Top Tips for Trouble-Free Tomatoes 🍅
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- čas přidán 17. 06. 2022
- If you can grow only one crop, make it tomatoes because only by growing your own can you enjoy the very best-tasting varieties and be certain to pick fruits at their most delicious. 🍅
Tomatoes are incredibly rewarding to grow and it's easy sail through to harvest - but only if you know how! Watch on as Ben share's his top tips for growing strong, healthy plants that yield a bountiful harvest. Trouble-free tomatoes are yours for the picking!
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Don't throw away those side shoots (suckers), stick then in a small pot of compost, water well, and in a few weeks you'll be able to plant out another tomato. I grow a blight resistant variety outdoors, Crimson, they have several styles, cherry, plum, beef, and they have survived the worst blight outbreaks down my allotment.
Interesting - I'll have to try Crimson out. I've also tried rooting the side shoots - will see how it goes, thanks.
You really are a joy to watch, Ben!
Your enthusiasm, your knowledge, your friendly personality...everything!
Thank you 😊👍
And thank you for watching! :-)
I built a cattle panel archway at my garden entrance and grow my indeterminate tomatoes up that. I grow 3 on either side and don't prune them so that they fill out the entire archway. Once the plants meet at the top, it's a wonderful experience to walk through, surrounded by greenery and fruit.
Your suckers are very pretty green, but they compete for nutrition and moisture and dont produce fruit. Unless...the main stem gets broken. 🍅 😃 👍
@@nancyarchibald9095 I’ve had suckers fruit consistently. 🤷♀️
That sounds absolutely sublime Eric!
That sound pretty. I added three trellis like that but I have melons and squash on it. Pumpkins, loofah and such. Anything heavy I support with nylon stockings .
That sound pretty. I added three trellis like that but I have melons and squash on it. Pumpkins, loofah and such. Anything heavy I support with nylon stockings .
I’m not the only one who loves the smell of tomato plants! 😂
No :)
I absolutely love the smell
Better that any perfume!
It's one of my favourite smells, it really is. The smell of summer!
Yes! I even have a spray from Demeter that smells of tomato leaves. Nothing beats the real thing, though!
A tip Ben. Always tie in the stem before taking off the side shoots. This way, if you break the stem, you will still have a side shoot to train as the leader
Smart move - thank you! :-)
I have danced with the “disco divas” more than once! They also devour eggplant. I enjoy cutting them in half.
Every minute is knowledge in your videos! Thanks. Concise and no babble.
Escape from this mad world and watch Ben ... Fantastic , thankyou VERY much !
I love the smell from tomato plants 🌱🍅👍
I reuse UK plastic milk bottles filled with water under my tomatoes. I have been doing this for a few years now - it makes a surprising difference - and it's free! I find it helps in 2 ways. 1, the water bottles help to stabilise my greenhouse a bit, they absorb warmth during the day and release their warmth overnight. 2. the bottles cover the soil with tomatoes growing in between, they act as a sort of mulch and reflect and scatter some light upwards on to the tomatoes.
That's a great way to use them. :-)
As always, I love your videos and share your love of tomatoes. If I grow nothing else, I grow tomatoes and some herbs. Our weather is hot during the summer and, especially of late, somewhat unpredictable. It has been incredibly rainy so far this summer, so I add a couple of tablespoons of finely crushed eggshells (to a powdery consistency) into the planting hole to give the tomato a little easily accessible calcium to help avoid blossom end rot. When it has been especially rainy, I sometimes sprinkle an extra bit on top of the soil and lightly sprinkle soil over it to keep it from blowing away. An added bonus is that grinding up the shells is rather therapeutic. I use a manual coffee grinder, or, if time is short, an electric one. My husband calls it eggshell therapy. 😄
Sounds like ideal therapy - very cathartic! :-)
Thanks Ben. Another excellent video. At this rate I will be in danger of becoming a knowledgeable gardener. 🍅🍅
We're all of us on that learning journey. :-)
I like to root the suckers for many quick new plants. This makes thriving, productive and free Tomatoe plants. Michael
That's a great move. :-)
Disco divas and sticky beaks! Ben, you are brilliant! I absolutely LOVED this video! You are a total natural at teaching and explaining things! This is the most informative video on growing tomatoes that I've seen! I wish you all the best!
