Young plants have had a hard life so far

One of my favorite stories told by my grandmother in order to inspire me, when I had had a particularly hard day or a run of bad luck in life, dealt with her "hard times" growing up. She would say, " You don't know how lucky you are. When I grew up we had to walk barefooted  two miles each way to and from school and it was uphill both ways." She would explain that living through adversity would make me stronger and a better person when I grew up. That story reminded me that my poor little tomato plants have had a really tough time at a very young age and  all have made it through the adversity. They have suffered through two hail storms, six inches of rain in a three day period, and high winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour and they have all survived. I am confident that this adversity will make them stronger when they grow up.

The plants are all reaching the three foot level of the frame and all have been safely secured to the first level. They are blooming prolifically and several have set small tomatoes. I am in the process of training them by removing the bottom leaves and removing all the suckers up to the first set of blooms. This training process (pruning) is important to insure that the first tomatoes to set will reach maturity and that the plant will grow upwards on the frame. I will discuss pruning more thoroughly later.

Support the Vines

It is amazing how big one of these little plants can get. All twenty varieties I have planted this year are indeterminate tomatoes. This means that the vines will continue to grow and produce as long as those vines are properly supported. There are as many support systems for tomatoes as there are mosquitoes in the Delta. Forget the little wire baskets that are sold in the box stores. They are not big or strong enough.

For the four cherry tomato plants I am growing this year I will use the traditional concrete wire mesh baskets. My associate, Barbara, graciously gave me the baskets which were used by her father, a well known tomato gardener in North Carrollton. The baskets are five feet tall and are stackable. The goal will be for each cherry to be supported by two baskets stacked on top of each other. The ground level basket will be steadied with two four foot stakes driven into the ground like tent pegs. Hopefully this method will result in cherry tomatoes being produced from ground level all the way to the top.

My main bed contains sixteen plants, eight on each side of a frame supported by the steel posts which are eleven feet tall. The lateral supports are sixteen foot long PVC plumbing pipes attached to the posts with eleven-inch zip ties. In the past I have had to utilize my boy scout training in knot tying to construct this structure. Technology has made all that early training redundant with the invention of zip ties. These small plastic ties are a wonderful invention. They will hold anything together and are super strong. They are not biodegradable and must be removed after use.

After the first three lateral pipes are attached, I place small bamboo training sticks at the base of each tomato to train it to grow up the frame. Each plant will have its own two foot area of the frame as it grows upward. I use sisal twine to tie the plant. Never use a slip knot and be sure that the knot does not choke the plant. I will remove the training sticks when the plants are tall enough to tie to the first rung of the frame. I remove all the suckers up to the first set of blooms and after that stage I try and let each plant have three growing stems.

Mulch the Tomatoes

One of the most important steps in producing a good tomato crop is mulching. It is really important and I highly recommend to all who plant tomatoes to take the time and energy to protect the tomato plants with a good mulch. In fact, I think that if you plant a tomato and mulch it properly you really don't have to do much else but water the plant to get a decent crop. This year I have used red pine bark. Other growers use pine straw, wheat straw, hay, and some just use black plastic. Any organic loose material will do- grass clippings, leaves or even gin trash. Be sure the mulch surrounds the plant and that it is loose enough not to form a seal over the ground. I try and have four to six inches of mulch cover the entire bed. The plants need to get water down to the roots and to breath which is why I don't recommend controlling the weed problem with a plastic cover.

The first and obvious benefit to mulching is weed control. Never cultivate the tomato plant. No hoeing, digging or tilling around the plant is allowed. The lateral roots are shallow and digging around the plant will only cut off its arteries and veins which take in all the moisture and nutrients in the soil. If you don't mulch to control the weeds, all your time will be spent pulling weeds

Mulch also helps control the temperature and moisture in the soil. In hot weather mulch helps to keep the soil as cool as possible. Likewise mulch will keep the soil temperature level during cold snaps (as if we get cold snaps in the Delta). On a hot day just take the temperature above ground and compare it to the temperature of the soil beneath the mulch. It will be five to ten degrees cooler under the mulch.

