Carter's Water Garden


Sunday Reflection’s…

I’ve been up since early morning, doing a few things in my garden. Finally getting my tomatoes 🍅 squared away 👏🏻 It was a test… I almost always get my ‘maters’ out by April 15th… But this years weather had other plans 😊 Late frosts, wind and storms, unseasonably cool nights well into late April, early May drove my decision to wait. PS: I’m glad I did.

In fact, I know several old gardeners who always wait until Mothers Day to plant their tomatoes 🍅 and peppers 🌶 🫑 and almost always have show stopping gardens with HUGE yields. “It’s all about soil temperature and warming nights”… I’ve learned that this age old wisdom holds true almost every time. Everything revolves around proper timing…

Have you planted any tomatoes yet 🍅 Today is the day for me! I have good plants over a foot tall ready! This is my favorite variety, Cherokee Purple. It’s an old ‘heirloom’ variety that was passed down from American Indians over 100 years ago. Soooo Good! 😋 But don’t put all your eggs in 1 basket 🧺 Diversify by planting some hybrid varieties as well like Jet Star and Better Boy.

“Whoever makes a garden. Has never worked alone;
the rain has always found it, The sun has always known;
The wind has blown across it. And helped to scatter seeds;
Whoever makes a garden. Has all the help he needs.

Whoever makes a garden. Should surely not complain,
With someone like the sunshine.And someone like the rain
And someone like the breezes.To aid him in his toil
And someone like the Father. Who gave the garden soil.

Whoever makes a garden, has, oh, so many friends;
The glory of the morning, the dew when daylight ends.
For rain and wind and sunshine, and dew and fertile sod;
And he who makes a garden, works hand and hand with God.”

~ Douglas Malloch

Have a great Sunday!

PS: 1 week from today is Mothers Day! ❤️

~ Mark C.



T is for Tomato 🍅 | Carters Nursery Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN

Do you grow your own Tomatoes? If you do, you know the joys, rewards, and discomforts (work) of growing them. If you don’t grow your own tomatoes, well, it’s not to late to make something of your life…

Breakfast tomatoes, lunch tomatoes and guess whats for dinner 😊🍅

I have grown so many different varieties over the years… Jet Star and Better Boy’s are always a safe bet with their hybrid vigor and disease resistance! Great for canning and preserving for Winter too! But, when it comes to a good slicing tomato or a delicious Tomato Sandwich, give me a Cherokee Purple!

Breakfast! Fried eggs, biscuit and gravy and sliced Cherokee Purple Tomatoes! yum!
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes are unique in appearance and Incredible in Taste!

Guy Clark said it best! Theres 2 things that money CAN’T buy – True Love! and Homegrown Tomatoes!

PS: When your ready to get started on your ’Better Life’ by growing your own tomatoes, I’ll be here to help 😉

Have a great evening!

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw

Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775

Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/



Gardening is more than a Hobby! Its a way of life… A Lifestyle! | Carters Nursery Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN

I’ve only got a quick minute, but I wanted to encourage everyone to get out there and plant something in your Garden! Tomatoes 🍅 Peppers 🫑 🌶 Melons 🍉 etc… Its a great hobby that will lead to a better life! Better health! Happiness 😊

A group of Garden Club Ladies are coming to tour the nursery today 😊 Im excited!

I have a Garden Club coming today, so I gotta keep this short…

  • Plant something!
  • Nurture it!
  • Watch it grow!
  • Then you will realize that your actually growing too 😊 AND, theres a Huge reward coming – Harvest 🌽 🍅🌶🫑🍉💐🐝❤️

Have a great Thursday!

PS: Thanks to the Town & Country Garden Club for coming today!

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw

Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775

Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/



Sunday Reflections…

Were you early to church this morning? Or, were you more like me and actually set your clocks ahead like we were supposed to, only to have to drag your butt out of bed 🛏 Springing forward ain’t easy!

I will gladly readjust my time for SPRING!

As I watch the snow melt this morning, Spring is in the air! And in a week, it will be official 😊 I am so ready for longer evenings, flowers, boating season and homegrown tomato’s 🍅.