Thank you so much Brittany, that means a lot. :-)
I have a dollar store spryer, I fill that from my rain barrel, then using a small funnel, add Epson salts, about 4 heaping tbsp, then shake to mix, I srapy this on Peppers and tomatoes. I also use a ferilizer every 2 weeks
It’s all about the air movement! To stop blight! I think multch is very very underrated in the garden! But then it’s much much about luck with the weather lok
To encourage growth of healthy side roots which enables the tomato to be planted deeper to produce a more abundant crop, I put a toilet roll collar filled with compost around the stem during the final potting-on. I have found this to work very well indeed.
Unfortunately I cannot upload photos.
What a great idea Trevor. Thanks for sharing this.
I learned to grow indeterminate 🍅 tomatoes and how to wrap them with bailing twine hooked to a T-Frame support wire on top and a taught wire from the root. Mittleider methodology is doable and very prolific. We're now growing our 10th seasonal garden. I'm 66 yrs old and disabled, but still able to enjoy gardening. I take rests under the apple trees. My hubby helps with the heavy lifting. Its so beautiful to spend time in a thriving garden, watching the Robins and other living things enjoying the spaces too. Now we're tending to our new flock of Orpingtons chickens 🐔 . They love to munch on all the garden prunings and refuse. Gardening feeds the body & the soul. 🪴 💞 God be praised 🙏.
Hello Nancy
Gardening certainly does feed the body and soul Nancy, so true.
You are so enthusiastic it’s contagious. Lol.
"So long, suckers!" - I will forever remember Ben when planting tomatoes. HA! Thank you for posting, DA
Thanks Donald. :-)
I love your sense of humor;the "so long suckers!" gave me a lovely chuckle. Your accent is Devine. I have at least 1/3 English heritage so I enjoy using the accent as a fun bit of comedic variety. Every accent has its own fun when it is slightly exadurated. The information is of course the most valued however. Thanks for all of the tips +the explanations behind them. It helps to know why we do things. I love to know the reasons behind the tips. You do an excellent job. I will not be going out to look for disco divas, but will be looking for more of your videos.
Hi Carol. That's very kind of you to say, and really lovely of you to enjoy the videos. I look forward to you enjoying the next one. :-)
@@GrowVeg Thank you for your responce, kind sir. Have you tried the dark yellow tomato varieties? They are my favorite due to the low acid they sport. Cherio, dear chap !
Looking trim Ben. Great to see you enjoying your garden
Thanks for watching. :-)
This year we haven't had a good spring, so much rain! But I tried an experiment, I have the same varieties in the greenhouse as out in the garden. The garden tomatoes are all about a foot tall with really thick stalks. The greenhouse ones are over 2 1/2 feet tall! Both types of varieties! Also, I have been watering once a week with my comfrey tea. What an amazing difference. I wish I had more room in the greenhouse to grow all my tomatoes. Always a great video, thank you Ben!
Great to hear your getting good results with the comfrey tea Dani. :-)
I too am doing the same experiment with some outside in soil and some in my greenhouse! The ones in the greenhouse are between 10-12’ high!! (although they were transplanted into their soil sipping pots 3 weeks earlier than the outside ones due to cold weather and cool over night temperatures)
I’m hoping to have my biggest tomato yield ever this year!
Hi Ben, lots of good tips again thank you. I picked up a new tip from an American CZcamsr which is to cut off the side shoots of tomato plants leaving a little stalk. He suggested scissors for this and apparently leaving a little stalk stops them from shooting again from that leaf joint.
I am trying it on my plants and just hope it works as I always seem to get them regrowing and they can be harder to see when the plants get big.
Anyone wanting to grow tomato plants quickly - break the side shoot off and pot it up. Works every time.
Nice. I instinctively feel that's going to work. And good news for me is that I've been doing that alot recently instead of pinching out for some reason
I think whether the side shootsvregrow has more to do with the variety of tomato. I grow one type that reshoots prolifically no matter what I do and one type that's more civilised
Interesting technique to trial Vanessa - certainly worth a try. Let me know how you get on with it.
@ Vanessa Taylor - I took all the suckers and potted them and have tripled my tomato plants as well as managing to donate to some of my neighbours :)
@@arleneeveringham7281 I don't have a long enough growing season to make use of suckers ☹. They the time suckers have rooted, there isn't enough time for them to fruit and ripen
I was surprised that you didn’t mention using Bacillus thuringensis as a foliar spray to control tomato hornworm. I apply Bt approx. 45 days after planting and every two weeks thereafter to insure zero damage by this voracious leaf feeder.
Thank you!
That's great advice, thanks Eric.
