Hastypearl in the Tomato Garden!
Well, I know that its not universally true, but its getting Time in Texas,
that gardeners start getting itchy to get their hands dirty.
I Am One of Those :)
After almost 40 years of gardening, I finally got a little help
and for the last two years, hired two men,
to spend two days, cutting back my perennials.
I have miles and miles of them and
I cant TELL you how much weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.
That subject could be its own blog posting...but if you are
burdened with an area in your life...get help!
It has made being in the garden Joyous again,
and given me back some time for other areas in my life that I enjoy,
like being Hasty in my art studio:)
So, our local grocery store has recently enlarged
and added a beautiful garden center.
I was extremely surprised this week,
to find a number of Heirloom varieties of Tomatoes
and like a moth to the flame...I bought them!
Heirlooms tomatoes are often less acidic, which my body loves,
and also usually, a bit smaller in size.
So, if you are looking for one of those softball sized tomatoes,
I don't think that Heirlooms will accomplish that.
Otherwise, the flavors, colors and shapes are Amazing!
One thing that you can do to get your tomatoes up and going and larger
at planting time, is to get them into pots,
larger than the size that they generally come in.
Sure death for most plants, is to plant them below the crown,
which is the junction where they were growing when you bought them
(unless they were originally planted too deep).
Tomatoes on the other hand, love to be planted deeply
and will just sprout new roots along the buried stems.
More roots, stronger plant!
I took my small plants, some empty 1 gallon buckets that I had saved
from previous purchases, my shovel and I headed for my soil pile.
Every couple of years, I have a load delivered
that is mostly compost and fertile soil.
It waits patiently for me to use up, and then I get another delivery!
That's not necessary to have of course,
a nice bag of potting soil will do the trick.
I placed a small amount of soil in the bottom of the pot
and then placed the small plant deep in the bottom of the pot.
You can see how much of the stem that got covered with soil.
Don't forget to place the plant identification tag in its pot.
There's no WAY that you will remember which is which
...even though you're sure that you will!
After I got all of the transplanting done,
I moved them into the greenhouse
and gave them a good drink of water.
A nice sunny window will accomplish the same thing.
It will be fun to see the plant begin to settle
into its new pot and begin to Grow.
Don't be surprised, if you even see a
beautiful yellow blossom appear, very soon!
I will periodically give them a little sip of some organic food.
There are lots on the market, FINALLY! :)
When you are past your last frost,
you can pop them into the garden
and just think how much farther along the plants will be,
than if you were to plant the small plants.
The Bigger at planting, the sooner you'll harvest those Juicy Tomatoes!
Don't think that you have to have a separate Vegetable garden.
Tomatoes look fantastic next to your flowers, shrubs, perennials or roses.
I love a full bed mixed with wonderful variety and surprises.
This little project, is a wonderful thing to do with your little ones.
There's SO MUCH to learn from gardening.
It hurts me to think how many children never eat a tomato
or even know where one comes from.
I Hope that you enjoyed this garden project
and that reading this posting
got you all Itchy for Spring!
If its still a long way off for you, most nurseries will begin
carrying bulbs and seeds that you can force to bloom, right on a windowsill.
Go talk to any nursery worker bee and you will see that
they LOVE to teach you how to plant!
Send me some pics of your garden...and tomatoes!
I would LOVE to see them :)
.....as always...thanks for stopping by....Laura
ps. You will notice along the right side of this posting, lots of opportunities to follow hastypearl.
If you are into FB, or Pinterest or Instagram, I am, too!
I'd love for you to add me to your list!
There's so much Hastiness to share :)
