Growing Tomatoes in South Florida

Best One-Day Harvest in a Long Time

2012-02-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Judging from the pictures that have been popping up in my in-box, I'm not the only one who's having a good year. I tell you, aside from that cold snap a few weeks ago, this season has been sprinkled with some kind of magic dust. The weather has been perfect, the pests have been well in hand, and even the diseases haven't been too bad.

Yesterday, my six-year-old and I went out after school and we had the best one-day harvest I've had in a long time. We've been getting fruit every day now for a while, and there is still tons and tons more left on the vine, but this was just yesterday:

It's hard to see, because I didn't include a ruler for scale, but those big ones are all in the 1.5 lb. range. Also, the Kellogg's Breakfast (orange) have started to come in, and the Paul Robesons (dusky, upper left corner) are beginning to bear more heavily. The star of the day, though, were the Brandyboys. This plant is a champion performer, with beautiful and huge tomatoes. True, they aren't as tasty as the Brandywine, but it's hard to argue with piles of gorgeous fruit.

Before I sign off, though, a word ... I've been a bit slower to respond to emails these last few weeks, and my posting schedule has been thrown off. I've been sitting on a tremendous guest post from a pepper-grower who has all kinds of good advice about growing peppers (something I clearly haven't mastered yet). And I've got some truly eye-popping harvest pictures from fellow growers. Also, I've been collecting questions for a Q&A post—those are always nice.

But ... these last few weeks have been a karmic disaster around here, and it's gummed up the works. I started wondering last week if we had somehow pissed off the Big Guy Upstairs. In these last few weeks, we had a new pet kitten die, our family room flooded with two inches of water thanks to a faulty washing machine, my wife got in a car wreck that caused $8,000 in damage to her car, and our house was broken into and we were relieved of most of our electronics and jewelry. They even took a jar of quarters I'd been saving for 15 years, the bastards. This helps explain in part why I stopped posting photos for a while. No camera.

I tell you, I'm thankful first of all that everyone near and dear has remained healthy throughout (except that poor week-old orphaned kitten we tried to nurse). No one was hurt in the car accident, and thankfully no one was home when they broke into our house. Our misfortunes have been of the purely material kind (again, except for the kitten, who we named Lucky but turned out not to have luck on her side after all). And I'm thankful too that these are temporary misfortunes: we are still gainfully employed, etc. I would never presume to rank this rough patch with the more serious misfortunes that lurk out there—I am lucky, and I know it.

That said, the garden has been a bright spot in my winter. It's true, what they say about the restorative effect of growing things. It's been nice to go outside and see something working right. And I confess: part of me has wondered. To get into our house, the thieves had to walk past my tomato patch. And I wonder if they noticed the vines laden with enormous, lovely fruit, and if somewhere in their fuzzy, criminal brains, they didn't stop for one second to think, "Wow. Those are nice tomatoes."

Probably not. But it's still a nice thought.

A Quick Harvest Picture

2012-01-23T05:17:00.000-08:00

Not a bad morning ... I'm starting to harvest big tomatoes pretty much every morning now. This picture shows green zebras, two Paul Robesons (woo hoo!), and a whole lotta Brandyboys. One nice thing: the Kellogg's Breakfast are slow to ripen, so I'm not getting my whole harvest at once, which is annoying because one household can only eat so many tomatoes.

I'll post on the Brandboys later, but so far, I've been very impressed with the yield on these suckers. These are very productive plants ...

Day Two: Tomatoes and Cold Weather

2012-01-04T05:44:00.000-08:00

There must be a better way ... I'm right now thinking of developing a way to better protect tomatoes than sheets and bags. Maybe I'll give LEDs a try. Or maybe I'll invest in a small heater of some kind to put under the sheets. Anyway, going on Day Two of this cold snap, I thought I'd update on the damage. And be prepared: today's blog is full of dead things. It's not a great day in TomatoLand.

Cold damage to tomatoes is an insidious thing. It tends to creep up on the plant, so it might take hours or even a day or two to see the full effects of the damage. It might be tempting to cut away wilted, dying or dead growth right away, but it's important to resist that urge. First, there's no sense in shocking the plant. Second, you don't yet know the true extent of the damage. So I say wait until the damage is completely revealed, then cut away the dead parts of the plant. And don't worry if you have tomatoes on the vine—they will still ripen, even on vines that are heavily damaged. Also, you might be surprised: the plants will often bounce back surprisingly well as soon as the weather warms up.

Anyway, last night I did the best job yet of covering my plants. I first covered them in giant bags, then wrapped them in sheets. The worst damage from last night appeared where the plants actually touched the insulation material, which acted as a conduit for cold temperatures. Otherwise, all of the damage in the pictures below is from the night before, when the plants blew over. The first picture shows the north exposure (direct exposure to a cold wind); the second picture shows the southern exposure on the same plant. So you see ... the damage is extensive but limited to the northern side.

And lastly, this isn't tomato related, but also kind of a bummer. I'm a pretty dedicated lover of lizards. I was the kind of kid who begged for things that slithered and caught snakes by the bagful in the forests and swamps around my house. While other kids were dressing their puppies in adorable hats, I was breeding praying mantis. So I was kind of saddened to find this knight anole dead on our porch overhang last night. Yes, I know he's an invasive species, etc., etc., etc., but still ... that's a tough way to go.

Damn Wind

2012-01-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

Remember how I said that, barring some kind of disaster, this was a magical season? Ha ha. I suppose this is what I get for getting greedy and growing 10-foot top heavy vines. I was prepared for the cold, but not the wind. Or at least not prepared enough. I woke up this morning to see that two large towers of Paul Robesons and Kellogg's Breakfast had blown over. Fortunately (I guess), their fall was broken by our patio furniture, so I don't believe the plants were actually uprooted. Just very annoyed. So I don't know if you can see very well, but I stood the towers back up and ended up tying everything off to my fence. For reference, that's a 7-foot fence (below).

In better news, though, I did harvest my first ripe tomato this morning (below). There's something wonderful about that first tomato of the season. It's a Brandyboy, so I'm really looking forward to lunch--and not just because I'm hungry. Let's see how these Burpee hybrids stack up against the Brandywines they were bred to imitate. It doesn't have the same ribbed shoulders exactly, but it's a lovely fruit.

And just to make myself feel a bit better, I've posted a few pictures of tomates still on the vine (Brandyboys, Paul Robeson, first and second pictures below). The fruit is still mostly green, but the tomatoes are fist-sized now and starting to lighten up (the first stage in ripening). So assuming the cold isn't too bad tonight and nothing else blows over, I'm thinking the harvest will start in earnest in about two weeks.

But really? Did they have to blow over?

Cover 'Em Up

2012-01-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess we were bound to hit some bumps sooner or later ... and tonight is going to be one of those bumps. With temperatures expected to drop well below 50˚F tonight, it's time to take preventive measures. (Any temperatures below about 50˚F begin to interfere with tomatoes setting fruit.)

So, here are the steps I'll be taking tonight:

Deeply water the tomatoes as night sets in. Water is a great insulation and protects tender roots. As you water at night, though, make extra sure not to get any water on the leaves.
Cover the tomatoes with sheets. Try to get as much coverage as possible.

And I've never done this myself, but I've heard of people using LED holiday lights with great success. The LED lights put off just a tiny bit of heat, just enough to keep the plants warm. Professional growers also use misters to prevent frost, but I don't think we're at that point yet.

I've already got a little bit of cold damage on some of the leaves (purplish blotches) from these last few nights, but I expect tonight to represent the first real challenge to the healthy plants. So cover 'em up and cross your fingers ...

Morning, Tomato People!

2011-12-23T07:33:00.001-08:00

Good morning! I was watering this morning and took a few pictures so I could post. This season has continued its near-magical trajectory. I'm still feeding weekly with Tomato-tone organic fertilizer, but I've stopped spraying with the Key-Plex and copper fungicide. I've had to remove a few leaves with spots, but nothing I'm worried about. I also had a small problem with white flies over the last two weeks, but I treated with neem oil and they seem to be mostly in hand. There are still a few, but the population is much reduced. Other than that, I'm still watering every day and spending my mornings pinching off suckers and tying up plants. Last week, I had to extend my tomato cages to 8 feet because of overgrowth. I've topped all the plants at this point, but they're still trying to get up there, and since the sun is better up high, I want to let them get as tall as I can handle it to set more fruit up there.

So, to the pictures! At top left is my six-year-old son for a little perspective. The tomato he's reaching for is the Kellogg's breakfast, a giant orange heirloom that is growing like it's running from the law. Next to that are the BrandyBoys, still on the vine. These are Burpee's answer to the famous Brandywine heirloom. They are supposed to preserve the taste of the pink Brandywine, but bear much better on more vigorous plants. I haven't tasted them yet, but the vigor and yield is just as advertised: there must be 40 tomatoes on these two plants. Finally, the bottom pic is the green zebra. I can't wait for these little guys to come in. They look awesome. Of the heirlooms, the only one that isn't loaded with fruit is the black Paul Robeson. Sure, it has maybe a dozen tomatoes, but it's nowhere near the others.

Whenever I start to get cocky about my tomatoes, however, I need only look at the peppers to stay humble. I don't know what it is about me and peppers, but I must not have the touch for them. My plants look healthy, but they're dropping most of their blossoms and now the leaves on top are twisted and look unhealthy. Grrr.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good season and I'd love to see some harvest pictures when people start picking ...

On Magic Dust

2011-11-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

First, my apologies for being a bad blogger. This past year, my regular work has kind of exploded, which is good if you're self-employed, but bad if you want to maintain a gardening blog. Today, however, is nice—I woke up, tended to the tomatoes and veggies, made a quiche, and now I'm sitting down to write my first blog entry in a month.

Also—and I keep waiting for the hammer to fall—I am having the easiest, most perfect veggie season I think I've ever had. It's just weird after last year's early season disaster, then the near collapse of the peppers and the ultimate collapse of the strawberries. Some years I feel like I'm fighting for every week, but not this year. This year, everything is growing like mad. No septoria to speak of. A few horn worms that I've been picking off as I see their droppings (because remember, bug poop = bugs, so look for them because they're there somewhere). No curly top virus. Just ... nothing wrong. Pinch me, right? The tomatoes are almost 4 feet tall already, and they've only been in the ground for about three weeks. They're loaded with blooms and the first fruit is setting already (I'm growing Brandyboy, green zebra [pictured], Kellogg's breakfast, and Paul Robeson). The peppers had a little white fly issue early on, but I've been treating with neem and it's well in hand. The mustard greens, herbs, broccoli, and other veggies are lustrous.

So what am I doing to have reaped this near-perfect season so far? Well, that's just the thing.

My big revelation has been preventive maintenance. I've been treating the tomatoes weekly with copper fungicide and KeyPlex since they were planted. I started treating long before any problem showed up. So I'm thinking I owe this season to preventive maintenance, because it's much easier to prevent a problem in the first place than fix a problem once it gets started. Other than that—and that's really all I'm doing different—I'm fertilizing every week with TomatoTone in very small quantities, watering every day, and that's it.

There's probably a lesson in here. I end up working on a lot of medical and nutrition books in my day job, and the same thing that works for plants works for people too. The disease you prevent is the disease you never get in the first place, and prevention is so much easier than treatment. Are my plants telling me to eat better, to drink more water, to get to the gym three times a week every week (not just some weeks), to take fish oil? I know this is nuts, but I kind of feel like they are.

Anyway, this has been my season so far. I'm really looking forward to harvesting later on. Unless tragedy strikes, I'm expecting a bounty crop of heirloom tomatoes and all manner of veg. And now, I'm off to start the holiday—we'll be brining our turkey this afternoon and starting to welcome guests as they show up. Have a good holiday everyone, and I hope your season has been sprinkled with the same magic dust mine has so far.

And They're Underway ...

2011-10-24T07:27:00.001-07:00

How weird was last week, right? After three days of rainy, windy, overcast weather, I felt like I was back in Michigan where I'm from (and where the sun never shines in the winter). I'd wanted to get my tomatoes into their containers last week, but considering the weather, I just moved them under an overhang and waited.

And then this weekend! Wow. Talk about perfect fall weather. This is the kind of weather that reminds me why I live in Florida in the first place. So I spent a thoroughly pleasant Saturday buying my soil ingredients and getting things ready to transplant. Over the next few days, I'll transplant everything into their containers and expect to start harvesting in January. Once again, I'm doing tomatoes (25 gal. containers and 15 gal. containers), broccoli (Earthbox), several kinds of peppers (Earthboxes), strawberries (vertical towers), mustard greens (vertical towers), lettuce greens (vertical towers), and herbs (small containers).

A few early season developments ...

Believe it or not, the first bugs have already appeared. I've discovered both white flies and tiny tomato hornworms on several plants already. I'm handpicking the tomato hornworms and using Neem oil everything else. This brings up a good point: spend a little time with your plants, every morning if you can, and watch very closely. Pest problems almost always begin on the underside of leaves, so make sure to flip up the leaves and look closely. Downy white filaments (webs), holes and tiny droppings that look like pepper grains are all signs of pests.

After much wondering, I've finally decided on my anti-fungal approach for the early season. First off (and most importantly), I'm going to be treating proactively, but I'm sticking with organic products:

Neem oil. I've not used neem on tomatoes, but overall it's kind of wonderful stuff. It's an insecticide with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It's very safe for humans, and I've already started treating the plants once a week with it.
Copper fungicide. This is an organic fungicide. I'm using it as a weekly spray to prevent early season fungus from taking hold (hopefully).
BT (bacillus thuriengiensis). This is the mother of all anti-caterpillar treatments. I use the powder and sprinkle it on the plants liberally maybe once a month or so.

Aside from neem, I've used these other two products, but I think the difference this year is I'm acting proactively: I'm going to hopefully prevent the kind of early season problems I had last year that took out several of my plants and reduced my yield.

Oh yeah ... and the soil mix. In the past, I've grown tomatoes successfully in all kinds of potting soils, even the ones that plant snobs turn their noses up. I've also mixed up my own potting mix with excellent results. This year, I'm doing a bit of a hybrid mix:

Fafard 3B Professional Mix, which is basically just composted peat moss, perlite, pine bark fines, and dolomite lime
Composted cow manure, for a slight organic food boost
Perlite, to air out the mix after I add the cow manure (which is too heavy for good drainage, and good drainage is ESSENTIAL for good plant growth)
Dolomite lime, just a few tablespoons to boost the calcium and counteract the manure's acidity
Blood meal, for nitrogen
Bone meal, for another boost of calcium

So you see, it's some of this and some of that. Some bagged potting soil and some additions of my own. We shall see.

In general, though, I'm really excited about this weather: there's nothing like walking outside on these mornings and spending some quality time with the plants before the day starts.

Now Here's Something Interesting

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

One nice thing about blogging is I have a permanent record of what I've done in the past. And check this out ... I didn't realize exactly how much faster the hydroponic tomato seedlings were growing until I went back and checked.

Here is Day 15 from this year:

I know that's the same photo I just used, but I wanted it for contrast. This plant already has several sets of mature leaves and is as tall as my hand.

Here is Day 18 from last year:

This plant was 3" tall at most and had only one small set of mature leaves. It's nowhere near as robust or large. Food for thought, right?

What this really makes me want to do is go full hydro ...

Seedlings, Day 15

2011-10-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. This mildly cool, breezy spell we're having is great. I'm outside every morning, watering and moving seedling trays, and it only reminds me that we're really heading into the fall and winter almost-Mediterranean growing season.

About those seedlings ... I might have over-reacted a little bit last weekend, after I first transplanted the seedlings from their hydroponic home into soil (I used 4" Jiffy pots). It's true that I'll never do this again, but I didn't actually lose any seedlings. Everything perked up after a day or two in a shady, protected spot outside, so here we are on Day 15, with tomato seedlings between 4" and 7" tall (depending on the variety), lots of greens, and much smaller peppers. The trays are currently spending most of the day outside, and I've been acclimating them to more sun and wind every day. I'm watering every other day and feeding with a diluted fish emulsion fertilizer, plus the worm castings in the soil mix.

I figure I'm about two weeks away from planting. I find at this stage it's helpful to stake up the young transplants, especially after thinning them out. The young plants typically lean on each other for support, so the combination of cutting away their neighbors (you want only one plant in each pot) and exposing them to wind means they appreciate a little help in the form of a bamboo skewers.

If you're not doing seedlings, it's a good time to go out and buy your tomato transplants. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. It's great to see the expanding variety of tomato transplants on the market now. Even Lowe's and Home Depot typically carry a dozen varieties of tomato or more, including bicolor, cherry, beefsteak, and plum-type tomatoes.

2. Pick the healthiest plants possible, with sturdy stems and healthy leaves, but try to avoid buying tomato plants in bloom or especially plants that already have tomatoes on them. These plants are already acclimated to a smaller pot and have experienced an abbreviated "adolescence," or vegetative stage. They will never bloom as vigorously as a plant that's allowed to grow to its natural size before setting flowers. Plus, it's still really too hot to set tomato fruit. Most tomatoes will still be dropping flowers until the nights cool off a little more and the plant can actually set fruit.

3. Beware of these "three in one" 5-gallon or 3-gallon pots. I've seen a lot of these lately, with three tomato plants in a single 5-gallon container. I don't quite get it. A 5-gallon pot is too small for one plant, let alone three. And if you transplant them, are you supposed to separate the root ball? Or grow all three in one cluster? Even though the plants are large, I think you're better off just getting a standard 6" or 4" transplant.

4. Beware also of tomatoes labeled "heirloom." I'm not saying these aren't wonderful plants--maybe they are, and maybe they will yield great fruit--but paying more for an heirloom label has more to do with marketing than anything else. I've spoken to a bunch of nurseries, and almost no one in Broward County actually stocks true heirloom tomatoes. Flamingo Road Nursery is an exception, but they don't have heirlooms in stock yet (I called them this morning to check). Part of the problem arises from confusion over the word "heirloom." There really isn't a single definition, and there's no oversight body that decides what plants can be called heirlooms. Various definitions have been proposed. Here's an article I wrote about heirlooms that contains more information about what is and isn't an heirloom tomato (this links to a tomato-related website I've been slowly building based on material from the blog ... it's still less than half-done, but you know how these things go).

5. Buy your transplants within a day of planting them. It's best to get them into their permanent home as quickly as possible.

Oct. 1 ... 1,000% No

2011-10-01T08:33:00.001-07:00

Very cute, right? A nice little tray of seedlings popping up in their hydroponic home. Before I get to the part about wanting to poke my eyes out with a bamboo skewer, I'll talk about how the AeroGarden seedling tray worked. At first, I was amazed. Most of my seedlings sprouted within a day or two, instead of the usual three to four days (I took this shot just a few days after planting, not today), and they grew faster than I'd ever seen seedlings grow. Within no time at all, I had a bushy little garden of seedlings going and I was starting to think I was pretty smart.

Then our power went out yesterday and it forced me to transplant all the seedlings into soil today. And that turned out to be a good thing.

As Mark pointed out on the previous blog post, roots that grow in water are not actually the same as roots that grow in soil. They are, in fact, structurally different. Incidentally, this is why it's better to start cuttings in moist soil rather than a vase of pure water. Because when you transplant the cutting into soil, the plant will go into shock.

See, I knew this when I decided to start in water, but I thought it couldn't be that bad, right? I mean, how bad can the shock be?

It turns out pretty bad. Bad enough that I can't bear to even post a picture of the results. I've got trays right now of droopy, sad seedlings. I'm pretty sure the greens won't make it, but I've got my fingers crossed and hoping the tomatoes and peppers will. I staked up the little buddies and buried them deep, hoping their stems will sprout new roots. Now it's just a waiting game.

Will I try this again? One thousand percent no. The only way I'll start in water again is if I plan to grow the tomatoes in water their whole lives. And I'll never use the AeroGarden for seedlings again. They grow too close together and their roots get all tangled, so when it's time to move them, you have to rip off most of the roots. I'm sorry to harsh on AeroGarden like this ... it's a nifty product if you want to grow some herbs on your desktop ... but it's ill suited for serious seedling production.

Anyway, I'm sticking from now on with my traditional seedling method: fiber pots; a seedling mix of composted peat, perlite and worm castings; and regular fluorescent lights. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As for the season itself, I think we're getting underway. The temps are supposed to drop tomorrow, so it should start feeling like fall. I'd say it's time to plant tomatoes outside any time—my trays of seedlings are already outside, in dappled sunlight.

Seedlings: Day 1 (A New Start)

2011-09-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

Whew. So, here it is, September 21, and I'm finally getting things underway. Believe me, these last two weeks have been a massive exercise in self-control not to plant, but I kept having to remind myself that the season is long and, at least with non-disease-resistant heirloom tomatoes, I'm not so sure the early bird gets the worm.

Last year, I started seedlings on September 18 and had them outside by October 25. If you remember, we had a brutal hot spell right around then, and my non-resistant heirloom plants were infected by septoria fungus right away. I ended up losing a few plants early in the season and spending the rest of the season battling this stuff with increasingly strong chemicals. So if anything, I'm in favor of a slightly later start to avoid the worst of the hot and wet fall weather. That said, I don't seem constitutionally capable of waiting much past the third week of September.

If, however, you're buying tomato plants, I'd still recommend at least another two weeks, if you don't have plants already. If you do have plants already, no big deal—just hope it cools off before they start to set fruit. Many tomatoes won't set fruit too far above 80˚F.

Anyway ... to the seedlings! This year, I'm trying something a bit different with my seedlings. In the past, I've always grown seedlings the same way: in peat pellets or 2" pots with a simple and basic mix of about 70% composted peat moss, 20% perlite and 10% worm castings, under compact fluorescent grow lights. It's worked like a charm, so there's no reason it shouldn't work for everybody (just make sure your lights aren't too old—they lose lumens pretty fast).

This year, however, I have a new(ish) toy I'm taking for a test run. A few years back, I got an AeroGarden as a test unit and I've used it to grow indoor herbs during the off-season. It's a nifty little unit, and you've probably seen these things in stores. They are basic, desktop hydroponic grow units. It's not advanced hydro and it's not complicated. (If anything, the downside is expense—I think the units cost a few hundred bucks each.)

