A Little Green Patch

They live on!

Thanks to a couple folks on Twitter, and some resources I found by Googling, it has was determined (by almost complete speculation) that the problem with my tomatoes was/is either Early Blight (a fungus) or Bacterial Speck. From what I read, there are 3 solutions:

1. Prevention. Firstly, don’t pretend to be a rain cloud and spray water on your plant’s leaves. Also, some plant diseases can be prevented by using a copper spray, or something called Serenade (both safe for organic use).
2. Destroy the infected plants.
3. Remove the infected parts of the plant, and implement prevention methods.

I only have three tomato plants, so I’m certainly not going to destroy them. I’m opting for course #3 since #1 is already out the window.

I trimmed off any leaves and shoots that showed signs of the ailment (decided not to compost these), and have been taking special care to keep all the leaves dry when watering. So far, my tomatoes look healthy for the most part. There are a few small areas that are still showing yellow/brown spots, but it doesn’t seem to be spreading so I’m not as concerned. I went ahead and ordered some Serenade, too, hoping that it’ll provide a little help.

I’m also happy to report that fruits are beginning to appear (as shown in the above photo)! As of today, 6 tomatoes are beginning to bulge out. Disaster averted? We’ll see.

Today, I planted the first round of vegetable seeds: Carrots, Snap Peas, Sweet Peas, Pole Beans, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, and Cucumbers. I also started a few others inside: Cauliflower, Sweet (Bell) Peppers, and a different heirloom tomato variety. I hope to see some sprouts soon!

Uh oh.

My tomatoes look sick. I’m particularly disturbed by this because it’s almost certainly my fault.

A few days ago, I came home from work to the saddest looking tomato plants I, maybe anyone, has ever seen. Their leaves were wilted and droopy, their stalks limp and sulking. It was obvious that I didn’t give them enough water, and I was determined to rectify the situation. I saturated the plants’ roots, watching as the water seeped into the soil, then adding a little more. I could almost hear them swallowing large gulps, expecting to hear a long “Ahhhhh…” when they’d had their fill.

The next morning, my plants were bright and perky again. I felt like I had done something right! But there was a problem. Just before I went inside the previous evening, I had a thought. Trying to act as Mother Nature, I decided to simulate a rain shower by sprinkling water all over the vegetable bed. “There, that’s just what they needed.”

Bad idea.

Apparently, you should avoid getting a tomato plant’s leaves wet, especially in the evenings, as they become more susceptible to fungus and bacteria. It seems I may have given some nasty parasite a free ticket to infect my poor tomatoes. The photo above is what I saw when I went to check my plants at lunch today. Time to figure out what this is and how to fix it.

The first few days.

I’ve finally started my garden. It isn’t so much a garden yet in any real sense of the word, but it is my first step into that world.

On Saturday, I woke up early and started thinking about how I’d construct my new garden. But first thing’s first on a Saturday as beautiful as this: the farmers’ market! While I was there, I picked up 3 small tomato plants and a Louisiana Hamlin orange tree (I figured, “why not?”). I was most excited to grow tomatoes, which is why I bought the plants, everything else I’ll plant from seed or just figure out later.

In my tiny two-door Civic, it took me several trips to the home improvement store to gather everything I’d need for this project. I bought three 8-foot cedar boards (who knew you could fit that in a Civic?), some cedar 1x2 furring strips, and a box of screws for the frame. I also got several hundred pounds each of peat humus and cow manure to amend to my ugly heavy clay soil, which took me two more trips to haul home. Maybe I should get a truck.

When I finally got home I set to work cutting the lumber and building a sturdy frame for my raised bed. I decided on a 4-foot by 8-foot bed, hoping it would be enough space for a lot of plants, but not so much that the amount of work required was enough to exhaust me on my very first effort.

You may have noticed by now I have a tendency to do things backwards. I bought plants before I had a place to plant them, and I built a frame before I even had a hole on which to place it. Next time, I’ll plan better.

I spent the rest of the day digging a 6-inch-deep hole in my back yard and breaking up the huge, dense chunks of clay it produced. The next day, I was able to mix in the humus and manure I’d purchased, giving me 12 inches of hopefully hospitable soil for the garden’s future green inhabitants. As the sun began to set, I planted my three tomato plants darn near the direct center of the patch. I hope that decision won’t come back to bite me. I gave my new friends a big drink of water and called it a weekend.

A little backstory.

As I have committed to publishing this blog for all the world to see, I suppose it is my responsibility to provide some context on which this journal will be based.

My name is David. I’m a 26-year-old web designer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A little over a year ago, I decided I wanted to garden. At the time, I lived in a two-bedroom apartment with my best friend, Matt, and my dog, Dakota. With a balcony that spent the entire day in shade and a strict management-imposed “no potted plants by the front door” policy, my gardening options were limited to say the least. I tried my luck with a few herbs in the windowsill, and even sent several brave plants to fight for their lives on the sunless balcony. Everything died.

A few months later, I bought a house in a small neighboring town; it sits on a half-acre that backs up to a farm. I moved into the house just a couple weeks before Summer. With all the work that goes into establishing a new home (I’m still not done!), the time just wasn’t right to start a garden.

When it finally began to warm late this past Winter and I had to roll out the mower to give the lawn its first cutting of the year, I knew it was time to begin the garden I had been looking forward to. Spring is here, and it’s time to get planting.

The Goal:

The aim for my first garden is to create and maintain a small patch of organically grown vegetables. In my first attempt, I will not be limiting myself to planting only organic plants or seeds, though many still will be. However, I will not utilize any chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers, opting instead to practice strictly organic methods in the garden.

A secondary goal of this project is this journal you are now reading. My hope is that by documenting my first steps into the gardening universe, I might more easily learn from the successes and failures I experience. In addition, I hope that by committing to write this journal, I might somehow be held accountable by it. I have a history dotted with projects’ false starts, but I’d really like to see this one through.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me at david@alittlegreenpatch.com. Thanks for reading!