The Modern Victory Garden

My primary task this weekend was to transplant the tomatoes and (if possible) repot many of the remaining tomato plants into bigger containers.   I used up all the potting soil mix I had on hand before I could complete transplanting all the container tomatoes in the greenhouse and as a consequence I was also not able to do any repotting as well.   I will need to purchase some potting soil before I can complete those two items.   Hopefully later this week I can pick some up on the way home from work.      

Saturday morning was spent doing errands and grocery shopping, but when I got home in the afternoon I spent some time in the greenhouse doing a little rearranging to make room for the large tomato planters.   I harvested the last of the late winter container grown kale and pac choi and removed all of the mache as it was going to seed.   I then removed about 1/3rd of the soil from the three half barrel containers and recycled it into the garden beds.   I added a comparable amount of sifted finished compost and then mixed and aerated it into the rest of the soil using a pitchfork.   I then brought in two very large and two medium/large black plastic containers and filled them up with the potting soil mix I had on hand.   In the two smaller containers I planted up two of the five super early Siletz tomatoes.   These plants are super stocky and healthy looking!   I noticed that there are some flower buds formed on one of them already.   The remaining three Siletz plants will have to wait to be planted up until I purchase some potting soil.

I then planted up five Celebrity tomatoes in the three half barrel containers and the two large black containers.   The Celebrity plants are also quite big and sturdy but are small in comparison to the huge Siletz tomatoes.         

That was all I could get done on Saturday due to the late start.   The weather was glorious on Sunday (got up over 70 degrees), which made it a perfect day to do the big tomato planting for 2010.   In the first bed I planted all the indeterminate varieties; two Fantastics; two Cherokee Purples; four Market Miracles; and four Early Girls.   I did an alternated planting this year so that more light and air circulation would get in to the plants.   The 24 foot long bed had 6 plants down each side as a result.                                         

Because I am planting the tomatoes less densely this year, I had to use a half of another bed to plant the rest of the tomato patch.   I put all six Oroma paste tomatoes (determinate) into this bed.                                                   

You may have observed that the full bed of indeterminate varieties have both a cage and a ladder support for each plant.   I find this double support system works really well for all but the tallest plants.   For those, I add another cage on top later in the season.   The determinate plants are only supported by one cage.   Each tomato plant had 1 cup of organic all-purpose fertilizer, 2 tablespoons of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate), 1 tablespoon of finely crushed eggshells, and 4 plain aspirin tablets mixed into the soil at the bottom of the transplanting hole.   The plants were set much deeper than they were in their containers so that roots will form along the lower stem area.   I used a large watering can filled with rainwater from the rain barrels to water them in immediately after setting them into the soil.

I had to select the best specimens of each variety to go into the bed.   It was a hard decision to make in many cases because I had several of each variety to choose from.   The remaining plants will be kept on standby for the next several weeks so that if I lose any from transplant shock, I have a replacement standing ready.   After I am sure that the planted up tomatoes are growing and thriving, the remainder of the tomatoes will be delivered to my sister and my staff at work.

Two of the tomato varieties I am growing this year were grown from seed provided by fellow bloggers.   The Market Miracle tomatoes provided by Daphne from Daphne’s Dandelions is one that I have been really excited to grow.   They are relatively quick maturing and come highly praised by Daphne.   The seedlings grew well from the seed she supplied and were quite good sized by the time I planted them out today.                       

Another seed I received this year was Cherokee Purple from Dan at the Urban Veggie Garden Blog.   These plants have also grown well (so far!) and I am excited to trial these in my garden this year too.                           

While the last average frost for my area is now behind me, the temps at night are still quite cool and the usual abundance of spring showers makes things too wet to keep tomato plants happy and healthy.    My plants were well hardened off prior to planting out but soon after the tomatoes were planted, I put a plastic cover over the entire bed to keep the bed warm and to protect the plants from the deluge of wet and cool spring rains.               

On cloudy but warmish days, I open the ends of the grow tunnel up to allow cross ventilation – closing it back up at night.   On really fair and warm days, I pull the cover entirely off for the day and put it back on in the evening.   On cold or rainy days, the cover stays on and closed.    It requires paying attention to the weather forecast and making a decision each morning as to what should be done – but I have had little problem with that.   Keeping the tomatoes protected until the summer dry season really arrives is critical to getting a crop in the rainy and cool coastal Pacific Northwest.            

Hopefully I will have a chance to pick up some potting soil this week and finish the container plantings and repotting of the remaining tomato plants.   I also have some celery and lettuces that need to be planted soon.   I ran out of energy and time today so they will have to wait until next weekend in all likelihood.