Happy Tomato Planting Day!

mood: accomplished
drink: sun tea :)

You already planted your tomatoes, didn't you?! I have to admit that I planted mine last weekend, but I waited as long as I could! April 28 is "official" Tomato Planting Day here in Sacramento, according to Farmer Fred (who has lots more great gardening advice, check it out!)

Why wait? The plants are happiest in soils around 65 degrees and optimal fruit production occurs above 70 degrees soil temperature. And what about that crazy weather we've had over the past few weeks? Thunderstorms and wind...threats to your young plants.

When it does come time to plant, clip off the lower leaves and put as much of the stem in the ground as you can. Roots will grow from the nodes and give the plant a good base of support.

A good way to support your growing plants is by rolling cages of six-inch mesh concrete reinforcement wire. Bonus: local gardeners report less problems with hornworms when using these cages. One friend says he watched a western scrub-jay perching on the cage and picking off the worms.

Do you have to do all these things to get tomatoes?! Well, no. These are just tips to help you have happy, healthy, productive tomato plants. Good luck!

WARNING -- EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS

Brent is the one that identified a healthy, happy honeysuckle along our fenceline. Sorry bees, I'm trying some liqueur! I found some references on the internet, but couldn't find a recipe I liked, so here's my experiment. I picked as many flowers as I could stand and fairly tightly packed them into a quart jar, then filled with vodka. I'll let you know the results in a couple months!