How to Grow a Bumper Crop of Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of those crops that you really can’t grow enough of. Even if you’re not a big fan of fresh tomatoes, chances are you enjoy some tomato-based products on the regular. And that means that if you grow your own tomatoes, you can make those products at home!
Homegrown tomatoes aren’t just healthier than the conventionally grown, chemically-ripened, pesticide-sprayed, imported tomatoes from the store, they’re infinitely more flavourful too.
There’s nothing like a fresh tomato right off the vine in the summer. Slice it up, sprinkle it with a little sea salt… Mmmmmmm….
Grow enough of them and you’ll have your own more nutritious, more delicious homegrown, homemade tomato sauce, pizza and pasta sauce, salsa, sun-dried tomatoes, ketchup, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, diced tomatoes, Caesar or Bloody Mary mix… The options are endless.
The point is, tomatoes are one of the most versatile crops you can grow, and there’s really no such thing as having too many tomatoes because they’re easy to preserve (just stick ‘em in the freezer until you’re ready to can ‘em or process right away), and they play a starring role in so many dishes and condiments, from soups and stews to pizza and pasta to Mexican food (salsa, enchilada sauce, hot sauce, etc.) and more.
They’re also pretty easy to grow, provided you give them a sunny spot and lots of space for their roots to stretch out. If you can, plant tomatoes in the ground to give them maximum root space. But if not, they grow well in raised beds and containers too.
Basically what I’m saying is, if you can grow tomatoes at home, you most definitely should.
Related: How to Grow Tomatoes From Seed
But growing tomatoes can come with its share of heartaches and disappointments too. Tomato plants are susceptible to a range of common problems ranging from blight and blossom end rot to leaf spot and fusarium wilt to catfacing… Yes, I said “cat facing.” Stay with me. We’ll get there!
Luckily, there are a few simple things you can do prevent many of these common tomato problems from occurring in the first place. And with tomatoes, an ounce of prevention really is worth at least a pound of cure!
Aside from the things you should be doing with ALL of your annual vegetables to keep them healthy and give them a strong head start (ie. companion planting, crop rotation, starting with healthy soil, etc.) tomatoes require a little specialized care and attention to make sure they stay healthy and productive.
The following is a list of six tips and tricks to give your tomato plants a strong head start in the garden, keep them healthy all season long and grow a bumper crop of tomatoes in your home garden. This is the stuff we do every year and our tomatoes go gangbusters!
Get ready for your best tomato crop ever:)
How to Grow A Bumper Crop of Tomatoes: 6 Tips for Healthy Tomato Plants
1. Plant deep
Tomatoes like to be planted deep, Like, really deep. If you look closely at the stems, you’ll see tiny, fibrous “hairs” all the way up the stem. These are all potential roots on the tomato plant, and any part of the stem that’s buried under the soil will establish roots. Planting tomato plants deep means that they’ll establish a strong, healthy root system, which means they’ll be able to absorb even more nutrients from the soil to feed the plants and produce more fruit.
Here you can see the tiny hairs all up the stem if this tomato plant. Mind the chipped nail polish. #reallife
At the time of planting, pinch off the lower leaves, leaving only a few leaves at the top of the plant, and plant the tomato plant deep enough that you bury the stem to just below the lowest set of leaves (try to avoid having the lowest set of leaves touch the soil).
2. Add calcium
Another very common tomato problem is blossom end rot. This is when black or brown spots form at on the flower (blossom) end of your tomatoes as they’re forming, and it’s most often caused by a lack of calcium in the soil.
Tomatoes with blossom end rot develop brown spots on the blossom end (bottom) of the fruit.
An easy, frugal way to fix this is by saving up your eggshells and grinding them into a powder, then adding a handful or two to each planting hole before you plant your tomatoes. We’ve had way less blossom end rot on our plants since we started using crushed eggshells in our soil.
If you don’t have time to save up eggshells, you can also use gypsum or lime, which you can get from your local nursery. Lime is a great source of calcium but it raises the PH level of your soil making it more alkaline, which can negatively affect your plants and your overall production in the garden if your soil too alkaline (most plants prefer slightly acidic soil). Gypsum is another good option and doesn’t raise your PH.
