Archive for March 25, 2009
Grow Your Own – Hang ‘Em High, Bury ‘Em Deep
by John Weckerle
As we restlessly await the beginning of growing season, we’ve decided to reinvestigate the prospect of upside-down tomatoes. Previous experiments were of mixed success. Most resulted in very tasty, but very small, fruit. We learned in the meantime that it is important NOT to use standard house plant food or potting soil fortified with house plant food. Our prior efforts involved both. This time, we’re trying an unfortified potting mix, which wasn’t that easy to find (after checking Lowes and Home Depot, we finally found one by Hyponex, an old favorite from many years ago, at the Edgewood Walmart). Houseplant formulations contain too much nitrogen and not enough phosphorous, which results in small fruit. We want big ones this time; last time, our cherry tomatoes were about twice the size of peas, and the beefsteaks were about twice the size of regular cherry tomatoes. »» Grow Your Own – Hang ‘Em High, Bury ‘Em Deep