AeroGrow also makes a seedlings starter kit. The concept is pretty simple: it's a styrofoam grow plate that floats on a shallow pool of nutrient-enriched water. A fish-tank air stone is used to aerate the water. The unit includes lights. It allows you to grow up to 66 seedlings in a small space. So what the heck, I figured, I'll give it a try this year. I'll keep you posted with pictures and progress as the plants sprout (early notice: the mustard greens literally sprouted overnight ... how satisfying is that?).

In general, this year I'm hoping to try a few new things, and I think I'll have to really revisit the question of organic versus non-organic growing methods. My own thinking on this topic is far from settled, and I've received a few letters from people who thought I really stepped on the kitten last year by switching to chlorothalonil in mid-season to control the leaf-spotting. I had another very, very good grower—someone I respect a great deal who makes a living from this—recommend preventive spraying with neem oil, an organic insecticide, bactericide and fungicide. I dunno yet. Right now, I see this as the central challenge of the season.

Mostly, though, I'm pretty excited. I've already developed the bad habit of checking on the seedlings like twenty times a day ...

The Plan

2011-08-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I've started to get seed packages in the mail over the last week or so, which can only mean one thing: tomato and veggie season is on its way! Yes, there's a hurricane apparently brewing in the Atlantic, and yes, it's still three million degrees every afternoon, but no matter—I'm already starting to fantasize about this year's veggie garden.

Before I get into this year's plan, I think it's worth remembering last year. I did pretty well last year—we ended up harvesting dozens of Brandywines and Cherokee Purples, plus yellow pears and other varieties—but it was definitely a building year for me. I had particularly bad fungal diseases last year and ended up using chlorothalinol, which made it possible for me to harvest lots of heirloom tomatoes in a climate that isn't exactly perfect for heirlooms (South Florida). But it was the first year I abandoned organic gardening principles. This year, I'm a little torn—do I treat preventively or not? I don't know yet. I guess I'll see what the plants say.

But all that's still in front of me. First, to the plan ...

We did some re-landscaping over the summer, so I've lost some growing room. But that just means I had to pick my varieties more carefully. As always, I'll be growing exclusively in containers, and I'm hoping to make an EarthTainer III at some point this year. Also as always, I'll be starting my seeds indoors under lights and growing them for about two weeks indoors, then two weeks outdoors before planting them out. I'm also hoping to hear from more readers this year with interesting and novel grow set-ups. I know from my emails that some of you are mad geniuses with tomato plants, so I say share the love! Let us all know what works. I'll be doing the same—lots of posts on nutrition, pests and diseases, varieties, techniques and all that good stuff.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my plan for this season:

Green Zebra tomatoes (25 gal. container)
Brandy Boy tomatoes (25 gal. container). I understand this is a controversial choice among many serious tomato growers. Brandy Boy is a hybrid created by Burpee seed company. It supposedly has the taste of the Brandywine, which is stellar, plus better disease resistance and vigor. The problem is, many people who are serious about heirlooms really detest Burpee, for a whole bunch of reasons. I get it. But I've heard good things about this tomato and I figured I'd give it a try.
Kellogg's Breakfast tomatoes (25 gal. container). Giant orange beefsteak tomatoes. They're a bit trendy, sure, but they're Giant Orange Beefsteak Tomatoes. I'm in.
Paul Robeson tomatoes (25 gal. container). I'm ridiculously excited about these. The Paul Robeson is a black tomato, similar to the Cherokee Purple, with a supposedly excellent flavor. I can't wait to see if these live up to the hype.
Laroma III paste tomatoes (2 x 15 gal. containers). I like a lot of paste tomatoes for salsa and whatnot. These are VFFNA, so they should have good disease resistance.
Various lettuce greens. This includes a mescal mix, mustard greens, and Swiss chard. I've been on a big greens kick this year. Not only are leafy greens great for you, they're just good.
Strawberries (AgroTower stackable containers). I'm doing another tower of strawberries, but this time a smaller one. We shall see.
Broccoli (Earthbox). This is a no-fail way to produce awesome broccoli.
Habanero peppers (Earthbox). Chocolate habanero (see above: salsa).
Bell peppers (Earthbox). Because they rule.
Herbs. Probably a full herb garden ... plus I established lemon grass over the summer, so I've got lots of Thai food growing in my yard.

And that's where I start. These plans always sort of expand as the year goes on, so stick around and let's keep our fingers crossed for perfect weather, no bugs, and even less disease ...

Tomatoes in Earthboxes (A Reader's Perspective)

2011-04-27T06:41:00.001-07:00

Early season shot ...

And the harvest comes in!

I got the above photos not too long ago and thought, "Now here's a gardener who knows how to use an Earthbox!" The plants looked beautiful (nice yard, too). So I wrote Steve and asked if he'd be willing to share his experience with Earthboxes—and I was kind of surprised to learn this was his first year with them. If anything, though, it makes his results more impressive. Earthboxes are a great way to get started growing vegetables ... they're easy and they deliver. But enough from me. Here's what Steve has to say about how to get the best results from Earthboxes:

1. How long have you been growing in EarthBoxes? What made you decide to go the EB route instead of in the ground or with big containers?

I started with two EBs on Jan 14, 2011, after reading your article in the Sun Sentinel. At the time, I had four tomato plants in the ground in the only semisunny part of my yard and they were doing OK, but the sprinkler system was spraying them regularly and I knew the situation wasn't ideal. I read your article and actually set out to start building a few Earthtainers but quickly realized it wasn't for me. I'm an engineer, but just reading the instructions had me worn out, and I was concerned with the aesthetics since these were destined for my pool patio, which has the best sun coverage. So I re-read the article and scrapped the DIY plans and bought two EBs from Amazon. Two weeks later I realized that two wasn't enough and added two more. The 'never enough' syndrome is the only EB downside in my opinion.

For me, the consistent supply of water and fertilizer is what makes the EB ideal. There is no guesswork involved in watering or fertilizing. You can't overwater. The casters are also nice in case we get a freeze or really bad weather. We can roll them into a protected area.

2. What's the biggest challenge you've found with EBs? It's been my experience that, with big beefsteak tomatoes, they need watering at least once, sometimes twice, a day near the end of the season. Did you experience this also?

The biggest challenge for me was probably a robust staking method. The EB does have a staking system that adds a decent amount of cost but I also added some Ultomato stakes (more $$) to system because I didn't really want to use the supplied netting. The tomatoes do take an amazing amount of water, but that never was a big problem for me. I watered mine twice a day with a watering can. The four boxes probably used about 6 gallons of water total each day. I've since added the EB automatic watering system which so far has worked great.

3. What varieties have you grown so far? Did you get a decent harvest?

With a relatively late start in January, I was in a big hurry to get the boxes going so I just picked up three varieties from the local stores: Better Bush, Bonnie Select, and Patio. I was overly focused on buying container oriented plants so I ended up with small determinate varieties. The Patio is really too small for this system, but the yield is OK and they taste great. The yields from the others look to be good, though they're still ripening. I have had two cases of TYLCV (tomato yellow leaf-curl virus), which does limit the yield somewhat. Next season I'll be trying indeterminate heirlooms.

One of the four boxes was dedicated to herbs which has worked out great. I'll always have an herb box from now on since fresh herbs in the kitchen can't be beat. After tomatoes are done, I plan on one box with hot peppers. We'll see how they can take the S. Florida summer.

4. Are you going to keep growing in EBs, or try something different?

Absolutely and without reservation. Its a great product. Thanks again for opening my eyes to them.

Hydroponic Tomatoes

2011-04-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about running this blog is getting pictures from fellow gardeners all over South Florida of their own tomato gardens. This year in particular, I've gotten a few from gardeners who are doing pretty incredible things ... including Brian. Brian grows hydroponic tomatoes in a set-up he created himself, and he's probably too modest to say it, but he strikes me as a mad genius. So I asked Brian if he'd be willing to share his method and he agreed.

For the uninitiated among us, hydroponics is the practice of growing plants in a water/nutrient solution, without soil or potting media. The plants are rooted in a sterile mixture for support, and they obtain their nutrients directly from the water. In addition, root-zone aeration is increased, sometimes dramatically, depending on the type of hydroponic setup you're using. But I'll let Brian tell the rest ...

1. So you're growing tomatoes hydroponically outdoors. How did you decide to go that route and what's your basic set-up look like?

In a nutshell, my local soil stinks. I already had a 440-gallon rain barrel collection setup, so trying hydroponics made sense. I researched hydroponics on the Internet and it sounded promising. I decided to set up a test garden and see how it went. I chose the ebb and flow method as it seemed to meet my needs with the least hassle. The growing medium I chose was coco coir with a layer of red lava rock under it for added drainage. For my test setup, I used eight 5-gallon buckets, which I connected together using 1" PVC pipe and fittings. I used an old 15 gal. fish tank for my nutrient tank, and with some creative pipe work, I came up with a system that fills, drains, and controls overflow all from one point.

2. How many plants do you grow in each container? What kind of harvest are you getting?

My test garden consisted of five buckets with two tomato plants in each, one bucket had six silver queen corn plants, one bucket with basil, one bucket with six blue lake green bean plants, and on a whim, I planted a pumpkin seed from the Halloween jack-o-lantern I carved. All plants were started on November 1 from seed indoors using Rapid Rooter plugs and a fluorescent light. The harvest was beyond my expectations. Let's just say all the neighbors on my street received tomatoes. I never counted exactly, but the ten plants yielded close to 100 tomatoes, and there are still a few on the vine. Most were in the 1 lb+ range with a few coming close to 2 lbs. The six corn plants produced four usable ears, two of which filled in close to 100 percent. The basil grew like a weed; I would top it in half, and a week later it looked like I didn't touch it. The green beans produced four double handfuls of beautiful beans. The biggest kick I got was the pumpkin plant. I didn't even expect it to sprout. Not only did it sprout, it actually produced a pumpkin!

3. What was the hardest part to get right? I've heard that outdoor hydro is hard because of rain water, animals, etc., encroaching on the growing containers. Did you have issues like this?

My hydroponic garden is a work in progress so I can't say I've got it right yet! I have had great results so far with a few bumps. I think the most confusing issue I had was which nutrient solution to use. There are hundreds of them: powders, liquids, two-part mixes, three-part mixes, etc. It can be overwhelming to a novice, which I was. The other critical factor in hydro is the nutrient tanks' PH level. It's very important to monitor it and keep it within the range for what you're growing. It's easy to do, but must be done if you want great results.

Rain really hasn't been a issue up to this point. I'm a bit of a weather junkie so I check the radar daily. When rain is heading my way, I simply disconnect a fitting and the rain water flows through the buckets and onto the ground instead of back into the nutrient tank, which would dilute it. In reality, having your plants get a good rain is benificial, as it's recommended you flush your buckets with fresh water every week or so. This eliminates the buildup of unused nutrients and salts that can settle in the bottom of your buckets. Salts will block the roots from absorbing the nutrients they need. Surprisingly, the local critters have ignored my garden completely. We have racoons, opossums, and of course, birds. I haven't seen one bite or peck up to this point, knock on wood. My best guess is the neighbors leave enough dog/cat food outside to keep the wild critters content.

4. If someone wanted to start growing hydro tomatoes, where should they go for good information and resources? How can I get started?

Try www.simplyhydro.com. It's a great resource for the hydroponic beginner. It's a cleanly designed website with easy reading and clear information. Ive done my travels through the hydroponic web and their website is on target.

As far as tomato-specific websites, there are too many to remember, all with varying opinions. I took in as much information as I could and tried to balance it with my situation. You have to remember what works for a gal in Ohio might not work for us here in South Florida. Bugs, weather, etc. It's all different.

One great local resource for hydroponic information and products is Greentouch Hydroponics in Davie (5011 S. State Rd. 7, suite 104, 954-316-8815). Carey and Mike who work there are both very knowledgeble and helpful. Mike can go into detail on micronutrients like nobody's business. His nickname, Ozone, is well deserved. It's by far the best local Hydroponics store in Broward in my opinion. For online shopping, another great resource for hydroponic stuff is Grow Smart Hydroponics. They have fast shipping and great pricing and helpful staff as well.

5. What varieties of tomatoes are you growing? Do you have problems with fungal and bacterial diseases, etc.?

My first test setup, I planted Burpee Super beefsteak hybrids. They did great. The flavor was OK, and the size and quantity were outstanding. I currently have a second setup with another Burpee beefsteak variety just starting to flower. In the nursery, I have Heinz and Brandywine varieties almost ready for transplant. To me, the Brandywine will be the real test of my hydroponic setup. As you know, they can be finicky so I'm excited to get them going. Up to this point, powdery mildew has been my biggest fungal issue. It went untreated in the first test setup of tomatoes due to it showing up so late in the plant's development. The plants had already given me 50+ tomatoes, so I decided to let it go as the plants would be replaced soon with new ones. I've since been using preventitive spraying of Neem oil and seem to have the issue under control. Like everyone it seems, I have had some mystery leaf curl issues as well, but no real harm done there.

(From Jon ... if you have any questions about the particulars, leave them in the comments section and I'll make sure they get answered!)

Reviewing This Year's Varieties

2011-03-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

So the season seems to have entered the final stretch ... this is right about the time I'm starting to think about lessons I've learned this season, start to plan for next season, and in general wonder where the growing season went. Don't get me wrong, I love summer (even our summers), but it's hard not to miss the growing season.

One thing I will say about this season: it wasn't great. It could have been worse, but I wasn't exactly breaking records, if you get my meaning. I had much worse disease problems than normal. In the end, I grew six varieties of tomatoes, including Brandywine, Cherokee purple, yellow pear, Big Boy, Early Wonder, and Victoria Supreme. The picture above shows a bit of everything except the Big Boys and Early Wonders. Here is my quick review of each:

Brandywine: Amazing taste, beautiful tomato, the rightful queen of TomatoLand. After fending off massive disease problems with an aggressive spraying program, I got a medium yield of medium to large fruit. Still, just on bragging rights alone, this is a winner, and my friends and family loved them. My advice: if you're going to grow these, plan on spraying from the beginning.
Cherokee purple. Beautifully colored, excellent fruit. I'll definitely grow these again—people regularly ask me if I have any more to give away. I also got a pretty heavy yield for an heirloom, although the fruit were generally a bit smaller than the Brandywines. It was somewhat more disease resistant than the Brandywine and ripened earlier, although they were also sprayed. The same advice applies here: if you're going to grow them, plan on spraying.
Yellow pear. Slow to start, but once it kicked in, I got loads and loads of fruit. Whole baskets full of these things. They are very sweet and delicious and I got in the habit of leaving them around in bowls as snack food. I lost two plants, though, to yellow frizzy top disease.
Victoria Supreme. Excellent disease resistance. Of all the tomatoes I grew this year, these were the only ones that didn't get sprayed at all. It's a great cooking tomato with very few seeds and quickly cooks down into a thick, rich sauce. I made up a sausage and pepper tomato sauce midway through the season, with fresh parmesan and a handful of basil, that was a big hit this winter. I'd grow these again as a standard paste tomato.
Big Boy. Well, they grew at least. I dunno. These are pretty dependable producers, aside from some splitting, and they have great disease resistance. They're quite lovely, too. But in a side-by-side taste test with Brandwines, they just ... squish a bit in comparison.
Early Wonders. I can see the appeal of a tomato that ripens in fifty days. It's really pretty amazing, especially considering that some of the others went WAY past their anticipated harvest dates before I started getting fruit. But these ... well, I don't want to speak ill of a tomato. Let's just say the flavor was insipid to middling and the skin was vaguely reptilian. I won't grow them again.

As far as growing methods are concerned, it was a pretty standard year, with the addition of a pretty aggressive spraying program. I'll cover this in another blog, since it's a big topic and deserves attention. I had to seriously rethink my devotion to organic gardening techniques this year.

Finally, I've gotten a few cool emails from people showing their own growing systems, so I'm going to post these in the near future, along with explanations of how they did it. If you have a particularly nifty method, or got outstanding results this year, feel free to shoot me an email.

Oh yeah ... I'll also try to get up some more harvest pictures, because everybody loves tomato smut.

Reader's Questions, Part II

2011-03-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

#1: I've had a problem w/something eating the tomatoes (see photo above), usually the day before I planned to pick the fruit. Is there something I can spray/put on the tomatoes to repel pests?

Answer: I've had the same problem before ... to me, this looks like rat damage from Norway rats (or roof rats or fruit rats). If you live in a neighborhood with lots of fruit trees, there are going to be fruit rats outside, and guess what? They like tomatoes. Rats typically eat tomatoes at night, leaving dime- or quarter-sized holes in the fruit, ruining that piece of fruit. Personally, I don't spray for rats—it's never got bad enough that I had to worry about it, and I figure they can take a few and it won't really hurt me much. If I had to spray for them, I'd probably test a homemade garlic or cayenne spray on a few tomatoes to see if it hurt them, then try that as a deterrent.

#2: About the container size. I see where you suggest 10 gallon. What would be a good source of something

this size?

Answer: I buy used 25-gallon tree containers from a local tree nursery for $5 each. I'm not overly concerned about the look of my tomato containers, and I like the big ones, so it's usually a simple matter of asking if they have any old ones laying around that I can take off their hands. You can also buy large (and much better looking) containers at most big-box stores. Remember that a cubic foot equals about 7.5 gallons, so it will take about two cubic feet of soil to fill a 15-gallon container. If the container isn't labeled for size, use its soil-holding capacity as a general guide and remember: the bigger, the better.

#3: Will picking your tomatoes on the earlier side reduce pressure on the plant and allow it to set more fruit? I have a bunch in the light red phase right now, but due to the cold weather, not a ton of green fruit coming on. Wondering if picking will allow the plant to make more tomatoes?

Answer: Not really. Indeterminate tomatoes will continue to produce fruit as long as the vine is still growing. However, you can produce larger fruits by removing some of the flowers so the plant puts more energy into the fruits that remain. Also, topping your plants will encourage larger fruit and (obviously) stop new tomato production.

#4: My biggest frustration is with my tomato plants the past 2 years. I grow them in ground, they grow up as healthy large plants. They produce plenty of flowers-but before they have opportunity to fruit-something is eating them. Whatever it is seems to occur at night-the buds are nipped off one after another, only the flowers-the rest of the plant is fine. I have sprayed 'Safer" organic spray over the flowers and is not helping-more flowers have been eaten. I reviewed your blog but did not see anything mentioned regarding what pest could be causing this.

Answer: This was a stumper for me. I figured maybe some kind of beetle or caterpillar was active, so the standby treatment is bacillus thuringiensis (BT) for chewing insects. But honestly … I never did find a bug that targets tomato flowers specifically at night. If you are the author of this question and feel like jumping in, I'm very curious: whatever happened in the end? Did you take care of the issue and set some fruit after all?

#5: I'm worried about the cold front coming through early this week.What is the best way to protect them?

Answer: Ah, cold damage. This is persistent concern for us as we typically have at least one or two cold fronts pass through each year (although we've probably seen the last of our cold weather this year). In general, tomatoes can withstand down to 50 degrees without too much trouble, although they will likely stop setting fruit. If the weather is going below that, water the plants before the night sets, then cover the plants during the night. I've also seen people wrap their plants with LED holiday lights, which give off just the tiniest bit of heat, and it really seems to work.

#6: Since you use concrete reinforcing mesh for your cages, I'm curious if the rust on them is a concern?

Answer: The rust itself isn't a concern, but it's definitely best to keep your tomatoes off the wire supports. A tomato rubbing against its cage will cause misshapen, scarred and rough fruit.

And #7 … This question has been posed in various ways by lots of people, so I won't print any particular letter. And (just because I'm difficult like that) I'm not going to answer it right now either because it's a 10-pound question in a 2-pound bag. But here it is: "What are the best varieties of tomato to grow in South Florida?" You'll immediately see why it's such a big question—it's a bit like asking a parent which of their children is their favorite (the tall one? the smart one? the one that looks like you? or the one that doesn't look like you?). And it's also highly personal, because my taste in tomatoes might not be your taste in tomatoes. Nevertheless, in the near future I'll give you my two cents, for what it's worth. Which, in all reality, is just about two cents.

Reader's Questions, Part I

2011-02-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

So to the questions! I might break this into two posts so it doesn't become a novella, but we'll see. And thanks to everyone who e-mailed me questions. I'm not posting names, etc., here (because technically, I didn't get everyone's permission to post these) but if you see a question you wrote, feel free to bask in my gratitude.

#1: Hi Jon In the photo below should I be concerned about anything and if so what is it and how do I treat?

Answer: This is a condition called catfacing. It's actually a malformation of the blossom caused by incomplete flower development. This, in turn, is typically caused by cold weather or cloudy weather that messes with the flowers as they first set fruit. Heirloom tomatoes are somewhat more susceptible to catfacing than some of the newer hybrids, which have been bred for uniformity of shape. For the most part, catfacing is a harmless, but strange-looking and even ugly condition. It does become a problem, however, when the skin splits and allows pinworms an entry point.

#2: I was reading some of your articles on your index but could not find if fertilizing should stop at a certain time prior to harvest or if I can continue to fertilize my tomato plants right up to and through completion of harvest.

Answer: Good question! Most people are growing indeterminate tomatoes (vines) that produce fruit over a period of time until the vine dies or the heat sets in and kills it. (Technically, tomatoes are perennials—a single well-managed vine can produce for nine months or more.) So yes, you can keep these plants going longer and producing longer by continuing to fertilize throughout the plant's entire life, even as you're harvesting fruit. You can also extend the harvest by removing brown and dead leaves and keeping the plant in good condition. Production will move from the bottom of the vine to the top of the vine. Of course, a major limiting factor for most people is space—who has room for a 12-foot vine?—so we top our plants. But we can still feed throughout to give them a boost. For indeterminate tomatoes, keep feeding up through harvest.

#3: A leaf-curling twofer ...

Is it a sign that my tomato plants are not getting enough water if the leaves are curling? AND

I have a mystery. Yesterday, I noticed the leaves on the upper half of my plant are starting to curl into burritos. I have changed nothing. I even brought the plant in when we had a very cold night a week ago. Can you diagnose for me?

