Sometimes the only way to win is not to play…
Also, after reading this article, I spent twenty minutes racking my aging brain to recall the name of a 1970s sci-fi “classic”:
When it was built three years ago, the company’s first 24-acre greenhouse in Madison was already the largest building in Maine. This second connected greenhouse, completed last year, brought the total area under glass to some 42 acres, or roughly the size of 32 football fields. Even in the depths of winter, a million tomatoes ripen indoors to harvest each week, snipped from their vines by workers in T-shirts and shorts.
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“It’s medium sized,” said Tim de Kok, one of the company’s head growers. At his last job, Mr. de Kok managed a 40-acre chunk of a 318-acre monster in Arizona. The center of Canada’s greenhouse industry, the area around Leamington, Ontario, has some 1,600 covered acres, roughly equivalent to putting Manhattan, south of Houston Street, under glass.
[…] “In the U.S., it’s hard to be competitive without a 20-acre minimum block,” Ms. Cook said.
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The plants here at Backyard Farms number about 550,000. Each consists of two plants — the vines of new varieties, constantly tweaked for flavor, color, freshness and myriad other traits; and the roots of another, grafted together at a thickly scarred “V” near the base.
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One half grows down into a sterile dirt-substitute made from fibers spun out of volcanic basalt, absorbing a custom hydroponic cocktail mixed by Mr. de Kok. The other half stretches toward the glass ceiling, growing a foot every week along a nine-foot length of twine. When the plants reach the top, workers reel more twine from the spool, shift the entire row horizontally and band each vine to its neighbor so that by the end of a plant’s life it might grow parallel to the concrete floor for as many as 20 or 30 feet, a dozen vines tangled together like garden hoses, before each makes its own graceful turn upward.
[…] And while no one would mistake a Backyard Beauty for a tomato picked from a backyard in late summer — it is not as tender and its flavor is not as complex — it is juicier and has much more flavor than what you’d find in your deli sandwich.
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“They don’t make a tomato that my grandmother would have liked,” Mr. Papadopoulos said. “They make a tomato that my son would like or my daughter would like.”
Of course, it also reminded me that I haven’t yet ordered either the elite gourmet boutique tomato seedlings or the grow-light kit that would let me start seeds in a household with two south-facing sunny windows and three cats.
Anybody else planning their summer gardens — or even starting them yet?
The Checkered Demon
Nah, you say “I love you too, sweetie.”..
That really chaps their nads.
What the Christ didn’t say is that you return good for evil it totally burns up the evil folks and leaves them floundering for an answer.
Va Highlander
Yes, we’ve started a few tomato plants under a fluorescent lamp. They were started in one of those plastic-and-peat-pellet doohickies from WallyWorld.
Under the lamp, which unfortunately isn’t even broad-spectrum, the seedlings seem to be doing well. They aren’t stretching too bad, so I haven’t had to take off the cover yet – and thus the cats haven’t eaten them all just yet, either.
I have to make other arrangements soon, though. They’re almost touching, even with the lid raised a bit for moisture reduction.
stuckinred
We are well underway in Georgia. The bulbs my wife planted are bursting everywhere, the cherry trees are bright white, tulip magnolia’s are almost done. Colllards and turnips are really good.I have a roll of “double loop ornamental fencing” coming today to try to keep the whistle pigs at bay. 80 degrees, no skeeters and fairly low humidity. Spring have sprung!
burnspbesq
In SoCal, everything except the canteloupes went in last weekend. The canteloupes wil go in in two weeks. We’ll start getting tomatoes in late June.
fucen tarmal
the problem with tomatoes is, everyone freaking has them at about the same time. for a good part of late summer you are lousy with them, i usually don’t garden, i don’t have the time consistently enough to really do it, and my plot of land is so small as to be dominated by even a small effort…once word travels through the tomato vine that i am without plants, its like being the catch-all for unwanted produce…
i could use a tomato these days, and the supermarkets are full of high priced, low quality offerings….i should start canning other peoples tomatoes.
