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Keep those Tomatoes warm….
or at least the ground your planting them in.
Get two gardeners in a room and you have two different views on growing tomatoes. So here are my basic rules.
Some basic tips for tomatoes, as stated in Boe’s article, choose varieties suited for growth in your zone and that are designed for your geographic local.
Shop for the best plants, Buy more then one variety. Try to plant in an area that receives 6-8 hours of sunlight throughout the day. In shorter growing zones set the plants out that have been started in larger pots and have a more developed root system. It also helps to rotate tomatoes from year to year and to avoid planting where potatoes or eggplant were planted the previous season. Water at least twice weekly, more often if needed and water from the base of the plant, keeping the leaves dry. It helps to use a support cage or to stake your tomatoes. If you do stake the vines, leave a loop around the vine large enough to allow for continued growth.
Here are two products that help keep the tomatoes warm. The first is Red Plastic Mulch. This is a thin plastic film that performs like black plastic mulch as it warms the soil, suppresses weeds and retains moisture. All that will improve your yield. Another added benefit is it reflects the far-red light up into the plant which besides improving yields can give you earlier fruit as well.
The other product is the Tomato Crater, these are new to me this year, I bought them and installing them was quite easy and I really like them so far. There are two interlocking halves that make it easy to install around the plant. There is a reservoir for direct watering and six slots that evenly distribute the water around the base of the tomato. They are spaced to allow square or round tomato cages.
I got my tomatoes in, 6 plants total, 5 varieties as I put in two of the roma’s. Now lets just figure out a way to keep that Raccoon out of my garden.
These are pictures of my starts and of the two products I am recommending.
Posted by Valria on May 9th, 2007 under Soil & Compost, Garden Planning
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