Growing Healthy Tomato Plants
Happy Friday!! I hope y’all have had a super week and are looking forward to a nice weekend. I’m so excited to show you how my tomato plants are growing. This is such a miracle for my brown-thumbed-self.
Aren’t they pretty? I think I might have to experiment with fried green tomatoes soon. 🙂 Yum!
This is right after we planted the tomato plants. See how wilted and droopy they are? I was freaking out because I didn’t know why they were doing that. I figured out that I was over-watering them. Oops!
Normally, I forget to water and everything gets a “fried” look, so I was going to the other extreme.
Look at these gorgeous tomato plants! They are getting so tall and strong.
How we plant our tomato plants…
- Dig holes about 1 1/2 feet deep with a post hole digger…that was my hubby’s job.
- Add approximately 6 inches of goat manure {pronounced man-ur-ay} and then put a few inches soil on top of the manure. This is so the acid in the goat/chicken poo doesn’t burn up the plants. Yes, we know this from experience. Ahem.
- Place the plant in the hole and fill in with garden soil. Water generously with rain water or water that has been sitting for a day or two.
- Add tomato cages when the plants grow taller and begin leaning over.
- Keep the area around the roots clear from weeds and grass.
My dad insists that the gross chemicals in city water will kill plants. I tend to agree.
With these pretty blooms we have a promise of more tomatoes to come. I’ll definitely keep you posted on the tomato production! 🙂
Do you grow tomatoes in your backyard? Have you ever grown them upside down? I’ve always wondered if that really works. 🙂
XO
*****
There is just nothing like a fresh tomato right out of the garden, is there? Beautiful plants, Myra!
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch´s last blog post ..Strawberries and Cream Stuffed French Toast Recipe
I share the joy of having living tomato plants too! I love your pronunciation of “manure.” Classy. :O)
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I am not a fried green tomato fan but my husband loves them. I make fried tomato grave with fried red tomatoes. That is wonderful.
Tomatoes are making an appearance in my garden this year! I live in Zone 5, so it’s too early for me to plant them in the ground. I started seedlings about a month back and they’re chilling out in my sunroom.
I’m starting to worry about them though. They were growing just fine at the beginning, but now they’ve really slowed down. I haven’t seen any growth in two weeks! At least they’re not dampening off…
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Holy cannoli. I can’t even plant them outside until next week, and you already have good-sized green fruit! Lucky you!
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Have you ever tried green tomato pie? Mmmmmm good.
I have seen many tomato plants TRYING to grow upside down, but never one that actually made it.
I’ve seen only one. A woman living on my daughter’s street had a Topsy Turvy last year with beautiful red tomatoes. Hers looked just like the pictures you see. I’m trying two this year because of hers, but it’s too soon to tell how they’ll turn out.
They look great! I am growing tomato plants (and other produce) in pots. I use milk jugs (top cut off for easy filling) to water my plants. I fill with water from the hose and let sit overnight/day. Then I water and fill the jugs up again to let sit until the next day.
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Mmm, can’t wait for tomato season for sure now! Ha! I’ve used the topsy-turvy tomato planters that you see on TV (I can get them at a store in town) and they work wonderfully. I bought one for my daughter who lives in an apartment and they’re perfect for her little balcony.
As for my ground-planted tomatoes, I live in Iowa so the soil does most of the work for me already but I’ve tried my own remedies through the years as well! Before I put the tomato plants in the ground I put a little under a cup of crushed egg shells in first and every few weeks I water them with heavily watered down orange juice. After I plant them, I put wet newspaper down around them and then mulch on top of that. The wet newspaper won’t allow weeds to pop up (a tip to use when you’re planting anything even flowers!) while the mulch holds the moisture in the soil. The rest is just prayin’ for good weather and crossin’ your fingers!
Best of luck with your garden this year :o)
I love eating tomato but the ripe ones actually.. It has a lot of benefits and it can be one of the great spices we can have for every recipe..
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Ok…I am so behind it with our tomatoes this year. Not to self: Get’em planted this week. =)
Looks great.
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Dealing with blossom end rot due to the drought here in TN. Lack of calcium. Praying I can recoup them. :-/
You tomatoes and plants look lovely! Mine…are still in my sunroom growing in their original milk cartons. Sad spindly things. There’s not much sun in my yard….so I never got around to planting them. Thanks for the nudge. If they look good…some day!!!….I’ll send you a pic.
Best wishes for An Extraordinary weekend!
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With artificial plants you don’t need to worry about placement. You won’t have to worry about if your plant will be getting enough sunlight or shade or if it?s too close to a cold window. You decide where it goes and where you feel it looks best – and there it will stay.