Disease control, to me, is the most important reason to properly mulch a tomato crop. Most diseases effecting tomatoes in the Delta are soil borne and are caused by allowing the tomato leaves to contact the soil. A good mulch prevents the soil from splashing up and hitting the leaves of the plant. If you fail to mulch, the underside of the leaves will be covered with dirt after a hard rain. The heat and humidity that follows a rain in the Delta is the perfect breeding ground for fungus which causes the dreaded blight. I will discuss organic and chemical control of fungal diseases later in this blog; however, suffice it to say, the first defense against this killer problem is a good mulch.

A good organic mulch is also beneficial to the soil. Most of the mulch will decompose during the growing season. After the plants are pulled simply till the remaining mulch into the soil. The earth worms will love it and so will your crop the next year.

NEXT--- SUPPORTING THE TOMATOES

IF IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR POCAHONTAS IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!!

HOW I PLANT MY TOMATOES

There are many different theories about the proper method of planting tomatoes. I have tried most and have settled on a method that seems to work best for me in the Mississippi Delta. As stated previously, I believe that a good strong root system is vital for the hot humid Delta growing season. At planting time the average height of my plants is about two feet. A deep hole is a "must" to bury the long stems. Some believe my plants are too "leggy" and that a shorter, stouter plant is preferred, but I disagree.  I dig a hole at least two feet deep straight down and plant the tomato vertically. I remove all of the leaves of the plant up to the top cluster. Pulling the leaves downward to the base also skins the stalk (like peeling a banana). This is important because all that part of the stem which is underground forms lateral roots from the skinned portion of the stalk that can radiate sideways as much as six feet--- helping the plant take in water and the nutritents in the soil.

As is shown in the photograph I have added some supplements in the very bottom of each deep hole. This year I have added a heaping handfull of oak wood ashes from our fireplace, about 1/2 cup of bone meal, 1/4 cup of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulphate), a generous sprinkling of Osmocote (a time release fertilizer) and about two heaping table spoons of MiracleGrow (quick release fertilizer). I mix up the supplements and then cover the bottom with about six inches of soil so as not to burn the roots.

In the past I have also added fresh caught half-pound bass which decompose during the growing season furnishing additional nutrients. I figured that if it was good enough for Pocahontas, it would be good enough for me. I have read that some growers also add Tums or powered milk to supply calcium and pennies to supply the trace element of copper to the soil. This year my fishermen friends, Cliff Camp and Anthony Cascio,  failed me in providing the fresh bass.

Don't be afraid to skin the stalks. It will not hurt the plant which will recover very quickly after planting,

Plant the tomato all the way down in the bottom of the hole with only the last cluster of leaves above ground. I mound the plant by pushing the dirt up around the stem and then dig a trench or moat all the way around the new planting. This allows the water to pond around the plant to be directed downward to the roots. It is best to plant on a cloudy day or in the late evening. After planting water the new plant making sure that it is soaked all the way down to the roots.

NEXT-- MULCH THE TOMATO BED

Getting the New Bed Ready!

I have been busy getting the new raised bed ready to accept the plants.
I will have sixteen indeterminate varieties and four cherry varieties. The 8' x 16' bed will be separated by four large, round stepping stones placed length wise down the middle. Four 13' steel fence posts have been equally placed on each side of the bed to hold the lateral supports. The support posts are driven two feet into the ground leaving ten to eleven feet above ground. The lateral supports are made from 20' pvc plumbing pipes and are attached lengthwise with zip ties to the steel posts. This arrangement allows for 16 plants to all be supported on two separate frames. (eight on each side). The four cherries will be planted in a separate bed and supported with traditional  concrete wire mesh "tomato baskets". The bed has been tilled twice and the gin trash mixed with the soil really looks good.

In anticipation of a bumper crop which hopefully will produce tomatoes at the 10' level, I have devised a makeshift scaffolding system to allow me to tie the plants upward and to harvest the tomatoes. Two saw horses and two 2"x12"x16' treated boards are used for this purpose. The scaffold will be removed before planting and replaced as the plants grow too tall to reach from ground level.

