Sunday, May 26, 2013

To-MAY-toe; To-MAH-toe



Planting tomatoes and basil
  I've grown a tomatillo plant before, but never a tomato plant.  Yet we found ourselves eating so many dishes last summer with tomatoes that I thought it was just silly to keep buying mealy, bland, or otherwise suspect tomatoes in the supermarket.  I decided to grow a yellow teardrop shaped tomato and a grape tomato.  So I planted over Mother's Day weekend, and wouldn't you know it, the temperature dropped to the low 40s the following night.  I had to wrestle the heavy pot indoors.

I used an organic vegetable planting mix, my usual Osmocote timed release fertilizer, and earthworm castings (aka earthworm poo).  I planted my two tomato plants, one chive plant, and a couple of basil plants all in the same pot.  The red wire cage will support the tomatoes (I hope) as they get taller.  I really have no idea how they will fare in this pot--I'll just see what happens.


Tomato tag

All of the plants require full sun and plenty of water.  But that's where I draw the line (I say that now anyway).  If you're a regular reader, you know I have a low maintenance philosophy so I will not be using any special tomato this, that, or the other to try to get this fruit to grow.  I really hope I stick to my guns.

A little more info:  I'm pretty sure that both tomatoes are of the "indeterminate" variety.  That means they will continue to grow and produce until killed by frost.  Whereas "determinate" tomatoes ripen at the same time (within a 2 week period or so) and die.  I've read that certain indeterminate varieties can grow up to 10 feet high.  That might be a problem.  Stay tuned.

Basil




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