Answer: Ah, leaf curl. It drives me crazy too, and I've spent untold hours trying to figure out what causes leaf curl and how to stop it. I ended up finding a lot of conflicting information and very few solid answers. In the end, though, leaf curl is a generally harmless condition and it won't affect your fruit set or harvest. As long as leaf curl is the only thing going wrong, no big deal. If it's accompanied by yellow leaves, brown spots, black spots, stunted or frizzy growth, or any other symptoms, that's a different ballgame and there's a problem.

#4: My local nursery sells their own mix of potting soil that sounds like what you get.

I don't have a list of the exact ingredient but from what I remember it contains

peat, fertilzer, dolomite, perlite. It comes in 2 cu/ft bags. Would this be good in my pots? Would you use only this or mix in something like Black Kow? How many bags are needed for a 25 gal. container?

Answer: At first glance, it sounds like a pretty standard potting mix and that's a good thing (with one caveat). The soil mix I typically use includes these same basic ingredients. But let me back up a few steps. A good potting soil mix has a few characteristics we care about: structure, water-holding capacity, nutrient-holding capacity, and an acceptable pH. Thus, a very basic mix might just contain peat (water and nutrient holding), perlite (structure, to allow drainage), and dolomite (a pH balancer). In higher end soils, you might also see pine bark fines (more structure). Anything after that is fertilizer or bonus ingredients, along with wetting agents to keep the soil moist in the bag. In general, I don't buy soil that has fertilizer already added to it—it's typically a balanced fertilizer and not geared for vegetable growth. Instead, I add my own fertilizer elements, like blood meal, bone meal and composted cow manure (Black Kow) to enrich the soil. I never recommend using soils with water retention crystals for tomatoes. So in answer, the question of adding organic fertilizer elements, like Black Kow, is a personal one. Personally, I do. BUT also remember, compost is heavy and reduces the soil's structure. So if you add stuff like compost to bagged soil, throw in 1 part perlite for every 2 parts of your compost addition. Keep the soil light, fluffy, airy, and able to drain quickly. You can always feed later in the season, but you can never correct for heavy, soggy soil.

Lastly, that's a good question about conversion rates, so here it is. There are 7.5 gallons in a cubic foot. So I use 25-gallon containers, which means it takes about 3 cubic feet of soil to fill them up and leave a little space at the rim. This can get pricey if you're buying custom mixes, so I tend to buy all my own bulk ingredients and usually spend about $100 in soil ingredients each season.

****

Whew. OK, so that's it for today. More coming, and if you have any questions, send 'em over and I'll add it to the list.

Why Do I Bother?

2011-02-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a Q&A post right now, answering some of the questions that have been emailed to me over the last few weeks ... but in the meantime, I'm going off on a tangent here.

Lately, the question of "Why do I bother?" has been on my mind. When you get into something like growing tomatoes and veggies in your own garden, if you're like me, at least a tiny part of your mind (or perhaps your spouse) is like, "Why are you doing this? There's a whole grocery store of fresh veggies down the street, and if organic is so important to you, just buy organic." Why bother indeed?

To me, growing vegetables is about more than plants ... it's about food, and food can be a complicated thing. It has a moral dimension to it, whether we like it or not. I find it depressing that, for a lot of people, they view their food as a moral failure. Perhaps they don't eat as well as they wished, perhaps they eat too much sugar or just too too much of everything, and their food becomes all wrapped up in self-loathing and body image. It ceases to be fun. It stops being a source of pleasure.

On the other hand, I know lots of people who bring an overriding moral and ethical dimension to their plates. They are concerned with the source of their food—they want food that was raised in an ethical, humane, environmentally responsible way. I have vegan friends who don't really LOVE vegetables, but to them, the trade-off is simple: their eating is an expression of their ethical concerns over the way we raise, slaughter and consume animals. This camp—the food ethicists—is varied. There are the locavores, the vegans, the raw foodies, the people who buy only organic, the people who go way out of their way to buy humanely raised meat.

I've written before that I'm not a "point of view" gardener—I'm not doing this to impose my values on your food. This isn't the blog where you'll find me railing against corporate food (flawed as it may be), nor the place where you'll find a stout defense of using (or banning) GMO organisms.

Which leads me back to my question: Why bother? If eating ethically isn't my point—if I'm even willing to ditch organic methods in the face of persistent fungal problems—then why go through all this trouble?

I grew up in a food family—in my house, cooking was communal. We'd plan meals as a family, shop for ingredients, then spend a day (or two) making obscenely difficult meals. As an adult, I've gone through probably a dozen food phases ... for a long time, it was nothing for me to spend 8 or 9 hours tending a wood fire to smoke barbecue. Then there was the artisan bread phase, when I was spending two days on hand-crafted loaves. There was an Asian food period. A soup era. A year of learning how to use Indian spices.

So the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my relationship with food has traditionally been without an ethical or moral component. My primary concern has always been quality. Because for me, food has always been about community and the privilege of feeding people things they like. To me, food has always been about people. About taste. I approach food as a cook, not as a cause.

And if my interest in homegrown, prime quality veggies happens to overlap with the crunchiest of granolas, then so be it. The fact is, homegrown, properly raised vegetables and fruits picked at their peak of ripeness, handled lovingly, and prepared immediately are by far the best. You know how many tomatoes I ate sliced and raw before I started growing my own? None.

Lately, I've noticed a quiet friction in the overlap between me and the people who want me to support their cause because I happen to like their food. But maybe my viewpoint is skewed. I spent two years covering the global produce industry for a leading trade magazine, and I really learned how the modern food chain operates. The truth? It's a miracle. Yes, there are trade-offs—and yes, there are many, many issues with mass agriculture—but I think the fact that anyone can walk into a grocery store any time of the year and find fresh, ripe produce is an amazing development. Anyone in this country today ... ANYONE ... can eat better than the richest kings of antiquity. It's true we have the choice to kill ourselves with processed food, but we also have the option to buy fresh cherries in December. That's something.

But lately, my ethical awareness of food has been growing. Having written extensively about agriculture, the meat industry, and farming, I'm finding new dimensions in my relationship to food. Not only am I eating many more raw tomatoes than I used to, I'm finding more satisfaction in it for reasons that have nothing to do with simply awesome tomatoes.

Ultimately, though, I suspect for me the issue will always come down to taste in the final sum. Call me a hedonist, but I'm indulgent by nature and I'm willing to go great lengths to satisfy these more basic urges. So even though I have an increasingly complicated relationship with the moral dimension of food, I know one thing for sure: I would grow all my own food if I could, or get it from people who I knew and knew how it was raised, when it was picked, and how it was treated. As miraculous as Mexican peppers in January might be, there is still nothing that compares to the variety, taste, and freshness of an heirloom pepper I grew in my garden, treated with minimal chemicals, watched warm in the sun, and picked a half hour before we ate it.

And Now, A Word from Strawberries ...

2011-02-07T05:39:00.001-08:00

I'm taking a little break from tomatoes here to bring an update from Strawberryville. Last year, I did a few plants in little pots, just to see how it went, and I was pleasantly surprised. So this year, I scaled up a little bit into a stacked planter (I picked one from Agro-Tower). I don't have loads of experience growing strawberries, but I definitely have the desire—homegrown strawberries are so much better than store-bought strawberries, it's like they're barely even the same plant.

Anyway, I planted them in Fafard 3B and I've been watering every other day and feeding weekly with a Fox Farm liquid fertilizer I happened to have laying around. I haven't sprayed or treated them in any way. Taking advice from people much more knowledgeable about strawberries than myself, I picked off all the runners and plucked off brown leaves. I rotate the whole tower every morning so all sides get even distribution of sun.

I lost about seven plants within a week of planting, which sucks in a planter of 30 plants. The loss was limited to one side of the tower, so I'm not sure what happened but maybe they were overwatered, or maybe that was the "dark" side. I don't know, but oh well. I didn't replant.

Overall, though ... look! An actual tower of strawberries. The berries are medium sized and intensely sweet. I don't know how many I'll eventually harvest, but if all those berries swell and ripen, it looks like we'll get a few quarts of fruit. I suspect if I want bigger fruit, I should pinch off about half of the flowers.

So will I grow strawberries again? Um, hell yeah. Next year, I'm thinking of adding another tower and putting in a drip irrigation system to control the watering better ... Pretty soon I'm going to run out of yard space, but one cool thing about growing in containers like this? When the season is over, it all goes bye-bye into storage and the pool area goes back to looking like a regular old pool area. You'd never know a thing.

The Heirlooms Are Coming!

2011-02-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

So ... this is a weird season all around. After everything getting off to that slow start, in the last few weeks, my tomatoes have turned a serious corner. Remember how I couldn't get the Brandywine to set fruit to save my life? All of a sudden, it set about a dozen tomatoes, and they're growing fast. The first one (the top picture) is nearing harvest and looking like a monster. You can't tell from the picture, but that's a 1.5 lb. tomato. The same goes for the Cherokee purple. In general, this plant is more vigorous than the Brandywines have been, and it's just loaded with fruit. Pretty soon, I'm going to start picking daily, and they all look like the one pictured below (in a word, lovely). The Cherokee purple, btw, is a excellent, excellent tomato. You should grow them. Really. They are thin-skinned and won't save at all—you pretty much pick 'em and eat 'em. But it's so worth it. They taste just exactly like a tomato should taste. Finally, even the yellow pear is setting fruit heavily now, and my second planting is doing exceptionally well. The new Brandywines are already three feet tall and growing fast. No fruit yet ...

Obviously, the key this season has been effective spraying, and for about the past six weeks I've been following a program that rotates between chlorothalinol (Daconil), maneb and copper fungicide spray, supplemented with a micronutrient foliar spray (Key-Plex). I've been a little surprised how well the plants have responded. Nevertheless, I'm not in love with all the chemicals, so next season--having proved that spraying works--I'm going to see if I can do a preventive spray program based on organic chemicals, including sulfur- and copper-based fungicides and stay away from the chlorothalinol and maneb. It's a work in progress.

Oh yeah, the Victoria Supreme paste tomatoes have also been bearing heavily. I made a fresh tomato sauce this week with Italian sausage and fresh basil that was seriously amazing.

So all in all ... I'm a little afraid that I proved my wife right yet again: that I'm reactionary and maybe a little hyper. It seems that every year I freak out early on, then end up with a decent harvest anyway. But I swear, I was really worried this season was going to fall flat—I even worried I might be skunked for a while there. And while I'm not going to complain that things seem to have turned around for the moment, let's just say I'm feeling rather ... chastened.

But enough about that, because you know what else is going on? I'm starting to get seed catalogs already and staring to think about next season. I know, I know. But there are a zillion varieties out there I think I need to try, and some I can recommend with confidence. Before I write that post, however, I'd love to hear from anybody else out there: what varieties of tomatoes have done well for you down here in Zone 10?

To Pick or Not to Pick?

2011-01-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

This time of year always presents a challenge for me. Waiting for tomatoes to ripen is like waiting to open presents on your birthday when you're a kid ... if you're birthday dragged out over weeks and there was a whole host of hungry animals waiting to steal your presents.

But when exactly is the right time to pick a tomato? Should you let your fruit get fully ripe on the vine, or pick your tomatoes earlier and let them ripen inside?

Turns out that ripening is a pretty complex process. As the tomato goes from green to red (or yellow or orange or whatever), a number of tasty and nutritious things are going on inside the fruit. It's busy making carotene and lycopene (both healthy antioxidants), softening, producing flavor compounds, and become slightly more acidic. Notice that I didn't mention sugar content. You'll see why in a second.

Once ripening starts, it's pretty much impossible to stop, whether you're ripening them inside or leaving them on the vine. Along the way, tomato growers use a few terms to describe the stages of ripening red tomatoes, including:

Green: Most commercial tomatoes (except greenhouse tomatoes, which are allowed to fully ripen on the vine and marketed as "vine ripened") are picked at the "mature green" stage and either allowed to ripen during shipping or gassed with ethylene gas to promote rapid ripening. Tomatoes picked at this stage haven't had time to develop all the complex flavors yet, and gassing them only shortcuts the slow, complex ripening process. Ick.
Breaker: A breaker is a fruit that is just beginning to change from green to yellow, pink, or red, with about 10 percent of the fruit's surface changing color.
Pink: Tomatoes at this stage are covered with red on about 30% to 60% of the fruit.
Light red: Between 60% and 90% of the fruit is red.
Red: Fully ripened, with 90% of the fruit being red.

Technically, you can pick tomatoes any time and let them ripen off the vine—even a fully green fruit will begin to ripen once it's picked. But is there a flavor difference between tomatoes that are picked as breakers or pink and light red, and ones that are allowed to fully ripen on the vine?

Well, here's the truth: it all depends on who you ask.

I'm an Alice Waters fan. You know, Alice Waters, spiritual godmother of the locavore movement, organic vegetable guru and owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Here's what she has to say on the subject:

"Regardless of variety, size or color, the best tomatoes are fully ripe, but not necessarily vine ripened. Experts say the very best way to ripen them is to pick them off the vine just as their color is starting to change from orange to red, and to keep them inside for four or five days, ideally at 59º to 70ºF. This will maximize their sugar and acid content, which actually decreases if the fruit is left on the vine to finish ripening."

Experts? Which experts?

Actually, though, Waters is onto something: J. Benton Jones, author of THE definitive textbook on tomato plant culture, confirms that sugar content in tomatoes does decline as the ripening process continues, but that slight decline actually takes place throughout the ripening process.

Okay ... so what does Barbara Ciletti, author of the tomato garden primer in the book In Praise of Tomatoes say? How about this:

"The best tasting, sweetest tomato is the tomato that stays on the vine, soaking up the sun, until it has reached the glowing pinnacle of its intended mature color."

So if we put Waters and Ciletti in the octagon, who would win?

Anyway, here's how I approach ripening, and obviously, take it with a grain of salt. I do.

Early in the season, I tend to pick tomatoes that are not yet fully ripe because I get impatient. Then I let them ripen inside while I stand over them yelling, "HURRY!" When they are fully ripe, we eat them. But sometimes, I'll break down and eat them before they are fully ripe, with a little salt and pepper.
Later in the season, when we have so much fruit that I'm out of counter space, I let the tomatoes ripen fully on the vine outside and inevitably lose some beautiful ripe fruit to the various beasts that have been watching me grow their dinner all season.

And guess what? It's all wonderful.

(One last side note: this whole question becomes more complex when you're dealing with multihued tomatoes. Black tomatoes can be downright confusing, and striped and bicolor tomatoes present a challenge of their own. But that's a post for a different day.)

Hi New Readers!

2011-01-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

If you dropped by today after reading the Sun-Sentinel article (found here), welcome!

We're midway through tomato season around here, and my first planting is rapidly approaching harvest time. The first plants went outside around the first week of October. I just did a second planting around January 1, so those will be ready for harvest as the spring begins to heat up. So far, this season has been a challenge—it's been all about the fungal diseases this year. But nevertheless, soon the tomatoes will begin to come off the vine, and although I'm expecting a smaller harvest than in years past, we'll still have plenty of fresh fruit for the next few months.

Feel free to poke around and check back every week or so. I try to post about once a week, but it doesn't always work out that way. And if you're a tomato grower yourself, please feel free to share your experience. Because there's no wrong way to grow your own.

Some Garden Photos

2011-01-08T06:35:00.000-08:00

I'm preparing a post on the right time to harvest tomatoes (because let's hope you're having to worry about that!). Believe it or not, there's actually a fair amount of conflicting information out there about the "right" time to harvest a tomato for the best flavor. And since one of the primary differences between homegrown tomatoes and grocery store tomatoes is how long they've been on the vine, I hate to drop the ball at the end and either pick them too early or too late.

But while I'm working on that post, I thought I'd post some approaching-harvest pictures. I'm a pretty serious cook (which kind of makes sense, if you think about it), so I love this time of year. This is when a flood of fresh herbs and vegetables start making their way inside as I slowly snip and clip these plants into food-size bits ...

The Great Organic Mind Game

2010-12-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

I've been working my way up to this post for a while now, but you know ... it's been one of those things where reality has crashed into my preconceived notions, and that's never pleasant.

When I first started growing tomatoes in South Florida, I was a nut for organic gardening. Why bother growing your own if you're not going organic, right? I initially shied away even from chemicals you're allowed to use, like copper fungicide and BT for chewing bugs. Gradually, I got more comfortable with these and eventually decided that BT was the greatest thing since sliced bread and copper was crucial.

But for those first few years, I also didn't stray too far into TomatoLand. I grew mostly disease-resistant hybrids and loved the enormous harvests of perfect red tomatoes. Slowly, though, I started adding more heirlooms into the equation and discovered I loved those too. I like funky, knobby, weirdly colored tomatoes. And I like the huge ones. You know what I want? A black tomato the size of a basketball. That's right. Bring it.

Then came this season and my run at Brandywines and Cherokee purples (in case you're wondering, that's a Brandywine up there). You don't have to look far to find people who think these are the royalty of heirloom tomatoes, and I figured, hey, I've done this a million times before, so how hard can it be? And that's when reality crashed my little party.

Turns out that my two fondest desires ran headlong into each other: growing knobby heirlooms in South Florida and being an organic maniac.

So that's been my big lesson this season so far. I'm no longer sure it's possible to grow some of the more famous heirlooms in South Florida without using more powerful chemicals to control diseases and pests. I've been asking around among the professional growers I know, and they generally agree: you want to grow heirlooms, you need to spray. Simple as that.

Now, I'm not saying there aren't exceptions. I've done hardier heirlooms before that didn't get sprayed and turned out fine. And I have a feeling this year is particularly bad for diseases for me.

I'm not saying I'll stop growing the weird heirlooms. But from now on, when I grow a tomato that isn't naturally disease resistant, I'll be following a spray schedule from the moment that plant is outside, because preventing diseases is a lot easier than treating existing diseases. This means the new Brandywines, etc., are all going to be treated from planting onward.

I don't know exactly why this feels like a let-down. I have relatives and friends who garden up north, and while they openly (and sometimes in unhealthy ways) envy our weather, they also scoff at our disease problems. These are people who can grow huge heirlooms organically and hardly worry about anything more serious than a caterpillar. They just don't get how different it is down here—that growing in the ground isn't automatically easier, that our bugs could eat their bugs for lunch (literally), and that our environment teems with bacterial and fungal diseases.

Anyway, there it is. I'm working on a spray program this season for the heirlooms, relying on research conducted at the University of Florida and North Carolina State University. I'm just about to put the second crop of heirlooms into their pots outside, so I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

And p.s., I also read that we've had the coldest December in Florida history, thanks to some annoying weather pattern known as the Arctic Oscillation. Thankfully, they say the AO, which has been in place for a year now, is beginning to break up and the "worst is over." Hats off to that.

The Season's First Bite

2010-12-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

It seems we've made it through the first cold snap(s) okay ... Overall, I had a little bit of leaf burn and some browning, but it wasn't all that bad for the tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, herbs or strawberries. The peppers are another story [draws finger across throat].

But today is good for more reasons than the return of warmer weather. It's always kind of a momentous day when you get to harvest and eat your first fruit of the season. Delayed gratification has never been my thing, so the whole idea of working at something and waiting for three months ... well, let's just say it's not the most natural posture in the world for me.

Today, I finally harvested and ate my first tomatoes of the season, and they were yellow pears. Actually, not only were they my first tomatoes of the season, they were also my first yellow pear tomatoes ever and HOLY CRAP, THESE ARE GOOD! They are juicy and tender, and easily one of the sweetest tomatoes I've ever eaten. It's not hard to picture people eating these things out of a bowl like candy ... they're that sweet. The only problem I can foresee is we won't have enough of them. I enthusiastically recommend these little guys.

I've also started my second planting of the season, and I'm hoping to get them outside in the next week or two. This time around, I'm doing Early Wonder (an early harvest variety, about 55 days from planting to harvest) and I'm doing another round of Brandywines. I've got lots of plans for the Brandywines this go round, but I'll save that for another post. I've been talking to some professional tomato growers, and let's just say my thinking is evolving on certain issues. If anybody is having success with Brandywines, I'd love to hear how you're doing it. So far, I've set one measly tomato on the two Brandywine vines I'm growing. So a quick word to the squirrels, caterpillars and rats: touch that tomato and die. You can have the paste tomatoes, the Big Boys, even the yellow pear and Cherokee purple (which are setting fruit like maniacs). But paws off the Brandywine.

Anyway, my final thought: in the interest of experimenting, I'm going to plant this next round into homemade self-watering containers. I poked around the Intrawebz and found some basic plans for EarthBox-like containers, and honestly, it doesn't look like rocket science. Let's just say the whole principle of the thing isn't too complicated. I think all it will take is a few buckets, a few pieces of PVC, and a drill. I'm on it. I'll post pix and plans when I'm done.

Finally, thanks to everybody who has written me. I'm ridiculously envious of some of the growing set-ups I've seen. We're all dealing with the same thing down here—frequently poor soil with nematodes, cold weather protection, and lots of disease. So it's pretty cool to see all the ways people have figured out how to deal with it.

So How's Everybody Faring?

2010-12-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

One more night of cold left ... I hope. At least that's what the weather says.

My tomatoes are actually doing fine. I live near the coast, so the temperatures have been cold, but not deadly cold. I feel for some of the growers in the western suburbs, where I've been hearing about frost and truly damaging conditions.

I can't say things are going so well for the peppers, however. Peppers like warm weather—they are more cold-sensitive than tomatoes—and I'll probably have to end up harvesting early. Oh well. There's still plenty of time to get some more peppers in the ground.

Otherwise, how are you faring?

Cover 'Em Up

2010-12-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

Whew, it's cold out there! I just got back inside from watering and my feet are freezing ... which of course is my own fault since I'm in shorts and barefoot, but still. It's cold.

This past weekend's cold snap wasn't much to worry about, but I think tonight and tomorrow are expected to be rather colder. I even heard the dreaded F-word for the inland areas. (If you're wondering, the word is "frost."). Tomatoes do fine to about 50ºF. Below that, they'll stop setting fruit until it warms back up. The 40s can be tricky—a few hours dipping into the 40s won't really hurt your plants, but they're not going to love it much.

