Yesterday, I finally got around to planting my biggest tomatoes into the garden (see picture). These are Sweet 100 tomatoes which you might recall seeing in an earlier post (they were among the many plants lined up under the eaves of our house). I purchased these plants as two punnets for 99c cents each from Kings Plant Barn during their sale back in August. I put in 13 plants, because that’s all I have space for at the moment. For all of you tomato lovers out there (and I’m sure there are lots!), here is a summary of the steps that I took in planting them:
· Tomatoes need full sun, so I chose one of the sunniest spots in the garden · The area previously had leafy crops (miners’ lettuce, cut and come again lettuce and kale) so this is good crop rotation. Veggies typically fall into three categories – leafy, fruiting and root crops. It’s a good idea to rotate crops to avoid soil diseases · The area was enriched with compost and nitrophoska fertiliser prior to planting (I haven’t been using sheep pellets this season as they’re too expensive, but I do like them too) · While I was busy digging the holes, I soaked the plants in Yates Thrive Natural Fish and Seaweed liquid fertiliser to ensure they have a strong start · I staked the tomatoes at the time of planting with the tallest stakes I have, because Sweet 100 is a tall variety and the plants are already so tall! It’s a good idea to stake tomatoes when you plant them to avoid damaging the roots later on · Normally I just use a trowel to plant tomatoes but since these plants were in huge pots and so tall, I dug a VERY deep hole with a spade. In doing so, I had to remove some of the lower leaves and the plants look a lot shorter than they actually are. It’s a good idea to plant tomatoes deeply as the stem will send out lots of roots from the sides which will anchor it firmly into the ground and result in a stronger, healthier plant · In each hole, I added some Yates Gro-Plus granular tomato food · After putting in the plants, I removed the lower leaves. In my experience, they’re the ones that are most prone to becoming diseased, because they come into contact with the ground · I removed the laterals (the side shoots at a 45 degree angle between the main stem and branches). Doing so enables the plant to put its energy into producing more fruit rather than lots of leaves. It also helps to allow the sunlight in, so tomatoes can develop and ripen faster · I tied each plant to its stake with some string · Finally, I watered the plants deeply, aiming for the roots. I tried to avoid wetting the leaves as this can cause blight Next steps for these plants · I will continue to water them well. We find it’s necessary to water the garden every day to keep plants alive but it is advisable to water more deeply less often · When it’s a bit warmer (maybe in early November), I’m going to sow some basil nearby. Basil is a good companion plant for tomatoes and is said to really bring out their flavour · I intend to mulch the plants with pea straw to add nutrients to the soil, conserve moisture and keep the weeds down. I might have to apply the mulch after the basil has germinated as seeds don’t germinate well through pea straw · I plan to liquid feed these plants weekly with Yates Thrive Tomato Liquid Plant Food (remember that photo of all my Yates liquid fertiliser in the garage in an earlier post?) · As the plants grow, I will continue to remove the laterals · I will also continue to tie the plants to the stakes as they grow Has anyone else planted their tomatoes yet? What varieties are you growing this year?
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