Tomatoes

            They are the staple of the garden. They are the most plentiful of garden and homestead crops. The only problem is determining which variety to grow and how much you want. Growing a good tomato requires diligence and hard work, but the rewards can be immense. Three or four plants can yield more tomatoes than you can eat all year and many people love to share. I’ll talk more about some ideas for growing tomatoes in a later blog.

            My experience with tomatoes is up and down. I’ve only grown two varieties, Beefeaters and Roma. I am a huge fan of Roma tomatoes. I love the flavor raw or cooked. I love the size. And they couldn’t be easier to grow as the plant doesn’t spread as much as others.

            The Beefeater is another story. The plant grows very large and continues to spread all summer and into fall here in Kern County. You have to continually clip the new growth or your tomatoes will be small and sad. They also have a nasty habit of splitting when temperatures get high.

            This year I am going another way. I bought a few different varieties from Burpee’s catalogue just for fun. In the past, I’ve always bought the small plants so growing from seed is new. So what am I planting?

            Black Truffle tomatoes are from Japan and are grown a lot in Russia. They are pear shaped, but not real big. Apparently they have a sweet, yet acidic flavor. They are supposed to grow very well in my area.

            Brandywine Pink tomatoes are usually ready later in the season. Their taste is supposedly sweeter than a normal tomato (they are a fruit, after all). I got the heirloom variety because I am told the flavors are much bolder in heirlooms. Also, I want to collect the seed myself.

            Now, I may throw some Big Boy or some other variety in later. But I am very interested in how these will pan out. I planted 15 seed plugs and am still waiting from some sprouts. I’ll keep you posted.

Root Cellars

If you have a root cellar, count yourself blessed. Here in Bakersfield, CA, root cellars and basements are rare. You see them from time to time in the older houses (my grandma had a large root cellar), but rarely in the newer homes. When I lived in Wyoming, almost every home had basement space and many had either sectioned off space in the basement for storing canned goods or they had hand dug root cellars in a corner of the backyard somewhere.  

Why do you need a root cellar? It’s like a refrigerator for your produce and greens. Temperatures just a few feet underground hover around 55°F. That is great for potatoes, carrots, onion, lettuce, etc. They can last for months over winter or summer in that type of environment. It can also be used as storage space for you “back-up” food if you are the forward-thinking prepper-type.

You really don’t need a ton of space. An unused corner of the lot or an unused RV area would suffice.  It may even add to the value of your home if installed properly.

I recently downloaded and read a great little tome on building your own root cellar. It is old and probably outdated, but the information is solid. Using the book Building Your Own Underground Root Cellar, you can build a 8 foot by 12 foot root cellar by hand-digging a hole, lining it with cinder block, creating a cement floor and placing a reinforced roof covered in sod over the top. A couple of weekends would be enough to get it done. Be warned, it was written in 1983 and the cost of some of the materials has increased. Also, it may not jive with local ordinances and may require a permit. And for crying out loud, careful where you dig, right? There may be gas or sewer pipes down there.

“But that cellar is ugly!” “I have kids and they would play in it!” True, but what if you built a small shed over it? You could very easily disguise the cellar or the entrance so no one would even know it was there. How about digging out from underneath an existing shed?

If you have the money and the time, a root cellar can be a great benefit. You can store your produce. You can make your own cheese (cool, right?). You can store all the food you’ve canned. You can store your “just in case” food. It really can be a valuable asset.

What To Grow?

"What should I grow this year?" The question every good gardener asks themselves this time of year. It's a good question, especially when you have limited space. What are some of the things you like? How about your family? How much can you use? Will it go bad before you can use it?

Last year I grew some white onions and some purple onions. Roughly 30 of each. Some of the white ones I grew in clumps so they would stay small and others spaced out so they would become bulbs. The problem was I am the only one in my house that eats onions. The wife will eat a little, but not much. So even though I hung them in a mesh bag in a shady spot outside, they all sprouted before I could use them.

I also grew carrots, but since I didn't stagger their planting, they pretty much all were ready at the same time. Pickles grew well, but with only a few vines there weren't many ready to pickle/can at the same time. And corn, oh how I hate growing corn.

So think about what you can eat and what you want to eat. If you don't like okra, don't grow it unless you now someone who will eat it. Don't grow 10 tomato plants unless you want a lot of tomatoes. Don't grow watermelon or pumpkins unless you have a lot of space for the sprawling vines.

My suggestion is to take a look at the The Vegetable Garden Planner put out by Mother Earth News. It can really help. It costs like $30 a year, but there is a 2-week free trial. Design your garden space and fill it with vegetables. There is tons of information about various varieties of crops you could plant.

Careful planning now can really pay off.

Why Blog?

Why am I reluctant to be a homesteader? I love gardening. I love building things. I love working outside. I love almost everything about the homesteader lifestyle. However, I have several problems with becoming a true homesteader.

#1. I don’t live on a homestead. I live in Bakersfield, CA, on a small lot, with a family that is not all that keen on vegetables.

#2. I like my career. I’m a science teacher. I really love the job too much to give it up so I can devote my life to living off the land.

#3. As stated earlier, I live in California. Unless you have a sizeable bankroll, you’re not buying arable land. Heck, you’re not buying desert land without a pretty good sized wad of cash.

So now you know why I call it the “reluctant” homesteader. I won’t be slaughtering my own cows or pooping in a bucket for fertilizer. What I will be doing is working what small property I have, growing things I like to eat (and share) and experimenting with various growing techniques.

My setup so far includes two, large raised beds filled with potting soil, sand and a little native soil. One has been used for several years, one is new this year. I also have several patches of dirt that has been worked in the past and several containers. I make my own compost, but I am not above buying fertilizer from Home Depot when necessary.

I have quite a few books on homesteading, gardening and sustainability. I have a Masters Degree in Plant Pathology (didn’t see that one coming, did you) and a sincere love of the art and science of growing things from seed to seeds. Over time, I will update you on what I am doing on my own little “homestead” and giving you good resources for working yours, now or in the future.