The south side area of the back yard tomato growing area is now complete.
I had taken out some of the encroaching grass previously (I think it was a week ago Friday) and expected it to be relatively easy to pull out the rest. Wrong. The remaining grass was thicker. It took me parts of three days to get all the grass.
Yesterday (Sunday) I dug out the south area using the shovel. Originally I had the thought of just turning the dirt but I decided there were too many underground roots to simply turn the area. So I dug it out and made a long dirt pile in the "Middle East".
The area was roughly 4 feet by 13 feet. That's a rather large area and took me five or six hours. I pulled out approximately 8 gallons of asphalt, roots and some rock. Our disposable trash can is pretty heavy from these materials. Fortunately, most of this dreck was larger chunks of asphalt -- easier to accumulate and handle. The dreck in the "Middle East" and the "Far East" was mostly smaller rocks.
In spite of the above, this area was much easier to dig than the "Middle East" or the "Far East". My wife speculated that this was because the sprinklers hit this area and not the other two. I believe she's exactly correct.
I was expecting to finally hit a sprinkler pipe while hand digging and I did. It was very near the western border of the roughly 13 foot area, maybe two inches inside the rectangle. I put a board down to mark the location.
I put the dirt pile back on the south area late Sunday afternoon. It was too windy to apply compost.
Today my wife put on amendments. I added compost and used the Mantis over a vast majority of the area. Then I moved the remaining compost onto this south area.
Based on my slowness in taking out the grass in this south area, the 9 x 9 area (which is really more like 6 x 6 with an additional area to the north, making it roughly a 6 x 8 foot area) will take much too long to process for tomato growing. I just don't have this type of time.
The remaining area (around 100 square feet or so? I didn't look closely) may just need hand turning with a shovel. If so I can have it ready in a day or two. But I'll make that judgement when I start digging. After all, I had the same idea with the south area but decided to override that based on roots underneath the ground, as mentioned previously.
In my mind, this remaining area should be the easiest to dig outside of the area underneath and to the east of the lemon tree. That's my perception...but reality could be different. Let's hope for the best.
There will be compost left after this area is complete.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Finished Preparing the "Middle East"
I made more progress on the back yard, just not the expected progress.
Monday I went out to pull some grass from the 9 x 9 area turned last year. But it was mud. The sprinklers went off that morning and rewatered the whole area. The sprinklers went off on Thursday as well. It rained Thursday and we didn't turn off the sprinklers in time. On Saturday I finally shut off the sprinkler head within this 9 x 9 patch of dirt. Now this area might dry out but it still looks like soup...
So instead of pulling out this grass, I started on a rectangular area just west of the "Far East", an area we've dubbed the "Middle East". I finished turning a roughly 3 x 6 foot area on Wednesday, my wife added soil amendments, I added compost and used the Mantis to turn it in.
Tuesday I did some shovel work for my wife, turning a raised bed and adding holes to "Alongi Row" for some ficus nitidas.
As mentioned, it rained on Thursday. It was too wet to dig on Friday so I pulled out some grass that had started to encroach on our tomato growing area. This is different than the 9 x 9 patch of grass that we hope to clear out for an additional growing area. The patch of grass I removed on Friday is easier to handle. I pulled out about half of the encroaching grass.
On Sunday we completely processed a 3 x 8 area to the south of the area completed on Wednesday. This patch of dirt was relatively easy to turn.
I pulled out four or five gallons of rocks and asphalt over the week in the "Middle East".
I'm happy that the "Middle East" and the "Far East" are completed. I think these are the two hardest growing areas. I had become somewhat disenchanted with my slow progress so far but the relatively fast Sunday work renewed my spirits.
The next patch of dirt to turn will be the southern area of the back yard growing area not previously turned. This was an excellent suggestion from my wife. I was going to move the compost pile somewhere else, but my wife suggested I can do this area without moving much of the compost pile. She's right.
But first I need to complete pulling out the encroached grass in the southwest area of our back yard tomato growing area.
Monday I went out to pull some grass from the 9 x 9 area turned last year. But it was mud. The sprinklers went off that morning and rewatered the whole area. The sprinklers went off on Thursday as well. It rained Thursday and we didn't turn off the sprinklers in time. On Saturday I finally shut off the sprinkler head within this 9 x 9 patch of dirt. Now this area might dry out but it still looks like soup...
