Determinate: These varieties of plants will grow large like a bush with their height capping off around four feet, making them suitable for tomato cages and container gardening. They should not be pruned or suckered, as it will reduce rather than increase the crop. Their fruit will all be ready around or near the same time. They are great for canning because you get a large crop all at once. Look at the maturity days for an idea of when they’ll be ready to harvest.

Indeterminate: These tomato varieties grow like a vine. They can reach well over 5 feet tall. Our tomatoes last year were around 7 feet each. They’ll need to be staked, caged or trellised to support their weight, and the fruit will continue to bloom and produce as the plant grows until it is killed by frost. New growth can be pruned or suckered off to encourage fruit production. (Most heirloom varieties are indeterminate.)

A String Trellis for Indeterminate Tomatoes

To be clear: This is not the only way to string tomatoes, and it is not the only way to grow them on a trellis. However, this is what’s been working for us. We gave it a season’s trial, and we were rewarded with a cleaner garden, healthy plants, and plenty of tomatoes that have lasted us all year.

All we did was build a frame to hang over the tomato plants. Our frame leans back slightly, but you could also use a regular A-frame and have the strings straight up and down. A few eye bolts hold a length of garden twine taught along the bottom. Then we run strings of twine up to eye bolts at the top. Each string will have one tomato plant at the base, and we’ll use tomato clips to secure the plant to the string.

Once the trellis is in place, plant the tomatoes at the base of the string. Small hands are good for this.

This is the style of tomato clip we use. As the tomatoes grow, we snap the clip to the garden twine string where we want to secure the plant. The string is held in place, and the tomato fits into the opening. There’s no danger of damage to the plant, and I don’t have to bend and twist the plant around the string, which is a benefit to me.

What to Plant Near Your Tomatoes

Did you know that what you plant in front of your tomatoes can help or hinder the tomatoes and the other plant? Practicing a bit of companion planting can increase yields and help deter bad pests and attract good bugs (good bugs eat bad bugs). Organic farmers have been doing it forever, and you should, too. Here are a few things that you might consider planting in the shadow of your tomatoes:

• Asparagus
• Basil
• Borage
• Carrots
• Cucumber
• Onions and Chives
• Spinach, Lettuce, Arugula
• Nasturtium and Marigolds

Avoid planting these near your tomatoes:

• Black Walnut
• Brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi)
• Corn
• Fennel
• Potatoes

So, for the foreseeable future, our tomatoes will be shifted between the raised beds this way. It works for us. If I had to change, I’d probably move to a system of bamboo stakes. Have you had success with tomatoes in the past? What kind of support system did you use for indeterminate plants?

The Way We Eat

We aim to have a diet that is largely focused on whole foods, and our shopping cart resembles a CSA box no matter where we happen to be shopping: farmers market, supermarket, or co-op. We do use a few convenience items, but we make sure they are brands and names we trust, and we pay close attention to ingredients.

Meal planning is still an important aspect in keeping our budget and diet grounded. With a plan we do much better than without one. During the process of writing my book, we backslid and stopped the menu. It showed in our finances at the end of each week, and it showed in our diet. We eat better on the whole when there is some guideline for the meals we’ll be making for the week. It is worth it, and it needs to be a priority to keep mealtimes running smoothly.

Meals aren’t always fancy. In fact, of the three daily meals, only dinner gets a bit of a nudge in the fancy department. Lunches are often dinner leftovers, but when they aren’t, they consist of basics. I’ve been enjoying eating half an avocado with spinach leaves, a handful of tomatoes (fresh or sun-dried), seeds, and a small scoop of cottage cheese for lunch this week. Raw vegetables and hummus make regular appearances in the kids’ lunch boxes. Fresh fruit is offered as a snack.

What’s Changed

We chose to do a few things differently this year with how we shopped. Even during the worst weeks of disorganization with looming deadlines and chaos everywhere else, these things helped to keep us a bit more sane than we would have otherwise been. Our budget has only increased slightly, mostly due to having children who are growing and eating a bit more than last year. We have shifted some of our spending so that it is in lump sums, but otherwise, our approach to family meals and feeding has been relatively stable.

Meat

The first major thing was switching the way we purchased meat. A 1/4 of a grass-fed cow was purchased (we split a 1/2 with our neighbor), and while it was a larger investment up front, it’s been wonderful in the long run, and that investment actually saves us money.

Cooking Light did a review comparing grass-fed beef to conventional earlier this year, which made it easier to pull measurable differences in cost and nutrition. Here are a few of the reasons why we like going this route when it comes to purchasing our meat.

