Very happy to get the majority of our tomato plants in the ground today. There are two small ones I’ll grow on a little more and we need more waratahs. That takes 2 or 3 days as we have to wait for notification with the Click and Collect system.
The main thing that I was happy about is how good the root system of the plants was. They were not as big as I’ve had them in the past, but the First Quarter moon phase is a good time to plant tomatoes and it is warm enough now where we are. So I took the punt that the plants’ root system would hold together as I planted them and it did.
The bed most of them were going into was full of spent crops, so out they came and onto the biomass pile for the next hot compost.
Then, and most importantly, I forked through the soil to aerate it. Soil becomes compacted during winter with the heavy rain. Oxygen in the soil is vital for plants to move water from the root to the leaves and it’s also important for the soil life to make organic matter into plant food.
Next I applied gypsum which adds calcium to the soil (especially important for fruiting plants), chicken manure and rock dust (our Natures Organic Fertiliser).
The recipe was completed with an topping of compost – some homemade and some bought (I splashed out on a Revital one).
Mix it all through with your fork in a wig-wag action and you’re ready to go.
I placed my plants out then pushed the waratah stakes in with our nifty post driver.
Then planted the plants nice and close to their stake. But first I added a little more gypsum and some neem granules (to counter a psyllid attack) in the planting hole. The process was completed with a nice drink for each plant.
Voila!
Just sowing basil and marigolds (their companion plants) now.
Got the potatoes in for their last soak and they’ll be planted next week.
Enjoy your week in the garden!
From Jan and Rob.
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4 Responses
Great advice on planting tomatoes thanks again – I presume you’re going to put a string between the stakes?
But my main question is about my chitting potatoes. I think I might have over-soaked them (time period) just the once as they haven’t significantly gained more long sprouts or chits and it’s been over a month now but looking at your picture above they look like that! I sent away for some more of a different variety in the post recently which were delivered and in a bag for a few days as I was away and they’ve got long white sprouts on them already and I haven’t soaked them yet. So maybe my first lot can still be planted as they’ve got chits but not long white ones? – hope this makes sense – first time ever trying spuds. Thank you.
Hi Melissa I’ll tie all the leaders from one plant up to their individual stake with cloth ribbon – that’s how we do it. Regarding your potatoes, yes the first lot will be absolutely fine – that’s how they should look. With the second lot, we would recommend one soak at least in liquid seaweed before you plant them. It will be a bit more unpredictable regarding how well they’ll grow. You’ll have to be super careful when planting not to knock the chits off them with soil. All the best 🙂
THANKYOU for your nice clear instructions.
Can you advise whaat is best to get rid of white fly on the beans, thought i would put
A little detergent in water and spray??
Regards, Bev
Hi Bev Yes you can certainly try with a good plant-based detergent like Ecostore’s and water. Make sure you spray in the evening 3 times, each time 3 days apart from the last. That’s so as you catch all the different stages of the life cycle. If this doesn’t work, we would recommend Neem oil, applied the same way. All the best 🙂