So instead of pulling out this grass, I started on a rectangular area just west of the "Far East", an area we've dubbed the "Middle East". I finished turning a roughly 3 x 6 foot area on Wednesday, my wife added soil amendments, I added compost and used the Mantis to turn it in.
Tuesday I did some shovel work for my wife, turning a raised bed and adding holes to "Alongi Row" for some ficus nitidas.
As mentioned, it rained on Thursday. It was too wet to dig on Friday so I pulled out some grass that had started to encroach on our tomato growing area. This is different than the 9 x 9 patch of grass that we hope to clear out for an additional growing area. The patch of grass I removed on Friday is easier to handle. I pulled out about half of the encroaching grass.
On Sunday we completely processed a 3 x 8 area to the south of the area completed on Wednesday. This patch of dirt was relatively easy to turn.
I pulled out four or five gallons of rocks and asphalt over the week in the "Middle East".
I'm happy that the "Middle East" and the "Far East" are completed. I think these are the two hardest growing areas. I had become somewhat disenchanted with my slow progress so far but the relatively fast Sunday work renewed my spirits.
The next patch of dirt to turn will be the southern area of the back yard growing area not previously turned. This was an excellent suggestion from my wife. I was going to move the compost pile somewhere else, but my wife suggested I can do this area without moving much of the compost pile. She's right.
But first I need to complete pulling out the encroached grass in the southwest area of our back yard tomato growing area.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Finished Prepping the Easy Area In The Back Yard
I finished turning the area underneath and east of our back yard lemon tree. I'd estimate it's about a 20 foot by 6 foot rectangle, plus a jagged area directly under the lemon tree.
It took parts of three days to complete. I turned most of the dirt by hand on Friday. Yesterday I finished turning it by hand. Today my wife laid down gypsum and amendments while I added compost. I used the Mantis to turn the materials into the dirt. Then I put on another layer of our organic compost and used the Mantis again.
I used about a quarter of the remaining compost.
I pulled out a few rocks in this area but it was no big deal at all. Overall the rock pile could fit into a one gallon plant container. For those unfamiliar with that reference, don't think one gallon of water. The one gallon plant container size about the same size as a normal half gallon milk carton. So this is a much cleaner area that what I had first turned.
Also note that a plantable area shouldn't be completely rock free. But just out of force of habit I always take them out. The back yard is too rocky, so I toss 'em if I see 'em.
The trouble was it took five or six days before I started digging. It was rainy, it was quite cold and I had a bad cold during this period. So we lost some time.
Next item to be done: Manually pulling the grass out of the recently turned 9 foot by 9 foot area. This will be tedious.
It took parts of three days to complete. I turned most of the dirt by hand on Friday. Yesterday I finished turning it by hand. Today my wife laid down gypsum and amendments while I added compost. I used the Mantis to turn the materials into the dirt. Then I put on another layer of our organic compost and used the Mantis again.
I used about a quarter of the remaining compost.
I pulled out a few rocks in this area but it was no big deal at all. Overall the rock pile could fit into a one gallon plant container. For those unfamiliar with that reference, don't think one gallon of water. The one gallon plant container size about the same size as a normal half gallon milk carton. So this is a much cleaner area that what I had first turned.
Also note that a plantable area shouldn't be completely rock free. But just out of force of habit I always take them out. The back yard is too rocky, so I toss 'em if I see 'em.
The trouble was it took five or six days before I started digging. It was rainy, it was quite cold and I had a bad cold during this period. So we lost some time.
Next item to be done: Manually pulling the grass out of the recently turned 9 foot by 9 foot area. This will be tedious.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Finished Turning The "Far East"
Wednesday we put the finishing touches on the soil in the "Far East" in the back yard. It took about a week to prepare about a 5 foot by 15 foot section of the back yard.
That's slow progress, too slow if it remained that consistent. But the "Far East" was the worst area for rocks and asphalt. I do not expect such slow progress in the future.
