Hi I am Philip Ortiz. I am best known for my flounder lures, but I have a passion for tomatoes and gardening. I am now sharing that passion with fellow anglers and gardeners on this web site. Why, because my good friends that I share them with said I should. No really I blame friends like Captain Mickey Eastman for this. Like me, Captain Mickey enjoys vine ripe tomatoes and fresh vegetables as well. He mentioned on the radio one time that I had given him some special tomato plants and the next thing I knew his audience was calling and coming by. I wanted to share what I do with you because of it. Thanks Captain Mickey I hope your plants are doing well this season. He even took to seed saving. That's my kind of gardener.
Tomato plants need the same affection. How it is cared for from the time it is planted (in the planting media) to the time it sprouts is even more important. It really begins with full sunlight.
Weak or filtered sun will stretch it to the point that it will fall over and then die. To much in the beginning and it will roast. So what to do. The answer is a cold frame. (Best when in spring planting time.)
I know not every gardener has one. So here is how you beat it. 2 liter bottles. That's right. These items of junk are the tomato and pepper gardeners best friend. Here is what you do.
Start by washing your 2 liter bottle.
Tip: (3 liters are even better)
Then use a nail that you heat up with a flame to punch holes in the bottom.
Tip: I use a soldering iron with a point.
Make the holes on the ribs of the bottle bottom, and make them at least a full 1/4 inch. 5 to 10 holes is enough.
Next start with a good seedling mix. I use Jiffy Mix. It is simply the best on the market and it is readily available in any good garden center.
Tip: Buy it in the spring when it first comes out and save it for your fall plantings.
Tip: When you get ready to use your Jiffy Mix, empty the whole bag in a 5 gallon bucket. Boil 1 gallon of water and then pour it into the Jiffy mix. The hot water instantly opens up the fibers of the mix and allows them to expand and accept moisture. Mix with a big spoon or trowel. Allow it to cool, usually overnight. Do not fill your bottles with dry Jiffy mix. If you do, when you add water all it will do is float and drain and you end up with Jiffy mix all over the sides of the bottle and running out the bottom. Moisten it first before filling your bottles.
Tip: Get a dollar funnel from the dollar store, and then cut the neck off to open it up. Set it on the bottle top and then add your jiffy mix to the bottle. Take it up to the line at the bottom of the 2 liter. Use a pump spray bottle to moisten it.
Next use a long straw to put the seed in. What you do is use the straw to dibble your planting hole in the center then drop your seed in down thru the straw and use the straw to cover it again. Always use a dry straw for dropping in the seed.
Tip: I like Sonic Drive In straws for this. They are long and stout.
Your now done. Do enough to fill a cardboard box. Why? Or use 2 liter crates. With a cardboard box you will be able to close it up on cold nights and then open it back up in the morning. If it is to cold to leave out at night you can cover them with a blanket or just carry them in. I tell you this because you will grow the absolute best and healthiest tomato and pepper plants ever. No disease, no bugs.
Next when your tomato plants get to the top of the bottle all you have to do is cut the top off and then fill in the container all the way to the top covering the entire tomato plant stem with good compost or potting soil. What this does for your tomato plant is it makes it grow roots all the down the stem. In turn you get a tomato plant with a big root ball.
Tip: If your transplanted plants set flowers before putting them in the garden just pinch them off as you wait and transplant up. If they have no flowers to set fruit they will continue to grow a bigger root ball. That's where you want them to put all of their energy before placing them in the ground.
This is the first Secret: for good, no great tomato plants. The bigger the root ball at planting the better the overall tomato plant.
I like 3 gallon plants to put in the ground in the spring. My planting date is about March 5th in Galveston County. I start my seeds in the last week of December and the first week of January. My personal plants are transplanted at least 3 times and usually 4 times before I place them in the ground. Each time I transplant to a bigger container I bury the stem all the way to the top of the bottom leaves.
For Peppers, when they are to big for the bottle, I cut the bottle pull out the plant and root ball and replant up into a bigger 1 gallon container. I cover only the root ball and not the stem.
As the tomato plant starts to grow (after about 4-to 6 true leaves appear, add fertilizer at 1/4 to 1/2 strength (Miracle Grow Bloom Burst) 10-52-17 for a week . I also will use Expert Gardner Bloom Burst from Wal - Mart as well.
As they progress (8-10 true leaves) increase to full strength. Use a bottle to water them. Try and tip the bottle to water them. Let the water run down the side of the bottle and not on the plant if you can. Or even better fill a bowl or tray with fertilized water and let them soak it up from the bottom.
