the garden.

For the past 3 years, I've been collecting coffee grounds from work, home, and occasionally from Starbucks. Sometimes I add them directly to the soil (as in Winter or Spring when I'm digging around in the garden), sometimes to the worm bin, and sometimes to the compost pile.

Some simple calculations:
I buy a 5 pound bag of coffee beans about once monthly (for my use only). 5 pounds X 12 months = 60 pounds (dry weight) per year.

At work, I collect the grounds from my small section of the office, also for the compost pile or garden. That's about 1/2 pound daily (wet) for 4 days per week, or 2 pounds per day. So, about 100 pounds per year.

COffee grounds make for good compost or soil amendment. They are similar in soil nutritional value to manures, but without the salt and antibiotics that go into animal agriculture.

There are about 298 million people in the United States. Per capita coffee consumption is 4.4 kg (9.68 pounds) per year. 298 million X 9.68 pounds / 2000#/ton = 1.4 million tons per year.

So, from that little cup of coffee per person, a couple of cups daily, it starts to add up.

I'm sure that there are better calculations, from more accurate data out there, but the bottom line is, it's still "a lot". Collecting coffee grounds for the garden is good for the soil, and good for the environment.

More about ginkgo trees.

This is quoted from China Daily News:
December 2003

"Nomenclature Right for 1,000-year-old Trees to Be Auctioned

The Office of Old and Rare Plant Protection in Shanghai has announced it will auction the nomenclature right for 50 ancient and famous trees. The minimum price tag will be 10,000 yuan, and the maximum 300,000 yuan for one year for the No. 0001 Shanghai Old and Rare Tree, a 1,000-year-old ginkgo tree in Anting Town... proceeds from the auction would go toward taking care of and preserving these old and rare trees. Their sponsors will be included in the Sponsors of Old and Rare Trees Archives."

Click here for the article from ChinaToday

The ginkgo links in the side bar also provide information about ancient ginkgos, apparently over 3000 years old and still alive.

And this site is about someone 'getting rich' in China, selling ginkgo trees:

Ginkgo fossils in China.

Google translated from German (better than I can) article with nice photo of Ginkgo fossil.

Click here for information about ginkgo "nuts"

More first leaf Hardy Chicago fig 'trees'

More trees from the same origin as the one that I just posted. These will be 'adopted' out when dormant. They came from a Garden Web member.

It was once common for gardeners to trade slips, starts, seedlings, and divisions from their favorite varieties. I remember, when I was growing up, that family members or neighbors would pass on starts from their yards and gardens. This doesnt happen as much now, but it would be a great tradition to revive. A successful locally grown variety would have a good chance in another local yard; it is much less costly to start your own (the cost of a 'free' fig tree is only the cost of the potting soil, and they can be started in the garden soil if there is no hurry).

It is even possible that locally grown varieties can adapt to the local growing conditions - as 'sports' and genetic drift occur, if the more successful local varieties are propagated, then it makes sense that regional varieties would be different from nationally distributed ones.

Hardy Chicago (also called Chicago Hardy) can be purchased at lots of places - this is one: http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/producttype.cfm?producttype=FIGS

Of course, these cuttings are not of local origin - in fact, are from a Garden Web member who I will be sending them back to as rooted trees (as well as one of my locally found trees). Hardy Chicago is not thoroughly tested here, so this is a chance to see how some 'new blood' (or should I say, 'new sap') will do. So there is a place for local varieties, and new varieties, as well.