I didn't find as much asphalt as I had expected. That's great news. It shows that all the hard work digging out the asphalt and stuff was providing dividends. I did empty out the one gallon bin used for plants six or seven times. Also I dug out one complete red brick, two half bricks and the broken pieces of the two half bricks. I also found two large round decorative stones with these bricks.
Here's a picture of my wife using the Mantis on the "Far East"...
The blue tarp covers the remaining compost.
On Thursday I turned an area of about 9 feet by 9 feet filled with grass. I had turned this area last year and the grass was plucked out of it. After that, nothing happened except the grass came back. So we're starting over with this new plantable area once my wife picks out the grass.
I moved some materials (wood, a hay bale and such) that were east of the lemon tree to the recently turned "Far East". This will be the next area I turn. This area does have a few rocks but not nearly as much as the "Far East" had. While we didn't plant in this area last year I still don't think turning it will be too bad.
I added a small wheelbarrow full of compost to the "South Garden". I didn't turn it, I just laid it on top.
Nothing was done with the back yard today.
That's slow progress, too slow if it remained that consistent. But the "Far East" was the worst area for rocks and asphalt. I do not expect such slow progress in the future.
I didn't find as much asphalt as I had expected. That's great news. It shows that all the hard work digging out the asphalt and stuff was providing dividends. I did empty out the one gallon bin used for plants six or seven times. Also I dug out one complete red brick, two half bricks and the broken pieces of the two half bricks. I also found two large round decorative stones with these bricks.
Here's a picture of my wife using the Mantis on the "Far East"...
The blue tarp covers the remaining compost.
On Thursday I turned an area of about 9 feet by 9 feet filled with grass. I had turned this area last year and the grass was plucked out of it. After that, nothing happened except the grass came back. So we're starting over with this new plantable area once my wife picks out the grass.
I moved some materials (wood, a hay bale and such) that were east of the lemon tree to the recently turned "Far East". This will be the next area I turn. This area does have a few rocks but not nearly as much as the "Far East" had. While we didn't plant in this area last year I still don't think turning it will be too bad.
I added a small wheelbarrow full of compost to the "South Garden". I didn't turn it, I just laid it on top.
Nothing was done with the back yard today.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Tending To The Soil
We've been working on our soil for the past couple of weeks.
A week ago last Saturday we put six scoops of organic compost placed on our driveway. A friend's son had time and a truck available and through four trips to Valley Sod we brought seven scoops (a scoop being a skip loader scoop) to our house. The driver kept one and left the rest for us.
Over the next week or so I hand turned the dirt in both the "koi pond" and the "corner office". Normally this hasn't been an issue as the dirt in this area has been good quality. Not anymore, I'm sad to say. I know one year I turned the dirt in the "koi pond" during the halftime presentation during the Super Bowl (roughly a half an hour). This time it took around three hours.
The "corner office" dirt was even worse. I used to find worms everywhere in the "corner office", but not any more. I ran into one worm in the "koi pond"...that's it.
So I laid out some of the organic compost on top of the dirt in the front yard, added some gypsum and hand turned it in. Then my wife made an amendment "cocktail", consisting of some John and Bob's, Earthalizer and one other amendment and laid it on top of the soil. Then we added more compost on top and used a Mantis to turn the soil again. After that we laid hay on top of the dirt.
Hand turning and machine turning the dirt brought up about 50 cutworms, almost all full sized. I tossed them all into the street.
The dirt in the south side of the "koi pond" was better than the north side dirt. This is the reverse of how it has been historically. It was easier to turn and looked somewhat healthier.
We've also brought compost into the two new raised beds in the back yard and added compost to all the roses in the front yard.
I've started to hand dig the "Far East" in the back yard. Historically this has been the rockiest area. While the going is slow and I have dug out some large chunks of asphalt, I've been pleasantly surprised with the progress so far. It's not as bad as I expected. But I have a long, long way to go. Completing the back yard will take several weeks.
On Wednesday I spent all day moving the remaining compost from the driveway into a large pile in the back yard. We covered the pile with tarps on Thursday to keep it dry from this morning's rain.
In short: I believe our soil is depleted. I have some extra time at the moment and am trying to get our growing grounds back in good condition. The front yard is completely prepared. The back yard will take some time.
