Leggy Tomatoes

Went just a LITTLE crazy today at Lowe's. Meant to purchase only one or two warmer-temp veggies to get me through the summer. Ended up buying ten new plantables, two bags of soil, and more seeds. #sorryNOTsorry

This year's crops are smart. It took me three years to learn how to plant WITH the weather, not just what I want. I have several types of lettuce, a few jellybean tomatoes, lots of nasturtiums, some stubby carrots, a good 2 dozen or so sunflowers for heat protection in June and July, and some green onions, as well as a generous assortment of wildflowers and herbs mixed in. Originally our first planting was going to be sort of a checkerboard design, to help prevent disease and give the space texture. I was going to put string markers down and everything, but my toddler "helped" and it turned into a haphazard garden. I think I like it better that way. :)

Kid2, showing off his belly again. He's so proud of it. 

We also planted beets and spinach with our first planting, but as I mentioned in the last post, we had to pull them bc they were cutworm food. I HATE larvae. So today at the store I expanded our tomatoes by two different breeds, one of the favorite Big Boy variety, and six gangly Celebrity. They are spaced throughout the plot to prevent any disease spread (and because I barely had enough room). Kid2 picked out a very nice sweet banana pepper, I grabbed up two orange bells, and we also picked out some okra. I've never eaten it, but it grows in the summer down here, and maybe my father in law will take some of it. I also thought about some eggplant, I love the purple blooms, but we don't eat that at all, and it would just go to waste.

The best part about buying plants in the late afternoon is that all of the leggy/dying/ruined ones are pulled from the displays, and put on the same shelf, and are easy to find! I love leggy tomatoes and peppers because if you plant them deep you get giant and healthier plants. Gardening ain't always pretty people! The plants I bought today were long, but not long enough to "trench plant". I strip the bottom leaves off of a tall (lets say 8-9" from dirt to tip) bent-over, worthless-looking tomato seedling. Bury it in a hole that only leaves about 4-5" of plant sticking out, and throw some eggshells in with the dirt. The buried stem will shoot out hundreds of roots, way more than what is in the potted area at the very bottom, and you'll get a super healthy, super stable plant. As the eggshells break down they will release more calcium into the soil. Invest in a quality caging system, because that sucker is gonna GROW.  You never know, you might end up with a tree!

Admit it, this would be a REALLY cool problem to have.