Home Improvements and Gardening

Hello, Mr. Bunny!
I’ve come to pick the blueberries today.
I’m really sorry to interrupt your breakfast.
I won’t be long … I promise.

Oh! You were expecting company for breakfast?
What about we compromise?
I’ll pick the high berries and leave the lower berries for you and your friends.
How ’bout that? Would that work?

I managed to pick one medium sized shopping bag full of berries before Mr. Bunny and his friends started bullying me. I think I overstayed my welcome!

These two blueberry trees were planted by my good friend several years ago in her backyard garden, but she has since moved and the trees have been left to fend for themselves. They have not been fertilized or treated with chemicals, so I debated about whether I should wash them or not. It was early morning, and the dew was just drying on the trees, so everything was fresh and clean when I picked.

I’ve been told that it isn’t necessary to wash fresh picked berries if they are going to be cooked. Supposedly the cooking cleans them, but I REALLY like to be sure when it comes to cleaning, so I decided to wash them with a little water and rubbing. I dumped the berries into a sink filled with water then scooped up a handful at a time and rolled them around under the running water in the opposite sink. I spread the washed berries on a towel beside the sink and let them dry. These process makes them clean enough to freeze whole for use in cereal, oatmeal, or pancakes, and it makes me feel better about the jam I’m going to make too … but that’s just me!

So, is it really necessary to rinse fresh picked berries? You can decide for yourself. This is how the sink water looked after I had scooped most of the berries out. It wasn’t totally gross, but then most of the rinsing and rubbing took place under the running water in the opposite sink. I’m glad I chose to wash them … but like I say, that’s just me!

I purchased four new fruit trees to add to our backyard garden and hauled them home in our truck, along with three ornamental sweet potato vines for the Crepe Myrtle bed in the front yard. The lady at our local Farmer’s Cooperative, where I bought the trees, suggested that I use a root stimulator to give the new plants an extra boost.

The old home property where we live already had two pear trees that produce heavily, and we wanted to add naval oranges, satsumas, figs, hard persimmons, and blueberries to the collection. They didn’t have a blueberry bush or a satsuma tree, but I was happy to find the rest of what I wanted. I decided to get two naval orange trees, because fresh picked citrus in the winter is just SO good!

It’s hard to see, due to the trees in the background, but the fig tree (far left in the pic above) was so healthy and covered with leaves … till we had a freak hail storm that stripped it nearly clean. Only a few leaves on the very top were left. You can see how spindly looking it is in the pic below.

I L.O.V.E. the St. Augustine grass on this property. It has such a nice thick blade, and it is lush even in the heavy shade under the oaks. I wouldn’t dream of wasting a beautiful piece of sod like this, so when I planted the new fruit trees, I carefully dug up the sod and transplanted it in one of the many bare spots where the lawn has been neglected for so long. I’ll write more about that process in a future post.

Keeping it real,

It was one of the most curious things I had ever seen – a hanging basket filled with tomato vines! My best friend showed up at my door just before my birthday this summer with two hanging baskets of what appeared to be tomatoes. I had never seen anything like it. I grew up on a farm – in a farming community – and never had I seen a tomato grown any way other than in the ground or in a pot with stakes of some sort holding the plant up. I was so amused with my hanging baskets filled with tomatoes that I hung them on my front porch and pampered them all summer long. I don’t know what kind of tomato plant it was, but it produced a strong harvest of small cherry tomatoes.

As if that weren’t enough surprise from the plant world, I was searching for some information on gardening in a small space, when I came across an article about how to grow upside down tomatoes! I couldn’t believe it. What will they come up with next? I knew right away that I’d have to give it a try. I did a little research, bought a couple of tomatoes plants, and went to work.

How to Start Your Upside Down Tomato Project

• Buy a two and a half gallon bucket. I’ve seen paint sold in these buckets, but I found empty ones for sale at my hardware store. I also bought matching lids because many of the articles I read indicated that the lids should be left on the bucket. But after two or three times of removing the lids to water the plants, I decided that they were a hassle, so I removed them.
• Buy the tomato plants. I read that both the regular sized and the cherry sized tomatoes can be grown this way. But there was a note that the really big tomatoes don’t do well when grown upside down. I chose one of each.
• Buy compost and potting soil. I agree with Mel Bartholomew’s observation that plants with limited growing space need really good soil. He suggests using quite a bit of compost mixed with potting soil, so this is what I did.
• Cut hole in bottom of bucket. Flip the bucket upside down and cut out the circular button area. We used a roto-zip saw and made quick work of it, but you could use a utility knife.
• Protect the plant stem. Remove the tomato plant from its container. Twist a plastic grocery bag, and wrap the base of the plant (where the plant comes out of the dirt). This will look like a ring or collar around the stem of the plant. I did this to protect the stem from the rough edges of the hole I cut in the bucket and to keep the soil from falling out of the hole. You can see a small portion of the plastic bag protruding from the hole in the photo above.
• Install the plant. Turn the bucket right side up and support it on the edges so there will be room for the plant to poke through the hole. Flip the plant upside down, and wrap a piece of newspaper around the leaves to keep them snug against the stem. Thread the newspaper through the hole and slide the plant down to the bottom of the bucket. Remove the newspaper.
• Mix the soil. In a separate container, mix equal portions of compost and potting soil.
• Fill the bucket. Adjust the plant and its plastic bag collar, then fill the bucket with the soil mixture.

Hang Your Upside Down Tomatoes!

Now, you’re read to hang your plant! I used and old clothesline post that was left by the original owners of our 1950’s home. I’ve been wanting to dig it up and remove it. Now I’m glad we didn’t! Here’s a photo of the finished product.

As you can see, the plants have grown a lot since I first hung them, and they are exhibiting some unusual characteristics. I’ll be writing more about that at a later date, and I’ll add a link to that article when I’m finished with it. Happy growing!

Keeping it real,