The Gardening Everyday

For most gardeners, establishing tomatoes in the home garden involves purchasing or growing transplants from seed.  I personally like using transplants that I purchase.  They are easy and ready to go into the ground as soon as they are brought home to my garden.  If you have used transplants from your local garden center in the past then you can surely relate.  For optimum growth and to give your plants the best start possible, it is important to know exactly how to plant tomato transplants.

When you transplant a tomato into your garden, one small tip provides two distinct benefits.  The tip is to plant deeply. 

The first benefit of planting deep is the establishment of roots that are lower in the soil profile to begin with.  These will be all that much closer to moisture should your watering practices be erratic. 

The second benefit is a more stable plant.  How many times have you purchased transplants for your garden and they have been tall, weak, and flimsy?  Too many, I suspect.

There is hope.  The cotyledons, or seed leaves, near the base of the young tomato plant can be buried.  They are easily identified as one leaf on each side of the stem.  They don’t look like the rest of the leaves, as they are often elongated and oval shaped.  Sometimes, however, they are not even present by the time you receive the plants.

In fact, it is best to bury the plant right up to the first real leaves.  Roots will actually develop along the covered stem providing a firmer base and ready access to sub-surface nutrients.

The best method if your tomato plants are long and leggy with a lot of stem before the first true leaves is to dig a trench that is deeper at one end than the other.  Lay your tomato transplant in the trench with the roots at the deep end.  Then, carefully bend your plant slightly so that the leaves are just above the soil.  Cover the stem and roots below ground with soil and use it to help hold the top of your tomato transplant in a more or less upright position.

If you live in an area where the soil is quite warm at planting time, you can simply dig a hole straight down to bury the tomato plant up to its leaves.  In colder climates, the trench method is better as the roots are closer to the warmest surface soil.

I hope this article has been helpful in explaining how to plant tomato transplants in your garden.  If you would like more tips like this for growing great tomatoes, please subscribe to my email newsletter using the form on the right side of the page.  I will give you a free copy of my ebook “How To Produce 15-25 Pounds Of Ripe, Juicy Tomatoes PER PLANT” when you subscribe.  The book is packed with 15 tips and secrets for growing your best tomatoes ever.

Until next time, Happy Gardening!

Tags: how to plant tomato transplants, tomato transplants, tomatoes transplant, transplant tomatoes

Houseplants such as Weeping Figs and Pothos can be wonderful additions to your home’s indoor environment.  Not only do they recycle the carbon dioxide that we exhale, but houseplants provide the added benefit of a nice green plant to admire during the cold winter months. 

Caring for houseplants in the winter is really not that much different than in the summer.  However, there are a few basic tips that you should remember in order for your houseplants to survive the cooler temperatures and lower light conditions that our homes experience during these colder months of the year.

Water Sparingly

As with outdoor plants when it is cloudy and cool, houseplants do not use as much water during the winter.  You should never let your houseplants reach the permanent wilting point.  But, you should allow the soil to dry out to a depth of at least one half inch before watering.  Overwatering or water-logging the roots of your houseplants will restrict the air transfer in the soil.  Plus, you risk fungal diseases and fungus gnats damaging your plant.  When you do water, apply enough to thoroughly wet the entire soil profile.

A good tip is to take your plants to the sink for watering.  If you leave your houseplants in the sink for at least 30 minutes after watering you will allow any excess to drain away.

Don’t Fertilize

When caring for houseplants in the winter I don’t like to apply any fertilizer from November through April.  When you do begin fertilizing again, your houseplants will benefit from the constant small supply of nutrients you can provide each time you water by using a dilute fertilizer solution.  Whether you use organic or inorganic forms of fertilizer you can apply an amount recommended on the label that is specific for constant fertilization.  When in doubt simply use one quarter of the amount you use when applying one time applications.

Provide Plenty Of Light

Unless you have a sunroom or other bright location in your home you’ll find that providing extra light makes caring for houseplants in the winter easier.  I like to move my plants closer to south facing windows during the winter.  This helps to maximize the natural light available in your home as the sun is lower in the horizon during winter.  Another option is to provide grow lights for your houseplants.  This tactic can be expensive and is really not that necessary unless you are wanting specific results from your plants such as continuous flowering in some species.

Remember, caring for houseplants in the winter is not that difficult.  Most plants will survive the winter in your home just fine as long as you keep these tips in mind.

Happy (Indoor) Gardening!

Tags: caring for houseplants in winter, growing houseplants, houseplant care

I hope you are enjoying this holiday season as much as I am.  Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to reflect on the joyous gifts in our lives. 

