Posted on 05/16/2020 7:11:20 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Do I mix the peat and the compost in with the existing top soil or do I just mix the two and put it on top of the soil?
Mix it all up. You want to make that Top Soil lighter, with better drainage. :)
OK Diana, wish me luck.........../.
Good Luck! We’re here if you need us! :)
Sunflowers.. The ones I started from seed are growing as a bush... How do you grow the 7/8 foot ones???
Sunflowers.. The ones I started from seed are growing as a bush... How do you grow the 7/8 foot ones???
What kind of seeds do you have?
Are they just plain sunflowers or some kind of mammoth variety?
Maybe you need mammoth variety seeds?
I used to like Russian Mammoth.
Anyway, my starter tomato plants that are in plastic cups and 4 inch clay pots are approximately 6 inches high and sitting in my garden window. When should I plant them outside?
I'm in S.E. Michigan and the weather has finally started to warm up..........70 degrees today and warming over the weekend...but the temps over night will probably drop down to about 50 degrees.........
Wait until your nighttime temps are solidly 50 degrees and above before planting out your tomatoes. Warm nighttime temps are a must!
In the meanwhile, toughen them up by putting them outside during the day in a protected area to get some wind on them, or run your hands over them to move them around a little a few times a day.
When you plant them, you can remove the lower leaves and plant them DEEP. The stems are hairy and roots will grow from the stem parts that are underground, making for a hardy, healthy tomato plant. Make sure you use tomato cages or some way of staking them so they don’t fall over in the dirt. (You get nicer tomatoes that way.)
Also, when you plant, put a handful of Bone Meal in the planting hole, and when your tomato starts to set fruit, give it another top dressing of bone meal and water it in. This prevents Blossom End Rot, which isn’t a disease, but a calcium deficiency. (We’ve all been there!)
During the rest of the season fertilize with a well-balanced fertilizer such as Miracle Grow, or your choice of organics, following the package instructions. Mulch your plants with straw, but don’t mulch up close to the stem - leave a little open ring there so you can water directly at the roots. Tomatoes have furry leaves and don’t like getting wet. Yes, you can’t avoid if it it rains, but they’ll tolerate that. Avoid overhead sprinkling if you can.
As the tomato plant grows, pinch out the ‘suckers’ that will appear in the ‘crotch’ of the plant where stems meet the main trunk of the plant. They do nothing but zap energy from the plant as a whole.
Just ask if you’re having problems along the way. Best of luck! :)
It depends upon what variety seed you have. They vary in height from Mini (’Teddy Bear’) to MONSTER size (’Russian Mammoth’).
https://www.countryliving.com/gardening/g32128958/sunflower-types/
Some of my favorites (Medium sized) for cutting or just enjoying in the garden are:
ProCut Orange
ProCut Gold
Soraya
Ring of Fire
Jung’s carries the above.
Thanks for the great information, you sound like a professional tomatologist....
Hi Diana, my tomato plants are doing real well so my next question is do I tie them to stakes and at what stage of their growth or do I put one of those tall cages around them? Thanks
You can go either way. I use the tall 4’ square cages - pricey, but I’ve had them for a decade already and they are very sturdy. I usually have 4 cages per my 8’x4’ beds, and then I use bungee cords to kind of anchor them to one another. (I’ll post pictures later - I’m really behind this week!)
If you’re going to use the round cages, get the larges ones you can find, and run a stake of some sort on the INSIDE edge on two sides.
If you just want to stake them to a post, wait until they’re about 2’ tall. Put the stake as close to the plant as you can, and use something SOFT to tie the main trunk to the stake in a few places using a ‘figure-8’ wrapping with some ‘play’ in it for when the wind blows. If you have varieties that are going to get quite large, add another die to the stake as they grow.
An old t-shirt cut into strips makes a great tie-up for tomatoes. It needs to be soft so you don’t damage the trunk from rubbing when the wind blows. :)
New post for the week is coming right up!
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