It was a nice early morning — a few degrees warmer than yesterday — but it still felt cool. However, the southerly wind pattern is back, so it won’t be as cool for the next few mornings as they were. It all depends on how much humidity comes back. Low 70°F and high 92°F.
Today is the day I’m sharing what I’ve been learning for my future tomato growing. No, it’s not a fast seed germination process. It’s something I’ve known but never tried. On July 20th, with my July transplants dying from heat and cutworm damage, I decided to try this for the future. These plants are just for learning purposes, and I’m not sure the fruit will get ripe — but green tomatoes are just as good. After all, who doesn’t like fried green tomatoes?
James and Robert made it sound so easy — all I had to do was stick them in the ground. Maybe that worked for them, but with my garden’s clayish soil, I haven’t tried it this way. Eventually I’ll get there. Tennessee weather is tricky as it is, so I needed something more controlled, something I didn’t have to check on a couple of times a day. If my garden was at home, it wouldn’t be a problem. But 10 miles is a lot to drive — not to mention the wear and tear on my truck.
On July 20th, I cut suckers and put them in a little water to transport home. Next time, I know not to take big suckers. Ideally, the suckers should be about six inches long. I had some big honkers, even a few with blooms on them. All of that shriveled up and died after a few days. After I got them home, I potted them up with Jiffy Professional potting soil and made sure the soil was nice and moist. I kept them inside because we were in the middle of our 100F+ heat dome.
I gave them indirect lighting and a bit of grow‑light time: an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. You don’t want direct light, because they need to focus their energy on building roots. It takes a few days, and you’ll know it’s working when the stem fills out and the leaves start to perk up. The other leaves and branches that died, I waited about 10 days before cutting them off.
Today I planted the suckers and the tomatoes that were too small during my July planting. The turn-around time ended up being 17 days. I started out with 5 suckers and lost one after leaving them out in a downpour. I had 9 tomato plants and gave Gerald 4 of them: 2 suckers and 2 July transplants. I am trialing the suckers in my garden and his to see how they grow with different soil and amendments.
These photos show everything from the beginning up to planting day. Once I add the planted photos tomorrow, I’ll go through the two different planting methods step by step.
The last chores I did before leaving:
Watering — cukes, beans, and all squashes
Amish compost layer
Harvested — okra and tomatoes
Tell you the truth, I was getting worn out. I guess the heavy tilling and planting yesterday, plus planting again today, just took a lot out of me. Also, the heat pressure started today.
All‑in‑all a very productive day as I finally have ALL the tomatoes planted. Will they produce? Time and weather will determine the outcome. One thing is for certain: I now know how to propagate tomato suckers for transplanting. This is huge because I can take a hybrid and use a sucker if I want the same plant, whereas a seed from that tomato will not give me the same plant. It also saves time — tomato seed germination needs at least 5 weeks to be transplanted. Thirty‑five days from seed versus planting a sucker in 17 days… almost half the time.
Tomorrow I will show two different gardeners with two different planting methods. I always seem to be experimenting. I guess that is how one day I will be a great gardener.
As always,
Happy Gardening!