Living in Harmony with Nature and teaching others to garden the natural (organic) way, with emphasis on practices that lead to NUTRIENT DENSE produce!

Harmony Gardens

Harmony Gardens
Bey Home designed by Stitt Energy Systems, Inc. 2002

Welcome To Our Site

Our intent is simple: to provide useful information on gardening, health and sustainability issues. We will include class and meeting announcements, gardening information, and book reviews. The articles that Calvin writes for Garden Thyme, the Master Gardener Newsletter will be included. We will try to make this site easy to use and relevant.

About Me

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Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States
Harmony Gardens is the home of Calvin and Doris Bey. As the name implies our goal is to live in harmony with the Laws of Nature. We are concerned about the environment, energy efficiency, organic gardening, alternative health, and sustainability issues. We love our Stitt Energy Systems Inc. energy efficient home, which received a First Place NAHB National Award for 2003. Calvin is a retired USDA Forest Service scientist. Each year he teaches classes in Organic Gardening in February and March and again in September. Doris is a retired RN. Calvin and Doris have put their energy efficient house up for sale (by owner). See first post for description, pictures, and house design.

August 7, 2011

Hot Weather Tomatoes



Just a short note and a few pictures of tomatoes growing in my garden in this HOT and DRY summer. Many gardens have failed completely in our area, and I don't pretend that this is a good year, but I have had good luck with a plum (roma-like) variety (Granadero, F1) tomato. Johnny's Select Seeds (Johnnyseeds.com) has them. They call them a 75-day tomato, with TMV, V F2, TSW, N, and PM qualities.

I planted them May 7 and began eating them by July 4th.... less than 60 days. Our spring conditions can be described as very wet, and then followed by consistently hot and dry weather -- no significant rain from May 24 until now (Aug 7).

Perhaps the unusual fact is that all my tomato plants are looking good now. They have had regular watering. While all my varieties have yielded some tomatoes, only "Granadero" continues to flower and and set fruit in 100 degree-plus weather. See the photos. We have picked 20 pounds per plant and there is another 30 pound still on each of the plants. With a change to more normal weather, production per plant could easily total 75 pounds.

With the VERY HOT weather I did try a new twist. In mid July, I covered the plants with floating row covers. Mostly, I covered the top and the west side of the plants. It provides some shade and serves as a windbreak to the prevailing hot winds. It appears to have helped. More details on production will follow.




Garden 2007

Garden 2007
Heirloom "Country Gentleman" Corn