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Post by phoenixcat on Mar 15, 2017 23:24:54 GMT -5
OK - I made a huge mistake. I went willy nilly into a nursery and bought everything that sounded good I know that I have way more tomato plants than I need. I have supersweet and roma which the nursery said are good growers for this area. USDA Zone 9. I read somewhere that 2 plants for every family member if you are primarily just eating them (salads, etc.) - double that to 4 plants per family member if you also want to make sauces, canning, salsa, etc. So even if I go five per family member to account for my stupidity (first year trying this!) and maybe some give away to friends - I still have way more plants than I need. So - since they sell these plants in a six pack - is it normal to throw away the more scraggly ones or something? I just feel so bad throwing them away but I'm afraid I will kill them all if I don't give them room to grow. And, I will add - if the tomatoes are good - we are huge eaters. Whenever I go to DM's, I bring back about 30-40 tomatoes that we usually polish off in less than 2 weeks. I have two 3'x3'x6" raised beds which is probably not deep enough either And, I have a bunch of "containers" - all sizes and I can get more. Various website feedback is that raised gardens can support a bit more than what would be considered normal spacing. I also have a similar question on herbs. Do basil and mint need their own containers? I have a variety of herbs in a 3'x1'x 7" container now but I'm wondering if a few of them are going to overtake the rest. I also have some Serrano and Habanero plants - I was going to put two plants in each large container pot? Same pepper in each pot - I'm not mixing them up Frankly in most cases - I'm trying to hedge my bets and have a bit more because I'm not expecting all plants to do well. The only semi-smart thing I did was to just buy one squash plant What I really wanted was pattypan squash but I couldn't find seeds or starters in three different nurseries so a bit disappointed on that. Anyway, I'm making a huge mess of things and I thought I would consult the experts to see how best to fix it while it is still relatively early. All advice appreciated!! PC
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Post by casper on Mar 16, 2017 0:21:57 GMT -5
My sweet basil grew HUGE and spread and was trying to overtake the entire herb garden. Crowded out half the chives. Keep a constant eye on basil and prune it down before it goes rogue.
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Post by Fivecat on Mar 16, 2017 2:43:08 GMT -5
Try ordering your seeds online. I've never bought a six pack of plants intending to through any away. Just plant them all yourself or give some away. Tomatoes are usually pretty hearty growers. The Roma's will be good for canning, making sauce, salsa, etc. Very meaty, less seeds. I'm not familiar with the other tomato. I'd be interested in his you like it. Planting marigolds right around the base of tomato plants is suppose to help keep bugs off. I'd use tomato cages as they can grow large and become very heavy with fruit, they need the support. If you don't do cages, at least stake them and tie them to the stake as it grows. Once they get some height on them, break the top out. Around here we call that suckering. It keeps the plant from growing all spindly and you should have a stronger plant that bears more and larger fruit. You can actually plant that top you break out and get a late crop of tomatoes off it. Oh, and when you plant the plants, plant them deep, leave only the top 2 or 3 leaves showing, its needs a good strong root system. Same with the tops you break off and plant. I like to put a spoonful if miracle grow in the bottom of my hole before I put the plant in. Tomatoes need ALOT of sun and water, but don't drown them. I like to mulch around my plants with grass clipping, shredded newspaper, or some such thing to keep the moisture in and reduce watering. I've never grown basil, but I have mint that was here when we bought the place. It spreads everywhere and will crowd out and take over less hearty plants. I always loved mowing over it, though. Smelled soooooo good! It will come up and spread volunteer from seed, though, so make sure you dead head the blooms if you don't want it to go everywhere. Squash is what I would actually plant the most of because I love it so much, but it takes ALOT of room as they spread in a huge circle, several feet in diameter. I havent done this, but I think it would make sense to plant one hill of squash one week, anotherthe next week, aanother the next, and so on, so that there's a staggered yield instead of everything coming on all at once, which is probably what's going to happen with your tomatoes ! You're gonna have them running out your ears, all at one time ! Anyway, good luck! I haven't put anything out for a few years, but I've kinda got the itch! I might actually put out a plant or 2, even though I KNOW my wascally wabbits will eat em all
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Post by seashell on Mar 16, 2017 3:51:05 GMT -5
You may be able to give extra plants to your local garden club. When I was overrun with cacti and succulents, I took a tray of them to the local cacti and succulent society, and they gave everyone a number on a piece of paper, and let #1 have first choice, #2 second choice, etc. The plants were all gone in a matter of minutes. I've ordered plants and seeds online before from Burpee and had good success. I'm like you--I buy everything I see that looks good. www.burpee.com/search?q=pattypan+squash
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Post by bub on Mar 16, 2017 7:35:15 GMT -5
It's going to be okay! You're going to be busy planting for the next couple of days and it's OK to curb freecycle any leftover plants. Can you return any for a refund or grow some in the other part of the yard? Do you have room indoors for a couple of plants? Plant what you can and what makes you happy and amnesty for the rest.
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Post by Jannie on Mar 16, 2017 8:13:04 GMT -5
I've never had luck with seeds. I do buy seedings in six packs beginning in May, I'll plant all of them, see what "takes', and remove the rest. I will generally have three or four tomato plants and they provide "eating" tomatoes for my family of 5. I am lucky in that I do have a lovely farm market open nearby in summer., so from May to October I can buy all the fresh veggies I need.
