Irrigate with Drips to Grow Better Tomatoes and Other Tips

Growing tomatoes provides inexperienced gardeners a surefire vegetable for first time success if a few simple procedures are followed.  Tomatoes are very productive.  One plant can produce more juicy, delicious tomatoes than you can eat everyday. Tomato plants are also very tolerant of mistakes commonly made by inexperienced gardeners and keep on producing despite the errors. Their bounty and ease of growing make tomatoes a popular staple of almost every garden.

Here are some tips for growing incredible tomatoes in your very first attempt.

1. Tomato varieties have been developed that thrive in specific climates.  Ask your local nursery what hybrids do best in your area of the country.  You'll have a lot more success and bounty growing these varieties than those best suited for climates other than the one you live in.

2. Warm soil is a key to copious tomato growth.  Locating your tomato garden on a south exposure will give it the maximum sun, which your tomatoes will thank you for by producing many more fruits.  In colder climates a piece of black cloth or plastic can be placed over the area you plan on planting your tomatoes a couple of weeks prior to planting to warm the soil.

3. Prior to planting enrich your soil by removing the black covering, watering, adding nutrients such as peat moss and digging into and turning the soil to loosen and aerate it.

4. Plan lots of space between your tomato plants.  Your seed package will give you a recommended spacing.  If you have the room you should add a little more to the recommended amount.  Tomatoes send out
a large root system and the less competition they have for water and nutrients the better they will produce.

5. Water is the last quick tip for successful growing of tomatoes.  Your plants depend upon a consistent and adequate amount of water to thrive and without it, even if all other support factors are met, your plants will be poor producers. When you water by hand it is so easy to forget a watering, or be late for one, or neglect to water a sufficient amount.  All those problems vanish when you install a simple drip irrigation system.

Your local hardware store can provide a digital timer for between $20-$50 depending on bells and whistles that attaches right to your outdoor faucet.  Another $25-$50 will provide you with all the drip irrigation hose and sprinkler heads to water a 6'x30' area.  The variance in price depends upon the type of delivery outlet you choose.  You could go with a straight drip irrigation hose line or add little sprinkler heads in for faster watering.  Both ways work well as long as you program in enough watering time for the volume that is expelled from the outlet you choose. The timer will allow you to regulate when, how often and what quantity of water your tomatoes receive. The timer never forgets, misses a watering or neglects to water enough.

Mulch should also be applied in top of the soil to help hold in moisture and prevent evaporation from the sun hitting the otherwise bare, exposed soil.

The end result?  You and your neighbors will all be amazed at the buckets full of delicious vine-ripened tomatoes your garden produces!

Getting Rid of Aphids, Mealybugs, Psyllids and Spider Mites Without Toxic Insecticides.

Welcome to the All Organic Gardening Blog.  This blog will provide you with regular tips and tricks to successful organic gardening and supplement the information and products you can find on our All Organic Gardening website.  Bookmark us now and come back often.

Here's a quick tip to get you started: Aphids, Mealybugs, Psyllids and Spider Mites are common banes to both indoor and outdoor gardening.  How to get rid of the bugs and keep them away, without hurting the plants you're growing can sometimes seem a challenge.  But the solution is easy.  Simply add a hand soap or detergent such as Dawn, to a spray bottle full of water in about a 2% ratio of soap to water and shake to mix well.  Spray onto the affected plants on their leaves, stems and buds.

Detergents and soaps are contact insecticides, and the spray must be applied directly to and completely cover the insects and their eggs. As the bugs and their eggs may be almost too small to see, try to coat all surfaces of the plant.  There is no residual  affect from soapy water remaining on the plant that did not come in contact with the insect or its eggs at the time of application as on their own they will avoid it.  This method  will clear out even the heaviest infestations of aphids and other soft body bugs.  A light spray should be all that you need and will ensure that you aren't altering the pH of your soil by saturating it with a detergent water that may not be the same pH as the plant prefers.  

How soapy water kills bugs is still somewhat of a mystery, with theories including disruption of their cellular functions to removal of the waxy substances that protect their soft bodies leading to excessive loss of bodily fluids. In any case, it works and works well so go get those bugs!