Tomato Ketch-Up

Time to play...tomato ketch-up!

It's been nearly four weeks since my last post which means it's time for the Readers' Digest Condensed Volume to bring everyone up to date. The past four weeks was marked by two scheduled and subsequently canceled fishing trips to Lake Powell, a week down and out with a cold and just plain ole procrastination, resulting in major confusion between me and my 'maters!

As a result of my worry that the "leggy" seedlings would not be successful, I planted a second tray of seedlings.

I started out keeping track of which seedlings were which by recording them in my journal. When I moved them around, I updated the book. Well, somehow or another, I lost track and wound up with 4 pods and forgot which variety was which.  I finally got wise and used colored toothpicks in each pod/pot to keep this from being a problem from this point on.  LESSON: I will not rely on the diagrams in the journal to identify varieties and will start from the beginning with toothpicks in every pod. 

I'm happy to report that all seedlings are rapidly growing. This past week, all seedlings from their original "pods" have been upgraded to their gallon-container homes. When you transplant a tomato into a larger container, you should bury them deep. Only the top three inches should be visible above the soil line.  Why?  Tomatoes sprout roots along the buried stem. The extra roots strengthen a plant so that it can support more fruit and is better able to survive hot weather.  This technique allowed even the "leggy" seedlings from tray 1 to remain viable.

I have way more plants than will fit under my THREE grow lights (yes, we purchased another grow light).  I have 24 gallon-sized containers, 8 under each grow light, and the overflow on a tray near the shelving unit.  It is impossible for me to discard a perfectly fine plant, so it will be interesting to see how the plants on the tray do when not directly under the grow lights.  The trays under the grow light contain: 6 Black Krim, 5 Oregon Spring, 8 Sungold, 3 Ultimate Opener and 2 Supersweet. I hope to plant 2 Black Krim, 1 Oregon Spring, 2 Ultimate Openers, 1 Supersweet and 4 Sungolds. 

In the meantime, my handy husband helped me by putting a soaker hose into the raised bed which means I no longer have to spend an hour every day watering with the hose. He even set it up so I have two separate hoses coming off the faucet so I don't need to disconnect the soaker system when I need to hand water other areas of the garden/yard. Today we purchased two more plastic "whiskey barrels", a new sprayer attachment for the hose and a timer! Now I won't have to find a plant sitter if I need to be away. If we purchase any more gadgets I won't even have to venture outdoors - I can just sit in the house and watch everything! Everytime I spend money for the garden, I laugh and think how many tomatoes I could buy at the summer Farmer's Market for the cost of supplies and water for my plants. I told Steve we should do a comparison of the cost per pound of my tomatoes vs. the cost per pound of his fish!  WHen you include the cost of the boat we bought this spring, I think I'm doing just fine.

A week ago, I placed seeds in the raised bed: spinach, romaine and buttercrunch lettuce, bok choy cabbage and sugar peas. I spied a pea shooting up through the soil this morning and expect to see some of the greens in the next day or two.

We noticed something digging in the raised bed, so we got a have-a-heart trap a couple of days ago. On the second night, we got us a raccoon! Steve relocated him to an area less inhabited by humans. 

Today, it seems that spring is here. It is in the low 70's with no wind! Not much to do now but sit back and wait for the greens in the raised bed to poke through the soil and for the days and nights to warm up enough to move the tomatoes outdoors encased in their cozy wall-o-waters.

And that's how you do tomato ketch-up!

Tomatoes and Tea

All gardeners experience setbacks.

We had a trip to Phoenix planned, leaving Thursday morning and returning Saturday evening. When we left, the little seedlings were just poking through the top of their pods, some maybe 1/4" tall.  We decided not to set them under the grow lights, fearing the heat from the lights would dry them out. They could not remain under their plastic cover, though, as that would be too moist. We propped open the plastic cover and set them on the dining room table.

Before...

What a surprise awaited when we returned home on Saturday afternoon! Those tiny seedlings had grown to 3-4 inches tall and were pointed towards the nearest window. 

...and After!

Tall seedlings are NOT good. They are what is known as "leggy". Tall, spindly growth is unhealthy for seedlings. They will have compromised circulatory systems. When the light source is too far away, they stretch their heads towards the nearest light source. It is important to place the seedlings under a light source that is 2-3" away. We immediately moved the tray underneath the light source which was lowered to approximately 2 inches above the tray.

Leggy!

I could barely contain my dismay on Saturday evening knowing I had to begin anew.  I also knew that I had used all of the seeds in two of the seed varieties I had ordered and could not purchase them in Flagstaff.

