Since I saw your video "This will change the way you grow Tomatoes", it did, I started my tomatoes at the same date as previous years, but they grew so fast and strong that next year I will start them 2 weeks later. They are now outside and I didn't plant them deeper and they are incredibly strong. Thanks and I will never plant tomatoes deeper. I live in Montreal Canada.
I did start mine later and still need to wait another week or so which is great! The less time babysitting seedlings the better. Try to avoid up-potting as they really take off then.
I always plant my tomatoes as soon as it's consistenly above 40f and soil temps of 55-60. I never have any stunting issues, and they thrive. If I waited until nightime temps were in the 50s, I'd lose 5 weeks of growing season, and it would be in the 90s during the day here in central WA. Even my cucumbers/squash/peppers are unfazed.
Love your channel and this video specifically. I'm new to gardening on a larger scale and have made so many mistakes really you don't have time to hear them all. Thankfully the tomatoes looks amazing already but I'm not too sure about how it is all going to turn out. But, I'll count this season as learning, and probably next season too. Peace.
Love your videos! I broke the rule of planting to early in Bayfield, CO. Plants are just sitting there, but this week it should be warmer. Thanks so much.
Been hardening off the whole month of May. It gets in the forties at night still and waiting for that to pass. Tried to grow cantaloupe to transplant too. They are about 1-2 inches high. Had a bunch of extra seeds. Always just direct sow, but due to cold nights we tried it this way.
Good tips . I have seen a old farmer dig a hole and fill it with compost, fertilizer months before planting . I tried that, my tomatoes look like they are on steroids .
Great video and awesome channel! Another thing I've done the last 2 years is try to find varieties that work well in my hot humid climate ( Zone 8a southeast USA). This year I'm growing Arkansas Travelers for the first time which are supposed to tolerate heat and humidity. I've grown Black Strawberry cherry tomatoes the last year and this and they seem to be susceptible to cracking, which doesn't jibe with our near daily afternoon thunderstorms. I used up the last of my seeds this year and I won't be buying more. Which is a shame because they are really pretty and taste good too.
Thanks! That's a great idea and why I grow Black Krim. Finding the varieties that grow best for us can avoid frustration with plants that don't match our weather.
My 8 foot trellis I had was way too short for my sweet millions, when pruning all suckers they typically grew up-over and down almost back to the ground, like 12-14ft in length!
Yep. I waited until the beginning of May I think to plant my tomatoes. Last year I planted in the middle of April. The night time temps kept dropping in the mid to high 40s and I waited until they were consistently above 50-55 degrees. I even had to uppot and get more indoor lights to make this happen comfortably for me (I’m pregnant so didn’t want to keep moving heavy plants everyday). It feels like such a slow start compared to last year but they’re doing well and finally getting really bushy and growing bigger. Weird late cold spring this year.
Gardening is gambling. The plants are telling you they're ready to go; soil's still too cool; you've got too many plants to keep moving them inside & outside; you plant. At least I do in Iowa Zone 5 (last frost early May). Yes, the whole month of May it seems like they're doing nothing, but in fact they're growing roots. Early June (now), the vines come to life. Late June, it's hard to keep up with them. Late September, it's hard to keep the poles up because of so many tomatoes. I know this isn't ideal, but I don't have the space to wait for perfect soil temps. The early planting seems to be working for tomatoes and zucchini. Peppers? Not so much. Eggplant? Flea beetles are more of a challenge than soil temps...
Turns out that both my seed packets are semi determinate 😂. A Roma and a cherry. I had no idea there was such a thing! Advice for staking or trellises? Thx
I am finding some of my tomatos, red ripe on the outside. No sign of anything wrong. But on the inside from the top of the core to the middle. Look rotten brown . Ive grown tomatos since i was a kid long time ago never seen anything like this. (Southern Indiana better boys tomatos) any idea.
Will a crushed Tums tablet per gallon of water slow down/stop Blossom End Rot (BER)? I have not been able to save enough egg shells for the vinegar/water-based BER spray.
My tomatoes are gorgeous and full of blossoms. I grew them from seed and hardened them off properly. Unfortunately, thrips have taken over and I'm now seeing brown circles on the fruit from them which indicates Spotted wilt virus or some other Tospovirus. The crazy part is that it's not even well known here and most viruses don't set in this early. This makes me so sick and I'm afraid that I'll lose most of them, but we'll see.
