This is just a little clip on preparing and planting your tomato patch. What I learned from last years and what I need to do different this year. For those who are new to gardening most varieties of tomato plants like the sun.
Last year I planted tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, buttercup squash, green beans, peas and carrots. I found out that I needed to add nutrients to the soil in some of my planting beds.
Last year I planted my tomatoes in the same planting bed with my green beans and peas. That was not an ideal combination. It was a little over crowded and made it difficult to pick the beans which consequently were in the middle of the bed. Note not to do that again.
How I’m Doing It
So I finally got a break in the weather this spring, really late, but better late than never. I decided the first things I was going to get planted were my tomato plants. My kids like my homemade salsa that I canned last year so I wanted to make sure I have tomatoes for that. I cleared last years planting bed of any weeds and stuff that has found its way into this planting bed. Because my tomato plants last year had bottom rot I knew I needed to add calcium to my soil. So over the last winter months and into spring I collected egg shells and sprinkled them into the tomato patch.
After all of that I broke the ground up with my little garden claw. I have a tiller but its a raised bed so I have to work the ground by hand. After the ground is all worked I added some additional bags of garden soil, topsoil and compost, just for good measure. I then started planting my seedlings adding a tablespoon of garden vegetable fertilizer to each hole.
Now I top the tomato plants with old #10 tin cans or some kind of container that will protect them from the wind and extreme elements until they are bigger.
I bet you thought I was all done then. I take one more precaution to keep the neighborhood cats out. Finally I wrap the entire planting bed with deer netting held in place with garden stakes.
Tomato Patch Planted
After a good afternoons work this is what the tomato patch looks like now. Now to wait a few weeks for these plants to grow and get big enough to take the cans off and stick a tomato cage over to help support them.
I also was able to sneak 4 pepper plants into the tomato patch this year. I eager to see if they companion well together.
Off to the patio with a nice glass of wine while I wait for my tomatoes to grow.
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