Home gardening

[MoGrubb]

I'm trying my hand at growing some tomatoes. This is my third try, with no previous success. The last two years I planted right up against the house. I fed the plants Miracle Grow and they grew tall as the house, literally, but they didn't bear any fruit. This year I planted in a different location where they get more sun.

I love 'mater sammichs w/real mayonnaise on toast.

Anybody trying their hand?

[JSngry]

Try liming the soil.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

make sure to keep picking off the "suckers".

you know probably, but, say a stem is growing like you putting up three fingers - you pick the middle one out of the crotch of the stem. if you don't the plant will just get lanky and you'll have a quarter the fruit. that technique really blasts the energy (and makes your fingers black).

and scuffle them weeds when it's hot and sunny too.

we got no tomatoes where we are ... rock and acid soil don't make for perfection but do have some containers. them boys gotta be in dirt to be good IMO!

[catesta]

Soil, sun and water.

Aside from a balanced starter when planting you shouldn't need much if any additional fertilizer.

Lime is good to help balance the soil and as you know always use some type of mulch/compost.

Getting rid of the suckers is good advice. Tomatoes will be much more tasty.

[catesta]

"Watch it, sucka!"

[Quincy]

Aside from liming the soil I also add a bit of epson salt when planting as it helps get rid of blossom end rot.

And stay away from Miracle Grow.

[.:.impossible]

Yeah man... Miracle Grow is probably one of the last things I want in my tomato sandwich.

Tomato Plants need full sun. Get them away from your house. The more sun they get, the more water they'll want. Condition your soil with lime like they said and pinch the suckers. If you have poor soil, tomato plants will grow just fine in containers. Matter of fact, the new thing around here is drilling large holes in the bottom of 5 gallon buckets, hanging them, and letting the tomato plants grow out of the bottom. This way you don't have to stake them, cage them, deal with rabbits, etc. Just let gravity work magic.

Whatever you do, stay away from pesticides and fertilizers. If you must use them, just stay away from quick release junk. Horrible horrible chemicals.

[MoGrubb]

I limed and fertilized it according to the instructions on the bags. Next year I'm gonna take soil samples down the agricultural extension office and have them test it for the proper liming and fertilizing.

Say Miracle Grow's no good? I never thought about it because I figured that anything that could make plants grow so well couldn't be bad. duh I'll study it. I forgot about the suckers, I think the plants are to big to worry about them now.

Has anybody tried bale-straw gardening. I haven't researched it but, it entails thoroughly soaking a bale of straw with water(and some other details), make holes in the bale and plant a couple of tomato plants in it. It's supposed to be a pretty worry-free, with spectacular results, way of gardening.

[.:.impossible]

You'll be surprised to find out that what makes plants grow isn't necessarily good for animals, specifically humans digesting the plants.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

I'm trying my hand at growing some tomatoes. This is my third try, with no previous success. The last two years I planted right up against the house. I fed the plants Miracle Grow and they grew tall as the house, literally, but they didn't bear any fruit. This year I planted in a different location where they get more sun.

I love 'mater sammichs w/real mayonnaise on toast.

Anybody trying their hand?

Yeah, good thread. Coincidentally, I just plucked this bad boy out of the patch (a whoppin' "patch" of 3 entire plants, that is! ) earlier this morning. They're coming along nicely......all I did was spread a capful of Miracle Grow 'Shake & Pour' pellets around the stalks 3 weeks or so after planting. My neighbor mixes in a bit of cow manure with the soil when he plants them and his 15 plants look like grape vines with cluster upon cluster of tomatoes. Your tall as a house description strikes me a being due to massive nitrogen levels. I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago when I used an organic compost called 'Com Pro', out of a Maryland sludge treatment plant....and the plants went Jack-and-the-beanstalk wild....maybe 15 feet high w/no fruit.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

.....saving the Com Pro for something else. That stuff is unreal....you could fling a fistful of grass seed onto an acre in Death Valley, use the Com Pro...and it would look like a Borneo rain forest in a month. If you want to create an 18-hole golf course in your backyard overnight, PM me and I'll send you a bag.

[Jazzmoose]

That stuff is unreal....you could fling a fistful of grass seed onto an acre in Death Valley, use the Com Pro...and it would look like a Borneo rain forest in a month.

Far out, dude...will it work with grow lights in my closet?

[MoGrubb]

That stuff is unreal....you could fling a fistful of grass seed onto an acre in Death Valley, use the Com Pro...and it would look like a Borneo rain forest in a month.

Far out, dude...will it work with grow lights in my closet?

Oh...shit...

Edited July 20, 2007 by MoGrubb

[MoGrubb]

.........

Yeah, good thread. Coincidentally, I just plucked this bad boy out of the patch (a whoppin' "patch" of 3 entire plants, that is! ) earlier this morning. They're coming along nicely......all I did was spread a capful of Miracle Grow 'Shake & Pour' pellets around the stalks 3 weeks or so after planting. My neighbor mixes in a bit of cow manure with the soil when he plants them and his 15 plants look like grape vines with cluster upon cluster of tomatoes. Your tall as a house description strikes me a being due to massive nitrogen levels. I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago when I used an organic compost called 'Com Pro', out of a Maryland sludge treatment plant....and the plants went Jack-and-the-beanstalk wild....maybe 15 feet high w/no fruit.

I planted those tall plants in Miracle Gro potting soil .21% total nitrogen[.12% ammoniacal nitrogen and .09% nitrate nitrogen]. As I said, the soil will be tested by the Ag Ex office waaay before next year's planting.

I just picked this little tyke, probably should have left it on the vine for another day, but, I was afraid something might happen to it.

There's no sense mentioning how it'll set off a burger for Sunday's lunch.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Um, well ah...I think it's safe to say that it won't be winning any 4-H awards or nuthin' ...but, unlike my heavily creviced antioxident gushing blob, yours certainly is an attractive looking specimen - in a nicely rounded, beauteous orblike kinda way. Let us know what the soil docs tell ya.....meanwhile, let's get back to the discussion about the real reason Moose wants my killer Com Pro.

[JSngry]

So you play a Link, eh?

[catesta]

Your tall as a house description strikes me a being due to massive nitrogen levels.

You are correct sir.

[MoGrubb]

So you play a Link, eh?

You are correct(if I may coin catesta's words). But, let's try to stay on topic: Why does Moose want Son-of-a-Weizen's Com Pro.

[JSngry]

To blow up the Link factory.

[MoGrubb]

To blow up the Link factory.

I suppose that could be linked..heh...to gardening, you know, fertilizer and all.