The Rusted Vegetable Garden

Friday, May 30, 2014

Why & How to Manage Tomato Diseases Using Aspirin: Beef up Defenses

Why & How to Manage Tomato Diseases Using Aspirin: Beef up Defenses

Aspirin won't cure diseases but it can help prevent them from establishing on your tomato plants and it can greatly slow the progression of the diseases down when established. Aspirin is a preventative measure to help reduce tomato plant disease.

The process is preventative so it is best to start using it before diseases arrive. The aspirin spray essentially tricks the tomato plant.
The salicylic acid in aspirin mimics a natural hormone that tricks the tomato into initiating the SAR response or the Systemic Acquired Resistance response... which means you are turning on all your tomatoes defenses without a true attack occurring. I believe this method of management makes it harder for disease to establish themselves on tomato leaves. I use it yearly.

There is a lot of research on this topic. The video explains how to use aspirin in detail, including the mixture and spraying method.

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Creating a Tomato Disease Splash Barrier: Stop the Soil Born Spores!

Creating a Tomato Disease Splash Barrier: Stop the Soil Born Spores!

Many areas have their own diseases that tend to attack tomato plants. It might be Leaf Spot or a form of Blight but whatever the disease, they tend to come with regularity.

The best way to manage diseases is through prevention. Prevention is a practice of reducing the elements that may lead to the diseases taking hold on your vegetable plants in the garden.

One form of prevention for tomatoes is creating a disease splash barrier. Simply put hard rain or hose water can splash garden soil onto your tomato plants. Mixed with the mud are disease spores. If the spores can't land on your tomato... they can't establish themselves on the plant. You are reducing the chances of disease on your tomato by preventing soil splash.

You can use any viable material to create about a 2 inch layer of mulch in your garden beds. The video talks about a few types of materials you can use and how to basically mulch under around your tomatoes.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Over 40 Varieties of Tomatoes Planted & Flea Market Sale of $1 Tomato Plants

Over 40 Varieties of Tomatoes Planted &

Flea Market Sale of $1 Tomato Plants

Well I got my tomatoes in. I am excited to be growing over 40 varieties. I seed start more tomatoes than I need and do a yearly flea market where I sell my tomato plants for $1. I also have other vegetable plants, herbs and flowers. If you are in the local Maryland area the address is

Giant Food Inc

ROUTE 108

CLARKSVILLE, MD 21029

It is in the Giant parking lot and it is Sunday May 18th from 10-1 pm. If you are local and need some plants I will have most of the varieties listed below. I sell out fast so this would be for the more local gardeners. I wouldn't travel too far. If it rains they do cancel it but it looks to be a sunny day.

I will also be selling these seeds next year.

Over Forty Tomato Varieties Planted (More Seeds Started)

Abraham Lincoln

Indeterminate. 75 days. 6-10 ounces. Round red fruit. Low acid with a sweet tomato taste. Good producer.

Arkansas Traveler

Indeterminate. 85 days. 6-8 ounces. Produces well in hot weather. Pink red fruit. Full of flavor.

Aunt Ruby’s German Green

Indeterminate. 80 days. 12-16 ounces. Large yellow and green beefsteak with slight pink blushing. Sweet flavor with a hint of tomato tanginess.

Aussie

Indeterminate. 80 days. Red tomato. From Australia. This plant regularly produces 1-2 pound fruit. Large plants with good tomato production. It has a great tomato taste that matches the fruit size.

Baxter’s Early Bush

Determinate. 70 Days. Cherry. Early cherry that is very prolific. Resistant to splitting and really doesn’t need much in the way of staking.

Black Cherry

Indeterminate. 65 days. Cherry. Sweet complex flavor. Classic black tomato with deep purples, mahogany and deep reds.

Black Krim

Indeterminate. 75-85 days. 10-12 ounces. From Russia. Dark purple with mahogany and reds Green shouldering. Fruit is sweet with a hint of salt. Prone to cracking but worth the flavor.

Black Plum

Indeterminate. 80 days. Cherry type elongate fruits resemble large grapes. Sweet fruity taste with mahogany colors.

Box Car Willie

Indeterminate. 80 days. 5-10 ounces. Red fruit. Two varieties with this name. One is perfectly round and the other is round with some slight ribbing. This is the later. Produces a lot of medium sized fruit.

Blush

Brandywine Red

Indeterminate. 80 days. 10-16 ounces. Heirloom from 1880’s. Potato leaf. A red fruit with the classic Brandywine taste. People love the flavor.

Brandywine Yellow

Indeterminate. 90 days. 12-24 ounces. Potato leaf. A uniformly yellow beefsteak with great flavor

Brandywine Suddath’s Strain

Cherokee Purple

Indeterminate. 80 days. 10-12 ounces. Heirloom from Tennessee. Extremely productive. Sweet rich flavor. Deep purple rose colors with red.