• Waste Not, Want Not. Having a freezer full of beef encourages us to use just that beef. We’re using exactly what the farmer delivered to us. We live in a society that so often throws away what we don’t desire, and knowing we need to use these pieces of meat helps us to be better stewards of the land. It also lets us get creative. A roast doesn’t need to mean meat and potatoes. It could mean shredded beef tacos.
• Filler Avoidance. I’m sure you’ve heard about pink slime. I don’t want to eat it. Knowing exactly where my meat comes from helps me avoid strange filers like pink slime (which is incidentally banned in the European Union and can’t be sold in Canada as beef. Hmm.)
• Meds in the Meat. I see a place for antibiotics. However, just as I would not give my children a prescription all winter to prevent ear infections, I would prefer my meat not to get antibiotics without them being truly sick. Antibiotic resistance is a real threat to animals and humans. I feel the same in regards to hormone treatment.
• Price Comparison. Yes, purchasing organic, grass-fed beef will be more expensive. However, that price difference is nullified when you purchase it in bulk. The ability to fill the freezer and use that meat all year actually results in savings over not just individually-packaged organic beef, but over conventionally-raised meat as well. (Cooking Light placed the savings at $300/year for a 1/2-cow purchase.)
• Count Your Calories. I’m sharing this because it’s one of my favorite facts about grass-fed beef. It wasn’t actually a factor for us in making the decision to purchase, but it is a rather amazing thing to think about when you consider the obesity epidemic going on. Grass-fed beef is naturally leaner, which means that on the whole, you’ll be consuming fewer calories if you eat the same amount of meat. In fact, the average American would eat 16,642 fewer calories by consuming the same amount of grass-fed beef rather than conventionally-raised according to the Cooking Light piece.

Moderation

I’ve long been a believer that we eat too much meat. After 7 years as a vegetarian, I still have not been convinced that eating meat and animal products at every meal is a necessary way of life.

Instead, we aim to look at moderation as a way of eating. We started to make more of an effort to ensure 85% of what we eat is plant based and in its truest form possible. This means several meatless meals, but it also includes smaller portions of protein on a whole. It’s about finding balance.

In the same vein, I look at things like dessert as something to have in moderation. Not daily after dinner. I believe in dessert: for birthdays, for family celebrations, for dinners with friends. These are not daily occurrences. My life is not less sweet because I choose to savor my dessert.

Moving Forward

As we head into the next year, there are a few things I want to focus on. One is that our dinner schedule seems to shift and sway. While this is necessary to accommodate personal activities, I’d like to try and have a more set schedule for life as a whole, and dinner is included in that plan, which, of course, means menu planning and organization on the whole.

The other thing I hope to focus on more strongly is the role our kids play in each and every meal that is served in the home. I fully believe that we as parents have the responsibility to teach our children the ins and outs of the kitchen and how to feed themselves, and I want to be sure to illustrate that more, as well as be more deliberate about it.

Check out what others are writing this week in the Eat Well, Spend Less series and how they have changed the way they eat over the year:

• Aimee from Simple Bites
• Alyssa from Kingdom First Mom
• Carrie from Denver Bargains
• Jessica from LifeasMOM
• Katie from Good Life Eats
• Katie from Kitchen Stewardship
• Mandi from Life Your Way
• Tammy from Tammy’s Recipes

Kitchen Planning When You’re Pregnant

Amy at Kingdom First Mom shares how to plan your kitchen and pantry and cook ahead while you’re pregnant. From dealing with nausea to taking advantage of second trimester energy, she shares her frugal tips for keeping the kitchen functioning while you’re busy growing a baby at the same time.

Cooking for a New Mom

Over on Denver Bargains, Carrie shares just how nice it is to have someone deliver those meals when you’re a new mom. A new mom herself, she lets you know the best things to deliver to new parents.

Good Eating and Welcoming a New Baby

From fun family traditions at the arrival of a new baby to ideas on how to continue to get meals on the table, Jessica shares her experience as the mom of six on feeding her family during this transition period.

The Postpartum Diet

Baby Clara is sure to be one well-fed little girl. Her mom, Aimee, is busy making sure of it even now as she recovers herself. Focused on eating healthy and getting the right kinds of foods in her own body, as a nursing mom, Aimee will also be ensuring that Clara is getting what she needs as well.

Food for New Parents

I explored the importance of having freezer meals ready to go, a pantry stocked to make easy and last-minute meals from, as well as offering up a list of produce suggestions to keep on hand for those postpartum days that are easy to eat and that store well…just in case you should forget about them while you’re snuggling your newborn.

A No-Work Kitchen After Baby Arrives

When Tammy’s baby, Channah, arrived a month early, she wasn’t necessarily prepared just yet . She shares her tips on how to reduce the kitchen workload and still enjoy that newborn phase that seems to pass every so quickly.

A Homemade Baby Food Prime

As babies grow, they’re going to start needing and demanding more. Check out Mandi’s tutorial on making and stocking up on homemade baby food over on Food Your Way.

Feeding a Baby Real Food

Katie’s baby made his entrance back in August of last year, so he is ready to start the solid food routine. Katie shares her baby-led weaning that puts an emphasis on real, whole foods and avoiding processed food and how it works for her.

What We’ve Been Loving

Spring has officially sprung around these parts, and here at our house we’ve been wintering off, cleaning out the cobwebs and embracing the sunshine. A few of our most recent loves:

Simple Provisions | We started having non-homogenized (cream line) milk delivered to our front steps. Our neighbors have been joining in, and in addition to the milk, we’re able to get fresh baked bread, organic meats, maple syrup and Ames Farm honey delivered as well. I feel a bit as though we’re embracing the era our neighborhood was built in, and I’m perfectly okay with that. It saves me an extra trip each week, and delivery is free with a $20 order.