A week ago last Saturday we put six scoops of organic compost placed on our driveway. A friend's son had time and a truck available and through four trips to Valley Sod we brought seven scoops (a scoop being a skip loader scoop) to our house. The driver kept one and left the rest for us.
Over the next week or so I hand turned the dirt in both the "koi pond" and the "corner office". Normally this hasn't been an issue as the dirt in this area has been good quality. Not anymore, I'm sad to say. I know one year I turned the dirt in the "koi pond" during the halftime presentation during the Super Bowl (roughly a half an hour). This time it took around three hours.
The "corner office" dirt was even worse. I used to find worms everywhere in the "corner office", but not any more. I ran into one worm in the "koi pond"...that's it.
So I laid out some of the organic compost on top of the dirt in the front yard, added some gypsum and hand turned it in. Then my wife made an amendment "cocktail", consisting of some John and Bob's, Earthalizer and one other amendment and laid it on top of the soil. Then we added more compost on top and used a Mantis to turn the soil again. After that we laid hay on top of the dirt.
Hand turning and machine turning the dirt brought up about 50 cutworms, almost all full sized. I tossed them all into the street.
The dirt in the south side of the "koi pond" was better than the north side dirt. This is the reverse of how it has been historically. It was easier to turn and looked somewhat healthier.
We've also brought compost into the two new raised beds in the back yard and added compost to all the roses in the front yard.
I've started to hand dig the "Far East" in the back yard. Historically this has been the rockiest area. While the going is slow and I have dug out some large chunks of asphalt, I've been pleasantly surprised with the progress so far. It's not as bad as I expected. But I have a long, long way to go. Completing the back yard will take several weeks.
On Wednesday I spent all day moving the remaining compost from the driveway into a large pile in the back yard. We covered the pile with tarps on Thursday to keep it dry from this morning's rain.
In short: I believe our soil is depleted. I have some extra time at the moment and am trying to get our growing grounds back in good condition. The front yard is completely prepared. The back yard will take some time.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
It's Over For 2013
September 7 harvest includes 28 Black Cherry, 11 Sweet 100, 5 SunGold(1), 4 Pineapple, 3 Blue Beauty, 3 Vorlon, 3 Juliet, 3 Piement, 3 Dr. Wyche's Yellow, 2 Isis Candy, 2 Ananas Noire, 2 "Something Orange" (Dr. Wyche's Yellow), Shah/Mikado, Kellogg's Breakfast, German Orange Strawberry, Snow White, Supersweet 100 and Husky Red(1) for a total of 75 tomatoes.
We've now harvested over 650 Black Cherry tomatoes (664), over 100 Juliet tomatoes (101) and exactly 100 Isis Candy tomatoes.
While harvesting I partially pulled out the cages of the plants I wanted pulled, leaving them at an odd angles. I had business to attend to later that day and I wasn't going to be around when the gardeners arrived.
My wife had the gardeners pull out all the container plants as well. There were several container plants that were still producing so while I was surprised I guess I was okay with it.
But I later found out the gardeners had also pulled out Black Cherry, with neither of us wanted to happen. Ugh. They still didn't pull out Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red(2), which was supposed to be pulled the last time they were here.
For the record, here's what got pulled: Husky Cherry Red, Vorlon, Black Cherry, Shah/Mikado, Kellogg's Breakfast, Blue Beauty, German Orange Strawberry, Piement, Crynkovic, Speckled Roman(2), Amos Coli, Ananas Noire, "Something Orange", Juliet, Sweet 100, "Rosella Purple", Supersweet 100, Isis Candy, Husky Red(1) and Husky Red(2).
After Black Cherry was pulled...our heart wasn't in it anymore.
September 8 harvest includes 2 SunGold(1), 2 Dr. Wyche's Yellow, 2 Snow White and Pineapple for a total of 7 tomatoes.
September 12 harvest includes 7 SunGold(2), 3 SunGold(1) and 2 Dr. Wyche's Yellow for a total of 12 tomatoes.
September 14 harvest includes 4 SunGold(2), Dr. Wyche's Yellow and Snow White for a total of 6 tomatoes.
And the rest of the tomato plants were pulled by the gardeners. They included Pineapple, Dr. Wyche's Yellow, SunGold(1), SunGold(2), Snow White and (finally) Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red(2).
