I have never won this tomato contest in all these years, although I try hard every year to come up with the biggest tomato. I hope to have better luck this year. I purchased two Tomato Success Kits online. The kit includes a self-watering planter, a special soil mix, fertilizer, a support cage and a red plastic mulch. The vendor says this kit will produce 30% more yield than plants grown in-ground. We’ll have to see. I planted a Mortgage Lifter and a Big Beef in my kit and Louise planted a Cherokee Purple and a Caspian Pink in the other.
Besides the success kits we planted 8 tomatoes in-ground and 2 in half-wine barrels. I laid Red Mulch around most of my tomatoes. Red Mulch was developed by USDA and has shown to improve the growth rate and yield of tomatoes.
I also planted a couple of Big Zac tomatoes in our garden, one in a half-wine barrel and one in-ground. This heirloom has been known to produce fruits that weigh 4 pounds or more!
2 comments:
Zack... just got done posting on the blog. I tried to be serious, but come on... IT'S ME we're talking about here! :)
Hey, what's the red tarp on your planters all about? Humidity retention? Do you leave that on the entire season?
Raf - The red tarps are supposed to reflect sunlight back to the plants. They help retain moisture and they subdue weeds. Most importantly, the red tarps signify bravery, courage and determination -- the characteristics of a good Republican!
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