Perhaps I AM smarter than the average bear! I am now returning to my original belief that the one volunteer tomato plant in the aquaponic garden that is not a cherry tomato is, in fact, a Brandywine – a Yellow Brandywine, to be exact. I was thrown off by the fact that fruit of last year’s Brandywines were not even close to being as large as these tomatoes are, leading me to believe they were Beefsteak or Super Steak plants. Now that the largest fruit has been ripening for a few days, and staying yellow, I realize that it is a Yellow Brandywine. I am not sure how this comes to be, unless last year I tossed a rotting fruit from the Yellow Brandywine we grew in the hydroponic garden into the compost. The plant that I grew in a container with potting soil did not produce fruit, but the one in the hydroponic garden did. I do not recall tossing out one of its fruits, but it is also possible that some of its seeds ended up in the compost bin anyway when kitchen scraps are added to the bin. Either way, the “mystery” tomato plant in my aquaponic garden is definitely a Yellow Brandywine. The ripening tomato is absolutely huge!
Yellow Brandywine tomato plant in the aquaponic garden now confirmed, since the fruit is not turning red and it is definitely NOT a “Yellow Boy.” Notice the red cherry tomatoes in the background, which are about 1″ in diameter and about 6-9″ away.
I thought I would also share some more photos of the Romas in this garden, which are beginning to ripen. There are so many, I don’t even try to count them. Behold photos of some of the “clusters.”
Roma Tomatoes in the aquaponic garden
The fish tank temperature was 75 when I checked it this afternoon, and today’s temperature in the shade reached at least 95. I discovered a 3-inch long perch in distress this afternoon – I imagine it will perish at the higher temperature, which is not surprising.
I removed the first Straight Eight cucumber from the vines in this garden today and gave it to Stanley. He claimed later, when asked why he didn’t share a little with me, that when he was ready to eat it he called out to me, but I didn’t answer, so after seven minutes he declared me dead and ate it all himself!!! Ha Ha Ha!!! I suppose such is the case when husband and wife spend most of the day and night on the same property. He’s just so funny, sometimes, though, that was a good one, so I came back with one better: I asked if he knew how dead he’d be if I declared him dead every time I couldn’t find him within seven minutes.
Anyway, Stanley keeps eating the ripe cherry tomatoes before I can harvest them. Then he complains that there haven’t been enough tomatoes in two years to make more than a quart of salsa. Well, blame it on the soil. If I could grow everything in an aquaponic garden, I certainly would do so.
About Mary J. Guess
When I was a teenager living in Maryland, my mother had the opportunity to instill in me a love for growing and preserving food. My father's employer provided a community garden for its employees, and our family always had a plot where we grew tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and zucchini. We had tons of tomatoes and I learned to can them when I was 16. The following year, my friend Vicki helped with the job while she and her mother were visiting. We both still practice the skills we learned during those teenage years, even though life has thrown its curves in our way.
I moved to Los Angeles and lived in Hollywood for a while, then met my husband. A few years after we were married, when our two children were toddlers, we were able to rent a home with a small area of land where I could plant vegetables that the children loved to pick and eat right in the garden, and I've planted vegetables every season since then (about 24 years). When we outgrew that home, we purchased the property where we currently reside because in addition to the home, there's a large building that is perfect for my husband's jewelry manufacturing business.
Since the front yard was all turf, I chose the back yard for my vegetable garden and had flower gardens created in some areas of the front yard. When I ran out of room in the back yard for all the vegetables I wanted to grow, I had grass removed from portions of the huge front yard, which were then turned into vegetable gardens. Each year or two, for various reasons, I've claimed another portion of the front yard for vegetables, ultimately leaving the back yard free to raise chickens.
I've learned what I know about vegetable gardening in Southern California from books, experience, and in more recent years, the wealth of information on the internet, and I'm pleased that my son, although not fond of the labor involved, is infused with the desire to grow his own food.
I started raising hens in 2013. I started out with six Ameraucanas, added two Rhode Island Reds a few months later, two Ameraucanas and two Rhode Islands a few months after that, and five Red Rangers were added in the summer of 2014. Each time that I added hens to the "flock," they were raised along with meat chickens until the meat chickens were slaughtered. When the next brood of meat chicks arrived, a hen house was built for the young hens or they were old enough to move in with older hens.
I've learned most of what I know about raising chickens and hens from information on the internet, for which I am very grateful. Raising hens has brought a new dimension to my life and the eggs they lay are delicious. People wonder how I can raise meat chickens and have them slaughtered. I always tell them that I look at them as food, not pets. I know their ultimate fate, I know the meat is delicious, and that's what it's all about - feeding me and my family. I have to wonder if they feel badly about yanking a carrot from the garden or pulling leaves from lettuce plants!
While it may seem that vegetable gardening is my main interest, it's only because it requires so much of my attention. I love eating the fruits of my labor because they're so much more delicious and nutritious than what's been trucked, stored, handled, trucked again, handled by who-knows-who, picked over, and often left to rot in the refrigerator. When it's home-grown or hand-picked fresh from the plant, we WANT to eat it! So I do expend quite a bit of time and energy producing and preserving our own food, and I usually will not purchase vegetables or fruits that are not in season in my area because my husband and I have become accustomed to "eating in season." The flavor differences are remarkable. For fruits and vegetables that I don't grow, I make trips to "natural" and/or certified organic orchards and farms that are within a two-hour drive that allow me to pick what I want or have a road-side stand. Often one or two people will accompany me to make the picking go faster. We pick strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, pluots and Asian pears. Since we live in citrus country, we grow our own tangelos, grapefruit and lemons. Most of the tangelos and grapefruit are juiced. What we don't eat or drink fresh is preserved by canning, freezing and/or drying, which is time-consuming, but definitely worth the effort.
My main interest is designing clothes for myself and others, which again was instilled by my mother. She gave me a small working sewing machine when I was eight years old and I began sewing Barbie clothes. By the time I was 14, I was designing clothes for myself and my sisters. I wanted to attend The Fashion Institute of New York after high school, but didn't have the necessary funding. Regardless, designing my own clothes has remained a steadfast hobby and resulted in a varied wardrobe that others constantly remark upon. I always feel ahead of my time when wearing one of my "creations," even if it's not my own design but because the fabric that I chose stands out. I also enjoy needlework, including crochet, knitting, embroidery, crewel and cross-stitch, as well as other crafts. My youngest sister and I recently completed our first dollhouse project!
When I began working for my husband's jewelry business, he was heavily involved in producing and expanding his line. While many of his pieces appeal to both men and women, he did not have any pieces that were intended specifically for women. So I was tasked with the goal of designing crystal and semi-precious stone necklaces which met with his approval. I've created several rather simple designs that can be re-created time and again, as well as a few designs that are one-of-a-kind. I don't care for production work and prefer creating one-of-a-kind designs.
Before I began working for my husband's business in 2004, I was a commercial real estate and business law paralegal. I enjoyed that work immensely, and occasionally have the opportunity to assist my former employer, which helps me stay in touch with that industry. For the past 11 years, I've managed the administrative tasks required to run my husband's business.
Mary Guess' Garden 