This is what I did in the garden today

Cajunsmoke14 Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:34 pm

Good evening all,

I had a busy day today in the garden, I built a tomato bed, and planted 8 of those little buggers.

This is what I did in the garden today IMG_1736_zpsd70f7f93

This is what I did in the garden today IMG_1736_zpsd70f7f93

I built a bean trellis out of recycled red oak that I was given by a flooring manufacturer.

This is what I did in the garden today IMG_1738_zpsbdcbc798

This is what I did in the garden today IMG_1738_zpsbdcbc798

And last but not least, I planted a tomatillo.

This is what I did in the garden today IMG_1739_zpsde1c9572

**camprn** Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:44 pm

Nice work Cajun. Just an FYI, you need at least two tomatillos to have the required cross pollination for fruit production.

http://bonnieplants.com/growing/growing-tomatillos/

Marc Iverson Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:51 pm

I love your bean machine! Very nice and also practical looking.

Cajunsmoke14 Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:58 pm

Thanks Marc, the trellis came out good; also thanks for the advise camp, I didn't know you need 2 tomatilloes.

quiltbea Sat Mar 22, 2014 11:07 pm

Good for you. It's all lookin' really good.

**camprn** Sat Mar 22, 2014 11:07 pm

Cajunsmoke14 wrote:Thanks Marc, the trellis came out good; also thanks for the advise camp, I didn't know you need 2 tomatilloes.

I remember being quite surprised when I too learned that fact. Wink

JustMe Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:01 am

That's a fabulous trellis!

Last year, I had to run back to the store for another tomatillo plant b/c I didn't know two were needed. (I was hoping the neighboring tomatoes would be enough but bought another plant just to be safe.)

FamilyGardening Sun Mar 23, 2014 1:11 am

I didn't know about the tomatillos needing 2 either until I read it on the forum before I started my seedlings...thank goodness for you all!

LOVE your trellis and bean bed!! cant wait to see it all full of beans Very Happy

what are the beans your planning on growing?

happy gardening
rose

Cajunsmoke14 Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:52 am

The beans are called Cherokee Trail of Tears, these are the beans my dad always planted.

**AtlantaMarie** Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:22 am

Really nice, Cajunsmoke! Looks like everyone should be very happy.

How do the Cherokee's taste? They're on my list... Thanks.

Cajunsmoke14 Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:34 am

I really can't answer the taste question. To me they taste like a green bean, I just don't know,

CapeCoddess Sun Mar 23, 2014 5:12 pm

I love those long thin beds!! Are they 2 by 10?

CC

southern gardener Sun Mar 23, 2014 5:27 pm

oh man, I didn't know about the two tomatillo plants either? Why do they sell them in singles? dang it. I've already planted all around my plant too. they should put that on the "sale sticker" or sell two at a time Sad

CapeCoddess Sun Mar 23, 2014 5:35 pm

SG, I was able to squash 2 adult tomatillos together last year late summer. You can probably stick another one right up next to your original now if you want to. They grow like weeds! And don't seem to mind being interrupted at any time.

CC

southern gardener Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:35 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:SG, I was able to squash 2 adult tomatillos together last year late summer. You can probably stick another one right up next to your original now if you want to. They grow like weeds! And don't seem to mind being interrupted at any time.

CC

thank you CC. I looked at the tag, and no mention of having two....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Back to the store!!

Windmere Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:08 pm

camprn wrote:Nice work Cajun. Just an FYI, you need at least two tomatillos to have the required cross pollination for fruit production.

http://bonnieplants.com/growing/growing-tomatillos/

Thanks for this post camprn. I was toying with the idea of planting tomatillos. We are Hispanic and tomatillo sauces are a staple in our household (especially for chicken enchiladas). I would have assumed that one plant is enough for fruit. Also, I would have assumed that fruit production per plant is much more than it really is. Given the rate at which we consume tomatillos, the farmer's market is a better option for us. I'm really glad I was scanning the recent posts.

