May 11, 2018
One of my 18" tall tomatoes in a 4" pot had a label on it that said to bury two thirds of the plant. Well that's not gonna happen because if I dig down a foot, I hit red clay soil. Roots don't grow well in clay. Instead I dug a trench 8" deep tapering up to 4" and laid the plant in it. Tomato roots are fond of warm soil and I noticed a difference as I dug..
The warmer top soil is also contributing to the exponential zucchini growth. They've been in the ground for only two weeks and are already touching the sides of my 2' diameter cold frames. The melons and cucumbers, in the ground the same length of time, are still hovering around 4". There must be something else they require to enlargen or they might require a more fully developed root system in order for them to begin leaf and stem growth..
May 12, 2018
Tomato planting time is special to us old gardeners. It comes only once a year, like our birthdays, but is much more highly anticipated. Kneeling on the ground with the warm sun behind us, because we've learned to face away from it, this is not a time to rush. We savor the fragrance of the freshly turned earth and break each clod as we go. We watch for the color of the dirt to change as we dig deeper and look for holes, tunnels and air pockets that tell us how successful we've been at growing the depth of our top soil nutrients..
We find a kind of reverance for the complex interaction of earth, water, sunlight and plants. The soil is as alive with microbial activity as the cosmos is impressive. We become humbled by our lack of knowledge and very much aware of a higher power..
May 13, 2018
I got a pile of moldy wet hay today and mulched the fence line behind the tomato row. Using a pitchfork made all the clumps the same size and resulted in an even, aesteticly pleasing line. Having the hay wet bent the tall grass I was covering over, so that it came in contact with the ground, where it will get eaten by slugs, earthworms and pill bugs, and become part of the mulch. It allows the mulch on top of it to be reserved for future soil amending later in the summer. Time release nutrients. If the moldy hay was not wet I would wet it thoroughly..
Inhaling mold can't be healthy. I used a row of coarse compost along in front of the hay to seal it, and another row down in front of the tomatoes. A shovel full between each plant and I put the sprinkler on it for an hour. Now it's cooking. Best tomato bed ever..
