How are your tomato plants doing this year? Mine are growing excellently with just a little careful planning and maintenance.
If you’ve ever grown a vining plant, you know how important it is to provide strong structures to which the vines can cling and climb. Using teepee-like structures in the vegetable garden is an easy way to support these plants, and to add eye-catching texture to the garden beds. We used bamboo to build the supports. Bamboo is attractive, easy to find, and can be reused year after year. My gardener, Brian O'Kelly, worked hard to stake the fast growing vegetable crops, so the growing fruits stay off the ground.
Here are photos of the process - enjoy.
We planted our tomato plants at the end of May. Some I got from a friend, some came from one of our trusted vendors, and some were planted from seed in my greenhouse. We’re all very proud of the tomato crop we have this year. Tomatoes grow best when the daytime temperature is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They stop growing above 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Tomatoes also need full sun and warm, well-drained soil. Our tomatoes are thriving.
Here they are all planted. They are transplanted in the ground as soon as daytime temperatures are consistently above 65-degrees Fahrenheit. Two-thirds of the plant should be underground, meaning all but the two top most leaf sets should be buried. Planting deeply helps the plant to develop more roots, and more roots mean more ability to take up water and nutrients. If the seedling is already too tall and wobbly, dig a trench instead of a hole and lay the plant on its side. The stronger root system also helps the plant better survive the hot weather. This applies to tomatoes planted in the ground, in a raised bed or in a container.
With nutrient rich soil and warm days they’ve grown pretty quickly. Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, have long been one of America’s favorite garden vegetables. Those bold red, sun-ripened tomatoes deliver the taste of summer with every bite. And, they’re filled with excellent antioxidants and vitamins. We plant many, many tomatoes, but just a handful of healthy plants can produce a bounty of delicious fruits within eight weeks.
Here they are after just a couple of weeks – so robust.
As they grow, Brian removes any suckers he sees — those vigorous stems sprouting in-between a “V” of the stem and side branch. He removes the suckers beneath the first fruit cluster so they won’t slow the development of the fruit. It also keeps the plant open, allowing for good air circulation.
Last week was time to support their growing vines. Brian and Ryan begin putting up the stakes for the tomato plants. I am always trying new methods for staking our tomato plants. Every year we try something new and better. This year, we’re making angled teepee-like structures for each bed.
Brian secures one stake into the ground next to each tomato plant. The plants will use these upright stakes as supports. Each one is pushed into the ground about eight to 10-inches deep. The important thing is to place them deep enough, so they remain secure for the duration of the season.
All the stakes are pounded into the ground at an angle, so they touch each other in the center. Here, Brian also secures a center stake at each end and ties twine along the length of the bed to use as a guide.
Brian checks that the tomato plants and the stakes are planted close enough – this plant is already tall enough to wrap around the bamboo.
Using the line of twine secured above, Brian ensures the stakes are all centered perfectly. Then, he ties the two stakes securely using the same kind of twine.
As with all our projects using twine, we use jute – everything is kept uniform and as natural as possible.
Next, Brian measures a couple of feet up each upright angled stake, so he can secure horizontal bamboo pieces across all the bamboo stakes. He will add more rows of horizontal supports as the plants grow.
Brian places bamboo along the bed, so they are all in place as he works. Bamboo canes are easy to buy in bulk, and can be found in a variety of sizes. These canes are about 10-feet long.
Next, he secures them with twine at each joint, so it is tight and strong enough to hold the fruit laden vines. Securing the tomato plants is a time consuming process, but very crucial to good plant growth and performance.
There is plenty of space to tie and support every tomato vine.
Looking through the center of the bed, there will be just enough space for someone to carefully walk through for any maintenance work or harvesting.
And then Brian secures each plant to the bamboo stakes where needed. He ties a simple figure eight knot to the bamboo. I teach all the gardeners and grounds crew members to use figure eights, so the stems are not crushed.
Tomato leaves have serrated, or wavy and pointed, edging along the entire perimeter. Tomato leaves are compound with multiple leaflets growing along a common stem, called a rachis. These leaves are also slightly fuzzy to the touch, which is caused by the trichomes, or multi-cellular hairs, on the plant. Never use chemically treated wood or other material for staking climbers, as the chemicals would likely run off and go into the soil.