Great tips, Ben :)
I grow all mine in pots as we don't have ground space to put them in. I really like the green 'garden' velcro to secure them to the cane/s as they grow and it's easily and quickly put on and taken off, you can cut it to whatever length you need, or attach a few short bits together to make it longer when you need. I use the soft side against the plant. I collected it all up at the end of last years growing season and reusing it this year and I think it will have a good few years still in it.
The other day I also watched a video by an american guy who was saying there has been some research that has shown indeterminate tomatoes are most productive if grown with a 'double leader', basically leaving one of the suckers to grow so it has two main stems part way up in a Y shape. I might do a little experiement next year with two of the same varierty and see which works best - having a single stem or two.
I’ve allowed one or 2 suckers growing from the base of some tomato plants to grow on during the past couple of years. This works well on varieties like Sun Gold that give heavy crops of small fruits. In effect we get 2 plants growing side by side which works well in our limited space. I do remove lower leaves from both growing stems and follow the watering advice that Ben gives. Lovely to see the marigolds growing next to the tomatoes in this video. We have basil plants next to each tomato this year, looking forward to cropping both herbs an& fruit later in the summer….
Interesting. I have seen the Y-shape double leader style of tomato growing before. I always thought it was best for more vigorous grafted tomatoes, but clearly this works for other tomatoes too. This gives me an idea for a video next year! :-)
Little Disco Divas! Love it!
One thing I've just done is to "thin out" my tomatoes. It's my first year growing them and I missed some of the suckers on my indeterminates/vines so I've just broken some off (the bigger ones) and put them into their own pots in the shade. They'll sprout their own roots and I'll keep these ones smaller and keep an eye on them a bit more. I'm on limited growing space in my mini "El Cheapo" plastic greenhouse from Amazon and now we've got this heatwave here in the UK (I'm in east Devon) one I did this to a few days ago is doing extremely well.
Nice video, tomatoes looking good. I think I would qualify some of the tips depending on your climate. We have a much longer season so I won't pinch out the top, at least not until say mid-late-September, when I know there isn't time for any more flowers to set fruit and ripen. I will also leave some suckers, again, I have more time for tomatoes to ripen, plus it provides extra shade in our hot sun, and we have fewer problems with blight in our dry climate.
Yes, that's a good point. In warmer climates removing suckers may be less of a priority.
🍅🍅🍅🍅🍅 can’t wait!!!
Thanks Ben!!! I ordered the 2 types of cucumbers that don’t require outside pollination. It is too late this year,but Lord willing,, I will plant them next year. I appreciate your wisdom and your most pleasant way of engaging your listeners. Again,thanks and God Bless you and yours.
Thanks for watching, and God bless you too.
Great video tips on tomatoes and pruning to prevent problems. I have occasionally seen the tomato pest green hornworm but that black light tip made me laugh. Disco hornworm in purple. Loved it. The strawbale tomatoes look good too.
I planted tomato seeds for the San Marziano paste tomato because I could not find it the few times I shopped at a nursery or garden center. All my seeds germinated! 15 plants. And my plants look healthier and larger than store bought plants. Love your practical, and simple tips for all gardening. Keep up the good work. We appreciate your dedication
That's great to hear they all germinated - you'll be in for a very bumper harvest - great job!
Looking forward to the garden tour!
It's my first season of gardening and I'm enjoying your videos. So I have a tip, but it's one heard from more seasoned gardeners in my country: don't pinch the top of the tomatoes; at the end of the season, take any tomatoes that are unripe and pickle them in water and salt brine. I'm not sure how popular it is in other countries, but in my country pickled green tomatoes is the top vegetable to pickle, right up there alongside cucumbers. They are my personal favourite and I prefer the water and salt version, no vinegar added, although that is also common.
Wow! What a great tip! Where are you from? I am definitely going to try this. I'm from the US!
Green tomatoes contain solanine which is a bit toxic actually. Like green potatoes.. they're both nightshade plants.
