The Baboon Congress

Tomato-ville

113 Comments

Today’s guest post comes from Sherrilee.

Whenever someone on the Trail brings up a book, I check it out and usually try to find it and read it. So someone mentioned Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, I quickly checked it out from the library. It was horrifying; I was appalled by the ethics, the chemistry and the economics of the tomato industry that were laid out by the author. In addition, it made me think about the taste of tomatoes that I’ve been purchasing recently. All of this led me to the decision that I really wanted to grow my own tomatoes this past summer.

Unfortunately I have two big dogs who have no respect for my gardening efforts. Many of my perennials are protected by fencing or tomato cages; past vegetable gardens have been mowed down in their infancy by these marauders. For several years I’ve tried growing tomatoes in big pots on the driveway but I’ve never had any luck with that. After deciding that I really wanted to grow more tomatoes I did some research on raised bed gardens and fences, searching the internet to find some cost-effective methods. That was when I stumbled across straw bale gardening. You plant your vegetables directly into straw bales. Whenever anything seems that simple I am instantly skeptical so I spent several days finding websites, blogs and online photos of this method. Everybody seemed to think it was a great way to grow vegetables.

So one weekend morning, the Teenager and I drove down to the garden center and came home with four straw bales (no easy feat in our little Saturn Ion). For fourteen days I followed a schedule of watering, then fertilizing, then watering more. After two weeks, I dug little holes in each bale, added a handful of potting soil, then set the plants into the bales. Since the plants are on the top of the bales, they are safe from dogs and bunnies. And a side benefit that I hadn’t anticipated – no weeds!

The plants went wild. I’ve had to add tomato cages and stakes and eventually I had to pull two of the bales apart because the peppers weren’t getting sun. I got tomatoes galore – way too many for even the Teenager and I to eat fresh, so I now have lots of roasted tomatoes in the freezer to enjoy over the fall and winter months.

So I will definitely be having a straw bale garden again in 2013. I think I’ll do more bales and only put 2 plants in each bale. And I may branch out with peas and beans!

What are your gardening plans for this year?

113 thoughts on “Tomato-ville”

  1. Good morning. Nice story, VS, and good work on growing those straw bale tomatoes. My gardening plans will be similar to last year and will include seed saving along with growing most of the vegetables we eat during the gardening season and some to put away for the rest of the year.
    I don’t grow very many potatoes and no corn because they take too much space and there are some other vegetables that I purchase, the main one being salad greens when they are no longer available from my garden. There will be some cutting back on gardening this year because we will be moving in the fall and I will be spending a lot of time getting ready to move.

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  2. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    Oooooh, what a delightful topic on a snowy March day when I need to feel HOPE! Thank you VS.

    Depending on the warmth of days, by April 1-15 I plant my cold frame which sits at the end of the back yard vegetable garden. It is constructed from an old garage window. First I add some fine grained rich soil and a little composted manure. Then in go the seeds: tomato, kohlrabi, zinnia, cosmos, basil, parsley, peppers ( red, Fresno, banana), sunflowers, etc. Those are the usuals. Then I sometimes plant a packet of a whim, just to see what happens. Later, around May 15, those are all transplanted. I leave some peppers or basil in there to grow over the summer. I add rows of carrots, lettuce, and some more flowers sometime between May and June, depending on the weather.

    Then I start weeding. Weed some more. And weed some more and more and more. Around July 4 the raspberries ripen. About July 15 I start eating stuff–lettuce often sooner.

    Sigh. Soon.

    On Wednesday we go South for a vacation and a trip to visit kids and grandkids. I will be in and out more during this time.

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  3. We always have trouble getting the varieties we want, so yesterday we ordered a three-tier grow light system so we can start our own seedlings. We plan on a couple kinds of tomatoes (Brandyboy and Cherokee Purple), poblano peppers, Thai peppers, butternut squash, pickling cucumbers, three kinds of pole beans, chard, spinach, and savoy cabbage.

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    1. I forgot to mention the peas. We also planted garlic last fall. Last year we replenished the strawberry beds, and I have hopes we will have enough red currants for jelly. I also planted more iris rhizomes, and since we had some snow cover this winter (we had virtually none last winter) I have hopes the new iris will make it through. The raspberries always do well. We savagely pruned the grapes so they will not get in the way of the hops. Husband really liked the hoppy beer his barber brewed from our hops. I worry, though, that pruning will just encourage more grape production, and I have lots of grape jelly left over from last year’s crop.

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        2. Purple. I think the variety we grow is called Millionaire. I think they taste better than the largte, round ones.

