Pollinators On The Prairie
Inspired by visits to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, we’ve been adding prairie plants to attract pollinators and sustain our dwindling Monarch populations. We’ve been especially impressed with a bonus plant that must have been included in a package of milkweed seed. Snow on the Mountain, also known as Bishop’s Weed is a statuesque plant […]
Honey Bees Arrive in TomatoTown
Beekeeper Mark, is as busy as the bees he keeps on the edge of TomatoTown. Kindly he offered to place a hive in a quiet corner of our yard earlier this spring. We’ve been thrilled to have these new resident bees buzzing around, pollinating our plants and fruit trees. Of course we’ve never lacked in […]
Tomato Tasting 2012
The fourth annual KCTT Tomato Tasting was in a word – delicious. After a tough gardening season of high temperatures and little rain, it was good to be among other gardeners, to hear about their adventures, and taste the results. Our hosts, James Worley and Jennifer Nugent, always make it a festive celebration. This year, […]
Unbidden Edibles
Farmer T has a special fondness for plants that spontaneously sprout in our garden beds. He spends time cultivating them, moving them if necessary and cheering them on. Often they are the most productive plants.
Field Trip: Keith Mueller’s Test Plots
Ever since we experienced the wonders of Keith Mueller’s legendary heirloom hybrids, we hoped to have a chance to see him in action. So when Keith told us that he would be pollinating his tomatoes last weekend, we leapt at the chance. Over the years, Keith has created a number of exceptional tomato varieties including: Dora, […]
Purple Calabash
According to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, this green-shouldered beauty dates back to pre-Columbian Mexico. The Aztecs created the first salsa combining it with hot peppers and ground squash seeds. We love the funky ribs and the taste has an intensity that is exciting.
Cascade Hops
Farmer J spent several years in the Czech Republic, a country famous for producing great beer. Hops plants are trained on wire and in Moravia, the tall, graceful vines can be seen growing in the fields. When she discovered a local home brewer who grew his own hops, she set out to purchase a few […]
Sunflower Power
Farmer T spotted this sparrow hiding beneath the leaf of one of our volunteer sunflowers this morning. Our birds don’t allow much time to enjoy the dramatic blooms. Not more than a day or two after the sunflowers emerge, the goldfinches and sparrow begin to tear them apart searching for seeds.
Tomato Town Animation
TomatoTown has a new logo, animated, created by Farmer J the old-fashioned way – one frame at a time. She shot hundreds of photos and then turned them over to Farmer T who put them into Premiere Pro, and completed the animation. Enjoy!
Sunflower State
Sunflowers are Farmer T’s favorite garden flower and he looks forward to the day when these elegant plants bloom.