A question here for no till gardeners, what steps do you take growing
tomatos (from seedlings to final harvest).

Thanks for any info.

"George.com" wrote in message
...
A question here for no till gardeners, what steps do you take growing
tomatos (from seedlings to final harvest).

Thanks for any info.



What do you mean by "no till"? Not turning the soil over each season with a
rototiller?

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"George.com" wrote in message
...
A question here for no till gardeners, what steps do you take growing
tomatos (from seedlings to final harvest).

Thanks for any info.



What do you mean by "no till"? Not turning the soil over each season with
a
rototiller?

no dig, not digging the soil or very minimal tillage, using mulches and
green cover crops.

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"George.com" wrote in message
...
A question here for no till gardeners, what steps do you take growing
tomatos (from seedlings to final harvest).

Thanks for any info.



What do you mean by "no till"? Not turning the soil over each season with
a
rototiller?

no dig, not digging the soil or very minimal tillage, using mulches and
green cover crops.



Major digging is only needed when preparing a new area that's got deeply
rooted grass or other vegetation. Once the area's cleared of that stuff the
first season, periodic weeding and shallow cultivation should eliminate the
need for further soil disturbance. Cultivation, in my case, consists of
using a goose-neck weeder tool which skims about 2-4 inches below the
surface. This severs the roots of weeds, and also fluffs up the soil, which
is supposed to assist in moisture retention. When mowing, I bag some grass
and sprinkle a 3-4 inch layer around all garden plants. This turns brown
pretty quickly in hot weather, and does a great job of keeping the soil
moist and weeds at a minimum.

Other than this, I don't do anything special. If you can be more specific
with your questions, I can be of more assistance.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"George.com" wrote in message
...
A question here for no till gardeners, what steps do you take growing
tomatos (from seedlings to final harvest).

Thanks for any info.



What do you mean by "no till"? Not turning the soil over each season
with
a
rototiller?

no dig, not digging the soil or very minimal tillage, using mulches and
green cover crops.



Major digging is only needed when preparing a new area that's got deeply
rooted grass or other vegetation. Once the area's cleared of that stuff
the
first season, periodic weeding and shallow cultivation should eliminate
the
need for further soil disturbance. Cultivation, in my case, consists of
using a goose-neck weeder tool which skims about 2-4 inches below the
surface. This severs the roots of weeds, and also fluffs up the soil,
which
is supposed to assist in moisture retention. When mowing, I bag some grass
and sprinkle a 3-4 inch layer around all garden plants. This turns brown
pretty quickly in hot weather, and does a great job of keeping the soil
moist and weeds at a minimum.

Other than this, I don't do anything special. If you can be more specific
with your questions, I can be of more assistance.

Yup, sounds no diggish to me. How do 'you' grow tomatos using a no dig
system. What steps do you take through the growing season from seed to final
harvest. Thanks.

rob

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"George.com" wrote in message
...
A question here for no till gardeners, what steps do you take growing
tomatos (from seedlings to final harvest).

Thanks for any info.



What do you mean by "no till"? Not turning the soil over each season
with
a
rototiller?

no dig, not digging the soil or very minimal tillage, using mulches and
green cover crops.



Major digging is only needed when preparing a new area that's got deeply
rooted grass or other vegetation. Once the area's cleared of that stuff
the
first season, periodic weeding and shallow cultivation should eliminate
the
need for further soil disturbance. Cultivation, in my case, consists of
using a goose-neck weeder tool which skims about 2-4 inches below the
surface. This severs the roots of weeds, and also fluffs up the soil,
which
is supposed to assist in moisture retention. When mowing, I bag some
grass
and sprinkle a 3-4 inch layer around all garden plants. This turns brown
pretty quickly in hot weather, and does a great job of keeping the soil
moist and weeds at a minimum.

Other than this, I don't do anything special. If you can be more specific
with your questions, I can be of more assistance.

Yup, sounds no diggish to me. How do 'you' grow tomatos using a no dig
system. What steps do you take through the growing season from seed to
final
harvest. Thanks.

rob

None of the steps are any different, except for one, which depends on your
soil: If you're dealing with "bad soil", which can mean many things, you may
want to prepare a hole a few sizes larger than the seedling's root ball, and
add potting soil. I've done this a few times when the soil's contained lots
of clay and I wanted to plant immediately, rather than waiting for soil
improvements to do their job, which can take months or longer.

