Tomato Madness
Tomatoes are grown by more gardeners than any other vegetable.
If the letters that I get indicate anything it is that it seems that
this is the only vegetable that many people grow!!
Here are some tips that may help you in your tomato growing:
Grow the correct variety. This may sound obvious but it really isn’t.
Many gardeners who move around the country still stick to the same
variety that they grew in a different climate zone.
It is best if you have moved, to go to your local nursery and ask
them what grows best in your area.
Ask about diseases that might occur in your area and if resistant
varieties are available.
Amend the soil. Tomatoes are heavy feeders. For an average bed
of eight feet long and two and a half feet wide, I add about
one hundred pounds of compost , then I add two pounds of
bonemeal and mix in fertilizers in six to eight inches.
There is no benefit in placing the amendments too deep
because they will be carried down with the watering anyway.
Finally add on top of the bed, a calcium source to prevent
blossom end rot.
Dig deep.Loosen the soil a good eighteen inches down. This will
give your plants a head start in the race to grow healthy,deep
roots.
Plant deep. Plant the young tomatoes one or two inches deeper
than the soil level.
Stake the plants. This method helps to expose the leaves to
the sun and air, and this in turn helps fight disease.
Water them. Tomatoes are best watered with a soaker hose
as this prevents water from splashing onto the leaves and
causing moist conditions for mildew and late blight to grow.
Cover them. Tomatoes will not set fruit until nightime temps.
stay above 55 degrees. To protect new plants from late frosts
place two-litre bottles with the bottoms cut out, over the
seedlings. Using old tires to ring growing tomatoes is often
a method used by many gardeners very successfully.
Good Luck with your tomato growing!
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