What And How Do You Feed Your Tomato Plants ?
9 years ago
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- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
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What (and when) do you feed your HOS ?
Comments (15)This is also my 1st year wintersowing. In general though when I plant stuff, if I remember I to, I throw a bit of Bulb Tone or Holly Tone (or whatever __Tone is available) into the bottom of the hole. The Espoma Tone fertilizers are slow-acting so I figure they help. I like slow-acting stuff since it is less likely to overdose or burn plants....See MoreWhat do you do for your Spring cleanup? Feed? Preen? Mulch?
Comments (9)Glad you've joined us, gayled, welcome to the NE forum! My DH and I are retired. We work together in the gardens... our spring techniques are pretty simple. 1. Clean up dead leaves and foliage and weed underneath plants... but not as early as we'd like this year. Probably not until April .... if we get more snow this week. 2. One of our earliest tasks every spring.... amend the soil. I think that's the best thing you can do for the gardens. We get free compost from our town.... dig it and take it. We've done this for the last eight years and it's really helped improve the gardens. While it's not exactly "organic" because the compost is made from garden waste that people bag and the city picks up, "free" makes it worthwhile. 3. We like to use bark mulch and I use cocoa mulch in a few special areas, but this has gotten expensive as our gardens have grown. We've found that the compost works like mulch by breaking down over the season. So we mulch every other year. 3. Fertilize? No, not even our roses. I think good soil is better than chemical applications. I learned about composting from my mother who was a wonderful gardener. Mom collected coffee grounds in one container (for her Mt. Laurels and rhododendrons) and egg shells & other wastes that she'd spread around her flower beds. Over 40 years of this gave her a yard with deep, dark soil and lots of worms. 4. My DH put in an irrigation system several years ago and he checks this early in the spring. We have a long yard with gardens down one side and around a garden shed. The days of dragging the hose around are gone for us. Molie...See Morehow tall and wide do your tomato plants get?
Comments (18)digdirt - I meant to ask, what's the reason for keeping determinates grouped with determinates, and indeterminates with indeterminates? I was considering mixing things up a bit, but I won't, if there's a good reason not to. One way I thought it could help is by planting a determinate between 2 indeterminates. Then pulling the determinate when it was done, so the other 2 would have more space later in the season. Sounds good in theory doesn't it? But it doesn't work in real life unless you aggressively prune to only the main stem. As you can tell from the pics aggressive pruning isn't something many of us do. As already mentioned the indeterminates will quickly smother the determinates, block the sun exposure to them, and suck up all the soil nutrients. Plus if you tried to pull them you'd be ripping up roots of the indeterminates too. You don't include your zone or location in your posts (BIG help if you would) but in much of the country determinates will give you a second crop later in the season as the weather cools so they don't get ripped out all that early either. These rows several years back were planted on 4' spacing so you can see the problems you'd have with only using 2 1/2'. I have since gone to 5'. See the wooden staked determinate on the right side? Imagine it in between 2 of the 8' tall indeterminates. ;) I'm planning to use a variation of dcarch's trellising system (google dcarch+tomato if you're interested), where plants are supported on 2 sides by a series of horizontal strings. Similar to a clothesline, but with multiple levels. Yeah that method is named "Florida weave" and you'll find a great deal of info and reviews on it here and on the web if you use that label. But it is your garden so try it your way if you wish. Hands-on experience is the best teacher. ;) Dave...See MoreHow often do you feed your worms?
Comments (8)it's kind of hard as the old food seems to oxidize and looks a lot like bedding after a week. I have been going by smell~ if I can still smell fruit or vegetable peelings or coffee grounds, I will wait another day or two to feed the worms. I still don't feed all that much, though, as I only have about sixty worms! (An definate increase on the forty I started with, and man, those little guys eat! up to about a 1/2 cup a week~ a lot for these critters. However, with all the worm cocoons placed in the bin by my 'herd' this past month, I figure this will definately have to be increased by after Christmas. Gina...See MoreRelated Professionals
Panama City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Sand Springs Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Towson Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · East Patchogue Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bedford Heights Landscape Contractors · Belvedere Park Landscape Contractors · Hannibal Landscape Contractors · Pleasant Prairie Landscape Contractors · Chicago Ridge Landscape Contractors · Annandale General Contractors · Port Washington General Contractors · Westmont General Contractors · Melvindale Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Algonquin Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Larkspur Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
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