Single Stemming Tomato Plants

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I have been growing tomatoes for many years and this is the first year that I have been seriously single stemming my tomato plants.  I have to tell you that it truly is working for me. I have been harvesting tomatoes since the first week of July. They are much bigger and ripen quicker. My plants are very strong and growing taller then 6 feet so far. I have had as many as two dozen tomatoes on the vine since the beginning of the season and they just keep coming!!

Here's how I went about it. First I buried my tomato plant at least 1/3 of the way deep. I made sure to pinch off any branches that will be below the soil level. Second, as the plants grow, I pinch off any suckers that start to emerge from the main stem.

For those of you who do not know what a sucker is, look at your plant. Where the main stem meets a branch of leaves you will see an elbow or for those who are technical, a perpendicular angle. From this area a sucker (another plant) will start to grow. Before it gets too large I pinch it off.

Be sure not to pinch off the branch with the blossoms.  Repeat this procedure until the end of the season. In the meantime you should see more blossoms and bigger tomatoes. The stem of the plant will be thicker and stronger too.

The concept is that the energy it takes to grow the sucker will be going back toward the main plant and tomatoes of the main stem. Makes sense to me!

I know the season is well under way but hopefully this information will help you have a bumper crop of tomatoes next year.

Happy Gardening!

Cabbage Moths and Larva

The cabbage moths are small white moths that look like butterflies. I used to think they were so nice to watch flying around the garden until I learned that they lay their eggs on leafy greens.
 

If the moths are present so are their eggs and larvae. Once the eggs hatch the larvae start eating their way through your garden.

I don't spray so to keep these moths from laying eggs on my leafy greens I invested in a material called a row cover. You just lay it over the garden and the moths can't reach the plants to lay their eggs. I decided to use my coldframe for the material and it is working just fine. You can pick it up at your local garden center or order it from your favorite online nursery.

Happy Gardening!

Tomato Hornworm..not pretty

I have noticed that some of my tomato plants have leaves eaten down to the branches. I am also seeing black fecal matter or "dirt" on the leaves.

Investigating further, I found one of these guys hanging upside down eating his way through my tomato patch. It is very hard to find these hornworms because of their color. Look in the center of this next picture and see if you can find the hornworm.

Googled the hornworm and found that he is very destructive to tomato plants and will eat pepper plants as well. I am an organic gardener and will not spray my plants so I have been hornworm hunting everyday since I found these guys...and yes I do dispose of them when found!

Be sure to keep an eye out for these guys. They can take out a plant in just a few days. Remember, if your plants look like something is eating the leaves down to the branches and you see "dirt" piles on the leaves, you probably should keep looking for the hornworm.

Happy Gardening!

Backyard Green Drink by Grace Lefever

I recently took a weed walk with Grace Lefever from Sonnewalds and learned of a new way to get leafy greens into my diet and all from my very own backyard. This is my rendition of her Green Drink.

Today I started with my garden greens of collards, red jagged kale, swiss chard, mint, basil, oregano, parsley, nasturtiums, anise hyssop, dill, and burnet.

After collecting from my garden I head to the edge of the woods for some wild edibles. Plantain, dandelion leaves and flower, lambs quarters, mulva leaves and flower, viola, red clover leaves and flower, white clover leaves and flower, and yellow clover leaves and flower.

Depending on the time of the season I would have more or less choices. Any leafy greens and edible flowers from the garden can be added along with seeds. When picking is slim I add  my sprouts and store bought organic greens.

I add to that a half of a peeled lemon, whole apple and about one and a half cup of water. I put all in my blender and run for a minute or until smooth then pour over a glass of ice. Makes about a quart depending on how much water you add.

Really tastes light and refreshing and makes me feel that I am starting my day on a healthy note.

Here's to happy, healthy gardening,
Cheers!

Creatures in the backyard here in Crows Nest

Happy Gardening!

Blossom End Rot....UGH!

Well, much to my disappointment, I have discovered that the tomatoes in my new raised bed have blossom end rot. I did  a bit of research and have found a few answers to my question of  WHY??  my tomatoes have blossom end rot.

http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/tomato-blossom-end-rot/
http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/blossendrot.html
http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/specialty/ber.html

Well, after some internet research, you can see that there are a few different opinions about the cause and cure for blossom end rot!
I have decided to add a bit of lime to my soil and water throughly. Hopefully this will help any new or existing fruit from BER!

My first orange tomato of the season...fortunately does NOT have B-E-R!!
Happy Gardening!

Worm Castings

I have always wanted to farm my own worm castings but haven't gotten around to it. Surprisingly, a friend gave me a bag the other day and I am so excited to use this in my garden. In my opinion, this has to be the best compost you could have for your garden. It is just pure organic matter!  

 I am making a compost tea with them. Very simple to do with a clean bucket,water and 2 or 3 cups of castings.  Add the castings to the bucket and then fill with water. Let it sit for a day or two. Use this "tea" for watering your garden.  The plant roots will absorb the compost nutrients directly.

Happy Gardening!