What can tomato growers learn from all this?
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If there's one photo that sums up the 2020
growing season, it's this one: Tomato behind
shade cloth in mid-August. (Photos:
Kathy Morrison)
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Warning! Today I'm going to explore a sensitive topic: The tomato-growing season of 2020.
What, you say, why remind us of all that anguish?
Well, it was a learning experience, that's for sure. Even gardeners who had good-to-great tomato seasons ran into a few bumps. (112 degrees!!!) And we all feel a little sad when we pull out that last tomato plant, but that doesn't mean we should immediately erase the season from memory.
As baseball fans like to say, wait 'til next year!
Looking ahead, the biggest concern is the increasing number of hot days. As Debbie reported Wednesday , we had a record 125 days of 90-degree (or hotter) weather. That's a full four months, folks, two weeks more than the previous record of 110 in 1984. We need to acknowledge this kind of summer heat probably is here to stay. It's no longer an aberration.
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All in all, this Big Beef was
pretty happy in its 30-gallon grow pot.
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-- Prep that soil as early as possible. Run a soil test in winter on the preferred tomato location. Add nitrogen, compost and worm castings early enough that the soil is ready when planting weather is right.
-- Which reminds me: Assuming it's not pouring rain for a month -- as if! -- plant at least a few tomatoes in late March or early April. Then roll out the rest over a month. If there are heat spikes in June, which is an increasingly good bet, at least some of the tomatoes will be producing.
-- Fight spider mites early and often. Spray everything down with water, including pathways, at least every other day as the weather starts to warm up, whether or not spider mites seem to be present. (They are, most likely.) The longer I kept them at bay, the better chance my tomato plants had to grow and produce.
-- Go after weeds early, too. My community garden plot is along a fence, and outside the fence is field and a ditch -- perfect hiding places for overwintering pests. I really need to attack the weeds along the fence early, before most of the summer garden is planted.
-- Put in even more pollinator plants. I typically have zinnias, sunflowers and an African blue basil plant near my vegetables. This year, I upped the pollinator options by adding alyssum, chamomile and fennel transplants, and I dumped an entire package of mixed basil seeds into a 2-foot spot. That basil was just for the bees and other beneficials -- I let it flower and it's still going strong. The good bugs get even more sources next year, definitely.
-- Have plenty of shade cloth on hand before the heat spikes. It was sold out in many places by July, when I realized I could use a LOT more of it. I improvised with a wrecked lace tablecloth and some towels, but shade cloth works for a reason: It's tough but permeable. It also can be rolled up and put away for next year. I even washed some of mine on delicate in the washing machine, and it came out fine.
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These are a couple of the Green Cherokee tomatoes.
Interesting, but ultimately not worth the time commitment. |
-- Grow pots can work for tomatoes. This was another experiment for me this year: Would a full-size tomato produce in a 30-gallon fabric grow pot? It took a lot of potting soil and compost to fill that pot, but the Big Beef I put in it did pretty well, considering the weather. Also, I was home all the time to keep it watered. I also mulched it heavily with straw, and surrounded it with several potted roses to keep the soil from drying out too fast.
-- Grow Better Bush again. It's by far the best container plant I've tried, and it put up with the weather beautifully. Patio Yellow was another good one in a pot. Gee, I really need to check my seed supply, before I pack everything away and the tomato memories fade completely.
If any readers would like to share what they learned in tomato gardening this year, write to Debbie and me at sacdigsgardening@gmail.com.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
Sites We Like
Garden Checklist for week of June 29
We're into our typical summer weather pattern now. Get chores, especially watering, done early in the morning while it's cool.
* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.
* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers. Plant Halloween pumpkins now.
* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.
* Water, then fertilize vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Feeding flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom.
* Don’t let tomato plants wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week.
* Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.
* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.
* Harvest tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplant. Prompt picking will help keep plants producing.
* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.
* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.
* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.
* Give vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.