I am especially thankful this season for my family.  I have a great wife and two beautiful boys.  The three of them are the light of my life.  We are truly blessed to have our health and all the necessities of life.

Many in this world are not as fortunate.  I ask that during this season you and I remember these families and individuals.  Please consider giving to local food banks and charities that support efforts to provide for others’ well-being.  Even simple prayers and acts of kindness go a long way.

Happy Thanksgiving to you from Tommy Smith and The Gardening Everyday!

Tags: Happy Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving

Download

In this episode of The Gardening Everyday Podcast I cover the basics of fertilizing tomatoes organically.  I’ve written an ebook entitled “How To Produce 15-25 Pounds Of Ripe, Juicy Tomatoes PER PLANT – 15 Tips and Secrets Revealed” and in this edition of the podcast I dicuss Tip #9 – All natural, all the time. 

In this installment you’ll learn how to use organic fertilizers to grow the best tomatoes possible in your vegetable garden even if you’re just starting out.  Plus, if you subscribe to my newsletter using the form on the side of this page, I’ll give you a copy of the ebook for free so you can enjoy all of my best tomato growing tips. 

I hope you enjoy this episode as it contains some really great information!

Until next time, Happy Gardening!

Tags: fertilizing tomatoes, gardening podcast, how to grow tomatoes

Note: This is part three in a multi part series aimed at helping gardeners start a new vegetable garden. Look for links at the bottom of the article to the other segments of this report.

Site Preparation

If you have gone through all the steps to choose a great location and size for your vegetable garden, you are now ready to begin site preparation. Although this is where the real physical work starts you should not get discouraged and instead focus on why you want a vegetable garden. This focus should keep you motivated throughout the entire process.

If the location you have chosen is currently bare ground then you will want to skip this section which deals with starting from a location that is in sod, weeds, or other vegetation.

Starting From Not So Bare Ground

If the site you have chosen is in a lawn, pasture, or any other non cultivated area, you have some extra work to do in order to begin preparing your soil.

There are a few ways to clear the current vegetation from your plot. Before I get into the specifics there is one other step that should be completed first unless you choose to implement the second part of method three below. No matter what your area contains, I suggest mowing it or cutting all the plant material down as low as you can. This will aid in the final removal of your current ground cover. Ultimately, you want all the current plant material to be dead before you start cultivating the soil.

The first method, and probably the easiest, is to use a non selective herbicide such as RoundUp. These chemicals will kill all vegetation that they come in contact with. Because of this mode of action it is important that you spray on a windless day and protect your surrounding plants, if any, from accidental exposure. If you do spray a plant that you didn’t intend to, you can save it by quickly rinsing the leaves with copious amounts of clean water. I know many people have adverse opinions to using herbicides or any other form of pesticide. That is just fine. The next two methods for killing the existing vegetation are chemical free.

The second method you can use to kill weeds or grass in your chosen vegetable garden plot makes use of the sun’s natural heating. You can cover your area with clear plastic to kill the plants. Simply lay the plastic sheeting over the area and secure it in several locations along the edge and middle regions with rocks or any other heavy material. You can do this in sections if you are limited in the amount of plastic available. Mowing your location first, as I mentioned above, is very important for this method. You want the plastic to be as close to the ground as possible for maximum effect. This method takes longer than the others (approximately 2 to 4 weeks) but is very effective at cooking plants to their death. When using this method you’ll want to water the area thoroughly prior to laying the sheeting. The moisture in the soil will help to hold heat in longer, even into the night. Plus, you’ll also kill weed seeds that may be in the upper one to two inches of the soil!

The third and final method for clearing existing plant material from your proposed garden location is the most labor intensive. If the area is currently in sod you can undercut the grass with a sharp, flat shovel and begin to pull or roll it up. Sod cutters are available from tool rental stores that make this job quick and easy. If your vegetable garden plot is covered in weeds you can dig them or pull them up. If you choose to go this route, I suggest not mowing first. You’ll want the have the long stems still intact to get more leverage when pulling. As with the plastic method, watering down the area first will make your job of removing weeds a lot easier.

Whatever method you choose to clear your vegetable garden plot your final goal before moving on to the next step should be bare soil that is ready for cultivation.

In the next section of this series I’ll cover soil preparation and the best practices that you can use to improve your chances of vegetable gardening success.

If you are enjoying this series and this blog, please subscribe to the RSS feed using the orange button near the top of the page to be notified of future updates and new articles. 

Part 1 – Choosing A Site

Part 2 – Garden Size Considerations

Part 3 – Site Preparation

Tags: how to start vegetable garden, kill weeds, new vegetable garden, vegetable garden