Great video! I still think it wouldn't hurt to plant a little deeper if the plug is shallow, even just an inch or so. Thank you for all the wonderful information! I start my tomatoes in old plastic cups. I heard somewhere not to use clear cups though. Algae grows in the space between the cup and soil. I noticed it happened when I used an old Pedialyte bottle one year.
Great advice Scott, thanks. I have a lot to learn from you. I waited until the soil was above 60 which took much longer than I thought it would. A couple were lanky and nutrient deficient. I did a terrible job hardening them off in this Southwest weather also. All the older tomatoes withered and died. My tomatillo broke in the wind. One smaller one made it and is growing pretty slow. A new wave I started in plugs were planted out as soon as I saw a real leaf develop. Those weren't hardened off but I chose a cloudy afternoon and they are growing the fastest so far. Next year I'll need to be more careful, both with seeding and when I start the seeds.
Thanks for the info. I have to get more strict about hardening off. I started my plants too early this year so I had to push them out early. They made it, a little slow at first, got into the 40s at night, but as of June 1, they are flowering. Growing just cherry types this year. Much easier for me.
Gosh darn it all... thought I'd finish my hoop tunnel in time to plant my tomatoes by today and we got another storm. Most of it's in place... maybe tomorrow. I just won't plant them without a cover after that horrific hail storm we had 2 weeks ago. I have been hardening them off for weeks and leave them outside covered and protected.
Great video, and thank you! I should be covered - I didn't get my Early Girl as deep as I wanted, but my Sweet Cherry 100 and my Better Boy are not only deep, but I planted them in a trench like you showed in another video. I guess I will see what happens and go from there.
The frost set my plants back last week. Started over yesterday. All the crazy stuff that could happen-happened. I believe I still had enough of all varieties to replant. It’s amazing the flats didn’t get frosted. I know trees are a bit beneficial in frost protection and Jimmy Nardello seems very tolerant or very lucky because they look terrific. It’s been so Hot here and we were missed by spotty rain, again. Maybe today, but doubt 20% chance will produce anything-sigh. Last rain was May 19th-tenth of inch. If we don’t get any Monday at 40% the meteorologists just said, Wow it will be 3 weeks without rain. We’ve had 90 and higher temperatures. Had to set up shade fabric as it’s just too hot. It’s is a gardeners best friend in drought. I know I can’t prune tomato plants too much here because they need those leaves for shade. Two different temp sensors hit 103* and both were in shade. Our microclimate is nuts. That’s just too hot for spring weather in WI. Great tips. Enjoy it if you can.
Over the past two years I've been using the Back to Eden method for the part of my garden where I grow tomatoes. I only had to water occasionally, about once a week, even during the hottest parts of summer. Once the plants got established, the mulched soil pretty much took care of moisture levels for me. I wish I'd known about this method years ago.
Since you are in Colorado, I have to ask: do you deal with curly top virus with your tomatoes? As far as I'm aware CTV is endemic to the southwest but I'm curious how far north it spreads. If you do deal with it, any mitigation tips besides row covers to keep the leafhoppers off your plants? Any varieties that you found to be more resistant than others?
I haven't seen CTV on my tomatoes. It seems to be more of a problem in Western Colorado. Here's some info: www.wci.colostate.edu/shtml/tomato.curly.top.shtml#:~:text=Curly%20top%20virus%20symptoms%20begin,of%20leaf%20rolling%20in%20tomatoes.
I’ve made the mistake of pruning too many of my leaves branches. It seems as though my indeterminates I over pruned are stopping vertical growth to produce the lovely tomatoes on lower branches. Anything I can do to offset this?