Each plant is now carefully propped up next to its designated stake and secured. These supports really help to keep all these beautiful fruits off the ground and free of rot.
It takes about 50 to 90 days for tomato varieties to reach maturity. Planting can also be staggered to produce early, mid and late season tomato harvests.
Maintaining the plants and checking them regularly will go a long way in keeping them healthy. Another key to maintaining a rich vegetable garden is to rotate the tomato bed between a few spots in the garden to diminish the risk of soil-borne diseases such as bacterial spot and early blight. Since this garden is new, we won’t have to think about rotation planting until next year. Very soon, we will have many, many tomatoes to enjoy. I am looking forward to a wonderful harvest this season. I can almost taste them now.
The exhibit, made possible by Chanel, is an extraordinary look at Lagerfeld's work through the years. Karl Lagerfeld was a fashion industry icon and among the most talented, most hardworking, and most decorated designers of the 20th century. He began his fashion career in the 1950s, working for several leading houses including Balmain, Patou, and Chloé before joining Chanel in 1983, where he served as creative director until his death in 2019. Karl spent much of his career collaborating and designing ready-to-wear and couture collections for Chanel, Fendi, and later, his own label. Not long ago, I walked through the exhibit to see some of his beautiful dresses, suits, and ensembles.
Enjoy my photos. And please watch this video I posted on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 earlier this year. I had the great pleasure of interviewing Karl Lagerfeld for my television show years ago in Paris in the Chanel atelier - it was such a fun time.
Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty is among the many wonderful exhibitions now on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art located along Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue Museum Mile. Banners of some of the current presentations are always displayed above the iconic front steps of The Met. (Photo by BFA.com/Angela Pham).
The exhibit features beautiful pieces in a wide array of fabrics – some classic and elegant, others more colorful and intricately threaded. This black ensemble and dress are both from House of Chanel, autumn/winter 1986–87.
Here is a more modern ensemble showing the signature Chanel suit and his “disappearing hem” from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2003 haute couture. The entire set design was done by the renowned architect, Tadao Ando, whose unadorned backdrops allowed Karl’s pieces to stand out.
Lagerfeld was not limited by color – his pieces also included audacious color palettes. This coat is from Fendi, autumn/winter 2000–2001.
This colorful coat is from Fendi, autumn/winter 2018–19 FENDI couture. Karl was such a talented designer – he could make any piece of fabric fashionable.
This coat is an earlier style from House of Patou, autumn/winter 1958–59. It is still quite relevant today.
And here’s another classic look – an ensemble from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2005 haute couture.
I admired his wedding ensembles. This one, displayed on a pedestal, showcases organza silk flowers and trousers of white piqué. It is from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2018 haute couture.
At the top is a suit from House of Chanel, 2017–18 métiers d’art. The middle is a suit from House of Chanel, spring/summer 1988 haute couture, and the bottom is called his “Policewoman,” an ensemble from the Fendi, autumn/winter 1983–84 line.
This suit in a shimmering bronze color is from House of Chanel, autumn/winter 1996–97. Lagerfeld made designs that were both luxurious as well as everyday – this shows the combination of both styles.
From a straight lined suit to this very opulent coat from Karl Lagerfeld’s Fendi, autumn/winter 2003–4 line. His designs were unique, bold, and stylishly feminine.
This ensemble is part of House of Chanel, spring/summer 1994.
These dresses are from House of Chanel, spring/summer 1996 haute couture.
Karl’s ready-to-wear ensembles included this one from House of Chanel, 2018–19 cruise – Karl made even denim look high fashion.
This coat featuring very feminine curves is from House of Chanel, autumn/winter 2017–18. haute couture.
This shimmering floral dress was part of one of Karl’s last collections from the House of Chanel, spring/summer 2019 haute couture.
Here is another intricately designed floral wedding ensemble from House of Chanel, spring/summer 2015 haute couture.
This silk gown is called “Lassie and the Prince” from an autumn/winter 2016–17 haute fourrure.
And this is “Pixel magic view cocoon” dress, autumn/winter 2017–2018 haute fourrure.
