I have been growing and selling tomatoes at our local farmers market for years. I live in a northern climate and I grow approximately 1700 -2000 pounds of tomatoes in each of our 30 ft x 100ft high tunnels. Our growing season is short and cooler here in Alaska with a 120 day season average. But, our long days make up for the short growing season. I remove the first suckers on the plant when they are very young and I encourage the plant to produce as many "leaders" as the plant can in May and June. I use a product called "tomahooks" to tie the leaders to a single overhead cable. They are low cost and reusable. I space the plants at 5ft on center and use 6-10 tomahooks per plant for support. When I was growing on a single leader, I would average 8 lbs per plant. With multiple leaders I now average 35 -40 lbs per plant. I do this with 25% less plants due to having a higher leaders numbers per plant and the quality and flavor is amazingly good. The big advantage of growing in a high tunnel is that I can control the moisture and the life cycle of the plant. I have never gardened in a hot climate so I do not have any experience with your growing conditions. Looking at the yellowing of your plants at such a young age, I would guess they could use a shot of magnesium and sulfur. A tablespoon of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) in a gallon of water and applied as a foliar spray should help with the yellowing issue. Prior to planting, I spoon a tablespoon of Epsom salt into the bottom of the planting hole and stir that into the soil and then plant.
So much information!! Thank you so much for sharing with me. This year has been an experiment with the garden. We have started sweet corn season and I can see that I don’t think tomatoes are for me. I don’t have enough time to give them proper care.
@@BellsFarming the old ways..to string up plants..cut loops from small childrens socks or small panty hose. Using this method looped around the plant and hanging twine either looped in or tied. Allows the plant to creep better up the twine, since the stretchy fabric gives to the growth of the steam.😊
thanks too you and Shane for making us non farmers feel welcomed...and part of the gang you guys are great at explaining things too us in plain talk and not making us feel like outsiders.....❤❤❤
Thank you Molly and Shane 😊 Always great to hear from my neighbors in Maine 👍🏻 Hope you're doing well, stay safe and take care my friends 🫶🏻 God Bless 🙏🏻 Appreciate you!💚
Thank you for updating us on your tomatoes, and your poultry. I used to keep bees, enjoyable. Where I live now they are not allowed, restricted community. So good to see you.
OMG , that would not be my style of managing bees . My Gramps used to keep bees but he did it old style , a hood and a smoker . Molly , you never cease to amaze me , you are the real deal for sure . Yes the lawn is a chore for sure . I used to have a nice back yard looking at the mountain , a great spot to hang out in the summer , actually spent very few days there during the summer , too busy ...
Moll nice when you can enjoy going for a visit and be glad to get back. Everyone from your animals to your employees seem very happy, you have such a positive attitude you just glow and it seems to be contagious. Keep up the great job.😊
The chickens and ducks waiting to get out were like the viewers waiting to watch the tomato footage lol. Great video miss molly your garden is certainly way ahead of mine. Have to replant pretty much everything
Priceless! Oh to take a moment to just sit back silent and listen to nature in all it's glory. There is not enough money to buy what you guys have there.
THANK U for sharing your Sunday with us. It surely has tangible and appreciably HELPED my day. ...don't quite know just HOW nor WHY? [smiles, wink] ...but we always need to know everything...just to KNOW, FEEL, and ACKNOWLEDGE that it WORKS/it's WORKED. May U, Shane, and the rest of the Bell Farms crewe, there,...have a delightful, safe, and productive/efficient week, month, and back-half of the year ahead. Thank U, again, Molly, for sharing and caring as U do, and here -- again -- have.
I like, I like! Molly you are a wholesome person with down roots living. Pretty soon little Mollies will be in the outdoors with you learning the beauty of enjoyable work.:)
Loved the ducks and chickens. I would be in my glory with all them. Tomatoes will probably take off now that Maine is getting a little more sun than rain but a little rain is good. I did miss the dogs. Thanks for making my Sunday night
I’ve got a descent garden on my farm,, lots of different varieties,, my best is my rhubarb for pies,, hope your having a great day 😎 ordered some t- shirts, red one ( farmall guy)
No breaks for you how sad,,,, the chicks are multiplying , the bees are buzzing and the ducks are laying.. sounds like a song don’t you think …have a good week. your place looks very nice..love you guys ,…
Well Molly too bad you got stung and I am in the same boat- day 4 from stung on the elbow mowing. Swelling almost down but joints still sore. Potent little critters, cannot imaging wrangling like you do. Seriously lovin the garden too. Best to you'all till the next one
In theory, after you prune tomatoes, you'll get less, but better quality, bigger, tomatoes. I've found it makes for a more organized looking garden, but it also saves the plant from undue stress in heat and dry times. Meaning, it has more energy to take care of it's self.
Hey Molly - thank you for sharing another part of your life…very cool! I love the ducks too, always have since I was a kid, my dad used to coach Pop Warner football, and while he was coaching my mom would take me over to the man made ponds that were in the park and there was always a flock of ducks there and we would feed the ducks while we were waiting for my dad to get done coaching…oh and thunderstorms. I love to fall asleep to the sound of rain on a tent and the smell of rain in the air, there’s nothing like it and rolling thunder in the distance. Garden looks good, cant wait to see how the tomato’s turn out. Thanks for the update. 😊
Been sub'd for a while. Great content all around. Good luck with the garden, sure looks nice. Nice back piece! I thought it saw it in the one last week or so.
Thank you for sharing. Glad your Chicken's and Ducks are doing good. Nice too see them. The garden looks like it coming along well. You have Bees too? That's so cool. Honey bees here in Michigan are doing to good lately. Been getting fewer and fewer over the last couple of years.
