Tag: tomato tips

Plant sale? Do it!

I have posted about starting peppers and tomatoes a few times over the last few years. It’s one of my favorite signs of spring after a long, dark, and cold winter. Like seeing the crocuses and daffodils pushing through the ground. You know brighter days are ahead.

Having successfully started my own plants for the last three years, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks and *seem* to have a pretty good system.  I say that now… and next year will be an epic disaster I bet.

Seed Starting Tips and Tricks:

  1. Wash your containers. Start with a clean slate. If anything was wonky last year with your plants, don’t let it carry over to this year.
  2. Saturate your seed starting mix with boiling water. This helps protect against those pesky little gnats.
  3. Start 3-4 seeds per cell if you are doing standard 6 packs. Don’t drop them all in one hole. Make a triangle or a diamond shape so you can get two or three strong plants per cell that aren’t on top of each other and can be more easily separated when it’s time to plant them outside.
  4. Leave your starts alone for the first three days. Then give them 24 hours of light for four days (that’s Week 1). Give them 16 hours of light daily Week 2. And 12 hours of light daily for weeks 3 and 4. 
  5. Fertilize weakly every other week.

Now I’m going to write one massive disclaimer for all of this. What if you forget? What if your life is absolutely crazy and you don’t have time? What if you just don’t feel like starting and tending to pepper and tomato plants for three months in a part of your house that you’d rather designate for something else? What if you did start plants and all went to hell? TOTALLY FINE and UNDERSTANDABLE. Happens to ALL OF US. Go buy them instead. I’d just strongly encourage you to find high school doing a plant sale, a nature center doing a fundraiser, or the Mom and Pop nursery down the street and give them your money instead of a big box store.

Tomato Tips: The 5 Musts

I’m not sure there is a fruit or vegetable that better illustrates the benefits of having a home garden than tomatoes. As a kid, I DID NOT like tomatoes. I thought they had no flavor and were filled with this weird juicy somewhat gooey center. Only when I had a simple cherry tomato plant in a planter on my deck some years ago did I taste the ripe, flavorful goodness that tomatoes offer.

Tomatoes, peppers and beans are my main summer crops that I grow in bulk for preserving. So it’s important that I get as big of a harvest as possible for sauces, salsas, soups and stews.

If you want to ensure a strong tomato harvest, here are the ways to set yourself up for success

  • Trim all low hanging foliage. You don’t want any leaves touching the ground where they are more susceptible to soil borne diseases, like blight.
  • Get rid of the suckers. Suckers are the branches that grow in between the main stem and the branch.  They are exactly what the name suggests – they suck extra energy and nutrients out of your plant and fruits.
  • Support them. I’m a big fan of clipping them to my trellis. I’ve done the cages – nope. I’ve done the A-frame and string – not for me. The clips just make so much sense and are so precise and tidy.
  • Water from the ground. If you don’t want to invest in soaker hoses, typically $15-20 each, make sure you are watering at the base of your tomato plants and not showering on them from above.  This creates more risk of spreading disease and pathogens.
  • Cover your soil. Tomatoes need a lot of water and you’ll keep them better hydrated if your soil is covered.  Anything like shredded leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, or straw (NOT HAY).
trim the suckers to save your tomatoes
TRIM THOSE SUCKERS
cover your soil and water from the ground for tomato success
COVER YOUR SOIL & WATER FROM THE GROUND