Tomato Trick/Basket Stand

I just read this neat trick for fertilizing your tomato plant.  Just put one whole egg (shell and all) at the base of the plant.  It's a natural fertilizer for your plant!

At work, a lot of my coworkers are urban gardeners.  It's great to get ideas (and even starter plants) from them.  One coworker has a lot of tomato starter plants on hand.  She's going to bring in either Roma/Heirloom tomato plants for folks that want them.  I still think that I should stick to Roma tomatoes (since my tomatoes will hang upside down) but supposedly it doesn't matter.  

My boss also shared her Gardener's magazine with me (or visit www.gardeners.com).  She especially wanted me to see the hanging tomato baskets.  So, I think I might conduct an experiment; I'll plant some in the commercial baskets and some in a five gallon bucket.  I'll then see which plants thrive.

One item I am especially interested in getting is a hanging basket stand.  I have one small basket, hanging from a shepherds hook,that is growing strawberries and mint.  The hook is anchored in a large pot that is growing a small rose bush.  After watering the basket, it causes the pot to slightly tip.  I can only imagine what will happen once I hang a 5 gallon bucket from one of the hooks.  I'll need a REALLY big pot.  So, I think the best thing is to purchase this stand.  

Composting and Containers

So, last weekend I headed out to "the county" to pick up a compost bin. When I got to the line I was very surprised. There were probably at least 100 people in line to get a bin and cars/people were constantly coming and going. It was nice to see so many people dedicated (or like me- interested/intrigued) to start composting!

I grabbed the bins (I picked one up for Kate) and as I loaded them into my car, I thought "Hmmm, where's the bottom of the bin?" Well, turns out that you're supposed to secure it to the ground...dirt/grass area. That's a bit of a problem since I don't have any dirt areas in my backyard. SO...yet another container gardening obstacle to tackle. I have some ideas but we'll see how it turns out.

Marc has so graciously offered his assistance this weekend to haul out old pots that are basically pest motels. It's not going to be fun, but I'm very glad to have his help. This weekend is supposed to be awesome (in the mid 80s) so I think we'll be able to get a lot done.

With the rain over the last week(s), my lettuce and spinach have been doing pretty well. I can tell that each plant has gotten more full. I planted the lettuce in my makeshift version of a salad box/table. Salad Box Example Part of the fun with container gardening is trying to reuse things to make containers. My "salad table" is actually a sink with legs. I'll post pictures this weekend.

I'm holding out on the tomatoes, eggplant (? or possibly cucumbers) and peppers until I get pots big enough to hold these plants. The plan is to plant the tomatoes (Romana and cherry since they are smaller varieties) and eggplant upside down. But I still need large pots to anchor the shepperd's hooks. This is an idea of what it will look like.

Composting...

So, last weekend I headed out to "the county" to pick up a compost bin.   When I got to the line I was very surprised.  There were probably at least 100 people in line to get a bin and cars/people were constantly coming and going.  It was nice to see so many people dedicated (or like me- interested/intrigued) to start composting!

I grabbed the bins (I picked one up for Kate) and as I loaded them into my car, I thought "Hmmm, where's the bottom of the bin?"  Well, turns out that your supposed to secure it to the ground...dirt/grass area.  That's a bit of a problem since I don't have any dirt areas in my backyard.  SO...yet another container gardening obstacle to tackle.  I have some ideas but we'll see how it turns out.  

Marc has so graciously offered his assistance this weekend to haul out old pots that are basically pest motels.  It's not going to be fun, but I'm very glad to have his help.  This weekend is supposed to be awesome (in the mid 80s) so I think we'll be able to get a lot done.

With the rain over the last week(s), my lettuce and spinach have been doing pretty well.  I can tell that each plant has gotten more full.  I'm holding out on the tomatoes, eggplant (? possibly or cucumbers) and sweet potatoes (?)  until I get pots big enough to hold these plants. The plan is to plant the tomatoes (Romana and cherry since they are smaller varieties) and eggplant upside down.  But I still need large pots to anchor the shepperd's hooks.   

Slowly But Surely...

  This past weekend Marc was in Chicago.  That gave me a lot of time to clean up the backyard and get things ready for planting.  I spent most of Saturday gathering materials and talking to my "friends" at Home Depot about my pest problem.  After purchasing lots of steel wool, expandable foam and cement (who knew I'd do masonry work?!?) I was ready to tackle the yard.  I also purchased plastic covered chicken wire (so it won't rust) to run along the bottom of my fence and eventually to put around some of my pots to keep the pests out!  I have a few before pics.  

This is what they've done to some of my pots

Part of my concrete slab is buckled (it was that way when I moved in).  The pests found breaks in the concrete and began burrowing tunnels. I had to fill the tunnels with expandable foam, steel wool, expandable foam, steel wool, etc, etc.

Then, after mixing concrete, I patched the areas.  I was pretty impressed with my masonry skills! ;)

     To reward my hard labor, I took a trip to Poor Boy's Garden Center to buy some plants and flowers!  The people were extremely helpful.  Me and a few other eager folks were out and about exploring their selection.  Supposedly they will have over 120 different varieties of tomatoes! I'll be back in a few weeks.  I did plant a hanging basket of strawberries and added flowers to my window boxes and pots in the front!

   I've also been researching a lot of websites about potted gardens.  Seems to be promising.  Here are a few great sites if you have small space but want a garden!

Great info on: potted veggies and other ideas for city dwellers, more potted gardening advice, and Maryland specific advice/GREAT website!

Progress This Weekend

     I checked with Baltimore City Parks dept about getting a plot of land in Patterson Park to community garden.  The woman basically laughed at me.  Supposedly there's a LONG waitining list.  My name was added anyway.  I wasn't giving up on my backyard garden but after a conversation with a colleague I thought I'd look into it.

   So, anyway...this weekend I will FINALLY have time to devote to my backyard.  There's a lot of clean up that needs to be done.  Bought shepherds hooks (50% off!!) for hanging baskets that will eventually grow tomatoes, herbs and?!?! Haven't figured out EXACTLY what I'm going to plant yet.  I'm heading to the Waverly Farmers Market on Saturday to get some much needed advice.  Hopefully by Sunday evening I'll be on my way to gardening!  Pics coming soon!  I promise :)  

OH!!! Some of the summer bulbs I planted last year are starting to come up!! I think I planted some of the "early risers" too late last year.  So...this proves yet again there's potential out there!!