As I posted on May Day in "What's Happening in My Garden This Week", my Moskovich heirloom tomato (above, right) ain't lookin' great in the VG. I was panic-stricken, actually. The leaves are starting to curl, but there are no other signs of trouble yet. In fact, it shot up so fast last week that it prompted me to stake it first, then the Porter and the BHN 444s. I mulched and kept checking for water, but the leaves kept curling.
Arrrgh.
As is usual when I'm frustrated, I hit the 'Net for answers. At first, I came up with all kinds of scary reasons (blight, freak nematode damage), but none of them "sounded" right. Trusting my gut after a third inspection today, I decided that the plant is getting too much light. I knew when we planted the bed that we might have issues in this department, but as much as I'd love to situate the VG nearer the house for ease of care, I've got more challenging obstacles near the house (poor drainage and an energetic toddler) than I do at the back of the property (full sun and wild fauna). That's right...I'd put my li'l bundle of boy ("Tater Tot") up against a mockingbird any day of the week when it comes to potential garden problems.
But I digress.
Earlier this evening, I decided to go all 911 on the situation and install the shade cloth supports that came with my raised bed kit. The support snapped together pretty quickly, but I still have to make a Lowe's run to grab some shade cloth. I do kind of fear a mighty storm might lift the thing up and away...like it did with Tater Tot's playhouse last week...but I decided that such a storm would prolly destroy the plants anyway. Thus, the support is up and ready. I can't recommend this kit highly enough. Seriously. It's virtually idiot proof to put together.
After all of that, I sat down tonight at the computer after Tater Tot went to bed to poke a stick at the sitch a bit further. I'd been misspelling "Moskovich" because it's spelled "Moskavitch" on the tab. I'd picked the plant up at Cibolo Nature Center's Annual Native Plant Sale last month from local "heirloom tomato experts" who may be gifted growers but sure botch a name. Anyhoo, turns out once I got the name right (by scanning this site) I soon discovered...ta-da...the Moskovich variety is an early bloomer. Which means our warm, dry, windy weather of late is prolly giving the fool thing fits. Which also means my instinct was right...it needs a bit of help to get through this time period. Phew.
While I was on the web, I found this very nice little article from Nevada on growing veggies, especially tomatoes. I thought it offered some useful advice for those of us in drier climates. Oh, and I can't miss referencing Tomato Bob's site for its description of the Moskovich as having "small 4-5 ounce red fruits" that are "very sweet and very early," if for no other reason that I just like the name of the site...Tomato Bob.
Finally, I must say that sitting out by the garden and contemplating all this Nancy Drew stuff did clue me into some things I hadn't noticed yet...like the wee yellow squash that have popped up with their tiny blossoms-to-be. YAY! And that the cucumbers look a little straggly for some reason--a new mystery, perhaps?
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