A lot of these tomatoes were given away to friends and family.
So for the year we ended up harvesting 3811 tomatoes. This is our worst yearly harvest total so far.
The only good news is now we have the time and space to prepare the soil for next year.
We've now harvested over 650 Black Cherry tomatoes (664), over 100 Juliet tomatoes (101) and exactly 100 Isis Candy tomatoes.
While harvesting I partially pulled out the cages of the plants I wanted pulled, leaving them at an odd angles. I had business to attend to later that day and I wasn't going to be around when the gardeners arrived.
My wife had the gardeners pull out all the container plants as well. There were several container plants that were still producing so while I was surprised I guess I was okay with it.
But I later found out the gardeners had also pulled out Black Cherry, with neither of us wanted to happen. Ugh. They still didn't pull out Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red(2), which was supposed to be pulled the last time they were here.
For the record, here's what got pulled: Husky Cherry Red, Vorlon, Black Cherry, Shah/Mikado, Kellogg's Breakfast, Blue Beauty, German Orange Strawberry, Piement, Crynkovic, Speckled Roman(2), Amos Coli, Ananas Noire, "Something Orange", Juliet, Sweet 100, "Rosella Purple", Supersweet 100, Isis Candy, Husky Red(1) and Husky Red(2).
After Black Cherry was pulled...our heart wasn't in it anymore.
September 8 harvest includes 2 SunGold(1), 2 Dr. Wyche's Yellow, 2 Snow White and Pineapple for a total of 7 tomatoes.
September 12 harvest includes 7 SunGold(2), 3 SunGold(1) and 2 Dr. Wyche's Yellow for a total of 12 tomatoes.
September 14 harvest includes 4 SunGold(2), Dr. Wyche's Yellow and Snow White for a total of 6 tomatoes.
And the rest of the tomato plants were pulled by the gardeners. They included Pineapple, Dr. Wyche's Yellow, SunGold(1), SunGold(2), Snow White and (finally) Clint Eastwood's Rowdy Red(2).
A lot of these tomatoes were given away to friends and family.
So for the year we ended up harvesting 3811 tomatoes. This is our worst yearly harvest total so far.
The only good news is now we have the time and space to prepare the soil for next year.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Five Years Ago...
Five years ago today I was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times in an article about growing tomatoes. That link to the article, titled "You say tomato; so does he" is here.
Enjoy!.
Enjoy!.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Harvested Over 400 Sweet 100 Tomatoes!
Sunday's harvest includes 14 Black Cherry, 12 Sweet 100, 7 Blue Beauty, 4 German Orange Strawberry, 3 SunGold(2), 2 Husky Cherry Red, 2 Supersweet 100, 2 Isis Candy, Pineapple, Shah/Mikado, SunGold(1), Juliet and Husky Red(2) for a total of 51 tomatoes.
We've now harvested over 100 SunGold(2) tomatoes (101)! Neither SunGold tomato plant really took off but they were planted late and they weren't planted in a great area.
Today's harvest includes 18 Black Cherry, 12 Sweet 100, 5 Blue Beauty, 4 German Orange Strawberry, 2 SunGold(2), Vorlon, Pineapple, SunGold(1), Snow White, "Rosella Purple" (Aunt Ruby's German Green), Supersweet 100 and Isis Candy for a total of 48 tomatoes.
We've now harvested over 400 Sweet 100 tomatoes! This plant is having a good second wind. The plant looks bad but the tomatoes look all right.
Most of the harvest over the last two days was given to a neighbor that brought us some delicious banana bread. It was goooood....
We've now harvested over 100 SunGold(2) tomatoes (101)! Neither SunGold tomato plant really took off but they were planted late and they weren't planted in a great area.
Today's harvest includes 18 Black Cherry, 12 Sweet 100, 5 Blue Beauty, 4 German Orange Strawberry, 2 SunGold(2), Vorlon, Pineapple, SunGold(1), Snow White, "Rosella Purple" (Aunt Ruby's German Green), Supersweet 100 and Isis Candy for a total of 48 tomatoes.
We've now harvested over 400 Sweet 100 tomatoes! This plant is having a good second wind. The plant looks bad but the tomatoes look all right.
