Our green thumbs are ready and many of us are ready to start gardening our veggies and fruits! However, you don’t want to jump the gun too soon. It’s still a little early for many veggies, including the beloved tomatoes.
Even though the sun is out and temperatures are warming up, the ground is just still a little too cold. Pat says it won’t hurt to plant tomatoes, but it really won’t do any good either.
“Planting in the garden, like tomatoes -probably a little early. I say that because if you go and put a tomato plant in the ground right now, (with the temperature of the ground only in the 50s) it’ll just sit there. I don’t think it’ll actively grow. So there’s really no good reason too.”
In the meantime, we thought we would share one of Pat’s biggest tips for planting a tomato vine. That way when the time comes, you’ll know just how to plant.
“Now here’s a tip: … if you get a 6” (tomato) plant, you should plant 5” into the ground. You strip the leaves off of the plant and stick it all the way down. (The plant will then be able to) root along and that will even out the moisture.”
Evening out the moisture is an important thing, especially for tomatoes. If you don’t plant deep enough, you’ll be left with less-than great tomatoes.
“As we know tomatoes suffer from blossom end rot, where the plant is robbing moisture from the fruit. That’s when you get those black spots on the tomatoes themselves.”
So, what have we learned today?
“Plant them (those tomatoes) deep!”
Bonus tip: Once you plant your tomato plant (deep in the soil,) fertilize only once. Then wait to add a second layer of fertilization when you start seeing set fruit. Otherwise, if you over-fertilize beforehand you’ll end up with lots of plant and very little fruit.
For more Home and Garden tips, check out the highlights from our last show!
https://omny.fm/shows/home-garden/home-and-garden-show-4-25
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