My planting adventure - Part 4 a.k.a Is that green bump a tomato?!

Hello again,

Guess what? It seems that you can actually take my advices on how to grow tomatoes after all because my beauties decided to do this:

I was so happy to see that they decided to produce tomatoes, and it was mostly because of the following reasons: 

- I have seen these plants grow from tiny tomato seeds, I have witnessed the phrases they went through and at this point... they're like a part of the family, a part that apparently wants the whole balcony for itself :).

- I love nature. I keep on wanting to help it anyway I can and helping it grow healthy by nurturing it with love feels right

- Due to the lack of communication between me and my tomato, I had to guess the whole time if I was doing the right thing or not. At times, it refused to give me any sort of hint as to how it was doing which did make me anxious. The tomatoes that appeared are good enough proof for me that it is doing okay. 

And even though you might be tempted to think the adventure is over, you'll now find out that apparently there is one more big thing they need to do: turn red. And of course, I want to replant this tomato next year so I'll have to learn how to stack the seed throughout winter, so stay tuned for more...

  

Wishing you the best,
Rachel

My planting adventure - Part 3 a.k.a It blooms!

Hello again ,

It looks as though I might just have a green thumb after all. After a long time during which my tomatoes did nothing else but grow bigger with each passing day, stretching in the sun as if their sole purpose was conquering my balcony, and giving me no hints at all about whether I was doing the right thing or not, eventually, one day I came home from work to this:

I honestly cannot express in words the happiness that filled my soul when I saw the pretty flowers my tomato produced. Finally, there was my yellow blooming proof that I was doing the right thing :). 

Now in order to have the accurate facts, I need to let you know that this didn't happen recently. It happened in the beginning of June but back then I was too busy dealing with my school exams and going to work while still trying to maintain a clean/organized home, so I only had time for the bare necessities :)  

During the growing time I did the following things: 

1) Providing the tomatoes a good support system

After it grew about 15 inches tall, I noticed how it started to slowly but gradually lean forward, towards the sun. That was the time when I knew it needed a good support system so I got some kindling and then I did the following things:

- Stuck the kindling deep into the ground, but about 2 inches apart from the tomato stem

- Cut a 10 inch long, 2 inch thick piece of cloth from an old cotton t-shirt I wasn't using anymore

- Gently tied the piece of cloth around the base of the tomato, without squeezing or knotting it too tight. Also, make sure not the pull the tomato strain right into the kindling, your aim is to simply straighten it as much as possible without forcing it, just like in the picture below:

 Later on, when my tomato grew bigger I had to secure it in the upper part as well.   

2) Pruning the tomato plant and getting rid of the suckers 

Really, that's how they're called :). The suckers are the little leaves that grow between the tomato stem and its branches. After reading more about them on the Internet and not being too fond of their ways of growing or their name for that matter :) I decided to rip them off so that my tomato wouldn't have to compete with them for the nutrients it needed. You get rid of them by pinching off with your nails as close to their base as possible. 

As for the pruning part, you should only start pruning once your tomato plant reached 17-20 inches. You prune the tomato plant by pinching off the lowest leaves. That will prevent the tomato from sickness and parasites and it will also make it direct more nutrients and energy to the top leaves a.k.a the place where it will bloom :).

3) Fertilizing

I personally, am not all that into fertilizing the plants unless you have organic compost, but since that isn't all too easy to make and since the tomato plant does require some more nutrients that the soil can offer, I did buy a liquid fertilizer which I then diluted into at least twice the same amount of water as the fertilizer, and only watered the tomato once a month with the mixture. Hopefully, by next year when I'll plant tomatoes once again I'll learn and make my own organic compost.  

4) Sun exposure

I have noticed something rather interesting about my tomato and it's relationship with the sun. Even though it stretches towards the sun, when exposed directly to it, it goes limp. It nearly gave me a heart attack when I first saw it hanging like that, but I took it away from the sun's direct rays and placed it in a spot where it has covered by moderate shadow. Within the next couple of ten minutes it came back to its regular state. I still do not expose it to direct sunlight more than three hours a day, but it does get around 10 hours of light daily.

5) Watering

Last but not least important, I maintained the watering habit, which means making sure that the soil is pleasantly wet, not too soaked but not too dry either. That means that on the really hot summer days I do water them even twice a day to maintain the soil's moisture level. 

Until next time I leave you with my best wishes that both you and your plants thrive,
Rachel