Thoughts of an Urban Farmer
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You may have seen the commercial or seen many covers of the Gardeners.com catalog of tomatoes growing upside down. I don’t believe it works but I’m willing to give it a try. I have an extra hook outside my kitchen window. Instead of hanging a flowering plant, I’m going to try to hang a tomato [...]
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It’s a great day to be out in the dirt. Here’s where we are today. Spinach The spinach is looking great. We’re at about week 3 with the spinach above. It’s not yet considered “baby” spinach — maybe a week to 10 days more. It’s about 2 inches high. There are about 3 sets of [...]
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This weekend was another great weekend to be working in the dirt. After a few long days of rain, the plants are looking great. Peppers The pepper plants went in the ground about two weeks early. I was fearful that they would not handle the 40 degree nights very well. The pepper plants made it! [...]
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There has to be a tomato that you grow to give to friends and say “taste this.” Mule Team is that tomato. If you haven’t figured out, I really enjoy growing tomatoes. Of all the vegetables I grow, tomatoes get the best reaction. Mule Team is a good salad, tomato sauce, or just plain ole’ [...]
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How can you go wrong with a tomato called Grandma Mary? Paste tomatoes are a great addition to the farm. I purposely buy early, medium, and late season tomatoes so that I can spread the “wealth” around. Paste tomatoes are a great addition because you don’t necessarily slice and eat them. I grow paste tomatoes [...]
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I’m a sucker for anything that appears to be native Illinois and the Abraham Lincoln is no different. Tomatoes are ready to pick generally from 80 to 100 days (except for cherries which start as early as 50 days). The Abraham Lincoln is a a mid blossom. I’ll grow earlies, mids and lates along with [...]
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Friday was a big day for the tomato seedlings. April 25 marks the average last frost for the Chicagoland area. Normally, this is not the day you jump out and plant delicate plants in the ground. Looking at the weather over the next 10 days, we are looking for abnormally warm days and lots of [...]
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All of this talk about what I’m planting deserves a review of where I buy my seeds. A couple of things that are important to me when I buy seeds. First, I want unique versions of the vegetables I grow — no standard grocery tomato for me. Second, I’d prefer an organic seed although with [...]
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FarmerJay.com reader Alexander Roman encountered an issue many of us face — he planted his seeds indoors too soon. This is my fourth year urban farming and while I might make it look good today, I’ve definitely had a fair bit of trail and error along the way. Living in Chicago, the growing season isn’t [...]
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Based upon my complaints yesterday, mother nature listened and we received 1/3 inch of rain yesterday. This picture was taken this morning and shows one of the square foot gardening plots moist after a good days rain (and the Cubs still got their game in — two wins!). As I described yesterday, I’m trying square [...]
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