NEXT- PLANTING THE TOMATOES

THIS IS WHAT A GOOD TOMATO CROP LOOKS LIKE!!!!!!

This article and picture is posted here for two reasons. It was written by my daughter when she was the Editorial/Creative Director for Chicken Soup for the Soul Magazine, published in its April 2005 addition, and is republished here with her permission. First of all it demonstrates what I consider to be an excellent tomato crop. She is standing on the scaffolding which is three feet from ground level. She is 5'4" and the plants have grown out of her reach. The second and obvious reason for this post is the extreme compliment my daughter paid to me by writing this article.

Stay tuned to more about this year's tomato patch. Getting the garden ready and planting will be next.

This is what a good crop looks like!


2003 Crop

A Bountiful Harvest
Stop and Smell the Tomatoes  
By Lansdale Franklin

I’m normally not a morning person, but there is an exception to this rule. From May to August, I wake up at the first chirp of the birds instead of hitting the snooze alarm, then finally stumbling to the kitchen for that first cup of coffee. And it’s all because of my obsession with tomatoes. But I’m not talking about the kind you find packaged in the little Styrofoam trays at the grocery. My fixation is for the real deal, grown in my backyard.

I’ve had a passion for this summer fruit as long as I can remember, but my total tomato fascination only started after I took a sabbatical and returned to my roots, so to speak. For six years, I lived what seemed the New York dream: great job, power lunches and financial success. But something was missing. I was homesick. So at 29 years old, I returned to Mississippi to be closer to my family.

It was not an easy transition. I was used to the anonymity of the big city. In Greenwood, everyone knew what I bought at the drug store before I made it back to my parents’ house just 10 minutes away.

Then summer came and I realized the move was exactly what I needed. Instead of starting my day with a 45-minute train ride, I joined my father every morning over a cup of coffee in the backyard to work in the famous “Franklin tomato patch.”

As a little girl, I would skip around the tomatoes each morning while Daddy checked every leaf of every plant, making sure they were dirt-free and had the perfect exposure to the sun — just as his mother and grandmother taught him. As I grew older, he put me to work. My first real job was pulling weeds, then gradually watering and fertilizing. I was proud of being able to help.

But somewhere along the line, I had forgotten about the simple pleasure of growing your own vegetables. Now, it all came rushing back. (After the caffeine took effect, of course.) This time, though, I was much more involved. My father sat in the white garden chair and explained what to do, passing down the knowledge of three generations. I dug holes, fertilized, planted the tomatoes and weeded.

As the summer heat increased and the plants grew taller, Daddy and I devised a system to keep our tomatoes reaching for the sky. We used metal fence posts and bamboo to tie and support each bloom. Once they were too tall to reach, we stole Mamma’s ladders and placed two-by-fours between the rungs to create our own version of walking the plank. I could now tie up all the plants without moving the ladder every few feet. (Please note, do not try this at home. I had the contusions to prove this was not the safest method.)

By the end of the season, our vines had grown more than 15-feet tall, and we had enough tomatoes to feed the whole town. In fact, everyone knew that if they were in need of a tomato for dinner that evening, all they had to do was come over and pick one or two or 10.

That summer, we literally grew hundreds of pounds of blue-ribbon worthy tomatoes. But that’s not what made me adore working in the garden. My bountiful harvest was the time I spent with my father, reconnecting in ways I didn’t believe were still possible. As we worked, Daddy would tell me stories about my grandmama, how he met my mother and what I was like as a child. Our relationship grew to a new level. We were now not only father and daughter but also friends.

Like all good things, our time in the tomato patch came to an end. As summer turned into fall, I realized it was time to return to the real world and get back to my career.

I now live two hours from my parents. And even though my life is incredibly busy, I still grow tomatoes. I find joy in getting up at 5:30 a.m. and checking on my own little crop –– knowing that Daddy is doing the same. I then call him on my way to work, and we compare notes. I’ve taken time to stop and smell the tomatoes, and my life is indeed richer for it.