I know many of you have already planted tomatoes, what a favourite they are for everyone, but down here, up on the hill, I have not planted any at all, the weather is still too unpredictable – it was so warm and lovely the other day, I put all the winter fire wood away, just to get it out again yesterday!!
Do I plant early, or do I wait? Early planting does not always appear to be a guarantee, sometimes it works, and other times @^!@! Again, driven by the weather, which is not as predictable as it once was, when it was more stable and had warmer cycles heading into spring.
How often do you hear about gardeners having issues with tomatoes – they love growing them or hate it. What to do with them – stake them, string them, espalier them, let them ramble, prune them or leave them. No matter the way, there will be someone that believes whole heartedly in one approach, while another will have no success doing it that way at all. Phew!
Well, this really is to let you know that you have to find your own way in your own garden with them and as with so many things in gardening it is about learning and growing, growing and unlearning, year after year, it never ends – which is a good thing in this age of instant gratification.
But regardless, if you have not started already, it’s certainly time to now. So, get out there and
- Prep your beds.
- Get some seedlings from a reliable local nursery. The seedlings come in a punnet, which you just tip over and tap to release the seedlings, then very gently and carefully wriggle the seedlings apart to separate them, being careful not to tear the roots, as you want them to stay long and healthy. Don’t pull or tear them apart, just nice and carefully wriggle them away from each other.
- Make a hole in your bed so you can bury the seedling deep, covering much of the stalk. If you plant it high in the ground, with much of the stalk exposed, it may grow fast, but planting deep will encourage more roots to grow off the buried stalk and connect the plant with the soil making it stronger and more vigorous above. Deep planting will also be good for the plants health, as you will create a barrier against soil borne diseases and allow the plant to reach deeper moister.
- Give it a good liquid feed, mulch them in well, tend to them over the months and you will have them thriving for summer
Well, they are my best laid plans! We will see what happens next
Enjoy
Peter