March 23, 2011 - See What I Won!



Fiona, at Rowangarth Farm, Had a contest on Valentine's Day, and I won!


I received the book, the seeds and a lovely handmade book marker in the mail today. Thank you, Fiona. I'll be sure to plant carrots with my tomatoes this year!


I had another full day out in the garden today. I dug out all my strawberries. That bed was so matted with plants....last year, their second year, should have been their best year. Instead, they got so many runners I couldn't keep up with them, and the berry production largely went to slugs. I separated out a few young starts, and replanted the bed. I didn't put many plants back in, just a dozen, leaving room for new runners to fill in. I'm changing my strategy on that bed, planting two rows, let three rows fill in with runners, then dig out the original two rows next year and let the 3 rows run. The following year I'll dig out those three rows and let the remaining ones run, effectively renewing the bed each year. I just have to remember which rows are the older ones! These are day neutral everbearing, so the new plants are quite productive. I hope.

I finished hoeing out grass and weeds from the north garden, then raked it all clean. Annie and Otto both got into the newly planted strawberry bed, so I decided it was time to install the 50' of plastic fencing I bought this week. I stretched it tight to the posts, and Mr. Granny used cable ties to hold it in place. It looks good, it's virtually invisible. Now the only way to get in the north garden is to either go through the shed or through the kennel gate. Or so I thought. I looked out just a few minutes ago, and Annie was in the garden! I thought maybe she'd got in there when I had the gate open, so I opened the gate and called her to come out. Instead of going through the gate, she just pushed her nose under the new plastic fencing and came out underneath it! Now I'm going to have to figure out something to pin the plastic fabric down to the ground.


Anyway, the north garden is all cleaned up and ready for spring planting, with the exception of the pole bean bed. It still needs some compost, then it will be ready, too. Tomorrow I'll work on sprucing up the kennel garden.



Tomato Buckets



I've had several people ask why I use those five-gallon buckets in my garden.

I use the five gallon sized BOTTOMLESS buckets for my tomatoes, simply to raise them up off the ground. That way I can plant crops (like lettuce, spinach, carrots, bush beans, etc)in the same bed, and they're not smothered by tomato foliage. In other areas of the yard, I use them to raise the tomato plants high enough that they aren't hit by the lawn sprinklers. I do fill the buckets with fresh compost rich soil and several amendments before planting my home grown plants. The buckets also make the plants really easy to hand water with the hose. I do build a trellising system for them, as the buckets alone would topple from the weight of the mature plants.

From my blog of July 1, 2010:


So many people ask why I plant my tomatoes in buckets. This is one reason why. There are four indeterminate tomato plants, in buckets, behind this row of green beans. On the other side of the tomato buckets are two rows of mature lettuce. The bed is only 8-feet long and 4-feet wide. If the tomatoes were planted directly in the ground, there would be no room for all these beans and lettuce plants, as the tomatoes would be crowding them out. I'm picking nearly 2 pounds of beans from this bed every other day. That makes using buckets for the tomatoes very worthwhile!

Photos from my blog of August 4, 2010, showing how other plants can survive underneath the bucket planted tomatoes.


Flowers blooming in front of the buckets. There are lawn sprinklers here, but the buckets keep the tomato foliage from being sprayed, while the plants still get watered.


Notice how the plants are staked right through the middle of the buckets, and the tops of the stakes are screwed right into the eaves of the building. Even though the tap roots go down into the soil below these bottomless buckets, they are still easily toppled by their sheer weight or a strong gust of wind. They must be safely secured to something.



23 comments:

  1. I've been reading your blog for a while now, so how come I don't remember reading anything about tomatoes in bottomless buckets before? I probably wasn't paying close enough attention.

    Thanks for pointing it out. I'm thinking I might try this. I need more room for crops, even with the two big raised beds I have.

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  2. That reminds me that you have another book due to come your way. It hasn't even been mailed yet due partially to laziness and partially to a sick child. It's addressed and ready to go, I swear!

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  3. Oh your bucket idea for the tomatoes is excellent...I'm going to give it a try...I was going to plant in beds next to the fencing in the garden...but I like your idea so much better!

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  4. That bucket idea is brilliant!

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  5. Thanks for the information on the tomato buckets...I think I'll try that with my indeterminates....

    And my dog, Carly, finds a way under the fence no matter how many times we anchor it to the ground....good luck with Annie :)

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  6. That sounds like a fun book to read. I think I might have read it years ago. Hmm I wonder if this is why I've planted carrots in front of my tomatoes? No clue if it is.

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  7. Glad to hear you finally received the package, Granny -- enjoy!

    Your garden cleanup is sounding/looking great! My garden is still buried under snow, which is kinda ok as I'm not sure I'm going to like what I find when it all melts!
    The story about Annie made me giggle -- thanks for that!
    Your tomato buckets are super neat. I've got loads of growing space, but the tomato plants still get unruly and top-heavy. Looks like you've got a great system going!

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  8. Great post! And congratulations on winning. Awesome idea for planting the tomatoes in the buckets. I got tons if buckets off freecycle, and now I know what I'll do with them! Thank you!