3. Pinch off the lower branches
When planting your tomatoes, you’ll want to pinch off most of the lower branches in order to plant the stem really deep (see hack #1). This will allow the stem below the soil to produce more roots and will also direct more energy into rooting rather than into the leaves and branches.
You should also pinch off any tomato blossoms on your plant at the time of planting to direct all energy into growing a healthy root system.
As your tomato plants grow, continue to pinch or cut off the lower branches.
Take off all of the branches below the lowest vine of fruit to encourage the plant to put all of its energy at this stage into fruiting rather than into the leaves.
You also want to prevent the lower leaves from touching the soil as this can cause fungus and disease to spread. Always keep your tomato plant pruned so that the lower branches are well above the soil. Mulch can also help by acting as a barrier.
4. Pinch off suckers (on indeterminate plants)
Suckers are the new vines that form on tomato plants. They start out small between the “crotch” of the stem and existing branches. Then they grow into new vines that produce more leaves and more flowers.
Both determinate (bush) and indeterminate (vining) tomato plants produce suckers, but it’s not necessary to pinch off the suckers on determinate plants since the plants only grow to a certain size and then stop. On indeterminate plants, suckers will continue to grow into new vines that will become hard to support and all of your plants energy will go into producing new vines instead of into producing and growing big, beautiful tomatoes on the main vine, so it’s best to pinch or cut off the suckers on indeterminate plants.
We sometimes allow one extra vine to grow if a sucker gets away from us, but for the most part we prune pretty ruthlessly. We also cut back some of the upper leaves to keep them relatively short. We still want enough foliage for the plant to convert lots of energy from the sun into sugars to feed growth. But we also want as much energy as possible going into fruit production once the plants are established.
Plus, tomato plants do best when there’s lots of airflow between their leaves. Keeping them well pruned helps to allow lots of space for fresh air to flow around and between tomato plants.
5. Water evenly
When it comes to watering tomato plants, you want to try to water them as evenly as possible. That means trying not to let them get too dried out and also trying not to flood them when you do water. If tomato plants dry out a lot and are then given a large dose of water all at once, this can result in catfacing. Yes, I said “cat-facing.” It’s when your tomatoes look like this:
They get all gnarly and twisted looking, which would be really cool if they were halloween pumpkins or something. But considering we wanna be able to eat these guys fresh off the vine, or process them easily to preserve them, cat-faced tomatoes aren’t ideal.
In general it’s best to water tomato plants low and slow, meaning water deeply at the base of the plant and don’t give your plants more water than they can handle at any one time (ie. if they’re really dry, slowly get the, back up to the proper moisture level).
Your watering schedule will vary depending on your climate and weather, but in general it’s good practice to water your tomato plants deeply every two or three days so that the roots can easily absorb the water, and so that the soil has time to dry out just enough but not too much before the next watering.
Mulch will also help with keeping your soil moist, and will keep soil from splashing onto your tomato leaves and possibly spreading disease while you’re watering.
6. Keep the leaves dry
It’s not just the lower leaves that don’t like to get wet or “muddy.” In general, tomato plants don’t like to get their leaves wet at all. In fact, when tomato leaves get consistently wet, the plants can easily develop blight, and once you plants get blight there’s pretty much no bouncing back from that.
This is why you should always water around the base of the plant (not overhead) and you should try to protect your plants from the rain as much as possible.
If you live somewhere hot and dry, you might not have to worry about rain during the growing season. But if you live in a place with a lot of rainfall (like where I live here on Vancouver Island in the Pacific Northwest), then you might have to put up a shelter or grow your tomatoes in a greenhouse or a hoop house to protect the leaves from getting wet.
We built our own shelters (ok, my husband built them mostly, but I helped a little) to go over our tomato plants, and they’ve been a total game changer for our tomato plants.
We attached these tomato shelters to our raised beds. We’ve also got some free-standing ones in our main annual vegetable garden.
Last year we had higher than average rainfall over the summer months and many people’s tomato plants suffered around here. But we got our largest bumper crop ever! Well over 300 pounds of healthy tomatoes came out of our garden last year and I attribute most of our success to our tomato shelters:)
If you do a quick Google search for tomato growing tips, you’re sure to get all sorts of information on how to grow healthy tomatoes at home, many of which we covered today and some other ones that we didn’t. In the end, you’ll get to know what works best for you and your tomatoes by trial and, sometimes, error.
