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[Mo]

Here are some more of our heirlooms, clockwise from bottom: Bloody Butcher (maybe not Italian, but nice), Ferrare, Santa Clara Canner, Costoluto Genovese, SeedSavers Italian.

I also have some really nice Omar Lebanese that are ready for slicing as well as the last of our Northern Lights.

We went to the SeedSavers Heirloom Tomato tasting a couple weeks ago and we were slightly disappointed at what was offered. I need to get better about staking these guys next year si I am open to suggestions for how to accomplish keeping these plants stable and the fruits off the ground.

[Mo]

We ended up with a total of 12 pints and 6 quarts of diced in juice, whole in purée and straight purée.

That brings this years canning total to about 80 jars (pints and quarts) of beans, tomatoes, pickles and jalapenos. Next year we expect to double. I'm going to try and save some of the better seeds from this year and start them indoors in the spring, if I have time...

[Jackitup]

I need to get better about staking these guys next year si I am open to suggestions for how to accomplish keeping these plants stable and the fruits off the ground.

Hi Mo,

Here's a pic of my garden. 10 tomato plants and 4 cucumbers planted in rings of concrete mesh hoops. The concrete mesh comes in rolls 5' wide with about 6x6 squares on them and I cut them to the size I want and wrap them together. All these plants are at least 6' high and I pick my cucumbers and tomatoes like apples. Hardly any ever touch the ground. I'll take a close-up of the cages tomorrow if I remember.
Jon

[Jackitup]

Mo,
Here's some more pics for you...and by the way, these things last for years. Just leave some spikes in the bottom ring and jab them into the ground. I stab them through black landscaping mesh at the planting time and pretty much NEVER pull a weed. Just water'm and feed'm. Any more questions or pics shoot me a line.
Jon

[Mo]

Hey Jon, thanks a bunch for those photos. I used a similar fencing (got a lot of extra here at the farm) for my cukes/beans. I think I might try to layout some of this fencing in a long repeating-S pattern to create semi-circle type cages that will allow me to easily plant the seedlings in spring and still allow the cages to stay up year round. Do you have trouble getting your stuff in the ground with the permanent full circle cages? Thanks again for the input...

Mo.

[Jackitup]

I til up the garden well with a mild application of fertilizer and grass and leaf compost, lay down the porous professional grade landscaping mesh. Cut an X where your plants go and while digging the hole from the top, thru the X and from underneath, gently put your seedlings in and back fill. As you can see the bottom of the cages are left spiked so bring it up and spike it down firmly thru the mesh. Also you can see how I put chicken wire around the bottom for those pesky rabbits that I miss with my pellet gun. Usually not needed on the tomatoes but for sure on cukes. Your plants, with occasional training 1-2 times a week will get 6-7 foot tall. The cages themselves are 5 foot. Vertually no weeding, just water and some miracle grow once a week or so. It's amazing how many plants you can get in a small area, leaving lots of room for extra stuff that won't get encroached upon from what are now climbers and not creepers.
Here's a few more pics.
Jon

[Jackitup]

BTW, I make my cages about 15-16 squares around, about the size of a 50 gallon drum