Tomatoes: A Complete Planting Guide

The How Do Gardener ^ | 04/11/2012 | Rick Bickling

[orsonwb]

Complete planting guide for Tomatoes including state specific varieties, planting dates, nutrition facts, planting, watering, fertilizing, insect and disease control information...

[orsonwb]

Thought this may be helpful.

[freebird5850]

bflr

[Lil Flower]

BTTT

[WayneM]

Thanks!

[dirtboy]

marking for later

[nascarnation]

Thanks very much!

[Silentgypsy]

Ping

[cweese]

An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey . He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.

His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Vincent,

I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over.. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.

Love, Papa

A few days later he received a letter from his son:

Dear Pop,

Don’t dig up that garden. That’s where the bodies are buried.

Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left.That same day the old man received another letter from his son:

Dear Pop,

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love you, Vinnie

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you! I’ve pinged JustaDumbBlonde to request notification of the Weekly Gardening Thread keeper. If you haven’t seen it already, I bet you’d enjoy it.

[Peter from Rutland]

Great resource, thanks for sharing!

[Dudoight]

My tomato plants are in bloom!

[Gabz]

That is hilarious!

[colinhester]

Bflr

[Maverick68]

This year we’re going with cherry and grape tomatoes: easier to grow!

[Jane Long]

bfl....thanks :)

[csmusaret]

Lime added to the soil at planting time will help prevent blossom end rot.

[knarf]

I can't believe I did not take a good picture of my most amazing invention for easy harvesting of tomatoes.

Alas

By overbuying from my son's high school, a ton of Roma's, I realized I had a problem with so many.

I reached into my memory bank of tricks and pulled out an idea I'd thought of for years, but never did.

Simply;

I planted all my 6" - 12" plants a handwidth apart, right/left - back and for-wards .. about a 2 ft. by 12 ft swath of garden space. (Like I said .. over bought)

I drove bamboo stakes (left over from another idea from the year before) every 16" or so around the perimeter of that swath, and down the middle also.

Got it?

a bunch o'mater's 2ftX12ft, bamboo rods (3/8"-1/2" wide about 3ft high) all through this "patch"

I then took left over deer fence, vinyl clad, 2"X3" mesh, 2'X12' and put it down over these bamboo rods and fastened them with garden tie wire about 16" from the ground.

I did another "bed" another 16" or 18" above THAT.

As the mater's grew, I trained them through the mesh and forgot about 'em.

As they continued to grow, I trained some of the branches through the second mesh "bed"

I harvested my mater's standing up, easily picked from fruit just layin' on a mesh bed whisperin' "I'm done, pick ME", so I did.

There was no problem from lack of light or anything and the ground, after the intitial one or two weedings pretty much stayed weed free.

I'm going to try this this year with my cukes on a larger, more substantial scale.

[massgopguy]

My grandfather used to put a Smelt under each tomato plant.

[Normandy]

Cool thread. Anyone tried these? Hanging tomato plants:
http://www.topsygardening.com/

[Kirkwood]

High density planting is not recommended because of the risk of disease rapidly wiping out your entire crop. If you want to risk it, it is your garden. Some of the newer hybrids are more disease tolerant.