But the 30ºs can be a real issue. This is when you can start seeing cold damage on your plants in the form of brown leaves (anybody remember this from last year? Warning: it's graphic.) And freezing (the other other F-word), of course, can be a disaster.

So ... judging from the fact that we're supposed to hit the upper 30s or lower 40s over the next few nights, and the wind chill can make that even worse, it makes sense to take a few precautions:

Water deeply in the evening. Hose water in South Florida comes out the tap in the mid-60s, and it will protect your plants' roots. This is especially important for container-grown plants, which don't have the insulating benefit of the earth.
Cover them with sheets. It doesn't have to be an airtight seal, but a sheet will help shield the plant from the wind, trap radiant heat from the ground, and in the very worst-case scenario, protect the plant's leaves from frost (which will cover the sheet, not the tender leaves).
Move 'em inside if you can. If you only have a pot or two, and that pot is on wheels or you just happen to be extremely strong, and you have a garage or covered patio, drag the plant up into shelter. Personally, I can't do this--too many plants, too large of pots--so you know, don't rub it in if you can.

Hopefully, the weather people will be wrong. Not a lot. Just a little. Four or five degrees would be nice. And let's be honest—it wouldn't be the first time they'd blown a call.

Caterpillars, Cucumbers, and Cool Weather

2010-12-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

So it's finally supposed to cool down a little bit this weekend. I'm actually looking forward to it—as long as it doesn't get below 50ºF (or even if it does for a little while), the cool weather shouldn't be a problem in the garden. Actually, I'm expecting it'll help some ... it should slow down the fungus I've been dealing with all season.

Right around this time of the year is when I also start seeing caterpillars show up. I've already picked off my first few tomato hornworms and treated the plants with BT (bacillus thuringiensis). BT is a beneficial bacteria that kills chewing insects; it's often sold as Dipel dust. You can buy it anywhere. It's rated for organic growth and it's great stuff. Oftentimes, it's nearly impossible to see caterpillars on your maters because they blend in so well. Instead, look for tiny black pebbles on the leaves. That's caterpillar poop, and if you've got caterpillar poop, you've got caterpillars.

Outside of Tomato Land, I'm getting excited about my other veggies. I'm doing romaine and broccoli in EarthBoxes, cherry bomb and chocolate habanero peppers in pots (those are cherry bomb pictured below), and cucumbers in coconut grow bags. I haven't written much about EarthBoxes this season, but I will say this: if you're new to growing veggies and you want to have a pretty much guaranteed successful crop, use an EarthBox. You can pick up the basic box, with no wheels, fertilizer, potting media or trellis, for $30. They also sell potting media, fertilizer, and staking systems (which are essential if you're doing tomatoes in an EarthBox). It's easy to use (my five-year-old planted one this season), easy to maintain, and works like a charm.

But this morning was big for another reason: I picked my first vegetable of the season. It was a cucumber ... and yeah, I realized after I took this picture that there really isn't a good way to hold a cucumber.

Dear Brandywine, There's Still Time

2010-11-28T10:13:00.001-08:00

Dear Brandywine,

I first heard of you a long time ago, way before I actually started growing tomatoes. I got the idea you were the queen of tomato land—the purest tomato taste, the best-looking fruit, the best pedigree. And it's true, with your deeply burnished shoulders and intoxicating hue, you're the tomato I imagine when I think of the ideal tomato.

This year is the first year I've tried to grow you. We both know how it's going.

I'm not sure if it's you or me. Sometimes I think it's you, to be honest. Sometimes I think you're just temperamental and fussy. Forgive me, but sometimes I think you're high maintenance. And can you blame me? What with your fungal diseases and blossom drop, the caterpillars and the black spot, it's not like you're making this easy on me. I'm working really hard here.

Sometimes I think it's me after all. Maybe I just wasn't meant for a tomato like you. Maybe I live in the wrong zone, or I don't know the secret code, or you're just not that into me.

But here's what I really wanted to say. I'm not giving up on you. Yeah, so this season isn't working out between us. I get it. But I'd like to think I've already learned a few things about you. For example, I think when I grow you again, I'm going to treat for fungal diseases and black spot from the day you go into the ground. I think we need to make some allowances here in Zone 10. That's just for starters.

Anyway, that's just what I wanted to say. You and me? We're not done yet.

Strawberry Power

2010-11-22T05:37:00.001-08:00

I'll get to the tomatoes in a second, but this first ...

Behold the Tower of Strawberries. Ha ha. I've been absurdly excited about this method of growing strawberries since I first heard of it a few years ago. For one thing, I'm a strawberry purist—like tomatoes, there's just no competition between grocery store strawberries and fresh strawberries. For another, stackable containers have all the elements I like: it saves space, looks cool, and allows me to control the growing environment.

There are a few kinds of stackable containers out there, but I ultimately went with AgroTower's product. According to the manufacturer, these are designed to work with drip irrigation hoses run up the center column, feeding the individual pots a steady stream of water and fertilizer. I didn't go that far for my first season—I'm hand watering and hand feeding. The pots are designed so water drips down through the column naturally, and although it's a little tricky to water the little pots without washing soil out, it's not that impossible. I know the commercial farms (like this U-pick farm in Delray) all use automatic irrigation, but for one tower, it's no big deal.

Planting was pretty easy. I drove a stake into the ground to give the tower support, then stacked and filled the containers with Fafard 3B potting soil. Overall, I've got 30 strawberry plants, plus six lettuce on the bottom. I rotate the tower every day to make sure all the plants are equally exposed to sunlight. If all goes well, I'm hoping to make jam this year. That's assuming I can keep my five-year-old away from the ripening berries. Last year, I did a few test strawberry plants and I think only one strawberry made it inside. The rest vanished down his gullet as soon as they were even close to ripe. Little monster.

As for the tomatoes, I used Daconil fungicide (chlorothalonil) and the septoria stopped spreading. What can I say, the stuff works. The Cherokee Purple is setting fruit; and the Brandywine is flowering fairly well. I had to get rid of the Heinz because too much damage was done, so I planted a few Big Boys to make up the difference. My schedule looks like mid-season: watering in the mornings; feeding once a week with Espoma Tomato-Tone fertilizer and magnesium; pinching off shoots; and tying up the vines as they grow. These heirlooms aren't as aggressive as some other vines, so they haven't yet hit the top of my cages. When (and if) they do, I'll top the vines to stop the upward growth. In general, heirlooms aren't typically as robust as heavy-producing hybrids, so the plants tend to grow slower, stay smaller and bear less fruit.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good—the tomatoes are mostly back in hand. I'm thinking in the future that if I have rapidly spreading septoria like that, I'll spray a lot earlier. Copper fungicide is great stuff for bacterial spot, but it was pretty useless against the septoria fungal spot. I think I could have saved myself a lot of aggravation if I'd treated the vulnerable plants right away. It might even be worth considering treating heirlooms preventively, right after planting. Food for thought ... and another season.

This has also (again) made me appreciate the wonders of modern hybrids. Heirlooms are great tasting, but for sheer production and ease, go with a disease resistant variety.

Happy 'Mater Pictures ...

2010-11-15T05:37:00.000-08:00

Things were getting a little grouchy around here, so I thought I'd post some pictures of happy tomatoes.

The top two pictures are Victoria Supreme (an oblong paste tomato), and the bottom picture is yellow pear. How fast a tomato sets fruit depends on the variety—most labels include a "days to harvest" number, which is an approximation of how many days you'll have to wait from planting the tomato until you can start harvesting fruit (if you plant your own seeds, this figure is typically calculated from the day the plant goes into the ground, not the day you plant seeds—add a few weeks for seeds). Most tomatoes range from about 60 days (early harvest) to 80 or 90 days (late harvest). If you want to keep a steady stream of fruit all season long, plant tomatoes with staggered harvest dates ... or just wait another few weeks and do a second planting.

If your tomatoes have been in the ground for a while and aren't setting fruit, there are a few possibilities:

Some blossom drop is pretty common early in the season. As long as it's limited, don't worry.
If you're growing in a very sheltered area, you might want to help them along by hand-polinating your flowers with a Q-tip. Tomatoes are pollinated by the wind, so they need turbulent airflow to spread pollen. People growing in covered patios sometimes have problems with pollination.
The plant could be sick—blossom drop is more common among tomatoes that are suffering from diseases or bug attacks. Check the plant carefully for spotting, discoloration, streaks, and of course, bugs.
Excessive nitrogen in your fertilizer. Using a regular foliage fertilizer can encourage leaf growth at the expense of fruit. Make sure you're using a tomato or vegetable fertilizer (I'll do a post on fertilizer labels soon because this is a pretty big topic).
Excessive heat or humidity. I'm including this for the sake of being complete, but the weather so far this season has really been pretty good. When I walked outside this morning, I thought it was a perfect tomato morning :)

If none of this sounds right, or you want to give you plant a boost, you can buy a tomato set spray. This is basically a hormone that encourages tomato plants to set fruit even in adverse conditions. I've used these before during especially hot years and it works.

Decision Time

2010-11-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

This is not a post I wanted to write.

I've been growing tomatoes for a long time, but this year seems to be the year when Bad Things Will Happen. Despite treating with copper fungicide, the septoria leaf spot I wrote about last week has continued to spread through the tomatoes—even tomatoes that are more than 50 feet apart are all suffering from it.

At first, I couldn't figure out why this year would be so much worse than any other. I've had leaf spot every year and been able to control it with copper fungicide spray (organic), good tomato hygiene and leaf removal. For a while, I thought it might be the mix of heirloom and heritage tomatoes I'm growing, but that argument never really made sense. I've grown heirlooms and heritage tomatoes before with no problem.

The best explanation I can come up with is construction. ("Huh?" you say. "Construction?") Yeah, construction. My neighborhood is the midst of a pretty massive infrastructure project. The roads are all torn up and our cars are continually covered with dust. The pool filter has to be backflushed almost every week. So obviously, there's a lot of particulate matter in the air this year—and fungal diseases live in the ground. My best theory now is that my plants are being coated with airborne fungal spores stirred up from road construction.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter why, because I have to figure out what to do. The copper spray is not working—the disease has continued to spread relentlessly. Here is the breakdown:

Brandywine: Lightly affected
Victoria Supreme paste tomatoes: Unaffected (this one, btw, is VFFNA)
Yellow pear: Severely affected
Heinz tomatoes: Severely affected
Cherokee Purple: Moderately affected

So ... my decision basically is this: do I switch to a stronger, commercial fungicide? The two best fungicides to control septoria leaf spot are chlorothalonil (sold as Daconil) and mancozeb (sold as Bonide Mancozeb). Of these, Daconil is easier to get—I believe they stock it at most large garden centers. As for efficacy, I looked for studies and didn't really see a consensus. According to North Carolina State University, mancozeb provides superior control for septoria, while some state ag departments I looked at recommended chlorothalonil.

Unfortunately, with the way this is spreading, I think my choice is pretty clear: treat with Daconil (primarily for convenience) or dramatically lower my expectations for this season's crop.

Bummer.

Going Ninja

2010-11-09T10:59:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been a frenzy of black spots on my young tomato plants. But before I get to methods to control these, it's worth trying to figure out what they are exactly.

There are a number of organisms that can cause black spotting on tomato leaves, especially when the plant first sets fruit. They include Septoria leaf spot (a fungus), bacterial spot (Xanthomonas campestris), bacterial speck, and few others. In general, these are controllable, while some of the more terrifying wilts and blights are killers.

Most of these conditions are caused by the rapid spread of an infectious organism among your tomato plants. Just like in people, these little buggers like warm, wet conditions, so the early part of the season is especially dangerous for us as it's typically still hot and muggy—perfect weather for a bacterial or fungal infection.

In this case, I'm guessing I have Septoria leaf spot, which is characterized by wet lesions on the underside of leaves that develop in black spots with gray centers. Septoria is a fungal infection caused by warm, wet conditions. It is pretty much always present in South Florida, so ... you know, hard to avoid.

I always hate seeing this happen, even though it happens every year.

To control these kinds of diseases, start with prevention. Plant tomatoes in fresh soil, leave them far enough apart that the organism can't easily jump from plant to plant, and never water from overhead.

After you get it, this is what I do: apply a copper fungicide spray according to the label directions (weekly) and religiously remove any affected leaves. Copper fungicide is rated for organic growth, so you can use it on your plants and still have organic tomatoes. So obviously, it's not the strongest fungicide on the market—if you really want to go ninja on fungal diseases, you can switch to a much stronger product such as maneb or mancozeb. These are commercial-strength products.

Personally, I don't use 'em. I cut away leaves, slow it down with the copper spray, and hope the temperatures and humidity break in time for the plant to outgrow the infection. This has worked for me well enough, and I can avoid the stronger fungicides.

As a side note, I'm still really looking forward to the yellow pear tomatoes. EVERYONE loves them. But, man, me and yellow tomatoes have a rocky relationship, and this year is no different. These things are driving me crazy—leaf roll, fungal diseases, and of course, the tomato leaf curl virus. If anyone out there has experience successfully growing yellow tomatoes in South Florida, I'd love to pick your brain ...

Good Morning, 'Maters.

2010-10-31T11:12:00.001-07:00

I like these mornings during vegetable season ... I get up when it's dark, get the kids off to school, and spend a few minutes with the tomatoes before going to work.

It's nice.

I know people have very strong opinions about organic versus non-organic, and what kind of growing medium is best, and even what variety of tomato is best, but I'm not really a "point of view" gardener. I'm not really trying to impose my belief system on the garden. I think I've tried almost everything, and you know what? I've grown good tomatoes almost every way. I've harvested excellent, tasty tomatoes with regular Miracle-Gro tomato fertilizer and common bagged soil—just like I've harvested awesome tomatoes with high-end micronutrient foliar sprays, exotic organic fertilizer blends, homemade compost, and custom soil mixes. I've eaten good tomatoes from the ground, containers and Earthboxes.

I would never want to make it seem harder than it is. If anyone was to ask me, "What's the best way to grow vegetables?" I'd say: every day, bit by bit.

No matter what other choices you make, I think if you're willing to spend a little time every morning with your plants (or at least every other morning), everything will be fine. Give them water on a consistent schedule (I actually water every day), feed small amounts of food consistently, and mostly, pay attention. Your plants will do a remarkable job of telling you what's going on. Do you see spots on leaves? Yellow streaking? Are there holes chewed in the leaves? Are they surrounded by flies? Are the blossoms dropping off or setting fruit? Is the fruit developing normally?

The only way to really find out what's going on is just to keep an eye open for it. And chances are, it will be easier to deal with than you think.

So these are easy, rhythmic days. Watering, watching, feeding weekly, tying up the vines as they grow, and plucking off suckers. Really, there are much worse ways to start a day.

Problems ... already

2010-10-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Well, well, here's something interesting.

One of my growing experiments this year is using 5-gallon coconut coir grow bags. I bought the product from HydroGardens, and they're really cool. The coir comes in a little block in a bag. You add water, and the brick expands into a 5-gallon bag full of coconut coir grow medium. Coconut is a little bit different than peat ... it retains water better, and most importantly, it's completely sterile and pH neutral. With peat, we add dolomite lime to balance the pH (peat is acidic and dolomite lime is a base), but the dolomite has the added benefit of supplying calcium and magnesium for the plants. With coconut, however, you can't use dolomite because it will raise the pH since the coconut is already neutral. Tomatoes, like most vegetables, like a slightly acidic environment (around 6.0 to 6.5 on the pH scale), but not too much.

So how do you deal with the calcium/magnesium issue in coconut? If you can't get it from dolomite lime, then where? I mix agricultural gypsum in at planting (for calcium), and supplement weekly with magnesium. Additionally, I feed with a balanced fertilizer and add bone meal (for more calcium). This has worked for me, and I've gotten some great tomatoes from these coconut coir grow bags.

This year, though, something new and interesting and awful is happening. I'm growing yellow pear tomatoes in the bags. One plant is vigorous and huge and beautiful and already flowering (the bottom photo). The other is stunted, with severely curled leaves on the top of the plant (the top photo). I've inspected carefully for insects (there are none), and I don't think there's a problem with temperature, watering, or nutrients, which can all cause tomato leaf curl.

Instead, I believe this plant is infected with the tomato leaf curl virus. This virus causes stunted plants, curled leaves from the top of the plant down, and new growth that stands upright instead of laying flat. I've never had this problem before. According to my reading, infected plants can still yield tomatoes, but if they are infected young (as this one was), yields might be reduced or in some cases, completely non-existent. There is no cure for tomato leaf curl virus.

So sadly, to prevent the spread of this to my other plants, I'm going to have to destroy the plant. Which means fewer yellow pear tomatoes for me and one long face ...

Brandywines at Home

2010-10-25T06:07:00.001-07:00

Woo hoo! We have tomatoes!

So I've finally finished planting the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. It's been kind of a slow process ... with me running out every so often and doing another container. I still have to get to the strawberries, broccoli and lettuce. But that's okay, because there's lots of time.

These pictures show the basic large-container set-up for the Brandwine tomatoes. I'm using 25-gallon containers with two vines per container. The soil mix was:

2 parts peat moss
2 parts composted cow manure
1 part perlite
dolomite lime (a few handfuls)
bone meal (for calcium)
blood meal (for nitrogen)

This is an organic-based growing mix that is enriched with slow-release nutrients and will provide plenty of calcium and magnesium. I'm watering every day in the morning. If possible, water your tomatoes in the morning, always at the soil level. Never water tomatoes from above and avoid water and dirt splashing up on the leaves. This will reduce the chance of bacterial diseases.

As for fertilizing, I didn't fertilize at all the first week, but yesterday I started with a program of weekly fertilization with Espoma TomatoTone organic tomato fertilizer. You can use pretty much any vegetable fertilizer you want—I like Espoma because it's organic and I've had good results with it. Here's a tip: whatever fertilizer you're using, use it at half- or quarter-strength every week instead of biweekly or monthly. Plants are just like us ... they prefer lots of small meals rather than gorging on one giant one.

I'm also supplementing once a week with a 1/4-teaspoon of magnesium to boost the plants a bit. Magnesium is widely available in garden centers.

Finally, I'm pinching off all the side shoots on the vining plants (indeterminate tomatoes). These little suckers emerge from the space between the leaf stem and the main vine stalk. If allowed to grow unchecked, they'll reduce the yield and increase leaf mass, which reduces airflow and increases risk of a fungal or bacterial disease. So yeah, keep the vines clean.

And that's pretty much it for the big container-grown plants. This is the great part: it takes a few days for the vines to acclimate to their new home, and then they start growing like crazy. I'm already seeing the first tiny flower buds hanging like little bells, but there are no open flowers yet.

Finally, I'd like to offer a shout-out to this weather. Last year, we had a two-week heat wave in October that nearly did the plants in. This year? Just perfection as far as I can see. This is truly tomato weather.

So you tell me ... how are your plants doing?

Ready, Set ...

2010-10-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Now that's a seedling! This yellow pear seedling is clearly ready to go into the ground, so I'm thinking this weekend, I might end up planting some tomatoes. The weather is supposed to be perfect and fall-y, and at least a few of my seedlings are ready to go.

In general, the last week has been extremely good for these little guys. They've shot up, strengthened, filled out, and are starting to look like actual tomato plants. Actually, I have to admit that they sort of outpaced me—I was looking forward to spending next week talking about some fundamentals, and then planting next weekend. But I'm not going to complain about outrageously healthy transplants.

So ... let's get down to the nitty gritty. This weekend, I'll only plant tomatoes in conventional containers (as opposed to using an Earthbox or in the ground). The Earthbox is a whole different animal that I'll deal with later, but if you're planting in the ground, all of the following stuff still applies to you. I'll post photos after I finish, but here's the gist of the thing:

1. Remember how it's all about dirt? It absolutely is. Tomatoes like rich, loose, fast-draining soil for optimal growth. Yes, you can plant tomatoes in sand and they'll likely do OK (if you're good), but if you want ridiculous tomatoes, use good dirt. This year, I'm using Fafard 3B Professional Mix (purchased from Nu-Turf of Pompano), which I'll juice with dolomite lime, bone meal and blood meal. This particular bagged soil is blended for nurseries and has all the stuff I'm looking for—it's loose, chunky, and slow to decompose. You can also blend your own soil. Here's the recipe I used last year with great success, along with some more tips for container culture. Can you use a regular bagged potting soil, like Miracle-Gro? Yes. I would avoid any mix, however, that has water retention crystals, and if possible, try to avoid previously enriched mixes. They are usually nitrogen heavy, which encourages leaf growth at the expense of fruiting. But if that's all you can find, fear not.

2. Add a shot of dolomite lime, even to previously balanced soil mixes. Dolomite lime adds magnesium and calcium to the growing environment, and both are absolutely essential for healthy tomatoes. Tomatoes are very heavy consumers of calcium, and plants that are deficient in calcium develop blossom end rot, which is annoying and ruins your fruit. You can buy a big bag of dolomite lime at a decent garden center, and it will last forever. I use about 1 cup of dolomite per 20 gallons of mix.

3. Countersink your tomatoes! Don't be afraid to really bury those suckers. Cut off a few of the lower leaves and really sink the plant. Tomatoes will sprout roots from the stem, so this will result in healthy, more vigorous plants.

4. Remember to plan for staking them up. Your tomato plants will likely grow into monster vines, hopefully laden with 10 or 20 pounds of fruit. They will need to be staked up. As always, I'm using the same tomato cages I made years ago. Here are instructions on how to make your own. Whatever you do, don't count on those flimsy "tomato cages" they sell in garden centers. Those might work up north, where tomato vines only grow knee-high. Down here, an eight-foot vine will make a mockery of the little cage. If you don't want to build your own cage, you can get sturdy cages from places like Tomato Grower's Supply Company, although they are much more expensive to buy than make yourself.

