Townie Tomatoes II - The Rebound

The 2008 release of Townie Tomatoes was a bit of a bust. The cast never really connected and ultimately fell flat. The basil made a respectable showing, and a few beans dribbled off the vine. But the Townies were uninspired and had poor performances. Others I won't mention. Being the Director, the blame starts with me; I missed the mark.

Several things went awry – a hornworm invasion, flooded containers, crafty squirrels, but not clearly understanding the difference between veggies in the ground vs. veggies in containers held sway. The growing medium just wasn’t up to snuff and the stage was never set proper. So this winter was a time to re-evaluate. First up, find another growing medium. In ’08 I used an even mix of compost, potting mix, and garden soil. Booooo. The result was poor aeration and high water retention, not conducive to plant vigor. This year, a 5:1:1 recipe of pine bark fines, sphagnum peat, and perlite, plus some controlled release fertilizer and garden lime mixed in should perk things up. This mix should improve aeration, water retention, nutrition, and structural integrity – at least that’s the plan.

Next on the list was the cast. No more lackluster hired hands from the local nursery - I needed fresh talent. The seeds arrived promptly in February, neat little packets of raw energy waiting to burst forth in the coming season. Directing that raw energy from the start would be in my hands. A first. This year’s performers: Rose heirloom tomato, New Girl early tomato, Smarty cherry tomato, Tiburon pablano pepper, Sweet Dumpling winter squash, Eight Ball zucchini, Little Leaf cucumber, Jade bush bean, Sugar Sprint snap pea, Oliver Brussels sprouts, Sylvesta bibb lettuce, White Spear bunching onion, Titan parsley, Xiang Cai cilantro, Italian Large Leaf basil, and common sage. Apparently last year’s performance hasn’t tempered my ambitions.

To get the little guys started on the right foot, another new tactic was employed: Soil blocks. Essentially forms of starting mix, in this case (interestingly similar to the failed media of last year) an even mix of peat, perlite, and compost mixed with a little lime and fertilizer, that would train the seeds for the real world. Instead of purchasing the soil “blocker”, the form used to create the blocks, I put my Portagee ingenuity to use, and built the blockers myself from aluminum cans. Canned goods come in a surprising array of sizes. The blocker is used to form the soil blocks, which can either be placed directly in the container at planting time, or can be placed into a larger block that will allow the plant to continue to grow, I plan to do a bit of both.

“Ready on the set…………………..ACTION!”




Winter Grind

Winter can create some serious routines. It’s good to break it up with something new. Last year it was wild duck confit, this year it’s wild duck sausage. Pretty rustic stuff, but delicious. Here I simply served with my rye bread drizzled with olive oil. I will do this again, but would likely use fewer seasonings.


Wild duck sausage

3 lb duck breast, ground coarse
3 lb pork butt, ground coarse
20 g salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp sage
1 tsp cayenne
½ tsp ground juniper berry
½ cup red wine

Instructions: Grind, mix, stuff