Interesting. Fried Green Tomatoes are a cultural staple in my part of the U.S. What can I say? I like to live in the edge! 😉😎😄
@@chickenindoubleC I'm from Romania, eastern Europe. Now I see there are a lot of recipes on the net on foreign sites (US, UK...), never searched before. 😅 So maybe not that uncommon? 🤔 They are a bit more fancy than our traditional one. I see they slice the tomatoes, we don't, but I think they are ready sooner if they are sliced. I also see vinegar in all recipes, it surely helps better preservation. With water and salt only it is trickier, you have to be careful to aerate somehow or it gets mushy, it ferments in a bad way. Pouring the liquid out if the jar is not too big, and pouring it back in, is a way. Or blowing air bubbles into the jar (I know it sounds funny but this is how I grew up seeing my mother do it). This is for a few days until they start pickling. I'm not very experienced because my mother always makes it. 😅
@@nancyarchibald9095 this is done extensively here and we never had a problem. Besides it is also sold in grocery stores, already canned by different companies. I'm sure it would be illegal or forbidden to can them officially if there would be any problem. 🤔😅😅
Ben...please help!
I planted my first vegetable garden this year and I've tried to do everything you have suggested. I have a lot of green tomatoes coming, I've pinched off all the suckers, been using Monte's fertilizer, worm castings, worm tea, etc., but my plants are not a lush dark green and I have quite a bit if bottom end rot. I just gave them their first dose of Cal-Mag Plus and added hay for mulch. They are in pots, I use Coast of Maine soil & their lobster mulch in the beginning.
If you have blossom end rot then it's a sign of possible irregular watering - so the plants can't take up enough nutrients. Make sure to consistently water your plants so they aren't completely drying out between waterings. This should help a lot. Also be sure that they are indeed getting enough fertiliser - a tomato-specific one may be best.
@@GrowVeg Thanks for everything that you've taught me, Ben!!! You Rock!!!👍🏻🍅🥕🌶🥒🥬🥂😘
Yummy 😋 & good looking tomatoes Ben. Another fantastic video and great tips to get a excellent harvest of nice & tasty tomatoes.
Cheers David, you're a gent sir!
Tomatoes and Jalapeños are absolute bangers if you got a greenhouse. I string trellis 🍅 and they already got lots of fruit on the vine!
It's confidence boosting to successfully grow them from seed, feeling like a pro gardener now. 😎🙃
I reckon you probably are - great that they're thriving for you. :-)
Big thanks from Sweden 🙂👍
Thanks for the info!!
Thank you Ben xx
Side shoots can be rooted as new mini plants. They can be interesting to watch although I've not had any flowering or fruiting here in the UK. I think it may happen in countries with a longer growing season.
There is a youtuber up north who has a few videos of doing this, so it can work, but I think for the main he takes the suckers before the plants go out doors, so pretty early. Anyway I am trying this this year in a small way.
It definitely works in climates with a longer growing season. I started with 12 plants, now I have over 30 at last count. It feels wasteful not to pot up any cuttings
Nice marigolds. I got a few new varieties for planting below my tomatoes.
This is going to be m best tomato year yet. I know just from the amount of healthy plants I have at this stage.
Tigerella, gardener's delight (big cherry), and Marmande (bush, beef) 🍅 😁
That's super to hear. :-)
I heard from a different video U S. Gardener, that using 2 uncoated Aspirin in gallon of water, an water tomato plant will signal to plant in trouble then go into protection mode.
It works.
That's great to hear Victoria. This is something I've also tried with my plants.
Great video, Ben, thank you. I'm growing a few tomato plants this year for the first time. Some in the veggy patch started to look a bit sickly, so I had to say cheerio to them, but the ones in the greenhouse are going great guns, and are looking good! Loved that bit where you sniffed the foliage - the smell of tomato leaves and stalks is almost addictive!
It really is a sublime smell! Glad you greenhouse tomatoes are doing well. :-)
Thanks for that info. Great to watch and easy to follow
Another very useful video , thanks Ben. My tomatoes are doing well so far , but reminders of what to do and when are always welcome .
Great video! Very thorough 😊😎
Thank you for the tips Ben I really appreciate
Hi Ben, I'm your new subscriber from Bangalore India. I love gardening n farming, i do gardening in my balconies. like your smart tips n ideas about gardening. Your video on reuse of plastic bottles was 👌😍 Thank you
You are very welcome. Thank you for subscribing. :-)
Disco Diva's. You always give me a chuckles along with all of the great info.🤣 Thank You.
Great to hear Julie, glad to've raised a smile! :-)
I only Planted Cherry Tomatoes this Year, as I only have a Balcony, they take up less room, & hang over the Balcony. I did stick a couple of Suckers in one Pot in May, & they're growing well. It's an experiment, as I've never grown suckers before. Lol. Your Tomato Plants look very healthy.🍅
TFS GV, take care, & Happy Fathers day too. ❤🙂🐶
Many thanks - and happy father's day to you too. :-)
@@GrowVeg 👍🤗❤️🙂🐶
Thanks will use your advice .
