The weatherman had predicted nearly 100% chance of rain for yesterday, slightly less of a chance today. We didn't get a drop, so to the garden I went after work today. Last week, we bought 100 feet of soaker hose and watered the rows where we'd planted the butterbeans (they're coming up fairly well now). The hose was still on the butterbean rows, so I gave them another drink before I started working my way across the garden, 1.25 rows at a time (the rows are about 75 feet long, so the hose gets looped part of the way up the next row).
I did the butterbeans, the 3 rows of purple hull peas, skipped the pepper row, and did the first tomato row. Also gave the squash and green bean rows a squirt, but they'll need more tomorrow,. Got one more row of tomatoes to do, too.
I probably won't water the cucumbers. They seem to be doing fine. I surrounded the hills with cardboard when the plants were little, and the soil is still fairly moist under the cardboard. It surely is doing a good job keeping the weeds down. The cucumber vines reach for the tomatoes and green beans every day, and every day I peel them back and toss them back on the pile.
Got my first harvest today.
I picked that ripe tomato today so the critters don't get it. Another one will be ready tomorrow. Tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches for supper tomorrow!
Speaking of tomatoes, look at these boys and girls:
They are LOADED with fruit. And fairly blight-free at the moment. I sprayed a couple more plants with peroxide water this afternoon - one of them was actually the one I sprayed this weekend - and may just spray them all tomorrow or Thursday. Some of them are about to out-grow the fence, but maybe they can be trained to grow sideways.
Two varieties we grew from seedlings - San Marzano and Defiant. The Defiant plants are probably the ones in the picture. I say "probably" because we had three people planting tomatoes on planting day, and I don't know who planted what where. Defiants are supposed to be blight resistant, but I'm not sure they're doing any better than the other varieties. They are determinate tomatoes. I wanted to have a bunch of tomatoes come in at once so that it's worth the effort to fire up the canner.
The first ripe tomato came from an Early Girl. They are indeterminate, and I'm counting on them to keep us in tomato sandwiches all summer.
There are some Big Better Beefy Boys in the mix. I forget the right name. I can hardly wait to lay a slab on a plate, next to some home-made biscuits and gravy. ;)
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