Public radio people get their hands dirty
Photo: Martha Foley
Martha Foley, our news director, has been expanding her commitment to gardening over the past few years. If you follow her conversations with Cooperative Extension Horticulturalist Amy Ivy each Monday morning you know Martha is building out her garden and spending more time in the dirt.
She’s submitted photos to All In this summer as part of our garden-tracking project. Earlier this week, she shared these photos with me.
I have a question for other gardeners and a request.
The question: did you notice garlic (and onions, for that matter) maturing a bit early this year and coming in smaller than usual? Is it too much rain and not enough sun? Or is it just my garlic and onions?
The request: keep those garden photos coming. We’re posting an assortment of these photos once or twice a week. Let’s see yours! Send photos to me: [email protected]
Nothing makes me happier than a day in the dirt.
And here’s another one from Martha about which she said, “This is what counts in my garden.”
Photo: Martha Foley
Tags: gardening, vegetables
I did notice some differences in the garlic crop this year, and I blamed it on that week of very hot weather. Perhaps a little water would have helped, or perhaps not, but the garlic and onions finished up early in my garden.
Michael–Yes, I worried about that early droughty spell. But I also know onions (and perhaps garlic as well) need a lot of sunshine to get big. Every gardener knows that each year has its successful, less successful and sometimes failed crops.
Martha, those tomatoes look great. Are they Opalka? That variety has been recommended to me.
Hi Ellen B,
I grew Opalka last summer, the hot summer where the tomatoes were really happy. Nice variety. Very prolific, “meaty” fruit, not very juicy (but that’s better for some purposes) good flavor and vigor. Worth trying. (Mine were wider and “lumpier” on the bottom than the shape seen in Martha’s photo.)
Not sure Opalka is in my garden this year. That is, I planted some as seeds but some of my transplants died and I’ve lost track of which went where. Once the fruit comes on, I should be able to re-identify it.
All my tomatoes have been ridiculously slow this summer. The garlic did well, though. I thought it was a tad early, but no real harm done.