That comfrey tea sounds like the perfect thing to do with my out of control plants now that they're going to seed. I lost every plant to blight when the tomatoes were just shy of ready to pick last year. Keeping them in pots in the greenhouse this year, but I'm in western Washington, and they just aren't keeping warm enough. Still dropping into the 40s at night, and pouring with rain regularly. I did finally get my poor 2-year-old Spoon tomato to turn green, though. It had gone largely purple, but I gave it 4-4-4 fertilizer (all I have on hand at the moment) and put it where it'll get whatever sun we receive. It's looking much better. My thumbs have so far been yellow at best where tomatoes are concerned. The aphids this year aren't helping...
This was a wonderful video and I so appreciate the tips on growing healthy tomatoes...I loved the disco diva discussion regarding the hornworms LOL 😁 I can't wait to go out tonight and look for any of those little pests with my blacklight!!
Great stuff Lori - happy hunting!
thank you
Brilliant advice tips and tricks as always . Thank you very much 😀.
Nice one. Thanks!
My mother used to always “stake” the tomatoes. I use cages. But Mother left some just to wander on the ground and I believe they were the biggest and best.
Interesting. I guess that's how they grow naturally.
Thank you Ben all of your videos are so helpful and the best I have found.
We’ve had good luck with tomatoes. And I say luck, because we just hoped for the best. This year I had plans for pruning and staking, thanks to you, and all was going well until I lost the label for a set of four plug plants I got from a wonderful local nursery. So among my various efforts are mystery tomatoes. Lol! Next year, I shall try my own from seed. It’s a steep learning curve, but boy oh boy, the ride is such fun. Thank you! 👩🌾🇨🇦🇨🇦👩🌾👩🌾👩🌾❤️
It certainly is a lot of fun - the whole tomato growing journey. Enjoy your mystery tomatoes!
This was helpful. Now, out to my tomato patch!
brilliant vid
Fantastic ideas. I'll do this with my autumn tomatoes. I'm very much a beginner when it comes to tomatoes. Big plants, no fruit.
Great that your plants are already big. I'm sure they'll start flowering soon.
Ben you are extremely well informed and your videos are informative and fun
Thanks Jacqueline, really appreciate that.
Great video
Disco Divas=Hornworms!🤣🤣Love it!
You did a great job of covering many points. I will try pinching out the top at the end of growing as they get so tall and those fruit won't ripen or size up well anyway. Yes, too much water will give a tasteless tomatoe.
Have you ever tried severing roots around a tomatoe whose fruit are prone to cracking with a lot of sudden water?
We love cherry 100s and every year we have to race to pick them if rain is coming after a dry spell. It's Crazy as they will SPLIT right b4 your eyes or after you gently put them in the basket. Once you bring them inside we look at each other and say why did you pick all those cracked ones🤣🤣 Because they weren't done cracking😂😂 I haven't tried this severing of roots, but tempted because its sad to see them all split on cue.
Trying to keep up with sucker pruning as I have several varieties and probably 40 plus plants as I preserve a lot. Trying 3 different paste tomatoes this year: San Marzano, Opalka and Super Sauce. New slicers as well: Bodacious and Steak Sandwich. Oh and a 49 day-- still waiting and not sure if that timing is from germination or transplanting. I have some fruit set so I'm thinking early July.
Let me know if severing is safe or if you tried it and thank you for another great video!
Wow - you're growing a good number of tomatoes - that's fab! I've never tried severing the roots. I can't imagine that's a good idea, as you are reducing the input into the plant, so it would surely grow more slowly as a result. Better, I think, to water more consistently to reduce the risk of fruit split.
@@GrowVeg well that's what I read somewhere, but never tried it. We water consistently, but the sweet 100 cherries will pop like crazy after a rain.
I'm glad I subscribe very useful videos for beginners and nicely explained 🙏
Hi Ben , I have just subscribed today and loved your updates on tomatoes which will help me tremendously so thanks 😊
So pleased Jim - thank you for subscribing.
Thanks for all the great information. Tomato-growing in my region is always a challenge. I've gone to burying ollas (two terracotta planters glued together with a coin at the bottom as a plug) between tomato plants, and I fill those with water. They gradually seep moisture out at the roots, and the soil on top stays dry, which discourages weeds and blight. Our summer hasn't happened yet--it's still below 70*F although it's mid-June--and most of the tomatoes are still in a greenhouse, griping about the cold!