Most of the harvest over the last two days was given to a neighbor that brought us some delicious banana bread. It was goooood....
August 2013 Tomato Analysis
We harvested 1320 tomatoes in August. That compares somewhat favorably to July's 1970 tomatoes (A harvest dropoff is completely expected for the west San Fernando Valley where we live, we just hope that the numbers don't fall off a table...). Here's how it stacks up to prior years:
August 2011 -- 3863
August 2009 -- 3250
August 2012 -- 3240
August 2007 -- 2806
August 2010 -- 2165
August 2013 -- 1320
August 2008 -- 1004
Again our numbers are the second worst we've had, only beating the 2008 year. In 2008 we ended up harvesting about 4300 tomatoes so we seem to be on about a 5000 harvest pace this year based on the numbers.
However based on what I see for our plants we'll never get there. The late August heat has absolutely taken the life out of most of our tomato plants.The only good one left is Black Cherry and that won't get us to 5000.
So we'll see what happens. We'll probably beat the 2008 harvest this year but we won't get much beyond that, I believe.
August 2011 -- 3863
August 2009 -- 3250
August 2012 -- 3240
August 2007 -- 2806
August 2010 -- 2165
August 2013 -- 1320
August 2008 -- 1004
Again our numbers are the second worst we've had, only beating the 2008 year. In 2008 we ended up harvesting about 4300 tomatoes so we seem to be on about a 5000 harvest pace this year based on the numbers.
However based on what I see for our plants we'll never get there. The late August heat has absolutely taken the life out of most of our tomato plants.The only good one left is Black Cherry and that won't get us to 5000.
So we'll see what happens. We'll probably beat the 2008 harvest this year but we won't get much beyond that, I believe.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Harvested Over 600 Black Cherry Tomatoes This Year!
There was no harvest on Thursday or Friday. I needed to be at work early and left the house before 7AM. The same will be true next week.
Today's harvest includes 45 Black Cherry, 25 Sweet 100, 5 Blue Beauty, 5 German Orange Strawberry, 4 SunGold(2), 3 SunGold(1), 3 Supersweet 100, 2 Husky Cherry Red, 2 Dr. Wyche's Yellow (8 ounces), 2 Grande, Vorlon, Piement, Snow White, Cuor de Bue and "Rosella Purple" (Aunt Ruby's German Green) for a total of 101 tomatoes.
We've now harvested over 600 Black Cherry tomatoes (604)! These tomatoes look good and the plant is still cranking out more tomatoes.
The gardeners came by today and a lot of tomato plants were pulled. This is a partial list of what got pulled: Speckled Roman(1), Yellow Perfection, Porkchop, Jersey Giant, Black and Brown Boar, Indigo Rose, Japanese Black Trifele, Grande, Garden Peach, Aunt Ruby's German Green and Cuor de Bue. I know there are at least two more that the gardeners forgot to pull and I probably have missed a couple that they did pull.
Most of today's harvest was given to the hard working gardeners.
My wife watered the front yard tomato plants in the evening.
Today's harvest includes 45 Black Cherry, 25 Sweet 100, 5 Blue Beauty, 5 German Orange Strawberry, 4 SunGold(2), 3 SunGold(1), 3 Supersweet 100, 2 Husky Cherry Red, 2 Dr. Wyche's Yellow (8 ounces), 2 Grande, Vorlon, Piement, Snow White, Cuor de Bue and "Rosella Purple" (Aunt Ruby's German Green) for a total of 101 tomatoes.
We've now harvested over 600 Black Cherry tomatoes (604)! These tomatoes look good and the plant is still cranking out more tomatoes.
The gardeners came by today and a lot of tomato plants were pulled. This is a partial list of what got pulled: Speckled Roman(1), Yellow Perfection, Porkchop, Jersey Giant, Black and Brown Boar, Indigo Rose, Japanese Black Trifele, Grande, Garden Peach, Aunt Ruby's German Green and Cuor de Bue. I know there are at least two more that the gardeners forgot to pull and I probably have missed a couple that they did pull.
Most of today's harvest was given to the hard working gardeners.
My wife watered the front yard tomato plants in the evening.
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