Cajun, you did some beautiful work. Job well done.

Southern Gardner, I am VERY surprised your plant tag left out that you need at least two plants for fruit. Sheesh!

**sanderson** Mon Mar 24, 2014 2:39 am

If it wasn't for this Forum, I wouldn't have known that it takes 2 tomatillos for fruits. Last summer I had to run back to the store and buy a second one. I loved the one fruit I finally ended up with! Embarassed

(no bees to speak of) This year, I sprouted pairs for 2 large pots. My thanks to all the Forum members who help us Newbies.

Marc Iverson Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:11 pm

Yours had tree-like canopies like mine did, rather than vined like tomatoes? For mine, even one plant's canopy took up way more space than half a 14-inch pot. More like three feet plus. Two of those canopies in 14 inches -- say, what? eight to ten inches to ten inches apart? would have been an absolute crush-fest.

Even if they survive, the reduced air circulation will make them far more vulnerable to both catching and spreading disease. And the need for water will be very intense. Those plants drink!

I definitely wish you luck in your experiment. It does strike me very much as an experiment rather than a way to increase fruit production, though. Those two plants might very well be, as Turan intimates, in a sort of death-match.

**sanderson** Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:54 pm

Hi Marc, I found a couple of photos but it is so hard to see the separate stems. Here they are falling over onto the carrots and then back up again.
This is what I did in the garden today Carrot10

This is what I did in the garden today Carrot10

This photo shows the perched pot on the far, far right plus the plants growing wild. I hadd to use sticks and green tape to keep them somewhat contained so I could squeeze by to get to the back of the box.
This is what I did in the garden today Back_y11

This is what I did in the garden today Back_y11

This year's pot (there will be two eventually) will have a good 3 foot area to sprawl and grow tall. The 14" pot contains about 9 cu. ft. of MM and will have a thick layer of wood chips. I am pushing the envelop on this planting to show the ability of MM. Plus I'm such a darned optimist! Very Happy

I have 74 sq. ft of boxes and 43 pots of various sizes and shapes and they are all filled with MM. I wish DH would let me have a box on the large dead spot on the lawn. We had to turn back the lawn sprinkler heads so they didn't over-spray into the beds. The lawn suffered. I will post photos of the success / failure of the tomatillo experiment later this summer.

CapeCoddess Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:56 am

sanderson wrote:Cajun, I'm sorry we hijacked your post and turned it into a tomatillo topic.

There are a few threads on the forum on tomatillos and ground cherries if you want to move it over there. It may be more helpful for those looking for current info. Very Happy

Here's one:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t8172-let-s-discuss-tomatillos?highlight=tomatillo

CC

**camprn** Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:59 am

CapeCoddess wrote:
sanderson wrote:Cajun, I'm sorry we hijacked your post and turned it into a tomatillo topic.
There are a few threads on the forum on tomatillos and ground cherries if you want to move it over there. It may be more helpful for those looking for current info.

Here's one:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t8172-let-s-discuss-tomatillos?highlight=tomatillo

CC

I'm splitting this thread. The tomatillo chat will be transferred to the link posted above.

**sanderson** Tue Mar 25, 2014 12:39 pm

Thanks, Camp

Cajunsmoke14 Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:28 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:I love those long thin beds!! Are they 2 by 10?

CC

Thanks CC, they are 2X12

cj32769 Wed Mar 26, 2014 5:36 pm

Not exactly tomatillo's but one year I was not able to start from seed and had to buy plants. I had squash plants that were not producing; all from the same "flat". I ended up getting another "flat" from a different location and then all of them started putting out squash. I don't know if I had a flat of all female or all male or what but once I brought in the new plants everyone was happy.

**sanderson** Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:04 pm

Squash should put out both male and female flowers. My first year, all I could see were males at first. Then, later in the season, the females showed up.

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