Re: tomato woes/experiment

Yep. Directly into the new, hot litter and straw.

I didn't invent this idea, Andrea. At the time I was writing a thrice-weekly science program for radio and I was one everybody's mailing list, I think. This particular experiment was cooked up by some national research laboratory in Great Britain. So I thought I'd try it. Productivity was better than I've ever had with tomatoes planted in the ground.

On Tuesday, June 29, 2004, at 09:12 PM, Andrea H wrote:

Clarify Jim, you planted them directly into the litter and straw? No "soil"
How was the harvest? Just curious as don't tomatoes have really deep root
systems (which is why I have to water mine morning and night) that's very
interesting. I may have to try something like that. These things need a
sturdier place. I had to tie up the tomato cages to a heavy table in the
greenhouse, the can being right next to it, as they were falling over
they're so heavy. They are SO much better than store bought, it blows my
mind.
Andrea H
Beaufort, SC


----- Original Message -----
From: "james singer" <jsinger@igc.org>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 8:24 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] tomato woes/experiment


This is probably more than anyone wants to know about my great
experiment in growing the noble tomato, but I've got the urge to get it
down.

At the sheep farm, which was about 10 miles south of where Theresa
lives, I constructed four plywood boxes, 4 feet wide by 8 feet long by
2 feet deep--1-1/2 sheets per box. Each box held 8 three-wire bales of
bright straw. I installed two sprinklers over each box. I covered the
bales of straw with litter from the henhouse whenever I cleaned out the
henhouse. I planted tomato sets directly into the litter. I had four
boxes--I planted determinate tomatoes in three for canning and
indeterminate in the fourth for eating.

I also planted lots of leafy plants [lettuce, basil, cilantro, and
such] around the tomatoes--postage-stamp gardening, I guess.

Once the tomatoes were up and producing [and the straw had begun to
rot], I planted potato eyes in the straw. And when it came time to
harvest the potatoes, I knocked the boxes apart, picked the spuds out
of the compost, and moved the compost to another garden. In spring, I
reassembled the boxes and did it all over again.

I learned a couple of things from this experiment. First, the notion
that chicken manure is "too hot" to use in the garden before it's
composted in not necessarily true. Second, that crowding a lot of
plants into a small area will cut productivity is not necessarily true
either.


On Tuesday, June 29, 2004, at 05:40 PM, Andrea H wrote:

Teresa-I had that problem every year. THIS year I planted mine in a 30
gallon trashcan and so far they've done beautifully. I do have to
water them
religiously and add cow manure and fertilizer. had a few whiteflies,
but so
far, no wilt.


Andrea H
Beaufort, SC


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tchessie" <tchessie@comcast.net>
To: "GardenChat" <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, June 28, 2004 8:39 PM
Subject: [CHAT] tomato woes


Well-
I've tried antifungals, crop rotatation, resistant varieties, wishing
and
praying, but once again I have wilt on 2 of my tomato plants (I
always
forget if it is fusarium or verticilium). Either way, I ripped out
one
plant 2 weeks ago, today I ripped out my Sweet 100. It, of course is
loaded
with green tomatos (I picked all of the ripe and almost ripe ones and
brought inside). Bought killed me to yank it. Is there anything that
gets
rid of this problem??? I'm seriously considering removing the soil
and
replacing it- except I wouldn't have a clue how much to remove or if
this
would be a backache in vain! Of course, this is the BEST spot in the
garden
to grow tomatos (south wall, raised bed). Rats!!

Theresa
Sac, CA

P.S. Thanks to David, Jesse, Kitty and Jim for chiming in on the
"politics"
snit. Was too tired to bother, but happy someone did.

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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
Zone 10
27.0 N, 82.4 W

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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
Zone 10
27.0 N, 82.4 W

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