This morning was really productive; I did snap a video of where things started, and will take one tomorrow to show where things ended up....stay tuned, I hope to post them soon. But I am getting ahead of myself....these endless days of temps in the mid 80s are just perfect for both tomato health and fruit set. The long range forecast looks quite good as well...the longer we can stay out of the searing mid 90s, the better!
The tomatoes in the big garden are catching on but still far behind those growing in the driveway containers (a testament to how heat-happy root zones of tomato plants are). It seemed to be time for a boost, so I started my morning by giving all of the plants there a nice drink of soluble fertilizer (Miracle Gro tomato food; it is pale red stuff, rather than the typical blue stuff). After that, I grabbed the big spool of sisal twine and give each plant the next tie, so that they are growing vertically up the stakes.
Next came dealing with the small pot indeterminate tomatoes in the driveway, becoming sufficiently large and top-heavy that all future wind gusts would create chaos. My solution was to turn the deck into an extension of the driveway; all plants were moved to either the deck, against some shrubs close to the driveway (the boxwoods make great support), and a few others relocated to behind the driveway garden. The plants are now all much better supported as they load up with tomatoes. Watch for before and after video clips, probably on Tuesday night.
I then went through all of the dwarf tomatoes and ensured that they were adequately tied to the stakes, and also removed quite a bit of lower, diseased foliage. Finally, it was time to feed everything else in driveway pots - so all eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes received a good drink of fertilizer. There's still much to do, but I called it a day (for gardening work) at lunch, and returned to finishing the first draft of the book text for the afternoon. It is nearly done (and actually there isn't much time to finish it; it is due at the end of June).
Tomorrow I hope to replant some tomatoes that are not faring as well as I hoped, and a few straggler peppers; I will then return to the big, dirt garden and work on the bean row that got washed out a few weeks ago (Andrea!) - then prepare the former lettuce row for summer squash and cukes. Which reminds me....the lettuce is all gone, which makes us sad. It was doing great, but around the first week of June, mass bolting was triggered by the temperatures. It was great while it lasted - so we are left with lots of beets (not ready yet), and some greens.
The tomatoes in the big garden are catching on but still far behind those growing in the driveway containers (a testament to how heat-happy root zones of tomato plants are). It seemed to be time for a boost, so I started my morning by giving all of the plants there a nice drink of soluble fertilizer (Miracle Gro tomato food; it is pale red stuff, rather than the typical blue stuff). After that, I grabbed the big spool of sisal twine and give each plant the next tie, so that they are growing vertically up the stakes.
Next came dealing with the small pot indeterminate tomatoes in the driveway, becoming sufficiently large and top-heavy that all future wind gusts would create chaos. My solution was to turn the deck into an extension of the driveway; all plants were moved to either the deck, against some shrubs close to the driveway (the boxwoods make great support), and a few others relocated to behind the driveway garden. The plants are now all much better supported as they load up with tomatoes. Watch for before and after video clips, probably on Tuesday night.
I then went through all of the dwarf tomatoes and ensured that they were adequately tied to the stakes, and also removed quite a bit of lower, diseased foliage. Finally, it was time to feed everything else in driveway pots - so all eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes received a good drink of fertilizer. There's still much to do, but I called it a day (for gardening work) at lunch, and returned to finishing the first draft of the book text for the afternoon. It is nearly done (and actually there isn't much time to finish it; it is due at the end of June).
Tomorrow I hope to replant some tomatoes that are not faring as well as I hoped, and a few straggler peppers; I will then return to the big, dirt garden and work on the bean row that got washed out a few weeks ago (Andrea!) - then prepare the former lettuce row for summer squash and cukes. Which reminds me....the lettuce is all gone, which makes us sad. It was doing great, but around the first week of June, mass bolting was triggered by the temperatures. It was great while it lasted - so we are left with lots of beets (not ready yet), and some greens.
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