Fenton Friday: Sweet Potato Eruption

I have re-buried this sweet potato mound twice, but it has broken way above the soil's surface again. I think it is time I just harvest them, but it still seems a bit early. Any tips from veteran sweet potato gardeners?

The rest of my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Garden is humming along. I have been snacking on more okra, another cucumber, some small tomatoes, and a few carrots.

My spinach seedlings almost dried out in this hot, windy week. I need to keep a better eye on them as well as add a fabric row cover as other gardeners are reporting harlequin bug problems in their plots.

The honeydew melon vine is finally setting fruit. The eggplants look past their prime, I suppose I should pick and use them too. The tomatillo plant has about 30 fruits ripening on it, but still at least a week or two from being ready to use in a salsa.

Finally, as promised, I let some of the 'Indigo Rose' tomatoes go until dead ripe. Here it is pictured whole and cut open. As you can see, the purple color is only skin deep. The tomato itself tastes "okay" -- not sweet enough for me to snack on, but would be fine cut up in a salad.

Video Wednesday: Wangari Gardens

Looking through some old emails this morning, I realized we had forgotten to share this video about our friends at Wangari Gardens. A little late, but here it is. Enjoy!


Planting Community from Still Life Projects on Vimeo.

Hottest Gardener in the DMV Contest

Although most of the summer heat has passed, we know there are still many "hot" gardeners out there in DC-area gardens.

For our August 2012 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest, Washington Gardener is asking for nominations for the “Hottest Gardener in the DMV (District, Maryland, and Virginia).”

“Hotness” will be left open to a wide interpretation. Depending on the number of entries, we may split the categories by gender and age group and declare multiple winners. There will be fun prizes for each “hottest” gardener. And yes, you can self-nominate!

To nominate a hot DMV gardener, send an email with “Hottest Gardener” in the subject line to WashingtonGardener@rcn.com by 5:00pm on Friday, August 31. In the body of the email please include your full name, email, mailing address, and attach the Nominee’s Photo plus a few details about them: name, age, and city, state where they garden. The winners will be announced and notified by September 2. Some of the entry responses may be used in future Washington Gardener online or print articles.

Tomato Taste 2012 Results

 We had almost 200 come to yesterday's Washington Gardener Magazine 5th Annual Tomato Taste at the FreshFarm Silver Spring Market yesterday. Here are the results of the more than 150 ballots submitted.

1. Sun Sugar from Spiral Path Farm received 50 votes
2. Green Zebra from Evensong Farm received 41 votes
3. Pink Lady from Koiner Farm received 16 votes
4. Chocolate Stripe from Mock's Greenhouse received 15 votes
5. Arkansas Traveler from Three Springs Fruit Farm received 14 votes

Anne Miller of Silver Spring, MD, won the prize drawing of a tin basket full of gardening goodies.

Most of the taste attendees were local, though we also had many who came quite a distance. About half live in Silver Spring. Another third live close by in Washington, DC or the towns of Takoma Park, Chevy Chase, Kensington, Hyattsville, Rockville, College Park, Gaithersburg, and Wheaton in MD. From across the river in Virginia, attendees came from Vienna, Falls Church, and Springfield. From out of the area, we had attendees from Elizabeth City, NC, Stratford, CT, and Haddon Heights, NJ.

See more photos from the event at  http://www.facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine.

Thank you to all who came and participated. Thanks to the farmers for growing great tomatoes and to FreshFarm Markets staff for hosting us. Special thanks also to Doree and Martha for helping with all the tomato sample cutting and helping greet all the tasters in the short two-hour event. See you next August!

Fenton Friday: Anticipating Autumn

The broccoli seedlings are popping up and I still need to seed my spinach and other cool weather crops.

Meanwhile, I FINALLY got one scrawny cucumber off my vine. So I picked it and sliced it up. Then I put the slices on top a toasted bagel smeared with cream cheese. This is the quintessential summer meal to me, much like a good grilled cheese in the depth of winter. Another cucumber is forming, maybe that can be another lunch sandwich by next week.

 The tomato plants are really starting to produce. Picture here are the Yellow Pear. So sweet and delicious to snack on that they rarely make it out of the garden plot and home to my kitchen.

I've also been snacking on raw okra, carrots, and made a meal of some of my 'German Butterball' potatoes (boiled and then added a dollop of butter and some seasoning salt-substitute mix).

Also, this week the first watermelon ripened on the wild vine that sprouted up in the communal herb garden corner. We had a gathering to cut it open and sample it. It is a funny yellow-pink combination inside, but is nevertheless sweet and firm of texture. Two more are ripening and should be ready to share in the next week or two.

Washington Gardener Magazine's Tomato Taste at Market is Back!

Washington Gardener Magazine's
5th Annual
Tomato Tasting
at the Silver Spring FreshFarm Market

It’s ‘Big Boy’ vs. ‘Mortgage Lifter,’ hybrid vs. heirloom, the tomato wars have just begun. Everyone is sure that their tomato pick is the tastiest. Join Washington Gardener Magazine at the FreshFarm Market in downtown Silver Spring, MD, on Saturday, August 25 from 10am-12noon for a Tomato Tasting. Best of all, this event is FREE!

Farmers at the market will contribute their locally grown selections — from super-sweet ‘Sungold’ to not-so-pretty ‘Cherokee Purple’ — and we’ll explore which tomatoes make the short list of favorites. We’ll have tomato gardening tips, tomato recipes, tomato activities for kids, and much more. All to celebrate one of summer’s greatest indulgences — the juicy fresh tomato.

Tip: Your tomato taste voting ballot is also your entry into our prize drawing for a basket full of gardening goodies. The drawing is at 12noon, so be sure to fully fill out your ballot by 11:45am and then stick around for the prize announcement as you must be present to win.

Video Wednesday: Tastiest Tomato Contest at the DC State Fair 2012

The DC State Fair held its Tastiest Tomato Contest in August 2012 at the Columbia Heights Farmers' Market in Washington, DC. Gardeners from across DC were encouraged to enter their home-grown tomatoes. Washington Gardener Magazine was a co-judge and prize sponsor.