2015 Organic Heirloom Tomato Journal - Page 4

TheUrbanFarmer · June 14, 2015

For those who happened to miss my introduction, feel free to give it a read for the quick personal details. I don't want to clutter a journal dedicated to plants with blah, blah about myself. So, I'll just provide a link to that thread and we can joke around and get to know each other over there!

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...531#post480531

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get down to the GOOD stuff - THE GARDEN!!!!

I primarily grow in 6 gallon cat litter buckets, that are merely the end result of taking in the neighborhood strays at a rate quick enough for them to have established a ruling hierarchy of which one is next by roosting on the porch and claiming it as their own. REGARDLESS, there was an excess of these 6 gallon, square, plastic, buckets that any environmentally conscious person would have sought to put to good use in some manner.

I also have 2 raised beds that are 20' long x 15" wide x 11" deep. Each bed holds roughly 120 gallons of soil and I planted 8 plants per bed. 2' off the ends and then 2.5' on center, if I remember correctly. This was roughly 20 gallons of soil per plant and left room for companion planting / cropping in between the tomatoes if I so desired (and I did so desire).

I had read many agriculture extensions published studies / results on various growing methods and wanted to, for the most part, replicate large scale methodology on a small, urban/backyard scale. I think this way merely because with proper planning and execution of a plan comes success. It only makes sense to utilize the resources and information provided by legitimate scientific study to ensure a desired outcome.

With that in mind, the 20 ft length on the soil beds was mostly determined by how long a staking run is in a field before a row break is placed.

In order to support my plants, I have placed 7' t-post (only because I couldn't get 8' or 10' locally) at the end of each raised bed and I have/will string 14 gauge wire (again, only because I couldn't find 12 gauge locally) roughly every 18" along the t-post.

I don't plan to "sucker" my plants for any reason and any growth that grows outside the flexible parameters to fit inside the wire, I suppose I will just support with string and/or clips.

Hopefully...this game plan will carry me through the season and I'll achieve my end goal and have beautiful, tasty, organic heirloom tomatoes!!!

I'll eventually post pictures...

And before I forget, I just want to say - it's great to be a part of Tomatoville! I'm really excited to have stumbled upon this place and I can't wait to learn from all of you along this journey! Feel free to chime in!

June 14, 2015	#1
TheUrbanFarmer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Zone 8a Posts: 64	2015 Organic Heirloom Tomato Journal For those who happened to miss my introduction, feel free to give it a read for the quick personal details. I don't want to clutter a journal dedicated to plants with blah, blah about myself. So, I'll just provide a link to that thread and we can joke around and get to know each other over there! http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...531#post480531 Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get down to the GOOD stuff - THE GARDEN!!!! I primarily grow in 6 gallon cat litter buckets, that are merely the end result of taking in the neighborhood strays at a rate quick enough for them to have established a ruling hierarchy of which one is next by roosting on the porch and claiming it as their own. REGARDLESS, there was an excess of these 6 gallon, square, plastic, buckets that any environmentally conscious person would have sought to put to good use in some manner. I also have 2 raised beds that are 20' long x 15" wide x 11" deep. Each bed holds roughly 120 gallons of soil and I planted 8 plants per bed. 2' off the ends and then 2.5' on center, if I remember correctly. This was roughly 20 gallons of soil per plant and left room for companion planting / cropping in between the tomatoes if I so desired (and I did so desire). I had read many agriculture extensions published studies / results on various growing methods and wanted to, for the most part, replicate large scale methodology on a small, urban/backyard scale. I think this way merely because with proper planning and execution of a plan comes success. It only makes sense to utilize the resources and information provided by legitimate scientific study to ensure a desired outcome. With that in mind, the 20 ft length on the soil beds was mostly determined by how long a staking run is in a field before a row break is placed. In order to support my plants, I have placed 7' t-post (only because I couldn't get 8' or 10' locally) at the end of each raised bed and I have/will string 14 gauge wire (again, only because I couldn't find 12 gauge locally) roughly every 18" along the t-post. I don't plan to "sucker" my plants for any reason and any growth that grows outside the flexible parameters to fit inside the wire, I suppose I will just support with string and/or clips. Hopefully...this game plan will carry me through the season and I'll achieve my end goal and have beautiful, tasty, organic heirloom tomatoes!!! I'll eventually post pictures... And before I forget, I just want to say - it's great to be a part of Tomatoville! I'm really excited to have stumbled upon this place and I can't wait to learn from all of you along this journey! Feel free to chime in!