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Want to be the first in your neighborhood to grow a ripe, juicy tomato this summer? Consider participating in the Great Tomato Race! Ah, come on, it'll be fun. After all, the winner gets the neighborhood bragging rights.
Joining the Great Tomato Race is easy. Simply, throw a store-bought tomato plant in the ground and watch it grow. However, winning the race is another matter. For one thing, already-started tomato transplants usually don't arrive at local garden centers until after veteran tomato growers already have nursed some monster tomato plants along, having started them by seed when there was still frost on the ground. Of course, you can do the same. Tomatoes are easily started by seed and grown in containers on a warm windowsill. But you can still be in the race with store-bought transplants. Here are a few tips that will keep you competitive: Soil Preparation. A soil rich in compost or other organic matter should be worked into the ground before planting. A handful of all-purpose fertilizer may also be used. Steer or chicken manure, as well as mushroom compost, are the most readily available and least expensive forms of organic matter. Redwood soil conditioner, peat moss or gypsum can also be used to break up hard-pan soil. Plant Deep. When planting, always sink seedling deep. Pick off the lower branches and bury the plants up to its upper-most branches. This will force additional roots to form along the buried stem, getting the plant off to a stronger start. Space Plants Apart. Probably the most common error by novice home gardeners is planting too many tomato plants too close together. One to three tomato plants is all a household of four needs. Most tomato plants are vast spreaders and need at least six feet to do their thing. If space is a problem, plants can be staked to keep them under control. Stakes or already-made tomato cages are readily available. Generally, plants allowed to spread over the ground will produce more tomatoes, but you'll also lose more fruit since tomatoes are more readily attacked by pests and diseases. Heat the ground. Black plastic spread over the soil with only a hole dug out in order to plant Your tomato plant will do wonders to heat up the soil in early spring. The ground needs to warm for tomato plants to really start growing. Black plastic will attract heat and, just as important, trap that heat underground where the roots are. Additionally, black plastic or any of the new weed fabrics will prevent weeds from germinating and competing with your plants. A variation of the black plastic method is the plastic container method. Simply collect a few empty, one-gallon plastic containers -- the kind milk or distilled water comes in. Paint the containers black Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article The Great Tomato Race in California Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish The Great Tomato Race in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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