Grow & Tell w/ @grow-pro • How to Increase Your Tomato Yield Using Steemit • [part 1] • #growandtell
Don't let the title deter you! You can really use Steemit to Increase Your Crop Yields!
A chat with @thelaundrylady here on Steemit inspired this post. Consider this a how-to, but also a fine example of the strength that the garden community has here on Steemit.
It is a lot of fun to meet gardeners from all over the world and exchange knowledge and experiences. I truly enjoy that and Steemit has given me an outlet to do it. I have found it difficult in the past to discuss growing techniques and gardening on most social platforms. Now, thinking about all this, I can share and discuss these things with like-minded folks -- and we can all reward each other in the process. How incredible is that?!
It encourages me to share even more time; creating media, sharing resources and information, commenting and networking with my fellow Steemians is fun. The rewards are a welcome bonus. I'm just glad there are so many homesteaders and DIY minded individuals here - it's beautiful.
Pruning your indeterminate tomato plants in flowering
Things to Remember:
• Use sterile / clean cutting tools (always clean after each plant - do not use on more than one plant without cleaning in between, to avoid spreading disease from plant to plant
• Leave some leaves! Tomatoes like the shade provided by the foliage, so be sure to leave some. Trimming too much foliage increases sun scold and also reduces the energy intake. Leaves are photon-collectors, so think of them as solar panels AND with the utility of providing shade for the precious fruits.
• The energy being consumed can be directed where we want it by careful pruning. "Sucker" growth is a new growth, usually from a node of the plant, that will 'suck up' energy to try to establish itself. Pinching or pruning these off early will help channel energy to fruit production rather than making branches and foliage.
• Support is Vital! Just like it is here on Steemit, it's equally vital to the plants that will be holding much more weight than an average tomato plant. The average for a single tomato plant yield in a home garden is about 10 pounds/4.5 kilos (from my own personal gathering of data). More experienced commercial growers can fetch 75-90 lbs (34-41 kilos) with intensive methods. You will need some serious support to hold that sort of weight and a typical tomato cage is not going to work. I have had them bend and fall over with the entire crop, so it is important to plan ahead.
A Few Secrets to Growing BIG, Delicious Tomatoes:
• Beefsteak varieties are great for size - Mortgage Lifter, Delicious, Brandywine, Pineapple are my favorites and not only grow large fruits but are top-notch flavor as well.
• Soil is key! Tomatoes are heavy feeders - I experiment with organic supplements and nutrients like kelp and micronutrients. Lots of Phosphorous and Potash!
• Bigger Roots = Bigger Fruits - tomatoes like to search deep into the soil for nutrients and they like to spread out their roots. I try to plant my plants when they are nearly 3 ft tall - planting about 24"-30" below the soil line. Burying the stem below soil will encourage root growth / more roots = more fruits.
• Support! Indeterminate varieties need something to lean or climb on. I use several techniques, but any kind of support is better than none. You will need to have something that can hold the weight of massive fruits. Most garden tomato cages can't hold 50 lb of tomatoes ;)
• Keep main stems/leader branches to a maximum of 3 or 4. Prune off sucker growth below the first set of flowers, being sure not to cut the branch below the new growth (it alters the hormones and can stunt growth cycle). I pluck off these growths to allow nutrients to flow to the fruits. If you want larger fruits, simply prune and leave the larger, fast growing ones. Too many flowers will make the plant struggle to uptake the nutrients provided.
• Stress training! Tapping and bending the seedlings, blowing a fan on them helps to strengthen the herd. I also use techniques where I bend or crush the inner herd and it essentially multiplies the channels for nutrient uptake. Think of it like expanding the lanes of a highway = wider road can have more lanes of cars. Same idea. This can take some experimenting and mistakes, so proceed with caution.
• Watering is key - later in the season I tend to water much less and I allow the plants to dry out a bit. I think the tomatoes have much more flavor during that time they are seeking water (instead of being fed it). Many growers also attest that this technique produces more flavor, but it depends on the variety.
source: my comment on steemit
Why is it important to keep the leaves off the ground?
