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Tomato Gardening Tips |
Tomatoes, splitting
Splitting or cracking tomatoes usually happens when the plant receives more water than usual. You will notice more splits in the rainy season, when humidity levels are high. The tomatoes are still very edible, however they just don't look quite as appetizing with that split, so slice em up! |
Healthy Tomatoes
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Tomatoes, leggy plants
Leggy or elongated stems on tomato plants are caused from being grown or kept too close together; they have no way to spread out, all they can do is go up. Or if they don't have sufficent light they can get leggy. If you have a leggy tomato plant that still needs planting, the thing to do is bury it deep. You can bury a tomato all the way up to it's terminal shoot, or the top of the plant. If you have a 12 inch tall leggy tomato, you can bury half of it and have a nice sturdy plant. Be careful not to break or bend the stem when burying. Roots will form along the buried stem. So don't pass up a bargain just because it's not a perfectly shaped tomato plant! |
Leggy Tomato Plants |
Tomatoes, lots of flowers and no fruit
Usually caused by lack of adequate sun light or too much nitrogen. The variety could also be an issue. Our "Big Boys" are four feet high with lots of flowers but no fruit and our "Early Girls" have been producing lots of nice red tomatoes for several weeks now. There is a spray that helps set fruit, pictured on this page, it is called blossom set. Some varieties seem to wait till almost fall before they really start producing. "Early Girl" has always been a great variety for us, consistent bearing and very good quality tomatoes. |
Lots of Blossoms and No Fruit
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Tomato, Horn Worms
These guys usually start at the top of a tomato plant and eat the leaves, leaving only bare stems. To get rid of tomato horn worms, no need to use chemicals, simply wait till early morning or late evening when they come out to feed, and pluck him off the plant. One large tomato horn worm can do an amazing amount of damage, in a short period of time. If you have a pond, you can feed him to the fish!
Ever wondered just how do Tomato Horn Worms find your tomato plants? In the early morning or late afternoon you may see those large moths drinking nectar from your flowers, those are the tomato horn worms' parents!
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Tomato Hornworm
Tomato Hornworm Damage
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