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  9. Alison, sit up and pay attention! LOL!

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    Jimmycrackedcorn, I've had sick kids before, they come first!

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    Lynda, I do my cucumbers in them, too. Just set them next to the fence and let them climb wherever. My indeterminates were planted in them last year, too. I just slid each bucket over a metal fence post, which held the buckets securely. Can't do that this year, as there's fencing on the posts. Maybe I'll pound in more posts ;-)

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    Kaytee, the idea was born from failed "Self Watering Buckets". They didn't work for me, and I had to do something with those 12 empty buckets!

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    Deb, you're welcome.

    Annie's name, when we bought her, was Dini. Short for Houdini :-D As tubby as she is, I'm surprised she could get under the fencing!

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    Daphne, the book is quoted a lot. I'm surprised I didn't have it in my "library". My library of six gardening books, that is ;-)

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  10. Fiona, thank you so much! As soon as I get off this computer, I'm going to do some reading. Oh, some tomato planting, too!

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    fitsandstarts, I cut the hole in the bottom, leaving an inch or so rim around the edge. I drill 3 holes for the wire legs of the tomato cages to go through, down into the ground, which also gives more stability. Then I wire a second (cone shaped) cage upside down onto the lower cage. I drive the support stake down the middle of the bucket, and tie the legs of the top cage to the stake, tepee style. Then I attach the stake to something secure, like the eaves of the house.

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  11. Granny, I had planned to use your idea for the bottomless buckets for my tomatoes in one spot in my garden. I have been looking at the plans for several days wondering if I could grow carrots in the spots around the buckets. Thanks to your post I don't need to ponder any longer. THANKS!!

    I love learning NEW things!

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  12. Granny, I have a dumb question. How do you remove the bottoms of the buckets? Do you use a really strong razor blade? That plastic is really thick! Those tomato plants look so healthy! Wow and wow!

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  13. That Annie is sure a sneak!
    Well, best of luck keeping her out of the garden. Perhaps some of those big staples?

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  14. That's a great book! It's one of two that I use for reference.

    It sounds like you had another productive day in the garden! When the weather breaks, you will have to come out here and help me catch up!!

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  15. I love how you emphasized BOTTOMLESS, LOL, remember my bucket adventures last year? Yep, as soon as you told me I was out there sawing out the bottoms with the plants still in them, I acted fast and saved at least half of them, thanks Gran, I will be much wiser this year!

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  16. Granny, First Time poster - love you blog and this is a great idea! Thanks for sharing it.

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  17. Ya know Granny, you are making me want to try this bucket thing. Just 5 gallon buckets with the bottoms removed huh? How to you cut out the bottoms? See,s like a job that may end up with a trip for stiches to me! :)

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  18. That's brilliant!! I had read about the buckets but forgotten how you made them. Now, I only need about 25 more buckets and 10 more garden beds and I'll be set! :)

    My red lab, Layla, was forever getting under our fence. We finally figured out to use chicken wire or rabbit fencing and zip tie it to the bottom 10" of fencing and then it makes an 'L' shape that spreads onto the ground in front of the fence and that deters her from digging new holes or picking it up and sliding underneath it. (So glad dogs don't have fingers!!)

    I just responded to an offer on GW for some unknown strawberry plants. Will be my first time growing them. The raspberry plants I received from a freecycler last year didn't make it. Not due to the winter weather, mind you, but due to my dogs thinking I'd planted them to be extra special chew toys just for them! You'd think the thorns would have stopped that but nooooooooooooooo... So I'll be looking for more raspberry and blackberry plants this year. Maybe by NEXT year we'll actually have some home grown berries!

    Your garden is looking GREAT! You're way ahead of me but that's not unusual. :P I'll finally be planting my peas, lettuce and spinach today. (yay!)

    Hugs to you!
    ~Wendy

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  19. Debbie, don't forget....Carrots Love Tomatoes! That's what the book says ;-)

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    Sue & Wendy, that "fencing" is real flexible, and where she went under was where I had trimmed it to ground level with the scissors. I probably should have just left that 4" flap, but I was afraid Mr. Granny would catch it in the lawnmower. I'll try to find some wire hangers and make some long pins to hold it down.

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    Robin, I'll catch the next flight out. Tell The Italian to have diner ready ;-)

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    Erin, I remember that! It was funny, but NOT!

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    David, thank you! And welcome to my blog.

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    Meems & Kelly, bucket cutting post on the blog tonight, OK?

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  20. Ok, another silly question, where do you get the 5 gallon buckets? Seems like a good idea, now that you explained how they work!

    As always, a treat to read your blogs!

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  21. Random, my oldest daughter is a manager at McDonalds, and they had a bunch of them that they stored their old French fry oil in (I had to clean them one at a time in the dishwasher!). She gave me a dozen buckets. I'd hate to have to buy them, I think they're about $5 each at Lowe's or Home Depot. You might try Craig's List or Freecycle.

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  22. woohoo! congrats on your win!=)

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  23. Every time I see your garden in the summer I want to hang my head in shame.

    Then again, we're still eating off of your chocolate zucchini muffins and those kids haven't got a clue.

    Rock on, Granny!

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