Soil-born disease can spread to plants when it rains. I try to keep all of my tomato plants away from the ground, especially later in the season when airflow is more important than ever. I recommend pruning and training plants to be away from the soil. Mulching can help quite a bit and even landscape fabric/weed blocking fabric can prevent many issues. When the fruits are on the ground, they are also free-game for pests and critters. Proper airflow throughout the plant is absolutely necessary when the plants are focusing on fruit production. The last thing you want is your tomatoes rotting on the plant or to lose plants during peak harvest time.
I first stumbled upon @thelaundrylady on this post here and we continued the discussion in a recent post thread of mine:
Now Growing: The Dutchman • An Heirloom Tomato with a Good Story
Gardening is about learning - constantly. The more we know, the more we grow
That all starts with sharing of information. I've given praise to the Steemit platform enough for one post, but where else can you share, discuss, interact, learn, create AND get rewarded? I see a strong garden and homestead community here on Steemit and I want to identify ways that I can help enhance the overall experience of these communities.
Concluding Thoughts:
Part Two of this 2 part article will further elaborate on each tip and technique shared above, while also providing some useful resources to enhance your garden. Whether you consider yourself a newbie or expert, there is so much to learn! The next part of this will be packed with some visual references as well as some great references that I use frequently.
Furthering independence is promoting liberty and freedom
We can control our future by accepting responsibility today. I firmly believe that if more people were to enhance their skills and grow food that less starvation would occur.
Every little bit that we can grow for ourselves and our communities gets us farther from the dependence of large corporations that feed us poison for profit.
There is no reason to allow the monopoly over what we eat any longer.
We have the power of the internet and the ability to share information in fractions of a second.
We have a platform here that can afford us even further incentive to earn, power up and continue to strengthen this Steemit community.
I figure it would be a waste to not use this opportunity to encourage more of you to come together and grow something incredible. No amount of division can generate the power that unification of humans with a common goal can achieve.
If you like what I am doing please let me know! It's my fuel to create. If you are interested in learning how to generate profit from your garden and get started generating an income from your yard - please check out my GROWING MONEY IN YOUR YARD SERIES
It's a Steem it exclusive series that is ongoing, currently about 1.5 hours of reading - it is extensive.
It's geared toward gardeners with an established garden and experience growing quality produce, however, I am calling for curators and authors to help write content to broaden that reach to newer individuals in the gardening community. If that sounds like something you might be interested in helping me do, feel free to join me in the Growing Money Discord.
PREVIOUS PARTS OF THIS SERIES:
🌱to💰- Growing Money In Your Yard Series - {Introduction & Synopsis}
🌱to💰• Growing Money In Your Yard Series • {pt1} • Learn the Laws, Plan & Prepare
🌱to💰- Growing Money In Your Yard Series Returns! Calling All Homesteaders & Green-Thumbs!
🌱to💰- Growing Money In Your Yard Series NOW HAS A DISCORD!!
🌱to💰- Growing Money In Your Yard Series • {part 4.1} • Setting Yourself Up to Grow Money
You can also find all previous parts of the series HERE which is in the "PUBLISHED" Room on Growing Money In Your Yard Discord
Hi @grow-pro! I adore your enthusiasm for growing & for steeming about it!! It's true. The homesteading community here is remarkable!! Your garden looks so lush! Is that a current image or is it from another season? Nothing better than home grown food. #growingislife
Thank you, thank you!
I do my best! These are some photos from last season (our first full growing season here at our new house). I began peeling up the grass and making beds last year, so I was very pleased with the results. I have a plan to scale slowly so that I can utilize more and more of my land to generate some income while doing what I enjoy.
Our weather has been so off-the-wall here in Maryland, so haven't put any plants out yet. I've got a few hundred tomato plants aching to get out there, but I must listen to the boss (Momma Nature) 😂. When she says "Go!" we Go!
