Hi all! I meant to do this last year and had the opportunity early in our trip this year. These are fully grown tomato plants in Jordan. These particular ones have some irrigation, but in our area usually are dry farmed. They plant them around Feb and then the rains stop in March or April. They produce until the temps create a stop for a while in the summer and then start up again. The tomatoes are saladette size. Kind of fun to see something in another place (to me) as far as how a typical crop is grown. Most crops are quite smaller than we are used to in North America (for example okra is usuly a foot tall and that is it) due to lack of watering.

So interesting; thanks for posting this!

And now I'm laughing at myself because I meticulously pick all the rocks, stones and pebbles out of my garden plot each year, and that tomato field has rocks the size of bricks in it and the tomatoes apparently don't care.

Seven Bends wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2024 8:57 pm So interesting; thanks for posting this!

And now I'm laughing at myself because I meticulously pick all the rocks, stones and pebbles out of my garden plot each year, and that tomato field has rocks the size of bricks in it and the tomatoes apparently don't care.

Lol this field has hardly any rocks in it compared to a lot of others, including ours! I wanted to collect ours and make a stacked stone wall, but yes, the plants don't care at all.

Rocks are likely beneficial in that climate, keeping soil temperatures more moderate than they would be without. The bigger the rock, the more slowly it absorbs and releases heat. Rocks tend to keep the soil under them damper as well, but that wouldn't last a season of dry farming I guess. Still it would help to trap moisture when you get some. @Seven Bends if it gets any hotter and dryer you may want to put your rocks back!!

bower wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2024 6:59 am Rocks are likely beneficial in that climate, keeping soil temperatures more moderate than they would be without. The bigger the rock, the more slowly it absorbs and releases heat. Rocks tend to keep the soil under them damper as well, but that wouldn't last a season of dry farming I guess. Still it would help to trap moisture when you get some. @Seven Bends if it gets any hotter and dryer you may want to put your rocks back!!

This was south of Irbed, and we are north so I am not sure about their soil details. What our land and area has which is very interesting is a thick layer of clay heavy soil about 2ft below the surface that is about a foot - give or take 6 inches - deep. What i have observed when we both planted trees and when i was working (archaeological digs), was that you see moisture retained below that cap and plants are tapping into that. Also natives like capers and figs will grow over the natural and altered karst systems which are retaining moisture as well. Altered referring to where people took natural caves or karst features and then would dig out tomb chambers. Anyway, that clay strata alternates with loams every few feet and is below the plow line. I would guess that the loam soaks in water quickly to the cap and then is more slowly absorbed through it in a cycle that goes on all rainy season and then it acts as a very slow release as the land dries out. Things like tomatoes with their deep roots are fine to weather the lack of rain as long as they can establish to and through the clay layer(s) before the rains stop.

bower wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2024 6:59 am Rocks are likely beneficial in that climate, keeping soil temperatures more moderate than they would be without. The bigger the rock, the more slowly it absorbs and releases heat. Rocks tend to keep the soil under them damper as well, but that wouldn't last a season of dry farming I guess. Still it would help to trap moisture when you get some. @Seven Bends if it gets any hotter and dryer you may want to put your rocks back!!

Total aside, but your chard babies have been blooming and i need to just figure out how to harvest seed!

Julianna wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 5:34 am

bower wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2024 6:59 am Rocks are likely beneficial in that climate, keeping soil temperatures more moderate than they would be without. The bigger the rock, the more slowly it absorbs and releases heat. Rocks tend to keep the soil under them damper as well, but that wouldn't last a season of dry farming I guess. Still it would help to trap moisture when you get some. @Seven Bends if it gets any hotter and dryer you may want to put your rocks back!!

Total aside, but your chard babies have been blooming and i need to just figure out how to harvest seed!

Mine are blooming too! It's a long wait but eventually the seeds will turn brown when they're ripe. Then you can cut the stalks and dry completely before separating the seeds.

bower wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 6:17 am

Julianna wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 5:34 am

bower wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2024 6:59 am Rocks are likely beneficial in that climate, keeping soil temperatures more moderate than they would be without. The bigger the rock, the more slowly it absorbs and releases heat. Rocks tend to keep the soil under them damper as well, but that wouldn't last a season of dry farming I guess. Still it would help to trap moisture when you get some. @Seven Bends if it gets any hotter and dryer you may want to put your rocks back!!

Total aside, but your chard babies have been blooming and i need to just figure out how to harvest seed!

Mine are blooming too! It's a long wait but eventually the seeds will turn brown when they're ripe. Then you can cut the stalks and dry completely before separating the seeds.

Ok! I will look for them to turn brown. I have some that have been blooming for 2 years now with no browning and I have no idea what is going on. They just grow more and more leaves and the seed stays green. Obviously those are not yours but they are just interesting to observe.

Strange! Obviously you had enough of a 'winter' for them to vernalize and go to seed, so why wouldn't they ripen seeds in the fall as they do where the seasons are clearer... They do tend to take a long time and plants that bolted late don't necessarily ripen seeds here before it's too late.
If you want the seeds to ripen, and you see they're fat and green enough (this starts at the bottom, always small on the tops), I would suggest to stop watering them as whatever autumn you have approaches, to encourage the plants to dry down. Seed Savers says to cut the seed spikes to dry when about 2/3 of them are brown.

bower wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2024 7:49 am Strange! Obviously you had enough of a 'winter' for them to vernalize and go to seed, so why wouldn't they ripen seeds in the fall as they do where the seasons are clearer... They do tend to take a long time and plants that bolted late don't necessarily ripen seeds here before it's too late.
If you want the seeds to ripen, and you see they're fat and green enough (this starts at the bottom, always small on the tops), I would suggest to stop watering them as whatever autumn you have approaches, to encourage the plants to dry down. Seed Savers says to cut the seed spikes to dry when about 2/3 of them are brown.

This may be the problem! I did cut water but our warm weather happens in october and last year that also started our rainy season. Maybe the chard doesn't like this progression as far as triggering death. It just triggered all new growth along the stem which is making a ton of new leaves.