The Grand Panjandrum
I have my garden all planned out and have actually begun work.
Since this is an open thread I thought I would share this very nifty little Android cell phone app for all the animal lovers I know we have here at BJ.
bargal20
I remember crying at the finale when dewey floated away in the dome, tending to the plants with his jack and jill watering while Joan Baez sang in the background…
arguingwithsignposts
Just listening to TRMS, and Chris Hayes mentions the “Punch the Hippie” strategy. Is that an original BJ term, or was that a prior term that was adopted?
ETA: I note that hippie punching or punching hippies is not in the Lexicon.
MikeJ
@stuckinred: You have trouble with marmots? I’ve heard the whistle of the whistle pig, but generally above the treeline, and never in a garden.
A Mom Anon
My garden is going to be late this year,due to 900 other damned things in my way. I hope to have everything done and planted by the end of this month.
And can I just say how much I hate insurance companies. My son had dental surgery right before my husband was laid off in Feb. I got a bill for 2k yesterday because the insurance refused to pay it AFTER I was told it was covered and approved. This is the second time this has happened now. The other was for my glasses,the insurance decided they weren’t going to pay an additional 300 dollars so I’m being billed for that too.
I’d like to get ahead and get out of fucking debt someday,Jesus.
GReynoldsCT00
I’m a condo dweller with cats. Anything I started indoors would get mowed down so I have to plant small stuff in pots on the deck in a few weeks. The bulbs and perennials in my front door plot are coming up beautifully though, if we ever see the sun again I’m sure they will shoot up like crazy.
GReynoldsCT00
@stuckinred:
I lived in Atlanta for four years, nothing like spring there. Dogwoods!!
dr. bloor
Idea shopping for the 20ish by 30ish city garden with the house we’re about to move into. Gotta get my climbing roses and mrs. dr. bloor’s herb garden into the half that gets steady sunlight, and pick out some partial sun thrivers for the other half. Oh, and did I mention that our tenant’s giant baby Labradoodle likes to romp (i.e., dig) in the yard?
We also have two 6 x 8 ish plots on either side of the walk leading to our front door. Maybe two hours of late sun per day. Any suggestions for shade plants that don’t look vegetation from the original Star Trek series?
RSR
ha, now the ad at the top of the page is for tomato plants
Yes, we’ve started a few seeds, some herbs, brocolli, beets (more for greens than the beets), chard, tomatoes, peppers and some other stuff. Some flowering butterfly-attracting plants, too.
We don’t have a lot of garden area, but we’ll get a decent amount planted this year.
beltane
I used to start seeds under lights, but the cost of it kind of defeated the purpose of growing my own vegetables. Now I just set up tables by all the south facing windows and it works just fine. When the seedlings get to be decent size I brings them out to our unheated greenhouse until it’s time to plant.
Spinach and lettuce were planted out in the greenhouse on March 1st, and they’re doing great. The peas will be planted outside this weekend. It’s been an incredibly mild winter here, I usually don’t attempt to plant anything before May 1st.
stuckinred
@MikeJ: They migrated about 10 years ago. They are kind of fun when they are mating and chasing each other around, once the kudzu blooms you really don’t see them until fall. I think they just lie on their backs and eat. They were just an excuse for my bride to get this nice fence!
If you go to youtube an enter “boulevard groundhogs” you can see my movie complete with soundtrack by Spirit!
Svensker
@dr. bloor:
What climate zone/part of the country you in?
Ken Druse’s books on shade gardening are wonderful and he lives in the city, so tends to give a fair amount of attention to small city gardens.
Hostas and ferns, of course. Astilbes for color, hydrangea, meadowrue is tall and airy with pretty flowers in lavender, pink or yellow, fall blooming anemone like Honorine Jobert which is tall white and gorgeous. The various dicentras (bleeding heart) are all good for shade and some varieties bloom all summer. Tiger lilies do well in the shade and they come in all kinds of colors.
