When I read about organic gardening, I see a lot of references to neem oil. What is it, and how do I use it in my garden? -Sherry

Neem oil is made from the seeds of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), which is native to India. Since ancient times, the neem tree has been prized as a sacred remedy and important ingredient in Ayurvedic medicine. In the garden, neem boasts a powerful insecticidal ingredient, azadirachtin, which makes it a great organic choice for controlling a variety of problems.

Uses for Neem Oil

Neem oil can be used to treat a number of garden ailments, including:

• Insects: Neem oil kills or repels many harmful insects and mites, including aphids, whiteflies, snails, nematodes, mealybugs, cabbage worms, gnats, moths, cockroaches, flies, termites, mosquitoes, and scale. It kills some bugs outright, attacks the larvae of others, and repels plant munchers with its bitter taste.
• Fungus: Neem oil is also effective in preventing fungal diseases such as black spot, anthracnose, rust, and mildew.
• Disease: As if that wasn’t enough, neem oil also battles viruses that can harm plants.

Advantages of Neem Oil

Neem oil is a popular choice in organic gardens because it is:

• Nontoxic: As long as it isn’t sprayed directly on them, neem oil is nontoxic to beneficial garden insects such as predatory wasps, honeybees, earthworms, ants, spiders, ladybugs, and adult butterflies. Neem oil is considered nontoxic to humans, birds, and other animals as well (see below) and can be used on fruits, vegetables, and flowering plants.
• Organic: Neem oil is plant based and easily available from organically grown neem trees.
• Biodegradable: Neem oil breaks down quickly and leaves no lasting residue.

How To Apply Neem Oil

Neem oil concentrate is usually mixed with water and sprayed on both sides of plant leaves. Because oil and water tend to separate, you’ll need to keep your solution well stirred. You can also mix it with insecticidal soap for a double whammy. Neem oil is bottled in different concentrations, so follow the instructions on the package to get the right proportions of oil to water.

Other Uses for Neem Oil

If you’re concerned about the safety of neem oil compared to other products in your garden, consider that neem is often used as an ingredient in:

• Cosmetics
• Shampoos (including pet shampoos for flea/tick control)
• Natural insect repellents
• Alternative medical remedies for antiseptic, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory uses

The only health cautions for neem oil relate to actual consumption of the oil, and garden use does not appear to pose any known health hazards. As with any chemical—organic or synthetic—use neem oil only in moderation when needed, and wash all veggies and plants thoroughly before eating.

Further Information

• Material Fact Sheets: Neem (Cornell University)
• Azadirachta indica: One Tree’s Arsenal Against Pests (Colorado State)

Related posts:

• Organic Sources of Potassium for Your Lawn or Garden
• What Causes White Lines on Tomato Plants?
• Why Aren’t the Flowers in My Garden Blooming?

This year my garden was exposed to the late blight epidemic, and I lost most of my tomatoes. As I plan next year’s garden, what do I need to do to prevent another outbreak? -Karen

Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is like the “flu” of vegetable gardens – it’s airborne, waterborne, and fast spreading, and it can wipe out tomato and potato crops in just a couple of weeks. Late blight generally comes in new waves every year, usually from:

• Infected transplants at garden centers.
• Infected potatoes that survive the winter underground.
• Cool, wet weather.

Unfortunately, even the most careful garden can be infected by spores blowing in from elsewhere, but following these tips can prevent bringing in (or harboring) the spores in your garden:

• Transmission: Late blight can only survive in living plant tissue – it doesn’t live in the soil, and it doesn’t live on seeds, tools, stakes, or cages. Make sure to harvest all your potatoes to prevent harboring the disease underground over the winter.
• Planting: Start your tomatoes from seed, to avoid buying infected transplants. If your potatoes were affected, start fresh this year with seed potatoes that are certified disease-free. Throw away any “volunteer” potato vines.