I will attest to that! Thanks for cruising by @yogajill ✌️😎
Totally wacky weather this year. So nice of you to vote up my blog ❤ really appreciate that!! Thank-you @grow-pro! I am helping my sis to do grow food not lawn this year. I put down a thick layer of cardboard and make rows of dirt! We have access to lots of wood chips so will use that between rows and for multch. I am so excited to start!! Eeee! 🌱 oh, i bet it will be great to get those tomatoe plants out! Happy Gardening 🍅🍅🍓🍓
Hi @grow-pro
What an awesome collection of info I found when I stumbled across your blog.
Here's an idea for you to think about...
Have you heard of @dbooks.org?
https://www.dbooks.org/
In the future you could even charge to let people read the entire book.
When I first saw the Internet back in '95,
I realized it would do 2 things:
The longer I'm on Steemit, the more I realize it is exactly like the early days Internet. Your blog is exactly what I envisioned 20 some years ago...
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! This post has been added to our growing directory of Steemit "how to" posts for the Homesteading/Survival/Foraging/Prepper communities. Your post is helping people learn to survive and thrive now and in the future!
These are very beautiful posts. You have been invited to be whitelisted in Minnowbooster., consider using them for post promotion once you get confirmation that your are fully whitelisted.
Grow Big- Grow Home!!! I like this statement a lot!
In the article you mention late in the season "watering less" . As soon as I am established in my move from the big city to the country side (building a homestead) I want to try what I know as the "Pascal Poot" method.
I talk about it in a post called Growing Tomatoes Without Water?. With patience and 3 years of trial and error, he was able to grow as many tomatoes as his neighboring "traditional" tomato farmers, without watering or tending to them i a dry and arid area of France!
Thanks for ths article
On another note since being on steemit... I have (because of conversations and reading posts) stsrted doing so many thingd I had wanted to do but neber had the motivation.
Grow it with a little help from steem is the truth!
I had a garden for years then we needed to relocate. Since we were moving to a new area we decided to rent before buying. Last year we decided to buy some land and build a house. I just started working on the first phase of my gardens. Because we I am done I am gonna have more than one. We have a large lot. I want to do some corn too since we have the space. This is my first grow season here so we will se how well I do here.
Perfect timing for me to read this post. The tomatoes are in bloom, and growing well. Time for a little support to keep them strong and productive. Many thanks for the excellent tips. 🐓🐓
This is SO HELPFUL for me! I am so looking forward to this new growing season, so I can try all the techniques you mentioned. I know I have not been doing everything right after reading your post.
You put it perfectly. Since I grew up in the city and no one in my family knew how to grow food, I have been on different social media platforms trying to learn from strangers. I have only been on Steemit for about a month and have already learned so much from different people so willing to help (especially you and I really appreciate all the pointers)! I have not even logged in to other social media accounts for at least 10 days, haha.
One more question comes to mind. Have you ever had tomatoes grown from seed that grows "blind" (without a growing tip)? I have gotten more of those this year. From reading online, I think my method of growing tomatoes from seeds still need more work.
Looking forward to the second part of your post!
Love to hear the feedback, thanks @thelaundrylady! And congrats on your recent #curie vote!! Your garden update was wonderful and I am not surprised the community found it valuable. I must say that I've seen an incredible progression in the garden community here on Steemit and it is no doubt because of great people like yourself who engage and make this experience enjoyable. I will have to add you to my @grow-bot so I don't miss your posts!
I left Facebook about 8-9 years ago (maybe longer) and I went thru a period where I just gave up all social media. I still have a few accounts peppered around, but Steemit seems like the closest to home. I love art and design and gardening - what better place than here? Sure, there are things that need ironing out, but I have yet to have the conflict that I recall from many other outlets. I'm glad you decided to migrate because it makes this place better to have awesome contributors.
That is a great question! 'Blindness' can be a tricky one. Sometimes it is a manageable fix and other times an anomaly of nature. I have the issue with some flowers here, namely the Daffodils. They make one or two blooms and then forget it is spring.
