Char's Gardening"As the Garden Grows, so does the Gardener"

Tomato grafting in not a new technique, though most Americans have never heard of it.  Japan and other European countries have been grafting tomatoes, and other veggies, for half a century.   At a tomato workshop I attended yesterday, at the Santa Rosa County extension, Dr. Johanna Welch, taught this technique.   I will attempt to demonstrate the technique below.  At the end of the lecture, when someone asked Dr. Welch, why we Americans were just now, 50 years later beginning to graft, her answer dismayed but did not surprise me.  She said, our farmers have been reliant on cheap chemicals, such as ethylene, to fight tomato diseases while other countries have chosen other ways to deal with this problem.   When grafting tomatoes, a root stock resistant to the most prevalent and deadly diseases is chosen and then grafted to the better tasting ones (this top portion is called the scion).   This allows farmers or gardeners to no longer be reliant on toxic chemicals.

Here’s the list of supplies needed for tomato grafting:

-Root stock seedlings, about 4 wks old  (they must have their true leaves)

-Scion seedlings, about 4 wks old (they must have their true leaves)

-Razor blade

-Cutting board

-70% alcohol solution (the working area must be sterile)

-Grafting clips or tubes (1.5mm to 2.0 mm)

root stock on left, scion on right

cut root stock below cotyledons and scion above cotyledons (You want the root stock to be longer than the scion b/c graft must be above ground when planted)

lay root stock and scion next to each other and using a razor make a 45 degree cut through both of them

this is what it should look like after cut, next you would press the two together and place the clip or tube over graft

this is the picture of the grafted tomato I got from the workshop

the grafted tomato must stay humid and out of direct sunlight for a week and then be hardened off, mist it daily while in the bag

If you are interested in tomato grafting Johnn’y Selected Seed’s has both root stock seeds and the grafting clips.  The  University of Arizona is a very informative site.

In my last post, I briefly mentioned a deer had come by and had eaten my fall garden down.  Of the two 4 x 8 beds I have, one was almost completely destroyed, but the other was only munched on a little.  I knew that if I did not protect the beds, the following morning, I would have nothing left.  I had to act fast.  But I wanted to build something that would last, protect against the deer, and also when the time came, protect my garden from freezing.

First, I built a frame.

Here is a list of supplies to build the frame:

3 – 4 ft pieces of PVC,  6 – 2 ft pieces of PVC,  4 – 3’8″ pieces of PVC,  6 – 3″ pieces of PVC,  4 - 3/4″ 90′s,  8 – 3/4″ T’s

Below is a  diagram of how the pieces fit together.  The 2′ pieces are the legs and they attach to all the downward facing T’s. (I forgot to add those in the diagram.)  Don’t worry about glueing the fittings, this is not load bearing and it will be fine without glue.  If you are having a hard time connecting the pieces use a rubber mallet to help bang them together.

Okay, so now you have a frame.  For my purposes, I wanted to keep the deer from eating my garden, so I used some plastic fencing I had on hand and covered the frame.  I used zip ties to hold the fencing on the frame.  From personal experience, I know that zip ties will not hold up in the outdoors for more then about 1 year.  If my fencing keeps the deer at bay, I will exchange the zip ties for wire.  Wire fencing or chicken wire could be used in place of the plastic fence, though it would more difficult to work with.

I will cover the entire frame with plastic when the first frost warning for our area is announced.  Also, if you have veggies that need protection from the sun,  put some shade cloth over the frame.  I only made my frame 2′ tall, but if you need it to be taller, since it is PVC, this should not be a problem.  Some couplings and extra PVC should do the trick.

I’ve been thinking I need a bird bath.  You may wonder why, to make a long story shorter, I just recently, within the past few months, got my courage up to set my bird feeders back out.  Now I know that sounds strange, but when I first moved to this house, I set up my bird feeders at the back of the property. One night, with the help of a flashlight, I saw a big black bear sitting down helping himself to my bird seed.  The next day down they came.  I missed watching the birds.  Deciding to be brave, I put my bird feeders back up, this time I  placed them near the house.  I figured, either that would deter the bear, or at least I’d get a good view of him eating my birdseed.   Of course, now I needed a bird bath.  I’ve been looking but couldn’t find one that I really liked. Then the other day I salvaged a clay saucer from someone’s trash (sshhh).   I had seen other people use these as bird baths but what would I use as a pedestal?  Then I remembered, I had purchused some 6″ pvc pipe to put in my pond as safe haven, from the blue heron, for my Koi.  The Koi refused to use them, so I would use this and just mosaic it.

Following are directions for how I made my bird bath.

Supplies:  6″ PVC, saucer for bath, tile or ceramic plates or anything you would like to use to cover the PVC, sandpaper,  tile mortar, sanded grout, grout sealer, baby wire brush (not necessary but helpful), tile trowel (not necessary but also helpful), hammer, paint scraper to apply grout, and safety glasses.

Tile and Plates for covering PVC

Tile Mortar, Grout, and Grout Sealer

Here’s the fun part, using a hammer, break the tile and plates into small pieces.  You should wear safety glasses when doing this.

Break Tile and Plates

Lightly sand the PVC so the mortar will adhere better.  Mix tile mortar according to instructions.  I used half the bag, but should have only used one third, I had a lot left over.  Also, I didn’t use the premixed kind, because the tile guy at Lowes said “the kind in the bag holds up better in outdoor situations” (sure hope he’s right).   After the mixing is done, apply the mortar in small sections, so it will not dry out, this I learned from experience.  Next place tile.

Applying mortar and tile

Continue placing tile until the PVC is fully covered.  Note:  I did not apply tiles to the bottom 6″ because I am going to bury it to keep it from tipping over, this is probably not necessary, just personal preference.

Cover PVC except bottom 6"

After mortar has dried, mix grout per instructions.  I used about one third of the bag, I also used grout boost.  You do not have to use this, but once again, the tile guy at Lowes said, ” this would help with the elements” (again hope he’s right).  After mixing is completed, apply grout make sure you get it down in all the creveses.

Apply grout

As the grout dries use the baby wire brush to remove excess grout.  You will want the grout to dry a little but not all the way.  If it is too soft you will remove too much from in between the tiles, but if it’s too dry it will be a beast to remove.  I suggest you just test a small section to see if it’s dry enough.

Use baby wire brush to remove excess grout

Once the grout is almost completely dry use a damp cloth to completely remove remaining grout and haze from tiles.  This may take time, just keep at it until the tile is nice and shiny.

Remove all excess grout and haze from tile

Once the grout has completely dried your are ready to place your bird bath out in your garden.   I  put a few rocks in the back in hopes butterflies would also use it, though I’m not sure how that will go.

Completed Mosaic Bird Bath

If anyone is interested in making one of these, the cost is about $30 each, not counting the saucer, I don’t know how much those cost.  To keeep cost down; check local tile stores, they always have scraps they will give away, (most times they will only have nuetral colors, I use some nuetral colors along with the colorful), also look for colorful plates at garage sale and thrift stores, the flatter the plate the more usable pieces you will get.   I purchased my  6″ PVC at a plumbing store.  It only comes in 10 ft pieces which will make at least three, depending on how tall you want your bird bath.  I paid around $20 for this a few years ago.  The draw back is since the PVC, mortar, grout, and grout sealers are only sold in quantities to make three bird baths, the cost of $30 each only applies if you make three.  But Christmas will be here before you know it, I’m sure we all know someone who would like one of these.  Did I just tip my hand?   The time in labor to build the bird bath is approximately 5 hrs (not including drying time), give or take depending on experience.   If you have any questions I’ll help if I can, just drop me a line at charsgardening@yahoo.com.