Tomato Planting Time!

Tomatoes and peppers at 8 weeks after sowing.

It's planting time, finally, here on the farm.  My tomatoes had grown tall in their trays and were ready for the garden.  So, last Saturday, I ran the tiller over my garden strip one more time, then loaded the tomatoes up and hauled them to their new home.

Germination Rates Vary

A bulb auger on a
cordless Milwaukee drill

I'm trying some new varieties this year (see Seeds of Challenge) and already have learned a good bit.  The best "sprouters" have been the currant tomatoes (Gold Currant and Hawaiian Currant) at nearly 75% germination rate.  Close behind have been the Creoles, Black Truffles, and Italian Tree Tomatoes (are those the old Trip-L-Crop tomatoes????).  None of the Crnkovic Yugoslavians germinated and only a few of the year-old Romas.  I'm most disappointed in the Mortgage Lifters whose germination rate was less than 50%, although the plants are robust.

Preparation and planting

It was wickedly hot yesterday, but I set out my tomatoes anyway.  Last year, I think I planted them too densely--only 1 foot apart--so I spaced them at 3 feet apart this year.  I dumped a several trailer loads of leaves on both garden patches and the soil was much "looser" this year.  I used a bulb auger to dig the holes which I prepared with Tomato-Tone then set the plant up to the first set of leaves.

Just a little water in the right places,
and they perked right up!

Irrigation

I'm changing my irrigation scheme this year, too.  Instead of using a sprinkler, which waters the grass, too, I'm using flat soaker hoses.  While we do not have to pay for water, I want to make my watering as efficient as possible and the soaker hoses help me target the plants.

I was spurred to try this when reading Holly Bollinger and Catherine Lee Phillips's Women of the Harvest:  Inspiring Stories of Contemporary Farmers (see my review at Savory La Bibliotheque.)  Many of the women who were profiled used "driplines" or "driptape" (which sounded suspiciously like soaker hoses.  Anyway, that's what I'm using until I decide to install something more permanent.

I'll be watering them daily until the plants seem to have settled in after transplanting.

A good soaking!

I still have to set the tomato cages, and will do that later this week.  They should also help guide the soaker hoses, too.

Fertilization

Last year, I did not fertilize at all, but this year I'm planning on semi-monthly applications of Tomato-Tone and, possibly, Alaska Fish Emulsion.  Hopefully, that will increase plant health and ward off diseases of stress.  Since we went nearly two months last summer with nighttime lows higher than 80 degrees, I'm counting on the Creole and Florida Pink varieties to set fruit during the heat of summer.  Although they are heirlooms, they are reputed to have been successful producers in the hot, humid days and nights in Louisiana and Florida.

I'm hoping the Mortgage Lifter and the Italian Tree Tomato (please, somebody, is this Trip-L-Crop???) will set fruit during the cooler nights.  The currant tomatoes enjoyed the heat last year, and I'm hoping they will this year, too.

Growing my knowledge, too!

I'm trying to work smarter rather than harder this year by being more efficient in watering and using more organic fertilizer.  We'll see how it goes.

So, how does your garden grow?

Nancy