Gardening With No Garden

Last year after the chickens stole my garden plot I tucked a few tomato plants in with my flowers. A few is not enough. I want enough tomatoes to can up a batch or two. This year I'll be tucking tomatoes into every nook, crannie and vessel that even resembles a pot to plant things in. I figure it will be the great tomato experiment. I have seven varieties, Brandywine, Early Girl, Big Boy, Celebrity, La Roma II, another Roma which I can't remember and a Juliet grape. One way or the other I'll be putting up tomatoes this year. Even if they all croak and I have to buy them at the farmer's market I'm canning tomatoes this year.


I'll stuff in a few peppers and some cabbage while I'm at it. Maybe grow some beans on a few trellises. I'm pretty sure the original owners here used to do the same because I've found chives and other edibles tucked in all over the flower beds. Other than that we'll have to rely on harvesting the fruits and berries around here. We have the materials to make some beautiful raised beds but we have too many projects going on all at once. I don't think we'll be able to get them finished in time for planting, but at least we now have a plan for where everything will go.

If you look at an old plat map from the 70s it's easy to see where the original orchard was. Now there is only one poor old deformed apple tree left. And where the other trees were there is now a septic system. It's also where the sheep shack now resides. So I've decided to move the orchard and the garden.


We'll be planting semi-dwarf trees this weekend on the North end of the property. Two apples, Granny Smith and Jonathan. Then an Elberta peach and a Harrow Delight pear. The kid was all excited about getting the Granny Smith tree. It may be be a few years before he gets much out of it. I think I'll wait until after he helps dig the holes to share that little tidbit. I'd hate to squelch his enthusiasm before the work is done.