6 Tips for Growing Tomatoes

Over the past few years, I've picked up some valuable tips for growing tomatoes. This by no means implies that each summer I'm guaranteed a beautiful crop, and in fact am yearly frustrated by the usual problems - pests, disease, cracking, blossom end rot. These tips can help improve crops.

1. Pinch those suckers. Different gardeners will tell you different types of tomatoes should or shouldn't have the suckers removed. If you are planting in a small space and deal with crowding, go ahead and pinch them to make sure to keep the growth in check and allow plenty of air movement around plants. My first crop of indeterminate tomatoes (they will keep vining out all summer) had plants with 5 - 8 main stems. I got tons of tomatoes, but all the other crops that I had interplanted were shaded out. Also, the tomatoes dwindled in size as the summer went on and eventually succumbed to disease because they were all up in each others' business.

2. Remove the bottoms sets of leaves so that none are touching the ground. Continue removing old, yellow foliage. When you water the garden or it rains, the leaves on the bottom are easily splashed and can pick up undesirables from the surrounding ground. Also, the bottom leaves don't do as much to support the plant growth the more they are shaded as the plant grows. Help the plant conserve energy for tomato production.

3. Plant the suckers. This is something new I am trying this year. This is really only valuable if you have a longer growing season and can start new plants on into the spring or early summer. If you end up losing some plants early on, no sweat! Just bring in the sucker reserves. Here's a useful site for guidance of how to make the most of suckers: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/how-to-get-a-second-crop-of-tomatoes-for-free

4. If you spot a diseased plant, ditch it. So many times I've babied a diseased plant, pulling leaves and branches, only to wish I'd ditched it at the first sight of a problem. Pests such as thrips will hop from one plant to the next spreading the disease, so yank them and bag them, and take them to the curb for the yard waste pickup.

5. Water less frequently but more deeply. Early in the spring while seeds are germinating, you need a daily moisture mist for shallow, tender roots. As the season progresses, tomatoes will thrive if their roots are given a chance to dig down deep. Watering less frequently but with a greater volume allows the water to sink down deeper and support that root growth. This will also help them be less sensitive to the hot, dry days as the roots will have access to water stored in the soil.

6. Water in the early morning. When possible, water in the early morning to prevent excessive evaporation losses.Think twice about watering in the evening, as plants covered in moisture all night long are more prone to mildew growth. If you are able to water with a drip hose, applying water directly to the soil, that is even better!

Pinched suckers in a jar

What tips would you add to this list?

Exploration of Dill and Dew

With its feathery leaves, dill is such a lovely herb, especially after a light rainfall or covered in morning dew. I've enjoyed watching the changes, the flowers opening and all the bugs that are attracted to it. I'll continue to grow this collection of dill photographs and look forward to the seed formation that is just around the corner.

Insplosure!

This Saturday I'll have a little table at the Pour House for the 7th annual Insplosure. It is a free event and a nice way to step indoors while hanging out at Artsplosure. I still have several mugs, succulent gardens, some tall vases and PLENTY of pendent necklaces. I'll bring along the nature prints too. This is probably the last show of the spring season before I get back to the wheel. Production completely halted the beginning of May to give my shoulder time to rest, so now I need to build up some new inventory, and plan on focusing on mugs, small planters, and small kitchen prep bowls.

On the other end of my work spectrum, this summer I'll be proposing and developing two new distance courses on compensatory mitigation (focus on streams, wetlands and buffers in NC) and on water rights (local and international focus). As a graduate student, I took a course in Political Science on International Environmental Law, which I loved, and am excited to explore this in light of Bio and Ag Engineering.

And here is my crazy child jumping off our treehouse.

Succulent Pottery Planters

The afternoon before The Handmade Market, my love of gardening collided with my love of ceramics, and the result was little succulent gardens. I enjoyed piecing these together so much that once my shoulder is good an rested, I will keep headed down this rabbit hole of fun. I've replanted the leftover succulents and pieces that broke off during handling and will save them for later. The fuzzy cactus is soft and so adorable that I may not be able to let it go.

Mammillaria gracilis fragilis "Thimble Cactus" and Crassula argentea "Gollum"

Echiveria minima and Crassula argentea "Gollum"

Pachyveria blue pearl and Rebutia albiflora

Pachyveria blue pearl and Rebutia albiflora - but I think the fuzzy one might actually be Rebutia albipilosa

The Handmade Market

The Handmade Market is this Saturday. Do you know what this means? It means I've got to get planning and packing! Now that I've amassed these new ceramic pendants, I need an efficient way to display them other than spreading them out on the table. I swore I wasn't going to get into jewelry making, but with the crazy shoulder pain I've been experiencing, the work on smaller pieces is a welcome reprieve. Also, I'm thinking of having some new prints on display even though I told Joe that I was I was done printing stock and would just work on selling what I had.

Dill and Dew

After a spell of dry weather and pollen, we've had several days of rain, and there has been much rejoicing in the garden. All the peppers and tomatoes are in, and nearly everything else has been seeded. Beans sprouts are popping up along with thousands of weeds. I have my work cut out for me over the next couple weeks. Last year, I waited to pull the weeds and they dropped seeds. This is a great idea to employ on herbs and lettuces - not on weeds.

While I've been exploring new life in the garden, I've been testing out my new camera. I really should read the manual as the two of us get into regular battles of will. I get the focus just right, press the button, and nothing happens. It is probably just that I am trying to use the wrong setting for the light, and the camera realizes I'm an idiot. Here are some shots of dew drops on dill from this morning's garden walk.

Rogue Oregano - Orogueano?

This week I've been finding sprouts of oregano in places I didn't plant oregano. This is just one more benefit of taking care of the bees. The pruning rule is that once a sprig of oregano is 6" long, it should be cut back to the ground. This keeps the new growth coming. However, oregano left to grow makes lovely clusters of flowers that the bees seem to love. Last year, I let it grow out, blossom and seed, and now little oregano seedlings have sprouted up everywhere. Any local friends who are looking to start an herb garden should come see me before buying plants. I'll hook you up!