Tomato Progress October 5th, 2020

 So a bit of progress with the tomatoes, this weekend was a long weekend in Queensland so we took advantage of that and transplanted the tomato seedlings for this season.

Why plant so many?  Experimental - need for tomatoes for my chutneys - I am enjoying gardening, so good for ones health - thanks to Covid.

Experimental - I wanted to see how successful I could be at planting and especially heirlooms to sustain some kind of food for us. Covid scared the heck out of us when we were in lockdown. We also have an acre of land and want to take advantage of that. I also found out my health improved when I started to garden so a plus plus plus all around. 

I used styrofoam boxes that I have been collecting from the chemist and vegetable shop on the island, they come in real handy and last year I successfully grew cherry tomatoes in them. There are star pickets to attache the vines to them when they grow up. The pool noodle bits on top is to stop the netting from being torn by the sharp edges on the star pickets. I may not use the nets. I found a very cheap solution to that problem when I got some plastic shower scrubbers and opened one up and can use them to individually wrap each tomato

The seedlings are still small compared to the foam boxes as I had to bury them in deep to give them the depth to make them roots stronger to hold those huge tomatoes (450g for some of them) and plants that they will grow into.

Found these nets from Bunnings and they just fit over the hoops and star pickets. I've also planted marigold and basil seedlings to companion plant into my tomato boxes to protect the tomato plants from insects and slugs - so all in all DOUBLE protection.

In the left of the picture below in another raised beds you can see the garlic chive I have planted and a mystery plant that had died 3 years ago and has now come good after I let a chicken loose in this garden bed and she must have puts lots of manure in there lol. 

New Tomato Season 2020

 Wow covid has really tested us through and through, I haven't been posting for a while now. I have been busy with trying to get into the gardening season and just managed to scrape it the hubby kicking and screaming to help me prepare the 16 raised garden beds we now have. I've done all the ground work - gathering soil, manure, compost and all sorts of goodies, he only had to mix them all up and fill the beds for me.

I'm using foam boxes I've been collecting from the local chemist and the vegetable shop, they are awesome and have holes in the bottom and sides already.  I had some tomatoes last year grow from chicken compost I had collected in the boxes so I thought I'd try and use them again.

I have planted heirloom tomatoes, some of which will grow 450g tomatoes, I can't wait.

Here are the baby seedlings in my nursery. 

These two Black Russians were given to me by a friend from our local garden club

I found this stray tomato growing in my garden bed so I staked it up

Such healthy tomatoes on the vine already, I gave it a good watering as it was neglected purely because I didnt know it was there lol

These are the tomatoes I am planting, yes I am mad planting so many:

Aunty Ruby's German Green - 250g fruit

Brandywine - 350g fruit

Barry's Crazy Cherry - yellow oblong fruit

Big Beryl - gold and red

Black Russian 

Purple Russian - purple and black

Beams Yellow Pear 

Big Rainbow - 350g fruit

Jaume Flammee

Nebraska Wedding

Periforme Abruzzese - pear shaped, juicy and luscious

Red and Black - black with juice red flesh

Schmmeig Creig - pink skin streaked with yellow

Sunrise Bumble Bee Organic 

Tommy Toe - best tasting ever 

Wapsipinicon Peach - yellow spicy sweet flavour 

Stay tuned for more tomato progress.