Regardless of whether you till or not, a tool like this is a must. I also
have a hand version:
http://www.gardeners.com/Swan-Neck-H...ing.34-526.cpd

I guess first question len is how to propogate them. Grow in a container
seperately in sunny spot etc, or plant straight in to the ground with mulch
removed and reapply mulch round it once plants grows a few inchs high, or
indent the mulch and fill with compost/soil and plants the seed straight
into that.

Advice appreciated.

rob


"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
g'day george,

none mate don't prune anymore, don;t stake them up, just make sure
they get the water they need, check for any grub attacks, set fruit
fly traps for the fruit fly and pick ripe fruit.




On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 20:17:15 +1200, "George.com"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

Where do you live?

"George.com" wrote in message
...
I guess first question len is how to propogate them. Grow in a container
seperately in sunny spot etc, or plant straight in to the ground with
mulch
removed and reapply mulch round it once plants grows a few inchs high, or
indent the mulch and fill with compost/soil and plants the seed straight
into that.

Advice appreciated.

rob


"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
g'day george,

none mate don't prune anymore, don;t stake them up, just make sure
they get the water they need, check for any grub attacks, set fruit
fly traps for the fruit fly and pick ripe fruit.




On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 20:17:15 +1200, "George.com"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 23:59:02 +1200, "George.com"
wrote:

What do you mean by "no till"? Not turning the soil over each season with
a
rototiller?

no dig, not digging the soil or very minimal tillage, using mulches and
green cover crops.

Geography probably makes a difference in growing tomatoes, but my
favorite growing method was to dig a hole about bushel basket size and
fill it with composted lawn grass from the year before, along with a
bit of lime and magnesium (Epsom Salts). The magnesium helps with
blossom drop, that seems to occur more with composted tomatoes. Set
a tomato plant in the composted material with a mixture of garden soil
and keep the area covered in mulch, either more composted grass or
freshly cut when I ran out of composted grass.

There is a drawback to composting and mulching heavily, it causes the
ground temperature to be a bit cooler and the plant tends to grow
bigger and a bit slower before producing tomatoes. Most of my
composted plants lived through the hottest part of summer and began to
produce again when the weather cooled. At the end of the season the
vine will have grown up over a 6' cage and back down to the ground
again. YMMV

Regards,

Hal Zone 8 Georgia

g'day george,

i'm one of those who has trouble getting seeds to germinate, so
generally i buy seedlings. but i have planted seeds into drills by
pulling the compost apart a bit not much sprinkle seeds along the
drill and lightly cover with a sandy material, then when they have
their second leaves developed they can be dug out seperated and
transplanted (they do suffer some transplant shock).

to do that i always trim off the first leaves and plant the stem to
about 3/4 the length of the stem into the ground, this gives those
young roots protection from the heat of the sun and gives a stronger
growing tomato as roots grow up the lenght of the stem.

i have never had much joy in propgating seeds in trays etc.,. just me
i think hey lol? have had better luck when direct seeding but then
there is all that extra back work easing seedlings from the ground and
transplanting.



snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

new zealand. frosts in mid winter (soon) but gone by early spring. Heaps of
rain and mild dry summers.

rob

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Where do you live?

"George.com" wrote in message
...
I guess first question len is how to propogate them. Grow in a container
seperately in sunny spot etc, or plant straight in to the ground with
mulch
removed and reapply mulch round it once plants grows a few inchs high,
or
indent the mulch and fill with compost/soil and plants the seed straight
into that.

Advice appreciated.

rob


"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
g'day george,

none mate don't prune anymore, don;t stake them up, just make sure
they get the water they need, check for any grub attacks, set fruit
fly traps for the fruit fly and pick ripe fruit.




On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 20:17:15 +1200, "George.com"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

George, the bottom line here is that whether you use no-till methods, or go
to the other extreme and till the hell out of your soil every time you feel
like starting a noisy machine (like my neighbor), it has no relationship to
how you plant the seeds and care for the plants. I think you're trying to
expand the no-till subject to overlap an aspect of gardening on which it has
no effect.




"George.com" wrote in message
...
new zealand. frosts in mid winter (soon) but gone by early spring. Heaps
of
rain and mild dry summers.

rob

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
Where do you live?

