Yummy Ripe Succulent Tomatoes
Tomatoes are an amazing versatile culinary element. I love tomatoes in any way shape and form.
Sun Love: FULL SUN if temps are not over 90 (flowers open but no fruit produce)
Soil: Loam or sandy soil, but can grow most anything but Clay soil. Good drainage.
Ph: 6-6.8 (Neutral is 7)... they like it mildly acidic.
Maturity: Varies by variety
SUN**
While in the northern states... FULL SUN means just that. The tomatoes will thrive on it but here in the Southern states.... Full Sun means... some afternoon shade may be necessary to help them pollinate and grow fruit correctly.
Need about 10 hours of sunlight in summer.
Rotate spots in the garden every year to prevent soil borne diseases.
Plant seedlings up to their "True" leaves.... roots will sprout out and help it bear more fruit.
Watering:
Water deeply but infrequently. Soak the tomato bed once a week or every 5 days at the height of summer.
Do not water in the evening on the leaves, if left overnight wet it can cause disease
*Pinch off Non-Fruiting branches ... this helps direct the energy into growing bigger and better fruit
Stake or Cage them to keep them off the ground so your fruit doesnt rot.
While first fruit ripens, encourage new growth by putting compost around the stem and trimming upper leaves
3 weeks after planting first set of tomatoes, plant the 2nd set and so on so tomatoes dont come all at once an you enjoy them longer.
Tips:
Wrap seedlings in a banana peel to give that extra boost when putting them into the ground. Tomatoes like banana peels. They also like coffee grounds
Plant the Tomato plant "Deeply" .... the tomato will grow little "root nubs"... those covered in dirt will ensure you will get a strong healthy producing plant.
If you take coffee grounds and egg shells and blend.... making a powder, you can feed them to your Tomato plants AND Rose bushes.
The Egg shells give calcium to the soil and helps to regulate moisture alongside of helping to prevent Blossom End Rot.
The coffee grounds add nitrogen to the soil. It also serves to repel slugs and snails.
helping tomato plants regulate moisture intake and prevent blossom end rot.
Another older tradition of adding a raw egg in the hole dug, adding dirt, then adding the plant lends to direct composting. The materials break down and feed nutrients directly into the soil.Epsom Salts
Epsom Salts give Magnesium to the soil.
Can add 1 tsp epsom salt to 4 cups of warm water. Spray on plant then do it again 10 days later to give a boost. This works for tomatoes, peppers and roses too
Epsom salt was a hot topic on the previous tomato planting post. And it’s a hot topic among scientists as well. While gardeners have sworn by the practice of fertilizing with Epsom salt, which contains magnesium, for generations, there’s little scientific evidence that it works. And in fact, it can rob the plants of calcium. So it’s best to only use Epsom salt if a soil test says you’re low on magnesium.
Still …
Laurel Ridge says:
“I grow HUGE tomatoes and share with all the neighbors. My secret: Epsom salts. Every couple of weeks I throw a handful around the bottom of each plant. It helps the plants absorb the nutrients in the soil. I had heirloom plants over 8 feet tall, and cherry tomatoes producing more tomatoes than we could handle.”
And Daniel says: “For great tomatoes and peppers, about once a month put some Epsom salt around the plants. You will have more tomatoes and peppers than you know what to do with.”
Jerry Lovelace has a special recipe that combines all three tips from above: “I take 12 cups of worm casting, 1 cup of Epsom salt, ¼ cup of baking soda, 12 egg shells (ground-up). Mix all together. 12 tomatoes plants, 1 cup per plant, take off ¾ of leaves, plant side ways about 5 inches deep. Put one cup on each stem. My tomatoes plants gets about 9 feet tall.”
Again, it’s best to get a soil test first before starting this practice.
.... this bit of info was taken from https://www.yahoo.com/makers/9-weird-tomato-hacks-to-try-118224259075.html
I have to admit...when I first heard this I thought... that's gross. haha..but hey... if it worked for our ancestors...it should work for us :)
A traditional American Indian practice of planting your tomatoes with the carcass (head and bones with filets removed) of a fish
Joel says: “18 – 24″ deep hole, 1 large salmon carcass (fillets only removed, leaves head, tail, spine and excess meat), two handfuls bone meal, gallon or so worm castings mixed in soil to fill, couple handfuls of vegetable fertilizer (Gardner and Bloome is good), plant deep as described above. Give foliar feeding of worm casting tea every week or so for feeding.” https://www.yahoo.com/makers/9-weird-tomato-hacks-to-try-118224259075.htmlCow Manure
Cow manure compost is commonly available at your local garden center, and I definitely can back up this nutrient-packed practice. If you have a local source, that’s even better.
MaryAnn says: “We were taught by an old farmer in Vermont how to grow huge tomatoes. Dig a deep hole, put in some fertilizer (cow manure) or what ever you choose, 2 big handfuls of sawdust, more soil and then your tomato plant. We had the biggest tomatoes I ever saw. The sawdust stays moist even when there is no rain, so the plants still blossom and you get huge tomatoes.” https://www.yahoo.com/makers/9-weird-tomato-hacks-to-try-118224259075.html
**I cant wait to try some of these tips**
Here are some sites I learned from :)
http://www.gardensalive.com/product/some-like-it-hot-tomatoes-do-not/you_bet_your_garden
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/soil-planting-tomatoes-25144.html
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