![]() There's always too many Tomatoes and there's never enough time to can them all. It stays a brighter green than other pestos, and is wonderful spooned over the Tomato. And sometimes we make a pesto with our Lemon Basil and some good olive oil-maybe a little extra lemon as well, and some parmigiano cheese. Basil, either with the leaves whole or cut into ribbons, is a frequent player. Sliced red Onions are often part of the mix. Sometimes its a heavier balsamic vinegar dressing with olive oil and honey. Sometimes it’s just a simple vinaigrette. But most of the time the vines will simply rest their elbows on the wire, so to speak, as they climb, remaining staunchly upright.Īt the height of Tomato season, platters appear on the table regularly, and we never seem to get tired of them. As the Tomatoes grow you can train them a little, removing the bottom suckers up to the first fruiting branch, and guiding each uppermost tip to stay within the cage as it grows. Also snip off the horizontal wire at the bottom, leaving more stubs you can poke into the earth to hold the cage steady. Cut the sheet in half with wire cutters, leaving stubs of wire that can be twisted around the opposite sides to form a cylinder about 18" in diameter. Each sheet, cut in half, will make two 5' tall cylindrical cages. Instead we purchase sheets of concrete reinforcing wire, which is sold at hardware stores in flat rectangular sheets of heavy duty metal grid, with 6" X 6" openings, just the right size for reaching in to pick. Our favorite system is to train them in circular cages~and we don’t mean those flimsy ones you buy at the garden center, which are neither tall enough nor strong enough to support the weight of indeterminate (vining) varieties. The better your Tomato crop, the more important it is to support those heavy, leafy vines laden with ripening fruits. And who knows? Perhaps the Basil's strong scent repels insect pests that might otherwise prey on the Tomatoes. It's handy to be able to pick the two together. After all, they keep excellent company in the kitchen, whether you're serving fresh Tomatoes strewn with the pungent green Basil leaves or cooking both up into a luscious sauce for pasta. There's plenty of space in between them for bushy Basil plants. Certainly, they cause each other no harm, for we have often interplanted the two in a row, especially when we're training Tomatoes vertically on strings. If you can, group them together and run a soaker hose through the patch.Īccording to the theory of companion planting, Tomatoes and Basil benefit one another when grown in the same plot. Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Celery are especially thirsty. The more water a vegetable contains, the more water you need to give it in dry, hot weather. If they are pale, yellow or withered, you need to prepare the soil more carefully next time you plant. If the seed leaves stay healthy and green, you're doing something right with the soil in that row. They remain at the base of the stem as the plant grows. ![]() This is the first pair of leaves to emerge when a seed sprouts. If you're wondering if your Tomato plants (or any annual crops) are getting the soil fertility they need, keep an eye on the "seed leaves". Keep Tomatoes well-watered by soaking the soil and not the leaves. With Tomato cages or tie plants loosely to rough Seedlings deeper than initially grown, incorporating organic fertilizer under each transplant. Prepareįertile Tomato beds in full sun with lots of compostĪnd/or well-rotted manure. Off and to introduce to stronger sunlight. Spring frost, place outdoors for a week to harden Get leggy and flop over.) Fertilize lightly as needed, (Windowsills are not bright enough the plant will To 75☏ in a brightly lit, well-ventilated area. Tomato seeds in sterile seed mix 6 to 8 weeksīefore the danger of frost has passed, water lightlyĪnd provide bottom heat. ![]() It’s best to raise Tomatoes as transplants. We have listed the diseases to which select hybrids have been bred to be resistant~one of the true benefits of improved hybrids. ![]()
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