• Fungicides: Treating with fungicides can be used as a preventative measure on healthy plants, but late blight is not treatable once it strikes.
• Act Quickly: If you see signs of late blight, pull and throw away the affected plants immediately to prevent spreading of the disease. It won’t get better!
• Composting: Some experts recommend against composting the plants, but others feel it’s OK if done correctly. The key is to make sure the material is completely dead. Infected plant material and spores will usually be killed in a hot compost pile (over 115° F). To make sure, you can solarize infected plants before composting. Potatoes are tougher, however, so you may want to cut them up and spread them on the ground where they’ll freeze, and plow them in next spring.
• Prevention: Use smart gardening practices to prevent fungal diseases. Water without wetting foliage, allow for plenty of air circulation, and make sure your veggie garden gets morning sun. Even though late blight doesn’t live in soil, practice crop rotation to prevent other diseases.

Further Information

• Late Blight of Potato and Tomato (Maryland Cooperative Extension)
• Late Blight: Frequently Asked Questions (Cornell University)
• Can I Compost Plants Killed By Late Blight? (Penn State Master Gardeners)

Related posts:

• Vegetable Garden: Crop Rotation Made Easy
• Vegetable Garden: Growing Cool-Season Vegetables
• How to Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden

Trees provide a lifetime of beauty, clean air, shade, and shelter. If you’re shopping for trees for a new landscape or to enhance your existing one, you may be overwhelmed by the hundreds of species and varieties of trees available.

One of the best ways to narrow down your choices is to determine the purpose of the trees in your landscape design, so you can choose varieties with the right characteristics. Here are some of the primary uses and types of trees in home landscapes.

Shade Trees

Who doesn’t love the shade of a tree on a hot summer’s day? If planted in the right spot, these trees can also shade your home and significantly lower your cooling bills.

Shade trees are usually:

• Dense with broad leaves. As air passes through the tree, it will be cooled by the leaves. For lighter shade, choose trees with finer foliage.
• Tall and rounded or vase-shaped, with room to walk underneath the branches.
• Deciduous trees that lose their leaves in the fall. In winter the bare branches allow sunlight through to heat your home. For maximum energy efficiency, plant deciduous trees on the southwest corner of a house (northwest in the southern hemisphere).
• Ornamental varieties that offer both beauty and function through flowers, fruits, or fall foliage.

Popular shade trees include:

• Ash
• Beech
• Elm
• Forest Eucalyptus
• Linden
• Maple
• Sourwood
• Sycamore

Specimen or Ornamental Trees

Specimen trees are planted by themselves, mainly for ornamental purposes. They are often used in lawn settings, as markers for entrances, or to provide shade for footpaths and seating areas. Since they’re intended as focal points, you shouldn’t have too many of them.

Specimen trees should have appeal for as many seasons as possible, so look for trees with attractive flowers, fall foliage, berries, unusual shapes, or interesting bark.

Specimen trees include:

• Crabapple
• Dogwood
• Flowering cherry
• Japanese maple
• Magnolia
• Redbud
• Willow

Street Trees

Trees planted along the street must be tough to withstand the stresses of traffic, pavement, heat, and poor soil. They also may need to be short enough to fit under power lines and compact enough to grow in a narrow strip of earth. They shouldn’t drop large fruits, nuts, or branches that could interfere with car or foot traffic.

Common street trees include:

• Crape Myrtle
• Elm
• Fringe tree
• Golden rain tree
• Holly
• Ironwood
• Oak
• Thornless honey locust

Windbreaks and Screening Trees

Windbreak trees are planted to provide a buffer against prevailing winds and storms. The best windbreak trees are dense evergreens which provide year round protection.

Windbreaks are also useful in the creation of microclimates in your yard, by providing extra shelter from frost and harsh weather. Windbreaks are best planted on the north side of your property (south side in the southern hemisphere), or as a buffer for prevailing winds.

Screening trees are a beautiful, economical way to provide privacy and reduce noise. For an effective screen, choose trees that are columnar in shape, with branches that start near the ground. They can be planted in a row or grouped more casually.

Some good windbreak and screening trees include:

• Arborvitae
• Fir
• Holly
• Leyland cypress

Fruit Trees

Fruit trees make excellent specimen trees while offering edible fruits for your table. Fruit trees usually need more pruning, pest control, and attention than other types of trees, but they reward you with lovely springtime blossoms and seasonal fruits to enjoy.

