Tomatoes on Your Mind?
Everglades tomato with perennial peanut in front. The white stuff is crushed eggshells. The black lines are drip irrigation.
One of several completed tomato beds.
Tomatoes on your mind? Here is what we are trying this year:
- Plant in solarized soil. (The UV greenhouse film worked great without falling apart even after 12 weeks!)
- Lower pH, incorporate organic matter and nutrients prior to solarization. Our soil was amended with peat moss and rabbit manure.
- Plant tomatoes horizontally so that the stem has more exposure to irrigation. My plants were about one foot tall and after planting only the top few leaves show above the ground.
- Plant a perennial peanut plant in front (sun side) of each tomato plant to, hopefully, provide nitrogen.
- Place a heavy duty tomato cage over each tomato with a 1" PVC pipe pole placed in a manner to prevent the tomato plant from tipping/pulling the cage over.
- Place drip irrigation as to water the tomato's sideways buried stem/roots.
- Work crushed eggshells into the soil where the stem/root is to provide calcium thus avoiding blossom end rot. We also threw on some expired calcium pills for good measure.
- Use a 10-10-10 slow release fertilizer in the area of the irrigation/stem/roots.
- Place an empty plant pot next to each tomato as a vessel to place compost materials that will break down and be released into the soil.
- Cover the soil with cardboard that is anchored with landscaping pins to act as mulch.
- Add 10-10-10 slow release fertilizer monthly.
What are YOU doing with your tomatoes this year?
