Question:
I've been told that I should plant my tomato plants at least halfway up the stem. Why should I do this?Answer:
- I'm a strong advocate of planting tomatoes deep.
- I'll leave the top two sets of leaves above the ground and bury the rest of the plant, which is much deeper than what you were told. I also prefer to plant a tall leggy tomato rather than a short compact plant.
- Roots develop on the buried herbaceous stem establishing a larger plant more quickly.
- They can be planted vertically in a traditional cylinder shape hole or horizontally in a trench. With either method, I'd remove all the leaves on the portion of the stem that's buried. The leaves get in the way as you backfill and compact the soil around each plant.
- In the beginning, these plants are less affected by heat stress as the majority of the root ball is insulated from the sun.
- The next issues are soil drainage and watering frequency. Clay soils traditionally drain slowly and stay wet for long periods of time.
- The amount of organic matter at planting time does improve water percolation. However, it is safe to say that the soil in most vegetable gardens is not over amended. Most of the amendments or organic matter is found in the top six to eight-inch layer.
- Tomatoes like to be kept moist but not soggy wet. They also have a deep root system. Their roots will extend far beyond the amended layer so the watering frequency should be addressed.
- Young tomato plants whose roots are close to the soil surface are watered often.
- As the plants mature the watering pattern continues and problems develop. It's not necessary to water those plants that are planted deep often. As tomato plants grow, the volume of water increases, but the watering frequency should not be static. Because our temperatures change weekly, so should your watering schedule. We certainly know to increase the water when it is hot, but we haven't learned to reduce the volume when it is mild to cool. So, it is not out of the ordinary to skip a watering during cool weather.
- The critical point to successfully growing tomatoes is learning when NOT to water.
Question:
I have slugs in my backyard, and they're attacking my parsley and tomato plants. I've baited with Bug-Geta and Corry's Snail Bait but they did not work. The only thing that I have seen that works reliably is Dead Line, and I do not think it is sold anymore. What's causing this problem?Answer:
- Bug-Geta, Corry's, and Deadline are three types of snail and slug baits. They all use the same active ingredient Metaldehyde but in different forms. Bug-Geta is a pellet, Corry's a meal while Dead Line is a liquid.
- I think your problem is Earwigs. Like snails and slugs, they feed at night on herbaceous plants. I would bait you new edible and non-edible plantings with Sluggo Plus. Sluggo Plus is an organic Snail, Slug, and Earwig bait.