While the gardener is away

This garden blogger recently returned from a vacation to central New York and Vermont. Congratulations are in order for one blog reader. I wish you best of luck in this “fearful gamble…into that love which is not possession, but participation.”* Thank you for your kind words regarding these assorted ramblings.

In my absence, the garden has faired quite well. The vegetable garden received what was probably an overabundance of reclaimed water from the drip irrigation system, some potted herbs received water from a substitute gardener (thanks Dad), but everything else including the habitat garden and the squash hill survived with a just a small amount of natural rainfall.

The heirloom tomatoes are quite vigorous and the Black Krim has a couple of green fruits. It is traditional to stake or cage tomatoes, but I haven’t quite decided what I will do. I did put in a few stakes, thinking I might try the stake and weave method, but since the fruit is staying up off the ground I might just let them grow naturally. While on vacation, I saw some tomato spirals that were quite attractive and would be much easier than stake and weave. How do you keep your tomato plants off the ground? Does it help?

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*From Irrational Season by Madeleine L'Engle