Tomato Plants from Seedshow to grow tomato plants from seeds

A disorganized garden will still usually produce vegetables, fruits, and flowers. You might then wonder why it is important to have an organized garden.

There are many answers, but three of them leap out: An organized garden produces more in a given area, they are easier to maintain and to harvest, and they look much nicer.

The biggest key to it all is in the planning. This stands to reason when you consider that most garden failures occur because of poor planning. There are many aspects to a well thought out garden, too.

* First, know the growing habits of the plants you are going to grow. This sounds basic and it is. Gardeners will often plant without allowing for enough room for the plants to grow. For instance, vine growing plants like squashes, gourds, cucumbers, and melons require a great deal of room to spread out. If they are grown too close together, the roots of each compete with those of its neighbors, resulting in weaker plants, less produce, and smaller fruits and vegetables.

If they are planted too close to other plants, as they spread out they can also deprive the other plants of sunlight, killing and stunting them.

This isn’t always easy to consider. A beginning gardener with limited space, buying four inch tomato plants will often plant them close together, not understanding that most tomato species bush out as they grow. Tomato cones can help, but not much if the tomatoes are too close together.

* Second, plan well defined rows. These should be wide enough to walk down between them easily, even when the plants on each side have bushed out. If the rows are too closely spaced, it becomes much more difficult to maintain the garden, harvesting becomes a chore, and the garden looks ragged.

* Third, keep the garden weeded. Growing weeds can quickly make a garden look like a weed patch. Worse, the weeds directly compete with the garden plants for food, water, and space. This results in a weaker garden that produces far fewer and smaller fruits and vegetables.

Included with this is to keep the garden tools like hoes, shovels, and spades where you can easily get to them and know where they are. Having to spend a half hour finding or getting to a garden hoe is that much less time you can spend weeding.

Fourth, don’t be afraid to train your garden to grow the way you want it to. For example, garden beans can be given garden twine to climb, and with only a little effort on your part, the beans can be made to use these supports. This goes a long way toward organizing the bean patch, which results in a greater harvest and a better means of harvesting.

This also includes pinching back plants so they grow in a particular direction. Tomato plants respond well to this sort of training.

It also includes thinning. Plants like radishes and carrots are often initially planted too close together. Leaving it that way leads to disorganization. Removing weaker plants to allow the remainder more room to grow, builds organization, and results in a bigger, better crop.

Finally, keep notes of what you’ve tried and what the results were. What works well in one area may not work at all in another. It may not help you organize the garden this year, but it is valuable information for next year.

Organization of the garden is a major key for gardening success. The garden looks nicer, the plants are healthier, they produce better, and the vegetables, fruits, or flowers are a lot easier to harvest. There is effort involved, but there always will be. Still, planning is the least effort consuming part of the whole endeavor, and sadly, often the most neglected.

Finding the perfect place for your garden, a spot where your plants will get the most benefit from the sun, is the first step. If the location you choose gets direct sunlight for most of the day, choose vegetables that will do well there. Tomato plants, cucumber, and eggplant do well in direct sunlight.

Now comes the hard part, getting the soil ready for planting. You will need a good shovel, and some elbow grease. Map out the garden in your mind, and start turning over the soil. You should dig down about six inches, turning the dirt over, and breaking up the large dirt clods. Make sure the soil is free of weeds, and finish turning over the dirt in all of the spots where you are going to be planting something. After all of the dirt is turned over, mix in some fertilizer and potting soil, and turn the mixture over until you have a nice area, ready to receive your new plants.

Before you start planting, take a minute to think about the plants, and how they grow. Tomato plants, egg plants, and other taller vegetables or tall plants, should be placed in the back of the garden. Since tomato plants require stakes or cages to help them stand tall, you should put them in the last row. You can purchase these items at any Home Depot, or garden store. Some plants, such as cucumber, squash, or pumpkins, can spread out quickly, and require a lot of room to grow. Smaller plants, should be placed in the front of the garden. This layout will not only look nice, but will allow the plants to receive the most benefit from the sun.

When you are ready to plant, you should dig small holes approximately three inches down, and spaced out enough to allow growth. Add a little potting soil around the plant when you put it into the hole, to help it grow. Make sure the dirt is filled back in around the roots of the plant, to give it a nice start. Also be sure to leave enough room between the rows of plants, so you will have access to them when they are grown.

After all of your plants are firmly in the ground, give them water. Make sure the plants have enough water to start growing, but be careful not to over water the new plants, or seeds, as this can cause the seeds to float away, or grow in a spot where they weren’t meant to grow.