Popular fruit trees include:

• Apple
• Cherry
• Fig
• Lemon
• Orange
• Peach
• Plum
• Pear

Further Information

• How to Choose a Tree for Your Yard (video)
• Landscape Trees for Specific Uses (University of Arkansas)
• Tree Placement on Home Grounds (University of Missouri)

Related posts:

• How to Select and Care for a Live Christmas Tree
• Mulberry Trees Make Great Addition to Yard
• How to Recycle a Christmas Tree

Around my house, fall means pumpkin carving time! Last weekend, we visited a local pumpkin patch and lugged home a carful of pumpkins for an evening of friends, mulled cider, pumpkin carving, and – of course – pumpkin cheesecake! Check out these scary guys – I’m sure they’ll keep away any Halloween goblins (and possibly frighten the mailman).

Those nifty little pumpkin-carving kits are a far cry from my childhood memories of butcher knives and triangle-eyes! The tiny little saws are much safer and make more detailed shapes, turning even reluctant artists into Picassos. The kits come with templates and ideas, or you can use the tools to create your own wicked design. Don’t forget a little biodegradable Pumpkin Fresh spray-on preserver to help your pumpkin last longer.

There are just so many things fun about pumpkin carving, whether you’re five or ninety-five. It’s creative, whimsical, and reminds us to stay young. It’s a perfect reason for friends and family to get together and play, and it’s a great way to celebrate the first chilly nights of fall. And best of all, it’s unabashed permission to make a tremendous and glorious mess. So spread out some plastic and just let the pumpkin seeds fly, and enjoy some pure old-fashioned fun. I think we could all use a little more of that!

While you’re at it, try saving and roasting the pumpkin seeds for a fireside treat. Here’s how:

• As you’re scooping out your pumpkins, separate the seeds into a bowl.
• Rinse the seeds to remove all the stringy goo, then spread them out on a towel to dry overnight.
• Toss the seeds in a bowl with a little melted butter and salt.
• Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally, until they’re a nice golden brown (about 20-30 minutes, but keep an eye on them).
• For variety, you can spice them up with garlic, red pepper, or Worcestershire sauce, or stay in the holiday spirit with a little cinnamon and sugar.

For more information, check out PumpkinCarving101.com.

It’s a magical feeling to encounter a graceful deer, peacefully browsing in the early dawn . . . unless your beloved hostas are what’s for breakfast! Whether you live in the country or the city, foraging deer can cause significant damage to landscapes and vegetable gardens. Unfortunately, “deer-proofing” is virtually impossible, but there are steps you can take to discourage deer and minimize the damage.

Deer Repellents

Deer are prey animals by nature, and deer repellents take advantage of that by producing unpleasant or startling scents, sounds, sights, or flavors. Because they’re always on the lookout for predators, deer are very alert and easily startled, and they’ll run away (or avoid an area) when faced with a threat or questionable situation.

Tender plants such as hostas are irresistible to deer.

Repellents are temporary solutions – in time, deer will get used to any repellent, so you’ll need to change things up in order to keep it working. Ideas for DIY deer repellents and deterrents include:

Scent Repellents

• Scented soap: One of the easiest and most popular methods. Shave a few bars of strongly-scented soap (such Irish Spring or Cashmere Bouquet) and scatter the shavings around the garden. This is a great use for travel soap samples!


Scented soap as repellent.

• Human hair: Available from barber shops, human hair can be sprinkled around or hung from branches in cheesecloth bags or nylon stockings.
• Predator urine: You can order predator urine sprays (such as fox or coyote), and some gardeners send meat-eating humans outdoors to “mark the territory,” too.
• Eggs: Mix a beaten egg into a quart of water and spray plants and surrounding areas.
• Baby powder: Sprinkle on or around plants.
• Scented fabric softener sheets: Cut into strips and tie to branches or fence posts.
• Blood meal: Sprinkle around plants or beds.
• Hot pepper powder or sauce: Spray or sprinkle directly on or around plants. Some gardeners add garlic or curry powder, too.
• Milorganite: This commercial fertilizer is made from treated sewage sludge, giving it an odor unpleasant to deer. It can be hung in net bags around the garden.
• Commercial repellent sprays or granules: Available at garden centers, commercial repellents often contain a combination of unpleasant smells and flavors.

Visual and Noise Deterrents

• Bamboo fountains: Originally designed as “deer chasers” for Japanese gardens, bamboo fountains make a knocking sound when the water dumps out, which serves as a great auditory deterrent.
• Metal cans or pie pans: Hang in groups where they will reflect light and rattle in a breeze.