It took us at least three years to really get our tomato game down. We’ve literally dealt with all of the common problems I mentioned above (did you see that catfaced pic from our garden a few years ago??)
But now that we follow the aforementioned tomato-growing hacks pretty religiously, we’ve seen a marked improvement in how well our plants perform and produce and how many pounds of tomatoes we pull out of our garden throughout the season.
Of course, there’s always room for improvement, so I’d love to know any of your special tomato-growing hacks too!
What special tips or tricks do you have for growing healthy, productive tomato plants at home? Let me know in the comments below!
Wishing you homemade, homegrown, homestead happiness 🙂
P.S. Wanna learn how to grow, raise, prepare and reserve more of your own food at home? Today and tomorrow only, you can get your hands on an entire digital library of gardening, preserving, homesteading and self-sufficiency resources, valued at almost $600, for less than $20. Click here to learn how!
CATEGORIES
2 Comments
Submit a Comment
ABOUT ANNA
You Might Also Like
How to Safely Can Meat For Long-Term Food Storage
Whether you have a surplus of beef from your own livestock, some wild venison meat from a recent hunt, or you found a great deal on some beef, pork or lamb from a local farm or even the grocery store, learning how to safely can meat at home is an easy way to preserve...
Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam with Pomona’s Pectin
* This article contains affiliate links. For more information, please read my Affiliate Disclosure. This low-sugar strawberry jam recipe is made with Pomona’s pectin and preserves the bright, fresh taste of summer strawberries all year long (without the...
It’s easy to romanticize homesteading, but the truth is that those homegrown vegetables, those freshly laid eggs, that loaf of bread rising on the counter, and that pantry full of home-canned food takes time, effort and dedication. It doesn’t “just happen” overnight!
But if you work on learning one new skill at a time and gain confidence in it before moving onto the next, one day you’ll be looking back and marvelling at how far you’ve come.
That’s where I’m at now. Life today looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago, when our homesteading and self-reliance journey was just beginning.
Back then we still lived in our city condo and were just beginning to dabble in all of this stuff. But my husband Ryan and I felt a sense urgency to start pursuing a more self-reliant lifestyle, and we committed to taking small steps, one day at a time to make that vision a reality.
Over the years we’ve continued to put one foot in front of the other, adding new skills and tackling new projects along the way that have helped us get to where we are today.
While there’s always more we want to learn and do, as I look around me right now, I’m so grateful that we took those first steps, especially considering what’s happened in the world over the past few years!
If you’re also feeling the urgency to take the first (or next) steps toward a more self-reliant life, this is your final reminder that today is the last day to join The Society of Self-Reliance and start levelling up your homesteading and self-sufficiency skills so that you’ve got what it takes to:
• Grow your own groceries
• Stock your pantry
• Create a natural home
• Get prepared
• Learn other important life skills like time management for homesteaders, goal setting and how to become your own handyman
And more!
If you’ve been feeling called to level up your self-reliance skills (because let’s be honest, we’re in for a wild ride these next few years with everything going on in the world), now is the time to heed that call.
Link in profile to enroll before midnight tonight, or go to thehouseandhomestead.com/society
#homesteading #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #homesteadingskills #preparedness
There are so many reasons to grow your own food at home:
💰 Saves you money at the grocery store
🍴 Healthier than conventionally grown food
🔑 increases your overall food security
🫙 Gives you an abundance to preserve and share
But perhaps the number one reason is because it just tastes better!
Not only does food taste better when it’s freshly picked or allowed to ripen on the vine, there’s something about putting in the work to grow something from a tiny seed and then getting to see it on your dinner plate that just makes it so much more satisfying than anything you’ll ever buy from the store.
Plus, having to wait all year for fresh tomatoes or strawberries or zucchinis to be in season makes that short period when they’re available just that much more exciting!
With the world spinning out of control and food prices continuing to rise, it’s no wonder more people are taking an interest in learning to grow their own food at home. But that also means changing our relationship with food and learning to appreciate the work that goes into producing it and the natural seasonality of organically grown fruits and vegetables.
