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Well the garden show is finished.
What a success it was. The tomato contest recipes were a big hit and a great addition the event. But this is not the end of the fun!
Nope, Scott is taking these recipes on the road with him. These recipes are going bi-coastal! That’s right SippitySup, TomatoMania, and your recipes from “Sea to Shining Sea”!
He’ll be in Lothian, MD, May 8-10, and in Litchfeild, CT, May 15-17. If you are in the neighborhood. Pop in say “hello” and stock up.
But as you know I was at the Garden Show too! In fact here is photgraphic proof! Me with the winning recipe cards.
It gave me a really good chance to get to know the contest winning recipes. Which is a good thing because starting next Monday I am going to be making each one of the winning entries. I can’t decide whether I should go alphabetical by blog name, or just pick randomly. What do you think?
But just because Scott and his seedlings are jet-setting off to New England that does not mean he has forgotten you or your tomatoes.
Noooo, he’s nothing if not “supportive”! GREG HENRY
Support Your Local Tomato
They get big quickly don’t they?
With the weather warming and days getting longer your tomatoes are getting all the signals that say GROW! And that’s what we want this time of the season.
As that happens your job becomes more important. Here’s the challenge. Keep stems and ripening tomatoes off the ground, where they are subject to insect infestation, hungry critters, fungal diseases and your big feet! But these plants can be eight feet tall you say? Yes, that’s the challenge.
If left to their own devices in your garden tomato plants would spread out over the ground and take up way too much valuable space. Developing fruit will be more likely to be lying on the ground, prone to the problems mentioned above, and also unprotected from the sun’s rays amidst the sprawling stems and foliage. Staking keeps the plant in a relative column, thus saving space. It will also concentrate the leaf cover, providing shade for the developing fruit.
What makes a great cage, trellis or stake? Anything that will stand up under the weight of a big, rangy, indeterminate tomato at the end of the season! 
Tomato “cages” are the norm. You know, the three footers made of light metal. That’s great for a start, and for some of the determinates, especially where the growing season is short. But if your tomato season is a long one you’ll need more height and stability. With many varieties you’re going to have a very big plant after a few short months.
A thick lodgepole pine stake, the kind used for trees, is a good bet. But what you use isn’t important. Larger cages, towers, spirals and trellises all work. I’m a bamboo stake
gardener and I add more as the plant grows. At the end of the summer season
I’ll often have a single plant attached to six or more stakes. Just hold it up!
Be creative. Existing fences are a great “stake” and spreading out your plant in espalier style is a smart move. How about the 4 x 4s on the corners of that new arbor you just built? Mature climbers like roses or bougainvillea can support a rangy cherry tomato. Ouch. The arch over the path in the backyard? A tomato could grow there.
Carefully tie the plant to its support with soft plastic tape or torn up old t-shirts; anything
that won’t cut into the stems. My grandmother used old stockings or strips of old t-shirts. Velcro ties are becoming more popular and they work great!
Start early, tying the main stem up every foot or so. If you make pinching your strategy, you can ease some of your staking woes, as less mass (leaves and stems) means a more manageable plant.
Keep at it. It’s BIG job.
SCOTT DAIGRE
Comments
We planted our first tomatoes last weekend!
Now let's see how they fare. I'm printing out the previous Tomato Mania posts to remind us of what to watch out for - our biggest flub last year was with watering. Our poor heirlooms burst! But I have to ask Scott: how about the Midwest? I know we're considered just fly-over territory but we love tomatoes, too!
I'm looking forward to the winning recipes redux.
If I lived closer than several thousand miles away...
...I would have dropped in on the show. Really, I would love to have been able to go and see you there!
Great picture of you!
Hi Greg,
Just wanted to say thanks again and I still can't believe you picked one of my recipes, amazing! I hope you had lots of fun at the garden show, looks like you had some nice weather there.
Thanks again,
Eric
Staking tomatoes..
The best way to support your tomato plants is with The Tomato Stake.
www.thetomatostake.com
Easier to use than metal cages or upside down planters, stronger than bamboo and won't rot like wood stakes. The built-in twist-tie supports make tying your tomato plants easy!
To be fair...
...and because my goal is to pass on information here. I went ahead and published this commercially driven comment. Readers can decide for themselves if this is a product they are interested in. SippitySup and TomatoMania do not endorse this product. Nor do we dismiss it. Do the research. Our point here is tomatoes need staking...GREG
Thankfully...
Chicago's Green Street Market finally opened up again a few weeks back. I just travel too much to grow my own. Well that and they'd have to live indoors...
Looks like you have some
Looks like you have some fans!(or not?)Thanks for all your hard work in handing out our recipes! The trellising information is a huge help!!! Thanks Scott.
It's a fine line...
I suppose it comes with the territory. She has been coming here and leaving such messages once in a while since I started. I have been rude, I have edited her, I have even told her off. But I find putting her comments up and seeing what is what, keeps her at a safe distance! GREG
Of Course!
You look like a movie star. You love to look like a movie star. Are you in fact a movie star? Can we see the tomatoes please?
OH! Gayle...
We have not seen you in a while. I am happy to see you are still around. But really, I never know whether you are kidding or not. But I suppose that is by design...GREG
Oh if only I had a garden
Then I would take on this big job and have big beautiful tomatoes of my own! For now...I'm a farmer's market's dream come true.
Look at how happy you are
... and rightfully so. Nicely done, this whole contest &c.
PS I'm mostly only as happy as you look here when I'm doing things that would make my great-grandmother turn over in her grave.
Like cooking my pork till just until slightly pink in the center. What did you think I meant?
Nick
I am just happy to see you are still alive! GREG
Scouting Scott in Litchfield
What a great shot of you with all the cards and super cool shades. I am looking forward to meeting scott in litchfield. Thanks for your support.
go...
for it! GREG
Ah ha... Look at you with all
Ah ha... Look at you with all those recipe cards. It's nice to put a face to a name. Glad to know it was a success.
I would love to have my own tomato garden. Eventually, I will as soon as i get a bigger place.
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