"George.com" wrote in message
...
I guess first question len is how to propogate them. Grow in a container
seperately in sunny spot etc, or plant straight in to the ground with
mulch
removed and reapply mulch round it once plants grows a few inchs high,
or
indent the mulch and fill with compost/soil and plants the seed
straight
into that.

Advice appreciated.

rob


"gardenlen" wrote in message
...
g'day george,

none mate don't prune anymore, don;t stake them up, just make sure
they get the water they need, check for any grub attacks, set fruit
fly traps for the fruit fly and pick ripe fruit.




On Fri, 9 Jun 2006 20:17:15 +1200, "George.com"
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.gardenlen.com

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
George, the bottom line here is that whether you use no-till methods, or
go
to the other extreme and till the hell out of your soil every time you
feel
like starting a noisy machine (like my neighbor), it has no relationship
to
how you plant the seeds and care for the plants. I think you're trying to
expand the no-till subject to overlap an aspect of gardening on which it
has
no effect.

not really Joe, certainly not my intention if that is the impression from my
question. For a host of reasons I am going for no till and I also want to go
for minimal time input and fuss. I have grown tomatos from seed in a
standard bed before no problems but never tried it no till. I have never,
and want to avoid wherever, indoor propogating and then transplanting. Hence
the question, has anyone had any success planting straight into a mulch such
as straw or hay or similar weed suppressent. If I use a compost mulch over
the soil it should be no problem sowing into that. I am unsure whether
seeding into a straw mulch, for instance, will produce good growing.
Obviously the alternative is to sow in to soil and mulch when it starts
growing. I want to sample other peoples experiences where possible however
to get a steer from their successes or failures.

rob

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
George, the bottom line here is that whether you use no-till methods, or
go
to the other extreme and till the hell out of your soil every time you
feel
like starting a noisy machine (like my neighbor), it has no relationship
to
how you plant the seeds and care for the plants. I think you're trying to
expand the no-till subject to overlap an aspect of gardening on which it
has
no effect.

not really Joe, certainly not my intention if that is the impression from
my
question. For a host of reasons I am going for no till and I also want to
go
for minimal time input and fuss. I have grown tomatos from seed in a
standard bed before no problems but never tried it no till. I have never,
and want to avoid wherever, indoor propogating and then transplanting.
Hence
the question, has anyone had any success planting straight into a mulch
such
as straw or hay or similar weed suppressent. If I use a compost mulch over
the soil it should be no problem sowing into that. I am unsure whether
seeding into a straw mulch, for instance, will produce good growing.
Obviously the alternative is to sow in to soil and mulch when it starts
growing. I want to sample other peoples experiences where possible however
to get a steer from their successes or failures.

rob

You would not sow into straw mulch. Maybe into compost, but certainly not
into straw.

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
George, the bottom line here is that whether you use no-till methods,
or
go
to the other extreme and till the hell out of your soil every time
you
feel
like starting a noisy machine (like my neighbor), it has no
relationship
to
how you plant the seeds and care for the plants. I think you're
trying to
expand the no-till subject to overlap an aspect of gardening on which
it
has
no effect.

not really Joe, certainly not my intention if that is the impression
from my
question. For a host of reasons I am going for no till and I also want
to go
for minimal time input and fuss. I have grown tomatos from seed in a
standard bed before no problems but never tried it no till. I have
never,
and want to avoid wherever, indoor propogating and then transplanting.
Hence
the question, has anyone had any success planting straight into a
mulch such
as straw or hay or similar weed suppressent. If I use a compost mulch
over
the soil it should be no problem sowing into that. I am unsure whether
seeding into a straw mulch, for instance, will produce good growing.
Obviously the alternative is to sow in to soil and mulch when it
starts
growing. I want to sample other peoples experiences where possible
however
to get a steer from their successes or failures.

I have grown from seed, but that was more or less in a prepared bed;
they got a late start in my area so didn't do as well as the ones you
buy and stick in the ground.

Those I buy, dig a hole where I want them (clear grass cover away if
present) and just stick in the ground, don't space, never used to mulch
around them but that is the thing now.

If you are starting from seed, I'd rake the mulch and straw aside until
the seedlings are tall enough to clear it, then place around them again.
Some people around here just use grass clippings for mulch, most don't
fuss over them much, and as long as they are caged up, tied up,
whatever, produce nice fruit.

Tomatoes are really easy to grow and will tolerate a lot.

rob