Tomato Time
Have you planted those tomatoes yet? We have at The Roost. But first I needed to grab my clippers, do lots of trimming, collecting compost, and a good organic fertilizer.
It is so important to take off those extra leaves. This helps with air flow and potential disease control. The less that can touch the ground the better especially when it comes to watering. We don’t want leaves sitting in water or in the dirt.
I tried something new this year, planting them sideways. This will help with root growth and of course with our crazy winds here in Oklahoma, the more root strength the better. I did amend the soil with a bit of compost and organic fertilizer (found in my shop)
Planting with a few marigolds and basil around and in between is bonus bug deterrent and what goes best with tomatoes is basil… visions of future Caprese Salad.
Lastly, I mulched with straw, to keep them moist longer. Other options I have tried in the past are cardboard (move tape or any glue) leaves and grass clipping.
My goal is to add a bunch of tomatoes to the pantry, canning sauce and whole tomatoes, and the rest to the veggie stand. So fingers crossed all goes well with them.
Give these few tips and tricks a try this year and let me know how it works for you, would love to hear from you.
Jenn
PS… Next I will show you how I used cattle panel, another experiment, to hold up some of the tomatoes. Check into my IG and FB pages for the next Garden Tip Tuesday~ The Imperfect Balance By Jenn Way.
