How does your garden grow?

It's official!  Our garden has been underway for over a month and everything seems to have taken root and is doing well. (My dad reminded me that he was told many, many years ago never to plant in the Northeast - Boston area - before May 15th...EVER!)

Notice the container is newspaper

I'm so fortunate that a friend provides the heirloom tomato plants - 10 in total this year.  She starts her heirloom plants from seed (pictured above) and since she's a true blood yankee she recyles her newspapers to create the planter that will dissolve in the soil.  "Be sure to pull back some of the newspaper to give the roots room to make friends with the soil," she always reminds me.  Her plants are already "hardened off" when I pick them up mid May and so strong that  I haven't even had to tie them to the stake yet.

Here's another tip a friend gave me: notice how the one stem above is horizontal and then the plant bends up.  This is good.  All the little hairs that appear on the stem are actually roots and since tomato plants are vines planting the bending stem under the soil will make the plant sturdier and stronger.

Later last summer

Basil plants are placed in between the tomato plants since I was told by another avid gardener that those plants that go well together as food like to be planted next to each other in the garden. Have to say that tip has worked for me so far.  Plus, there's something so gratifying about going to the garden and picking your dinner.*  Unfortunately, I can not get basil to grow from seed and had to purchase the plants (again) this year. Here's a link to the Backyard Bruchetta recipe featured on the SuperMom101 Show: http://www.supermom101.com/BackyardBruchetta.htm

  

Another avid Italian gardener-friend expressed concern over the lack of bees (some experts are attributing it to the pesticide/herbicide Round Up and genetically modified - GMO - crops, but that's a subject for another day) and suggested this idea if you don't see many bees in your garden.

Take a q-tip and pull out the cotton to create a long needle shaped tool and gently tickle the inside of the flowers on each tomato plant to help pollinate as the bees would do.

Albert Einstein once said: “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination … no more men!”

Would love to hear your gardening trials, tribulations and tips.

Best health always!

*Last year the pole beans didn't fare so well and our oldest quipped, "good thing you don't have to feed the family on those six beans."