Saturday, May 23, 2009

Garden on the Deck: Intimidating Tomato Plants

Tomato plants seem much more complicated than everything else on the deck (in my mind). I imagine not having staked them correctly (so they all fall over and go mushy) or all the tomatoes having spots (who knows why). I'm sure it's all in my head, but I'll keep you posted. Now my only concern will be with the scorching sun and heat that hits the deck for the first half of the day. Introducing the tomato patch:(1) In the front bin, I've got Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, and Striped German Tomato Plants (all from Casey Farms). Elizabeth gave me this first bin and subsequently, I've converted two of our blue laundry bins into tomato containers. Now our laundry is all over the floor.(2) While Anne was in town this past week, she planted this Sungella Tomato Plant in the blue bin. (We've renamed the plant "Anne's Sungella"). This one is already fairly tall, so we gave it a tower from the start. (A Southside Community Land trust purchase). (3) The two plants on the right are German Red Strawberry & Pale Perfect Purple (also Southside Community Land trust purchases), and finally, (4) tucked in the back corner is the last heirloom tomato -- a Green Zebra Tomato Plant (from Casey Farms).