A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum Tomato Tips for Teria

For your first experience with tomatoes buy a started plant or two. Buy from a grower at your farmer's market and ask them for growing advice. Choose a full size and a mini variety.

Tips I've learned:

Plant the tomato in the ground so its first set of leaves are just above the soil.

Keep the soil moist and mulch to help hold moisture. Freshly mowed untreated grass applied 2 inches deep and replaced as needed is a cheap and dependable source for a veggie garden.

Tomato (and peppers if they are a future choice)plants should not be planted in the same spot every year. Plan two sunny spots for this crop. In 2007 use one spot for planting while enriching and saving the second spot for 2008. In 2008 you will use the saved spot and enrich but not use the 2007 spot. Rotation is done to cut down on disease and put back nutrients since tomatoes are heavy feeders. Since you are just starting your yard you can save room for rotating veggies. Since this leaves a bare space one can either use containers of annuals here or plant annual herbs like basil and parsley to go with those tomatoes.

Borage is a excellant companion plant too!!!

Thanks for the tips. I'll plan to go to the conservatory and get some nice plants. I'm waiting another 2 weeks as I'm afraid of frost. As for the rotation (a great suggestion) would a cover crop work? Is that what you were suggesting for the basil etc..? I've got some nasturtium seeds could these work? Thanks again for the warm welcome this is an amazing site.

What does one do with borage?

I love to grow Borage...
It has the most prettiest blue flowers..
And they attrack beneficial bees and insects
to the garden..

I don't eat them, but the flowers are edible.
and can be frozen into water or lemonade ice cubes
and used in punches or mixed drinks..
Looks really cute..

Can be put in salads', said to have a cucumbery/peppery *I think* taste....

(I put a post up in the front of
some that I grow, it can get pretty tall)

And I let mine go to seed, the seed falls to the
ground/top of soil, and next season in the spring
time I have a bazillion babies.... *and they can
handle a bit of cool temps too*

I've heard that growing onions between your tomato plants can produce better tasting tomatoes. I'm trying it this year.

does the brand of onion matter?? i have some regular yellow onion set I could use? I am ALWAYs interested in better tomatoes.