I am not a gardening expert by any stretch of the imagination nor do I have a good yard for gardening for several reasons including the eleven trees that provide plenty of shade but do not allow enough sunlight through to grow fruits and vegetables. However, finding a house with a yard that has a sunny patch for a garden is part of what is keeping my husband and I so busy these days. I’m hopeful that by next summer we’ll be able to plant a larger garden. In the meantime, each year we enjoy homegrown tomatoes.
Since the only sun in our yard is in the front, we’ve always grown tomatoes in pots on the front porch. I’ve found I don’t have to share as many with the critters as my neighbors who grow theirs in the back. I look forward to planting the tomatoes each summer. Even though I don’t have a green thumb, we enjoy several beautiful, red tomatoes each year. They taste so much better than those purchased from the store, and they work out to be much less expensive as well. Because these tomatoes are as local as produce is ever going to get for our family, they are also a more eco-friendly option that those purchased at the store.
I buy the smallest seedlings available. They cost around $1.00 each. I did a little research to find out what types do well in the Kansas City/Midwest area and discovered that “Early Girl” thrive here. Last summer, I purchased some seedlings from some kids who had grown their own using the seeds from an heirloom tomato. Unfortunately last summer was not a good summer for growing tomatoes, but we enjoyed the few we were able to pick. I’d like to try growing tomatoes from a seed in future, but for now we’re keeping it as simple as possible.
I plant the seedling so that about 80% of it is below the soil. I read somewhere about doing this, and my own little experiment one summer proved to me that a seedling planted this way grows as quickly but with a thicker stem when compared with one planted with the whole stem exposed.
They look so tiny in the huge pot at first, but they don’t stay tiny for long!
Here they are one month later. Those tiny seedlings have already sprouted into plants that reach the top of the tomato cages, and there are several flowers already with tomatoes soon to follow. This year I’m attempting to grow some herbs as well. So far only the basil has come up. I’m hopeful the chives and parsley will sprout soon.
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