Advice for new gardeners and tomato growers
Here an edited excerpt from an online Q&A recently hosted by Washington Post gardening columnist Adrian Higgins.
Q. I’m creating a garden for the first time on my lawn. Should I add commercial fertilizer or just start with compost? I would like to create an organic garden, or as organic as practicality allows.
A. Fertilizer is the last thing you need to worry about. First, the site must be in full sun. Second, it must be in a free-draining area. Then you can start to dismantle the lawn and create growing beds. Skim off the turf and create raised beds with lots of good organic matter that will mitigate the heavy clay soil that you probably have. Hurry, the planting season is upon us.
Q. I’ve had a tomato and basil garden for a few years. Last spring, I planted some heirlooms of the Fiorentina type. They all got hit by the wilt and produced only stunted fruit. Is there anything I can do this year, or do the harmful elements that cause wilt stay in the soil forever?
A. First, the season last year for tomatoes was dreadful, not just because of late blight disease. We just have to hope that this year, the temperatures will be a bit lower and more manageable, and that we’ll have more rainfall.
Don’t put tomato plants out too early; they really get set back by cold soil. I am only starting my seeds now, for planting in May. Also, I would plant some fail-safe cherry tomatoes such as Sun Gold, Black Cherry and Super Sweet 100. Whatever the season throws at those guys, they seem to be able to take it. My general rule with tomatoes is: The bigger it is, the harder it is to raise a good fruit to maturity.
Q. For the past two summers we have been plagued by both early and late tomato blight. I even planted last year’s tomatoes in half-barrels of brand-new soil. Is our only option to spray the vines constantly with Daconil? We really can’t live without our Brandywines.A. I don#146;t think any veggie is worth growing if you have to spray it with synthetic pesticides. If you are using the same containers, I would get rid of all the soil (and obviously any of last year#146;s vegetation) and grow less-demanding varieties, including hybrids with disease resistance. I think Brandywine is overrated and difficult to grow.Q. I#146;ve heard a lot of different opinions about when or whether to mulch around vegetables.A. Mulch is valuable for keeping weeds down and conserving soil moisture. Chopped straw is perfect for this; I would just be careful not to lay it too thick. Don#146;t use shredded bark or wood.Q. My husband and I are attempting a small garden (4 by 4 feet) on our back patio. We#146;ve never grown anything before, so I#146;m a little worried about how to start. We want tomatoes, a variety of herbs, onions, maybe squash and/or peas. Is that too much?A. Your ambitions exceed your real estate. I would just grow some lettuce or mesclun mix now and then plan to grow stuff vertically in the summer: a couple of tomato plants and some pole beans.Q. I#146;d love to have a vegetable garden but have deer that traipse through my yard each evening. I know a fence is the only solution, but I#146;d like to do something that#146;s aesthetically pleasing.A. Yes, there are many beautiful fences. I have friends who have enclosed theirs with a striking fence made of cedar poles and twigs. In my community garden video (washingtonpost.com/home), you can see the fence I made from (sounds awful but it works) half-inch gas piping. Another option is black netting fence that recedes. Fencing is the best way to keep deer away, though a friend told me a squirting hose, activated by motion, does a good job.Q. How does one figure out what areas in a very tree-laden yard get six hours of full sunlight a day?A. First, wait for the leaves to fill out, which takes the whole month of April. Observe the light patterns between 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The sunniest spots are what you#146;re going for. It will require some presence, though not continuously.Q. When should I plant raspberries? I have the plot all prepared, and I#146;m dying to get started!A. Plant the sprouting canes over the next month.