Heirloom Tomatoes

My favorite time of year SPRING is right around the corner and it is time to start getting your tomato seeds and getting them planted indoors. 
Fresh Heirloom Tomatoes straight out of the garden, I am so in LOVE! I try and grow at least a few new varieties every season. That way you can really find a delicious tomato you love and you don't get stuck with one flavor.


My husband up in till last year hated tomatoes wouldn't even eat them that was until he tried my Black Zebra Tomato....now this year he was online trying to order Heirlooms in the dead of winter... no luck but he is addicted to Heirlooms now, grow some and you'll know why. Tomatoes are not round by nature and the have cracks and deformities naturally but they are oh so delicious don't be fooled. Most stores carry round varieties that ship well, that lack in flavor and then dip them in wax to make them look so pretty and shiny on the shelves not in your mouth.

If you love succulent tomatoes, mid-March to early April is the time to start your own plants from seed. It's the only way to have the very best tasting and old fashioned Heirloom varieties which are harder to find as nursery started plants. It's fun to watch the whole growing cycle and the seed starting process is my favorite way to celebrate the gardening season as I watch baby seedlings grow into sturdy plants bearing wonderfully colored, superb tasting fruits to relish freshly picked. 

Below is a few pointers for growing delicious tomatoes this summer. If you have never tried it hey why not give it a try!

This is a fun mix a tried a couple times DELICIOUS!

You can bet a Sungold Cherry Tomato will always be in my garden 

Matts new favorite the Black Zebra
 
I also love the more tart Green Zebra

Organic Carrots

I am such a huge fan of growing organic carrots, actually I garden everything organically. With spring heading our way over here in Utah it is time to start thinking what your going to plant this year in your garden and what varieties to plant.....ohh the choices! Carrots are so fun and easy to grow. If you take the time to prepare a bed with rich, loose soil, you'll be rewarded with a bumper crop of yummy carrots.

Growing Guide for carrots

Soil preparation: Carrots do best in raised beds filled with well-draining, fertile topsoil that contains plenty of organic matter. Remove rocks and debris from past crops to clear the path for maturing carrots and prevent misshapen roots. If you have clay soil, double-dig your carrot bed to loosen and aerate the 

soil, and plant Nantes, Chantenay, or ball type carrots, because their shorter roots grow well even in heavier soils.

Spacing: Sow seeds as early as the ground can be worked, directly into rows that are twelve to eighteen inches apart. Make successive plantings until mid to late summer. When the plants are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin them to 4 to 6 inches apart. Seeds can take up to 14 days to germinate, be sure to keep them moist during this period.

Fertilizing: If your soil has lots of organic matter in it, your carrots won't need anything extra. However, sandy soils leach nutrients and dry out easily, so you should fertilize carrot seedlings monthly with fish emulsion fertilizer and retain soil moisture by surrounding the seedlings with an organic mulch.

Watering: Carrots need consistent soil moisture from the time you plant until harvest. Seedlings stressed by low moisture grow slowly and produce lower yields. Dry soil causes carrots to develop uneven surfaces, yet too much moisture encourages small, hairy-looking roots to form. If your carrot bed happens to dry out, re moisten the soil over a period of days, because sudden saturation causes carrots to split. Use an organic mulch around your carrots to retain moisture.

Special hints: Carrots do very well planted in an area where legumes (beans, peas) were before, because of the extra nitrogen that these plants leave behind. Carrots increase carbohydrate (sugar) storage and develop the best root color, shape, and length if grown when days are warm (59 °F to 70 °F) and nights are cool (45 °F). When storing carrots, don't expose them to ethylene gas, which is given off by fruit such as apples and pears. Ethylene triggers a bitter taste in carrots.