Prepping & Planting Tomatoes
Sturdy tomato plants ready to install in my greenhouse. These are grown in a cold greenhouse with a fan always on. This way of growing ensures plants are tough and ready for transplanting.
According to my soil thermometer, the soil temperature in my greenhouse is finally 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) so I prep the soil and plant this year’s tomato crop. Prepping the soil involves adding an inch of compost from my Speedibin on top of the existing soil in the greenhouse. Then, careful not to turn the soil completely, I lightly pry it open, parting the soil open with a garden fork to open it to air. I sprinkle a handful of slow release organic fertilizer (such as Biofert 6-2-7) where each plant will go.
Soft, friable compost from my speedibin composter is sprinkled in a 1″ layer on top of my existing greenhouse soil.
I have been growing the plants since early March so they are beautiful in their 4″ pots. I simply dig a hole in the prepped soil and plant tomatoes up to their lowest leaves and then water each plant with about 2 cups (500 ml) of diluted kelp solution (1 tsp dry kelp powder per litre water.) All done. Later I will turn on the drip irrigation, cut them back, tie them up, and harvest delicious fruit. But for now it is all about getting roots established so I am watering them once with kelp and then adding the slow release fertilizer and watering it in by hand.
Slow release fertilizer like Biofert 6-2-7 includes micronutrients and these are valuable for tomato growth.
PS The foreground of the top photo below also shows the lettuce we have been eating for weeks now with a peak at the cauliflowers planted between the lettuce. As we harvest the lettuce, the cauliflowers gradually get more room to grow. We expect to harvest all the lettuce by the end of April and all the cauliflowers by the end of June. Then we plant more crops indoors and start eating the outdoor cauliflowers. In my garden it is all about the cycles. This week you can also see the strawberries growing above in the rain gutter system.
Before planting, soil is prepped in my greenhouse. This means adding compost!
Plants are set in place – about 30-45 cm apart so they have room to grow
I love growing a variety of tomatoes in my BC Greenhouse Builders polycarbonate house. The small roma tomato I have raved about for years is no longer available so I am trying Verona instead.
Cherokee purple was a favourite tomato in my greenhouse over the last few years so of course I am growing it again in 2022!