My vegetable plot is glowering at me, but it needs heavy duty work before it’s ready to accept any seeds and I have no idea when I can get out there to do it. I did have some red romaine overwinter all by itself much to my surprise — picked my first (and maybe only) home grown produce yesterday.
stuckinred
@GReynoldsCT00: We have a very old one in front of the house. We don’t know how long it will last but we enjoy it!
dr. bloor
@Svensker:
Thanks for the suggestions–I’ll check them out. I’m in Rhode Island, which is normally 6b, but of late is 20,000 leagues under the sea. We had some tiger lillies in partial shade at our last place, and I was going to look at Hydrangea (more for the shaded portion of the back yard). I wouldn’t have guessed bleeding heart would do well, I’ll definitely look into that.
Joey Maloney
Nobody brought the crazy like Bruce Dern.
Svensker
@dr. bloor:
I also suggest getting seed/plant catalogues. Park Seed is a really good one, Johnny’s Seeds (which is up in your area somewhere) and White Flower Farm (which is way too expensive but fun). Even if you don’t buy anything, seeing the various plants with their sun/climate requirements can give you ideas and they are a wonderful way to wile away a winter’s evening dreaming big summer dreams.
brendancalling
we are so underway with the backyard garden.
the garlic we planted last october did very well over the winter, and we’re looking forward to that june/july harvest.
the beets, turnips and peas are in; so are the carrots, radishes, and chard. the mesclun greens we planted for fall, which we thought were dead, are growing happily. And in the window, our seedlings are doing well: tomatoes, brussel sprouts, eggplant, cucumbers, and hot peppers.
we do a lot with a little space: here’s a shot from two years ago: we know have a fourth raised bed where that center garbage bag with the terra cotta pot is. The photo doesn’t show the hops we have growing alongside the deck: nuggets and cascade. This will be our third year doing hops, and we expect a banner crop.
BethanyAnne
Someone here recommended tomatogrowers.com, and I bought some seeds. Now I have 4 varieties of seedlings. I’m a total n00b at this gardening thing, so I’m really happy that anything poked it’s head above ground. I’ve got black, heirloom, black cherry and white cherry. About to start hardening the seedlings this week. Very excited! :)
Maude
@dr. bloor: For shade, the annual, impatiens. They bubble up like the housing market until the first light frost. They are colorful. I was thinking for the front.
A lilac would be nice.
Harris seeds are wonderful to look at online. And of course Burpee.
Graham Thomas is a large light yellow rose that is very hardy.
Dwarf fruit trees would be delightful.
Sand Cherry is a lovely tree. Red Twig Dogwood is even pretty in winter.
I am surrounded by cement here.
Ornamental grasses are sturdy and come back. Do not get ribbon grass. It takes over. Also Yucca, you can never get rid of it.
Don’t forget pansies in shade.
Josie
Here in deep South Texas, it is already late for planting hot weather crops. If we wait too long, the summer sun burns everything up before it can produce. The only thing that can make it in the summer is okra. I have tomatoes and peppers with blossoms and tiny fruit. My okra and eggplants are just getting started and, if the cats will ever relent, my squash are starting to come up. I have lettuce, parsley, and dill left from the winter. This year, just as an experiment, I put in nine corn seeds. I’ve never grown corn, so we’ll see. I have a small yard with 1 1/2′ x 3′ raised beds on either side of a wide walkway and use pots for some things. I love to go out in the early morning and talk to the plants and check their progress. It’s a cheerful way to start the day.
David in NY
Have to get some 72-cell planting thingys and maybe a couple of new fluorescents and I’m set to go. Seedlings — 2 kinds tomatoes, eggplants, 2 kinds peppers, basil, leeks — will be ready to plant just before Memorial Day.
