{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-post-post-js","path":"/gardening-tips/top-tips-growing-tomatoes-garden/","result":{"pageContext":{"wordpressPost":{"id":"39eaf2b9-1a42-5b31-90dc-0128a438cd1d","slug":"top-tips-growing-tomatoes-garden","path":"/gardening-tips/top-tips-growing-tomatoes-garden/","status":"publish","template":"","format":"standard","author":{"description":"","name":"Wikilawn","id":"706a455e-0b9c-56ea-aeed-4f411c6c1973","path":"/author/wikilawn/","avatar_urls":{"wordpress_96":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/fd0301960c52ded452e0b5fc145cb264?s=96&d=mm&r=g"}},"categories":[{"id":"9d2e17fb-2d94-54d0-842f-ab7f7fc9f750","name":"Gardening Tips","count":3,"path":"/category/gardening-tips/"},{"id":"eb7502c3-6613-55bb-851c-a8962e7987ce","name":"Master Gardeners","count":1,"path":"/category/master-gardeners/"}],"date":"June 17th, 2016","excerpt":"

Growing your own vegetables and fruits is an exciting experience and it is not difficult to grow them in your own backyard or kitchen garden. Today, we are sharing expert tips from the folks at Carpenter’s Nursery on growing tomatoes in your own garden. Growing Tomatoes Tomatoes can be grown effectively in grow bags, hanging baskets […]

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\t\t\t\tGrowing your own vegetables and fruits is an exciting experience and it is not difficult to grow them in your own backyard or kitchen garden. Today, we are sharing expert tips from the folks at Carpenter’s Nursery on growing tomatoes in your own garden.

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\"Growing

First Crop / Image via Flickr

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Growing Tomatoes

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Tomatoes can be grown effectively in grow bags, hanging baskets (variety – Tumbler), pots, greenhouses or the ground. Despite being subtropical plants they are surprisingly resilient and versatile. For best results though the greenhouse provides the best crop – but if you don’t have one don’t let that discourage you.

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If growing from seed, sow in early Spring indoors in seed trays. Seed sowing compost is the ideal germination nutrient. Once the seeds reach an inch in height transplant them into individual pots. Once they reach 6-8 inches transplant them into larger pots, grow bags or tubs etc.

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Fertilizing Your Tomatoes

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For best results add some long lasting feed or organic fertiliser to a good compost. You can buy it or use your compost heap – dark rich compost will give you the very best results. If you start with nice healthy plants and great compost you are 95% of the way there to getting the perfect results and a huge crop.

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Once you have planted the tomatoes water only sparingly initially – then as the flowers come up you can water more. This will mean your tomato plants have a stronger root system.

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Taking Care of Your Tomatoes

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Tomatoes like warm and moist conditions and you should not let them outside until the weather has significantly warmed and the nights a frost-free unless you are putting them into a greenhouse. At night you can wrap tomato plants in fleece if they are staying outside or just bring them in each night until the weather warms.

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Once established tomatoes are fairly easy to maintain. They require regular water (in evenings to avoid evaporation) and should be checked regularly for pests and diseases. Feed every one to two weeks once the plants are producing fruit. The most important issue to look for is Blight – which appears as a brown black fungus that quickly destroys plants. The only real way to protect from this is to grow in a greenhouse or buy disease resistant variety. Other common issues are viruses which will destroy leafs and eventually plants. If your tomatoes start to mottle or leafs die trip them off carefully.

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Best Growing Tomato Plants

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Carpenter’s Nursery recommends these varieties:

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Sungold (Buy seeds online) – A popular sweet tomato variety bursting with flavors. Yellow and orange and easy to grow.

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Gardener’s Delight (Buy seeds online) – Large cherry tomatoes full of juice and incredibly succulent.

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Alicante (Buy seeds online) – A classic variety of tomato and ever popular this is an English classic and always produces exceptional crop yields.

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Shirley F1 (Buy seeds online) – Remains one of the most popular varieties for cultivating in cold or slightly heated greenhouses. This early maturing tomato has become an exhibitor’s favorite for its heavy crops of excellent quality fruit.\t\t

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Houseplant insects, if not identified and removed properly, can kill your plants. It is important to spot early signs of infestation by regularly examining your plants especially those surrounded by other plants or placed in hard to reach locations and corners. Most insects are small and live on parts of the plants that are not […]

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\t\t\t\tHouseplant insects, if not identified and removed properly, can kill your plants. It is important to spot early signs of infestation by regularly examining your plants especially those surrounded by other plants or placed in hard to reach locations and corners. Most insects are small and live on parts of the plants that are not usually visible such as under the leaves and nodes or around stems.

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If you find your houseplants infested with insects, immediately isolate the affected plant and make sure that insects have not already spread. The next step to identify insects and use an appropriate insecticide to get rid of infestation. This following is a brief guide to identifying houseplant insects and getting rid of them.

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Scale

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Scales look like white cottony masses, sometimes with brown crusty bumps. Sometimes, they are flattened red or grey bodies. They can attack any part of the plant – stem, nodes or leaves where they suck sap from the plant and excrete sticky fluid. Scales are easily visible and are easily scraped off the plant surface.