You can personalize your garden in lots of different ways. You can add stepping stones to form a pathway between the rows of plants. This not only looks nice, it gives you room to walk between the rows of plants when you are ready to harvest, or weed your garden.

Your garden can be as simple, or as elaborate as you would like. The main thing is to consider the location of the garden, the amount of sunlight the area receives, the type of plants that will do well in those conditions, and the amount of time you have to spend on your garden. With a little work, you can have a garden to be proud of.

Introducing a three year old to Cherry Tomatoes

I had my great niece and nephew over after school, my husband and I watch them till their mother picks them up after work. I made salad to go with dinner. The kids can be rather picky about what they eat so I usually feed them macaroni and cheese or hot dogs. My great niece, who was sitting in her high chair, stopped eating and just stared at me. I had a cherry tomato on the end of my fork half way to my mouth when she yelled “what that?” I looked down at my salad then at the fork, ” Oh this, it’s a cherry tomato.” She reached out, stretching towards the table “I want one.” She whined. I sighed, ” its not candy sweetie, you might not like it.” “I want mato”, she yelled. I grabbed one from my salad and dropped it right in the middle of her macaroni and cheese. She giggled, picked it up and popped it into her mouth. While chewing she started to giggle again “hmmmato” came out of her mouth along with tomato seed drool. I burst out laughing, the sound of “gross!” followed by a loud chuckle came from the other end of the table where my husband sat. Our great nephew (Tyrell) joined in and we all had a good laugh. When their mother came to pick them up, I leaned down to give my great niece (Shy Anne) a hug, ” after school tomorrow I ll show you the cherry tomato plants in the garden out back, OK?” she smiled at me, “OK”. Well after school the next day the kids rushed into the house, throwing their book bags on the couch. First thing out of my great niece’s mouth “matos?” So through the house and out the back door we marched, with a stop at the dinner table for a saltshaker. Standing on the back porch the two of them pointed at the shaker, “what that for?” smiling as I made my way down the back steps, I called over my shoulder, ” you’ll see”. We made our way through the garden to the tomato plants. I knelt down in front of the cherry tomato and picked a rather large one off, wiped it on my shirt, salted it and popped it in my mouth “mmmmm!” They both started yelling “my turn,my turn!” Handing the saltshaker to Shy Anne, ” You first”. Tyrell folded his arms over his chest and plopped down in the dirt with a pout on his face. “What are you all sad about?” I asked,”I want mato” he said as one little tear rolled down his cheek. “Your so silly” I said ruffling his curly hair. I pulled a cherry tomato off the bush for him, “here, wipe it on your shirt before you eat, there might be dirt on it.” He was all smiles again. The next day Shy Anne grabbed the saltshaker all on her own and headed out the back door. I followed slowly behind her, as I stepped out on the back porch and looked across the yard, there she sat in the dirt salt in one hand, cherry tomato in the other and to my surprise she already had one in her mouth, which she was happily chewing. I yelled out to her, ” don’t eat to many dinners in a half hour” She smiled at me and waved. I just chuckled and went back in the house.

Grow a Salsa Garden

Growing plants can be a very rewarding experience. The best thing is walking outside to grab a few vegetables and herbs from the garden, and then making a fresh meal. It’s even better when you only have to go to one place in the garden to get the proper ingredients for your recipe.

Gardens with a theme can be fun and it’s real easy. First you want to choose your “ingredients” for your kitchen garden. A good start for a Salsa Garden is tomato’s, there real simple to grow. You can purchase young plants at your local plant nurseries, or you can start them from seed. Tomato plant sprout very quickly with the proper care, always read the back of the seed packet to ensure proper growth. More plants in the Salsa Garden are, tomatillo, green onion, and basil.

Now that you have an idea of the plants you want to grow, plan your space before you buy the plants or seeds. For this particular garden you need about a 10 square feet of space; it can be circular, square, or whatever shape tingles your design sense. If you bought seeds to start your kitchen garden, plant them in small pots or seed flats (which can be usually purchased along with the seeds) to ensure strong growth before you transplant them into your garden. Till up the dirt in your designated gardening area, so that it is nice and loose, then mark where the plants will go. A good rule of thumb when you planting is to plant tall to small; the back of the garden space should have the bigger taller plants, and the front should have the shorter smaller plants. The tomatillo often grow taller than a tomato plant, so you would want to put the tomatillo in the back followed by the tomato, and then the green onion flowed by the basil. Tomato’s grow more like a vine than the tomatillo does; this means you will need to purchase a tomato fence to properly support the tomato, and purchase simple bamboo poles to prop up the tomatillo. Now that you have a plan go ahead and get dirty!

