Ay-ay-ay! A big garden is kind of a given here. Each side of the fenced-in area is 140 feet long. It gets filled with unusual vegetables like Agretti, Chinese Water Chestnuts, Crosnes (Stachys affinis) and a ton of other veggies. I’m cutting back about 40%, planting 72 tomatoes (6 types) and 72 Peppers, hot and sweet (10 types). Some will be top-grafted onto super-resistant root stocks. Great information on tomato grafting can be found at Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Today is the day to start seeds under LED lights, on a heat mat.
There are two refrigerators, full of seeds, tubers, mushroom spawn and roots. I rotate varieties to keep seed fresh, although some seed keeps incredibly well if stored dry, in a jar, and cold. I just did a germination test on Whippoorwill Cow Pea (like a Blackeye Pea in taste) from seeds collected in 1987; almost 100% germinated!
A lot of what was fallow ground is planned to be covered in vining plants, like winter squash, Asian squash relatives and Indian cucurbits like Tinda and Tindora. This is a good way to plant between dead brush roots, where I can’t yet run a rototiller.
A few lines about tomatoes: Blossom end rot is usually caused by inadequate Calcium. Adding Dolomitic Lime to soil can help, if added before planting and you’re soil is not alkaline. However, during dry periods, plants often don’t have water at their roots long enough to get enough. You water the plants and they only have a short while until the soil loses wetness. Here, an evening/cloudy-cool weather spray of Calcium chloride, on the foliage, can give the plants an instant boost. Do not apply during hot sunny weather; best in the cool of evening. Inadequate Phosphorus can also reduce yields or deform fruits. That’s easy to solve with many fertilizers. Avoid too much Nitrogen rich fertilizers or manures; they can cause rampant vine growth and few fruits.
If you are growing rows of tomatoes or peppers, search for instructions on how to do the “Florida Basket Weave” method of staking; it’s way easier and better for the plants.
We got hammered by wind storms, about 50 trees went down March 2 and the deer fence is damaged. So, I’m reluctantly planting less, to allow dealing with the damage and mess. Rats! Gardening is far more pleasant than running a chain saw.