Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

I'd start with an indeterminate cherry tomato. That is where I started a few years ago (along with a couple other kinds, but the cherry is what was successful). Indeterminates grow like weeds, and cherry tomato plants put off SO many blossoms that even if a few don't take, some will.

I'd explain all the other nuances to growing tomatoes, but the following YouTube video is where I learned most of it, and she explains it far better than I could. :)

This is Jess from Roots and Refuge Farm. She is my favorite gardening/homesteading YouTuber. A Christian woman with a gentle and humble spirit. She *loves* tomatoes and grows about 100-200 tomato plants per year, with dozens of varieties. This is her "how to grow tomatoes" video.

Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

My tips for growing tomatoes:

Prior to planting, mix a generous amount of a slow-release granular fertilizer indicated for tomatoes (will have more calcium than a general fertilizer). I like Dr. Earth vegetable fertilizer and Jobe's organics, but others are good, too.

With almost every other plant, you keep the same soil line when transplanting into your garden. Not tomatoes.

You bury 2/3 of the above-ground stem. Pinch off all the branches and leaves from the bottom 2/3 of the stem, dig a deeper hole, and bury all but the top 1/3 of the plant.

Tomatoes go through a lot of water and nitrogen. They love heat and humidity. They need full sun. In hot weather, water deeply and daily. In cooler weather, like right now, water when the top of the soil looks dry.

Mix in more granular slow-release fertilizer halfway through the growing season.

If you use a fertilizer indicated for tomatoes, you are unlikely to see blossom end rot (BER). It's when the end furthest from the stem (where the blossom had been attached) starts to rot. It's caused by not enough calcium. If you do see this, the quickest fix is to mix about 1/2 - 1 cup of cow's milk into a gallon of water. Water the leaves and soil of the plants.

Peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini are all prone to blossom end rot and this is a super fast fix. I do it preventively with my zucchini because by the time you notice it, it is too late to save the fruit that already have it. The rot spreads.

Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

Diluted milk on the leaves and soil is also a cheap fix for powdery mildew, if caught early. If it's advanced, neem oil will usually clear it up.

Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

And, something dug up my 4-year old kale "bush." I've had this one kale plant survive our very snowy winters. This would've been it's 4th summer. It truly was a bush. It had a thick, woody stem! I went and checked it last week and it was getting new green leaves. I was so excited it was still alive. Yesterday my daughter found it dug up and dead. It might have been my cats going after a gopher. :sigh

I do have volunteer kale coming up from last summer, though.

Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

Oh I hate when stuff like this happens!!! I'm sorry!

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Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

I forgot to water the garden while dd was in Cincy for 3 days for soccer. :bag I hope I didn't kill off our efforts before we even got started.

Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

Hopefully it'll be ok. Dh and I are traveling next week and I've got to rely on my kids to water. I'm worried.

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How is it going for everyone? Summer is here! Did you get the May planting done? I am still working on it. ;)

Here infrastructure is still being built, but I have a good size garden planted now. We have eaten quite a bit from the garden of spring veggies (the cabbage has been amazing!), but it is about time to pull those out and get the last bit of summer and the first fall/winter veggies in. It is also finally warm enough at night for peppers and I left spaces open for those. I got sunflowers planted today, but tomorrow is peppers galore! I'm excited. I have 8 different varieties started. Some hot, some sweet, all yummy hopefully!

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I finally got all my plants in this week!!!! I wanted to get it done a bit earlier but my procrastination paid off this year because we had a deep freeze on memorial day weekend. :jawdrop I didn't prepare my garden as much as I have done in previous years but it will be ok. We're in a bit of a dry spell here so I need to make sure to keep it well watered.

I'm trying a few new plants so this will be a fun experimental year. The plants were picked over at the nursery so I have to pick some new things to get enough for my garden.

Re: Is anyone working in the garden yet?
 

My beds are all done and I've been moving stuff around and planting new things here and there.

These coreopsis are amazing!

Also, we've been having rain almost daily and lower temps than normal. Everything is soggy and wanting sun! And my fence fell over onto my new bed and crushed some things. Then my guys crushed a few more when they fixed it. Sigh. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...77893a56fc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6b5887f8a3.jpg

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my spinach grew teeny tiny. my peas nice and tall but no actually pea plants. Im dismantling my boxes and hanging up my garden hat forever. 17 trees is just too much shade and it seems sunny but as the trees fill out it just disappears.

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This was my issue in Vermont. I ended up getting some tomatoes that I grew in a hanging basket by the front door it was the only spot that got kind of enough sun.

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Aww this makes me sad! Maybe you can grow some shade loving plants to enjoy. :hug2

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I am brand new to gardening. Last year we had a few of these in our back bed, and this year they overtook the entire back bed. Anyone know what it is? A plant? A weed? It’s out of control.

Ack, it won’t let me attach the image…

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZPWGNZNUycZ7JTHc8