As far as feeding your plants, I would hold off right away, so we'll talk more about fertilizers in the next few days. Transplants are still tender, with their little roots still toughening up. You don't want to hit the plant with a dose of strong fertilizer right away or you could end up with burned leaves. So you can use a transplant solution if you want, or you can give them a dose of fish emulsion (which I probably will), but hold off on the serious feeding for now.

If you must, and especially if you're growing organic tomatoes, add a little bone meal (for calcium) and blood meal (for nitrogen) to the soil mix. Follow the label instructions—these gentle, organic fertilizers are very unlikely to burn transplants.

One final thought: there's actually a fair bit of controversy surrounding the use of composts in your potting soil. I've used Black Cow composted cow manure for years, with great success. It's heavy (which is bad), but it's also a steady source of nutrition (which is good). I've also heard good things about composted chicken manure and mushroom compost. People who dislike these products say they are 1) too heavy and impeded drainage in containers (which is always bad) and 2) unstable, so you don't really know what you're getting. Personally, I'm not one of those people, and if you're planning on growing organic tomatoes, I think mixing a bag of compost into your growing media is a great idea.

Just remember: if you do add compost, I'd also dump some perlite in there. Perlite is used to increase drainage in potting soil—it's the little white stuff. It's nonorganic, but it doesn't compress over time and starve the plant root's of oxygen. Root-zone oxygenation is one of THE MOST important factors in healthy container plants. So ... if you want to use compost, pick up a bag of perlite while you're buying the compost and add that to the mix also. Your tomatoes will appreciate it.

Whew! So that's a lot, right? But handling the planting right is easily half the battle. (Although I think I say that often enough that this battle must have ten halves ... ha ha.) You want the biggest container you can handle, with the best dirt, and the healthiest transplant. Once you get that far, you can let the tomato itself handle a lot of the driving from here.

Seedlings: Day 27

2010-10-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but the wind this week drove me a little bit nuts. Is it too much to ask to have a few weeks of perfect days? Seriously? All I'm asking for are light breezes, lots of sunshine, and mild temperatures for the next, oh, six months or so. Anybody? Please?

Anyway, I figured it was time for a seedling update. The seedlings are now spending all day outside in trays, then coming inside at night. I'm watering them lightly every morning, and I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time running them back and forth. A few days ago, I stepped up their pots from the little 1.5-inch Jiffy pots to larger 4-inch Jiffy pots—this will be their last step up until they get planted for good. Technically, it's not a great idea to step up plants too many times—it's always a little shocking, and the roots have to grow through the Jiffy pots, which means more work for them. To make it easier on the new roots, I tear the bottoms off the Jiffy pots when I transplant, and in general, I find the rewards of this last step-up are worth the trouble.

When I transplanted the little seedlings, I countersunk the plants to give them extra strength. This is one of the great things about tomato plants—they will root from anywhere along the stem. So when you transplant tomatoes, it's always a good idea to bury part of the plant's stem under the soil. New roots will emerge from the buried portion and result in a stronger plant all around.

I'm still feeding them every third day or so with diluted fish emulsion, which in my house means they are NOT allowed inside until the fertilizer is completely soaked up and doesn't stink anymore. I've tried to blame the noxious odor of pulverized, soupy fish guts on anything else I can think of, but my wife ... she's not having it.

As you can see, I've had to stake up the seedlings, thanks to this gentle 20-mile-an-hour breeze that's been pummeling them lately. But on the bright side, much of the weakness that was freaking me out a week ago is gone—they are strong and healthy and growing fast, and I'm thinking in two weeks, maybe three, I get to have the Great Planting Weekend.

How are your seedlings coming along?

Are You A Ground Grower?

2010-10-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

If somebody asked me what's the trick to good tomatoes, I'd say, "Consistency and dirt."

Consistency because tomatoes need regular care, and if you want a decent crop, there's really no substitute for developing the good habits of a tomato grower. (More on this later ...)

And dirt because it's the foundation upon which your whole season is built. Last year, I tested out a few fancy soil supplements in side-by-side experiments. I wanted to see if I could take my tomatoes to the next level, so I tried a micronutrient foliar spray and a probiotic soil drench. I have no doubt these are great products when used in the right settings, but I personally didn't see a difference between the plants I supplemented and my control plants grown under almost identical conditions (minus the supplements). At first, I thought the problem was me—maybe I just didn't know how to use the stuff.

But in a series of emails with the guy who developed one of these products, he suggested another reason: my growing conditions were already almost optimal. There was very little room for improvement, so he wasn't surprised to hear that I didn't really notice a difference. Basically, he was complementing my dirt.

Before we get into dirt, though, there's one point I want to bring up about growing in containers versus growing in the ground. You can great tomatoes either way, but there is a caveat: growing in the ground in South Florida isn't necessarily easier and does present a few challenges.

For one thing, our soil is loaded with nematodes. These tiny little organisms attack a plant's roots and cause a condition called root knot. Basically, growing in the ground means racing against the nematodes: you want to get a decent harvest before the plants start to lose vitality and your harvest is affected.

And nematodes aren't the only issue. South Florida has several kinds of native soil, including the mucky marl in western suburbs (which can be quite fertile) and the sandy soil in the east (which is lousy for growing anything). In general, though, our native, unimproved soil is not great for growing vegetables. The sandy soils don't drain especially well, and they tend to be deficient in nutrients. Tomatoes don't like this. As a result, plants grown in sandy soils tend to produce earlier, but smaller and less mature, fruit than plants grown in better soil.

I started growing in the ground, and I did pretty well. But over time, I gravitated to large containers for tomatoes (and I mean really large containers, like 25 gallons). Why? Because I realized I was treating the ground like a large container ... I was digging out big holes, then backfilling with the same soil mix I use in containers. Eventually, I just decided to skip the digging and go straight to containers. I haven't been disappointed yet.

So ... if you're planning on growing in the ground, you can still get great tomatoes and hopefully, I'll still have some helpful tips as we go forward. But I would definitely recommend against just plopping your plants into the ground without first improving the soil—trust me, you'll end up with a lot better plants with a lot fewer problems with just a little bit of preparation.

Starting the Planning

2010-10-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

The weather these last few days couldn't be any better (except maybe shave a more degrees off at night). I love this time of year, when the summer heat finally starts to break and it's tomato growing weather. So the time is almost here, and now is the time to start making a few decisions if you're planning on buying transplants. Here are the big ones:

1. What kind of tomatoes should I grow?

2. How should I grow them?

What Kind of Tomatoes Should I Grow?

Pretty much from the moment I started growing tomatoes, I've been trying to grow exotic and weird varieties. Striped, yellow, pink, giant, heirloom, and on and on. And it's a lot of fun to grow something weird and fantastic ... but there's a giant caveat. For most of these tomatoes, you have to start from seeds that you probably ordered. If you're planning on buying transplants, you'll be limited by the selection of whatever nursery you shop at. I don't buy too many transplants, but if you want a decent selection, try the Flamingo Road Nursery in western Broward. They're pretty dedicated to vegetable gardening and usually have a good selection of different varieties.

Also, especially if you're newer at this, I think it's nice to actually harvest tomatoes. Success is a good thing. So I think it's a good idea for that first season or two to go with something tough and relatively easy. Cherry tomatoes, especially, are rewarding. You want almost-guaranteed tomatoes? Try almost any small-fruited variety. Roma tomatoes (a paste tomato), Big Boy, Better Boy, and Celebrity are also great. They taste good, they're prolific, and they're large.

Whatever you buy, here are a few tips:

Avoid plants that already have flowers and even small fruit. You're not giving the tomatoes a head start when you buy plants that already have started to flower. What's actually happening is that the plant has adjusted to its smaller container and started to mature. When you plant it, you'll be confusing it and setting it back. The plant won't grow as large or bear as many tomatoes as a truly immature plant. So look for strong transplants that don't have flowers already.
Try to avoid plants that are completely root bound. If you can see masses of roots around the edge of the pot or coming out from the bottom, it's been in the pot too long and has become root bound.
Look for plants that are resistant to the diseases and pests. Most of the commercial tomatoes will have the letters "VFN Resistant" somewhere on the label. This means the plant is naturally resistant to verticillium, fusarium, and nematodes. The first two (verticillium and fusarium) are fungal wilt diseases that can be a problem in our humid climate. The third (nematode) is a kind of nearly microscopic pest that lives in abundance in the soil and causes root knot disease. VFN tomatoes are resistant to some degree to all of these, which is a good thing because all of them are major problems in South Florida.
Be aware of your plant's growth patterns. Most tomato plants grown at home are indeterminate. This basically means the plant is a vine and will need support as it's growing. If you're growing indeterminate tomatoes, you'll have to train it up some kind of trellis or support system while it's growing and trim the vine to yield maximum fruit. Indeterminate vines are nice because they yield fruit gradually, so you can pick tomatoes from the same vine for weeks or even months. The other variety is known as determinate. This basically means the plant is a bush that tends to stay smaller and bear all its tomatoes at once. If you're planning on canning salsa or sauce, determinate tomatoes are great because you'll get a whole lot of fruit all at once. Also, despite the fact that determinate tomatoes are stronger and bush-like, you'll still probably need to support a heavy-bearing plant with some kind of cage.
Be ready to plant.

Ideally, you don't want your tomatoes to hang out in their tiny pots for very long. It's safe to assume when you buy tomatoes at a garden center that they've already been in their pots for a while. So get everything else ready, then buy your tomatoes and plant them within a day or so of getting them home. The sooner you get them into their permanent environment, the faster they can get down to the business of seriously growing.

How Should I Grow Them?

Buying tomatoes is easy, right? No problem. You just go, pick up a few plants and maybe a bag of soil and you're on your way. In reality, though, most of the decisions start AFTER you get your tomatoes home. Do you grow them in the ground? In containers? What about the Earthboxes? How can I get organic tomatoes?

I'll deal with some of this stuff in the next few posts, but here's a good place to start thinking about it ...

You can grow good tomatoes in containers (including the Earthbox) and in the ground. Either way. The trick is in the soil, and fortunately you can control that. Also, no matter where or how you plant them, they'll need AT LEAST five hours of sun. I tried tomatoes last year in a spot that only got four hours of sun every day and I got exactly one tomato from that plant, so five hours is the minimum. Six is better. And full sun all day is awesome.

Beyond sun, by far the most important consideration is your soil. I'll do a separate post (or two) on how to blend soil and how to improve Florida's native soil (which generally sucks) for maximum results. Ultimately, better soil equals better plants, so don't skimp on the dirt! Old, exhausted potting soil or sandy soil is a sure path to stunted and underperforming plants.

After this comes the fertilizer and watering habits. I'll write about all that later, but one note first: I know growing organic tomatoes is very important to lots of people—the reason they grow tomatoes at all is to have organic fruit. And I usually do a mix: some organic and some not organic. Ultimately, it's my experience that you can grow awesome tomatoes either way—provided you start with good soil. It always comes back to the dirt.

As for me, the seedlings are still coming along. They've started to grow faster now and the true leaves are starting to emerge. I've started feeding them with a weak fish emulsion fertilizer and they're spending all day outside under the sun ... I'm not sure exactly when they'll go into their containers, but it won't be long now.

Seedlings: Day 18

2010-09-29T05:54:00.001-07:00

Grrr!

First off, I should quit trying to predict what my next entry will be. So far this season, I've been pretty awful about predicting what's coming next.

Second, a camera malfunction (or possibly a child malfunction) caused me to lose all the pictures from the day I thinned the seedlings. So we'll have to do with this picture instead, which shows the pots after I thinned them. Anyway, here's one good thing: the blog is now caught up with the tomatoes. I took these pictures on Wednesday, Sept. 29, showing the seedlings on Day 18.

As you can see, I'm down to 2-3 seedlings in each pot, except for the peppers (those spiky little guys in the foreground). The cucumbers germinated in one day, the tomatoes in 2-4 days, and the peppers took about 10 days. That's pretty normal for peppers, so if you're going to grow peppers from seed, just expect them to take longer to germinate. No big deal.

This season has gotten off to an interesting start. For one thing, this is the first season I've grown Brandywines, and the variety I'm growing are known as potato-leaved tomatoes. this means they don't have the "regular" serrated tomato leaf. Instead, they have a oval leaf with smooth margins. There's no real difference in how you grow potato-leaved tomatoes, but they certainly look different.

Also, my seedlings this year are not as robust as in past years. I suspect one of three things: my lights are older and need to be replaced (fluorescent grow lights lose potency surprisingly fast); the 1/2 & 1/2 worm casting and peat-based soil is too "rich" for the tender seedlings; or I'm growing varieties that are just obnoxious. Whatever the cause, to help them along, I've already started hardening off the seedlings.

Hardening off is the process of transitioning your seedlings from the protected, perfect environment inside your house to the big, bad outdoor world. All indoor seedlings should be hardened off before they are permanently moved outdoors. I started this process a little earlier than I might have, but I think it'll be okay. To harden off seedlings, move them outside for a portion of each day. Pick a sunny, protected spot. At first, the seedlings will only be able to handle two or three hours of direct sun. But they will acclimate fast, and within a few days, you should be keeping them outside in full sun pretty much all day. During the hardening off period, move them inside if it's windy or raining, and don't leave them outside at night. Also remember, they will use up a lot more water outside, especially on sunny days. So check them frequently and keep the potting media moist.

So far, I haven't staked up any seedlings, but I can already tell I'm going to have to. This isn't a big deal—I usually have to stake up seedlings. I use the long bamboo skewers you buy in the grocery store. I'll post pictures when I get that far.

I don't know why exactly, but I feel like this season is a little touch-and-go so far, which is weird this early on. I've been growing seedlings for years, so I was surprised to experience yellowing leaves and stretching. It just goes to show ... there's a delicate balance involved in starting from seed, and even after you're pretty good at it, there is always the possibility of the unknown. Living things sometimes refuse to cooperate.

Up Next: Just kidding!

Seedlings: Day 8

2010-09-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

These are tomato seedlings at Day 8 ... At this point, they're about 1.5 inches tall and the pots are almost ready to be thinned. Right now, it's basically impossible to tell one variety from another—this photo happens to show Brandywines, Cherokee Purples, and Heinz tomatoes. But even though they all look the same, I've already started to notice some differences with these heirloom tomatoes ...

The Brandywines and to a lesser extent the Cherokee Purples are stretching on me more than I'm accustomed to. Stretching is when young seedlings grow too fast. They become elongated and top heavy, with a weak stem. It's usually caused by insufficient light, either because the sunlight is too weak or the lights are too far away. To remedy this stretching, I moved the lights closer to the plants, but I've started to see a little burning on the emergent leaves. So it seems to be a toss-up.

At this point, I'm watering every day, but I'm bottom watering the little pots so they can soak up what they need. I haven't started fertilizing yet because the soil mixture is enhanced with worm castings (which are a very weak nitrogen fertilizer), so too much fertilizer at this point can easily burn the plants. Later on, I'll be feeding heavily, but when they're seedlings, a tiny bit of food goes a long way.

These pots are almost ready to thin—at around Day 11 or so, I cut out the weak and small seedlings to leave only two or three in each pot. I'll further cut those out to leave only one in each pot. You want to strongest, thickest, biggest seedlings for your transplants. I'm expecting to get my plants outside in the second or possibly third week of October, but a lot of it depends on their size and vigor.

While they're growing, the days are pretty routine, and there really isn't much involved. It's hard to believe this little tray of seedlings will soon grow into a monstrous backyard garden, but that's the great thing about starting from seed. You get an package of seeds and violá! A few months later, you're elbow deep in vegetables.

For everyone out there whose planning on using store-bought transplants (which is most people, I'm guessing), still hold off. As I'm writing, we're looking at 4" to 8" of rain TODAY (thanks, tropics), so obviously this is not the kind of weather that young tomato plants can withstand. It'll kill 'em in an afternoon. Also, while I'm doing the seedling thing, I'll pull together a blog post on buying tomato plants, with some pointers on how to pick the best plants and what varieties work best.

As a final note, I'm still deeply impressed with the cucumber seedlings. I don't have a picture of them, but wow, these things are really taking off ... I'm liking the cucumbers.

Day 1—Holy Cukes, Batman!

2010-09-19T08:52:00.001-07:00

I've never grown cucumber from seed, but I was still shocked to see that the cucumbers germinated in one night. It seemed the little shoots popped up almost immediately upon planting them, which is good news for those of us with short attention spans. The picture here shows them at three days old.

The tomatoes all followed over the next 2-3 days. This might seem fast, but tomato seeds are actually pretty eager to germinate providing you give them two essential conditions: moisture and heat. Tomatoes germinate best when they're held at around 80ºF. Since I'm using Jiffy pots, I water from the bottom and just let the pots soak up water as needed (just don't let the pots sit in water—provide only as much as they can soak up).

Peppers take bit longer to germinate, up to 10 days or even two weeks. So while I've got beautiful cucumber seedlings after a week and clusters of tomato seedlings, not one pepper has poked its little head up yet. At this point, I'm still watering with plain water—there's no reason to feed these seedlings until the first true leaves have started to emerge.

I've often said this the hardest part—the seedlings—and I stick by it. Seedlings need tons of light, but not too much or they'll burn up. They need constant, plentiful moisture, but not too much or they'll suffer from a fatal condition called damping off. They appreciate a tiny bit of fertilizer—worm castings, diluted fish emulsion fertilizer when the true leaves begin to emerge—but most full-strength fertilizers will burn them up. They do best when protected and coddled a bit, which means keeping them away from wind and busy little hands.

But it's also completely worth it, in my opinion. I'm growing Brandywine and Cherokee Purples this year, which I can ONLY do from seed. And there's something very satisfying about taking care of a tiny sprout—it's the kind of thing that makes you pay attention because there really isn't much margin for error.

One final note: Don't worry if you haven't started seedlings yet, or you're just starting them now. You have PLENTY of time this season, and even starting now, your plants will still be in the ground relatively early. In fact, you still have time to do two full crops. And if you're planning on buying transplants from a garden center, wait a bit longer. With 90ºF days and still the threat of heavy rain, it's too early for tomatoes to really thrive outside. Kick back, give it a few weeks, and follow along as my seeds go from tiny to towering.

Up Next: Thinning out Seedlings

The Seedlings Start

2010-09-18T07:36:00.001-07:00

Finally!

I'm sorry I'm a few days behind on posting—work unfortunately intruded. But no fear! The plan has continued apace ...

I hear sometimes that people don't like to start from seedlings—and I get it. Seedlings are by far easier to kill than mature plants, and it requires a few materials and space to really do it well. But I'm still a big fan of starting from seeds. First off, you can grow anything you want (especially if you're growing in containers). You're not limited by the selection at the garden center. Second of all, once you get the hang of it, you'll get much better quality transplants. I'm not trying to knock the professionally grown transplants that you buy at garden centers. I'm sure when they leave the greenhouse, they're in great shape. But let's face it, after they've sat at your local garden center for a few days and started to outgrow their containers and set flowers, it's less than ideal (that's another blog post).

Anyway, back to the point: I planted my seedlings on September 11, or about a week ago. This year, I'm using 1.5" Jiffy pots and a mixture of 1/2 potting soil and 1/2 worm castings (worm poop) to start the seedlings. Worm castings are a very mild fertilizer and I find I get great results with it. I'm starting the seeds indoors under compact fluorescent lights. All the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers will be from seed (hence the labels in the planted pots).

But Jon, you might ask, what if I don't have lights for seeds? Good question.

First, I'd say if you're serious about growing from seed, I'd recommend buying some. You can grow healthy seedlings under regular fluorescent lights, so you don't need a special grow light set-up. You just position the lights about 4" over the pots and it'll work like a charm. Give 'em 18 hours of light and 6 hours of dark and you'll have healthy transplants inside of a month.

If you don't have lights, you can try using a very sunny window. Truthfully, though, this is a less-than-ideal situation. It's rarely sunny enough, and the seedlings will stretch toward the light, resulting in spindly, weak seedlings.

You can also start seeds outside, but this adds a whole new challenge: birds. I don't know about you, but we have very aggressive doves and pigeons and I've lost too many pots of seeds to mess with them. I've even found lizards digging in my pots (although they were after bugs). So you can try outside, but be prepared to fight wildlife and lose a lot of seeds before they even sprout. Also, remember that seedlings are delicate. Rain and windy conditions can drown them, blow over pots, or otherwise kill them. Remember to move your plants inside if it looks like the weather is going to turn bad.

Up Next: Sprouts!

The Plan, Part II

2010-08-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

I just took delivery of four—count 'em, four—5-gallon coconut coir grow bags. I used these last year to grow Better Boy tomatoes with decent results. Basically, these are black plastic 5-gallon bags with expandable growing media already packaged in them. You simply add water, the coconut coir growing media expands, and you plant. Well, it's almost that simple. Coconut doesn't exactly have the same properties as composted peat, which is the main ingredient in most bagged potting soils, so you have to make a few adjustments to it along the way. But as with so many things, I'll get into that more later.

For now, I wanted to round out the growing plan for this year. The big news is that I'm expanding the tomato garden this year to cover a whole bunch of stuff, including strawberries, cucumber, hot peppers, romaine lettuce, broccoli, and a full herb garden. I'm dropping the cabbage and eggplants, which I grew last year. It turns out there's no way to convince the family to eat cabbage and eggplant, so it's kind of wasted effort to grow it.

So here is the final plan, including a brief mention of how I'll be growing each crop. In the coming days and weeks, as I start to raise seedlings, I'll go over each of these in greater depth, because of course there are details like potting media, soil amendments, and fertilizers that must be attended to. As always, my goal is to find the best way to get the most food from the smallest space, which explains the hodgepodge of growing methods. Here goes:

Brandywine tomatoes in a 25-gallon container
Cherokee purple tomatoes in a 25-gallon container
Victoria Supreme paste tomates in a 15-gallon container
Heinz tomatoes in a 15-gallon container
Broccoli in an Earthbox
Romaine lettuce in an Earthbox
Jamaican hot chocolate peppers in a 10-gallon container
Big Bomb cherry peppers in a 7-gallon container
Yellow pear tomatoes in a 5-gallon coconut grow bag
Cucumbers in a 5-gallon coconut grow bag
Strawberries in stackable containers

I'm especially excited about the strawberries. Stackable containers are just what they sound like: multi-ported containers that stack one upon another to yield a tower of growing space. You're growing vertically, not horizontally, so I'll be able to grow something like 60 strawberry plants in one 2-foot square tower. The towers can be rotated so the strawberries receive equal sunlight. I've never grown this way before, so I'm hoping it works. Incidentally, so is my five-year-old son—last year, not one strawberry from my test plants made it into the house because he'd sneak outside and eat them all. If you're interested in stackables, mine are being shipped from here.

