Tomato Planting Time!
By: Joanne | June 03, 2008 | Category: Home and Family
How’s your garden coming along? I’m going to be really devoted to my garden this year and hopefully it will help me save some money. I almost went into shock in the checkout aisle of the grocery store this weekend. The price of food is so crazy that I feel like it’s worth my while more than ever to grow my own food and become a thrifty meal planner. One of my favorite foods to grow is tomatoes. They’re not only one of my fresh summer favorites, but they’re pretty easy to can and use all year long.
This weekend I planted two varieties of heirloom tomato plants. There’s nothing like a home-grown tomato still warm from the sun, and this year I’ll grow my tomatoes on tepees. Yes, tomato tepees. In the past I’ve tried to support my tomatoes with stakes, cages, cages and stakes and every year it’s the same thing—the plants get big and heavy and fall over. I hope the tepees will help keep the plants under control, and I think they’ll also be a great use of vertical growing space.
In concept, it seems quite simple: take three 1 inch stakes that are 10 feet long, lash them together with some twine and form a triangle with the posts, so each post is about 3 feet apart. Instead of buying posts, I saved a few bucks and cut some bamboo from a friend’s yard.
What’s the worst that could happen? If the plants fall over, I’ll be no worse off than if I used the cages. I think of this as an experiment and if it doesn’t work I’ll try something different next year. What works for you?
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my garden is growing FAST
I plant cucumbers at the base of a chain link fence that goes around the garden spot - as they grow, I weave them into the fence, that way they climb the fence and it is easy to pick them
they are now over two feet tall and climbing
I plant tomatoes in the middle two rows - then put six foot tall cages around each one - made out of four inch square steel that is also used as rebar in pouring concrete pads
over the top of the garden, I bowed two steel cattle pens to make a rounded top
the cucumbers and the tomatoes race to the top - ten feet up - in the late summer I have to use a ladder to pick cukes and tomatoes in the upper level
that also provides natural shade for the tomatoe plants inside
then on the lower level, I plant zukinees and squash and okra
and, the best part is that my water is totally free - I have a unique well - the natural water pressure is so great that I have a five foot stand pipe (10 inches around) that has four garden hoses attached (I drilled holes and used saddle blocks to attach the faucets)
I get water at the rate of five to six gallons per hour out of each hose -
the natural gravity pressure is so great that it pushes water through hoses all the way to each garden spot - the big one is over 200 feet from the well house
the one in back is well over 100 yards
the other two I use to water trees and flowers and the shrubs
so, the race is on for the top of my make shift growing place
if I knew how to insert pics I would try to send some
any advice?
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Comment PermalinkAny tips on organic bug repelling techniques?
Comment PermalinkMy garden is always organic, and I guess I'm lucky that I've never had a real insect problem. My husband sometimes uses insectidicidal soap to control insects on our fruit trees, but other than that we never put anything on our plants. My favorite pest-controllers are animals. We have a lot, and I mean a lot, of toads, bats, and praying mantids. Since all these critters eat bugs, I consider them my friends!
The Department of Agriculture offers information on organic methods to control specific pests on their website. Copy this url into your browser for more information (the pesticide info is at the bottom of the page, so scroll down) http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/highlights/homegarden/lawn.html.
The Department of Agriculture's Extension Service may also be helpful - Extension agents live in your area and are familiar with insect populations and control methods. Our local Extension Agent, Tom, has been most helpful when we have gardening questions. To find your local extension agent, copy and paste this url into your browser: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html
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Comment PermalinkI am interested in permission free or Public domain information on gardening for the disabled. My son is in a wheelchair and my parents have limited mobility.
My own gardening is in Georgia and this year I utilized containers. We are under water restriction (private food gardening exempt ) but decided to help with conserving water by containers.
The benefits have been multi-fold. No bugs! No rust or powdery mildew. My tomatoes have always been plagued with viruses but not this year. My cukes are flourishing in a container. Wonderful!
Thank you.
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