Happy fall!
While my neighbors spent this afternoon mowing, edging, and blowing their lawns to impress the trick-or-treating neighbors (I just make sure there's nothing they can trip on, which usually means winding up the hose....and also -- doesn't anyone around here work??!), I spent today saying sayonara to the first tomato plants I ever planted from seed. Experiment officially over.
In August, I posted advice to myself for next year, specifically saying the following about tomatoes:
*Tomatoes can produce earlier in the season if started indoors before the Last Frost Date (LFD) of March 23rd. Same with peppers, squash, and other veggies. July 4th is my goal in 2008.
*To help prevent blossom end rot, amend finely crushed eggshells into the planting holes of tomatoes, squash, and pumpkins. "I will need a mortar and pestle for this," I keep telling Chris.
*Plant tomatoes ONE plant deep, leaving room for companion plantings such as basil and marigolds all around. It's too hard to harvest a messy tangle of tomato plants planted two deep.
*Cage tomatoes properly and early. VERY important!
*Prune suckers off tomato plants to help deter disease and pest problems.
I have a few more tidbits to add to my advice for next year's tomatoes:
*Be brutal with pruning tomato plants. No mercy!
*Thin fruit for best results.
*Clean up split and rotting fruit. Remember the swarming fruit flies? Yep. That's where they came from. And I need to wet down the compost bin.
Of course, I took before and after shots for comparison. Those are my favorite!
BEFORE + AFTER
Looking East
Looking WEST
The praying mantis in the peppers, last week and today. Same one - different colors! The second picture is blurry because it was doing the side-to-side swinging warning me of its disapproval of my proximity.
Oct 31, 2007
The beginning of the end
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5 comments:
I love preying mantises or manti (?). I just saw my first one sever in my garden this year. I had no idea they warn you--I know bumble bees do.
I love your writing. It has a Bridget Jones quality about it. Have your read BJ's Diary? Or seen the movie?
Katie, I'm with you kiddo - just wind up the hose so no one will trip. That's what I did, while my neighbors mowed, edged and removed any fallen leaves.
Raking up the leaves for Trick or Treaters seems wrong to me. When I was a kid at Halloween that crunching as we walked through fallen leaves was an essential part of the atmosphere.
Good luck with next year's tomatoes!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Hi Nan,
Thanks for the compliment. Have never read the book or seen the movie, but you've piqued my interest....
Benjamin -- they are so cool, aren't they!? It's fun when babies hatch in the spring and they're everywhere. Google "praying mantis hummingbird"...disturbing!
Annie -- I'll let the kids crunch up the leaves so they break down more easily in my compost bin! Tomato experiment went fairly well this year. Looking forward to trying new ideas/tomatoes next year!
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