My first season: a grow journal

[jdcooper]

6 April 2013:

Planted three plants, each in a Smart Pot with Master Nursery Gardener's Gold Mix.

Co-planted some marigolds on the theory that they will help with bugs; if not, they are pretty!

- 10 gallon: Ace
- 10 gallon: Bush Early Girl
- 25 gallon: Black Cherry

The starts came from Orchard Nursery here in Lafayette, CA.

13 April 2013:

Added cages / support structure.

Have been watering deeply daily to every other day. Temperatures have been below 50 here and there at night and pushing 90 some days. Hopefully I did not plant too early!

22 April 2013:

Added layer of shredded redwood mulch. I hope this will let me water less frequently and reduce the swings in soil moisture. Aiming to water every other day but on hot days might hit the container sides and bottom with some water to manage moisture loss around the periphery.

Not sure when to fertilize but growth is looking awesome on 2 of the 3 plants, so will hold off for a while.

Sme weird leaf curl on the lower leaves of the very densely bushy Ace. I assume this is from overwatering and or other stress. Wonder if I should thin a bit in there anyway.

Some pictures:

Bush Early Girl



Black Cherry



Ace

[Cole_Robbie]

They look very nice. Are you planting the marigolds because they are pretty, or for companion plant benefits?

[Greenredbean]

Hey jdcooper!

Your images are awesome, I like the little flowers that you have added in the flowertop! I am now starting my own journey into the tomato gardening, and hope to have some images of my own plants soon. And yeah, I also wonder about the effect that the marigolds can have on the flavor and growth of your tomato plant (if any). You are also using very interesting flower tops, what are these made of and do they serve more purposes other than the stylish outlook?

[jdcooper]

I planted the marigolds as companions in the hope that they will attract beneficial insects. Haven't seen any of those yet, but they are lovely!

I'm not sure what you mean by flowertop?

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by jdcooper

I planted the marigolds as companions in the hope that they will attract beneficial insects. Haven't seen any of those yet, but they are lovely!

I'm not sure what you mean by flowertop?

Pretty sure they meant flower pots.

[Greenredbean]

Originally Posted by Redbaron

Pretty sure they meant flower pots.

I did indeed, thank you for clearing this up!

[jdcooper]

Oh, right on. They are "Smart Pots".

They are constructed out of a thick plasticized fabric and reputedly help to build strong root systems, as well as draining well. I am rather ADD and in my case it tends to manifest with plants as a tendency to overwater: "ooh, look, my plant! pretty! how about some water?" My hope is the drainage plus the ease of checking moisture levels from the side will help me manage that. Also they will be easy to store in the off-season.

[jdcooper]

5 May 2013:

Plants are looking happy, and my first fruit set!

I pruned low branches below the first flower clusters. They were getting wet and buggy. The plants have been watered every 2/3 days depending on heat. (We have had temps over 90 some days.). They seem to like the warmer nights too.

Liquid fertilizer was applied once, Earth Juice vegetative stage diluted to 3/4 strength.

Images in next message.

[jdcooper]

Ace



Black Cherry, wanting to stretch! I am thinking of topping after the 3rd flower cluster.



Bush Early Girl



The first fruit set! (Ace)

[Vespertino]

Yay! Congratz on the first fruit set! The tomatoes look like they're happy in those smart pots. They seem to be working really well for you- I've read in these forums that a few other people are also getting good results with them.

[jdcooper]

Cheers. I am very happy with them so far. Do y'all think I should use an electric toothbrush on the blooms or just let them be?

[JamesL]

Electric toothbrush for the win. Works very well.

[Vespertino]

Just my newb .02c: I've got to say the electric toothbrush has worked REALLY well for me and I have a nice, early fruit set. If you don't have that many plants, I think it's worth the effort to make sure that every bloom gets pollinated. Especially if there aren't a lot of bees around to do the work for you. Every blossom that goes pollinated is poor tomato that never gets the chance to be eaten by a grateful gardener

[ArcherB]

Keep an eye on those marigolds. The only beneficials they attracted for me were spider mites.

[jdcooper]

Originally Posted by ArcherB

Keep an eye on those marigolds. The only beneficials they attracted for me were spider mites.

Blerg. I guess it didn't dawn on me that they might attract beneficials by being a food source for the bugs that the beneficials eat, and that hence one wants to place them away from the plants to be protected. I definitely have some whiteflies, not a ton yet, but no evidence of spider mites. Should I pull the marigolds to be safe? How do I even do that now that they are established?