Japanese “Deer Chaser.”

• Tin foil or Mylar: Can be hung in strips to sparkle and reflect light. Mylar strips can also be strung from two posts or branches, where they will make a buzzing sound when caught by the wind.
• Dogs: Dogs are great garden protectors if you can keep them safely contained (and if they don’t add to the problem by digging up your garden!).
• Trail blocks: Once you’ve located common deer trails, even a wheelbarrow blocking the path can deter them for a day or two. Deer are habitual animals, and they’ll steer clear of an obstacle until they’re sure it’s safe.
• Plant netting: Green bird or plant netting can be used to protect shrubs and trees and can be used as row covers for veggie gardens. Drape it directly over the plants or on a simple wood or PVC frame.

Commercial Deterrents

If you live in a rural area or have a large farm or orchard to protect, you may want to step things up a notch. Commercial deer repellents include:

• Explosive devices (producing a gunshot-like sound)
• Ultrasonic devices
• Motion-controlled strobe lights and whistles

These aren’t recommended for home gardens because they’re expensive and can disturb neighbors.

Deer repellents often work on other prey animals like rabbits.

Tips for Using Deer Repellents

Which deer repellent works the best? The answer is probably “none of them,” (or “all of them,” depending on your perspective). Any of these methods can work temporarily, but you’ll need to change them up often in order for them to keep working.

• Scented or flavored repellents should be reapplied every few days, especially after a hard rain.
• Visual repellents should be moved around and changed frequently.
• Keep experimenting! Some gardeners swear by a favorite method, and others try it to no effect. Find what works in your garden, and be adaptable.
• Deer repellents work best in relatively small home landscapes when deer populations and damage are in the low to moderate range.
• If the deer in your area are gutsy or hungry enough, or if deer populations are large, they’ll overcome their fears and eat almost anything. In that case, you may need to consider fencing (at least 8′ tall) to protect your garden.

Further Information

• Deer Repellent Study (a great review of commercial and homemade deer repellents by the Illinois Walnut Council)
• Deer Off (Havahart)
• Liquid Fence Deer and Rabbit Repellent (Liquid Fence Company)
• Plantskydd Deer Repellent (Tree World)
• PredatorPee (sells urine from a variety of predatory animals)
• Home Garden Use of Milorganite® (Cornell Waste Management Institute)
• Milorganite® Lawn and Garden Products

Related posts:

• How to Landscape Your Yard with Deer-Resistant Plants
• How to Prevent Late Blight in Your Vegetable Garden
• How to Use Neem Oil in Your Garden

The summer gardening season might be coming to an end, but did you know that you can continue planting and growing yummy vegetables all the way through the fall? Many cool-season vegetables come into their heyday as the temperature drops, and some taste even better once they’re been nipped by a light frost.

Here’s what you need to know to plan, plant, and enjoy the harvest from a fall vegetable garden in your yard.

About Fall Vegetables

Vegetable plants don’t care what season it is, as long as their basic growing conditions are met. Gardeners in warmer climates may be able to grow “fall vegetables” all winter long. Colder areas, on the other hand, have a shortened growing season in late summer, before autumn snowfall begins.

Carrots need well-aerated soil that is free of stones.

Fall vegetables are considered cool-season vegetables, which means that they will thrive under these growing conditions:

• Daytime temperatures between 60° and 80° F (the cooler the better).
• Nighttime temperatures above 40° F (a light frost is usually okay).
• 6 hours of sunshine per day.
• Rich, well-draining soil.
• One inch or more of water per week.

Vegetables grown in the fall include:

Broccoli is a real fall treat.

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Turnips

When to Plant Fall Vegetables

In most areas, fall vegetables are planted in August or September, for harvest through October and November. However, unlike spring planting, the fall garden is a race against time, so you have to calculate carefully to be sure your plants won’t be killed by freezing weather before they produce.

You can start planting fall vegetables as soon as daytime temperatures average below 80º F, and you can continue planting as long as they will have time to mature before the first frost and freeze. If you live in a region that doesn’t freeze, you can grow cool-season vegetables until temperatures begin to rise above 80° F in the spring.