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  4. Many of the vegetables I grow are grown from seed I save. Right now I am in the process of getting seeds ordered for the vegetables that I don’t grow from my own seed. Also, I am taking an inventory of the seeds in my collection to pick out the ones that need to be grown for seed this year. Some seeds in my collection are not grown every year and many are only grown once every three or four years.

    As a seed saver, I usually save more seed than I can use and some of that extra seed is offered to other seed savers through the Seed Savers Exchange. I also have extra seed to share with anyone who would like to have some to try. I will bring some samples of my seed to the book club to give out. Also, anyone on this blog who would like to try some of my seed can email me at jimkt@frontiernet.net . I have a variety of different kinds of vegetable seeds including many kinds of beans, lettuce, spinach, mustard, peppers, tomatoes and some other vegetables.

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    1. Ha ha! I love going to the big farmers’ market downtown and seeing all the bok choy. I can never stay away – always purchase too much of it and then spend time searching through my cookbooks for ways to use it all. (I say this like it’s a problem, but it really isn’t!)

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  6. We will likely experiment again with some vegetables this year – we are learning a bit more about what works in the little spot we have for veggies and what doesn’t (squash and pumpkins are a “no” – we get lots of vine and flowers, but no fruit). Getting better just how much we have to thin out the carrots to get edible-sized orange things (more, then some more, and then more again). Everything else is largely based on what comes back from the prior year that we determine is something we planted on purpose and isn’t a weed (this can be more difficult than it ought to be since I am a haphazard gardener at best).

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  7. Dale–that title was bait-enough for me! I am still running my little ‘Ada Tomato’ heirloom growing business (check out fb page). Yes, the dear old heirlooms are divine, and for me up here in the hinterlands, it’s been a matter of growing them, saving seed from the best performing and repeating that through the years. Many stories reside in our heirlooms. Happy day, folks!
    Sheila from Ada

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      1. Hiya Barbara–I remember you as well :^)
        That Dale is a treasure, my kids and I bettered by his work.

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        1. Welcome back to the Trail, Sheila. I’ve heard of Ada before, but not sure where in the state it is located??

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    2. Sheila, I am always happy to hear about another person doing seed saving. I will take a look at your fb page.

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      1. Ada is in NW Mn, up by Grand Forks & Fargo. To live here in the Red River Valley it helps to have a good imagination :^) You all are welcome to come a’gardening this way!
        Visit the Laughing Earth Greenhouse in Ada, we open in April . . . .

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  8. I’m planning to use lazy beds. Not really. I just like saying that, even with still very sore hands, wrists, and now shoulders. Lazy beds.
    Glad the bales worked. Always wonder about such things. We now have a small patio so we can put out pots. I will not try anything edible, just some flowers. We have started feeding the birds, with good luck, but I am doing battle with the 12 or so big fat squirrels on that. Do not want to fight them over digging up small plants to bury my bird seed.
    So far lots of chickadees, nuthatches, juncos, and house sparrows. A ladder-back on the suet twice and a big pileated down the ravine one day. Lots of rabbits, who come in look in the glass door at my wife. A dozen deer one day. Deer are a major problem in this town; eating off vegetation that holds the bluffs in place. A fat coyote flounced across our tiny patio one day.
    Nope, don’t think I will feed any of those obviously well-fed critters, but will watch.
    Wow, are my wrists sore.

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  9. I plan to bring the pots with the amaryllis bulbs in them up from the basement this week, and give them some water and a spot near the south-facing windows. I’m afraid I haven’t planned any further than that. I have a hard time visualizing spring.

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    1. Me too. I can’t wait to see what those raspberry canes that you gave me do this year! I got about 2 dozen raspberries off them last year, even though I had just replanted them. None of those raspberries made it from the canes to the house before consumption!

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    2. Linda, I’m curious about your amaryllis. Do they bloom outside when you plant them? Or do you plant them outside to get them ready for blooming indoors later? I try to keep my amaryllis alive from season to season, but after a couple of years, they become increasingly anemic to look at.

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      1. Usually I get them out in late winter or early spring and put them out on the front steps when it gets warm enough. Sometime in May I get a couple of really ostentatious blooms, and then after deadheading I put the pots out in a sunny spot in the yard and let the foliage remain for the rest of the summer. Some people manage to orchestrate a bloom around Christmas, but I’m not sure how it’s done – you’d really have to work against the plant’s natural growth cycle to do it. It’s probably not worth the bother.

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  10. When I read about Jacque’s and Renee’s ambitious gardening plans, I’m green with envy. Last fall I planted another 100 tulip bulbs and an assortment of 50 daffodils, all in the front and the boulevard. I can’t wait for spring! I’m a little concerned that the newest member of the household, Daisy, doesn’t have a clue as to flower gardens, and my biggest tulip bed is in the fenced in back yard.