So there it is. In my way of thinking, you don't need a ton of space to grow enough vegetables to feed your family for the season. You just need to grow smart, so each plant yields as much as possible. And if there's extra, you can always give it away.

My last thought: it's still too early to plant seeds, so resist. And definitely resist buying tomato plants from the garden center. It's waaaaay too early for that.

Up Next: Getting Dirty—The First of Many Posts About Potting Media and Why It Matters So Much

The 2010 Plan, Part I

2010-08-24T16:38:00.001-07:00

The vegetable season always starts on a surprisingly apprehensive note. I'm always worried about making the right choice and getting the right seeds—and buying tomato seeds is a little bit like buying a car. It's not exactly easy to back out once you're committed.

Last year, I grew big pink tomatoes, striped tomatoes, and yellow tomatoes. And oddly, one of the things I realized was that my favorite tomatoes are the big, acidic red ones. I like tomatoes that taste like tomatoes. And because I preserve my own salsa, I also like paste tomatoes, which have fewer seeds and liquid and make thicker, richer salsas and sauces.

So this year, I've spent a fair amount of time with my nose buried in my favorite tomato catalog, trying to decide what kind of tomatoes I should grow. I wanted to strike a balance between big, juicy red tomatoes and the more interesting varietals. In the end, this is what I've decided to grow:

Brandywine. These are probably the most famous heirloom tomatoes in the world. They are big, luscious, red tomatoes with a deep tomato flavor. Because they are not naturally resistant to any of our diseases or pests, they must be grown in containers.
Cherokee purple. Another heirloom tomato. These are deep purple and known for their striking color and taste.
Victoria Supreme. These are paste tomatoes I'll use for sauce and salsa.
Heinz. Yep, the actual Heinz tomato. I've never grown these before, so I'm curious what ketchup tastes like off the vine. These are determinate tomatoes.
Yellow pear. These are advertised as "garden candy," and they're tiny and cute and yellow and pear-shaped. Last year, I had horrible luck with yellow tomatoes, so I wanted to see if I could get it right this year.

As always, I bought all my seeds from the Tomato Growers Supply Company. I highly recommend them; I've never had a bad experience.

Obviously, I'm growing mostly heirloom and non-disease-resistant tomatoes from seed. If you're planning on buying tomato vines from your local garden center, you'll likely be getting Celebrity, Big Boy, Better Boy, Roma, or cherry tomatoes. I've grown all these before, and had a great experience. Better Boy are still among my favorite tomatoes in terms of flavor, and these varieties all have the advantage of being resistant to the pests and diseases that are so common here in South Florida (that's another entry). So if that's your plan, don't fret—but don't buy them yet. It's WAY to early to plant vines. Just hold off for a while, and later on, as we get closer, I'll give some quick pointers on buying tomato vines from a garden center.

Finally, my choice of tomato varieties this year will definitely affect my growing methods. Because I'm growing tomatoes that cannot resist our soil-borne pests and diseases, I'm growing 100% in containers this year. I've found over the years that I've steadily gravitated toward containers, until I'm finally growing ONLY in containers. While you can grow excellent tomatoes in the ground, ultimately I find that containers make it possible to grow more varieties and control the growing environment more completely. To me, these are good things.

But all that will be coming up later. For now, I've got my seeds in hand, and it's almost time to start germination. But not quite yet. Patience is in order—and unfortunately, that's usually in short supply right around this time of year. In the meantime, I'll try to keep myself busy with all the new stuff I'm planning on growing this year ...

Up next: Beyond Tomatoes (The Total Edible Winter Garden)

And p.s., I added a subscribe option to the bottom of the page if you wanted an automatic update every time a new post is added ... you know, for convenience sake.

Is It Really Time Already?

2010-08-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

If you're anything like me, you probably started planning this year's vegetable garden as soon as you harvested your final tomato last spring. And as much as I've enjoyed the South Florida summer, I can't wait to get back into the vegetable season. My Earthboxes are packed away, my containers are stacked neatly by the shed, and the tomato cages are lined up alongside the house. But not for much longer. The time is almost here ...

If you're new to this blog, the whole idea is pretty simple: I grow tomatoes and veggies in South Florida and blog about it. Part of the idea is to experiment with different varieties and growing methods to see what works best in our unique environment. Last year, I grew a bunch of varieties of tomatoes in a bunch of different environments (the ground, containers with peat-based soil, self-watering containers, expandable coconut grow bags). I used organic and synthetic fertilizers, and I tested various exotic soil amendments and nutrient systems. This year, I'm going to do all that, plus add a few new twists ... including a tower of strawberries in a really cool set-up that should be adaptable for even the smallest of sunny spots.

But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. As always, I want to begin at the beginning, and in this case, that means ordering my seeds now so I can start them in early September. Last year, I started seeds on September 6, which meant I put plants in the ground on October 2. We had a fairly massive heat wave in October, so the plants struggled for the first week or two, but everything worked out in the end, so I'll follow the same basic schedule this year.

So if you're returning to the blog, welcome back. And if you're new, I hope you enjoy following along and perhaps you'll grow some great tomatoes yourself. I try to post as often as possible about what's going on in Tomato Land, and if you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line.

Better yet, share pictures.

Next Up: This Year's Garden Plan, Part One

The End of the Year

2010-04-13T06:29:00.000-07:00

If you're growing tomatoes in South Florida, you know we're nearing the end of the season. The photo to the left shows Bella Rosa determinate tomatoes about to ripen. I started these seeds on Dec. 31, using expandable peat pellets. Then I moved them outside and potted into 15-gallon containers with Fafard 3B Professional Grow Mix juiced with a little dolomite lime. I've been feeding with a regular Miracle Grow tomato fertilizer, plus weekly shots of magnesium. They're doing well, and soon I expect a second-season harvest.

Before I officially go dark for the summer, I wanted to do a final post about the things I learned this winter. So here we are ... my last thoughts on the growing season for 2009-2010:

1. The weather will be what it will be. I still managed a decent harvest this year, despite the historic cold snap that basically killed my vines. By the time it got cold, the fruit was almost mature, and I ended up harvesting tomatoes from brown vines. I didn't get as many tomatoes as I had in the past, and they didn't have the same vibrant taste as previous years, but I consider myself lucky. Any harvest in a year like this one was an achievement.

2. I've said it before, I'll say it again: consistency and discipline are everything. If you can stick with a regular watering and feeding schedule, there's no reason you can't grow great tomatoes. This is far more important than your choice of growing methods, your fertilizer preference, or pretty much anything else. Love it and care for it, and it will grow.

3. What they said. Sun is key. If you can't get at least five hours, but six or more is better, you will not get much fruit.

4. I used a few fancy soil supplements this season in side-by-side tests. One was KeyPlex, a foliar micronutrient spray. The other is a soil probiotic known as Biotamax (actually, the tomatoes pictured above are growing in this pot). Both are designed to increase yields and plant health by supplying either nutrients or soil organisms. In the case of KeyPlex, I tested it in a side-by-side test in both peat-based mix and coconut coir grow bags. Ultimately, while I really liked the idea of it and I'm still going to keep testing it, I didn't see a difference this year. It's entirely possible I haven't yet figured out how to use it. The Biotamax is still going—I'm testing it in side-by-side containers of Bella Rosa tomatoes grown under the same exact conditions except for one pot having Biotamax. So far, the tomato plants are performing identically, so once again, it's possible that I simply don't know how to use it yet.

5. I ended up canning 12 pints of salsa, 4 quarts of spaghetti sauce, and 2 quarts of crushed tomatoes. Awesome! I wish you could try the salsa. And I gave away pounds of fresh tomatoes.

6. I ended up using five approaches this year: in the ground; Earthbox; 25-gallon containers with a peat-based custom mix; 15-gallon containers with Fafard Professional Mix; and 5-gallon coconut grow bags. They all did pretty well, actually, but the biggest tomatoes and the heaviest vines were definitely in the largest containers.

So that's it for this season. Ultimately, when I look back, this will be the year that was defined by a historic freeze, some excellent fruit, and I learned a lot. Please feel free to write me directly if you want, but until next season, this is Growing Tomatoes in South Florida signing off.

Catfacing

2010-02-03T09:08:00.001-08:00

Catfacing is a strange condition that produces deformed tomatoes like the one above. It occurs early in fruiting, when the blossom of the young tomato develops unevenly. As a result, the fruit is misshapen, with strange convolutions and unsightly bulges all over.

Because catfacing is a disorder of the very young fruit, it can be caused by anything that affects the flowers and teensy tomatoes at this stage. This includes extremes in hot and cold, excess nitrogen, and even inconsistent watering habits. So, once again, healthy tomatoes are grown by disciplined growers who moderate water, use correct fertilizer, and try to protect from weather extremes when possible (which, obviously, wasn't this year). Catfacing is also more common among larger varieties—the tomato shown above is actually a Belgian Giant that weighed in the neighborhood of 2 pounds.

There is good news, however. In most cases, catfacing doesn't affect the flavor of your tomatoes. If you're planning to process them into sauce or salsa (which I did this past weekend--woo hoo!), then you can still use them. If, however, you're planning on entering them into a centerfold competition, you're probably out of luck.

Also, catfacing tends to affect the older varieties more than newer hybrids, which have been bred for their round, consistent shapes. This means large-fruited heirloom and beefsteak varieties are especially vulnerable, while it's virtually unheard of in small hybrid cherry tomatoes. This season, I happened to be growing two large-fruited heirloom and beefsteak varieties (marvel strip and giant Belgium), so I had some catfacing.

All in all, though, it doesn't bother me much. I tend to grow more tomatoes than we can possibly use, so every fall I feel a bit like a slave to the harvest. At first, I'm so excited to get a few fresh tomatoes, but then I have to race to figure out ways to stay ahead of the flood of fresh tomatoes overtaking the kitchen. After all, tomatoes rotting on the counter stink, and my wife does not like things that stink. So I bottle my own salsa, crushed tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce, and I don't let a little catfacing or mild splitting get in the way.

Up Next: Fancy Soil Amendments—Lesson One From This Year

Tomatoes Splitting

2010-01-30T16:54:00.001-08:00

That's one split tomato, huh?

I've had a relatively serious problem with splitting this year, which means I've had to throw out more tomatoes than I like because they split and were later infested with worms or rot. Annoying.

Most books say that splitting is caused by watering issues. Periods of dry, followed by lots of water like a heavy rain, can cause splitting. It happens when the tomatoes are still green, and their skin/exterior is hard and inflexible. As the excess water rushes into the fruit, it causes a growth spurt that the young fruit cannot handle, so it splits.

We had very heavy rains in December this year, so I've been blaming my splitting on the rains. However, I've noticed that 90% of the splitting is confined to the tomatoes growing in the coconut coir grow bags. These are Better Boy hybrids, so they should be tough as nails—and I promise my watering has been absolutely consistent. I've been watering the grow-bag tomatoes every morning, just the same as the container-grown tomatoes in sphagnum. And these heirlooms and beefsteaks growing in sphagnum peat are hardly splitting at all.

So ... I've done tons of research on this and I can't find any proof that tomatoes grown in coconut coir are more liable to split. So have mine own eyes thus deceived me? I don't know. I do know that coconut coir has a different water-holding capacity than sphagnum peat; it's possible that daily watering is simply too much because the coconut coir holds water for so much longer. Then again ... professional growers using coconut coir water with daily drip irrigation. It's possible I have yet to really understand how to use coconut coir.

In any event, at the most basic level, tomato splitting is caused by inconsistent watering, with periods of dry followed by lots of water. I suspect in my case, there's a learning curve for using coir as a growing media, and next time, I'll try every-other-day-watering. If anyone out there has any insight, I'd love to hear it.

Finally, I did my second planting today. That's one nice thing about South Florida—we get two plantings every year. So this fall, I grew indeterminate tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and herbs. And earlier today, I planted determinate tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and strawberry. The eggplant and peppers are in an Earthbox, the determinate tomatoes and strawberries are in large containers with my normal peat-based mix. This time around, I'm testing another soil amendment called Biotamax. It's a soil probiotic, and I'll post on it soon.

And I guess that's it. I've been harvesting like mad lately, so I've been canning tomatoes, fermenting sauerkraut, and eating enough fresh tomatoes that sometimes I feel like I'm turning slightly red. But it's been nice, and even with the loss of so much fruit this year, we're still neck-deep in homegrown produce. And that's not a bad thing ...

Up Next: Catfacing

Some Harvest Photos

2010-01-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

I know I promised a post on splitting, which has actually been a pretty significant problem this year (thanks December rains). And I'm planning a post on cat-facing also, which has affected a number of my heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes. But this is also harvest time—the fruit is ripening now and I'm picking tomatoes every day—so I thought I'd post a few harvest pictures. The varieties included in these pictures are Homestead 24, Belgian Giants, Better Boy, and Azoychka. (And cabbage.)

They were all harvested in the last four days.

After the Cold Snap

2010-01-17T06:17:00.001-08:00

Well, I did everything I could. I followed my own (and everyone else's) instructions to the letter. I covered plants, I watered to keep the soil warm, and I crossed my fingers. I'm glad to say my plants made it through the Great Freeze, but not exactly with flying colors. Here was the Belgian Giant on Dec. 23, about a week before it got cold:

And here it is this morning:

Obviously, a disaster.

On the good side, all my plants lived, and there is still plenty of fruit ripening. But the cold damage is extensive and ugly. When I told my wife I didn't want to post pictures because it was so depressing, she said, "Maybe it's time to get philosophical." And maybe it is. This season has not been kind to us tomato growers. A warm spell in October, torrential rains in December, and a freeze in January. So yes, we can't control what Nature will do. Sometimes it sucks.

But on the other hand, there are many much worse things than having a mediocre harvest or losing a few plants. I've spent this season so far closely attuned to the weather, to the changing of the seasons, to the natural environment. I've been connected to the world, to the planet, and we've been enjoying freshly harvested tomatoes (among other crops) all season. There are many worse things than watching the sky and wondering if it will rain. No matter what happens, it's never a loss to grow and nurture something. It's never a loss to care.

Up Next: Tomatoes Splitting

Tomatoes and Freezing

2010-01-09T21:10:00.000-08:00

If I hadn't just been outside, I would have a hard time believing this. But here's the latest from the National Weather Service, as of 12:12 a.m.:

Rest of Tonight

Cloudy with isolated showers in the evening...then partly cloudy. Breezy and much colder. Lows 30 to 35. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent. Lowest wind chill readings around 20.

I saw on the news they spotted snow in Boynton Beach.

Wow.

I've covered my tomatoes for the night, and I watered them this evening. It was a very odd thing to run a hose until the water warmed up. Normally, we have to run hoses in South Florida until the hot water runs out and it cools down. But tonight, the city water is 15 degrees warmer than the water sitting in the hose. My bare feet actually went numb with cold when I checked my plants just now, and I can promise you it's been years since that happened. I haven't missed it a bit.

There's not much more to do right now, except hope it doesn't actually freeze. So 'mater growers, let's keep our fingers crossed and hope the temps somehow stay above 32º.

Tomatoes and the Cold

2010-01-08T06:01:00.001-08:00

Here's the question on everybody's mind: is this cold spell going to hurt my tomatoes?

With temperatures dropping into the mid-30s earlier this week, and another cold blast expected for Saturday and Sunday, it's time to worry about cold tolerance.

Fortunately, tomatoes withstand cold fairly well. They do not, however, withstand frost or freezing. So if you live out west, and there's frost coming, you need to protect your plants. And even with the regular cold, I've noticed that cold tolerance depends somewhat on the variety. All of my plants are still thriving, except for the Belgian giants, which have extensive browning on the leaves due to cold damage. The rest look fine, and the fruit hasn't been affected.

Nevertheless, here are some basic measures you can take to protect your tomatoes:

Continue to water thoroughly. The municipal water in South Florida is between 62 and 70 degrees, depending on the time of year. Also, watering helps keeps the plant hydrated, which is very important as cold causes plants to dry out because they aspirate water faster than their sluggish roots can take it up. On very cold nights, water in the late afternoon, while the sun is still up, so the plant heads into the night in warm(ish) soil.
Cover your plants. This is more for frost protection, but covering will protect them from wind also. Use a sheet or plastic bag and try to completely cover the plant all the way to the ground. If you use a bag, remember to remove it the next day before the sun comes out and cooks your plants.
If you can, move them inside. If you have container tomatoes and a garage, drag them inside on nights where the temp is expected to go below about 40.

Boy, this season has been something else, huh? First we had that historic heat wave in October, and now we have a historic cold snap. In both cases, it was the Belgian giants that suffered the most, so I can only draw the conclusion this particular variety has a narrower temperature tolerance than the others. The Better Boy, which is a common, garden-store hybrid, seems to be shrugging off the cold just fine.

Ultimately, unless it freezes or we experience a frost, I don't expect this cold spell will seriously damage the plants, even taking into account the cold damage to the leaves. But I will be covering my Belgian giants tonight.

As a last note, that top picture shows some of the earliest tomatoes I've harvested. Those are yellow Azoychkas and the very first Belgian giant pink tomato. Since I took this, I've also started to harvest Better Boy and Marvel Stripe (a particularly beautiful orange and red tomato with a very fruity flavor). I'll post pictures soon ...

In the meantime, let's cross our fingers and hope it doesn't freeze!

Tomato TV

2009-12-23T07:26:00.001-08:00

So I've been writing about plants for a long time, but two or three months ago, I started doing "Gardening Guru" guest appearances on The Morning Show, which airs on WSFL from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning. My segments appear on Tuesday mornings, around 8:45 a.m. And guess what this week's segment was on?

That's right! Problems with tomatoes.

I've pasted the video below ... and no doubt, you'll notice some strangely familiar photos.

Photo Update

2009-12-23T07:20:00.001-08:00

After complaining in my last post about the various nasties and problems, I wanted to post a few pix of the vines. See? I'm still pretty happy. The white dust on the Better Boy vines (top photos) is Dipel dust to kill caterpillars. The bottom two photos are the Belgian Giants (growing in 25 gallon containers). The Marvel Stripes look good (not pictured), while the Homestead 24s are okay (not enough sun, so not a lot of fruit) and the yellow Azoychkas are suffering in general (see my previous post).

My Gang of Uglies

2009-12-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it's been almost a month since I posted last! And it's hard to believe things have come along so far already ...

So the past month has been interesting. The plants have continued to grow, and the tomatoes are ripening. My cultural practices haven't changed since I last posted -- I'm watering every morning and feeding the organic tomatoes once a week with Espoma Tomato-Tone. The "bagged" tomatoes (see this post), I'm watering every morning and feeding twice a week with Miracle-Gro tomato plant food.

The big news the past month, though, has been the arrival of various problems. I still believe that the hardest part is getting the tomatoes started, but even then, you have pay careful attention to what's happening and deal with problems as they arise. So, without further ado, here is my rogue's gallery from December:

1. Caterpillars. Wow, did I have a caterpillar problem in December! The top photo shows a tomato hornworm. For such a nasty little bugger, they're oddly beautiful. I also had little worms that burrowed into the fruit themselves. Taking my own advice, I tried to hand-pick them first, but when the numbers became too great, I switched to Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. This is a biological control that is rated for organic growth and is extremely effective against caterpillars. I used Dipel dust, which I sprinkled liberally over the tomatoes. The caterpillar problem is well in hand.

2. Blossom end rot. I was surprised by the appearance of BER (photo 2), but hey, it happened. Only the plants in the Earthbox are affected. These are Azoychka yellow tomatoes, and they are by far the most troubled of all my tomatoes. The vines are much less vigorous and, although they are bearing fairly well, they look the worst and have suffered the worst from caterpillars and leaf-rolling. My only conclusion is that I screwed up with my soil mix in the Earthbox and didn't include enough dolomite lime and therefore they are suffering from calcium deficiency. Once BER shows up, it's too late to save that fruit, so I removed all the affected fruit and chalked it up to experience.

3. Leaf rolling. A few of my tomatoes are affected by leaf rolling on the lower branches. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why, and I never figured out a way to correct it. Fortunately, though, it hasn't affected the growth of the vine and the plants will leaf-rolling are still loaded with fruit.

4. Overgrowth. I wrote about this earlier, but I have been aggressively trimming the vines all month. I've now topped all the vines, including the ones that have hit my roofline, but they are still trying to burst out all over the place. Not. Gonna. Happen. I want bigger, more abundant fruit, so from now on, it's me versus the vines. No more foliage growth allowed!

So besides my watering/feeding routine, this is how I spent November in the tomato patch: squishing caterpillars, dusting the plants, and removing yellow tomatoes affected with BER. I have not yet harvested any fruit, but I can see that a few tomatoes are beginning to lighten up already, so I expect to have photos of vine-ripening tomatoes soon.

Up next: Some progress photos

Growing in Coconut Grow Bags

2009-11-30T06:41:00.000-08:00

One of the cool things about this blog has been hearing from readers, sometimes with questions and sometimes with tips and photos of their own gardens.

Among these readers was a gentleman calling himself Boca Bob, and he sent me pictures of his South Florida vegetable garden that kind of blew my mind (he runs a website at www.instagarden.com). He was getting amazing results with a system I was wholly unfamiliar with. Well, I'm nothing if not curious, so I did a bunch of research and set up another tomato grow elsewhere in my yard. Here's the story behind it ...

This set-up is essentially the same system used by professional tomato growers in greenhouses (so-called hothouse tomatoes). The growing medium is coconut coir, which comes in expandable 5-gallon bags from a company called Hydro-Gardens. See those black bags? Basically, you buy the bag, which comes with the coir brick included. You add water and presto! It expands into a 5-gallon pot.