Salad greens can be grown in containers during the fall.

Know Your Frost Date

The first step to planning a fall vegetable garden is to learn your average dates of first frost and freeze. Frost dates for your area can be found on the NOAA and Farmers’ Almanac websites. In addition, your local agricultural extension service should have more detailed local information.

Once you’re armed with your local frost and freeze dates, planning your garden is as easy as counting backwards on the calendar. Your veggies should be planted so they will mature before the first frost, and provide most of their harvest before the first heavy freeze.

Most plant and seed labels include information on “average days to maturity,” so you can choose vegetables that will be ready in time. Some cool-season crops mature in as few as 30-40 days while others can take several months to produce.

Beets can be dug as needed until the ground freezes.

Fall Gardening Tips

Here are some tips to make your fall garden a success:

• Plants: The easiest way to start a fall garden is to buy transplants that are already growing. Choose fast-maturing varieties to get the most for your harvest.
• Seeds: If you’re planting seeds, they’ll need to be planted deeper – and watered more often – than seeds for warm-season crops, to help them germinate in the hot late-summer soil.
• Preparation: Remove and clean up all plants and debris from your summer garden, so your fall veggies will be free of disease.


Turnips grow great in the fall.

• Fertilizer: Work in some fresh compost or soil conditioner. You can also mix in an organic slow-release fertilizer, although if you heavily fertilized your summer garden you probably have enough left in the soil.
• Drainage: Make sure your soil is light, well-aerated, and well-draining. Pay extra attention to drainage, since fall gardens are more likely to get soggy from rain.
• Mulch: Fall veggies need mulch to keep the soil cool and moist during the last days of summer. Mulch also helps keep low-growing leafy veggies clean.
• Cold Weather: As winter grows closer, you can extend your garden harvest by using floating row covers on frosty nights, or by planting in containers that can be brought indoors overnight.
• Warm Weather: You can also use row covers to cool down your veggies during surprise hot spells. Some fall veggies will “bolt” (bloom and set seed) in hotter temperatures, which can change their flavor and ruin your harvest.

Further Information

• Vegetable Garden: Planning and Layout
• Growing Cool-Season Vegetables
• How to Protect Your Garden from Frost and Freeze

Related posts:

• Vegetable Garden: Growing Cool-Season Vegetables
• Vegetable Garden: Growing Warm-Season Vegetables
• Can I Plant Trees and Shrubs in Late Fall or Winter?

OK, perhaps I divulge too much, but what can I be if not honest? In a perfect convergence of circumstances, my recent love-fest with seasonal fresh peaches provided—in addition to sweet peachy bliss—a perfect laboratory for trying out a homemade gnat trap.

I prefer not to refrigerate my fruits and vegetables, which means that from time to time I encounter gnats and fruit flies. It happens. This particular evening, the culprit was the last lonely peach in the bowl, and the invasion was bad enough that simply throwing away the peach wasn’t enough to get rid of the flies.

I don’t know about you, but that just wouldn’t do. Fruit flies might unlock the secrets of genetics, but I don’t want them in my kitchen. So, I put out a homemade trap of white vinegar, with a few drops of dish soap stirred in. The vinegar attracts the flies, and the soap alters the surface tension and keeps them from flying back out.

As you can see, the trap worked like a charm! The flies were all over the glass within seconds. Within an hour, there were ten or so dead ones, and by morning there was not a fruit fly left standing.

This is a great indoor/outdoor solution for getting rid of fruit flies, fungus gnats, and other tiny insects that buzz around decaying plant matter. As an added bonus, vinegar is a natural deodorizer, so you cleanse the air of both the bugs and the smell of whatever attracted them in the first place.

Related posts:

• How to Make a Homemade Birdbath Dripper for Your Yard
• How to Control Gnats Outdoors

Mmmm, peaches – the ultimate taste of summer! My favorite way to eat a peach is outside on the porch, leaning over the edge, with peach juice running off my elbows. And after I’ve had my fill of fresh peaches, I might be willing to lend a few to the ice cream machine, the smoothie blender, the pie crust, or perhaps my secret-recipe peach salsa.