David in NY
@arguingwithsignposts:
I first encountered many phrases such as “punching hippies” and “dirty fucking hippies,” a/k/a DFH’s, at Atrios but I can’t be certain he originated them. I do know that he did originate a number of such phrases/concepts, however.
pixelpusher
That 70’s scifi classic? Sleeper. Woody Allen’s funniest movie, sadly. Back when he knew how to take the oldest jokes in the world and make them fresh and funny again.
pixelpusher
Screwed up the link to the Sleeper scene.
Litlebritdifrnt
@bargal20:
Crying? Gawd I was bawling so badly I almost made myself physically ill. I have only watched that movie twice, never again, I just can’t tolerate the emotional state that the ending leaves me in.
chopper
my garden may, or may not happen this year. us community gardeners have it hard. sigh…
Surly Duff
@ funcan tarmel
The secret is to plant different successions of tomato plants. Put the first out in early spring (around April) and start a new round of seedlings. Then set those out in late May when they are hardy. That way you don’t have three weeks of huge tomotoes and then none the rest of the summer.
Also, you don’t need a grow light for starting seeds, just rig up a flourescent light a few inches from the seedlings. And you don’t really need any special seedling tray either. Just buy a bag of dirt for gardens or seedlings, and stick the seeds in old cardboard egg cartons with holes punched in the bottom. I’ve already got cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and a bunch of herbs sprouting, almost ready to hit the garden. Not to mention the beets, carrots, chard, spinach, and onions that I already planted.Summer is going to be good.
Kristine
Started my seeds last weekend. Three types of tomatoes, (Rutgers, Pink Brandywine, and Cherokee Purple), a mixed bag of sweet peppers, and sweet basil have all been started in a grow tray. In a couple of weeks, I will start the mesclun and arugula seeds outside.
But before I do that I need to change the dirt in my 4×8 foot raised bed. I planted a couple of storebought tomatoes last year along with Black Crim that I started from seeds. The storeboughts were OK for much of the summer–lots of decent tomatoes–but they were carrying blight. First coolish snap in September, and all my plants went under in a matter of a week. So. I need to switch out the dirt to get rid of any spores. The pissy thing is, if a neighbor plants storebought tomatoes and the wind carries spores to my house, I will be SOL anyway.
West of the Cascades
I planted five rows of seeds last weekend in my little garden plot in Portland (Oregon) – kale, swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, and green beans. Living in a condo I’m happy we have a community garden area with each unit having a little garden plot – got it in about a month earlier than last year, so I should have fresh greens by May. Mmmm.
Also looking forward to a summer feasting on free fruit from local trees – there’s a big “urban foraging” movement in town with a couple of websites showing where there are fruit trees on public green strips or private property where homeowners have said “the public is welcome to pick the fruit.” Plums, figs, apricots, and apples all grow free for the picking within about 15 minutes’ walk of where I live. Mmmmmm.
liberty60
Here in So Cal, I have a couple varieties of lettuce ready for picking, with cauliflower and broccoli about halfway to maturity.
Like Josie said, it is almost too late for planting anything but hot weather plants.
Re: the Rall cartoon- the reason I favor places like BJ, and commenters like Rachel Maddow, is the lack of drama and shrillness; points are mode so much more devastating when it doesn’t turn into a Olberman/ Coulter personal bitchfest.
gnomedad
Haha, tomato ad at the top. Sure beats An ne Cou lter (trying to avoid summoning the demon here).
Corner Stone
@West of the Cascades:
I’m trying to not be jealous but am failing.
Down Mr. Fisty! Down!
Martin
@burnspbesq: Same with us. We got the garden prepared last weekend and only got a few things in (tomatoes, mainly) but the rest will go in this weekend. The kids run this show, however.
Corner Stone
Have a couple potted things going on the back porch, will probably add a couple more.
On my mom’s advice I’m trying the “pairing” theory this year, and have planted marigolds into a pot with tomatoes.