Coconut coir is a bit different than peat or other growing media. It doesn't need to be adjusted for pH, but it's just about completely sterile. There are NO nutrients in coconut coir at all, so you have to add everything. In this case, I decided to abandon organic tomato growing completely and go synthetic. I'm curious if it will affect taste ...

Additionally, I didn't start these tomatoes from seed, but used Better Boy starts I got from my favorite garden center. Better Boy is a rough-and-tumble backyard tomato. It's a heavy bearing red tomato, resistant to all sorts of problems, and tasty. I've grown them before, so I'm familiar with how they should act.

At planting time, I amended the coir with gypsum, and I also threw in a bit of bone meal just to make sure. This will hopefully handle the calcium requirement. For magnesium, I'm using a 1/4 teaspoon of Epsom salts with every third or fourth watering. For nutrients, I'm using the Miracle-Gro general tomato fertilizer at 1/2 strength and feeding every two or three days (I'm watering every day). To train the vines, I drove large landscape stakes into the ground and I'm tying the vines to rope strung between the stakes. Couldn't be simpler.

Oh yes, I'm also experimenting with a weekly foliar micronutrient spray on one of the bags. I'll cover this in greater depth later, but in brief, a foliar spray is fertilizer or product that is applied directly onto the leaves. To use a foliar spray, you mix up the solution and use a garden sprayer to soak the plant down. You have to do this in the morning to avoid fungal problems. I'm using a product called Key-Plex, which is formulated with defensive proteins and micronutrients. According to the company, Key-Plex helps increase the plant's immunity to blight and other diseases while increasing yields. My test is obviously unscientific, but I'll post photos and results as they become apparent.

So far, this grow has gone surprisingly well. It took me a little time to get used to the coir. It doesn't compact like peat, so when you water it, the coir has a tendency to wash away from the plant's stem. You have to be more careful with watering (professionals use drip irrigation system). But the plants have bloomed heavily and are already covered with immature fruit. One of the plants is suffering from rolled leaves, but its fruit is unaffected. Otherwise, they're healthy, happy maters.

Up next: Topping Your Tomatoes

The First Fruit Sets

2009-11-19T05:50:00.001-08:00

So my routine is pretty well set by now ... I take care of the morning house stuff, drop the kids off at school, then come home and water and tend to the tomatoes. I've been watering every day, and the daily tending is pretty low impact. I'm snipping off suckers, tying up vines, trimming back errant shoots, and feeding weekly with Espoma Tomato-Tone organic fertilizer. I suppose successful tomatoes are as much about discipline and routine as anything else.

And look! The first fruit has already begun to set, so there are tiny tomatoes all over my plants. Pretty nice, huh? (Incidentally, the tomato pictured at left is an Azoychka. This is a yellow early-season tomato. I expect to start harvesting these right around Christmas. The other varieties are not this far along.)

The fungal problem is under control. After I found the leaf spot (see below), I removed all the affected leaves, bagged them up and disposed of them, then I treated with an organic copper fungicide spray weekly for a few weeks. It worked, and the plants are thriving and mostly free from any blemishes. So far, I haven't had caterpillars, but I'm just waiting ... I know they're out there.

I have, however, experienced a rather significant degree of blossom drop so far this season. There are a few reasons tomatoes drop blossoms early in the season: lack of sun, too cold, too hot, improper watering, and sometimes, just because they feel like it. For the most part, I'm not that worried about it. Let's face it, the beginning of this season stunk in South Florida—it was just too hot for tomatoes, so I'm not surprised to be losing my early blossom sets. But the season is long, and now that the weather is cool, I'm gratified to see fruit emerging. I don't expect to be wanting for tomatoes later on.

However, if you're experiencing severe blossom drop, and it's really freaking you out, you can use a product called Tomato & Pepper Set, by Fertilome. This product is a plant hormone that stimulates the plant to set fruit, even in adverse conditions. I've used it successfully in the past, when it stopped rampant blossom drop and hastened my tomato sets.

Lastly, I've been kind of keeping a secret for the past few weeks. I keep meaning to write about it, but my blog time is precious. So I'll give you a hint: in addition to the tomatoes I've been writing about, I started another experimental group, this time using pretty standard Better Boy tomatoes. But the grow set-up is unique and strange and unlike anything I've done before. Next time, I promise.

Ack! Tomato Leaf Spot

2009-11-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

I knew it was too much to hope for ...

This morning, while I was watering, I noticed discoloration on the lower leaves of one plant. When I looked closer, I saw that the discoloration had spread throughout all the lower leaves of the plant—and I officially had a problem on my hands.

I took the leaf to a friend who farms tomatoes professionally and he confirmed what I suspected: I've got fungus. There are many fungi that affect tomatoes, and I don't know exactly which one this is, but I treated anyway. I first removed all the affected leaves on the plant, bagged them and threw them away. Fungus and bacteria can be highly contagious, so you have to be careful when you're handling infected leaves.

Then I treated every plant with a copper fungicide, which treats for fungus and has some antibacterial action. My friend recommended I also used Maneb, which is a stronger fungicide, but I'm going to hold off for now on that. Copper fungicide is rated for organic growth, and I want to keep my grow organic if possible.

But why did this happen? I've been careful, right?

I have a few thoughts on that. First off, the affected tomato plant gets less sun than I would like. I'm growing along the side of my house, and the winter sun is dipping too low on the horizon, so my neighbor's house shades these tomatoes throughout part of the middle of the day. In all, they're lucky to get three hours of direct sun, and that's just not enough. Second, and most important, my neighbor's sprinklers overspray onto this plant, and he waters in the middle of the night. So these plants were getting wet in the night. Finally, it's still too hot and muggy—these are perfect conditions for fungus.

Fortunately, this problem was not too widespread yet. The container tomatoes get much more sun—five to six hours of direct sun—and they are situated a ways away from the sick plant. So I'm hoping I can control this until the weather cools off and the affected plant gets tall enough that it grows back into direct sun.

Besides the obvious—lots of sun, don't let them get wet from above—this was a good reminder of another thing to keep in mind: it's always good to pay close attention.

Trimming Tomatoes

2009-10-30T07:05:00.000-07:00

I was kind of a wimp my first year growing tomatoes. I was so excited to have actual bearing tomatoes in my yard that I let the plants bully me and push me around. I knew I was supposed to trim them—and I made a half-hearted attempt—but around the middle of the season, I just gave up and let them run rampant. I was too afraid of trimming off flowers and potential fruit. I got a lot of tomatoes that year, sure, but ...

Those days are long gone now. I've grown into a harsh taskmaster when it comes to my tomatoes—they only get to do what I want them to do. And ultimately, just like puppies and children, I think they're happier for it.

Trimming tomatoes comes down to control. And it begins with suckers. The photo to the left shows a sucker. These emerge from between almost every branch node and the stem. If you don't pinch them off, they'll form mini branches of their own. But these are suckers—they will reduce the vitality of the plant and the overall size of your fruit. So at the very least, get rid of them religiously. And just because you've pinched it off once doesn't mean it won't come back. So I check for suckers every time I water, and I make sure to check from all angles and sides to make sure none are hiding.

Beyond that, there is the question of the vine itself. Tomato vines naturally split as they grow. You can tell a split from a sucker because the main stem may be lobed, and both of the splits will be approximately the same size. Now, it's up to you what you do with these splits. If you want to grow very large tomatoes, prune off all or most of the splits. If you want more fruit, let the vine naturally split a few times.

Height control is also important. At some point, the vine will hit the maximum height it's allowed. When that happens, pinch off the growing tip (or all the growing tips in a multi-branched vine). You'll have to continue with height control once you start. It will continue trying to grow taller, but just keep snipping away new growth. And don't worry about snipping tiny flowers away—because the plant can't grow any taller, it will put its energy into growing fatter, juicier and thicker tomatoes.

As a side note, you know where I got good at this? Growing hydroponic tomatoes under lights indoors. When you only have 18" of overhead space and a limited area of light intensity, you learn to really clamp down on the plant's growth and control it.

The reward for aggressively pruning tomato vines is better fruit, so this is worth it. If you're like me, your initial worry will be reducing the size of your crop. But I think this is more than offset by getting bigger, healthier fruit.

Up Next: Tomatoes the Professional Way ...

Watering Tomatoes

2009-10-20T07:52:00.000-07:00

So things are really going well now, and the season is underway. My transplants are 2 feet tall already—the photo here shows the Marvel Stripe heirloom. Blossoms have begun to emerge, and I've started feeding them. You know, I just love this part :)

I'm watering every morning, with about 1/2 inch of water for each plant. When you're new to tomato gardening, you hear over and over to water consistently and never water from the top, but at least for me, it seemed like no one really explained what the big deal was. Well, here it is ...

Tomatoes need consistent water to prevent a condition called blossom end rot (BER). BER is a cultural problem with tomatoes and peppers. It causes the fruit to develop dark, rotten spots on the blossom ends, eventually leading to collapse of that fruit. It's a heartbreaker.

BER is caused by a calcium deficiency in the developing fruit. This is why calcium is such a big deal for tomatoes, why people use dolomite and bone meal and why tomato fertilizers always include plenty of calcium. As young tomatoes develop, they use calcium sort of like young humans do: to build structure. According to horticulturists at the University of Georgia, about 90 percent of the calcium the mature tomato will contain is already present in the fruit by the time it's the size of your thumbnail.

Now here's the tricky part: your tomatoes can suffer BER even with plenty of calcium in the soil. Heck, they can suffer BER even with plenty of calcium in the plant itself. This is because of the way calcium moves through the plant. It's absorbed from the root zone in water, then moved through the leaves and finally into the fruit. However, if the plant is under water stress, water is directed to the leaves because they transpire faster than fruit, meaning that water evaporates more quickly from leaves than fruit. The plant is just trying to protect itself, but as the water transpires through leaf tissue, it leaves behind the precious calcium. Meanwhile, the poor fruit isn't getting any water or calcium.

The worst part is that this tends to happen when your tomatoes are young and still developing. Even a temporary disruption in regular watering of young tomatoes can set the stage for BER later on in the season. So, make sure you're absolutely consistent with the water. To some degree, self-watering containers prevent this automatically (assuming you're keeping the reservoir filled).

As for watering from above, it's pretty simple. This encourages fungal diseases, wilts and blights. So for safety sake, don't soak your plants down. Water at the ground level.

Up Next: Training Tomato Vines ...

Tomatoes in an EarthBox

2009-10-14T06:17:00.001-07:00

So I finally planted the yellow Azoychka tomatoes in their EarthBox.

If you're new to it, the EarthBox is a self-watering container that has gained a near-rabid following. In essence, it's a two-level box, with a potting medium suspended over a water reservoir. The soil wicks water up as needed, and the top of the box is covered, so less water can evaporate. You add nutrients and dolomite at planting time, and never feed them again.

To maintain the EarthBox, you simply keep the reservoir full and let the box handle the rest. It's very easy to set up, with simple provided instructions. The biggest downside to the EarthBox is the cost: a full set-up, including the company's staking system, costs over $100. But it's a one-time expense: the box is reusable, year after year, and you can grow pretty much anything in the box. In addition to tomatoes, I'm also planning cabbages, romaine lettuce and broccoli. If you want more information, click on EarthBox.

I don't know about you, but the last week has been pretty hard on my little transplants—yet it's also been instructive. With temperatures of 92º to 94º every afternoon, we're at the very limit of what tomatoes can stand. And it's been interesting to watch the different varieties react to it. I'm growing one heat-tolerant variety (Homestead 24) that has absolutely loved the heat. I mean it ... these plants have shot up and are already more than a foot tall. On the other hand, my beefsteak variety (Belgian Giant) is just about ready to cry uncle and head for the great compost heap in the sky. I've had to water them twice a day for the past few days to prevent a total collapse. I'm curious if this will affect the harvest. I'm also growing an heirloom variety—Marvel Stripe—and they have been somewhere between the other two. Not thriving, but not wilting every afternoon either.

Thankfully, it's supposed to cool down by the end of this week.

My last thought for the day: it's almost time to start fertilizing, so this weekend I'll begin the regular feeding program. I'm going to be using Espoma's Tomato Tone organic granular fertilizer, a synthetic granular fertilizer, and a liquid tomato fertilizer and see how they work. I know it's not exactly scientific—these are different varieties, after all—but I'll still be curious.

Up Next: Watering Tomatoes

Go Ahead ... Brag It Up

2009-10-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Since I started this blog, I've been really gratified by the amount of reader email I've received. And wow. Some of the people who stop by here are fantastic gardeners!

So as the season wears on, and we settle into the routine of tending plants, I'm hoping to highlight a few readers' vegetable and tomato gardens. If you have a plot or a plant you're especially proud of, please contact me (my email is to your right). I'll post some pictures and maybe you can share your methods with the rest of us.

Now, one word about promotion. Just as I've been gratified by the reader email, I've also been surprised how many pitches I'm getting for gardening products. If you've got something to sell, I don't mind if you contact this blog, but I do want to say that I'm not taking any free product samples, and if I mention a product here, it's only because I use it and I personally like it.

Anyway, here's to hoping everyone has a good weekend and our tomatoes get a break soon enough from this confounded heat.

Up Next: Planting My Earthbox Tomatoes

Fertilizing Tomatoes

2009-10-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

First off, a word with South Florida ...

Listen, I get it. I like summer as much as the next guy, and the subtropical thing you've got going on is wonderful. But this heat? In October? I'm trying to transplant tomatoes, and when it's hitting 93 degrees every day, it just makes things hard for me. So can we cool down a little bit? Just a bit? Thanks.

Back to business. The transplants are doing pretty well at this point, even with the brutal heat. I'm watering every morning, and I've noticed that leaf miners have already discovered the lower leaves of a few plants.

So, let's talk about fertilizing tomatoes. I don't want to complicate this issue, because it's actually not that complicated. I've tried a lot of different things over the years—I've used Epsom salt to deliver a shot of magnesium, sprinkled powdered milk on the ground for calcium, made my own compost and used bagged compost, and used both organic and synthetic fertilizers. The truth is, you can grow excellent tomatoes any number of ways, with any number of fertilizer programs and products. Some of this depends on you.

Here are some basic approaches to fertilizer:

1. When you plant, you can dress the soil with a band of granular fertilizer at planting time. I didn't do this because I added organic fertilizer amendments straight to my soil (the compost, bone meal and blood meal). But if you're using a sterile soil mix based on sphagnum or coconut coir, you'll want to fertilize at planting time.

2. Like all vegetable fertilizers, tomato fertilizer should have a higher second number (phosphorus) than first number (nitrogen). For example, the label might read 6-8-8 or 3-4-6. This represents the percentage by weight of the three major macronutrients all plants need to grow: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Nitrogen encourages leaf growth at the expense of fruit; phosphorus encourages strong fruit and flowers; and potassium strengthens the plant and contributes to fruit growth. For tomatoes, beware of fertilizers that contain too much nitrogen. Nitrogen contributes to a condition called blossom end rot, which you don't want.

3. Start a regular fertilizer program two to four weeks after transplanting. You can use an organic granular fertilizer (many people like Espoma's Tomato Tone, which is organic), or you can you use any balanced vegetable fertilizer. With granular fertilizer, side dress according to label directions. Follow label directions for a liquid, hose-end fertilizer. In general, you can expect to fertilize every other week at full strength or weekly at half strength.

4. Starter solutions can help at transplant time to get the tomatoes off to a quick start. Fertilome makes a product containing hormones that stimulate root growth, or you can use SuperThrive or a plant starter solution at transplant time. These products contain vitamin B-1, which encourages early root growth. This isn't necessary, but I've had good results in the past with these products.

5. Tomatoes need proper amounts of calcium and magnesium to bloom well. Calcium deficiencies result in blossom end rot, which will destroy your fruit. Dolomite (which I've used as a soil amendment) supplies both calcium and magnesium, and bone meal also supplies calcium. However--and this is important--your watering habits are critical when it comes to maintaining the right levels of calcium in the plant. Even if you have adequate calcium in the soil and in the plant itself, improper watering can still result in a calcium deficiency in the fruit. I'll talk more about this when I get to watering, but for now keep your watering absolutely consistent. Chances are, if you've amended your container mix with dolomite and you're feeding with a balanced vegetable fertilizer, your plant will have access to plenty of calcium and magnesium.

6. Foliar sprays containing micronutrients and calcium chloride can be used early in the growing season. Personally, I don't use foliar sprays for tomatoes, so I don't have any experience with it, but I know that commercial farms use these products. I would love to hear from someone who had experience with either ...

7. Finally, if you're really worried about optimal nutrient levels, have your soil professionally tested. This is really only necessary for in-ground tomatoes. Test results will indicate the levels of all macronutrients, as well as pH and other factors necessary for growth. Follow the lab's recommendations regarding supplementation.

It feels like there should be more, right? But fertilizing and feeding tomatoes only has to be as complicated as you want it to be. I guarantee you can grow wonderful, tasty tomatoes with a bag of standard granular vegetable fertilizer ...

Planting Tomatoes

2009-10-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

So they're in the ground now. In a way, the most difficult part is over ... at least in my experience, it's harder to take a plant from a seed to a successful transplant than it is to care for tomatoes once they're in the ground. Seedlings have to be watered once, sometimes twice a day ... they need to be carried outside every day ... and sometimes, they just up and die for no good reason.

But once in the ground, things start to get easier and less time intensive. For the in-ground tomatoes (Homestead 24), I outlined the growing area in old bricks, then dug a deep hole and filled it with the following ingredients:

2 parts sphagnum peat moss
2 parts Black Cow compost
1 part perlite
dolomite
bone meal
blood meal

I next did the two containers (see below). I used 25-gallon containers I found at a local tree nursery. They had a big pile of old containers out back and let me snag two--this was actually the smallest size they had, but you can also grow good tomatoes in 10-gallon containers. For the potting mix, I used the same ingredients and mixed it up straight in the container with my hands and a shovel. Once the dry ingredients were combined, I watered it thoroughly and put the tower in position. The green stakes on the side are pounded into the ground outside the container and tied to the tower. I wanted to give it extra stability for later on.

The next few days will be crucial to get the young transplants established. When you transplant tomatoes (or any plant, really), you should water every morning. With tomatoes, watering takes on special importance because improper and inconsistent watering will actually ruin your harvest. More on that later.

I've also gotten a few letters with questions about fertilizer and feeding tomatoes. I'm going to start on that soon ... even though that's kind of like jogging blind-folded through a mine field. I've talked to dozens of people who grow great tomatoes, and I have yet to find anybody who does it exactly the same way—but people have strong opinions nonetheless.

Yet I will say this: I believe well-fed tomatoes begin with the soil. That's why I put so much work into mixing up and amending my soil. The compost is a natural, organic fertilizer that provides macro and minor elements; the blood meal provides nitrogen for early leaf growth, and the bone meal provides phosphorous and calcium for later. Still, there's plenty to say about fertilizer ...

Up next: The Nutritional Needs of Tomatoes

Day 22: Planting Time

2009-10-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! It's finally time ... Guess where I'll be Saturday afternoon?

The little seedlings that I sprouted 22 days ago are now 8-10 inches tall. They've been growing rapidly since I started taking them outside, and they're ready to go into the ground. Fortunately, the weather has cooperated by cooling off, so this weekend should be a great time to plant tomatoes.

(But don't worry if you can't do it this weekend: you can plant tomatoes any time through early January and still get fruit.)

Remember when you're planting tomatoes to strip off a few of the lower leaves and bury the plant fairly deep into the soil. New roots will form along the buried stem and you'll get a stronger vine all around. After you've planted your tomatoes, water every morning to establish them. And don't hit the young plants with a giant dose of fertilizer (especially strong chemical fertilizer). You'll burn their roots. Wait a bit to start feeding them.

If it's seemed like a lot of work until this point (preparing the soil, building cages, etc.), don't worry. The fun part is about to begin.

Up next: My Planting Weekend

Staking Up Your Tomatoes

2009-10-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

I'm just loving this weather. I walked outside last night after dark into a mild, cool night. Gone was that warm, fuzzy blanket of heat that lays over South Florida all summer. I've been waiting for this change for a while—and the weather people said it was coming—but it's still nice when it happens. That means it's finally almost time to put tomatoes outside.

So let's talk about staking up your tomatoes. I've mentioned it a few times, but if you have good soil and good sun (at least 6 hours of direct sun), and you're feeding healthy plants, your tomatoes will get LARGE. They'll have to be staked up and trimmed as they grow. I've found from bitter experience that you want to build the infrastructure when you plant—it's hard to play catch up with a ravenous vine.

I've seen dozens of ways to stake up tomatoes. Some people without much room even grow the vine up a single pole, almost like bonsai tomato. Others build cages from wood or PVC tubing. As for me, I use concrete reinforcing wire.

I built my cages about six years ago, and I reuse them every year. Each cage is 5' tall, and I sometimes stack two, one on top of the other, for really large vines. I don't mind using a ladder to reach the top of my vine—it kind of makes me feel like Jack and the Beanstalk. Building cages is easy, as long as you have bolt cutters or some other way to cut the wire, and you can handle a bit of heavy lifting (or have someone else who can do it for you).

To build your own, buy a roll of concrete reinforcing wire from the construction section of your local home improvement center. It's heavy stuff and it comes in big rolls, so buy the smallest roll possible. When you get home, unroll it, snip off sections of 8 squares and roll it into round cages, each about 18" in diameter. When I did mine, I left horizontal pieces of wire sticking out when I snipped it, then wrapped those around the vertical wire to hold it all together.

This isn't exactly a fun job, and it does require moving heavy wire, plus cutting and bending wire. But once you do it, you'll never need to do it again. My cages aren't pretty, but they really work. The holes between the wires are big enough I can get my hand in the middle, and they're strong enough to support even the biggest harvest.

These cages will tip over, however, if they're not anchored into the ground. So during installation, I'll hammer a stake into the ground and tie it to the cage with rope or twine. I've never had one tip over.