Delicious

Indeterminate. 80 days. 2 pounds and more. Grown for large pound tomatoes. This variety hold the record for largest tomato. Red fruit. Good flavor.

Flamme

Indeterminate. 70 days. 2-3 ounces. Heirloom from France. Orange salad tomatoes. Great sweet fruity taste. Very productive.

Fireworks

Indeterminate. 60 days. 6-8 ounce. An early red slicing tomato. Fruits are round with a pointed tip. Bright red color. Heavy producer.

Glacier

Determinate. 55 days. Cherry type. 2-3 ounce red tomatoes. They set will in the cold. Potato leaf foliage. Large harvest.

Grape

Indeterminate. 60 days. Grape shape that come in grape like clusters. Brilliant red. A very sweet complex flavor that has brought them to the supermarkets. You see these in pint containers. Good heat tolerance.

Heinz

Determinate. 70 days. 6 ounces. Red round fruit that produces heavy yields. Great for canning because so many uniform fruits come at once. Crack resistance. Create in the 50’s for the purpose of canning. It is now an heirloom.

Homestead

Determinate. 80 days. 8-10 ounces. Red fruit. It is a more heat tolerant variety. Large vines with medium sized very round fruit. Produce more like an indeterminate plant.

Indigo Apple

Indeterminate. 70 days. 2-4 ounce. Extremely dark fruit caused by the sun. High level of anthocyanin. Dark purple to almost black starting from the top down.

Indigo Blue Berries

Indeterminate. 75 days. Cherry. Extremely dark fruit caused by the sun. High level of anthocyanin. Dark purple to almost black starting from the top down. Unripe fruit has amethyst color.

Isis

Indeterminate. 65 days. Cherry type. Yellow cherry with gold and red marbling. Streak on the outside and inside with red. Sweet, rich and fruity. Not a perfectly round shape.

Japanese Black Trifele

Indeterminate. 75 days. 4-6 ounces. Russian Heirloom. A very unusual shape. Pear shaped. Deep mahogany colors with green shoulders. Potato leaf. Productive plants. Reported to have a superior tomato flavor.

Kimberly

Kentucky Orange

Indeterminate. 90 days. 12-16 ounces. Heirloom. Yellow to orange color. Tomato color can vary from plant. A sweet mild flavor. Great color for dishes. Mid range production.

Matina

Indeterminate. 55 days. 2-4 ounce. From Germany. Potato leaf. A red fruit with terrific flavor. Produces a month earlier than beefsteaks.

Matt’s Wild Cherry

Neves Azorean Red

Indeterminate. 75 days. 1-3 pounds. Large red beefsteak with outstanding flavor. Breed selectively by Anthony Neves. The ultimate tomato for sandwiches.

New Big Dwarf

Determinate. 60 days. 8-12 ounces. It is an heirloom that was created in 1915. 2 feet tall. Deep pink tomatoes that can reach 1 pound. A small plant with big fruit.

Orange Banana

Indeterminate. 80 days. 3-4 inch long paste tomato. Orange tomato that is long. Very productive. Great for sauces, salsa and salads.

Orange Russian Bicolor Oxheart

Indeterminate. 85 days. 8-12 ounces. From Russia. Heart shaped A yellow gold flesh marble with red. Very sweet. Absolutely delicious. Very meaty with few seeds.

Principe Borghese

Determinate. 75 days. Plum shape. Small fruit. Great sauce tomato. Outstanding for oven drying and using in dishes. Very very prolific.

Purple Bumble Bee

Indeterminate. 70 days. Cherry type. 1 ½ inch round fruit with green streaks on dark purple fruits. Great color for salads and salsas.

Red Pear

Indeterminate. 80 days. Bright red pear shape about 2 inches long. Great sweet flavor.

Riesenstraube

Sioux

Indeterminate. 70 days. 6 ounces. Red fruit. A sweet tangy tomato with rich flavors that people love. Grown for the taste.

Sweet Pea Currant

Indeterminate. 75 days. A very very small red round currant tomato. Very sweet flavor. Pea sized. 20-25 can fit in your hand. Very prolific.

Todd County Amish

Indeterminate. 75 days. 12+ ounces. Large dark pink tomato. Heirloom handed down by Amish in Minnesota. Very meaty tomato with great flavor. Very productive.

Virginia Sweets

Indeterminate. 80 days. 1 pound. Gold red bicolor mix. Heirloom. One of the best tasting tomatoes around. It is a gold yellow beefsteak with red streaking. Abundant production.

Yellow Currant

Indeterminate. 70 days. From South America. About 1/3 of inch across. Fruits in long grape like clusters. Sweet with an intense tomato flavor.

Zapotic Pink Ribbed

Indeterminate. 80 days. From the Zapotic Indians of Mexico. It is a heavily ribbed dark pink fruit that looks distinctively different. A sweet mild fruit. The plant is a good producer.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Tips for Inspecting and Buying Healthy Vegetable Transplants from Stores: Check the Roots!

