Working Like a Farmer - e-i-e-i-OOOOO!

There has been something of a lull in the veggie garden, which has been nice. But this past weekend it was time to tie up the wandering fruits and vegetables; the cukes, the watermelon, the squash and zuchinni, and the tomatoes - of course the tomatoes! In addition, there was the compost to attend to, which is now LOADED with worms! (more about worms later).

For the tomatoes, I used spiral cages that I've had for a few years. I think they're really cool. Since the Early Girl tomatoes are now bearing fruit, I anticipate they will be producing yummy tomatoes really soon. As for the other two, the Pineapple Tomatoes and the Romas, they still have a way to go and the Romas are really tall! The spiral cages are excellent to grow with the natural direction of the plant. See "Tomato Staking. "
I have marigolds, chives and basil planted with the tomatoes a la companion planting guidelines. So far, the basil is bearing the brunt of the beetle attack, which is fine. I just want to keep the tomatoes protected.
A lot of people talk about pinching or pruning their tomatoes, but I don't do that. Once the fruit ripens and is removed, I will pinch off that stalk, but otherwise I just let them grow on their own schedule. There are a lot of opinions about whether to prune or not, but I'll leave that to the experts and just do what works for me. I'm not trying to sell tomatoes or anything, so I'm not too concerned.

The watermelon and cucumbers are climbing up a nice, white trellis which makes the garden look very cottage-like. In between them are marigolds to keep cucumber bugs away (so far so good) Marigolds are generally a good companion for just about any fruit or vegetable garden.

For the squash and zuchinni, I didn't have any more cage-type, trellis-type things, so I made one out of sticks and hemp string. Really, I did.

After all of that was done, I prepared to spread the compost. I have a brand new batch which has been cooking since last summer and it's good and ready and full of worms! The next post will be more about vermicomposting.