    My vegetable garden is pretty much limited to tomatoes, 3 or 4 different kinds, jalapeño peppers, and an assortment of herbs. I’m contemplating trying the straw bale approach if I can get Hans to cooperate (he is NOT into gardening). Or perhaps I can get in cahoots with Linda?

    I might also put in a Japanese eggplant or two, did that last year, and it worked out pretty well. I’m wondering if my forest of volunteer arugula will be back, I hope so, love that stuff. The reality is though, that my back is in such bad shape that gardening for any length of time is impossible, so for me the St. Paul Farmers’ Market is my haven for fresh veggies and assorted other goodies like smoked trout. In another six weeks or so and they’ll open the outdoor market, yeah!

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    1. Our terriers have always left the tulips alone. I love tulips and I hope you can provide a picture or two for us when they bloom.

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      1. Renee, our others dogs have pretty much understood they concept of staying out of the flower beds, but we had them from the time they were 8 weeks old, so taught them. Daisy, is an 11 year old, 80 lb. yellow lab, and has apparently not been taught much of anything, and she’s big enough that she could do some pretty serious damage in a very short time. Will have to be vigilant to make sure it doesn’t happen.

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        1. When son was about 3, I had a patch of tulips ready to bloom for the first time, and son took a plastic baseball bat and decapitated every single tulip. He was so proud of himself!

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        2. Ha! Proved he had good hand-eye had coordination. Back when I was working in Moscow, I took the kids to have a lunch with another au pair who worked at the British embassy. We got busy gabbing, and weren’t paying attention that my youngest, Mary, had picked the heads, just the heads, of every last one of the ambassdor’s tulips. We were not popular.

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        3. Not a problem, PJ! Just make sure to get out every three days or so to mark your garden territory as yours and off-limits to dogs.

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        4. Just made me think of “Never Cry Wolf” – he works so hard to mark his territory and then the wolf shows up and in 15 second has completely re-marked everything!

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  11. I plan to rethink my flower gardens (there are about a dozen plots, little and big), and I help Husband with the veggies garden, so will have to consult with him. Last fall I should have dug up tulips that don’t bloom since (I guess) they get too little sun; I always end up moving some perennials around; and I may get more annuals this year. This post is well timed – I’ll start thinking about what to start from seed. I like doing edible flowers – I often have a hard time finding nasturtium seeds… anyone know a source?

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      1. At the present time I am not saving flower seeds. I would like to add some to my seed collection in the future. Any garden store that has a good selection of flower seeds should have nasturtium seed. I like to use borage flowers in salads. I always have some volunteer borage plants that come up where they go to seed in my garden and I no longer need to plant them because they plant themselves.

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  12. I’m hoping for a better outcome than last year–I gave up a spot in the community garden to garden at a friend’s place, only to have him forget to put up any chicken wire or fencing and lose it all to St. Paul’s marauding hordes of rabbits. He claims to have learned his lesson and plans to fence the patch in. In the meantime, our landlords have invited me to use part of their lawn (their plans are to turn the whole thing over to edible landscaping and not have to mow any longer), so I’ll be digging out a plot at home once the snow is gone. Roommate is keen on spinach, lettuce and carrots. I’m trying to decide how much canning I think I’ll want to do, and thus how many beets, beans and tomatoes to plant. Kale, certainly, and peppers, broccoli, onions, eggplant and basil (Italian and holy). There is much to think about!

    Alas, I will probably have plenty of time for thinking and planning (and worrying, and freaking out), because my temp assignment is coming to an end on Friday, unless things pick up drastically around here. Too bad, too; I enjoy this job and working for this firm. I’m going to miss my little office 😦 Roommate was let go a few weeks ago, and can’t get more unemployment, so things may be very interesting for a while until we get work again.

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    4. CG , what kind of work will you be looking for? We can all keep our ears open – what do you call yourself? 🙂 (I know, that’s probably a question worth a couple of pages.)

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      1. Sorry, didn’t come back to see this before now. I’m called a “case assistant”, but basicially I’m a documents or file clerk for a law firm–processing documents from hard copy to electronic and back again. I’ve also done a spot of strictly data entry work.Thanks for the support, everyone!

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  13. Um, OK…. Home Grown Tomatoes? Nah, too obvious.
    Inch by inch, row by row? Nah, I think we used it last year.
    How about this one? …got to get ourselves back to the Garden….

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    2. Holly, I don’t know about other baboons, but you’ll get no quarrel from me by posting something that you’ve posted before. That said, this is an inspired choice.

