tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post5475558090744178251..comments2024-01-03T17:26:32.872-08:00Comments on Our Subsistence Pattern: A "No Water" TomatoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-64814072920323545112011-11-04T09:17:25.961-07:002011-11-04T09:17:25.961-07:00Casey - Most of our 2010 sauce was a combination o...Casey - Most of our 2010 sauce was a combination of numerous different tomatoes...glad you enjoyed it.Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-10615905726631608582011-11-03T21:03:22.917-07:002011-11-03T21:03:22.917-07:00this sounds great, thanks for explaining it so wel...this sounds great, thanks for explaining it so well. Thinking of doing it like that but maybe with a big hunk of wood in there too for extra moisture retention. <br /><br />I would take flavor over number any day, each of those flavor profiles must be whole other nutrients for ya. <br /><br />The tomato sauce was great, know what flavor it was?Caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12084928680221627675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-43316063445939187982010-09-18T05:42:04.229-07:002010-09-18T05:42:04.229-07:00Mike - Honestly, I have wondered that myself as th...Mike - Honestly, I have wondered that myself as the roofs of most peoples houses are composed of products that do in theory leach out some chemicals. So unless I had a metal roof like we do on our barn this would concern me too. I have seen filters for rain barrels but they are only set up to keep out large debris not chemicals. <br /><br />So, since I have a petroleum based composite roof on my house I am a little leary of using the water for my garden. If it was wood shingles or even metal I would feel much better about it.Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-10792284724652812612010-09-17T19:55:28.107-07:002010-09-17T19:55:28.107-07:00I know this is an older blog entry, but I just rea...I know this is an older blog entry, but I just read it and thought it was very interesting! The one thing I wonder about when saving water is, what about the chemicals? Rain water is sometimes very harsh and the roof coverings that water is to be caught off of are usually covered in chemical preservatives. I know rain water falls on the garden anyways, but it seems that adding extra rain water might be adding extra chemicals. I don't know, what are your thoughts? Are there some type of filters for use on rain barrels?Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01432170922105438643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-67282948813399105652009-06-18T05:43:59.199-07:002009-06-18T05:43:59.199-07:00HDR,
They will do fairly well with six hours of s...HDR,<br /><br />They will do fairly well with six hours of sun or more. Ours get about seven or eight, but it is very filtered as we live in amongst the trees. We always start our tomatoes from seed in early March so they will have a good jump start on life. Our summers can be cold and wet or dry and hot like this year is shaping up to be. <br /><br />Take a look at El's blog "Fast Grow The Weeds", she grows a lot of her tomatoes in hoophouses. I would like to try that myself, because we do have difficulty getting the fruits to ripen before fall sets in. Some years we end up with green tomatoes ripening all over the house... they still taste great when ripe though.<br /><br />By the way, we mostly grow indeterminate tomatoes as they always withstand the harsh weather the best, for us anyway. Try "Bloody Butcher" for a hardy, delicious, red tomato that comes on in about 55 days and thrives in a six hour day. Perhaps my all around favorite.. so far.Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-89671355841545002882009-06-17T13:19:54.715-07:002009-06-17T13:19:54.715-07:00You must have longer, hotter days than us. I'v...You must have longer, hotter days than us. I've yet to grow a decent tomato here!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-71638126802765187872009-06-14T18:50:54.545-07:002009-06-14T18:50:54.545-07:00Hi chaiselongue,
This is the fourth year we have ...Hi chaiselongue,<br /><br />This is the fourth year we have grown this particular cherry tomato this way. In our climate we usually have a little spring rain and then sometimes nothing until fall. <br /><br />By planting the tomato deep, layering the mulch, and making sure the wet scraps will not be accessed by the roots to soon the tomato has more then enough water to survive. Keep in mind what works in my garden may not work in another climate or garden.<br /><br />Thanks for visiting,<br /><br />MikeMr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-77030241996458646342009-06-14T09:57:27.665-07:002009-06-14T09:57:27.665-07:00I'll be very interested to see how this plant ...I'll be very interested to see how this plant grows. We have put kitchen scraps underneath plants and this does seem to give them moisture, but we still water them in dry periods. Our ornamental plants, though, are all chosen to survive without any watering at all (other than rain of course) after the first year.chaiselonguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11372135992072231446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-43544972832476085692009-06-12T21:59:29.775-07:002009-06-12T21:59:29.775-07:00Stefaneener,
Dry land farming is something I real...Stefaneener,<br /><br />Dry land farming is something I really want to get more involved with. So many interests so little time.<br /><br />Your raspberries look great, I can't wait until mine are ready.Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-29577720113860617222009-06-12T09:44:04.771-07:002009-06-12T09:44:04.771-07:00That looks like a VERY interesting book.
