Re: New Plants for spring

Be careful with Planters II.  It does wonders for xeric plants that love
high mineral content but too much can kill plants.  What you want is rock
phosphate which can take a long time to make a difference.if I remember
right.  The tomatoes probably died from late blight.  I almost can't grow
them anymore.  For tomatoes you must absolutely never run a sprinkler on
them which I had forgotten about.  I am going to grow them next year under
cover.  Maybe get one of those zipper greenhouses.  Maybe if I can keep the
foliage dry and put a plastic mulch on the ground I can be successful.  My
grandmother used to grow the best tomatoes in town but the diseases weren't
bad until the 70's.  I dig a deep hole between every 4 plants for my
compost.  The tomatoes like freshly rotting compost.  I put the kitchen
waste in the bottom of the whole the garden waste on the top.  When I have
more to add I take the spading fork and stick it into the dried top to open
the lid to the composter.  Need to water?  Just put the hose in the hole and
slowly fill the hole.  The tomatoes get a nutritious drink.  This makes the
best tasting tomatoes with that wonderful bite.  You have to stake them so
the get air and sun.  tomatoes rings allow a dark tangled interior that can
stay wet after a rain.  Spacing helps too.  A minimum of a spade length
apart is needed.  This is advice from a person who can't grow tomatoes.  I'm
picky though.  I've had people give me tomatoes that they though were good
and I am always disappointed because I know what they can taste like,  When
they are good 50% of my meals are tomatoes.  Last fall, my nicest clump of
Colchicum that has bloomed every year for decades just peaked above the
ground but never bloomed, I think the weather did it.  Could you have water
problems?  All of the raping of the state for the sake of strip mining can
effect water supplies.  I would be wary of putting straw around tomatoes
because the much cold lower the soil temperature which is what you don't
want especially if you are in a cool area.  I hope you grow creeping phlox
between you boulders.  I've always wondered how it would be gardening in WV.
I assume you have acid conditions and get a lot of acid rain in your area.
I know you are limited because of how severe early and late frosts can be.
visited Dolly Sods once and thought it was wonderful.  I bet you could have
a nice bog with gentians and cranberries.

Frank Cooper
Urbana, Illinois  USA  Zone 5b
Record low temp -27 F (-32.8 C)
Record high temp 105 F (40 C)

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