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Ongoing care for tomato plants
Any suggestions for ongoing care for tomato plants to ensure a good
yield ? - I put a bit of lime in the soil when they were planted. I'm worried about blossom end rot - should I apply more lime? - How 'bout Miracle Grow or other soluble fertilizers? Once a week ? - Any preference for mulches - wheat straw vs shredded hardwood, etc? |
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
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#3
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
We oyt about a half cup of powdered milk in, when we plant tomatos.
Did it a year ago and not a single plant got blossom end rot, so trying it again this year. Plus the powdered milk is a great cheap substitute for coffee creamer in case anyone likes their coffee that way. On May 24, 2:11 pm, "Daniel B. Martin" wrote: wrote: Any suggestions for ongoing care for tomato plants to ensure a good yield ? - I put a bit of lime in the soil when they were planted. I'm worried about blossom end rot - should I apply more lime? - How 'bout Miracle Grow or other soluble fertilizers? Once a week ? - Any preference for mulches - wheat straw vs shredded hardwood, etc? For blossom end rot: I have had good results with Stop Rot, a concentrated calcium solution. Dilute 1 tablespoon per quart of water. Spray the entire plant: foliage, fruit, blossoms, everything. Do this only two or three times through the whole growing season. The same product is available with similar names, including Rot Stop. For fertilizer: I like Miracle Grow, but mix it at half strength and apply it twice as often as the package instructions specify. For mulch: I've tried all sorts of mulches and had the best results with ordinary tree leaves collected in the autumn. They do a good job of weed control, and at the end of the growing season they have broken down into little crumbly particles. Tilled under, they improve the soil. Daniel B. Martin |
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
don wrote:
I've heard it's better to just water the ground around the plant, and not soak the leaves as well. Is that true? http://www.humeseeds.com/sumtom.htm says ... "WATERING: Run the hose at the base of the plants. Do not water tomatoes with an over-head sprinkler. Water thoroughly when you water, then hold off for several days, before rewatering. At the same time don't let the plants lack for water, as that is likely to stunt the plants, and the uneven water supply can can result in blossom end-rot. (This appears as a water soaked area on the blossom end of the fruit.) I find the biggest mistake that home gardeners make is to over water and over feed tomatoes, which results in lush foliage growth, cool and moist soil, and just a few, slow ripening tomatoes. Over-head watering can also be a factor in creating blight on your tomatoes. If possible avoid watering your tomato plants in late afternoon or early evening. The best time to water is early morning, so the soil has a chance to warm-up before the cooler evening hours set-in." Daniel B. Martin |
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
On 2007-05-26, Philip Semanchuk wrote:
In article , (don) wrote: In article k.net, wrote: At the risk of stating the obvious, water your tomato plants if the soil gets dry. I've heard it's better to just water the ground around the plant, and not soak the leaves as well. Is that true? Tomato plants tend to be vulnerable to fungus and mildew attacking the leaves, especially in this humid climate. I have always operated under the assumption that getting the leaves wet would only encourage problems. I also made a habit of mulching the soil around my plants so that rainwater couldn't splash dirt onto the leaves, which I've heard aids soil-borne diseases in attacking the plants. I have not seen TomatoLord post, but he would disagree. He shreds leaves and puts them out 6 inches deep. He then parts the leaves and places the plants directly on the ground not in it. From what I have read it seems tomatoes are contaminated by soil splashing up on the leaves. So any mulch will prevent that from happening. I am trying a modified version. I plant in the ground, but I mulch with several sections of the N&O held down with some bark mulch.It is far enough out from the plant that no splashing can happen and I will increase the circle by putting leaves to cover all the ground between tomatoes. As for watering, I feel deep watering once per week is preferable once per week to more frequent watering. Somewhere between 1 and 1.5 inches per week. How much is that well a 4x4 foot area is 1.33 cubic feet and there are 8 gal. per cuft. so that is about 11 gallons per plant perweek for one inch of water. Now if you get a half inch of rain then that should be counted and only water 5 gallons more that week. How to measure how much water, time how long it takes you to fill a 5 gallon bucket with water. Everybody's water pressure differs so this is one fairly accurate method. If someone else in the house is running water, that will affect the flow, so try to water when no one is showering or washing clothes or dishes. I feel everyone should examine what the maximum flow rate is from an outside faucet and say 50 feet of hose. And if you are really curious, have someone run another faucet or flush a toilet while timing it so you can get an idea of that rate for the max time to fill a 5 gallon bucket. Using a watering wand on the hose will also reduce the rate from just the hose it self. Hope this helps. -- Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please. is a garbage address. |
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
In article ,
wrote: On 2007-05-26, Philip Semanchuk wrote: In article , (don) wrote: In article k.net, wrote: At the risk of stating the obvious, water your tomato plants if the soil gets dry. I've heard it's better to just water the ground around the plant, and not soak the leaves as well. Is that true? Tomato plants tend to be vulnerable to fungus and mildew attacking the leaves, especially in this humid climate. I have always operated under the assumption that getting the leaves wet would only encourage problems. I also made a habit of mulching the soil around my plants so that rainwater couldn't splash dirt onto the leaves, which I've heard aids soil-borne diseases in attacking the plants. I have not seen TomatoLord post, but he would disagree. He shreds leaves and puts them out 6 inches deep. He then parts the leaves and places the plants directly on the ground not in it. I would not dare to argue with someone named TomatoLord! But seriously, with which part would he disagree? Reading what you wrote, I think we're saying the same thing -- use mulch to keep soil from splashing onto your plants. -- Philip Semanchuk email: first name @ last name.com |