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How to get rid of scale insects – Scrape off larger scales and then use a soft brush dipped in soapy water or horticultural oil to clean affected areas thoroughly. Keep the plant under watch for at least a week and repeat the process, if required.

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\"Scale

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Mealybugs

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Mealybugs usually look like scales because of their size and appearance. They are identified by their white waxy body and their habit of living in clusters. Plants infested with mealybugs would look distinctly weak, unhealthy and covers with sticky sap. Mealybugs usually live underside of leaves and cause deformation of leaves.

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\"Mealybugs\"

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How to get rid of mealybugs – Mealybugs can spread quickly and are difficult to control. If spotted earlier, mealybugs can be removed by wiping off the affected parts with a damp cloth or cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol. Serious infestation can be controlled by using an appropriate insecticide and re-potting the plant with fresh soil. Do not use the infested soil.

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If possible, use organic insecticides such as EcoSmart Organic Botanical Garden Insect Killer. I prefer organic pesticides because they use natural plant oils and have no harmful effects on humans and pets. Most organic pesticides are odorless and can be used safely on indoor plants.

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Thrips

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Thrips are one of the most common and difficult to control houseplant insects. They feed on fruits, flowers, leaves and stems of houseplants and lay eggs in silts they cut in plants. The eggs, if left unattended, hatch and send off a fresh colony of thrips.

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How to get rid of thrips – There are thousands of species of thrips varying is size and color – some are easily identified and controlled whereas some of them are more resilient. Most species of thrips can be controlled by using an organic insecticide.

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\"Thrips

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Aphids

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Aphids are small green, pink, brown, yellow or black insects that usually attach young buds, new foliage, and stems. These pesky houseplant insects live in small clusters and suck sap from plants resulting in weak growth and wilted leaves.

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How to get rid of aphids – Isolate affected plants. If caught earlier, wipe off insects with cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol. Keep the plant under watch and repeat the process every two or three days until full rescue. If infestation is severe, use an appropriate insecticide. You may have to spray the plant multiple times at weekly intervals.

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\"Hibiscus:

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Whiteflies

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Whiteflies, like most houseplant insects, weaken plants by sucking plant sap and coating parts of the plants with sticky substance. Whiteflies are small, white flying insects that flutter around the plants and lay eggs under the foliage. Affected plants show signs of weak growth and poor foliage.

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\"Whitefly\"
\nHow to get rid of whiteflies – Move the plant to an airy spot. Wipe off eggs and larva with damp cloth or cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol. If the infestation is severe, use an insecticidal soap or an appropriate organic insecticide.

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\"Rubbing

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Spider mites

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Spider mites are too small houseplant insects to be noticed easily. They are wind surfers and easily travel from one plant to another. Spider mites live underside leaves where they spin protective webbing. These pesky insects damage leaves by sucking sap and making holes in them. Affected leaves usually show sign of discoloration or prominent yellow stripes. Spider mites reproduce quickly in a dry environment such as in a greenhouse.

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\"Spider

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How to get rid of spider mites – Remove affected leaves and stems. Wash the plan with a strong stream of water and then use an insecticide, preferably an organic insecticide like  EcoSmart Organic Botanical Garden Insect Killer.\t\t

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Thunbergia (Black-eyed Susan) Known for its bright yellow flowers, Black-eyed Susan is an easy to grow vine. It prefers a moist but well-drained soil under bright sunlight. Black-eyed Susan can be easily trained to twine up fences, walls, pergolas, and privacy screens in a garden, deck or backyard. This lovely vine can grow up to […]

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Thunbergia (Black-eyed Susan)

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Known for its bright yellow flowers, Black-eyed Susan is an easy to grow vine. It prefers a moist but well-drained soil under bright sunlight. Black-eyed Susan can be easily trained to twine up fences, walls, pergolas, and privacy screens in a garden, deck or backyard. This lovely vine can grow up to 5 feet and produces attractive flowers in early or mid-fall. Some varieties also bear orange, white, blue and violet flowers.

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Popular varieties include Thunbergia alata (yellow, orange and white flowers) and Thunbergia grandiflora (violet flowers).

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Clematis

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Clematis are one of the widely planted and the best vines to grow in gardens. They are popular for their attractive flowers that come in many different shades of red, pink, yellow, blue, purple and white. Clematis are usually easy to grow in a warm and sunny spot but they can tolerate spells of cold when protected from chilling winds and frost. The spring bloomers can be trained to twine up trellis and pergolas. The vine can grow up to 15 feet or more. A large number of varieties varying in size, growing habit and color of flowers are available for gardeners and horticulturists.

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Parthenocissus

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Parthenocissus is a small genus of climbing vines from the family of grapes. These fast-growing plants are the best vines to grow against a wall, fence, or almost any other structure in your garden that you want to cover or hide. These clinging vines can easily attach themselves to almost any surface with abundant and beautiful foliage. Most species of Parthenocissus benefit from bright sunlight and a well-drained soil. Popular species include Parthenocissus quinquefolia (also know as Virgina Creeper) and Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Boston Ivy).

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