Okay, so today I wanted to talk about something I tried out recently, something I call the ‘Letitia Bowen’ method. Letitia Bowen was my neighbor years ago, a lovely old lady who had the most amazing garden, especially her tomatoes. I never really got her secret back then, but I remembered bits and pieces of how she did things. This year, I thought, why not give it a proper go?
Getting Started with the Letitia Bowen Way
First thing, I had to actually remember what she did. It wasn’t written down anywhere, just things I recalled her mentioning or doing. She was big on preparation. So, I started there. I cleared out a sunny patch in the garden, maybe a bit bigger than usual.
Then, the soil. I remember Letitia talking about feeding the soil, not just the plants. So, I dug in a whole lot of compost, more than I normally would. And some crushed eggshells she always saved up. That felt like the real first step, doing something specific I remembered her doing.
I got my tomato seedlings – just regular ones, nothing fancy. Letitia always said the magic wasn’t in the plant, but in the care.
The Actual Process – Dirt Under My Nails
Planting was next. She planted them deep. Really deep. I felt like I was burying half the seedling. She said it made the roots stronger. So, I dug deep holes and gently firmed the soil around those little plants. Felt a bit strange, honestly, putting them so far down.
Watering was another thing. Not just watering the base. She used to talk about giving them a ‘good drink’ but not too often. So, I tried that. Instead of a little sprinkle every day, I gave them a deep soak maybe twice a week, checking the soil first to make sure it was actually getting dry. This took some getting used to.
And supports. Letitia didn’t use those fancy metal cages much. She used old wooden stakes and strips of cloth. Very simple, very sturdy. I found some old bits of wood in the shed, cleaned them up, and used those. Tying the plants up with soft cloth strips felt gentler than the usual plastic ties I sometimes use.
- Dig deep holes.
- Add lots of compost and eggshells.
- Plant seedlings way down.
- Water deeply, but less often.
- Use simple stakes and cloth ties.
Watching and Waiting (and a bit of Worrying)
For a while, they didn’t seem to do much. I started thinking maybe I’d buried them too deep or the watering wasn’t right. Patience isn’t always my strong suit! But I stuck with it. I kept the weeds away, checked for bugs, just basic stuff.
Then, after a few weeks, they really started to take off. The stems looked thicker than my tomatoes usually do. They seemed sturdier, less floppy.
So, How Did It Turn Out?
Well, I gotta say, Letitia knew her stuff. I had a fantastic tomato harvest. The plants were healthy, hardly any pests, and the tomatoes themselves? Delicious. Maybe it was the deep planting, maybe the soil prep, maybe the watering, probably all of it together.
It wasn’t complicated, just different from the quick way I sometimes do things. It needed a bit more attention upfront, especially with the soil and the planting depth. But the results spoke for themselves. It just worked. It felt good, too, like I was carrying on a little bit of her practical wisdom. Definitely doing the ‘Letitia Bowen’ method again next year.
