Spring break has meant a chance to
putter around perform needed maintenance in the garden, and a little time to write about what we've planted so far. Over the coming days we'll talk about the mix of edible (both ground crops and tree fruit) and native plants and trees we've planted, so far. We'll also write about our compost bins.
Our most prolific crop, so far, is the plum/Roma tomato plant we got in the fall...
It has been producing fruit continuously, and spreading uncontrollably over the ground, some coral boulders and one poor lime tree (up to eight feet in some directions!). The picture, above, shows a typical harvest. The fruit have been incredibly sweet. We did not amend the soil, nor did we use any fertilizer or pesticides. Our success is all the more remarkable considering that our limestone-rich soil is more alkaline than tomatoes are supposed to like.
We have four or five types of tomato plants, which have all grown together into an unwieldy mess. Next time, we'll plant them farther from each other, and use sturdier vertical supports. Here is an heirloom tomato that gotten entangled with the plum or Roma.
The most interesting varieties are the Purple Cherokee (left) and Green Zebra tomatoes, two of the varieties we got from Dylan Terry of
Ready-to-Grow Gardens.
The vines have eluded all attempts at staking, with some growing up to eight feet long and stretching across the coral rock to the house. It's a very picturesque effect, but it makes harvesting a little complicated.
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