I've heard great things about ollas. A great way to keep plants hydrated and happy.
How is this guy such a legend?
Stop, stop - you’ll make me blush!
Thanks for the aspirin tip, Ben. I'm growing Green Envy, Lemon Tree, Black Cherry and Indigo Rose this year.
Some super varieties there Ian.
You are very knowledgeable,thank you , Ohio, interesting and I love your accent,keep up the Great work !
Cheers very much - and I will. :-)
Another terrific video, Ben. Keep up the great work!
Teresa
Master Gardener
Hello Teresa
Thanks Teresa, really appreciate that. :-)
Thanks for the black light tip for hornworms. They're bad here in Louisiana.
A tomato kindred spirit. Think salsa cruda...that was dinner last night with a tangy heirloom tomato...purchased but oh my goodness, delish!
What is salsa cruda? Sounds interesting.🇨🇦🇨🇦❤️👩🌾
Sounds yum!
Great video as always Ben. Really interesting hearing about the North American Tomato Horn Worm, which I never knew existed. Glad I live in the South of England. I add broken egg shells to the bottom of my pots, grow bags for tomatoes for extra calcium too.
Great way to use up your eggshells Vanessa. :-)
I've also heard people suggest using Rolaids or a knock off brand of antacid because their mostly calcium.
Thanks so much for your wonderful videos! For tomatoes, pepper, squash, and melons, I start adding a bit of unsulphured molasses to the water when the fruits are setting in. Have been doing this for a few years now and maybe it's just coincidence but my plants seem overall healthier since I've been doing it.
Interesting - will have to look into that.
That's a fantastic idea! Molasses is high in the minerals that help tomato plants grow and make the fruit sweeter. Definitely doing that from now on. Thanks so much.
Ah the tomato challenge. Every year, we seed and sprout and transplant and love on our babies...I have harvested 1 and I have a few more that are about ready on 1 more plant. The other 35 plants? 😐 Squirrels, wind and wind and more wind followed by oppressively heat. We are about to start more seedlings for the fall. 😃😃I'm still hopeful.
Keep hopeful!
My favorite method of maintaining a sustainable pantry and stockpiling items long term for the whole family and the family dog and the family cat is what I consider to be the most practical, utilizing every type of food storage methods and technology available, both old and new. . Except for the fruits and vegetables that get canned, I keep perishable items like meat, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables and dairy products in the refrigerator on a short term basis until I'm ready to use them for a big family meal - and for even longer term sustainable storage, a large separate freezer, which can store a half side of beef with plenty of room left over for homemade ice cream etc. . I'm considering upgrading to a walk-in freezer at some point.in the near future, if my plans to open a bed and breakfast come to fruition. Sometimes, however a nice round of cheese can do well for quite awhile on a pantry shelf at room temperature - and doesn't mind even if it has to stand there alone.😁 Store bought canned goods get shelves.in the large pantry closet - several for canned meat like corned beef hash, spam and sandwich spread and another for canned vegetables Bread, rolls, grains, homemade pasta, cereals and the like are stored in special humidity controlled bins I order from Amazon Prime - which usually get delivered to my doorstep about an hour after I order them. . Stuff from the family garden and orchard, like onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumber, pumpkins, carrots, corn celery,, potatoes and yams, cherries, blueberries and strawberries get canned in Mason Jars and stored in the cool, root cellar of this wonderful rambling former farmhouse (circa 1867) I share with my extended blended family and several rambunctious dogs raised on table scraps from the some of the finest food from a plethora of sources both commercial and home based. . There's even a special separate "summer kitchen" which I converted to store butter and ice cream churns, pots, pans, utensils, extra storage containers, foil, bags, cutlery, and other meal related accoutrement. Out back in the woods, just beyond the big pile of wood I maintain all year, (for use in an antique woodstove I keep on hand, in case the power goes out) there's even an old rusting vintage still where my great grandfather made some of the finest corn whiskey for miles. Next to it is the rusting hulk of the Ford Model A he used to transport that powerful hootch by the light of the moon on soft summer nights to his eager customers in a tri-county area. Further into this verdant forest of mostly sycamore, oak, pine and scrub, runs a cool stream into which I occasionally cast a rod or net to catch some Brook Trout, Bluntnose Shiners, or whatever takes the bait (just earthworms for the most part). And yes, hunting season means wild turkey, deer, and even an occasional wild boar. Next week, I'm planning on filing for a permit to 3-D print a smokehouse in order to be able to create gourmet artisan handcrafted, beef, bacon, turkey, and beef stick jerky, which interested local merchants can private label for other people to share with their families and their family dogs. Unfortunately, i had to break the bad news to my free range hens today that due to expected egg shortages regretfully numbered are their days of laying a couple of eggs and then basically taking the rest of the day off with ranging privileges' within the parameters of a few very nice rural acres - parts of which are rich with fat grubworms. There's even a short dirt road between the main barn and the farmhouse which they're free to cross to get to the other side as often as they'd like. My rooster Ben overheard me and he ain't too happy either, knowing full well that due to oncoming egg shortages, he'll be "workin' overtime to make sure there's plenty of eggs for me an the family.
