Planting

La Dame aux tomates….

April 17, 2012

I had the privilege of hearing Point Loma Garden Club’s Tomato Lady, Karen Greenwald, speak a few weeks back and I’ve been meaning to post the great information she shared with the Bridge & Bay garden club.   Karen is also a fellow San Diego Master Gardener.  Tons of great info.   So here goes:

Planting:

Seeds need to be started 8-9 weeks before you plant outside. Wait until April to plant at earliest to plant your seedlings, acclimating for a week before you plant. Dig the hole, drop in some fertilizer water the hole, then let it drain. To plant your seedlings, remove the branches except the last three at the top. Also, pinch off any flowers to direct the plant’s energy to grow. Scrinch (Karen’s word!) the roots. Bury your plant to 1/2 inch under the bottom set of leaves, meaning you will be burying most of the stem. This will encourage more roots to form and your plant won’t be spindly. Stake your plant right away. If you wait to stake later, you’ll cause damage to the roots.

Plant 3′ apart in ground. If you are container-gardening tomatoes, use a minimum 15 gallon pot. Any smaller than that is too small. Use putting soil, not dirt from your yard, filling your container 3 inches from top of container. Mulch only with healthy mulch.

Tomatoes require a minimum of 6 hours of sun. The more sun, the better, but they prefer morning sun to afternoon.

Fertilizing:

Karen likes to use Tomatoes Alive fertilizer. follow directions, don’t overdo it! First feeding is when you plant, then you’ll feed two more times – when it flowers and it fruits. Don’t over feed!

Watering:

Don’t over water. Water stressed plants taste better. Dont judge by midday droop. Look at plant first thing in the morning. If it’s limp, water only in morning. Dont sprinkle, water deeply. If you mulch, you should ony have to water once every two weeks, deeply. If you are container-gardening, of course, you’ll need to water more often than that, but again, don’t over water.

Miscellaneous:

Determinate or Indeterminate – does it really matter? But there are reasons to choose one over the other. Determinate tomatoes set fruit at the same time in a shorter growing season. Indeterminate tomatoes will grow a lot longer, are more productive, need to be staked.

Tomatoes and basil are good companions. If you buy a six-pack of basil, it will yield 60 plants because you can split each cell up to many little plants.

Marigolds planted around tomatoes thwart nematodes and white fly.

Tomatoes hate corn, potatoes or broccoli, so don’t plant those nearby.

I have followed Karen’s philosophy about having birds in the garden to keep pest populations under control. Keep the birds coming with bird feeders, but hold back from keeping the feeders full all the time to encourage bird foraging. The hope is that they’ll explore your plants for snacks, aka pests.

Karen is a big saver of seeds from tomatoes she loves. Paper towels are perfect seed savers. Write the name of the tomato you are saving on the paper towel, wipe seeds on the surface, throw in shoebox and keep in a cool, dry place until you are ready to plant next year.

Tomatoes don’t have to be rotated around your garden. Tomatoes are perennials. If your plant makes it through winter you might see sprouts coming up around the base. If you get this lucky, just cut the old stem back, and hope for the best!

Bon Appetit!

Tomatoes!

Oh, YUM! I can't wait!!!

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What Are You Waiting For?

December 28, 2011

Aaaah, the catalogs are starting to arrive. Let the shopping begin!

Garden catalogs

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Sift, Sift, Sift….

December 14, 2011

On Sunday, after I trimmed the grasses, I got around to doing a little gardening.  I’m behind on my timeline for my fall garden, but better late than never!  I’ve been excited to prep the soil with some of my precious chicken manure, thanks to the Snowflakes.  I’ve had a few bins in the corner of the garden, aging for months, in preparation for fall planting.   I sifted the compost which came through in a beautiful dusting on the planter beds, making it a snap to mix into the soil.

Sifting

Since the chicken manure was raked from the coop, there was a lot of gravel mixed in.  The sifting separated it out and this detritus is what was left.

Sifting leftovers

I planted a couple six-packs of kale for color in the raised bed by my front walk, using a little artistic license by creating a pyramid shape.

Kale pyramid

The rain started falling about 15 hours later and the plants got a good, fresh soaking, hopefully setting the chicken manure into action.

Grow, grow, grow!

 

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Bulb Planting Time!

November 18, 2011

It’s bulb-planting time.  Different parts of the country have different success with different bulbs, but even without the snow and deep cold, we can grow quite a diverse selection. The Wall Street Journal highlights a few garden experts about bulbs: The Brightest Bulbs I just bought some basic bulbs, little yellow and white daffodils, for my [...]

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Aloha!

October 16, 2011

I’m in Hawaii – Molokai to be exact – to visit my mom for a few days. Hanging with her friends, going to the beach, and gardening are the events on the schedule. One of her friends wanted to collect plant cuttings from a bush called Naio to create a hedge at her new home. Naio [...]

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Details, Details…….

August 18, 2011

Okay, I promised some details on yesterday’s post. Let’s start at the beginning. It’s common knowledge that I love to cruise around town looking for items that other people are throwing away, a constant source of entertainment for me. I’m always amazed at what I find. In June I scored what I think may be [...]

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The Applause Light Is ON!

August 17, 2011

I’ve been working on this project for awhile, and I have to say, I’m very excited about the results. I’ll just let the picture speak for itself. Today’s post was a bit overwhelming in its awesomeness so tomorrow’s post will delve into the details of this project. Talk amongst yourselves….

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Dominoes

August 14, 2011

The back yard has been going through a domino-effect over the last few months. My Kishu tangerine died a few months ago, so I pulled that out, leaving a big, hole. I wanted to move a big pot of orchids to that spot but I needed Mi Esposo’s help, so that job had to wait [...]

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Survival of the Fittest

June 16, 2011

Well, it happened again. I went to get one thing at the nursery and ended up coming home with multiple new projects! I’m so predictable! I’ve been wanting to plant one more Fuji apple tree for a while, but for a couple of reasons it just hasn’t happened. It all came together on Sunday. I [...]

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Let Your Plants Work For You

June 9, 2011

When removing spent pea vines, cut them off at the soil level rather than pulling them out. The roots have nodules that contain excess nitrogen which is released into the soil as the roots decompose. I knew this about beans, but it never occurred to me that peas would add nitrogen to the soil, too. [...]

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Succulent Propagation technique

May 3, 2011

I have a lot of succulents and I’m always happy to share, but I haven’t always been as successful as I would like when it comes to propagating new plants. Succulents are pretty easy to root but it helps to have a little info to work from. I was discussing this with a friend who [...]

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