After a few weeks you should start to see the results of your hard work and constant effort. It is a good idea to constantly take “ingredients” from you Salsa Garden, because it helps with growth and the strength of the plants. Here is a salsa recipe that should knock your socks off.

Hot n’ Chunky Salsa

3 cups tomato

1 cup tomatillo

cup green onion

cup fresh basil

2 tbs hot sauce

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

The easiest way to make this salsa is with a food processor. Just throw all the ingredients into the processor and in a few minuets time you have a delicious salsa. If you don’t own a food processor you can easily chop all the ingredients separately, and then toss them together in a bowl. Use all the juice from the tomato’s to make the salsa have a nice juicy consistency. Refrigerate for about an hour, then serve with chips and enjoy.

I was married to a garden, plant loving, land-scraping, grass-cutting freak.

Yes, it is true. He was a freak, but I loved him and he loved plants. We were young and renting a ranch style home five miles out of the city. It was farm country and he loved it, I hated it. It smelled like cows because they were in our backyard.

“I am going to plant a garden in the empty field next to us,” He told me one early spring day.

He was so excited the owner had given him permission to have a huge garden and had even plowed up the dirt for him. Now I love fresh vegetables and I did not mind a bit of hard work to help. We went shopping for plants and some seeds.

My husband had taken courses in high school in the south so he had the knowledge to take good care of this garden and these plants. There were tomato plants, peppers, green beans, yellow bean, yellow peppers, and even sweet corn. We had cauliflower and broccoli, Brussels sprouts and he was even trying lettuce. He had everything but the kitchen sink.

That was the biggest problem. We worked for days planting the plants and seeds. For weeks, we watch anxiously as the little plants and seeds grew into beautiful small vegetables. Then tragedy struck, we had a drought. No rain came for days and the sun was brutal. The field was too far from our home to run a hose and we were at a loss as to what to do.

“I’m going to lose my garden if I don’t do something real soon.” He was just beside himself with worry.

My husband came up with a plan. Everyday he took, by hand, five-gallon buckets of water from our home and watered each plant. He saved his garden.

We lost the lettuce, and Brussels sprouts but he saved most everything else by his perseverance and back breaking work. Yes, my husband was a freak but he loved his garden plants and took care of them as if they were his children.

Though many plants are easier and faster to grow, for the garden, tomatoes are one of the most commonly and popular of garden plants. It isn’t hard to see why. A single productive plant can produce up to a hundred pounds of succulent, juicy tomatoes. The key is in how to grow them productively.

Tomatoes come from and still grow in South America, and the needs of the plant haven’t changed much over time. We can use this to our advantage to ensure that our tomato plants are productive, by using the method used by Native Americans.

You don’t necessarily need to have a garden plot to grow them this way, either. They can even be grown in a large container on the patio by slightly altering the following steps. They also do well in flower beds, as long as they have the room to grow and bush out.

You can start with a seedling plant or grow the tomato from seed, but it is easier to purchase a growing seedling plant that is close to twelve inches tall. The tomato production will usually be larger and earlier.

Choose plants with healthy looking leaves and fairly strong stems. The leaves should be dark green, with very little or no yellowing which would indicate a stressed or sick plant.

Note: If you smoke cigarettes, cigars, or a pipe, be sure that you wash your hands well before handling or planting tomatoes. Tobacco residue can spread illnesses to tomato plants.

The following steps are for a tomato plant that is one foot tall, measured from ground level to the top of the plant. You can vary the steps slightly, depending on the height of the plant.

Dig a hole two and a half feet deep and a foot across. This should be in soil that drains well, but that isn’t too sandy. The soil needs to be able to retain the water, yet the roots of the plant should not stand in water, so drainage is necessary. Good quality commercial potting soil will work well, if you are in an area with poor soil.

In the bottom of the hole, place a layer of several inches of dead fish or fish parts. If you like fishing, you can use the leavings after filleting or cleaning the fish you catch.

If you do not fish, check with your neighborhood supermarket. Often, they will save the portions of the fish that would normally be thrown away and give them to you. Seafood stores are another option for getting fish parts. The type of fish is unimportant. For a 1-foot tomato plant, about three to six inches of fish parts is plenty.

Over the top of the fish, place about six inches