Washington Gardener Magazine is the award-winning publication for Mid-Atlantic USA gardeners by local gardeners.
This fall, I have taken on two editorial interns. Look for their author bylines in our upcoming Washington Gardener Magazine issues, our YouTube videos, GardenDC Podcast, and on this blog. As a first assignment, I asked them to write a short introduction to our readers so you can get to know them.
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Ripe Tomato on Tomato 'Citrine' plant on July 20, 2026. |
Guest Blog by Maya Hand
I had never gardened before this summer, beyond occasionally
weeding with my mom when I was little! I grew up with my mom growing many herbs
and flowering plants in our backyard. She had squash and zucchini some years,
and she always had cherry tomatoes, which I enjoyed plucking and eating off the
vine. She usually planted the tomato 'Super Sweet 100.'
On June 1, I transplanted tomato ‘Citrine’
and The Purple Tomato™ seedlings into the community garden plot on Fenton
Street. I planted zinnia Zydeco™ Fire and zinnia ‘Crestar Fieldgrown Mix’ seeds
in the pollinator strip.
There was a good deal of weekly weeding to
do in the plot and pollinator strip throughout the summer. The main aggressors
were morning glory vine, mulberry weed trees, yarrow, and crabgrass. The most ease I had
pulling up the weeds was when using a Cobrahead weeder after a rain.
The moisture that remained in the soil helped get the roots loose. There was
one mulberry weed tree next to the Purple Tomato that persisted even though we
kept it covered by a piece of old tile. I cut it back
each week, along with uncovered side shoots.
I watered and weeded every Monday when fellow intern Koree, editor Kathy Jentz, and I went to the garden together. Kathy watered the plants during the rest of the time (except when rain did the watering for us). There were
several Mondays when I added a bit of fish fertilizer to the water for the tomatoes.
The zinnia seeds were up by the end of the
first week of June.
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| Zinnia seedlings on July 6, 2026. |
On June 22, I added a tomato ‘Fourth of July’ seedling and an African marigold 'Lanna Lace' seedling to the same patch as the tomato 'Citrine' and The Purple Tomato™. I also top-dressed around the tomatoes with a mix of aged horse manure and coffee compost.
The first ripe 'Citrine' tomato appeared later that week -- these tomatoes are ready to eat when they turn a light golden yellow. By the end of June, the 'Citrine' tomato plant was continuing to produce fruit, and the Marigold had one flower and a few buds forming. Sometime in the second week of July, Kathy saw one 'Fourth of July' tomato ripening before it disappeared (likely eaten by a rodent).
Since the zinnias had still not flowered by the last week of July, I thinned them out (removed several seedlings so they weren't crowding each other so much). The zinnias started blooming the following week! I regretfully forgot to take a photo of them in bloom.
We entered one flower from the 'Lanna Lace' marigold into the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in August, and it received a first place ribbon in one of the marigold categories. We also entered The Purple Tomato™ in the "Most Unusual Tomato" category, but they did not earn a ribbon, perhaps they were not fully ripe at that point.
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| Me with our first-place African Marigold 'Lanna Lace' flower, at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, on August 18, 2026. |
Of the tomato plants, the tomato 'Citrine' grew the largest and produced the most fruit. I did not see another 'Fourth of July' tomato after the one that disappeared. Though I only saw unripe tomatoes on The Purple Tomato™ plant, Kathy harvested some ripe ones when I was not at the plot. My last day at the garden was August 10. By then, I had tasted a few 'Citrine' tomatoes!
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| Tomato 'Citrine' and African Marigold 'Lanna Lace' on August 10, 2026. |
Despite being told by two cooks in my life (my mom and stepdad) that I have a developed palate, I am unable to describe the flavor and texture of the 'Citrine' tomatoes in a way that is distinct from similar cherry tomatoes. I don’t have a very developed intra-vegetable palate!
I tried the nine varieties at our Tomato Taste at the FRESHFARM Silver Spring Market and liked 'Citrine' the best. (Note: Those tomatoes were from farms in the DMV, not us.) But I was too busy managing the table to pay close attention to the experience of eating each variety. I will say that I like the 'Citrine' tomatoes' combination of lightly sweet with a touch of sour, and there's that satisfying snap that all fresh cherry tomatoes have when you bite into them.
What are you growing and harvesting in your garden this week?
About the Author: Maya Hand was an intern with Washington Gardener Magazine this summer 2026 session.
About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 15th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above (at the top, left on this blog).
Devil’s Trumpet (Datura spp.) is an herbaceous (non-woody) plant that is an annual in our region. It is hardy to USDA Zones 9-10. Some Datura are native to the southwestern United States and others originate in the Caribbean and Central America.
The large, fragrant flowers bloom from mid-summer until frost. The plants tend to sprawl on the ground and can form a mound of 3-feet wide or more.
The plant is moth-pollinated. Datura wrightii is the host plant for the larvae of the Hawk moth (Sphingidae). It is a good choice for a nighttime or moon gardens.
It is often confused with Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia sp.). However, Brugmansia blooms points down, while Datura’s flowers face up or out. Also, Brugmansia’s fruit is smooth, while the Datura fruit or seed capsule is prickly. They are both members of the nightshade family and are considered poisonous in all parts, so are essentially deer-resistant, but should also be kept away from small children and pets—and handled with care.
The common name jimsonweed refers to Datura stramonium also known as Mad
Apple or Thorn Apple amongst many other common names. It was used by indigenous peoples
of the Americas as a hallucinogen and intoxicant.
Datura grows best in full sun and in well-draining soils. It is quite drought-tolerant once established. Apply an all-purpose fertilizer regularly to encourage continual blooming.
Datura: You Can Grow That!
Audio, Photos, and Text by Kathy Jentz
Video and Editing by Koree Perry
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If you liked this video, we think you will like these other Plant
Profiles:
~Jewels of Opar Plant Profile
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/10/jewels-of-opar-plant-profile.html
~ Celosia Plant Profile
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/11/celosia-plant-profile.html
~ Monkey Balls Plant Profile
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/11/plant-profile-monkey-balls-gomphocarpus.html
PIN THIS FOR LATER!
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
The rain held off and we had more than 200 people come to yesterday's Washington Gardener Magazine 16th Annual Tomato Taste at the FreshFarm Silver Spring Market. Here are the results of the ballots submitted.
When we launched this podcast back in March 2020, our goal was simple: to help you grow your best garden in the unique Mid-Atlantic climate – but our listenership quickly grew worldwide and includes gardening enthusiasts from every part of the planet and growing zone. We couldn't have reached this milestone without you, our dedicated listeners. But most importantly, we wouldn't be here without the incredible wealth of knowledge shared by our past guest experts.
Over the last 300 episodes, we have
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If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:
~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 100: Behind the Scenes
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/04/gardendc-podcast-episode-100-behind.html
~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 200: Secrets of a Gardening Podcast
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2024/06/gardendc-podcast-episode-200-secrets-of.html
~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 250: Garden Hacks
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/08/gardendc-podcast-episode-250-garden.html
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Show Notes will be posted after 8/31/2026.
This episode is archived at:https://open.spotify.com/episode/3b1cihuXUD2n4HnNE4dspV?si=4lJITQgHQp66hLz6WEwXXg
The holiday season is here and I bet you have a gardener on your gift list, so we've updated our annual a Holiday Gifts for Gardener...
