Tomato seedlings in late May. Foreground right planted two weeks after plants to the left.
If you’ve been a Freshness Farms participant since last summer, you may recall my musings on tomato gardening. We ended the season with sweet, juicy Mortgage Lifter tomatoes, but the path to producing them was a roller coaster ride, one minute filled with the ecstasy of abundant red fruit, the next plunged us into the depths of despair as we fought off rodent intruders intent on pilfering our bounty.
The growing season started off well – my husband was determined to build up our soil to a fertility level hitherto unseen in our garden. It makes sense that feeding the dirt will nourish seedlings in a superior fashion, just like putting healthy food into our bodies. This is not rocket science, and yet we could not have foreseen how perfect would be the pay back. In previous years we’d half-heartedly thrown some compost on the dirt, moved it around a bit and sprinkled a little fertilizer from time to time. Last year, we took a decidedly different approach, tending and coddling in a downright motherly way, adding a variety of fertilizing treats well beyond the usual. Who would have thought that our garden would respond just like a well-loved child? Yet it did. The fact that we had invested so heavily in the soil, resulted in some amazingly robust and productive plants – plants that were able to withstand two transplantings, necessary due to the onslaught of those marauding rodents.
Hearing about our tomato triumph, a few folks have asked for the killer formula – something my husband has become downright obsessive about, and I have to admit works like a charm. We’ve been lucky to benefit from the sage advice of Love Apple Farms in Ben Lomond, and can’t take credit for any of the magic. Be forewarned – the process involves some unlikely ingredients like eggshells and aspirin.
Step 1: Feed the dirt – As with all vegetable gardening, it’s important to prepare the plot. We have raised vegetable beds (mostly to guard against gopher attack from below), but you can dig down into any available dirt. Tomatoes love sun, so pick your spot wisely (at least 6 hours of sun each day). Add several inches of organic compost and a healthy sprinkling of worm castings (available at the garden store). Work these into your dirt with a spade or garden fork. It’s best to do this several weeks in advance of planting so nutrients can work their way into the soil, but as I explained last week, we’re operating on borrowed time this late in May. Take the short cut and skip ahead to step 2.
Step 2: Fortify the hole – Here’s where the quirkiness begins (I haven’t included the oddest addition, a fish head, since that’s something we choose to omit). First, dig a really deep hole that allows for adding amendments as well as burying at least a couple inches of stem below the soil surface. You’ll feel like the hole is far too deep, but it won’t be. Crumble two eggshells (for calcium) into the chasm (perfect excuse for an omelet), and use the point of a spade to chop into bits. Add two baby aspirin to promote disease resistance and high yield (might sound a bit strange), a small amount of worm castings, a larger scoop of bone meal (phosphorous) and another of organic fertilizer. Work everything together and top off with a couple inches of dirt.
Step 3: Prepare the seedling – Carefully separate the plant from its pot, loosening soil around the roots. Remove all leaves on the lower stem (a couple of inches at least) by pinching them off, and place the plant in the hole. Add dirt to the hole, covering the stem all the way up and over where you removed the leaves. You’ll feel like you’re burying the poor thing alive, but be brave, this is what you should do. All the minute hair-like protrusions on the stem will grow into roots when given the chance, in the rich, dark earth. The more roots, the more nutrients to power your newly planted baby’s development. So bury deeply, you won’t regret it.
Step 4: Watering – After planting, seedlings need a long, sustained watering. As they develop, they’ll continue to require regular water, since shallow root systems dry out quickly. Once established less frequent moisture is required. Check the soil at a depth of a few inches, and if dry, treat your plants to a long, deep drink. Weather conditions factor into the watering cycle – right now water needs are greatly reduced compared to what they would be with warmer temperatures. Keep this in mind as the mercury rises.
Step 5: Support – If you’ve done your job well thus far, staking will be crucial to provide support for your growing plants. Think positively and invest in generously sized tomato cages. Heavy, fruit-laden plants like those we raised last summer need plenty of help to bear their load. Also, be sure to allow ample growing room between plants – one six-inch seedling may mature to 5 feet or more with proper care.
In between our tomatoes we like to plant basil – the herb seems to perfectly utilize the empty space, and the plants naturally compliment each other both in the garden and on a plate (dressed with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar).
For more detailed information (including fish head use) on tomato gardening and much more, be sure to check out Love Apple Farm’s fabulous web-site: http://www.growbetterveggies.com/
Pasta with Spinach, Broccoli and English Peas
