Winter tomatoes

I was able to source some seeds for winter-growing tomatoes.  I planted them back in January and have now planted the seedlings out.  Some are in this bed in the greenhouse, which I part-filled using the no-dig layering method.  Others I have planted in the vegetable garden.  I am skeptical about the future of the outside ones, given the frosts we have here in the valley.  

No-dig garden.

Layer one:  several layers of overlapped newspaper.

Wet each layer well as it is added.

Layer Two:  straw

Layer Three: animal manure.

Layers Four, Five, Six (as many as you want): repeat of previous layers.

Each seedling is planted in compost, nestled in the top straw layer and watered in well with seaweed extract.

The smell

When I went in to water in the Fat Fruit Greenhouse yesterday, my nose was assailed by an unmistakable smell...

ripe melon!

It was so ripe, it had begun to split.

Inside it was juicy, sweet and full of flavour.

 Unfortunately, it was a bit on the small size.  There is a lesson to be learned for the gardener here.  There were two melon plants in a large pot. Although well watered, they were not often fed.  Pollinators had trouble finding the flowers inside the greenhouse.






So next time I will:

• Have one plant to a pot
• Feed weekly with fish emulsion and seaweed extract (alternate weeks)
• Get to work with a small paint brush to pollinate the flowers.