Here are the Tips we came up with during the first
Seed Library Talk
Tips For Growing
Tomatoes
The tomato is native to western South America and Central
America. In 1519, Cortez discovered tomatoes growing in Montezuma's gardens and
brought seeds back to Europe where they were planted as ornamental curiosities,
but not eaten.
Most likely the first variety to reach Europe was yellow in color, since in
Spain and Italy they were known as pomi d'oro, meaning yellow apples.
Italy was the first to embrace and cultivate the tomato outside South America.
Practice
crop rotation when planting all your vegetables. A 4 or 5 year rotation is the
best to help prevent disease and insect problems.
Plant
your tomatoes deeper than what they came in the pot. Tomatoes will form roots
all along the stems and more roots make a stronger plant.
Grow
several varieties – some will work better than others or may be less
susceptible to disease or you may like the taste of some better than others.
Grow
where they have at least 4 hours of sunlight, more is better.
Support
plants with stakes or cages.
Don’t mulch until the soil warms
– tomatoes need heat. They won’t really grow until the soil and air
temperatures are warm. You can speed things up by covering the planting area
with black or red plastic mulch a couple weeks before planting. You can lift the plastic before planting but
there is some research that says the red plastic increases yields.
Never
water the plant, only the soil. The leaves and stems don’t like getting wet and
it may encourage disease. Water deeply while the fruits are developing. When
the fruit is ripening you can ease up on the watering. Less water will
concentrate the sugars for better flavor, but don’t let the plants wilt or they
will drop their blossoms.
Keep
tomatoes evenly moist and not too much to avoid split fruit. Rule of thumb is
one inch a week, but if hot dry weather or if grown in pots they will need
more.
Every
week or so when flowering start giving plants a seaweed or fish emulsion feed,
or a weak all-purpose fertilizer. Less nitrogen is better.
Pinch
out any shoots that develop between the stem and main branches – they take up
energy from the plant developing fruit.
Once
your plants are about 3 feet tall, remove the leaves from the bottom foot of
stem. These are the oldest leaves and usually the first to get fungus problems.
The bottom leaves get the least light and air flow and soil borne pathogens can
easily splash up onto them.
Cut
off the top of the plant when six trusses of fruit set. This helps to focus the
plant’s energy.
Pick
off the leaves around the tomatoes when they’ve reached full size, but haven’t
changed color yet. This gets sun to the fruit to increase air flow and minimize
disease.
Good
Companion plants with tomatoes
NOTE:
There are a lot of things that can impact the effectiveness of plant
companions, so don't expect magic. Companion planting is part experience, part
folklore, and part wishful thinking. Most companion planting teachings are
passed down by gardeners who experimented with pairing plants and had some
success.
- Basil
repels insects and disease, improves growth and flavor. Repels mosquitoes
and flies (even fruit flies).
- Borage
improves growth and flavor and repels tomato worms.
- Bee
balm, chives, dill, mint and parsley improve health and flavor. Use dill
early since mature dill starts to inhibit tomato growth.
- Carrots
planted near tomatoes may not get as large as they should, but they'll
still taste good.
- Garlic
repels red spider mites. Garlic sprays help control late blight.
- Stinging
nettle nearby improves taste.
- Sow
thistle aids growth.
Bad
companion plants with tomatoes
·
Cabbage (Brassica) family - stunt
the growth of tomato plants, (including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage,
collards, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, rutabaga, and turnip).
·
Corn - - The corn earworm is
the same as the tomato fruit worm. (Also known as the cotton bollworm.)
·
Dill -- Mature dill plants, as
mentioned above, will start to inhibit tomato plant growth. Plant the dill you
want to go to seed away from your tomatoes.
·
Eggplant,
peppers and potatoes - These plants are in
the same family as tomatoes and are all susceptible to early and late blight,
which will build up in the soil and get worse each year. Avoid planting them
near each other or in place of each other for at least 3 years. Also planting
tomatoes near potatoes can make the potatoes more susceptible to potato blight.
·
Fennel - Inhibits tomato plant growth.
·
Walnuts
- Don't plant tomatoes under walnut
or butternut trees, which produce an chemical called juglone that inhibits the
growth of tomatoes (and all the members of the nightshade).
How to Grow Peas and
Beans
The
pea is one of the oldest cultivated vegetables in the world. Although its
origin is obscured in history, peas were found in excavations in Switzerland
dating to the Bronze Age and in an Egyptian tomb at Thebes. Peas were popular
with the ancient Greeks and Romans. In fact, the word 'peas' is a derivation of
the Latin 'pisum.' The Anglo-Saxon word for peas was 'pise' or 'pease' as in
the nursery rhyme, 'pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold.'
Peas
thrive in cool weather and young plants will tolerate light frosts. Once
germinated, peas adapt well to the cold, damp climate of early spring. Peas
must be planted as early as possible in the spring to get a full harvest before
hot summer temperatures arrive and put an end to production.
Unlike
peas, beans cannot tolerate any frost. Plant after all danger of frost has
passed. Beans like hot weather and full sun, but if too hot will slow
production.
Peas
don’t need much fertilizer. Too much nitrogen will only produce leaves not pods.
Water
deeply once a week or more if hot and dry. Peas and beans need moisture to
produce.
Like
other members of the legume family, peas and beans have a symbiotic
relationship with Rhizobia bacteria that colonize the roots of the plants and
help them 'fix' nitrogen in the soil. After soaking the seeds overnight in
lukewarm water, drain them and sprinkle an inoculant over them just before
planting. This will boost the pea plants and produce higher yields.
Pick
beans frequently to encourage a larger harvest.
Beans
have shallow roots and can’t compete with weeds, so weed regularly. Mulch
helps.
Practice
crop rotation to prevent insects and disease.
Companion
Plants for beans and peas
Marigolds
repel insects
Celery
repels butterflies
Other
companion plant interactions – planting beans next to potatoes improves
potatoes as beans fix nitrogen in the soil
How to Grow Lettuce
Keep
soil evenly moist at all times, watering every other day if necessary. If
lettuce doesn’t get enough water it tastes bitter.
Lettuce
like nitrogen so feed with an organic fertilizer at least once during the
growing season.
Lettuce
likes pulverized soil, similar to carrots.
Harvest
in the morning before the heat of the day stresses the plants.
Plan
your garden so lettuce will be shaded by taller plants during the heat of the
day.
Practice
crop rotation to prevent insects and diseases.
Lettuce
is a cool weather crop. Plant as soon as soil can be worked in the spring and
plant again 6 weeks before first frost in the fall.
Sow
cold tolerant buttehead or romaine lettuce 4 weeks before first frost.
Leaf
lettuce can be grown in pots, just keep moist at all times.
