So this year I have upped my tomato growing, lots more. I had enough to make 2 batches of salsa last year and this year I am want more, more ,more! =) So I have started approximately 42 little pods of plants, each has 3 or so plants in them. It gets really warm here in the summer so I started early.My little mini green house recycled provided some of the starters and the little cardboard thingy's from lowes did the rest.
And they began to sprout. I love watching things grow.
And low and behold they got big, and very pretty looking! But now it was time to transplant! yeahh!!
So It was time to get everything ready. My mixture of magic to the left. 10-10-10 fertilizer, organic blood meal and bone meal and some Epsom salts. Which isn't really salt but magnesium sulphate, and you can garden OR bath with it. Awesome, a two for one.
So I throw handfuls of each item on the soil all over until it looks like a goodly amount. I don't measure just eye ball it. Then I take my trusty little 3 pronged hook, rake thing a ma jig and really mix it in and get the soil soft and loose at the same time.
This soil was a sandy top soil, 2 bags of garden soil and 2 bags of peet moss with some of our compost mixed in.
I put some of the cages in first. It helps me space them a a bit better, as I am a stuff it until can't take anymore kind of gal, and tomatoes need air and room as they are a bit of a diva and will get diseases if you are not a bit careful.This is the farthest apart I have ever planted my tomatoes and it goes against my stuff em in there grain, but it will be better for them!
Then I planted the tomatoes inside each little cage. Until I ran out of cages. Then I eyeballed it with the rest of them and will add new cages as soon as I get some more. There are better support systems out there but for now this will have to do.
And then we water them. From underneath. Very important for tomatoes, as I said, they are a bit of a diva but don't tell them I said that. I want mine to give me lots of food =) You don't want dirt splashing on them, and unless you have sterilized soil, there will be some germs there. They take a while to grow and bring you fruit but when they do it will be worth it. keep them fed, water from time to time, they don't need a lot. I will keep you posted as they grow and what else you can do as they get bigger.
I will start more again in May for my fall planting. Like I said it is warm here and we have on average 240 growing days a year.It makes my gardener heart sing!
Happy gardening all.