Four pods with Ultimate Opener variety were only 1-2 inches tall, so I took them out of tray 1 and put them in a small tray and placed them under the Aerogrow light. I decided to reoganize tray 1 and leave it underneath the light source to see if I can salvage any of the leggy seedlings. This tray now contains five pods of Oregon Spring, three pods of Sungold 1, three pods of Sungold 2, and six pods of Black Krim.

I planted seeds in a new tray with Oregon Spring, Sungold, Black Krim and SuperSweet (an addition to the original seed choices) and set them near the refrigerator with the plastic lid closed.

Dana Prom Smith, in the gardening column in yesterday's Arizona Daily Sun, said it best: "We can't learn anything worthwhile unless we first fail...If you don't handle grief well, tomatoes may not be your cup of tea."

It's Planting Time!

Today is tomato seed planting day, akin to opening day for some, maybe even Christmas for others.  For me, it couldn't arrive soon enough. The hint of warm temperatures here in Flagstaff over the past two weeks has me ready to get to planting (even as my logical self says, "perhaps you should wait a week"?).

Looking at last year's notes, I started my seeds one week later than today and made a notation that perhaps I should begin this year's seeds one week LATER. This means that I could be as much as two weeks earlier than I recommended to myself. I attended a garden club meeting a few weeks back where the speaker, an employee at Warner's Nursery, said she had already planted her seeds and puts her plants out as early as mid- to late April using wall-o-waters.

 The recommendation is to start seeds six weeks prior to the average date of the last frost. The average date at Flagstaff's Pulliam Airport, is June 7th, which means that the recommended date to start seeds is April 26. Using wall-o-waters allows you to transplant tomatoes outdoors a month earlier than April 26, which brings me to March 29. Today is March 23rd and I am going to plant today, 10-1/2 weeks prior to the average date of last frost. I am hopeful that our last frost is earlier than average. This is a risk a tomato gardener in Flagstaff is willing to take! In Flagstaff, you must choose tomato varieties that have a short average days to maturity - 59 to 65.

"Flagstaff" encompasses many microclimates. One neighborhood can have a 90 day growing season (days between average first and last frost) where others, like Baderville, can be 40.  In contrast, Chicago has a 201 day growing season!  This is what makes growing vegetables at 7,000 feet such a challenge. The average for Flagstaff is 106 days. If you live up against the warm rocks of Mt. Elden, you will have more days. You can lengthen your growing season days by planting against a warm wall of your house or on the south side of your home. 

Last year, my varieties were Sungold and Stupice. This year my choices are:

VARIETY   DAYS TO MATURITY
Black Krim          69          Heirloom, sweet, indeterminate
Sungold               67           Indeterminate, gold cherry, intensely sweet (my favorite)
Oregon Spring     58          Red, large size, good flavor, earliness
Ultimate Opener  57         Red, medium size, abundant, indeterminate


 All but the Sungold are new varieties for me this year. Didn't want to "put all my tomatoes in one basket". I have yet to grow a medium-size, red tomato with great flavor. Perhaps one of these will prove to be just that. I purchased the Black Krim, one package of Sungold, and Ultimate Opener on-line from Pinetree Seeds, the Oregon Spring came from Warner's Nursery here in Flagstaff, and am using up some Sungold Seeds from last year from Botanical Interest.

 Most Heirloom tomatoes need a long growing season, which we do not have. Black Krim has one of the shortest, and I chose to try this. Hopefully, it will combine the best of both worlds, a good heirloom and a short days to maturity.

Enough background, let's get to work!

This is my setup for seedlings. You don't need anything fancy -- crates and some plywood work just fine. We suspended one 4 ft fluorescent light fixture on one end of the shelf and use an Aerogarden we already owned on the other half of the shelf.  As the seedlings grow, the lights can be raised.  But we're not quite ready for this yet.

I purchased Jiffy's Tomato Greenhouse from Home Depot. It has 36 pods and uses larger pods that the coir pots that come with other grow kits. The larger size works better for tomatoes. I am only using 24 of the 36 pods. Just fill the tray with warm water and wait for the pods to expand, pour off any extra water and, voila! You're ready to place the seeds.

I decided to plant 2-3 seeds per pod, using 5 pods each for the Black Krim, Oregon Spring and Ultimate Opener, and 9 pods for the Sungolds (I LOVE sungolds). I love them so much that, until my plants begin producing, I will get up early on Sunday mornings to go to the local Farmer's Market and be one of the first people in line to buy these sweet morsels of tomato candy before they sell out. And there isn't much that will get me up on a Sunday morning.

Carefully place 2-3 seeds in each pod and cover with a little dirt.  After placing all the seeds, you put the plastic cover on and set the entire tray someplace warm, out of direct sunlight. Next to or on top of the refrigerator works just fine - just don't put it somewhere where you will forget it.

If the dirt in the pods turns light brown, you can add some more warm water to the tray. Keep watching for sprouts to appear!