As peaches come into season this year, I’ve been thinking about the recent movement toward “organic, local, seasonal” fruits and vegetables. Maybe it’s just been overused, but the phrase sounds so dry to me – it throws me back to childhood “eat your vegetables” lectures and has all the excitement of a symposium on the recreational habits of snails. I think it would be much more effective to stand on the street corner and hand out fresh peaches. All that talk can be reduced to “Here, eat this” – one taste of a peach that’s still warm from the orchard sunshine, and you’ll never buy imported rubber peaches from the supermarket again!

Mid- to late-summer is the best time to find plump, tree-ripened peaches at your local farmer’s market or roadside stand. First come the cling peaches, followed by the semi-freestone, and finally the freestone peaches, giving us a nice long harvest with subtle differences in flavor and texture.

Here’s how to choose the best peaches:

• Look for fruits that give a little when lightly squeezed. If they feel hard like apples, they’re not ripe, and if they feel mushy, they’ve gone too far.
• Ripe peaches smell like peaches! Sniff out the yummiest ones.
• Ripe peaches also have a nice creamy color, with no green on the skin. The red “blush” doesn’t have much to do with ripeness; the background color is more important.
• Peaches are often harvested just before peak ripeness, so they’ll be firm enough to withstand transport. They’ll continue to ripen in a paper bag at room temperature, and they’ll stop ripening if you put them in the fridge.

Related posts:

• Testing a Homemade Gnat Trap

With so many delicious varieties available, tomatoes are the most popular vegetable in the gardening world. They’re easy to grow, nutritious, and bring a taste of summer to any dinner table. Here’s what you need to know to grow great tasting tomatoes.

About Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a warm-season vegetable, which means that they do not tolerate frost and are typically planted in spring for harvesting over the summer. Tomatoes are considered heat loving plants, although they will tend to peter out as temperatures soar over 90° F.

There are hundreds of types of tomatoes that vary in size, shape, color, time to maturity, heat and cold tolerance, and disease resistance. Be sure to explore the many varieties of tomatoes to find your favorites. In terms of growing tomatoes, it’s important to understand two main classifications of tomato plants:

• Determinate Tomatoes (also called bush tomatoes) are bushy, compact plants that produce one tomato crop harvested over a 1-2 week period.
• Indeterminate tomatoes are taller and more vine-like. They bloom and set fruit throughout the growing season, resulting in a longer and more consistent harvest.

Growing Conditions

In order to thrive and produce lots of fruit, tomato plants need:

• Light: Five or more hours of direct sun each day.
• Air: Good air circulation is important to prevent disease and rot.
• Water: Tomatoes must be evenly watered for a successful crop. They do not tolerate extremes of drying out or overwatering.
• Soil: Well-draining, rich soil with plenty of organic matter.
• Nutrients: Tomatoes are heavy feeders and appreciate rich soil. To produce fruit, they must have adequate calcium and magnesium, and the nutrients must remain balanced in order for the plant to absorb and use them properly.
• Space: Some tomato varieties get over 6 feet tall and several feet wide, so be sure they have plenty of room to grow both directions, and plant them where they won’t shade smaller plants.

How to Plant Tomatoes

Plant tomatoes after the last frost in spring when the soil is warm and air temperatures are consistently over 50° F. You can add more plantings of tomatoes throughout the season, just be sure to check the maturation time so you will be able to harvest before the fall frost.

Follow these suggestions for best results when planting tomatoes:

• Soil: Till or dig the soil about a foot deep, mixing in plenty of compost and organic matter.
• Planting: Many gardeners plant tomatoes very deep, with only the top few sets of leaves above the surface of the soil. The buried stem will grow roots, resulting in a stronger, healthier plant.
• Spacing: Tomato plants should be spaced at least 2-3 feet apart. Follow label instructions and give your tomatoes the space they need – they’ll get bigger than you think!
• Support: If you plan to stake, cage, or trellis your tomatoes, put them in place when planting. Your tomato plants will quickly grow, and they’re likely to break if you try to train them once the stems are firm.
• Feed: A good starter fertilizer will give your tomatoes a boost at planting time.
• Mulch: While mulch is great for tomatoes, don’t put it down until the soil is good and warm in late spring. A nice mulch layer will provide even soil moisture and protect unstaked plants that touch the ground.