Tips for Inspecting and Buying

Healthy Vegetable Transplants from Stores: Check the Roots!

I do grow most of my own transplants but I can't resist browsing the vegetable transplants that are put and signal spring. They are out as of this week here in Maryland Zone 7. And if I am browsing, assuming it's a fair price, then I am buying. There are several tips you can follow to make sure you get a healthy transplant for your garden. Remember by the time they get to be displayed, they have already been growing 4-6 weeks. They really don't have but 2 weeks shelf life in my opinion.

Vegetable Transplants - The Rusted Garden 2014

The plants arrive healthy but they are at risk of great stress. Sitting in the sun, they easily and often dry completely out. This will stress the plant. The plants are usually large and because of that they will quickly use up the nutrients in the soil of the seed cell. Very few place feed their transplants.

You really want to get transplants that have only been out on display for 1-2 weeks. There shouldn't be any yellowed or dried leaves but for the leaves that first emerged. Yellow leaves typically mean poor watering. Sometimes you will notice tomatoes that have a purple coloration through them and that is a nutrient deficiency. The leaves and stems of transplants should look vibrant and healthy like in the picture and video.

Look over the leaves. I have bought kale before that had green cabbage loopers on the leaves. You can bring unwanted insects and disease into your garden if you aren't careful. There shouldn't be any signs of bug damage. No holes in the leaves. No marking or trails on the leaves. They really should look picture perfect. This holds true for looking for sings of fungus and bacteria spots. Clean leaves!

Finally, check the roots. It is not bad etiquette to pop the plant out of the cell and check the roots. The video shows you the best examples of how they should look. You basically don't want them overly coiled at the bottom of the cell or to have really massively covered the sides of the plug. Roots the have over grown the cell are signs of an older plant. An older plant might mean the plant is stunted and ready to turn to seed or start setting fruit. It tells you the transplants have been sitting a long time.

Good Luck in Your Gardens
Gary

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Basic Principles to Making Container Soil Cheaply & Fertilizing It: Organic Matter!

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Basic Principles to Making Container Soil Cheaply & Fertilizing It

I am always cautious about offering recipes for the garden because I don't want people to think they are absolutes. There are 1000 ways to do most things in a garden and this holds true for containers soil mixes. I am introducing my general method that does vary based on what I have available and my general mood. So... please use this video and article for the principles. It is also the least expensive way to build container soil when you have to buy products. We all just don't have endless supplies of compost or a yard for that matter.

The key to container soil is moisture retention. I recommend making your container soil with at least 50% organic matter. Organic matter will retain water. You can use compost which will give it nutrient value. Or you can use peat moss or coco coir. They are outstanding at holding water but offer little if any nutrition to your plants. You of course could make a mix of these 3 items. Use what you have and what fits your budget. Remember, you want 50% of your container soil to be a water holder.

I dump all my container soil out onto a tarp from the previous year. Don't use container soil that had disease or insect problems. That is precautionary. Use that soil in a bed that has unrelated vegetable plants or in your flower beds.

I fill my containers up up half way first, using a mix ratio of 50% organic matter and 50% old container soil. I use peat moss. When I have compost ready I mix about 25% peat moss and 25% compost for my organic matter for my 50% organic matter. The other 50% again, is the old container soil. Remove any large clumps of unwanted debris. Remember 50-50 and fill up 1/2 of the container first.

Fertilizing doesn't have to be difficult although understanding the application directions can be. I recommend the tablespoon. You are not going to over fertilize your container soil. The primary feedings will come from the use of liquid fertilizers during the season. Container vegetables will suck the water and nutrients out of your containers. Regular water and feeding is a must for success.

This year I am using more organic products. The bottom half of the containers are getting 1 tablespoon of bone meal for phosphorous and 1 tablespoon of blood meal for nitrogen. They are both slow release and will sit in the bottom and get ready for future deep roots. I am also putting in 1 tablespoon of a general organic fertilizers that covers N, P and K and that is a more readily available form for your transplants. If you don't have these items 1 or 2 tablespoons of a 5-5-5, 10-10-10 or 15-15-15 synthetic fertilizer is perfectly fine. Plants don't know the difference.

Peat moss is acidic. So I recommend a handful of garden lime in the bottom. It is also good for adding calcium to your containers to prevent blossom end rot and it helps balance out the acidity of peat moss. You could also add your crushed eggshells into the bottom half. This prepares the bottom half of your containers.

I finish the top half off the same way with 50% peat moss or organic matter and 50% container soil. You can add in 1 or 2 tables spoons of any type of balanced fertilizer. A 5 gallon container is loosely equal to a planting hole as directed on the backs of most fertilizers. Or it is equal to just over one square foot. Remember, less fertilizer is better to start and they key to great container soil is 50% organic matter for water management.

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