There...That looks like a VERY interesting book.<br /><br />There's a farm near here that specializes in dry farmed tomatoes -- and they command absolutely top prices.<br /><br />Since we're totally on sand here, it's going to take a few years of composting to make water-retentive soil, at the very least. My sister has wonderful, water-holding clay, and her corn is bigger than mine.<br /><br />And whether it "works" or not is somewhat beside the point -- except for eating, of course. It's an interesting attempt, and will add to your knowledge.Stefaneenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08422241601075022500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-4309261437158054172009-06-11T16:25:47.271-07:002009-06-11T16:25:47.271-07:00Silke,
That is the first good thing I have ever h...Silke,<br /><br />That is the first good thing I have ever heard about clay soil.:) I hope they do well also, otherwise I will look most foolish if I am forced to post a picture of a dead or downtrodden plant with no tomnatoes on it. I have faith that they will perform as they have in the past... they had better.<br /><br />Cross your fingers for me...Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-48026127389796085572009-06-11T16:20:04.010-07:002009-06-11T16:20:04.010-07:00SuburbanGardener,
This will be my fourth year of ...SuburbanGardener,<br /><br />This will be my fourth year of growing this particular type of cherry tomato in this manner. We planted the one in the picture about two weeks ago and should get ripe fruit off it by early August, or sooner, if all goes well.<br /><br />It works great if you have a sunny spot that you can't water regularly or at all. We have gotten super sweet tomatoes every year so far. Just not quite as many tomatoes as the plants in the main garden area. I think the kitchen scraps might help with the flavor, they certainly make the plants grow well.Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-23281081899805207242009-06-11T16:10:46.086-07:002009-06-11T16:10:46.086-07:00Hi El,
We have lots of available water at this po...Hi El,<br /><br />We have lots of available water at this point but rain water cannot be counted on around here. I mostly just want to be prepared in advance as drought issues seem to be every where these days.<br /><br />I can't even imagine what August flooding means, it is on of our driest months... the month we start to worry about fires. <br /><br />I so hope to set up one of your hoop houses in the near future... I have the spot all picked out.:)Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-73438388497458187372009-06-11T16:02:06.252-07:002009-06-11T16:02:06.252-07:00Accidental Huswife,
I will post a picture of the ...Accidental Huswife,<br /><br />I will post a picture of the first tomato, last years tomatoes were great.<br /><br />Your climate would be most challenging, we have been very fortunate so far. I do think it is good to consider certain issues before they arise in order to be better able to deal with them. I<br /><br />I would love to know how you plant your squash, we have an unirrigated field that I want to use for squash but worry the plants would not survive the summer. <br /><br />Steve Solomon's book is well used around here.Mr. H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04576034751522467377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-47379899718174020232009-06-11T15:20:08.546-07:002009-06-11T15:20:08.546-07:00That is so interesting, although lack of water is ...That is so interesting, although lack of water is not something we have here this year. It does remind me though of gardening in New Mexico during the drought. We planted lots of tomatoes which we only watered sparingly (we also had so much clay in the soil that it held the moisture pretty well). The tomatoes loved it (especially all the sunshine) and we had a great harvest - they did have tougher skin though, but the taste was super concentrated and soooo good! Here, we almost get too much moisture. I'll be curious to see how your no-water tomato does. :) SilkeSilke Powershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17094855019089665976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-65309525097191802632009-06-11T15:14:49.629-07:002009-06-11T15:14:49.629-07:00Very curious how this goes. When did you start th...Very curious how this goes. When did you start this trial in the ground?SuburbanGardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03331266937322487617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-65735458975866539822009-06-11T12:39:38.238-07:002009-06-11T12:39:38.238-07:00Wow, lack of rain is SO not my problem, in fact, m...Wow, lack of rain is SO not my problem, in fact, my problem is the opposite of yours and AH's, so I can get away with intensive gardening in small-ish beds, plus, it's a lot less land to weed ;) However, I have always wondered about the "what if's," especially regarding our greenhouses. These things require a lot of water and it means I run the hose from the rainbarrels to them; no biggie for the most part, especially with all the mulch in there. But I have been known to lose whole outdoor crops due to August flooding.<br /><br />Getting a big root system sounds pretty imperative for a low-water garden, so I am glad you posted this, Mike, about your plans. I am sure those cherry toms will be great due to a lack of the wet stuff! Me, my tomatoes are almost too juicy if I grow them outside. Great for salsa, not so great for sauce.elhttp://fastgrowtheweeds.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7636358068441886242.post-7763051481591682902009-06-11T09:37:33.918-07:002009-06-11T09:37:33.918-07:00I'll be interested to find out how the no wate...I'll be interested to find out how the no water tomato works. A great source for this kind of gardening is Gardening When It Counts -- fantastic book that converted me from high density, high input square foot gardening to wide raised beds. So much easier and better for my area! I've successfully grown peppers, squash, various greens, and artichokes without watering after the initial planting. I guess that's not too surprising in a more wet climate but in ours it takes some planning.Lisa Carroll-Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10273095136947961386noreply@blogger.com