I cant get a concensus on growing tomatoes

Thanks Bill.

I was just thinking about how much care that myself and many others put into starting the seedlings. We try to provide them with everything we think they need to survive. But, when it's time to plant out, after a few days or so I have so many seedlings that have started in the planting beds on their own (left in the soil from last year's crop) that they assume weed status and I'm always having to pick them out on my daily walks thru the garden. I'm talking hundreds of plants here. That says something right there about how much attention they really need from us to procreate. Too bad I don't know which variety they are or I would let some of them grow.

LAST year, I bought a pkt of tomato seeds from the tomato place. 10 pkts, one each of 10 different variaties supposed to be good in drouth regions. Sowed them in the WM containers. That was around Mar. They didn't get big enough to plant until late june. AND THEN, only some of them got that big. I didn't have F lites. I left them out in direct sunlight, so I likely got what should have been expected. BUT that was 72 plants, I wanted to try to see what a difference they made as to drouth conditions.

Then you can do whatever you want and blame it on someone else if it doesn't work. I think most people make gardening way too hard.

I am sure you will never get us all to agree. My experience is that dirt and sun is everything. Good dirt, plenty of sun, dirt staying moist are my key. any time I mess with those three things my return drops. I like to do 3 or 4 of each variety and about 6 varieties at least. It seems like I am always happy with what I get. Plenty to eat, plenty to dry and some to can.

I guess you aint in Okla mabry

Doesn't matter where you are: is the key everywhere.

You're just not going to do much in high summer other then keep them alive until it cools down. In Hot climates your tomato production is in the late spring and early fall.

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Apocalyptic and Survival Fiction - Readers and writers welcome

Well, that isn't what you said, and I wish you wouldn't YELL at me!!

I went up and looked before responding. IF youll look at the 3rd para, and at the sentence 3rd line down on R side, youll see where I said (I never planted them before in my 10sq flower garden which I have covered with old particle board I CUT out the holes today for the insertion of the plants)

I don't yell. When I capitalize, im EMPHISIZEING a particular word OR sentence.

Well mn The dirt aint great, the water availabilities worse, but ive plenty of sun and air.

Brighton, another thing im going to try this year, is grinding my egg shells into powder nearly and spreading that in the mater holes.

Around here the dirt is very poor, serpentine I think, great for grapes but that is about all. Raised beds, composting and worm composting, manure and a lot of the store bought stuff. Plus in the summer I water for hours to get it all done. My simmers. Run 90-100 and very dry. The first two years were awful last year I finally had a good summer garden. Now I am going to try and go year round.

Our summers run 100/115 high or low of that.

As I have previously mentioned to you, upper case is considered yelling, regardless of Billspeak.

In OK, like in Texas and lots of other places, you have to improve the soil or use plenty of fertilizers. I improve the soil, but then I'm gardening and not farming, so I've got smaller amounts to improve, still, its an ongoing process.
My Dad taught me "You grow good dirt and then it grows good crops". As a kid I thought that was funny, but he was 100% right.

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Apocalyptic and Survival Fiction - Readers and writers welcome

Geo, I thought I had a handle on container tater growing. looks like ive failed again. Ive tried it a 1/2 doz times. Same result.

The tomatoes I bopught were 3 each
Parks Whopper, Beefsteak. Big Boy, Better Boy, Celebrety, and Yellow Pear

Tomatoes are pretty easy all around so long as you have plenty of sun and warmth and decent soil. We train ours up on cattle panels and space them a couple of feet apart. We water in the evening and only at the base.

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"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." C S Lewis

Black plastic helps retain moisture, nutrients (which is something commonly used up here during droughts), reduces weeds and is also helps control soil temperature. I don't think that particle board would be quite as effective because of the difference in density.

You did mention your soil quality isn't terrific, are you composting? That's a great way to improve the soil quality of your garden or you could container garden your tomatoes and add a bit of commercial loam to help them along.

I cant container anything. ive tried strawberrys, taters. around a 1/2 doz times. NO GO>
The particle board I had. I don't have any black plastic. I mixed up a bag of MG with ground alfalfa around 50/50 and used it for fertilizer for the S corn, peas, beans, squash, and tomatoes and peppers. Used a special tomato fert for the maters also.

Is it common to use alfalfa for fertilizer in your area?

How would I know. I found out that it makes somewhat a good fertilizer tho.