Back again and still Optomistic

I've been away from this blog for as long while so Google closed it down and I now have it back online once again. This past summer I had loads of tomatoes from the previous years' plants but I have not been happy with them.  I wish I know which tomatoes are best for growing in the San Fernando Valley.  My soil is really bad and I have to continually add compost and whatever to it.  We have little or no rain in the summer and it garden has to be hand watered.  I try to keep it as organic as possible and encourage birds to come and eat the bugs and other critters.  Back to the tomatoes--I have not liked the way any of them tasted--either too sour or too thick skinned.  All very disappointing. I have not tried growing any in the greenhouse this winter.  Maybe I will next year if I can decide on a good variety. I would be very happy if I could get a good crop of tomatoes and cucumbers. I hope to start them in  March or maybe earlier in the Green house.

Right now it is early January and my garlic is coming up nicely and I hope it does not get too cold for them I have quite a few beds of garlic growing-- hard neck and soft neck, early, middle and last season so I hope that they will last through the summer. I need to find out when is the best time to fertilize them.  We are having unusually cold and wet weather here so I don't know how this affects garlic plants.  I did notice that some of the leaves are getting a bit  yellow so that is bothering me.

Tomatoes in my garden- To Prune or Not to Prune

I was very happy to find the above video on YouTube as I was very concerned about how to go about pruning my tomato plants. I have no idea which plant is determinate and which are indeterminate, designations which determine pruning or not.

I am starting to get a bunch of green tomatoes and loads of yellow flowers. I have been pollinating the flowers with an electric toothbrush to help shake the pollen lose and get the ball rolling. Let's see if this action results in loads of delicious fruits.

Still Optomistic

Started the veggie garden late this year. Should have begun weeks before considering the warm climate and the greenhouse. Everything is either in containers or raised bed, which are a form of container. We had a gopher expert trap the gophers and he claims that we have seen the last of the little criters. I certanly hope so.

Started some tomatoes and squash from seed in the greenhouse and they grew quite quickly. The one in the picture above seems to double in size overnight. It's amazing how big the plant has gotten so fast. I don't even know what kind of squash it is. Hope it is a good one. This year I need to pick them when they are small. Last time I had so many and they took up half of the garden and I couldn't even find them until they were huge.

Tomatoes are a problem here in the Southland. We never get good ones here but we still try. Most of out tomatoes in the markets are from Mexico. I have lots of flowers on my tomatoe plants but few tomatoes. I ordered a tomato and vegetable blossom set spray from Burpees's and am looking forward to trying it.

This year I will attempt to grow veggies in the greenhouse. When do I plant seeds for wintering? I would to have tomatoes all year.

Callfornia Tomatoes

California oranges--we all heard about those--yummy citrus fruits that look wonderful while stll on the trees dotting the green leaves and brown branches with their color. And those fabulous artichokes! Nothing like them. But what about tomatoes. No one boasts about California tomatoes. I don't know why. Californians don't know anything about the sweet tart taste of a juicy New Jersey tomato. Why can't we grow them here? I haven't found the secret. Still I soldier on with various tomato plants, manures, fertilizers, composts and all the rest. Still have to find a really good local tomato.

My Tiny Red Rose

So far this year I haven't done much with flower gardening. My African violets are doing nicely. Only 2 of my orchards are still living while the unliving still populate my very expensive orchard pots. I buy the best of everything for my orchards and they reward me drying up and dying. I don't know what I do wrong--probably everything. I spray. I water. I feed. I change potting mixtures.

For companions for my tomatoes I planted marigolds. Good old faithful marigolds. Decorative and useful.

My miniature rose that I got as a gift is outside in its container and is sporting a beautiful red rose the size of a half dollar. Another bud is getting ready to open. Hope it makes it. My once green thumb of which I was very proud is now a dusty brown. When I first got the rose plant it was full of buds and was lovely until it took one look at me and started to go downhill. Moving it out into the sun I hoped to revive it. So far, so good.

Now about my latest present--a gardenia plant. It was also full of buds when I got it for Mother's Day. One did open and bloom. Alas, just the one. Even back in the days when my thumb was magnificently green gardenia plants did not take to me. Maybe I can still coax this one along.

Temperature has gotten hot as it does in Southern California, but with this crazy weather these days one can never predict what will happen. I wish it would rain the way it does back East or the way I hear it does on the Northwest coast.

Murder of the Seedlings

I finally moved my tiny tomato and pepper seedlings into peat pots to wait for them to grow big and strong until I plant them outside into beds and containers. Some of the pots had 2 or 3 seedlings and I know that I need to have only 1 plant per pot. One is supposed to take a tiny cuticle scissors and snip off the weakest seeding in the pot leaving only the healthiest to survive. This is a task I hate doing. With each snip of my cruel weapon I feel as if I am killing a living thing. I am a murderess. I hope the survivors appreciate this and reward me with bushels of delicious tomatoes

Moles, Bugs, Grubs, Ants and Drought

The grasshoppers along with their friends and relatives ate most of my crops. But still I persevere. What does one have to do to get an eatable tomato? Not merely an eatable fruit but one that is large, firm and juicy and with a flavor so succulent that it will bring back memories of summers long gone. What is it about summer that calls for superb tomatoes? Wonderful flavorfull ones to pluck and devour right off the vine while the sweet tart juice runs down your chin and onto your shirt.