So I'll start out with some quick updates. The garden is doing well and we are getting zucchini out of our ears. I've started a gardening journal with sketches, notes and such so I'll have a reminder of the lessons learned from year to year. This also will remind me where I've planted what in the past so I can make sure to rotate crops in the most beneficial way possible.
Here's a good tip that John's mom passed on to us that she learned from her farming family members. With tomatoes you need to pick off the suckers to ensure that your plant grows up instead of out. Here is an easy way to know which branches are suckers. Imagine the stalk of your tomato plant growing straight up, now there are branches that grow out at 90 degrees, these are true branches. Sometimes though there will be a small branch that grows at 45 degrees between the stem and the branch (see picture below by katiedL.),
that is a sucker. As soon as you notice one just pinch it off at the base. If it has already grown to a decent size, don't worry about it because pinching it off at this point will just harm the plant. You continue to get the suckers until the first level of flowers. So if your plant starts to flower on the 3rd true stem up continue to get the suckers off the first two until they flower.So there, a good little hint from a long line of farmers which they tend not to talk about in gardening books.
I'm also currently working on converting an old sump from John's lab into a gray water collection tank only using salvaged materials, but unfortunately left my camera at a restaurant yesterday (NOOOOO), and can't show you any images of the work in progress. Needless to say it's a little ghetto looking but should work just fine when finished.