Good evening Molly, Your garden is looking great. From my experience if you don’t pinch off the suckers the tomato plants get bushy but since the plant is using more energy for the leaves etc. you will likely get smaller tomatoes. We have already picked 3 ripe tomatoes and 4 or 5 pounds of green beans.
Nice video Molly ! About the tomatoes if you leave the suckers they will grow more tomatoes but they will very small because they are putting more energy in to growing the stem. You still can cut the suckers off when they are big I do. You can also run another string to one and have another stem.
Hi Molly ! Hope your trip to your dad's was great. You ask about suckers on tomatoes . Yes if you leave more suckers you'll get more tomatoes but they'll all be smaller. The less main shoots the bigger the tomato.
Thanks, Molly; always good to see you at work. We've also had some warm days in Cape Town recently, upper 20's. In summer 40°C is not all to uncommon inland. Down here it tends to be dry rather than humid. In the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Lowveld the humidity can be a problem. If one can strip off a bit, it does help; although one couldn't really do it in front of a class! Skin cancer is a problem here, as our sun is pretty fierce.
Great video Molly as always! Not sure if you know about the onion trick?Didn't believe it at first when I heard that years ago, but after a wasp bite I tried a fresh cut onion chunk on the bite .Applied on the bite for at least 15 minutes or longer and only a little bump with very little discomfort and of course on the back of the head but it actually worked.So its worth a try depending on the location of the bite and not sure if that will work on bee stings as the stinger is usually left inside the bite.You might have to wrap the onion with a stretchy bandage wrap to your skin to carry on with jobs!. Lol
Hi! We have tomato plants that sometimes start to yellow and there’s a fertilizer for them, it’s a lack of something in the soil. I bought it a Lowes but tractor supply probably has it. It brought them back to green in about a week or so. I can find out what it is if you like. Really like your attitude makes my day😊❤️
mornings for me is chores always, cats dogs garden trees shrubs and my wildlife friends in winter. With wildlife friends i now have bees here about 70 hives on my place so i keep water full for them.. so that way they have enough for themselves and honey i will get this fall. Then it is work e-mails,.. and with that comes,.. drawings of homes buildings for work and then,. Then when all that is done,.... everyone is taken care of....... then it is me time.. breakfast and fun e-mails and you-tube videos which yours is top of my list....... unless i am gone on business or travel. Like yesterday and this morning. but hey life is an adventure right? so i live it as i see it. Just as my grandparents raised me to live life the fullest and always strive to make myself better and smarter by learning new things. and potatoes hahaha i thought i knew so much.. but i knew nothing.. thank you Molly ? Shane and Bells farms... awesome!!.
Thank you Molly and Shane! Have you ever heard of companion plant planting? I plant eggplant with tomato plants. What happens, in my experience, the beetles go to the eggplant and leave the tomatoes alone. I've been doing this for the past few years, it works. Try looking up companion planting for tomatoes. Good Luck! .... who knew Potatoes were so interesting (they are). I have yet to grow my own. Thanks again!
Hi Molly, your tomatoe plants have really grown since you last showed them. I still have tin cans around my tomatoes but I would like to also try some type of trellis for them. Maybe a wire hog panel….not sure. One thing that I do know Molly, you could stop traffic in a gunny sack.!!! Thanks for the update.
Hi Molly boy you have them DUCKs eating right of your hands ... That's so Cool . We had 5000- Chickens . By the way did you enjoy your time with your FATHER I hope you did . My Father was in the KOREAN VETERAN . But soon after he Past away. I was only -6- yrs old . Tomatoes looking good does Shane like eating them. If not the Deer do Lol. God bless you and Shane and your family and Animals 💞 nice to see all of them running out to see you Molly😊
Hi Molly - I never suggest beekeeping without protection it just takes one sting and you could be in trouble. When I first started beekeeping I had no idea if I was allergic so I bough an EpiPen needless to say after my 1st sting I was ok so no need for the Epi pens. I always wear a ventilated jacket or a veil no matter, especially when weed whacking around the hives. Not sure if you left the queen in the cage for a few days or not and adding a frame of brood and drown out comb from one of your other colonies willl keep the bees in the nuc. Wow I didn't see that coming I am down to 7 hives and let me tell you its a full time job after coming home from my full time job ha ha ha. I just pulled about 2 ten frame mediums off the hives today and hope to get at least a 5 gallon bucket at least ( roughly 60lbs). Maybe 1-1/5 buckets I'm hoping. I have people lined up for it lol. How sweet it is :)
I hope that your vids continue a long time. I have several lives that I watch who have done fabulously. FabRats and Matts Offroad Rescue. FabRats is great at building Offroad vehicles and Matt is, too. Another is Dirt Perfect. I think that they’re models of success here. Both have been able to enlarge their businesses with video expertise. They have techniques down Pat. Happy Sunday evening from N WI.
@@BellsFarming There are three companion garages. Each is genius at something. Chad’s Fab is too good. He’s philosophical and a big fake doing fabulous vehicle rewiring from the ground up. He’s so bland and then he gets into one of his projects and becomes wildman. Chad does wiring for Matts and FabRats.
Swarms are usually safe. The bees are not aggressive when they swarm. But I got stunk from one of the other hives. Oops. Learned a good lesson that day. Always wear a hood. I don’t mind a sting on other parts of my body. But the face was bad!
Molly! Have you had the chicken and ducks since hatchlings? How many new babies do you get each spring? How do you protect them from predators? Do they help with the insects? Greta seeing a Sunday show!
Yes they were all little ducklings and chick once. I love Barbie birds. We have 3 new ducklings this years we don’t really let them breed on their own. But we let one duck hatch some fertilized eggs that came from the neighbors. We don’t have any male ducks anymore. I do lose birds to predators. But I put them inside at night. It seems that I loose birds occasionally during the day form The sky. Hawks and eagles I think.
