don’t forget to use walls ‘o water

25 April, 06:18, by Don

For great protection from the elements (like a late frost, etc), use those walls ‘0 water around your tomatoe plants. They capture the daytime heat, then release it into the plants to keep the ground temps high, and the ambient above 55 degrees.

Red colored plastic is ‘IN’ for growing tomatoes

23 January, 04:47, by Don

GO FOR THE RED.  That’s not necessarily a cheer for the Huskers, but a tip for using red plastic around your tomatoes instead of black.  Word is that red reflects more of the sun’s beneficial rays into your plants, than black.  Cut a circle about 24-inches wide, then cut out room for the plant in the middle of the plastic.  Make sure you don’t cover it with dirt during the grown season.  Let me know how it works for you, and I’ll do the same !

Don Eversoll Featured In Fort Collins Coloradoan

10 January, 18:19, by admin Tags: , , , , , , ,

Don Eversoll in the Kitchen - V. RICHARD HARO/THE COLORADOAN

V. RICHARD HARO/THE COLORADOAN

Word is getting out about Don Eversoll’s book “Secrets From My Grandma’s Garden” and the forthcoming book “Secrets From My Grandma’s Kitchen.” Reporter Pat Ferrier of the Fort Collins Coloradoan recently sat down with Eversoll for a quick Q & A session:

Q: You have just come out with a book “Secrets From My Grandma’s Garden.” How did the book originate?

A: Soon after I sold my companies and retired, Debra Benton, a local and well-know author, gave a talk at Rotary titled: “Is There A Book In You?”

I went home and decided maybe there was. When you retire, you have a lot of time on your hands, and that offers an opportunity to reflect on what’s really important in your life.

Travel to Italy and Switzerland with my wife was my first priority, and the second was maintaining the passion I had for plants and heirloom vegetables.

As I sat down to write the book, all the good memories I had from growing up as a weekend farm kid in Nebraska came flowing into my mind. My grandmother Eversoll was an outstanding gardener and teacher to friends, family and neighbors. I decided to dedicate the book to her because she took money from her small Social Security check to help me through college. She also encouraged me to write, and when I graduated from college with a degree in journalism and photography, I gave her a copy of my diploma.

Eversoll goes on to describe his entrepreneurial foundations with wildflower seed company Beauty Beyond Belief and hints at his forthcoming book “Secrets From My Grandma’s Kitchen.” You can read the full interview here!

TOMATOES ARE THIRSTY, TOO

24 August, 01:22, by Don

With all the unusally hot weather all across the country this summer, it’s imperative to water your garden a little more frequently than usual…and that goes double for the TOMATOES.   That’s because they normally do not have a deep, extensive root system, and those fine root hairs in the top 2-3 inches of soil dry out quicker than, say beets, carrots, or beans.  And while you’re at it, drop a couple of tablespoons of Miracle Grow For Tomatoes into a 5-gallon bucket and apply that to your ‘maters.  One more tip–keep building up the organic matter in your compost bin, water it once in a while, and make sure it gets hot.  This could mean you should cover it with black plastic to get the temps up where it will kill weed seed, and also ‘sterilize’ the stuff inside the bin, particularly dairy compost which contains animal byproducts.

Don’t dismay if garden gets hailed on

11 June, 04:46, by Don

If you’re in an unlucky ‘hailzone’ this summer and your plants take a pounding during a storm, don’t throw away those beat-up vegetables just yet Why?  Because many of them, particularly tomatoes, have a good root system already established and will likely produce tomatoes faster this summer than any replacements you might plant fresh out of the nursery or garden store.   You will be surprised how quickly those green stems without leaves will re-leaf and start to produce flowers.

Leave those ‘walls o water’ up for now !

31 May, 15:03, by Don

If you have your young tomato plants inside ‘Walls O Water’ protectors, you should leave them up until the plants climb over the top.  Why? Because they will protect the tender plants from wind this time of year, and also serve to hold the heat in at night.  Remember that it’s necessary that night-time temps be at least 50 degrees for tomatoes to bloom and set fruit .

Good seed source for customized packets

20 May, 03:07, by Don

I recently received in the mail a couple of seed packets from the folks at Skyfire Garden Seeds which I thought were very unique.  They printed my name on one of them (sample for events like weddings, parties, special events,etc.) and the other was a custom blend they offer.  Neat trick, I say, for an industry bent on mass-produced stuff ! Look them up at skyfireseeds.com

Good stuff at Baker Creek

16 May, 05:06, by Don

In addition to my favorite seed house, Beauty/ Bounty Beyond Belief, I always order in a few really unusual strains of tomatoes from the folks at Baker Creek Seeds in Mansfield, Missouri.  Their web site is www.rareseeds. com. Worth a look !

Collect that rain water

12 May, 05:48, by Don

It’s a great idea to put out as many buckets, old pans, or anything that holds water when rain is forecast.  You can save it in a cool place for watering those early-season vegetables and flowers as soon as the dust starts blowing again.  Collecting rain water from roof-top runoff is also a good idea, as long as it’s legal in your state.  Check with the state officials to clarify yes or no.   I know several homeowners who have designed a system to collect their runoff water, which includes several large barrels where it’s stored for future use.

Fruit trees are finicky this year

10 May, 03:05, by Don

All along the front range, we’re hearing folks say their fruit trees, particularly peach and sweet cherry, are either late in blooming, or perhaps that 28 degree night we had about  a week ago, either zapped some of the blossoms, or froze the cherry buds.  But not to fret, two years ago, my wife and I didn’t see many blooms on our peach trees, and then all of sudden about  a month later, we saw all these little peaches growing amidst the branches.  Have no idea how it happened.  But (slurp) really glad it did.