How Does Your Garden Grow

How Does Your Garden Grow? Perhaps you are like Mary in the old nursery rhyme and have a flower garden with “silver bells all in a row” or perhaps you are more like me and have a vegetable garden with tomato plants growing all in a row . It’s a nice day so let’s go outside and I will show you my garden of tomatoes, peppers, shallots and herbs…everything you might need to make a delicious summer meal featuring garden fresh ingredients.

How Does Your Garden Grow…With Tomato Plants All In A Row

I’m reminded of the old nursery rhyme when I look to see how my garden is growing. There are no silver bells like Mary had in hers but I do have beautiful lilies growing outside the picket fence surrounding the vegetable garden.

Beautiful Lilies, The Color Of Sunshine

Soft Pink Lily With Drops Of Morning Dew Still Clinging To The Petals

Once inside the gate, you will see that my garden is planted in four neat rows.

Inside The Garden Are Four Rows Planted With Tomatoes, Peppers And Shallots

The first row of the garden is planted with four Italian frying pepper plants and shallots on either side of them.  You may notice in the photo above that the shallots on the right side have remained small as has one of the pepper plants. Something must be lacking in the soil on that end even though all the plants have been fertilized equally. There is always a mystery when growing plants…some do well and others don’t even when grown under the same conditions.

Italian Frying Pepper Plants And Shallots

The three other rows are dedicated to five varieties of large heirloom slicing tomatoes and three varieties of cherry tomatoes.

Heirloom Tomatoes Starting To Ripen In The Warm Summer Sun

In New Hampshire, it is suggested to plant a vegetable garden around the 30th of May after all threat of frost has passed. In the 70 days since the garden was planted, it has been interesting to watch the plants grow from tiny seedlings that I raised in my potting shed until now.  For the first few weeks of the growing season, we had morning and evening  temperatures that hovered in the high 40’s and low 50’s which can sometimes stunt a plant. Even with being fertilized with lobster compost this year, the tomato and pepper plants have remained smaller than in past years. While the cherry tomato plants tower over me, the heirloom tomato plants have barely grown over their four foot cages. That is much smaller than the six feet they have grown to in years past.

The Tomato Plants Differ In Size, The Cherries Are Over Six Feet While The Heirlooms Are Barely Four Feet Tall

One problem that has occurred with the tomato plants throughout this growing season has been persistent leaf curl. You may have noticed it in the photos above and can see it more clearly below. Thankfully it doesn’t seem to affect the tomatoes that are ripening.

Leaf Curl On The Heirloom Tomato Plant

While the branches have been kept at least a foot off the ground, a recent development has been some spotting of the leaves. Those are being cut off with scissors that I dip into a jar of water mixed with bleach as I don’t want any problems to spread from one plant to the next if I can prevent it.

Leaves That Develop Spots Are Cut Off To Help Prevent The Spreading Of Disease

Even with a few problems, there is a nice crop of tomatoes on each plant. The cherry varieties have ripened first. We are patiently waiting for the large slicing tomatoes to follow suit, it shouldn’t be much longer.

Black Cherry Tomatoes

Patiently Waiting For Tomatoes To Ripen

Off to one side of the garden, I also have a four foot square raised box where I grow parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, tarragon and basil. A day doesn’t go by that I’m not out in the early evening cutting fresh herbs for that night’s dinner.

Herb Box Planted With Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Tarragon And Basil

The crop will be smaller than usual this year but there will certainly be enough tomatoes for the two of us to enjoy in our daily meals. While we are waiting for the large tomatoes to fully ripen, we are using the cherry tomatoes in many dishes. One of my favorites is Spaghetti alla Portofino, you can find the recipe here.

Spaghetti Alla Portofino

Now that you have seen how my garden grows, I’d love to know what you are growing if you have a garden. Do you have vegetables or a cutting garden so that you can have fresh flowers in your home…perhaps you are even like Mary and have “silver bells all in a row”.