The Big Picture

This is the most prolific part of the garden. The picture is a little embarrassing, due to the weeds that are, well, everywhere. But all the plants seem to be getting plenty of water, thriving actually, and I don't have 8 hours a day to spend on the garden, so there you have it. In the foreground are the summer squashes (zucchini in the lower left). Behind that is a row of cucumbers, but you can't see them. Behind that you can see bell peppers, and behind those are the tomatoes. I've used a modified version of the Florida weave to trellis them. Look it up! It works very well.

The first row of tomatoes has determinate varieties (meaning they have a pre-determined size they will grow, i.e. they will stay short). They are trellised using shorter wooden stakes (I think they are 4' stakes stuck about a foot into the ground). The two rows behind are indeterminate, meaning they will climb up to the sky if you give them enough time and a tall trellis. Those are staked with 6' metal rods, the kind that you can get at the garden store and are coated in green plastic. I also have metal T-posts at the ends of each row for reinforcement, so the whole thing doesn't fall over.