When I want to surprise someone special with extra special plants this is what I do. It's a labor of love that gives excellent results. And after all aren't you special.
I enjoy heirloom tomatoes the most but I will also grow hybrids. When I find a good hybrid I share them too. I try to plant many different varieties in a season and when one makes an impact on me I share it with my friends. What good is a big plant that gives low or poor quality production, or a big production with no flavor or quality. Yet sometimes the best of both is low production and extremely high quality. That's why I love the tomato so much. From a big beefsteak slicer, to tiny cherries and in the many different colors, shapes and kinds I love them all. If you have questions about growing in Texas please feel free to contact me via this email link. I say Texas because it is my home stomping ground but if you have a question about tomatoes please just contact me. I am no master gardener just a self proclaimed master mater eater. If I don't have an immediate answer I will try to get one for you. As I said I have a passion for the tomato that would make a red snapper turn green. Phil Ortiz. Email: originalflounderpounder@yahoo.com
|
Excellent Varieties |
| Nice Slicer Heirlooms 10oz + |
| PERSIMMON |
| CARBON |
| BLACK KRIM |
| BLACK FROM TULA |
| DELICIOUS |
| BEEFSTEAK |
|
OXHEART |
|
Small 2-6 oz |
| SIOUX |
| FOURTH OF JULY Hyb. |
| BLOODY BUTCHER |
| SIBERIAN |
| STUPICE |
| PINK GIRL Hyb. |
| EARLY GIRL Hyb. |
| CHERRY'S |
| GARDENERS DELIGHT |
| LARGE RED CHERRY |
| RED STAR |
| SUGARY |
| SUGAR LUMP |
| SWEET BABY GIRL Hyb. |
The very few varieties listed are proven in my area. I bet they grow in your area as well. Some of these along with many other varieties will be available in the month of August to plant out for fall. I pick certain varieties for each season to get the most fruit during each growing season. I am often told by gardeners that they don't do well with fall tomatoes. I differ on that though. I usually get more from my fall plantings than from spring plantings. It all is dependant on the proper variety, and weather. Just this list makes my mouth water for some right now.
Problems with tomatoes. Here are the sites I visit to see and read about everything. These are excellent sites some with photos. If you need to find out what ails your tomatoes do it here.
Compost! Compost! Compost
Okay, this is the main secret to my tomatoes. Compost. It is what you use to transplant up each time. It is what tomatoes love. It is full of nutrients. It is free.
Free I tell you. In fact it is being sent to a landfill everyday straight from your neighborhood and your own yard.
My wife will tell you its a mess to see the way I do it. I am an open pile builder. But its not a mess, its a work of art. Its free gold. Its the next best thing on the face of the earth and it's free!
I really like to windrow compost. Then I just spread a finished bed and plant. This makes it's own raised bed.
All you need to do is make it. To make it you need browns and greens and some water.
I collect leaves in the fall left by the curb all week long for months. I store them in the bags in piles or I mulch them into a pile or bin and save them. In the spring and summer I collect the grass. Yours, theirs, mine, anyone's.
I mix the grass and the leaves together and water it as I go. I stir the mixture together and pile it up or place in a 3 sided bin. A pile 5x5 will heat up overnight if done properly.
At the end of the week I spread or turn it and repeat the process and just add grass or leaves and water. Then I rebuild the pile as I go.
I keep doing this for 3-4 weeks. Then I do not add anymore carbon. I just add grass and water, and turn it weekly until I cant see any signs of leaves. I let it sit until it cools and then I plant in it. Good compost will be crumbly and have no visible signs of what it was made of and a beautiful earthy smell. I build piles all summer and age it for the spring and replenish in the fall.
After screening it if necessary, I pot up and transplant with it. Enrich beds with it. Feed plants and shrubs with it. Make compost tea with it.
Then I do it all again and I keep doing it. The very best secret to outstanding tomatoes is organic matter. The more your beds have of it the better your tomato garden will be.
I make full beds of compost for my garden beds. It is non stop building and turning. That leads to non stop eating and non stop production.
You can start with your grass and 1 $25 to $30 dollar load of mulch. Just mix together and add water. Build yourself a pile 5x5 and start composting.
Here is a good site to learn the right way to compost! Cornell University Composting.
|
Cornell University. WILTS |
|
Colorado University Problems |
|
TAMU Ext. Disease & Insects |
Seed Sources. You need someone with variety. Here are a few of my favorites. I actually use them to order and trial new varieties.