The Journal of Tim Roberts

It’s Sunday - gardening day. Except I don’t have much to do today. The sun is here and everything I set down over the past 12 weeks is coming on strong. The chilies are loving the heat and long periods of daylight, as are the tomatoes. The basil has been used in one of my mother’s pasta dishes, but has also had an agressive pruning to get rid of the final leaves that were destroyed by thrips. They don’t look too impressive at the moment, but the tiny leaves are already powering through. The good thing about basil is that the more you prune it, the more it grows back.

So today’s gardening involves getting some sticks to support the tall chili and tomato plants and repotting some of the cherry tomatoes into individual pots. I’ll sow a second round of basil and some more vegatable crop today. The rest will be happening in the kitchen where I am going to harvest some of my parsley, process it and freeze it in ice cube trays for later use

2 weeks ago I received some “Tears of Fire” and “Tabasco” seeds from a supplier in Tenerife. I sowed them, somewhat nonchalantly, in two small plastic tubs that were lying around. Since then the weather has been wet in Spain, good for the soil, but not generally good for the poor seeds that were left out by accident result in drenched soil. I had given up on them. However two days ago the first green loop pierced the soil, and now I have 7 seedlings developing. Sometimes you just don’t have to try.

Due to space limitations I have had to move my lettuce, cherry tomatoes and herbs outside permanently. Likewise, I didn’t hold up much hope for them against the combination of hard rain, high winds (common) and the recent bout of thrips. Two weeks on, the lettuce are thriving; the tomato seedlings, although slightly damaged, are still growing; and the herbs are flourishing - so much so, we used some of our own corriander in yesterday’s evening meal. Just have a look at the photographic evidence below.

When the weather is good in Spain, a week is a long time for the garden. Everything has thrived in the sun and with good watering. However, I am keeping the lettuce rationed to just a couple of hours sun every day so as not encourage bolting. There are so may happenings to report on, pictures are probably easier. In order of appearance below: Cherry tomato seedlings; young lettuce; Cayenne chili; corriander; basil and Plum Roma tomato seedlings.

 
Whilst cleaning out my cupboards yesterday I found a pack of rosemary seeds. I have no recall of purchasing them or how long they have been there, but they simply had to be sown. I set them down in three smaller plant pots and covered them with 3mm of soil, rather complacently. Let’s see what happens.

During my spring cleaning session I sowed 2 varieties of my plum tomato seeds in a spare seed tray I had. The weather is quite warm at the moment - late twenties - and I have the benefit of front and back enclosures in my apartment that allow for good heat morning and afternoon. It does mean moving them twice a day, but I am confident I can germinate my tomatoes straight from soil in these conditions.

 I have sown Plum Romas and Lemon Plums. I am looking forwards to the Lemon Plums as their golden yellow colour makes salads look a touch more exotic. The Plum Romas are going to be used for soup. With these two I am hoping for some signs of germination with 7 to 10 days. As I write they are in my back porch keeping my chilies company in the morning heat. If these are successful, I have another 2 varieties of plum tomato seed to sow another weekend.

Finally, for today, a lettuce / endive update. Both varieties are now germinating in my “lettuce tub”. I will be keeping an eye on them as I plan move them on for use and resow every 3 weeks to keep a supply throughout the summer. The lettuce have been easy to grow so far. Sow them and leave them in the light. I am looking forwards to trying other varieties and ensuring this summer’s salads are plentiful.

What a treat. 6 days after planting and there are signs that my cherry tomatoes may not be a failure. I sowed them straight to soil, rather than using scarification and germination on a paper towel, so it was always going to be touch and go. The pictures are not the most thrilling, but the top section shows a loop of a seedling breaking the soil; the lower section shows a seedling that has opened its leaves. They are stil very tiny and we are not out of the woods yet. They need plenty of light and attention to watering. Still, this is a good sign; more seedlings may break the surface over the next few days.

I sowed them last Sunday in plastic tubs, about 7 inches high and 24 inches wide, filled with universal soil from my local garden center. Before sowing I made sure that I had lightly watered the soil.  I made shallow troughs by running a finger gently down the soil, spaced the seeds about 4cm apart and then sprinkled about 5mm of soil back over the troughs. Finally I added 6 balls of NPK and gave them another very light watering. Since then I have kept them around the 24 degrees mark by natural methods.

My new seedlings have boosted my confidence in my tomato growing abilities. Tomorrow I will plant the seeds that Chris sent me over from the UK. These are several types of plum tomatoes that will form the basis of my chili and tomato soup project later this year. I will document tomorrow’s sowathon here as soon as possible.