Shots from 6-25-14

Another week of splendid growth is incredible. The harvest has truly begun.

Kale, mustard greens, 

beans, and beets(6-25-14)

The squash are getting huge!Their leaves are
drooping because because of the heat(6-25-14)

We had zero cucumbers last week.(6-25-14)

Our Early Girl tomatoes are
looking healthy. (6-25-14)

Two of our finest gardening interns are working hard.(6-25-14)

The reward is colossal Swiss Chard. (6-25-14)

The Marglobes tomatoes are also looking
 marvelous.(6-25-14)

The okra has put on tremendous
 growth in only a week. Look at
last week's post.(6-25-14)

Here are more of our
 tomatoes: staked and suckered.(6-25-14)

These are picture perfect. These tomatoes are
not too shabby for a bunch of Master Gardener
 Interns Volunteers with years worth of
 experience.(6-25-14)

The grape tomatoes are also
 growing splendidly.(6-25-14)

The zinnias are on the left
and mint is on the right.(6-25-14)

Tomato Tending at North Carolina A&T (Weeks of 6-18-14 and 6-25-14)

Below are shots from the farm at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The Guilford County Tomato Festival is nearing and the plants are really coming along.  

Saturday, July 26

8:30 am-2 pm

The University Farm at NC A&T

3136 McConnell Road, Greensboro, NC

(6-18-14)

Each blossom equals a fruit, meaning this cherry
 tomato plant will have a massive crop.(6-25-14)

Mushroom Update

With this being the first year, we are still waiting for our first mushrooms. The spawn should be working its wonders inside each log for a hopeful "run" towards the end of summer. 

Stay tuned! 

(6-25-14)

In this photo, we are watering our logs.(7-2-14)

Do you know about Yacon?

Many have asked about yacon. Well, besides being delicious, it is an Andean root crop. It is in such vogue that even the Wall Street Journal, hardly a gardener’s usual resource, published a story around the same time we planted our three yacon plants. Yet, they are not that easy to find. One of our gardeners acquired our plants from his friend at Milk and Honey Farm in Yadkinville, NC. The plants will stay in the ground until after the first hard frost and the tubers will be harvested. 

(6-25-14)

6-25-14

Sources:
Growing Andean root crops: Yacón (click on link to read more)
WSJ Article On Yacon

Shots from 6-17-14

Each week the garden changes considerably. 

Tall beans need tall gardeners. (6-17-14)

This was the bed planted during the
 Family Gardening Event. It looks
 gorgeous. (6-17-14)

June is a wonderful time of the year for gardening.(6-17-14)

The tomatoes look wonderful and harvesting draws near.(6-17-14)

Three cucumbers are in cages on the left and
 okra is planted to the right.(6-17-14)

These healthy squash plants are days away from their first fruiting.
The squash bugs are unaware of these gems!(6-17-14)

Summer is Just Around the Corner 6-11-14

                                                                 6-11-14

                   With all of the rain and warm weather recently, the garden is without a doubt flourishing!

6-11-14

Look at these beans climb! Compare this picture to the post on May 14, 2014. 

6-11-14

It was harvest time for the beans and the kale!

Harris Teeter is selling these same beans for $1.77 per. lb.

6-11-14

The zinnias were also hollering to be picked. (They should have been picked earlier.) 

Once again, zinnias can be harvested over and over again throughout the season. The trick is to never stop harvesting the flowers once new flowers bloom!

Open this NC Extension link on how the Perry-Winkle Farm harvests zinnias into the fall!

The 5th Annual Guilford County Tomato Festival! Sat Jul 26, 2014

This year's Guilford County Tomato Festival will be held on July 26, 2014. The tomatoes were planted on May 14, 2014 for this event. Check back often to look for updates and to compare the tomatoes at N.C. A&T's farm to ours in the Demonstration Garden.

Saturday, July 26

8:30 am-2 pm

The University Farm at NC A&T

3136 McConnell Road, Greensboro, NC

The tomatoes went in the ground on May 14, 2014.

(The rows are extra wide for mowing and not for production purposes.)

We put in about 15 plants per variety this year, and each wooden stake separates the different varieties. (5-14-14)

We are using a trellising system known as the "Florida Weave System" (read about on pg. 16 of this PDF). (5-28-14)

This year the farm managers showed us a new method to speed up our Florida Weave. The PVC pipe acts as wand and allows one person to complete a row of over 65 tomatoes in less than 10 minutes.  The string is in a box and attaches to the belt. (5-28-14)

(Watch this video to see the Florida Weave in action using a section of PVC. Unlike in the video, we are not weaving between plants. Also, our stakes stick out about six feet.)

The plot as of 6-4-14.

The plot as of 6-11-14. The major tasks at the farm are adding new layers of the Florida Weave, weeding, and suckering. 

What is suckering? 

Do you see the "emerging sucker" in the following picture? Suckering is essentially removing the the "emerging sucker." See the following publications and video on suckering.

Source: http://brunswick.ces.ncsu.edu/2013/06/consider-pruning-your-tomato-plants-to-get-more-fruit-production/

Stay tuned for more updates.

Another Workday 6-4-14

Vegetable gardens do not just appear.

6-4-14

Several EMGVs came out to"tend" the garden.

6-4-14

The Florida Weave trellising method is also used in the Demonstration garden just like on the NC A&T farm.

6-4-14

As we tested the drip irrigation system, two of our EMGVs had to "jump" on a gushing hose before sticking it back together. 

                                                                  6-4-14
Getting the stakes in early for the Florida Weave Method is crucial to avoid disrupting the roots.

See page 16 of Commercial Tomato Production to learn more.

6-4-14

Tomatoes!

Tomato Tending at North Carolina A&T (Week of 7-2-14)

Below are shots from the farm at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The Guilford County Tomato Festival is nearing and the plants are really coming along.  

(7-02-14)

Saturday, July 26

8:30 am-2 pm

The University Farm at NC A&T

3136 McConnell Road, Greensboro, NC

Notice how much they are growing compared to ours.

(7-02-14)

(7-02-14)

(7-02-14)