Prepping and Planting a Community Garden: Soil Conditioning and Seeding at Juniper Street
My daughter Marie and her daughters and I have teamed up to grow a vegetable garden this year at the Juniper Street Community Garden here in Flagstaff, AZ. This community garden is located just west of the intersection of N San Francisco St and W Juniper Ave on land...
Tomato Jim's Soil Structure Test Results
The soils in the neighborhood where I took my sample are predominately clay, so I would expect my test to reflect that. I checked my jar after a few days, and sure enough, the soil had separated into layers consisting of 45% clay, 22% silt, and 33% sand. According to...
Determining Your Soil Structure
No matter what your nutrient inputs are, your plants won’t succeed with poor soil structure; there are several key biological processes in plant and root growth that are aided and facilitated by strong soil structure. Air flow and moisture retention are imperative to...
Tomato Jim’s Answers to TOMATO GROWING FAQ’s, Part 2
Q. Should I support my plants with something such as stakes or cages? A. Determinate plants often don't need support. Indeterminate plants need to be supported in some manner to keep the leaves and fruit off the ground to allow for good air circulation and help...
Tomato Jim’s Answers to TOMATO GROWING FAQ's, Part 1
Q. What is the best soil for growing tomatoes? A. Tomatoes need a deep fertile soil that is rich in organic matter and drains well. Soil should not be too high in nitrogen, as this will result in lots of green growth but poor fruit production. I have had...
Indoor Gardening? Avoid These 5 Bad Habits
There are a lot of bad habits when it comes to indoor gardening or having indoor plants. Here are 5 bad habits that I know first-hand: 1. Inconsistent watering. Most all of my outdoor plants are on an automatic watering system. They get watered regularly and...
Microorganisms: Your Garden Soil’s Best Friends
Did you know that there are millions of soil microorganisms in just a handful of healthy garden soil? Soil microorganisms exist in large numbers in the soil as long as there is a carbon source for energy. The microorganisms living in your soil - including protozoa,...
Tomato Jim: Preparing For Spring Tomatoes
It is never too early to start planning for next Spring's tomato season! Since my tomato-growing containers are clean and dry, I like to add new soil and fertilizer now so it can sit and compost over the winter. I filled the containers about ¾ full with a quality...
Tomato Jim – After The Harvest
It is November, and our growing season here in Flagstaff is over. Now is the best time to get my tomato-growing containers ready for next spring. Tomato diseases can remain in the soil for up to three years, re-infecting new plants, so it is best to change out the...
Tomato Jim's Final Tomato Harvest
My tomato growing season in the high country has come to an end. Flagstaff received its first frost this year on September 23 (31 degrees.) I knew it was coming so I covered the tomatoes with towels and a heavy blanket. The plants came through the cold night without...