(It also means learning to preserve it so you can make the most of it and enjoy homegrown food all year long).
In my online membership program, The Society of Self-Reliance, you’ll learn how to grow your own food, from seed to harvest, as well as how to preserve it so you can enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor all year long!
You’ll also learn how to grow and craft your own herbal medicine, detox your home, become your own handyman, and so much more (because self-reliance is about more than just the food that we eat… But that’s a pretty good place to start!)
The doors to the Society are now open for a limited time only. Click the link in my profile or go to thehouseandhomestead.com/society to learn more.
#foodsecurity #homegrownfood #homesteading #selfreliance #selfsufficiency #homegrownfoodjusttastesbetter
If you’ve been watching events unfold over the past few years and you’re feeling called to start “cutting ties” with the system and begin reclaiming your independence, The Society of Self-Reliance was made for you!
When I first launched this online membership program last year, my goal was to create a one-stop resource where members could go to learn and practice every aspect of self-reliance, as well as a space to connect with other like-minded people pursuing the same goal. And that’s exactly what you’ll get when you join!
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn inside the Society:
🌱 Food Security and Self-Sufficiency: Learn the art of growing and preserving your own food, ensuring you and your loved ones have access to nutritious meals year-round.
🌿 Natural Living and Herbal Medicine Mastery: Discover the secrets to creating a low-tox home and and to growing, making and using herbal remedies to support your family’s health, naturally.
🔨 Essential Life Skills: Learn essential life skills like time management, effective goal setting and practical DIY skills to become more self-sufficient.
As a member, you’ll enjoy:
📚 Monthly Video Lessons: Gain access to our ever-growing library of video lessons, with fresh content added each month.
📞 Live Group Coaching Calls: Participate in our monthly live group coaching calls, where we deep dive into a different self-reliance topic every month, and do live demonstrations and Q&A’s.
🏡 Private Community: Join our private community forum where you can ask questions, share your progress, and connect with like-minded individuals.
I only open the doors to The Society once or twice each year, but right now, for one week only, you can become a member for just $20/month (or $200/year).
In today’s world, self-reliance is no longer a luxury, a “cute hobby,” it’s a necessity. Join us inside The Society of Self-Reliance and empower yourself with the skills you need to thrive in the new world!
Link in profile or visit thehouseandhomestead.com/society to learn more.
#selfreliance #selfreliant #selfsufficiency #selfsufficientliving #sustainableliving #modernhomesteading #homesteadingskills #preparedness
Got out for an early morning harvest today. Been up since 3am, contemplating life, the future and the past, the order of things…
There is a rumbling right now, not just in North America, but around the world. Many of us can feel it, and know we are on the precipice of something big.
I’d been hearing about this new song that’s become an overnight viral sensation, written by an (until now) unknown singer named Oliver Anthony. His new song Rich Men North of Richmond has had 14 million views on YouTube in the past week alone, so I decided to check it out.
I also saw a clip of him playing a Farmers Market last week, and anything that has to do with Farmers Markets always has my attention;)
I can’t tell you how many tears I’ve already cried listening to that song. If you’ve heard it already, you probably know what I’m talking about, and if you haven’t, I highly recommend giving it a listen. All I can say is it’s been a while since a song resonated so deeply with me, and in this strange new world, I know I’m not the only one.
One of the lines in Anthony’s song is “Livin’ in the new world, with an old soul,” and that’s something I think so many of us in the homesteading community can relate to.
Trying to cling to better days; To a simpler time; To the old ways, all while doing our best to get by in the new world.
The world has changed drastically in the last few years especially, and it’s set to change in immense ways over the next few years. Today I’m feeling thankful for people like @oliver_anthony_music_ who give a voice to what so many are feeling right now.
Know that if you’re feeling it too, you’re far from alone. And while the future may feel uncertain and even a little scary, remember that if we stand united, we the people are a force to be reckoned with.
(Continued in comments…)
Another garlic harvest in the books!