Grass-Fed Beef | After reading the piece on the benefits of grass-fed versus conventionally-raised beef that Cooking Light did, as well as the recent pink slime headlines, I’m loving our freezer full of meat more than ever. Having a ¼ cow is also a great way to encourage us to eat meatless more often, so that we ration our beef throughout the year until next year’s shipment.

10 Diet Foods that Will Make You Fat | As part of eating a whole foods diet, I avoid diet food completely. I recently did a load of research, looking into the exact reasons why diet foods actually serve to help you gain weight, increase cravings, and slow your metabolism rather than helping you lose weight.

How to Hard Boil an Egg | You’ll see tomorrow that I put these hard-boiling tips to good use. I looked at the different ways people say to get the perfect peelable hard-boiled egg, as well as let you in on my favorite. (Julia Child’s method for just 12 minutes resting.)

Why I Take My Kids Grocery Shopping (and Think You Should, Too) | I share why our family shops together, detailing what I think it provides my children in life lessons, education, and experience. It’s not perfect, but shopping with my kids is something I plan on continuing to do as they grow.

Do you have any tips for eating well for pregnancy, birth, andbeyond? Also, be sure to check your inbox to see if you won the Pioneer Woman or the Parents Need to Eat Too giveaways!

A Well-Stocked Pantry

Having a pantry stocked and full can be a lifesaver in those early days when you just might not have the will to head to the grocery store to stock up. In addition to spices and pantry basics, aim to stock up on food that is easy to prepare and that provides a source of energy: dried whole wheat pastas, quinoa, rolled oats, polenta, dried or canned beans, seeds, nuts, nuts, and more nuts. Debbie does a wonderful job covering this topic in her book, detailing what to keep on hand and also providing easy recipes on what to do with it now that it’s there.

Freezer Meals

If you can, have a few meals prepared and ready to go in the freezer that can just be taken out and popped into the oven. This will take the stress out of family dinner as everyone gets used to the new schedules and the shift in family life. A few good freezer meals to stock (or to give to new parents):

::Cream of Turkey/Chicken Wild Rice Soup
::Baked Manicotti Florentine
::Basil Pesto
::Chicken Empanadas

Produce

Eating a balanced diet means that you need to include plenty of produce, but the problem here is that if you are busy and harried, as so many are during the first few months of adjusting to a new family member, then it’s also easy to forget that gorgeous zucchini, the bundle of asparagus, or the bowl of just ripe peaches. Aim to purchase produce with a bit of a longer shelf life and that can be eaten without much prep work. Some ideas:

• Apples – Apples seem to keep for weeks in the crisper drawer. A good rinse and you can bite right in with one hand while carrying baby in the other. (Note: Be sure to choose organic varieties. These are on the Dirty Dozen list.)
• Citrus – Whether you slice them into smiles or give them a quick peel, citrus provides plenty of vitamin C and are good at staying fresh for more than a few days.
• Bananas – While bananas do brown pretty rapidly (if you’re like me, often before you consume them), overripe bananas can always be peeled and tossed into the freezer for later use as banana bread or baby food.
• Romaine and Kale – These are my go-to salad base for just having around. Romaine heads (and kale) tend to stay fresh a bit longer if they’re attached to their base and wilt less than some other lettuce varieties. Kale is a great source of iron, too.
• Carrots – Easy to snack on, and baby carrots make it easy to grab a handful (or a bowlful) as a snack.
• Avocados – I let my avocados sit next to the bananas until they’re just ripe enough to eat, and then I store them in the refrigerator to use as the week progresses. They’ll go bad a bit faster than some of the other suggestions, but they provide a great source of healthy fats for a nursing mom.
• Frozen Berries – While not fresh produce, having a supply of frozen will be the perfect treat on a bowl of yogurt and granola or to top off a baked oatmeal treat.
• Sweet Potatoes – A great source of vitamin A, these take a bit more forethought to consume, but rub one down with olive oil, poke it a few times with a for, and toss it in the oven to roast while you’re doing something else. Top it like a baked potato, but with butter and a drizzle of raw honey for a lunchtime treat.

As always, you can check out what others are writing in the Eat Well, Spend Less series about eating well during those busy baby moments:

• Aimee from Simple Bites
• Alyssa from Kingdom First Mom
• Carrie from Denver Bargains
• Jessica from LifeasMOM
• Katie from Kitchen Stewardship
• Mandi from Life Your Way
• Tammy from Tammy’s Recipes

A Giveaway:

I’m giving away a copy of Parents Need to Eat Too by Debbie Koenig! Inside you’ll find recipes and tips for eating healthy during those early days, as well as how to transition those meals into baby’s first foods and then into toddler times.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. That’s all there is to it. Tell me about your first baby, your sixth baby, what you deliver to your friends who just had a baby, or just say hi.

THE RULES:

This giveaway will run until Sunday, March 25th, 2012 at 12 noon EDT and is open to all U.S. residents. A winner will be chosen at random using Random.org from all eligible entries. Chosen winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize. Good luck!