When starting seed indoors, I run through a checklist:
light: seedlings like a more blue spectrum and flowering plants prefer a warmer reddish light. This mimics seasons outdoors. The light spectrum for household lighting is generally 2300k to 6500k / red to blue. A neutral light is 4,000 kelvin and is a very midrange white light. Be sure to use 5000k to 6500k for seedlings indoors for best results. I also run my seedlings under 18-20hr of light per day, but have done 24hr with succes.
nutrients: commercial growers often use a chemical 'primer' to soak the seed prior to planting to avoid blindness, but organic gardeners should consider natural alternatives. Check NPK values of any soil supplement, soil, or additive you are using. Something with more Nitrogen and less Phosporous and Potash will stunt root growth and possibly affect the growth cycle. Use something like 1-3-4 for example, with less N than P-K. Using seaweed extract to soak your soil and seed before planting really can improve quality. I always aim for 50% of the recommended feeding (any time I use nutrients) and for seedlings - I would dilute to about 5% solution strength. A little goes a long way. Soak tomato seeds until they sink when you tap them. Avoid handling seed with your bare hands due to transfer of oils and bacteria. Also note that seedlings and bloom stage plants like the same 2-3-4 (2-4-6 etc) balance, BUT seedlings will appreciate a very weak solution comparatively.
soil check: sometimes the soil is depleted of certain micro or macro nutrients, so use soil amendments of your choice to balance the nutrient levels. PH is important as well because it actually determines whether your plant can and will uptake nutrients. Too high of a pH in soil can cause "nutrient lockout" and prevent the plant from extracting the nutrients in the soil. The microbes in soil actually do that conversion for the plant, so making sure the pH of the soil is 6.0 to 6.5 is key for tomato growing. Nitrogen-rich soils can benefit from a Phosporous supplement like bonemeal.
I have a few trays of seed going and I'll have to snap some pics to share some little tricks I use and how I cull seedlings. You really got my garden brain going now!
Second part of that post is nearing completion now. Gotta make some breakfast for the kids and then I'll see if I can keep this second part under 5k words..lol it's 2900 with formatting already 😂
Congrats again on your @curie nomination and I wish you great success in the garden and on Steemit!
Glad my questions got your garden brain going. I love reading all your garden posts. Thanks for letting me know your check list for starting seeds indoors. I did not know about the light spectrum part. I will have to look at the seedling grow lights I have. Something must not be right about the way my tomato seedlings were raised this year. Too many blind tomato babies to be normal.
Thanks again for taking the time and doing such great detailed posts. I have learned a great deal from you! One more question. Do you ever sleep, lol.
I honestly don't know how I managed to miss your posts for so long. I guess its like they say, timing is everything and my timing must have been perfect for me to miss them months and months.
That has been corrected as I have you bookmarked to be one of the accounts I read on a regular basis. There is so much knowledge that you share and it is presented in a way that an absolute beginner can understand it. Thank you for sharing and of course, I will be adding this the Sotall Directory later today!
😂 Haha so true! That struggle is real and thankfully a fix for that is coming in the Hivemind Update (coming soon!). I swear my timing doesn't help either - I pre write content because I know my schedule is chaos with two little ones full time. Writing in 5 minute increments and publishing whenever it is complete is typically late at night when they finally succumb to sleep..lol
I really love what you are doing with #sotall and I'm honored to be included in that database of knowledge! I can't wait to see the community features that are coming to Steemit!! It should help us all connect in ways that we cannot easily do now, so there are exciting times ahead @fernowl13!!
I'm going to add you into my @grow-bot today, as well as @thelaundrylady. It's a little project I started to help reward quality authors when I'm not paying close enough attention 😋
I'll be sharing an update on that very soon and also pushing a little more voting power into it to spread a little love. If there is anything you need or anything I can do to help get the word out - don't hesitate to ask! I'd love to help.