Great tips Scott. I’ve been following you for quite a while now and it was because of you that I started growing Black Krim. It’s a staple in my garden. I have been amending my soil with a good amount of organic matter and rarely use fertilizers throughout the growing season. I also water deeply and as a result of these steps I haven’t had issues with blossom end rot. It’s all thanks to your videos. They’ve made me a better gardener. Thank you. ❤
Hey Gardener Scott! I have a question for you. I'm in Southeast Texas zone 9 and have some Beefsteak tomatoes that I have "string" trellised up. They are currently pushing 10' tall (the limits of my upper support) and still going strong. I have clipped the suckers along the way and have enjoyed many tomatoes. If I top them, will that start pushing out more suckers throughout the lower portion of the plant plant where I previously slipped suckers? If not, will letting them just grow over the top support (1" pipe) and sort of work their way back down work? Seems like that would just damage the main stalk.
Topping should stimulate more side growth, but will also stimulate flower and fruit production. The weight of the plant and fruit can damage the stem if it's just hanging.
New subscriber here! Great info! Can you give specifics on how you amend your soil the Fall before you plant your tomatoes please? And once you are growing the tomatoes, what organic fertilizers do you use and how frequently?
Thanks. Welcome to the channel! Here's one of my videos on amending: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--23-33XwC4M.html Because I focus on improving the soil and creating healthy conditions for plants, I do not need fertilizers. This video discusses that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0_pc3E2WTjY.html
Wow! Really appreciate the response! I grew from seed for the first time this year. I learned some things from you about sowing and gradual transplanting but your growth was light years ahead of my experience. With no fertilizers, do you mind sharing your lighting system specifics? I do not have the space for a greenhouse. Much gratitude for your kindness and knowledge.
Thanks, Chris. I don't normally suggest epsom salt unless you know your soil has a magnesium and sulfur deficiency. Most soils have plenty and it can create an overfertilization situation with those specific nutrients.
I'm going to try direct sowing indigo rose pole tomatoes in my raised bed today. The night temps are about 50F. 10 days for germination + 80 days for maturation from transplant should easily fit my growing window. Is there a rule of thumb for how many days to add to the maturation time since I'm direct sowing instead of starting indoors earlier? Is it the same as the time to start indoors before my first frost?
Days to harvest is usually calculated from when the plant is actively growing in the ground. 10 days for germination is a good start. Add at least 10 days for true leaves to develop and roots to grow. Then start the clock for a minimum of 80 days.
I used double-sided tape on the horizontal braces and cut the insulation to fit with the vertical edge on the vertical brace. Cut-outs for side bracing help it stay in place as well.
@Gardener Scott Thanks! I just used air gapped mylar emergency blankets held on with magnets last winter. Worked amazingly well, but was a real pain to put up and take down.
Scott, what are your opinions about using living moss as a mulch? I know to stick away from moss pretenders like Scottish moss that put down roots, but what about real varieties like pincushion moss? Because I'm putting them in a raised bed there wouldn't be an issue with too much plant material on the ground, the moss can lay flat like it likes. Any additional plant matter would come from my herbs or crops, and I can pick that off the moss as they fall easily enough. The issue is that I've never heard of this anywhere, and I don't believe there are truly any new ideas under the sun. Alternatively I could place a thin layer of rock mulch down to grow the moss down on, but I don't have experience with rock mulching around herbs and crops. I don't know if that would be bad for them. But I like the idea of a nice soft bed of moss around my plants, and filling the bottom of my bed with something alive and green. Do you have any idea if real moss would retain water underneath it? We use peat moss for similar things, though I know that's a mixture of a whole bunch of plants. Just an odd thought I'm exploring.
Most garden plants need full sun. Some will tolerate partial shade, but still produce better in full sun. Do you live in a climate where moss can survive full sun exposure? It doesn't grow anywhere except in shade where I live.
A living mulch like moss can work well as long as it matches the water, sun, and nutrient needs of the other plants. Moss tends to use more water than most plants and may require extra water to ensure the soil underneath is enough for the others. I'm not a fan of rock mulch in vegetable gardens. It doesn't add nutrients, may disrupt soil structure when mixed in, and can cause overheating in direct sun.
Thanks for the tips! I have a short growing season and since I transplanted my tomatoes 3 weeks early they were a little shorter than usual(they still had a healthy root system, thank goodness) so I didn’t end up planting them deep like I normally do(I couldn’t help it, I have back ups of everything and I’ve been watching this year’s weather patterns so I gambled…so far it’s paying off 🤞😅🤞). Looks like it may be a benefit considering what you had mentioned about shorter seasons. Thank you for the helpful info!