Of course this isn't the only way to do it. You can grow tomatoes on pretty much any vertical surface that's strong enough to support their weight. One of the best growers I ever saw grew some of her vines along wires strung across her yard. My only advice as you're considering staking systems is to make sure 1) it's strong and 2) it can be firmly anchored to the ground and 3) you have complete access to the vine. I would also avoid treated lumber and lattice, partly because of the chemicals and partly because it's impossible to reach the plant if it grows through the teensy little latticework.

Up next: Time to plant!

Tomatoes and the EarthBox

2009-09-28T05:35:00.001-07:00

Here we are at Day 18 ... The seedlings are spending most of the day outside now, in full sun. I'm watering every morning, with a liquid fertilizer (I'm using Fox Farm Grow Big). I've had a bit of stretching with some of the varieties. Truthfully, I'm a little mystified by it ... they've been getting good light since they sprouted, and it's only a few of the varieties. In the picture, you can see the thin bamboo skewers I'm using to help them stay upright.

So, back the GTP (or Grand Tomato Plan). My final growing method this year will be with an EarthBox. I know lots of people who are near fanatics about EarthBoxes, and I think they're a great way to get started vegetable gardening in containers. EarthBoxes are self-watering and self-feeding container systems, large enough to grow two tomato plants. The basic EarthBox costs about $30, not including shipping. If you want to purchase the complete package (including soil and amendments), the cost increases to between $55 and $60. Finally, the company sells a staking system that is designed to use with the box and costs about $40 in all (including casters). You can, however, make your own staking system if you're a little bit handy.

Setting up and maintaining an EarthBox is easy: it's a two-layered system with the growing media suspended over a water reservoir. The soil wicks water up from the reservoir as needed, and a plastic cover over the top of the container prevents evaporation. You add granular fertilizer and dolomite to the soil when you assemble the box, and the movement of water through the soil slowly dissolves the nutrients so you only have to feed your plants that one time. Once the box is assembled, you simply add water to keep the water reservoir full. Easy-peasy.

So that's it ... in-ground, containers, and the EarthBox. The final piece of preparation involves some kind of staking system. Indeterminate tomatoes need to be staked up as they grow. The first time I tried to grow tomatoes here, I used the standard, store-bought tomato cage. It was a disaster. My vines outgrew the flimsy cage long before the first flower, and they ended up laying on the ground and rotting. You'll need something more substantial than that.

Up next: My non-patented tomato staking system.

Tomatoes in Containers

2009-09-25T05:54:00.000-07:00

It took me a while to warm up to the idea of growing tomatoes in containers, but once I did, I kind of fell in love with it. Containers have definite advantages ... the biggest one, of course, is that you completely control the soil environment, so there's no soil-borne pests or diseases. If you want to grow the exotic heirlooms and beefsteaks, containers make it easy.

That said, there are drawbacks to containers. They tip over, especially near the end of the season when your vines are heavy with fruit. But you know what they say about planning ahead ... set up your containers right the first time, and you'll only have to worry about this if a hurricane hits. In which case tomatoes will be least of your problems.

Also, containers will need to be watered more frequently (at least daily by the end of the season), and every so often, you'll have to flush the container to remove accumulated fertilizer salts.

Container Soil

In some ways, it's easier to deal with the dirt issue in containers because, one way or another, you have to provide it. First off, you can grow excellent tomatoes in a bagged soil mix. Just pick up a few big bags and you're good to go. Once again, avoid mixes with moisture retention crystals or you risk ruining your harvest.

Or you can blend your own soil mix. Here's mine:

2 parts sphagnum peat
2 parts compost
1-1.5 parts perlite
dolomite lime (1/2-cup per 5 gallons)
bone meal and blood meal

This mix provides macro- and micronutrients from the compost and the amendments of bone and blood meal. It is, however, deficient in potassium, so I will be using a general organic fertilizer throughout the season. As a rule, I try to keep my grow as organic as possible, so I like to build a strong soil with lots of good, organic nutrients.

If you aren't concerned with organic tomatoes, you could skip the compost and the bone and blood meals and add a high-quality controlled-release fertilizer like Osmocote, along with some micronutrient powder, and you'd have a very complete, fast-draining mix. Or you could skip any added fertilizer at all (but not the lime!) and just feed your tomatoes throughout the season. Some of this depends on your skill level with growing in containers and some on your preferences.

Later, I'll get into more depth on organic fertilizers versus synthetic fertilizers and feeding tomatoes in general.

Tips for Container Culture

When you're setting up your containers, here are a few ways to help ensure success:

Go big. Use at least 10 gallon containers, if not bigger. Your tomatoes will grow as large as the container allows, and you want big plants, right? Also, the bigger the container, the heavier it is, so it'll be less likely to tip over.
Make room for staking. I've seen a few ways to stake up container-grown tomatoes. You can build a cage around the container—which will displace the tomatoes' weight to outside the container—or you can install the cage in the container and anchor it to the ground. More on staking up tomatoes later, but for now, make sure you've got room for it.
Don't bother with drainage material in the bottom of the container. I've caught a lot of grief for this recommendation, but it's true. Container grown plants don't need drainage substrate in the bottom, and in fact, don't want it. In every soil medium—the ground, a potted plant—there is a level at which the soil's "wicking" ability to suck water upward (think about a paper towel dipped in water) balances the downward gravitational pull. This is called the perched water table. Below the perched water table, the soil is saturated with water, which can suffocate plant roots and encourage root rot. Above this level is usable soil. By adding a gravel substrate, instead of increasing drainage, you're actually moving the perched water table UP in the container, so the plant has even less room to grow. In other words, skip the rocks.
Get new soil. Don't grow tomatoes in last year's soil, or in soil that has previously grown peppers of any variety or eggplants. Two reasons: the soil becomes exhausted and there is increased chance of disease.

Up Next: Tomatoes and the EarthBox ...

Tomatoes Three Ways

2009-09-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

I'm going to spend the next week or so running seedlings around ... they go inside when it rains and at night. They go outside when it's sunny. But there's still plenty of stuff to do in the meantime. So now I guess it's finally time to lay out the Grand Tomato Plan (henceforth, GTP).

I'm doing four varieties this year, and none are rated for disease or pest resistance. If you missed it in the earlier post, I'm growing Marvel Stripe (an heirloom, bicolor tomato), Giant Belgium (a huge beefsteak), Homestead 24 (bred for hot weather), and a yellow tomato called Azoychka. If you're doing a more popular variety (e.g., Celebrity, Better Boy, cherry, or Roma), don't worry. All the following still applies.

Because this blog is experimental, I'm going to be using three methods to grow my tomatoes:

The ground (Homestead 24)
Big containers (Marvel Stripe and Giant Belgium)
EarthBox (Azoychka)

Each of these requires a slightly different approach, so over the next three days, I'm going to take it one by one and talk about how to set up each different grow. I'll start with growing in the ground.

I keep saying that South Florida has challenging soil. Here's why. Although there are a few different soil types around South Florida, for the most part, our native soil was derived from oolitic limestone, which runs like a rocky spine down the Florida peninsula. Combined with sand, rock, muck and marl in various degrees, this means our soil 1) is very alkaline (the pH is above seven) and 2) does not transport nutrients and oxygen well to the plants' root zone. Additionally, parasitic bugs called nematodes are ubiquitous.

All of this is bad for tomatoes.

So if you're growing in the ground, it's imperative to improve the soil before you plant. Here's why:

It will lower the pH. Don't underestimate the importance of soil pH. Tomatoes prefer a pH of about 6.0 to 6.5. Our soil ranges from 7.5 to higher. Neutral is 7.0. This can dramatically affect the availability of nutrients and reduce your yield.
It will add organic matter. Tomatoes are heavy feeders, and they absolutely thrive in an environment that's loaded with nutrients—hence, lots of decaying organic material.
It will fend off nematodes. Nematodes don't like organic matter because it's acidic (a pH lower than seven). By amending your soil, you'll reduce the nematode micropopulation to a manageable level, so you can still get a good harvest before the plant succumbs.

But here's where it gets a little tricky ... there are as many opinions on how to improve soil as there are people growing tomatoes. And each back yard can be different, so what works for me might not work for you. Nevertheless, there are a few soil amendments that you'll see crop up again and again. I'll list them here, and then I'll tell you which ones I'm using.

Sphagnum peat moss. This is the base ingredient for most bagged soilless potting mixes. It's derived from peat bogs in Canada and elsewhere. It's rich in organic material, but it's too acidic for excellent tomatoes and doesn't contain adequate nutrients. You can buy it in big blocks from most garden centers. Lambert's is the brand I use.
Pine bark fines. Pine bark fines are used to provide structure to soil. They are small pieces of pine that are partially composted. Pine bark fines decompose slower than sphagnum moss, so they don't compact as quickly and strangle the plant's roots. However, pine bark fines are hard to find and tend to be expensive.
Compost. There are many kinds of compost: composted cow manure, composted chicken manure, forest products, and of course, you can make your own from a simple compost pile. Compost is rich in nutrients and is great stuff. However, if you plan on using added fertilizer (which most people do), it's not strictly necessary.
Perlite. Perlite is a natural mineral that is sterile, non-absorbent and lightweight. It's used to increase the aeration of soil, thus making more oxygen available to the plant (which is crucial). Perlite is often the second ingredient in most bagged potting mixes.
Lime. Ah, the Great Lime Question. There are two kinds of lime commonly sold for horticultural purposes: hydrated and dolomitic. I'll handle this in a different post, but for now, lime is used to raise the pH of sphagnum moss and provide calcium and magnesium to tomatoes. And there is a difference between the two, so don't use them interchangeably.
Organic fertilizers. There are many additives people use to add nutrients to their base soil. These include blood meal (nitrogen), bone meal (calcium and phosphorous), worm castings, Epsom salt (magnesium), even powdered milk (calcium again) and lots of others. (If you're getting the idea that tomatoes like calcium, you'd be right.)

This next part is like cooking a big stew. You throw ingredients into the pot and wait for a bit, except in this case the "pot" is either a big hole in the ground or a raised bed. Personally, I plan to dig a big hole, add a 50 lb. bag of composted cow manure (I use Black Cow, available in most garden centers), add about the same amount sphagnum peat moss, mix in a gallon or two of perlite, add two cupfuls of dolomitic lime to adjust the pH, mix in some bone and blood meal, and then mulch it over well. This basic mix is pH adjusted, well aerated, rich in organic material, and provides nitrogen, calcium and phosphorous. This doesn't mean, however, that I won't be using fertilizer. I'll still fertilize the tomatoes, but I'll use less.

Because it's best to amend your soil a week or two before you actually plant to let things simmer, I'll probably handle it this weekend. Photos to come ...

One note about using regular bagged potting mix. I see lots of people buying tomato plants and a bag of potting soil. This is fine. Miracle-Gro potting soil and others are often amended with slow-release fertilizer and perlite already, so they do some of the work for you. My only caution here is to avoid bagged potting mixes with added water crystals. These crystals hold too much water near the root zone, and you risk ruining your fruit. So if you want to make life a bit easier on yourself and just pick up a bag of potting mix, make sure to look for a brand that doesn't contain water crystals. Personally, I like Fafard, but there are lots of others out there.

And that's it!

Up tomorrow: Container Culture

Day 12: Life Is Hard

2009-09-22T06:26:00.000-07:00

It's Day 12 now, and things are happening.

Last night, I stepped all the seedlings up from their 2" Jiffy pots into 4" Jiffy pots and further thinned them out. There's now only one or two seedlings per pot. I used my favorite bagged potting soil (Fafard Professional Mix), but you can use any potting mix. I like Fafard because it has no added fertilizer, so I can control the nutrient environment better. I sweetened the mix with a sprinkle of hydrated lime to raise the pH and started feeding the seedlings with a weak organic liquid fertilizer (I use Fox Farm Grow Big). If you use a potting soil that has fertilizer included—like the ubiquitous Miracle-Gro—skip the feeding.

The seedlings are now back to 2" tall. Here's why they shrunk ... tomatoes that grow from vines and need to be staked up or supported are called indeterminate tomatoes, whereas tomatoes that grow from a bush and ripen all at once are known as determinate tomatoes. The most popular variety by far (and the only kind I'm growing) are indeterminate. Whenever you transplant an indeterminate tomato, bury a portion of the existing stem under the new soil. New roots will spring from the buried stem, making the plant stronger. I buried my seedlings an inch or so, so they're stubbier and stronger than before.

With the transplant finished, it's time to start hardening off the seedlings. This process will slowly acclimate the young tomato plants to the harsher conditions outside. Until now, they've been ridiculously pampered inside ... their own little grow light, no wind, no direct sunlight. If I moved them outside now, they'd never survive. So to harden them off, I'm moving them outside in the morning and leaving them in a sunny, protected part of my yard. For the next two weeks or so, I'll keep them outside for a longer period every day, until they're finally ready to move outside for good.

This means I'm finally ready to start preparing for their lives outside. Here's the deal with tomatoes in South Florida: we have a lot of advantages, but our native soil is not one of them. I'll leave the more detailed explanation for tomorrow, but here's the basic issue: you either grow in large containers, or you have to amend and improve the soil. Either way, plan on lugging around bags of soil amendments or potting mix.

One final thought about growing straight in the ground ... our native soil is also teeming with parasitic bugs called nematodes, which live in the ground and attack plant roots. These things love tomatoes, and infection is almost guaranteed. Infected plants begin to lose leaves from the bottom up.

Fortunately, growers have developed varieties that are at least partly resistant to nematodes. When you're shopping for tomato plants, you might see the letters "VFN" after the varietal name. These letters mean the plants have been bred for resistance to three common problems: verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and nematodes. Most experts recommend using VFN-resistant plants in the ground in South Florida. Fortunately, some of the most popular homegrown tomato varieties—Celebrity VFN and Better Boy VFN—have both been bred for their resistance. Cherry tomatoes, too, don't seem especially bothered by nematodes.

Sadly, many of the beefsteak and heirloom tomatoes that people love are not resistant. So if you're really attached to growing these more exotic varieties, I'd recommend setting up a large container instead of growing in the ground. But don't worry—it's the same amount of work, and you'll still get plenty of fruit.

Up tomorrow: Tomatoes Three Ways.

Day 8: Snip, Snip, My Lovelies

2009-09-18T05:58:00.000-07:00

Today I thinned the Jiffy Pots. The seedlings are almost 3" tall now and beginning to put out their first "true" leaves. I didn't completely thin the pots yet—I left the best two or three seedlings in every pot. When it becomes apparent which one is healthier, I'll cut the remaining seedlings and leave just one in each pot.

Very soon—next week—we'll get into the most important part of growing tomatoes here in South Florida: soil. We have everything here ... almost. The one thing we don't have is good soil. Our native soil tends to be alkaline (with a high pH), and it's not particularly good when it comes to drainage or transporting nutrients to plants. Our native plants are evolved to deal with this, but if you want to grow decent tomatoes, you'll have to do something about our soil.

So stay tuned next week as this blog gets dirty.

Seedlings, Day 5

2009-09-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

The little pots of seedlings are coming along well—they spend their days basking in light. I'm keeping the soil evenly moist, but not soaked, which means I'm watering about every other day. The frequency of watering depends on your soil mix ... I'm using a fast-draining mix with lots of perlite, so I might have to water a little more frequently.

The seedlings pictured here are about 2" high, maybe a little more. At this point, the first true leaves still haven't emerged, but will probably do so in the next few days. They're also getting a little crowded, so I'll thin them out soon and leave just a few in every pot. Later, I'll thin them again, leaving just one in every pot. When you thin tomato seedlings, don't pull the young plants from the soil. You might accidentally pull up the whole clump. Instead, use scissors to snip them off. Take the smallest and weakest looking and leave the ones with the thickest, strongest stems and biggest leaves.

Seedlings Without Lights

2009-09-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a reader in Boca Raton who asked an excellent question: "How do I get seedlings started indoors without grow lights?"

Even though I use lights for my seedlings, they aren't absolutely necessary. In fact, my best year was done without lights.

The best advice I can give if you don't have lights is to use the sun. Sprout your seedlings indoors as you normally would, then at about day 2 or 3, move them outside during the day. Find a spot with full sunlight, but not too windy. The sun, after all, is by far the best grow light, and your plants will be tougher because of their exposure to wind. In effect, you'll be hardening off the seedlings from Day 2 or so.

There are a few caveats, however. If there is a chance of rain, better to be safe than sorry and leave them inside that day. September rain can easily swamp your seedlings. Also, I wouldn't leave them outside overnight—what's the point of tempting any nocturnal beasties?

Why not just keep them inside on a windowsill? The truth is, you probably won't get enough light and your seedlings will stretch. Tomatoes like full sunlight from the moment they emerge. Unless you have an unobstructed south-facing window, it's unlikely you'll get enough light for truly healthy seedlings.

So it's a little more work to get seedlings underway without lights, but only because you have to schlep them outside in the morning and bring them back in later. But when you're eating fresh, homegrown tomatoes later this season, it'll be worth it.

P.S. It's still too early to plant outside, so hold off for a bit longer!

Sprouts!

2009-09-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

So it took four days, but all of my Giant Belgium, Homestead 24 and Marvel Stripe seeds have sprouted. None of the Azoychka have, but I suspect it's because the seeds were old. I just might not be growing that variety this year after all.

The seedlings in this picture are about two days old. At this point, no true leaves have emerged, and the seedlings are about 1" tall and very delicate. I'm growing them inside, under fluorescent grow lights. I'm using compact fluorescent lights with a reflector, positioned a few inches over the leaves. Currently, the light-cycle is 16 hours on and 8 hours off.

I expect it will take about month before these plants are ready to be transplanted outside, and truthfully, that's just about right for planting tomatoes here (or even still a little early). I don't know about anybody else, but I know we've had torrential downpours at my house every night this week. That kind of rain just isn't good for young tomato plants, and I hope the people who are planting already will keep their plants.

In any event, my next few weeks will be spent on raising up the best seedlings possible. The goal here is to produce bushy, tough plants that can handle the transition outside with no problem. But for now—at least for today—there's nothing to do but watch the tender young seedlings stretch toward the light and shed their seed pods.

Starting Tomato Seeds

2009-09-10T06:12:00.001-07:00

When it comes to growing plants from seed, tomatoes are among the most rewarding. For one thing, I still find it hard to fathom that the tiny seedling of September will grow into the huge vine of January. Seeds in general are tiny miracles, but tomato seeds have at least one special attribute: they often germinate very quickly (sometimes as quickly as 4 days). This is good for impatient people like me.

I started my seeds on September 6, a little less than a week ago, in a custom-blended soilless seedling mix. You can certainly buy your own seedling media, but I make my own because it's cheaper. With the exception of the bat guano, you can find all of the ingredients listed below in almost any garden center. My seedling mix this year was comprised of:

2 parts sphagnum peat moss
1 part perlite
dolomite lime
bat guano

The lime raises the pH as well as supplies calcium and magnesium—both of which are important for tomatoes (much more on that later). The bat guano is an organic, low-strength fertilizer that supplies nutrients to the developing seedling, which strengthens the plant. Don't worry, though. You don't need guano to start seeds. In fact, you should be careful of any fertilizer in a seedling mix--too much fertilizer results in "hot" soil that can easily kill young seedlings.

Once my mix was complete, I filled a tray full of 2" Jiffy pots and sowed the tomato seeds about 1/4-inch deep. My first really successful year, I started out with cherry, plum, and Big Boy tomatoes. I'd highly recommend these varieties--they are heavy producers and generally forgiving. This year, however, I'm going a little exotic and planting four varieties that I ordered from the Tomato Growers Supply Company:

Azoychka, a yellow, early season tomato with citrus notes
Homestead 24, a red tomato bred especially for hot climates like South Florida
Marvel Stripe, a large heirloom tomato with striped yellow and red fruit
Giant Belgium, a ginormous red beefsteak tomato with fruit that weighs 2 lbs.

In all, I spent about $13 on seeds and probably a few bucks on soil and Jiffy pots. So far, I'm still well within budget ...

Up tomorrow: the first seedlings emerge.

Getting Started

2009-09-04T05:52:00.000-07:00

The very first time I grew a tomato plant in South Florida, I did the same thing most people probably do: I picked up a tomato plant from my local garden center, dropped it in the ground with a store-bought tomato cage, watered it and hoped for the best.

My results were less than spectacular.

But I had no idea where that first vine would lead: mail order seed packets of exotic seeds, hours spent reading about soil amendments and the tomato plant's nutritional requirements, the construction of tomato towers from concrete reinforcing wire, and finally, winters spent with every spare surface covered with fresh tomatoes.

I got hooked.

I'm starting this blog to keep peace in my house: at some point, my wife will ban "tomato talk" this winter, and I can't say I blame her. I have a nearly boundless, annoying enthusiasm for these sorts of things. So my hope is to find people who are like me, who like to talk tomatoes. I'll share the things I've learned, and hopefully I'll learn some new things.

But now, let's get down to business. The season is almost upon us, and it's time to start making plans. It's time to make that first decision: Do you start from seed, or do you buy an established plant from the local garden center?

There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

Starting from seed is more labor- and time-intensive. It takes a little bit of skill to get them established. By contrast, starter plants are ready to go straight into the ground. No muss, no fuss.

Yet once you get the hang of it, your own seedlings will almost certainly be more vigorous than garden-center plants. Unfortunately, garden-center plants are often overgrown and some of them have even begun to blossom already. You should never buy a tomato plant with fruit already on it—the plant will not yield as well as one that had a normal adolescence.

To me, though, the biggest advantage to starting from seed is that you can grow dozens of varieties of tomatoes, from giant beefsteak to black cherry to bicolor and striped fruits. Garden centers tend to be limited to one or two varieties, and well, I like to grow new things. So I grow from seed.

Here's my final word for today: I was in a garden center this morning and I saw rows and rows of nice-looking tomato plants for sale. But a word of caution is in order. It's still too early to put tomato plants in the ground in South Florida. Even if the vine grows into a monster by October (which is likely), the nights are still too warm for many varieties of tomato to set fruit. You'll end up carpeting the ground with dropped tomato blossoms, which I know from hard experience is a depressing sight.

So hold off for a little bit. And if you find that you can't, order your seeds and follow along as I get mine underway ...