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  14. We have a few walking wounded on here right, now injuries of various sorts.
    I have spent the day dealing with the legal issues of my aunt who died in Florida. All very simple really, just a long way away and need to make sure we do the legalities right.

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  15. I am looking forward to my hosta splitting Lillie’s are always welcome
    Raspberries are always welcome I wil get asperigus in the ground this year.
    Anyone want to do a perennial swap
    I am thinking I will plant some smoked salmon this year too . That sounds good
    Pj an electric fence at fleet farm will keep the dog out for about 69 bucks may be an option that or have Hans make a fence of plywood and something cool like rebar or galvanized big weave hardware cloth.

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        1. sheesh… peonies. although if eonies bloom nicely every year, that would be fine too!

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    2. Self-imposed snow day here. And a gift to the Teenager – she’s never had a snow day ever in the Minneapolis School District, so I’m letting her stay home with me today!

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      1. I recall snow days when Daughter was in 1st grade (or maybe it was kindergarten) – when there were those big December snows. Today, no such luck. Though as close as Edina it’s delayed and Bloomington is closed. Whee. Gonna be an adventure out there.

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    2. Sorry Baboons – it appears today’s entry failed to post as I had planned. Is Internet automation affected by snow? I’m discovering this around 12:30 pm, and you’re having such a nice, appropriate conversation about snow and gardening, I’m inclined to just let it be. My planned post for today was no great shakes – we’ll let it sit until tomorrow.

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  19. PSA: (since it looks like the Dear Leader has just had a senior moment). This is to remind you that the Blevins Book Club meets at 2 PM this Sunday at my bungalow, 2168 Juliet Ave, in the Mac-Groveland section of Saint Paul. I just solved a computer problem and now am reading one of the books, Beryl Markham’s West With the Night, on my new e-reader. The memoir is better than I remembered. Because of arthritis, I can’t do much cooking these days. I’ll not prepare food for guests, but I can buy wine. And will.

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      1. I got the one my sister was kind enough to give me: the Barnes & Noble NOOK. It is between a small e-reader and tablet in size and has a 4-color screen. I love it, though it is a tad heavy.

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      1. I have a few books as well. And don’t worry about food, Steve. I think we’ve determined that baboons are a food-bringing crowd. I have a great recipe to try out on you all!

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        3. Ooh, just remebered, I have two boxes of books from Clyde to bring as well.

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    3. I have figured out that I can’t make it this time ’round. Pooh. Daughter has a birthday party smack in the middle of the afternoon to get to and Husband is busy pretty much all of Sunday. Bah. If someone takes notes, I will post them.

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      1. I’m iffy too. If I don’t get much better in a hurry, I’m staying put. This respiratory thing is evil. Too bad too, as I have read both books and would love to be part of the discussion. I might actually have something worthwhile to contribute for a change.

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  20. OT (Can one be OT right now?): Bill mentioned some books I might like, by Fred Chappell. I have had a chance to check and am very interested. Yesterday I checked. I cannot get them through our local joke library, which has decided that with a dismal collection it is wise to spend their limited money on new washrooms. Makes sense to them.
    Others of you seemed to also be aware of the books. My only chance is to order from Amazon or B & N. My ask for help is this: with which two books should I start?

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    1. Clyde,
      The two books I mentioned, “I Am One of You Forever” and “Brighten the Corner Where You Are” are the first two in a tetrology(sp?). I have the other two and will send them to you if you are interested. I suspect it would be best to read them in order.

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      2. Thanks, Bill. I have to trust your recommendations, don’t I? But they look exactly right for me. I have a gift card from Christmas and will order those two.

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      1. I’ve always thought that this was the most amazing of all the dances they did together — and only a couple of cuts – wonder how much practice went into this?

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        2. Holly gets all the credit for this one, although I do like the movie quite a bit. It’s from “Shall We Dance”.

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  22. Morning!
    I’ve been busy lately and trying to keep up with the blog has been tough. But today is a snow day! So I’m just sitting at the dining room table watching the birds and the snow and I have a week of news papers to work my way through as well. Oh, and eventually will have to go blow the snow out of the driveway. Later.
    Strawbale gardens. I first heard about them last spring when I delivered straw to some people that were doing one. And then got several more calls. And one person put her order in for straw back in October to be delivered later this March. I put up extra small square of straw bales last summer.
    I’m sorry I live so far away from most of you; I would love to be YOUR straw dealer! (Those shipping charges really add up!)
    I can’t stand tomatoes; the texture just grosses me out. But Kelly and Amelia like cherry tomatoes and I have two of them in pots in front of the house. Last year they just about took over the house. Wish there was something I enjoyed that reproduced like that!