To give your tomato plants a head start in the spring, consider:

• Seedlings: Starting tomato seeds indoors in late winter for planting in spring.
• Preheat soil: Cover your tomato rows with black plastic several weeks before planting to speed up soil warming. Remove the plastic before planting.

How to Care for Tomato Plants

• Weeds: Remove weeds gently, being careful not to disturb the roots of your tomato plants.
• Water: Watering your plants is the most important part of tomato plant care! Tomatoes need plenty of water, and they need it regularly and evenly. They’ll respond very poorly to drying out and subsequent overwatering. Consider an irrigation system on a timer if you’re unable to water regularly.
• Fertilizer: Tomatoes do quite well with regular feedings of compost tea. If you choose to fertilize your tomatoes, use balanced organic fertilizers or those lower in nitrogen. Feed about once per month. Overfeeding results in nutrient imbalance and a poor tomato crop, so don’t overdo it.
• Support: Stake or tie up your tomatoes to keep them off the ground. You can use premade tomato cages (available at garden centers) or make your own simple trellis system using wooden stakes and garden twine.

Growing Tomatoes in Containers

Tomatoes make great container plants. Choose a dwarf or determinate variety that will stay small and compact. You can use most any planting container that has drainage holes, including standard pots and hanging baskets. Use a high quality potting soil that drains well, and make sure to water and fertilize your plants frequently.

Harvesting Tomatoes

• Tomatoes should be harvested as soon as they are ripe. Ripe tomatoes are firm to the touch and rich with color.
• They will continue to ripen on a sunny windowsill and keep for several days at room temperature.
• Refrigerate tomatoes only if you have to as they begin to lose flavor when chilled.
• When your tomatoes are producing, be prepared to use them, give them away, or freeze or can them before they spoil. Chances are you’ll have at least a few weeks where you wonder what in the world you’re going to do with all these tomatoes!

Further Information

• Tips for Growing Tomatoes (Video)
• Tomato Problem Solver (Texas A&M)
• How to Keep Tomatoes from Splitting Open
• Preventing White Lines on Tomato Plants

Related posts:

• How to Grow Tomatoes in the Deep South
• How to Keep Tomatoes from Splitting Open
• How to Grow Peonies

Blossom-end rot is a troublesome condition caused by calcium deficiency. It’s easily identifiable as a soggy patch on the bottom (blossom end) of the fruit, which grows into a sunken, round, brownish or black area that soon becomes leathery and moldy. Blossom end rot affects primarily calcium-loving vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.

Blossom-end rot becomes a common problem when we over fertilize our young plants, then subject them to hot summer drought and inadequate watering. Between the drought, the flush of growth, and the overload of competing nutrients, calcium doesn’t stand a chance of getting properly absorbed by the plant. While some soils are actually deficient in calcium, more often we’ve created conditions that prevent the plant from absorbing it.

This condition is not caused by bacteria or fungus, it’s not contagious, and it doesn’t kill the plant, so there’s hope for recovery. Remove and discard only the affected fruits, and focus on getting your plant healthy. Here’s how to prevent and treat blossom end rot:

• The most important defense against blossom end rot is keeping your plants evenly watered! Make sure they get an inch of water per week and that they are not subjected to extremes of drought or soaking.
• Use mulch to even out soil moisture.
• Avoid overfeeding with chemical fertilizers as well as excess nitrogen. Use natural compost tea or balanced organic fertilizers instead.
• Plant tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant in high-quality soil with plenty of organic matter. Some gardeners add a spoonful of lime, a handful of crushed eggshells, or other calcium supplement to the planting hole as a preventative measure.
• Do a soil test to determine if your soil is deficient in calcium. Follow the recommendations of the soil test to correctly balance your soil.
• In an emergency, you can purchase calcium sprays that are applied directly to the foliage and can help get your plants back on track. In general, though, you’re better off preventing the problem through proper plant care.

Further Information

• Blossom-End Rot of Tomatoes (Oregon State)
• Blossom-End Rot of Tomato (Integrated Pest Management)
• Blossom End Rot of Tomatoes and Other Vegetables (South Dakota Extension)

Related posts:

• How to Fertilize Plants with Epsom Salts
• Planting Vegetables Over a Septic Leach Field
• How to Prevent Late Blight in Your Vegetable Garden