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To my new tomato website. Same content, better site! Enjoy!

So here's a bit of blog update ... I've been working on a tomato-growing website other than this one for a while now (including importing the old content from this site over to that site). The new site is bigger and will hopefully be better, and it doesn't have the same restrictions as a blog. ALSO, I'm getting closer and closer to starting my late-season garden (the move is progressing nicely), and I won't be updating this blog anymore. Instead, I'll be blogging over there (www.amazingtomatoes.com). So the upshot is that, very soon, I'm going to be automatically redirecting this page to the new site. Which means if you come here in the next day or so and get bounced over there, you'll know why.

And thanks everyone for visiting this blog and helping me build it. I know I've been a bad blogger this season, but life upheaval has intervened. But I've enjoyed every minute of the growing and blogging experience.

See you at the new place!

Am I Like Where's Waldo?

Happy fall, Tomato People! Just a quick note ... I've gotten a few letters from readers asking what was going on with this season. Well, here's the bad news. We are really and truly moving now. We spent all summer house-shopping, found a place six weeks ago, and are closing next week. Then moving. So obviously, I couldn't move a huge veggie garden (it already feels like I'm moving a ridiculous mountain of boxes). This means I have not started any plants this year. The good news is that I'm hoping to still get a late-season garden going at the new place. I've already been scouting around for good light and whatnot. So I hope everyone's season has gotten off to a good start, and hopefully you'll see me around later.

Update from TomatoLand

Hey, everybody! Happy hot weather ... So I've been getting the occasional email with variations on the same question: "Did you get run over by a bus? What happened to you?"

First, no, I did not get run over by a bus. I'm still alive and kicking, although I'm eating a lot fewer fresh veggies because I had to take the garden out already this year. This last season, though, was just wonderful. I grew fewer plants than normal and had to scale back some of my loftier ambitions, but still had one of the most spectacular harvest years I've had in a while. The four main varieties I grew--Better Boy, Paul Robeson, Kellogg's Breakfast, and striped zebra--all performed like mad. I had to give a special notice to the Better Boys, which must have put out 30 pounds of fruit quickly. The Kellogg's Breakfast were also pretty amazing ... huge, juicy orange fruit. Now, it turns out I'm not the world's biggest fan of orange tomatoes (I like my tomatoes a little more acidic), but I'd still grow them again just for the sheer novelty of tomatoes that look like small basketballs.

But why, then? Why did I take the garden out early?

Well, referencing my last post (ye ole robbery), we are in the process of moving. We're relocating locally, but we've been getting the house ready and doing repairs, etc. That unfortunately included taking out the winter garden. Like many people, we have a small yard, so every winter I build an edifice to veggies in the backyard, but every trace of it disappears in the summer so the family can actually use the yard and pool without dodging containers. This year, it happened a bit early so we can have people through the house.

I am also getting a fair number of people enquiring about starting veggie gardens now. Here's my answer: resist the urge. I can already anticipate there are those among you who are outraged at the very idea. "But I've been growing veggies in South Florida summers for years!" Yes, yes. I know. I know people who do it too, and do it well. But in my opinion, that's a game for the experienced grower because there are many more challenges. Nevertheless, if you must plant veggies this summer, stick with hot-season crops like okra, African long beans, and eggplant. In terms of tomatoes, you can also grow the tiny and quite tasty Everglades cherry tomato. The trick is finding seeds, but they're rampant growers even in the summer.

Anyway, thanks everybody for sticking with me this season and it's been great to hear that so many people had great harvests this year. Take that, bland mass-produced tomatoes! We're coming for you ...

Best One-Day Harvest in a Long Time

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

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

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

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

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:

1. 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.
2. 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!

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

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 ...

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

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

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

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)

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

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)

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

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

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.