Sounds like you have an amazing acreage there with so many wonderful things to eat - lovely!
@@GrowVeg Thank you. Times are tough. We all need to do what we can to survive - strong and self sufficient.
If you're tomatoes are snapping when you try to twist them around twine supports etc, you likely have a copper problem. Def's of copper are very likely also connected to many common tomato pathogens it is both anti fungal and bacterial
You might have a Molybdenum Def too if you re getting too many bacterial infections check your minerals
BER is linked to Calcium but Calcium efficiency is linked to Boron. If you are seeing Calcium Def's you may want to adjust Boron rates. calcium is very sluggish, esp in summer where water is tighter. Adequate Boron levels insure Calcium is more mobile.
Also adding seaweed is a good idea because it promotes hormones that maintain root growth as the plant sets fruit
Comfrey is often rich in Amino Acids, K, CA, B and Si and it has super human health properties too when made in to a salve etc.
Btw love the hay planting.how has it worked out?
Sweet Alyssum is a great companion for tomates re beneficial insects
Thanks for that advice - that's really handy. :-)
The straw bales worked out really well last year - a good crop and no difference from growing in containers. The big difference was really in care - they needed much less watering as the bales are so big and act as such a great buffer between waterings.
I was given a very small galapagos tomatoe plant last month, it's gone crazy and its growing like mad. Interested to see what the fruit is like.
Side shoots (suckers) can be rooted to have more tomato plants.
Thanks Dale. I've just tried this myself and so far, so good. :-)
Honestly, Ameicans really will understand 'anti-clockwise'
Just being on the safe side.
I’m growing some cherokee purples and they are doing terrible but my determinate varsities are doing great 😌
Glad the determinate on form. Hopefully the Cherokee Purples will catch up soon.
Ik ben dol op tomaten❤❤❤ en gelukkig ben ik niet de enige die heel lang kan praten over tomaten haha mooi filmpje Ben ik kan niet wachten dat mn baby tomaten groot zijn
I love your advice and I’ve been using it for quite a while I appreciate that then I think to myself what do you do for fun just kidding
Cheers Kim! :-)
Love your informative videos! Is it as important to remove the suckers on freeland than in a greenhouse? I assume the air circulation is better on freeland. I have grown mine for many years on freeland, with little problem keeping the suckers, some of them are good producers. I rather trim the plants in august so that the tomatoes will get enough sun, and remove flowers that will not manage to ripen before the frost in Norway. I get many kilos per plant, and many of them on suckers. I can also understand why professional do it for easier harvest, and saving room (since they have high ceilings). But as a very unprofessional gardener, I feel the plant get more solid with the suckers.
Many American gardeners have commented similar to you Beatrice, that removing the suckers isn't necessary. It's recommended for our often cooler, wetter summers here in the UK as it really does concentrate the plant's energies on flower and fruit production. But this may be less important in places with reliable summers.
Stick the suckers in the soil, and you’ll get more plants.
I really love your channel. I have big on growing flowers but have never grown any sort of veg before. We have 2 tomato plants our first ever and they are starting to put on lots of fruit which is exciting but we are worried we will have lots of waist.
How do you store yours please? We will only really be using them to make pizza source.
But I wanted to know if I could freeze them or should I make the source and then freeze that??
Sorry for the newbie questions
Hi Elaine. I would be inclined to make the sauce and then freeze that. It will be a lot more efficient on freezer space that way.
@GrowVeg I was really happy to get a glimpse of your tomatoes starting to spiral around the obelisks you showed in your plant out vid. I loved the idea but can’t find any info on how. How far up do you start tying to the structure? Are you going to weave in and out of it eventually? And it looks like you have it staked diagonally at the bottom for support/to start training? Maybe in a future vid :-) Thank you for all the concise and helpful info. Your channel is fast becoming a favorite for this gardening newbie!