REN
@Joey Maloney
Bruce Dern was always a favorite of mine. He made you despise his character. I have never forgotten a villain he played on Gunsmoke when I was a kid, he said ” I’ll squash you like a bug, boy,” speaking to an eight year old. A very much underrated actor.
We live in zone three, we don’t even think garden until Memorial Day weekend.
Existenz
So I guess you guys are talking about Silent Running, yeah? As long as it wasn’t Soylent Green, haha.
Fergus Wooster
Just planted last weekend. A raised bed in all-day sun with three kinds of tomatoes (interspersed with basil), zucchini, bell peppers and jalapenos.
In our side-bed that gets 6 hours of sun we’ve planted green beans and edamame. Plus lots of cucumbers.
I will have a serious sad if this doesn’t pay off. If it does, I should have some of the biggest, juiciest tomatoes of all time. . .
twiffer
chives have started coming back, and i see new growth on the strawberry bush. hoping the rest of the perennial herbs survived the winter.
although, according to the box of triscuts i got on tuesday, having a veggie & herb garden is no longer gardening. it is now “home farming”. i need to get a chicken.
andy
I scored some Litchi tomato seeds, and I’m going to again attempt to start Some Black Krim, Tigerella, and Yellow Pear tomatoes as well. In Minnesota, we’re having an unusually warm spring (a couple weeks ago we had a thunderstorm instead of the blizzards we get around tournament time). In real life, it’s way too early to risk seedlings outdoors, but this is the month to drag out the jiffy pots and start seeds- maybe taking a risk and putting them out by mid-may. Must remember to harden them off this go-around…
T. Scheisskopf
Yes, Ann. I kept my BHut Jolokia and Lemon Pepper plants alive all winter, in my kitchen. My Rosemary plant weathered the winter. More will be grown on my deck, mostly Maters, hot peppers and herbs.
Sirkowski
Hey, that’s not Rule #36!
Steve Balboni dba T.R. Donoghue
RE: Hippie punching
I used it in my column this morning,
http://thefastertimes.com/topstories/2010/04/01/offshore-drilling-an-exercise-in-gratuitious-hippie-punching/
I’ve seen it here more than anywhere else and probably first. It popped up with Atrios and Bowers yesterday.
Marmot
I’m out in the garden right now, in fact. I’m trying to build a terraced vegetable garden on a small hill in our yard. I’ve already planted tomatoes, yellow squash, radishes, carrots, poblano peppers and jalapenos.
With any luck we’ll see the first tomatoes in June here in Central TX. Wildflowers are coming up right now, and they’re fantastic.
Oh, by the way, thanks for putting quotes around “classic” — Silent Running might’ve been a trailblazer, but it’s some hokey, hole-y sci-fi!
Anne Laurie
@dr. bloor: Best defense against doggy enthusiasm is raised beds — or even large planters. It’s easier to train a puppy not to dig or climb into a planter than to get him to discriminate between ‘okay to dig here, NOT okay to dig there’ in an enclosed area. And here in New England it’s much easier to add good soil to a planter than to “amend” the concrete-hard clay/construction fill in most urban yards.
Day lilies (hemerocallis) are available in an enormous range of sizes & colors. Irises and daffodils also do well with very little sun. If you’re lazy like me, planting all three together gives you a succession of flowers starting in April and going through early October. If you’r in Rhode Island, it’s worth planning a visit to Tranquil Lake Nursery later this spring!
Capn America
Is it just me or does the person being wronged look a lot like Greenwald?
Is this DougJ’s way of making amends? :P
cathaireverywhere
Yes! 7 varieties of tomatoes in the ground (juliet, tomcat, mortgage lifter, sungold, black cherry, Mr. Stripey and Aunt Ruby’s German) 2 peppers (jalapeno and ancho) 1 eggplant (fairytale) scalloped squash in 3 colors sprouting as well as okra and Mediterranean cucumbers. I am in Zone 8b and my entire side yard is raised beds.