Thursday, March 19, 2015

tomato obsession

TOMATO OBSESSION
most of us organic gardeners
have an obsession of growing a perfect tomato
and
dream of biting into its juicy insides
a true sink tomato
theres
nothing like the flavor of these tomatoes

so i am alway looking at ways to grow a better tomato

as the weather gets hotter
the ground gets drier
i have a drip system from my rainwater tanks that i use
to drip my tomato plants when they need water
plus
i mulch them quite heavy to save water evaporation

this year i will mulch them with pine straw
my older brother the one with early alzheimers
and my nephew brought bags of it for me to use as mulch
he my nephew raises pine trees so he has an ample supply

it supplies besides moisture retention
an increase in acid ph to the soil
which around here we have a high or alkaline soil
so between the rainwaters lower ph and the compost and the pine straw
the ph is lowered some
which tomatoes love

but
im always looking for more

so someone sent a link to this method
so im trying it this year
first you take 5 gallon buckets
these i get from the habitat builds
these were destined for the landfill
and
drill holes in the bottom so water can ooze out
into the soil
then
you go up the side and drill holes about 10 inches all the way around

then
you bury the bucket to the depth of the 10 inch holes

then
in the bucket you place 2 shovelfuls of compost

i used the country n compost that our chickens
so gratuitously made for us
they scratch all over the leaves veggies we place in the bin
then make frequent deposits as they work and play and eat
making this rich country n compost

then
1-2 times a week based on the moisture level of the soil
i will pour in a bucket of water
sending
the compost liquid deep into the soil
and
watering the top of the soil from the 10 inch holes

hoping
this will help make that
much sought after

delicious sink tomato

the organicgreen doctor

1 comment:

  1. Judy and Jim RileyMarch 19, 2015 at 8:16 AM

    I didn't know chickens played...learn something new every day.

    ReplyDelete