So pleased you're enjoying the channel. :-) For the obelisk, I tied the tomato to a small cane, leaning towards the outside of the obelisk to begin with. Then once the stem reached the frame of the obelisk, I'll simply tie it in at regular intervals, in a spiral fashion so it weaves it's way around the frame (on the inside of it) right up to the top. That's the plan anyhow. A future video on this technique may be a good idea!
@@GrowVeg You answered! How cool is that?! Thank you, that is very, very helpful ☺️
HI Ben, loved the entire video, some of the tips are quite uesefull for my climate.
A question about the molch. As time progresses, it will start to decompose because of the climate and the water, do you need to replace is, and if so, how often?
Hi Martin. Yes, simply replace the mulch as it 'disappears' into the soil with time, as it breaks down. You may need to do this with grass clippings two or three times over the course of the growing season.
Howdy Ben!👋 Great one! Since we have a long growing season we can take suckers to make new plants to put out in in July for a second crop of tomatoes. It saves time from growing plants from seed for the second round of fruit.🙂
I’m going to try this for the first time this fall. I plan to take suckers from my outside plants and pot them in the greenhouse for (hopefully) a winter crop before the temperatures go too low. Any tips for making them more robust? Should I use a rooting hormone or cinnamon to encourage roots or what?
@@owl6365 I simply root them in water and plant deep in a starter pot. In the summer they grow roots in water in 2 or 3 days. I do nothing different than planting them deep to get a stronger stalk.
I hope you get lots and lots of tomatoes!😃
@@valoriegriego5212 They'll also root pretty well by just poking the stems in soil.
What a great way to get more plants! :-)
My tomato is green what do ldo lpick them because the snails at them
Ben, I’ve seen a few videos where you allude to growing in hay bales… please could you share exactly how this works? Does it need some form of preparation or is it literally just hay?! I believe you might have a video on it, which one please?! Thanks for everything you do, you are my go-to for garden tips!
Here's the video on the whole process :-) czcams.com/video/qxaRo49-ios/video.html
@@GrowVeg thank you! I love this and will give it a go!
I love your videos! Thank you for all of your hard work for the gardening community. We have your GrowVeg Garden Planner (which we love!) Quick question about crop rotation (in regard to nightshades as well as other plants) -- is an every other year rotation good enough, provided there is good fertilizer/compost added to the soil? Or do we really need more years than that in between plantings? We are trying to plan our next year's (2023) garden and not sure if we can plant our peppers and tomatoes where they were LAST year (2021). We are container gardeners for the moment and don't mind doing SOME soil replacement, but would prefer to not replace all the soil, if possible. Any thoughts you can provide would be helpful. Thank you!
It's ideal to leave more than a few years between crops of the same family, but not essential. Two years should be fine, as you suggest. Many gardeners even plant in the same place year after year, but that is pushing it I reckon! Certainly adding fresh compost to the area will help.
@@GrowVeg Wonderful. Thank you! We hope to have an in ground garden in the future, which will make rotation easier! But... We haven't figured out exactly where we want to put it. The area where we were planning on putting it currently is bordered by blueberries, strawberries, and marigolds... And the deer seem to enjoy it. 😅 So we are not sure we want to put more plants at risk! But our deck works well for containers. 😀 Anyway, hopefully in the future we will be able to rotate more effectively! Thank you!
I wonder if I could also use the grass clippers as mulch for my strawberries, or any other vegetables? Anyone knows? Love that ‘ so long Suckers!’ So Ben. lol
yes you can, but keep the layer very thin if you have a slug problem. In the UK I use Strulch close to the plants, then grass clippings on the rest of the beds
Thanks Ben! Quick question - do I cut the top off determinant varieties as well? I should prune the lower leaves, correct?
Just leave determinate tomatoes alone - they don't need the top pinching off or suckers removing. However, removing the lower leaves will help with airflow etc, so is worthwhile.
“Disco Divas” 🤣 ain’t it the truth? All these bugs are divas….coming and eating as they please…..
Absolutely!
I grow self supporting toms
I sometimes wonder anytime I see someone mention grass clippings as mulch: What if your yard isn't all grass? Ours is actually more clover, wild strawberry, crabgrass, etc...none of which I like growing want in my veg beds. I'm guessing I can't use those clippings..?
You can use any clippings so long as they haven't set seed - that's important. You don't want weed seeds in your mulch or you may help them spread.