Garlic is easily one of my favourite crops to grow. It’s pretty much a “set if and forget it” crop. We plant in the fall and leave it to overwinter, fertilize a couple times in the spring, start watering only once the ground starts to dry out, and then harvest in the summer. We can even plant a fall succession crop after our garlic if we want so it really makes great use of garden space all year round.
Over the years we’ve managed to become completely self-sufficient with garlic. We now grow enough to eat all year (and then some!), plus we save our own seed garlic and usually have extra to sell or give away. And around here fresh, organic garlic ain’t cheap, so it’s a good cash crop for anyone who’s serious about selling it.
It took me a few years to really get the hang of garlic, but it’s one crop I’m now very confident with (knock on wood, because it’s always when we make statements like this that next year’s crop fails! Lol.)
A while back I compiled a comprehensive guide to growing, harvesting and using garlic both as an edible and medicinal crop. This is usually only available as part of a paid bundle (or in the fall 2022 issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine if you’re a subscriber;), but for a limited time I’m offering it for free, no strings attached!
Plus you’ll also get access to my step-by-step video lesson on planting garlic so you can set yourself up for success with your garlic crop this year.
Comment “Garlic” below or head to thehouseandhomestead.com/garlic-guide to get your free copy!
.
.
.
#garlic #garlicharvest #homesteading #selfsufficient #selfsufficiency #selfsufficientliving #selfreliance #homegrown #groworganic #growfoodnotlawns #gardenersofinstagram #homesteadersofinstagram
Going through photos and videos from our trip to the @modernhomesteadingconference and the vast majority are of our daughter having the time of her life!
Even if I personally got nothing else out of this gathering (which I most certainly did), watching her discover her own love of this lifestyle outside of what we do at home made my heart grow three sizes!
Homesteading is about so much more than homegrown food and self-reliance. It’s about passing on invaluable skills and an understanding of and respect for our connection to the land that provides for us to the next generation.
Being around so many other kids and families who are also pursuing a homesteading lifestyle helped show our little one that this is a movement that is so much bigger and greater than what our own family does on our little plot of land. This is a lifestyle worth pursuing, with a community unlike any other.
Glad to be back home and more excited than ever to involve my kids in everything we’re doing. But also, I think I speak for my whole family when I say we can’t wait to go back someday!
.
.
.
#homesteading #modernhomesteading #raisinglittles
If you’re simply looking for ways to save a little extra cash this summer and live well for less, here are 12 tried and tested frugal living tips for summer that you can use to save money this season without sacrificing a thing.
Head over using the link in my bio!
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/12-frugal-living-tips-summer/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#momentsofcalm
#pursuejoy
#simplepleasuresoflife
#thatauthenticfeeling
#findhappiness
#artofslowliving
#simplelifepleasures
#lifesimplepleasure
#simplepleasuresinlife
#thatauthenticlife
#authenticlifestyle
#liveanauthenticlife
#livinginspired
#savouringhappiness
#livemoment
#localgoodness
#simplelive
#lifeouthere
#enjoywhatyouhave
#frugallifestyle
#homesteadingmama
#offgridhomestead
#modernfarmhousekitchen
#crunchymama
#rusticfarmhouse
#farmhouseinspo
#farmhouselife
#modernhomesteading
#backyardfarmer
A brand new issue of Modern Homesteading Magazine just dropped!
In this issue:
🌱 How to forage and use five common edible and medicinal weeds
🏠 A sustainable, affordable alternative to traditional homes, greenhouses and more
👨👩👧👦 Tips for managing a homestead while raising a family (big or small!)
🫙 What to focus on when preserving food for true food security
🌹 How to grow and arrange your own cut flowers at home
🍓 The many ways to preserve summer berries (including 5 delicious recipes!)
💇How to make your own all-natural herbal hair care products at home
🧑🌾 Why “community sufficiency” is the new self-sufficiency
And more!
Visit modernhomesteadingmagazine.com (or click the link in my bio) to subscribe or login to the library and read the latest issue.
Plus, be sure to check out all of our past issues as well! There’s a wealth of information in our library on everything from farming and gardening to cooking and canning to herbal medicine, natural living and so much more!
*** This will be the last quarterly issue! ***
This little magazine has grown so much over the past 4 years and 32 issues, and now it’s time for another exciting evolution.
