Finding it challenging to keep your leafy greens crisp, rather than wilted? Be sure to pop them in a closed container before putting them into the fridge. A ziplock bag (or something similar) works well and you can reuse it. Another option is to get a food storage box -- I've seen them in pastic (plastic container), glass and metal. Use the fridge crisper for other stuff and pop your box (lid closed) on a shelf in the fridge holding all your leafy greens. Stored this way, my leafy greens last up to 2 weeks.
I got an email from my brother on Sunday evening, who lives further south in Ontario, inquiring whether the rain was beginning to be too much. I wish. Unfortunately, we didn't get any at all this past weekend. So, we'll be turning on the irrigation on Monday morning as we are out pruning and trellising the tomatoes.
We grow all our tomatoes in the field, which is a bit unusual as most folks grow them in a greenhouse. Both approaches have advantages and challenges. To keep our tomatoes healthy in the field, we do a few things. We intersperse the tomato rows with other crops, like onions and lettuce. This helps ensure that we have really good airflow between the tomatoes, which helps reduce fungal issues. Then we mulch the tomatoes with straw. Mulching accomplishes a lot. It reduces weeds, keeps the soil a more even temperature (appreciated by all the life in the soil), prevents soil from splashing onto the tomato plants (which prevents fungal issues), helps retain soil moisture, and if we get a big rain storm, helps the water infiltrate into the soil, rather than washing over it and eroding the soil. Plus it adds organic matter to the soil and organic matter is magic to soil and plant health!
The tomatoes were planted and mulched in late May. Last week, we (mostly Dani and Hannah, our awesome crew this year), pounded in over 300 cedar stakes among the tomatoes. And pruned the tomatoes (removed the suckers). This week, we will trellis the tomatoes by weaving them among the cedar stakes. This will hold the plants up off the ground, which helps keep the plants healthy and productive and makes it much easier for us to harvest in August and September.
There is just a bit of planting to do this week, so we will spend the rest of our time mulching more of the garden paths with cardboard topped with wood chips and straw. Hopefully, we'll get this mostly done ahead of the big round of starting next week for fall crops!
Have a great week!
