Otis has been a student of mine, a helper in the Love Apple Farm booth at the Santa Clara County Master Gardener's Spring Plant Sale, and a grower of 7 foot tall tomato plants. Here's what he writes:Dear Cynthia:
This [photo] is proof that I can follow your instructions well enough to
grow 7' tomatoes. The one directly behind me is Burpee's Beefsteak.
The tomatoes were very tasty. Unfortunately I didn't get my cages on
until July. The plants were large and almost impossible to get through
the mesh. I'm gonna channel some Sandberg organization this year and
try to get them on soon after I get them in the ground.
I had unbelievable success using your worm castings
for Actively Aerated Compost Tea. I used exclusively yours in the
spring and later switched to my own as I created it. My results were
good but not magical. I'm going to try a little experiment and see
whether it was the time of year or the castings. I think I will also
make some tea with your castings and inoculate my worm bins and compost
piles. I don't think that will qualify them as Biodynamic but it
couldn't hurt.
Thank you so much for all
your help and support. You are one of the great treasures of this
community. Remind me to nominate you for local hero this year.
I
need to come and volunteer and I especially need some help with
transplanting out of containers and into the ground. I always have a
"shock" period before my plants get going and I think I'm doing
something wrong. We are revamping the Children's Garden in Watsonville
at the UC Extension office and I will need that skill.
Thanks again for sharing your growing gift and I'll see you soon.
Otis Johnson
Otis: I'm glad you had such great success using a tea out of the worm castings we sell here at the farm. As you know, that's what we fertilize our whole garden with! I'll see you again this Saturday at the Master Gardener's Sale. Thank you, Otis (and Stephanie!) for volunteering to work the booth for the second year in a row!
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