#10
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
My wife found a great trick in a book that is perfect for not only
making sure the water goes right where it needs to, but also regulating exactly how much water the plant gets. We take empty 2 liter bottles and cut the bottom 1 inch off of the bottom with a box cutter. We then bury them 1/2 way underground right up against the tomato plant. Voila. You water the tomato plant by filling the bottle with a hose. Easy peasy. You dont have to worry about run-off or over- watering. The water enters the ground right where the roots need it, plus the bottle itself is a perfect water-volume measuring tool. But it should be said, mulching is a must. |
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
Peter F wrote:
You water the tomato plant by filling the bottle with a hose. Easy peasy. Nice idea. Details, please. How many buried bottles per tomato plant? One? More than one? How frequently do you fill those bottles with water? Daily? Daniel B. Martin |
#12
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
On May 30, 3:29 pm, "Daniel B. Martin"
wrote: Peter F wrote: You water the tomato plant by filling the bottle with a hose. Easy peasy. Nice idea. Details, please. How many buried bottles per tomato plant? One? More than one? How frequently do you fill those bottles with water? Daily? Daniel B. Martin We are working our way towards one bottle for every plant, of which we have 8 in the ground. 2 liter bottles are not easy to come by when you aren't big soda drinkers, so its slow going. We've been filling them about 1.5 to 2 times per watering session anywhere from 1 to 3 times a week so far this year. Depends on how hot it is and rain. It is seeming to us that if you let the soil dry out a little by waiting an extra day to water, the plants really get some growth on them. Will that translate into more fruit? No idea. We're also trying this out with cucumber plants with overturned 1-gallon plastic milk jugs. I'll let you know if that works. |
#13
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
On 2007-05-29, Philip Semanchuk wrote:
In article , wrote: On 2007-05-26, Philip Semanchuk wrote: In article , (don) wrote: In article k.net, wrote: At the risk of stating the obvious, water your tomato plants if the soil gets dry. I've heard it's better to just water the ground around the plant, and not soak the leaves as well. Is that true? Tomato plants tend to be vulnerable to fungus and mildew attacking the leaves, especially in this humid climate. I have always operated under the assumption that getting the leaves wet would only encourage problems. I also made a habit of mulching the soil around my plants so that rainwater couldn't splash dirt onto the leaves, which I've heard aids soil-borne diseases in attacking the plants. I have not seen TomatoLord post, but he would disagree. He shreds leaves and puts them out 6 inches deep. He then parts the leaves and places the plants directly on the ground not in it. I would not dare to argue with someone named TomatoLord! But seriously, with which part would he disagree? Reading what you wrote, I think we're saying the same thing -- use mulch to keep soil from splashing onto your plants. i think I should have read you post again. I think my brain went on vacation mid paragraph. I could not find anything to disagree with the when I just read it. -- Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please. is a garbage address. |
#14
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
On 2007-05-31, Peter F wrote:
On May 30, 3:29 pm, "Daniel B. Martin" wrote: Peter F wrote: You water the tomato plant by filling the bottle with a hose. Easy peasy. Nice idea. Details, please. How many buried bottles per tomato plant? One? More than one? How frequently do you fill those bottles with water? Daily? Daniel B. Martin We are working our way towards one bottle for every plant, of which we have 8 in the ground. 2 liter bottles are not easy to come by when you aren't big soda drinkers, so its slow going. We've been filling them about 1.5 to 2 times per watering session anywhere from 1 to 3 times a week so far this year. Depends on how hot it is and rain. It is seeming to us that if you let the soil dry out a little by waiting an extra day to water, the plants really get some growth on them. Will that translate into more fruit? No idea. We're also trying this out with cucumber plants with overturned 1-gallon plastic milk jugs. I'll let you know if that works. Plants take up water better as vapor and not as liquid from what I have read. Which is why most plants will drown if left in standing water. The argument for once per week watering is the water goes deeper because you are putting more in the ground at one time, encouraging deeper roots and therefore more drought resistant plants. Perhaps the everyother day watering is cutting down on the growth? The ground is getting saturated more often, but I don't know how long that inhibits the roots from taking up water. Anyway once per week watering gives less saturation time and more growth time perhaps? IN the past I have used well washed 2.5 gallon herbicide jugs and small tubing to get near the plant. The sun makes them brittle and I don't have a ready supply since my brother gave up farming. I think I may have to find some this year or opt for 5 gallon buckets and get two plants with one. Debris can clog the tubing so the jugs were easier to cover with the smaller caps. Or put in some movable drip irrigation as I have done with landscape plants. Oh, you have to weight the jugs or buckets with rocks or tie them down. The wind knocks them over when empty. -- Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please. is a garbage address. |
#15
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Ongoing care for tomato plants
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