    As for our garden, well, I planted some extra bulbs last fall. I planted some asparagus last spring.
    I always plant sweet corn (it’s a good way to test the corn planter. I plant 6 or 12 rows when I start the rest of the fields and finish up corn with a few more rows of sweet corn.) But then the deer get most of it. Last year I tried a half acre field of sweet corn. We did OK on the weeds until August when we got that 3″ of rain the week we were on vacation. And when we came back the weeds were taller than the corn. And the deer had camped out in there anyway.
    I always plant radishes, kohlrabi, peas and string beans, cucumbers and pumpkins but radishes are about all I get. I’m not very good at keeping it weeded. Maybe this year in the straw bales it will be better? Or maybe the free ranging chickens will sit up there on the straw and peck at everything? If it ain’t one thing it’s another.

    Be safe everyone!

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  23. OK, Robbinsdale called off school, and VS and Ben are taking a snow day. I need to get to my mom’s but plan to call everything else off.

    How many Baboons are taking a snow day?

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    2. I guess I’d consider this a half a snow day – I’ve stayed in for the morning, gone out and shoveled, now having a little lunch and preparing to go out and take care of my errands. Library, credit union, exercise class. Maybe to the pharmacy for a prescription, though I might put that off till tomorrow. Left about half the shoveling for tomorrow, too. Corner lot.

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    3. I’m back at the office. One of my fabulous neighbors did my driveway, including the 2 feet of ice/grunge at the bottom of the driveway (from the snow plows). And working at home is not all that fun, so I came on in. I did let the Teenager stay home though!

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  25. Alas, one of the drawbacks to taking public transit is that it’s much harder to justify a snow day. I was able to wade to the bus stop without falling over, and the train came on time and everything. I presume there’s a snow emergency for Minneapolis? I tried to park Kuro-auto-sama in the alley last night, but when I backed up in order to straighten up and leave room for the landlords’ car, I quite nearly got stuck. I decided to take my chances on the street; we’re the last side to get plowed, so she’s safe today.

    In other news, I have someone at the current job hunting for a project so I can stay on a while longer, and an interview scheduled through my agency for next week. I consider interviewing less fun than root canals (I have a terrific dentist), but they are a necessary evil. In the meantime, I’m making a list of ways to keep busy in case nothing works out; planning SOMETHING (even in the absence of data) is helpful for me in managing anxiety. It looks like I have plenty of chores and activities to fill my time, if I don’t spend it all freaking out 😉

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  26. Yesterday we had a blizzard warning from about 3:00p on, but nothing closed down. We only had a couple of inches of snow, but then the wind came up really strong, so it was really bad in the country but everything in town went on like normal. A snow day sounds really wonderful if a person could stay home and hunker down.

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  27. Snow days are nigh on impossible when one works from home. I haven’t been outside since last night. I’m looking forward to shoveling!

    Last year, I bought a few things (peat, stakes and fencing) to try a Lasagne Garden. A friend loaned me her book after she had some success with it. The theory is that you create a layered (thus lasagne) garden on top of your lawn without any digging. Just layer newspapers,compost, peat, manure, repeat.
    I have never had much in the way of sun but the loss of my dearly departed elm tree opened up the back by the garage somewhat.
    I started to dig to put in the stakes to hold the chicken wire and realized that the packed dirt was going nowhere. So my 2013 plan, before even reading VS’s charming blog post, was to try a hay bale garden. I went to a presentation in the Ag-Hort building at the Fair and the presenter was as enthusiastic as VS.

    It may still be too lame in the sun department but won’t cost that much to try. I wish I could afford the shipping on Ben’sBadassBales.

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  28. My kids were cranked and the house went from sleepy to raucous at 615 when it was official. 15 minutes later it was discovered wyzata schools had proclaimed a snow day and somehow That triggers a cancelation of her day care where she is minding a class of toddlers presently.
    Now it’s really raucous
    My 10 o’clock meeting showed me he has the right stuff and showed up with proper attention to biz in spite of excuse opportunities. Two driveway clearings a bit of errand running ( roads tough at 9 not a problem at 2 ) and into the laptop, a couple chapters of bbc book and off to an 8 pm in a bit
    Thank goodness it’s a snow day. I really do like a couple hours outside in fresh white on a 20 something degree day although I was sweating pretty good even with snowblower as primary tool

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  29. Well, a snow day can be dangerous. Ended up rearranging the living room, didn’t like the new way, but we ended up removing all the furniture to re-finish the birch floor before putting everything back. Uffda.

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  30. Pingback: Raspberries Take Over the World | Trail Baboon

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