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Post by hollyhock on Mar 16, 2017 8:17:30 GMT -5
You bought your tomatoes in 6 packs? They must still be fairly small then. I would either a) plant them all and then remove the weaker ones (or every other one) once they've had a chance to catch on. - which is what you would do if you started them from seed or b) plant some into pots, so if some don't survive, then you can still replant some - or keep them all. Not all will make it. Last year I bought myself 4? plants for my balcony - and I did not have 1 decent tomato. Good sun, watered well, fertilized. My ds had problems too, so it may have just been the year. So I'd keep as many as I could until you see how they do. Research the types on-line - you will find out how far you should space them apart and how deep you should plant them. Definitely use cages and put them on early. Someone above said to plant your tomatoes deep and I agree. I was surprised when I learned that for tomatoes any part of the stem planted can grow more roots.
Don't get down on yourself. It's your first year - and it's all a learning curve. You will find out what works well and what doesn't. And as mentioned above - keep your mint in a pot or else it will take over everything. I've never tried basil, but I think casper has given you good advice.
Good luck!
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Post by dtesposito on Mar 16, 2017 8:31:37 GMT -5
I'm not a gardener but just wanted to say I wish I lived near you, because if all your plants thrive you'll have a lot of tomatoes to give away in late summer... Good luck, I envy you your garden space! Diane
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Post by def6 on Mar 16, 2017 9:15:46 GMT -5
Don't get overwhelmed ...Just take the obvious extras back and exchange them for something else. Have fun!
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Post by phoenixcat on Mar 16, 2017 12:11:35 GMT -5
Everyone here is AWESOME. Thanks so much for the advice. Such great ideas - cutting off the tops and replanting, local gardening groups, giving away, free cycle, even returning to the store not to mention the mint and basil challenges. Never thought of any of that. I've decided to keep 10 tomato plants - my handy person was just here and took five plants from me. Got the word out to a few more friends on whether they want any. Going to use deep container pots for the tomatoes and then re-think what I'm putting in my raised beds - since they are only 6" deep. May have to buy some more plants Diane - I have space for containers and raised beds but most of my yard is concrete and rock cover with a lot of citrus and palm trees. Not a speck of grass except for weeds Drought area! Seashell I like the website link - looks like it will be a great resource! Once again, THANKS SO MUCH everyone for the advice, the support and the encouragement! DH came home after a very long business trip last night. I hadn't said anything to him about all my gardening efforts. He was so amazed this morning walking around - especially happy about the basil, the tomatoes and the hot peppers I thought he would give me a hard time about taking up another time consuming project and getting carried away. But he seemed really happy about it all. Any and all advice still welcome!! PC
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H2H
Banned
halfwaytohoarder gets rid of it all!
Joined: February 2017
Posts: 2,041
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Post by H2H on Mar 16, 2017 12:42:38 GMT -5
HA! phoenixcat I am just impressed you actually COOK with the basil you grow!! attagirl! (I love Romas the best too)
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Post by phoenixcat on Mar 16, 2017 13:06:27 GMT -5
Halfway - you may be even more impressed that it is DH doing the cooking - he loves to make Martha Stewart's one pot pasta which is heavy with fresh basil! The mint is for (ahem) mojitos and I also make a mint yogurt chutney for samosas.
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Post by hollyhock on Mar 16, 2017 13:14:21 GMT -5
For the flat beds, you might consider cucumbers, or zucchini. Cucs and squash are trailers so need a lot of room, or something to climb on. I had trellises at my old place. My ds took them when I moved, and uses them to grow zucchini and maybe peas.
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Post by hollyhock on Mar 16, 2017 13:19:03 GMT -5
Me again. There are books out now regarding 'square foot gardening'. I just did a Google search and came up with this website - this part of it shows plans. I have ONLY looked at the few pics here, but this might be something of interest for you. www.mysquarefootgarden.net/category/garden-plans/
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Post by notanotherdecade on Mar 16, 2017 15:56:11 GMT -5
Have fun with the garden. We can't plant toms outside yet over here till the last frosts at the end of may, started mine off from seed, still small. I was jealous of the "winter garden" post where one of the members here was able to keep her plants going all winter..
tomatoes need decluttering of their own, nipping off the side shoots, if not they turn into a real mess of a plant. I keep make the mistake of leaving it too late before doing this.
The mint at my allotment spreads like a weed, but the plants in my garden struggle, perhaps because they want more light.
Just read your post about it being a drought area. That will probably mean the tomatoes probably won't have the problem of blight that we have that can wipe out all the plants and crop in a few days, hence lots of recipes for green chutney to use the saved unripe crop.. add any organic matter you can to the soil to help water retention, it sounds like you will want to think about mulching the growing area too.
One of my favourite gardening books is "healthy soil" by The Best Of Fine Gardening. It has an inspiring article in it on Managing Water In Arid Gardens, it shows sunken beds, which involves a good bit of digging, and lots of compost, they use shading a lot, esp for young plants and taking advantage of any water runoff. ...
Tomatoes sulk if the plant dries out, it can't absorb the minerals it needs if too dry, so keep the hospice handy. Are you able to divert your used shower water into the garden?
are there any aromatic plants that can be encouraged to grow between your slabs, thyme does well for that here, not sure if you have an equivalent that is good for your climate. Enjoy your garden xx
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