“In spring when maple buds are red, 
We turn the clock an hour ahead; 
Which means, each April that arrives, 
We lose an hour out of our lives. 

Who cares? When autumn birds in flocks 
Fly southward, back we turn the clocks, 
And so regain a lovely thing 
That missing hour we lost in spring.”

~ Phyllis McGinley

Mark C.



Throwback Thursday | Memories That You Can Count On! | The Smell Of Homegrown Tomato’s 🍅

Some memories are so powerful they not only touch the senses, they drive you back again and again… Yes, I’m talking some serious stuff this morning! I’m talking Tomato’s 🍅

What a gorgeous throwback picture! This one was taken around 7 years ago. Every year I try to recreate this scene…

Do you grow your own Tomato’s? If you don’t, this might not resonate with you at all… But, if you do, you know exactly what I’m talking about! There’s nothing like peak “Mater season”! When the counter is covered in them and you have jars full of Tommy toes, and every meal has a tomato component… 1 word – Heaven!

The simplicity of a tomato sandwich is very understated. White bread, mayonnaise, salt 🧂 pepper and fresh sliced homegrown tomatoes 🍅…Whew’… Give me a moment… talk amongst yourselves…

The bad part is the end of Tomato season… When you start to see the end. You know your gonna have to face a long Winter with NO fresh tomatoes… That’s when these pictures and these old memories come back to haunt you… But, right now, that’s a ways off! Right now is tomato time! 💥 My advice, get out there and make some memories!

Get all you can now! If you have too many, can em’! Because, like the man says “Winter is Coming”! 🐺

PS: IF you didn’t grow your own, there’s always next year… The next best thing is a trip to the farmers market. But do it soon! Look for older, heirloom varieties if available. My favorite slicing tomato is a Cherokee Purple. One bite and you’ll know why 😊

Here’s a little Love Song for ya’ on this #Throwbackthursday morning.

Have a great day! 😉🍅


Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw

Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775

Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery/



Tomato 🍅 Tuesday Update | Thanksgiving Maters’!

The week of Thanksgiving is finally here! The menu is planned and the guest list is finalized. There’s only 1 change to the menu… An addition. A very rare addition for a Thanksgiving in fact…

LATE season tomatoes 🍅 have a wonderful taste! Especially at Thanksgiving dinner 🦃 They aren’t as big as Summer tomatoes, but, they may be better?

When your getting to the end of the Tomatoes 🍅 it’s very important to do 2 things! #1 – Don’t Panic! #2 – Savor every last bite!

Like the song says – There’s only 2 things money can’t buy… True Love ❤️ and Homegrown Tomatoes 🍅

Happy Thanksgiving 🦃

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw

Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775

Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery



Tomato 🍅 Tuesday… Getting Close To The Bottom Of The Barrel

There’s not many things that I enjoy more than a Tomato 🍅 Sandwich 🥪 So wonderfully simple… Bread, sliced homegrown tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt & pepper, and a glass of tea. Maybe some chips? Maybe not!

Good, fresh white bread is important for a great Tomato 🍅 sandwich. And fresh homegrown maters! These are the Cherokee Purple variety. My personal favorite.

Now we are in mid Fall and we are coming to the end of the Tomatoes for the year… A sad and scary time for many of us 😞 We always get a big final load of tomatoes 🍅 in Fall, and they normally carry us past Thanksgiving.

How I miss fresh tomatoes 🍅 in the cold of Winter. Like the song says, “There’s two things that money can’t buy, true love and homegrown tomatoes.”

To get the lasting yields from your tomatoes I recommend growing heirloom varieties that are Indeterminate tomatoes. That means they keep on keeping on till frost! Here are a few pics of mother loads for ya’…

I still have some left, but I can see the end now… And it looks lonely 😩

Have a great day! Try not to think about running out of tomatoes… That’s what I keep telling myself 😊

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

YouTube pg. –
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dPkQiE04jcr385SOL0gkw

Facebook pg. – https://www.facebook.com/mark.carter.775

Pinterest pg. – https://www.pinterest.com/cartersnursery