Archive for April 24, 2011
Grow Your Own – Continuing To Start
Leaves forming in crotch (above); this year's first tomatoes (below). The second tomato is below and to the left of the larger one.
by John Weckerle
A happy Easter and belated happy Earth Day to our readers! We’re continuing to get ready for the planting season which, for some crops, will come any day now. In addition to the tomatoes, lettuce, kale, chard, etc. that we bought at Parker’s a couple of weeks ago, and a red cabbage from Home Depot, we’ve sprouted zucchini, yellow squash, more lettuce, spinach, bush beans (Blue Lake), kale (flowering and regular), chard, and snow peas. We use the tray and lid from an old sprouting kit that came with little peat pellets for starting seeds, but now use 4-inch pots instead of the pellets, as this helps eliminate a step between sprouting and planting. Some of our sprouted plants are already spending their days outside and being brought in at night.
The tomatoes we have so far are destined for life in pots, eventually on the deck. We’ve picked up a couple of tips on tomatoes that we’ll pass along. First, when planting: nip off the lowest couple of sets of leaves, and bury the plant up to the next set. Roots will grow out of the buried stem and help establish a stronger and more extensive root system faster. Second, while growing: nip off branches that start in crotches on the plant as soon as they form (see photo). This helps the plant direct more of its energy toward fruit production rather than foliage growth.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that one of our tomato plants has already begun producing, with two tomatoes already started (see photo). We hope this is a harbinger of good things to come!