I’m excited to announce that we will be moving to an even more robust annual publication with the intention of offering the first ever print edition this fall if there is enough demand.
I’m also excited to announce the brand new Modern Homesteading Magazine blog, which is currently under construction and will be launching soon. While we will still be maintaining digital subscriptions, the blog will be accessible to all, free of charge, so that more people might benefit from the empowering and increasingly important information that we cover in each issue.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this issue happen! @homesteadingfamily @oatsandhoneyhomestead @omnivore.culture @thetaylor.leigh @doeraydesign (and more who don’t have IG pages;)
And a HUGE thank you to everyone who has subscribed over the years. Modern Homesteading Magazine would never have become what it is today without each and every one of you.
#homesteading #modernhomesteading #selfsufficiency
If you’ve ever grown your own garlic, you might have noticed the spiral-shaped shoots that suddenly pop up in the centre of the stem, usually about a month or so before the garlic bulbs themselves are ready to be harvested.
These are garlic scapes, and believe it or not- they make delicious pesto! Get the recipe through the link in my bio- https://thehouseandhomestead.com/garlic-scape-pesto/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
#garlic
#garlicscapes
#garlicscapespesto
#granolamom
#urbanhomesteader
#homesteadlifestyle
#farmerslifeforme
#backyardhomesteading
#homesteadingfamily
#sustainablelifestyles
#happyhomesteading
#homesteadersofamerica
#homesteaders
This honey and chive blossom vinaigrette is a frugal, easy and healthy homemade salad dressing that pairs beautifully with fresh garden salads all season long.
Get the recipe through the link in my bio.
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/chive-blossom-vinaigrette/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#herbalgarden
#gardenherbs
#herbsfromthegarden
#freshherbsfromthegarden
#gardenfreshherbs
#chiveblossoms
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
#seasonalrecipes
#eatinseason
#liveseasonally
#eattheseasons
#seasonaleats
#summersbounty
#eatseasonal
Whether you live in the city and grow a few herbs on your balcony, have a few backyard chickens in the suburbs or live in the country and have a larder full of enough home-canned food to survive the apocalypse, if living a more homemade, homegrown, self-sufficient lifestyle is important to you, Modern Homesteading Magazine was made for you!
Read it today through the link in my bio!
https://modernhomesteadingmagazine.com/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
#granolamom
#urbanhomesteader
#homesteadlifestyle
#farmerslifeforme
#backyardhomesteading
#homesteadingfamily
#sustainablelifestyles
#happyhomesteading
#homesteadersofamerica
#homesteaders
#backyardhomestead
#hobbyfarmer
#selfsufficientliving
This radish top pesto recipe makes good use of the edible radish greens that often get discarded once they’re separated from the root. The end result is a peppery, slightly spicy twist on a classic pesto recipe.
A perfect condiment for all your summer snacking!
https://thehouseandhomestead.com/radish-top-pesto-recipe/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#houseandhomestead
#radishes
#vegetablerecipes
#sustainablecooking
#foodforeveryone
#eatlocallygrown
#seasonalrecipes
#freshandlocal
#eatingseasonally
#eatlocallygrown
#seasonalproduce
#eatseasonalfood
#seasonalshift
#seasonalfoods
#homesteadmom
#homesteadmoments
#homesteadingskills
#homesteady
#thehomestead
#thehomesteadlife
#summeronthehomestead
#suburbanhomesteading
#lovemyfarm
#modernhomesteader
#countrygal
#country_living
#urbanhomesteading
#selfsustainableliving
#homesteaderslife
thank you for this information, your step by step along with the photos explained a lot. But my biggest thank you if for sharing this advice for free, you are a Jewell
Good tips you’ve shared. When we put our plants in the garden, we laid soaker hoses along each plant to water them well with no spray on the leaves. We also sprinkle Epsom salt around each plant to help prevent blossom end rot and water it in well. And, since we live in a dry, hot area of Texas, we have a metal frame over the plants where we’ve fastened sun shade fabric to prevent hail damage during storms and also filter the parching heat that really harms them here. They are all thriving and are loaded down with tomatoes so we should have a great bounty to can for winter as well as having plenty of table tomatoes, too.