keyhole garden and tomatoes

KEYHOLE GARDEN AND TOMATOES

this is a keyhole garden that was made by a fellow workers
husband jim and has been one of the most looked at pictures
on my blog
it gets looks from across the united states and the world

keyhole gardening is one of our defenses against drought conditions

here is one of my two keyhole garden beds
well this one had the keyhole removed
since its small enough i can reach across and work on the
area around the central composter

i recently planted my bell peppers banana peppers jalapeno peppers
egg plants and two tomatoes in this bed
these will last all spring summer and fall until the first freeze next winter

then this is my keyhole garden with the keyhole in it
i filled this old water tank full of hill country garden soil and
layered it with cardboard newspapers compost from the country n chickens
then let it sit for months to cure

i planted my potatoes in this keyhole garden
it has the same square footage as my 4ft x 14ft beds that are in my regular garden
i planted 30 potatoes in this bed and all have grown into plants
the plants are up to the top of my composter now
hopefully well have new potatoes for mothers day here at the country n

i am always trying to figure out ways to plant my tomatoes early and get
them agrowing before the heat hits which seems to be earlier and earlier
each spring
once the heat hits and the nighttime temps get over 72 degrees the tomato
production slows or stops

then if you plant too early the freeze gets them
this seems to happen to my tomatoes every year
maybe not this year

i planted them down in a hole with a cardboard cylinder in there and
gradually let them grow out of the hole
they are now all out of the holes

i use a light row cover over them to protect against insects when they come
they are there just waiting for those warm days to attack

then if cold weather is coming i add a thicker row cover over the
whole bed (thats the white stuff in the picture)

lets keep our fingers crossed this year
just a few more days until all frost risks are gone

then i found this tomato at my favorite nursery the natural gardener
its called a mighty mater

it is a cherokee purple heirloom tomato grafted
(see the white faint ring just above my finger above)
onto the root stock of a tomato thats resistant to many of the
tomato diseases that can hit the tomatoes

the theory is the cherokee purple which produces a purplish
delicious tomato will now be able to grow disease free

so i hoping for a great tomato crop this year
i got an early start of over a month and managed to get through
several frosts
now i just have to beat the heat

but if im successful the rewards are worth it


the organicgreen doctor