As part of the exhibit, some pieces represented Karl Lagerfeld, the man, including his trademark fingerless black leather gloves, House of Chanel, ca. 2000. If you can, go see this exhibit in The Met’s Tisch Galleries. You’ll find it enjoyable, interesting, and informative. The exhibit lasts through July 16th.
It's berry-picking time here at my Bedford, New York farm. The bushes are filled with those small, fragrant, and refreshingly sweet raspberries - one of the most popular berries in the United States.
I grow red, black and golden raspberries, and the right time to start picking is early summer when the fruits are vivid in color and ready to fall off their stems. Although they are best eaten raw, raspberries are used in a variety of ways - as ingredients in jams and jellies, pies and tarts, or juices and herbal teas. Last week, my housekeeper, Enma, picked our first big batches of red and black raspberries - just in time for the holiday.
Here are some photos, enjoy. And have a very safe and joyful Independence Day.
This is a great year for all our berries – the bushes are full of growing sweet black and red raspberries. Summer-bearing raspberry bushes produce one crop each season. The fruits typically start ripening in late June into July with a crop that lasts about one month.
I have several rows of raspberries on one side of my main greenhouse. One plant can produce several hundred berries in a season. Raspberries are vigorous growers and will produce runners that fill up a bed.
The first week of July is when we start picking the black and red raspberries.
The raspberry plant has spade-shaped leaves that are toothed along the edges. My bushes are several years old and remain so healthy. It takes about two to three years for a new raspberry plant to produce a significant crop of fruit.
Most raspberry plants need additional support to grow properly. I use these granite posts at the end of each row, and stretch strong gauge copper wire in between them to hold up the plants. These antique posts are from China. They were originally used to support grape vines.
It’s good to know that once raspberries are picked, they stop ripening, so under-ripe berries that are harvested will never mature to the maximum sweetness. The black raspberry plant is a high producing early variety whose upright growth makes it easy for picking.
Here, one of the black raspberries is ready for picking – the rest need to ripen in color and shape some more. This all-purpose fruit is firm, sweet, and full of flavor. It tastes great eaten fresh off the stem or made into preserves.
The raspberry is made up of small “drupe” fruits which are arranged in a circular fashion around a hollow central cavity. Each drupelet features a juicy pulp with a single seed.
There are more than 200-species of raspberries. In the United States, about 90-percent of all raspberries sold come from the states of Washington, California, and Oregon.
Here’s Enma with a box nearly filled to the top with black raspberries. Botanically, the raspberry is a shrub belonging to the Rosaceae family, in the genus Rubus.
Raspberries need full sun for the best berry production. They should be planted in rich, slightly acidic, well-drained soil that has been generously supplemented with compost and well-rotted manure. I am very fortunate to have such excellent soil here at the farm.
We use a variety of berry boxes. These are fiber pulp berry boxes. They have slotted sides for ventilation and are also eco-friendly. It’s okay to fill the container, but make sure not to pack the fruits in or press them down.
The next day, Enma picked red raspberries. These must be picked and handled very carefully and checked for insects and rot. This berry is perfect.
Raspberries are unique because their roots and crowns are perennial, while their stems or canes are biennial. A raspberry bush can produce fruit for many years.
Raspberries contain vitamins A and E and are also rich in minerals, such as potassium, manganese, copper, iron, and magnesium.
Keep in mind, only the ripe berries will slip off the stems easily. All of these are in perfect condition.
Ripe raspberries are rich in color, whether they are red, golden, or black.
Enma picks only those fruits that are bright red in color, leaving any light peach colored berries to ripen some more.
The taste of raspberries varies by cultivar and ranges from sweet to acidic. They are great for use in pies and tarts, and other desserts. They can also be used in cereals, ice-creams, juices, and herbal teas.
Look at all these delicious boxes of fruit – so exciting, and not bad for a first harvest. Enma also picked additional black raspberries. To save berries for use at another time, freeze them – lay them out onto flat trays in single layers and freeze until solid. Once they are frozen, they can be moved into plastic containers or freezer bags until ready to eat.
And here are two more. The raspberries are taken up to my flower room where they can be stored in the fridge or the freezer.
I also have two rows of golden raspberries, but these are not quite ready yet. What a wonderful summer it will be with all these delicious and nutritious fruits.
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