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**nctomatoman** · February 22, 2006

Well, I will do what I can to explain it, but it is not all that impressive....or scientific....or even spectacularly successful. it does, however, allow me to get enough fruit to eat and try out various varieties.

My 50 by 35 foot plot used to be the lawn on my side yard that I tilled when we moved in 13 years ago. It gently slopes front to back, had some spots that do not drain well at all. I don't rotate - tomatoes have occupied this space for 13 years now. For quite a few years I mixed fresh soilless mix and composted cow manure into the planting holes. Last year I just planted right into the soil with no amendments.

Last year was also quite successful - I had someone come in and till up my soil; I then used a shovel to create raised rows, (something I once did - tends to alleviate the poor drainage problems), about 12 inches above the walking rows. I dig a hole, plant the seedling as deep as I can, dig a hole behind to drive in an 8 foot stake - use a few tbsp of a granular slow release, and a few tbsp slow release lime. I mulch around the plants very well with grass clippings - it is very important to keep the soil off of the foliage. That's it - I water only when absolutely necessary - the heavy clay soil keeps moisture very well - even in our drought last summer, I watered my main garden plants only a couple of times!

Because the sun exposure is substandard (about 5-6 hours direct sun per day), my plants stretch - so are quite tall for the yield they give. My 20-40 pounds per plant achieved in Pennsylvania in a much better sun exposure and soil type varies widely here, from 5-20 pounds per plant - but when you are growing 100 plants, that is fine with me!

I found that the dry conditions this summer appeared to head off widespread fusarium attack - even in September and October, many varieties were looking surprisingly good.

So, to summarize - a few key success procedures for me are: mulching heavily with grass clippings to keep soil off of the foliage, staking to keep plants upright and off of the soil, fertilizing only minimally, planting in raised rows to ensure that the roots don't drown when we get the gully washers - the electric deer fence, of course! that's about it. nothing really too magical.

February 22, 2006	#3
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Well, I will do what I can to explain it, but it is not all that impressive....or scientific....or even spectacularly successful. it does, however, allow me to get enough fruit to eat and try out various varieties. My 50 by 35 foot plot used to be the lawn on my side yard that I tilled when we moved in 13 years ago. It gently slopes front to back, had some spots that do not drain well at all. I don't rotate - tomatoes have occupied this space for 13 years now. For quite a few years I mixed fresh soilless mix and composted cow manure into the planting holes. Last year I just planted right into the soil with no amendments. Last year was also quite successful - I had someone come in and till up my soil; I then used a shovel to create raised rows, (something I once did - tends to alleviate the poor drainage problems), about 12 inches above the walking rows. I dig a hole, plant the seedling as deep as I can, dig a hole behind to drive in an 8 foot stake - use a few tbsp of a granular slow release, and a few tbsp slow release lime. I mulch around the plants very well with grass clippings - it is very important to keep the soil off of the foliage. That's it - I water only when absolutely necessary - the heavy clay soil keeps moisture very well - even in our drought last summer, I watered my main garden plants only a couple of times! Because the sun exposure is substandard (about 5-6 hours direct sun per day), my plants stretch - so are quite tall for the yield they give. My 20-40 pounds per plant achieved in Pennsylvania in a much better sun exposure and soil type varies widely here, from 5-20 pounds per plant - but when you are growing 100 plants, that is fine with me! I found that the dry conditions this summer appeared to head off widespread fusarium attack - even in September and October, many varieties were looking surprisingly good. So, to summarize - a few key success procedures for me are: mulching heavily with grass clippings to keep soil off of the foliage, staking to keep plants upright and off of the soil, fertilizing only minimally, planting in raised rows to ensure that the roots don't drown when we get the gully washers - the electric deer fence, of course! that's about it. nothing really too magical. __________________ Craig