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[ENABLED] Simple Pleasures Newsletter vol I #3

Forwarding this to my gardening friends.
Paula in Wisconsin
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**GARDEN SHED

Tomatoes getting started:

I usually freeze my packets of tomato seeds for a 
couple of days in the freezer before planting. 
This seems to give me faster and more complete germination.
Sow seeds in flats or containers six to eight weeks 
before danger of last frost is past; keep between 75° and 85°, 
keeping the soil moist until they germinate in about 7-10 days. 
I like to plant my tomato seeds in large containers right 
from the start. I put one seed per container at least 4" in diameter. 
This reduces the number of times I need to handle the plant 
and assures plenty of room for growth, even if you get behind 
in your planting the tomato can still have plenty of leg room. 
Water only enough to keep roots from drying out, you don't 
want the containers damp. Fertilize weekly with fish emulsion 
or liquid seaweed.

Hardening off is an essential step in getting any 
plants ready for life out in the elements. People focus 
a lot of attention on temperature stresses, these are 
certainly something to consider. But wind is one of the 
main things that you need to get your plants accustom to 
in the hardening off process. I use fans in my green house 
and they are always going during the day. Use a small 
ocilating table fan and let it blow near your plants. 
Gently brushing or petting your plants will help too.  
You will notice the stems on your tomato plants 
thickening and developing coarse hairs. This is an 
excellent sign. They are toughening up and will be better 
equipped for life outside. A week or so before transplanting 

into the ground, set tomatoes outside in partial shade, 
protecting them from frost and gradually introduce them into full sun.

Plant in full sun in well-amended soil. Use compost, 
well rotted manure, or an organic fertilizer  such 
as 7-10-7 plus kelp. Soils high in phosphorus 
are important for fruit production and calcium to 
prevent nutritional imbalances. Tomatoes grow best in a 
slightly acid soil with a pH of 6.2 to 6.8 In cool or 
short-season climates, cover planting bed with black 
plastic and then cover with 
floating row covers. 

When planting dig a shallow trench about 4" long 
and 3" deep for each plant. Lay the plant lengthwise 
in the trench and cover the root ball and all but the top
3" of the plant. The stem will root giving the plants a 
strong anchor. Push the soil up on the side away from 
the roots to form a pillow for the top of the plant 
encouraging a straight start. Tomato plants need 1 to 
1 1/2 inches of water a week from either rain or drip irrigation. 
Problems occur with sudden changes in soil-moisture levels. 
To conserve moisture, mulch plants with a 4- to 6-inch layer 
of hay or straw. 

Bellow are several problems that tomato plants develop 
because of poor growing practices or nutritional imbalances.

Blossom-End Rot
Blossom-End Rot appears as brown-black sunken areas on the 
blossom end of green or ripening fruit. A low level of 
calcium available to the plants is the reason for blossom-end rot.
It may be that your soil is deficient in calcium, adding 
organic soil amendments will solve this problem by adding 
the needed nutrients in a slow release manner that the 
plant can use over the growing season. Heavy rains can 
also cause the lack of calcium, washing valuable nutrients 
out of the soil. Be sure to mulch your tomatoes with 
about 4" of oat straw or marsh hay. This will even out 
the moisture levels in your soil and help to protect 
the soil from nutrients leaching out.

Catfacing
Misshapen fruit has black scarred areas on the blossom. 
Catfacing happens when flowers don't develop properly. 
The most common cause is low temperatures below 65F during 
the day and 55F at night three weeks before flowers open. 
High wind on plants with little foliage can also damage blossoms. 
Although a common problem on the first fruit clusters, 
it disappears when temperatures rise. But it may recur 
if the plants are still setting fruit as temperatures 
drop in the autumn. Grow the plants when temperatures are 
high during pollination by planting later in the season and 
protecting transplants from cold and wind 
with plastic cloches or floating row covers. 

Fruit Cracks
When ripening, fruits crack around the stem end and 
along the sides, and the fruit rots. Cracks may run from 
stem to blossom end or around the fruits. Abruptly alternating 
 wet and dry periods cause cracking. When the plant takes 
too much moisture after a dry spell, the fruit cells expand 
too fast and burst, and the skin cracks. Too much nitrogen in 
the soil also contributes to the problem. Green fruits  usually 
don't crack because they're harder and can't expand as fast, 
and their skin  cells are stronger.  Keep the soil evenly moist, 
especially during ripening, with a  4 to 6 inch mulch. 
Don't over fertilize. 

Green Shoulders
The shoulders on the tomato's stem end stay green 
and hard as the rest of the fruit ripens. As the tomatoes 
ripen chlorophyll usually breaks down. However, in some varieties, 
during periods of high temperatures and direct sun exposure, 
the chlorophyll does not break down, or does so too slowly. 
You can minimize green shoulders by maintaining good foliage 
cover and picking the tomatoes when they're entirely 
green to ripen indoors, away from exposure to direct sun.

Sunscald
Fruits have lighter-colored leathery patches, and usually rot.
This discoloration is like sunburn. Fruits exposed either 
suddenly or continually to hot sun develop sunscald, which 
is most likely to occur on varieties that don't produce enough leaves. 

Avoid pruning leaves or stems while the fruit is ripening, and 
consider shading the fruit. A small section of shade-cloth or 
row cover will do the trick. If you live where summers are hot 
and sunny, grow indeterminate varieties that produce a thick 
cover of shading leaves.
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