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Tomato Blooms, Corn, and Harvests

Posted on April 28, 2010 at 12:03 AM

I finally purchased the potting soil I needed on Sunday, which allowed me to finish planting the super early Siletz tomatoes into their permanent container homes and to repot several others of the remaining tomato plants that were in smaller containers and needed room.   There were a total of five super early started Siletz tomatoes that I have been giving extra care and attention to since late winter.   One of them is extra and will be given away along with the rest of the many remaining tomatoes.   Four of them are now planted into permanent containers, which for the time being are sitting in the greenhouse (they are the ones with the round tomato supports).                             

             

   

   

These plants will be moved outside when the summer weather really arrives.   In the meantime, they will stay put in the warmth and protection of the greenhouse.   I am happy to report that this evening I noticed my hard work to get these plants going extra early appears to be paying off.   Check this out!   The largest plant has several blossoms and two that were fully opened!                                       

                      

   

 

In addition to getting the tomatoes attended to, I also planted the corn patch on Sunday.   I have two 4 foot by 12 foot beds planted up in corn.   One has Precocious and the other has Bodacious planted in them.   Here’s the bed of Bodacious plants.                                                 

         

       

 

Notice that there is an area in the center of the bed that was purposefully left unplanted.   In a few weeks, I will transplant the Early Butternut squash there so it can grow intercropped with the corn.   I will also be planting pinto beans in these beds this coming week, which is a half runner dry bean.   Combined the corn, squash, and beans are a variation of the three sisters planting concept.            

       

Tonight I harvested over a half pound of pac choi, which was used in a tasty stir-fry dinner.   Saturday I harvested a nice selection of spring greens - several types of lettuces (Super Gourmet Blend and Merlot) and some baby spinach leaves.      

           

 

  

The spinach patch is finally coming into it’s own and I will be harvesting much larger amounts of it in the weeks to come.   That makes me pretty happy as I love fresh spinach and because my overwintered patch failed me this year, I had to wait for the spring planted crop to come along to enjoy it.   The wait is over though!

Categories: Transplanting, Vegetables, Harvesting

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9 Comments

Reply Daphne
08:58 AM on April 28, 2010 
I think half runner beans is the way to go. I tried to use Trail of Tears but that grows so vigorously it swamped my corn. Some year I may try a three sisters planting again.
Reply hsheather
09:27 AM on April 28, 2010 
I love the idea of planting the butternuts with the corn. I'm planting corn for the first time this year. If I run out of space in the rest of the garden, that may be a good solution.
Reply Thomas
09:44 AM on April 28, 2010 
Nice! You'll be enjoy tomatoes in no time. what sized pot did you plant t them in?

I can't wait to grow corn this year. It's a veggie that gets a bad rap but stays with you from childhood. What kid wouldn't love to have a nice little corn patch?
Reply Dan
12:00 AM on April 29, 2010 
Congrats on the tomato blooms! I am thinking of planting out my Siletz this weekend. I will look forward to watching the three sisters grow, such a neat planting method. I am growing peas fallowed by squash this year. Kind of companion plant except the peas will pretty much be done when the squash starts growing.
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
12:19 AM on April 29, 2010 
Daphne - That has been my experience with the three sisters planting before too. I am trying it again but doing two things differently - 1) using the half runner beans for the very reason you pointed out of the other beans over running the corn, and 2) I am staggering the plantings so that the corn gets a real head start, then the beans, and then the squash.

hsheather - That is what prompted me to give the three sisters another try. I wanted the winter squash but did not want to tie up more garden bed than I already had planned out.

Thomas - I wish I could remember the pot sizes to tell you! I would have to go turn them over to find out as it is imprinted on the bottom. These are pots that my sister gave me around Christmas time - they are all used beautiful big nursery pots. The larger ones are almost as big as the half barrel containers.

Dan - Just about any crop following peas just thrives - at least that is my experience. They are one of the best soil improving crops to be had. Tasty too!
Reply Mike
08:58 AM on April 29, 2010 
I am looking forward to seeing how your three sisters section does. We are always growing beans with other crops, especially tomatoes and corn but I have never been brave enough to add squash to the mix...they are so heavy. Your salad looks divine.:)
Reply Richard
11:32 AM on April 29, 2010 
Everything looks fantastic! Where did you get your Siletz tomato seeds from? I wouldn't mind trying that variety. Also, would you recommend planting your winter squashes between your corn rows if you are using a square foot gardening method? Or do you think it would be too close for comfort for the squash?

Sort of like this....
Corn Row
Squash between rows
Corn row
Squash between rows
Corn row
Reply kitsapfreedomgardener
10:51 PM on April 29, 2010 
Mike - My previous three sister's attempts have been less than spectacular but I think I have isolated the various problems and have taken different approaches accordingly - hopefully this time around will be more productive.

Richard - I purchase most of my seeds from Territorial Seed Co. including the Siletz tomatoes. If I understand your spacing idea correctly I think you would be too closely spaced and there would be too many squash plants. There should be only one or two squash plants per a very large area because they sprawl over a huge footprint of garden area and create an understory to the corn. If the beans are not planted soon enough and allowed to get sized up before the squash get's really growing - they will be smothered. It's a bit of a delicate balancing act to get it all working correctly. I will keep posting about this process as the season progresses as I know several people are interested in the subject.
Reply Richard
11:36 PM on April 29, 2010 
I'm definitely going to have to check out the seed company. Thanks for information. After staring at my corn patch, I definitely have to agree with you. It would be far too close for comfort. Next year, however, may be a different story. I appreciate the advice.