[JustaDumbBlonde]

Previous weeks' threads:

Weekly Gardening Thread (Catalog Fever) Vol. 1 Jan 6, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Seeds) Vol. 2, January 13, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread Vol. 3, January 20, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (U.S. Hardiness Zones) Supplemental Vol. 1
Weekly Gardening Thread (Soil Types) Vol. 4, January 27, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation) Vol. 5, February 03, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation) Vol. 6, February 10, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Vacation?) Vol. 7, February 17, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Home Sweet Home) Vol. 8, February 24, 2012
Weekly Gardening Thread (Soil Structure Part 1) Vol. 9, March 2, 2012

[JustaDumbBlonde]

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[JustaDumbBlonde]

Detailed State Plant Hardiness Zone Maps

Alabama	District of Columbia	Kentucky	Montana	Ohio	Texas ( East )
Alaska	Florida	Louisiana	Nebraska	Oklahoma	Texas ( West )
Arizona	Georgia	Maine	Nevada	Oregon	Utah
Arkansas	Hawaii	Maryland	New Hampshire	Pennsylvania	Vermont
California ( Northern )	Idaho	Massachusetts	New Jersey	Puerto Rico	Virginia
California ( Southern )	Illinois	Michigan	New Mexico	Rhode Island	Washington
Colorado	Indiana	Minnesota	New York	South Carolina	West Virginia
Connecticut	Iowa	Mississippi	North Carolina	South Dakota	Wisconsin
Delaware	Kansas	Missouri	North Dakota	Tennessee	Wyoming

International Plant Hardiness Zone Maps
Australia
Canada
China
Europe
Japan

[4everontheRight]

Great photos...great info.!!

Thanks as always.

[Red Badger]

...you are going to plant more than just the roots, you are going to plant at least half of the stalk as well, up to 3/4 of the height of the plant is perfectably acceptable. (sic)

This should be stressed again. The tomato plant will make more roots from the buried portion of the stem and be able to absorb more nutrients from the soil, resulting in larger and more abundant crop yields, and be better able to withstand dry periods and wind..............

[MissMagnolia]

Is that rebar you’re using to stake your tomatoes?

[Conservative4Ever]

Please add me to your weekly garden thread. I’m a newbie but would like to grow some tomatoes in a container this year. Thank you.

[jonrick46]

I know a better way to set those tomatoe plants in the ground.

Make a furrow and set the plant in it laying down on its side. Have some of that stalk in the furrow too. The entire length of plant in the furrow will turn into root structure which will increase the capacity of the plant to get nutrients.

[trisham]

Excellent article.

[Red_Devil 232]

Great post JADB! Tomatoes are what I focus my garden on and this is good info! We are now in Marshall, Tx and got that same gully washer you got last night. That front really dropped the temps here too. We were at 75 yesterday and in the fifties today. I have located a fairly sunny spot for my garden and should get plenty of morning and early afternoon sun. The property we are on has 21 pine trees on it and shade is a big problem but might be a blessing if we get a hot summer with little rain.

We picked up our rental truck Tuesday morning and started packing and finished Wed at noon. Then drove the 362 miles to Marshall. We arrived here at 8pm. Started unpacking the truck yesterday and finished up just before those big rains blew through here. We just got back from turning the truck in over in Longview. We are a couple of tired puppies.

[rockrr]

bump

[MissMagnolia]

Waiting for this camellia to bloom for the first time (just planted it last May) has been almost (but not quite) as bad as waiting for a mare to foal. It looks like we're making some progress .... color showing now. :-)

[Tammy8]

bump

[Darth Reardon]

Soil test kit arrived yesterday. Started a spreadsheet to track the readings and the actions I take to try to adjust levels. How long should I wait if I want to test again to see my results?

[GracieOMalley]

Thank you for the great tutorial on planting tomatoes. Even though I can’t plant them here until Memorial Day.

[Rightly Biased]

Great info I was gonna put my maters out tomorrow but its gonna be too wet I’m afraid..I can wait till Sunday afternoon I guess...

could you add me to your ping list?

I’ve been back reading and you have a lot of good info.

[ApplegateRanch]

Very nice tutorial!

Note to self: time to get busy making paper pots!

[TASMANIANRED]

Lovely Job.

My tomato seedlings are about an inch tall.

[Arrowhead1952]

Finally getting around to replying. Got bot my plots tilled and put into rows yesterday after adding some manure compost and peat mulch. I have a bunch of tomato plants in small containers saved from years past. My neighbor has a LOT of volunteer tomato plants in a couple of his veggie beds.

We are still in the low 40s with rain showers hanging in the better part of the day. Lord knows we need rain here in central Texas. The lake is about 50 feet low and I hope the storms west of here dump a few feet into Lake Travis. My parsley plants are growing like crazy. Our neighbor loves cooking with it and I told her to help herself.

[P.O.E.]

I’m working on growing potatoes (with an “e”) in 5 gallon tubs this year. I’ve been collecting tubs off the sides of the road (bleaching & cleaning them as I go). It’s new territory for me, so we’ll see how it works out.

[ErnBatavia]

Lots of big regional differences in this big ole country of ours.....I planted our tomatoes here in the low desert of Kalifornia in mid-September, and began getting fruit around New Years; by the second week of February, we plucked the remainder and pulled the plants.

I'm experimenting with Cuke and Watermelon seeds planted March 1 -- we'll see if anything happens before summer comes along and cooks everything off.

Back to tomatoes for a minute....the past two years now I have not caged 'em, letting the plants go "free range".....made a ton of difference, and we probably got four times as much fruit than if we'd used the props.