intensive gardening

These pictures capture how intensively we try to use our limited space.   There are two beds in the above pictures.  In one, Spring planted spinach was followed by a late melon planting.  The melons have created a living mulch for the leeks (planting in between beds) and at the same time have been allowed to sprawl onto the onions (grown in sets of 4) that have already finished growing.  In a couple weeks the melons will have been harvested and died back, making way for the leeks and red onion harvest.  Not perfect but it allowed us to get in a second space hogging melon planting.

All For The Tomatoes

This year we started 1200+ tomato plants from seed, including over 30 different heirloom varieties.  And then had to find space for all of them!  Back in June, our high tunnel, mid-tunnel, and two low-tunnels were filled with young plants just beginning to blossom.  Over the course of two or three days, we set about the meticulous task of stringing them up; each individual plant needed its own string to climb and provide support for its heavy fruit.

 

They sure are high-maintenance little buggers, but come August, SO worth it: Voila!

Clockwise from top left - Virginia Sweet, Mortgage Lifter, Big Beef, Carbon, Italian Heirloom, Stump of the World, Goldie, Hungarian Heart, Paul Robeson, Cosmonaut Volkov, Cherokee Purple.