Lael's Moon Garden Nursery

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know about Tomatoes and Peppers(MTYEWTK)

You can choose trial-tested tomatoes right now at Lael’s Moon Garden. Nothing is better than garden fresh ripe tomatoes (as opposed to the styrofoam ones you get in stores.) We have been doing tomato trials in recent summers and have stocked varieties that we know will grow and produce here.

Last summer was particularly difficult for tomatoes because it was so cool. Although they weren’t as productive as in a normal summer, the following varieties produced quality ripe tomatoes in our trials even last year: Early Girl, Brandywine, Roma, Big Beef, Sun Sugar, and Sweet Million. So those are the varieties we have in stock now! We also tried many other varieties (including Legend, Oregon Spring, Gold Brandywine and Stupice) with, er, lesser results.

Last summer was a special challenge for those of you who grow tomatoes in the ground. You might be interested in the way we do our trials. It works!

First, we don’t plant tomatoes outside until around Memorial Day. They just won’t grow until the weather warms. It’s better to keep your seedling starts in a warm, brightly lit, frost free place until conditions are right outside. On warm days, you can put them outside to harden, though.

Second, we grow tomatoes in full sun in tall narrow black nursery pots filled with new compost. Tomatoes like sun and heat which are sometimes in short supply here. The black pots heat up in the sun to warm the roots as well as the tops. We even put the pots on black ground cover fabric to maximize heat. We use tomato cages in the pots.

To read more of Tomatoes MTYEWTK - click on link to the right