An update from "My Second Attempt at Toms in This Mini-Farm". The toms had grown well and they are healthy. All the 3 rows are doing well ... but I had to do what I have to do. As I had mentioned before there are two varieties here, the smallest plant being one and the rest being the other. Those in the middle rows were planted for insurance just in case one or some of the chosen ones did not make it through the transplant. It was very difficult that I had to remove the insurance yesterday but it must be done so that the chosen ones don't have to compete too much for food. I would have kept all of them if I had enough space. Anyway I'm glad that my neighbour agreed to take the 2 remaining seedlings yesterday and gave them a good home. The small type is about 3 inches and the bigger ones are about 5 inches tall. I did not expect the smaller ones to grow that well but I am glad they did because the weather was very hot and dry. Oh ya I did not use chemical fertilizer on this bed but lots of fish guts and compost. Since transplanting I sprayed Epsom salt once.
Thanks Hummerbum, straws are like non-existence here and grass clipping is like a luxury so no mulch. I'll do that Mart, weekly spray. Thanks. Thanks Carolyn.
Well done KK,..not a blemish to be seen,..they have grown very fast,..nice of you to give some to your neighbor and it will be interesting to see how they fare for him.
Thanks Philip, yes they are growing real fast and they are almost a foot now. Sad to say the plants that went to my neighbor did not make it ... sigh!!!
Forgive my silly question, but how and why do you use Epsom salts in the garden? And can you use it on all plants?
It is not a silly question 102christa, I never knew about Epsom salt myself and I was introduced to it here in Garden Stew. I did some experiment with tomato plants and did see some positive results. You can read more about it here - http://garden.org/learn/articles/view/68/
Epsom salts adds calcium and other minerals to many plants. Its great for roses, peppers, squash, tomatoes ( and will prevent blossom end rot) and many others !! I spray almost everything with it that looks like it needs a boost !! Early spring I just work it into the soil for seedlings !!
For tomatoes plants I use 2 tablespoon to a gallon. I do not use it for other plants because it is difficult to get it here and it is expensive.
Really KK ? Its about $3.for a half gallon container here. And that amount will last a couple of years.
I think this may be the problem we are having with our tomatoes so we are going to try Epsom salt today. How often should it be used?
Mart it is really expensive here, some are selling like US$13 for 1 pound. Even at that price it is almost impossible to get it here. I managed to get it in a pharmacy for US$5 (With a senior discount) for ½ lbs. Multiply the US$ by 4 and that is what we pay in local currency here.
