The photo below shows me making a start on shifting the first truckload. Unfortunately the ground was too wet for the truck to make it around to the back garden so it was a wheel barrow job.

After a some hours of doing this the novelty began to wear a little thin. However a little physical exertion on a cold winter afternoon couldn’t be all bad. Having a big section and garden has helped to keep me reasonably fit over the last few years and it’s much more enjoyable than going to a gym. Cheaper too as there are no fancy clothes and shoes required.

Critical for the hens that I watched my every step as they were constantly underfoot on the lookout for a snack. Sadly for the girls this was all too fresh to be harbouring anything remotely tasty.

No sooner than I had shifted the first pile when our friendly arborist arrived with another yet bigger truck load. This came about because when he dumped the first lot I commented that it was a little on the small side considering what I’d “forked out” for it.

After surveying this second delivery I felt more satisfied with my purchase and made him aware that I had more than enough to go on with. The time had also arrived to use the jumbo wheel barrow that up until till now had only been storing pumpkins and collecting dust on our front deck.

Some of the benefits of using mulch are ….

• Suppresses weed germination and growth.
• Helps to improve the structure of the soil.
• Assists with the breakdown of any clay.
• Aiding water retention during summer means your vegetables need less watering which saves time and money.
• Ground retains more warmth during winter and helps to keep plant roots cooler during the heat of summer.
• Prevents erosion of valuable top soil.
• Add nutrients.
• An easy way to add organic matter to your garden.
• When you have a large garden like ours its more cost effective than buying made up mulches from the local garden centre.
• Lessens garden maintenance.
• Beautification … however this is more applicable in flower beds and when used around trees. Usually short lived in a veggie patch.
• Importantly mulching helps to create a worm friendly environment.

Other than where the strawberries are growing the garden now has been covered with a 10 centimeter layer of mulch.

As shown below I have “slightly” more than needed so its been heaped up ready for future use.

If you use mulch in your garden what type do you use and how often do you apply it? Your comments can be made below.

I must admit that sometimes I ask myself the same questions especially when its time to stake, apply ties, remove laterals, water, feed and of course finally harvest. Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow however when you have in excess of 40 vines it becomes a size-able task.

When asked my reply is always the same, “I just love growing them”.

Doing a little often plus plenty of sunshine, water and a fortnightly helping of worm juice are just some of the ingredients needed for great results.

To the second question … eat as many as we can and then give the rest to neighbours family and friends. Sharing them is the other enjoyable aspect of growing tomatoes.

I’m not on my own in this respect as tomatoes are the most popular fruit /vegetable in New Zealand. Like last year I’ve grown a number of different varieties as I enjoy observing each type take on their own shapes, colours and flavours.

I’m not suggesting that everyone should grow as many tomatoes as I do however you can get a good crop from just a few vines if you follow some simple rules.

The images below showcase my tomatoes from the time of planting back in late October until now.

Above … prepare the soil well and dig in plenty of compost and aged animal manures. Ask about … you can usually get this for nothing. Trademe is a good place to start or talk to your horsey or farmer friends. Use labels and good strong stakes.

Plant seedling deep and right up to the upper leaves which encourages vigorous root growth. A more extensive root system simply means more tomatoes.

Tie up and remove laterals on a weekly basis. Growing prize winning tomatoes is all about fruit growth not foliage growth.

When the tomatoes begin to to ripen cover them with netting or similar to deter the birds. The main culprits in my patch are blackbirds and thrushes. I still lose a few as shown in the photo on bottom left.

Finally it’s harvest time and a chance to show off a little and enjoy the fruits of your labours.

The secret to growing a bumper tomato crop is a little time often spent attending to those all important tasks such as watering, feeding and removing laterals and excess foliage.

A fortnightly helping of our “Worm Juice Plant Booster” also works wonders.

If you’re tired of just an “average” tomato crop perhaps it’s time your tried our magical ”tomato tonic”. Click on the link above or visit our garden shop.

]]> http://www.justaddworms.com/2011/02/23/grow-tomatoes-that-will-turn-your-family-and-friends-green-with-envy/feed/ 2 http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/09/29/spring-means-its-time-to-get-growing/ http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/09/29/spring-means-its-time-to-get-growing/#comments Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:49:09 +0000 Rodney http://www.justaddworms.com/?p=8832 Daylight saving started last Sunday so now I have an extra hour at the end of each day to get our vegetable garden knocked into shape. The winter has been long and very wet but I’m hoping that’s all behind us now.

In spite of the fact that the ground is still rather wet I decided to get a couple of rows of potatoes in so that we can hopefully harvest some in time for Christmas.

After turning the soil a trench of about 20 cm deep is made into which the seedlings are placed approximately 35 cm apart.

A few handfuls of blood and bone thrown into the mix should help them along.

Plant label as I always forget … lets face it we all do!

To finish the job its just a matter of filling in the trench. I have four more trays to plant but will leave these for a couple of weeks until the grounds dries out a little more.

]]> http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/09/29/spring-means-its-time-to-get-growing/feed/ 0 http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/04/02/how-to-save-tomato-seeds/ http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/04/02/how-to-save-tomato-seeds/#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:17:13 +0000 Rodney http://www.justaddworms.com/?p=7552 In spite of the slow start to spring it’s been a great season for growing tomatoes and to ensure bumper crops again next season I’ve been setting aside some of the choicest tomatoes for seeds.

Tomato seeds are encased in a gelatinous type sac which prevents them from sprouting whilst inside the fruit therefore this needs to be removed before they can germinate. The easiest way to do this is by a process of fermentation.

If you’ve never saved your own seeds before hopefully this video will make the whole exercise a little easier.

Seeds should be left in a warm dry spot where they can dry naturally. Moving them about on the paper on a daily basis will prevent them from clumping and sticking to each other and allows even drying.

Once the  seeds are completely dry, say a week to ten days store in a cool, dark, moisture free location.

Lastly, if you’re anything like me you’ll forget what’s what so apply a label with the name and date of your seeds.

When I wrote to the NZ Gardener recently to make them aware of my bumper crop of tomatoes I certainly didn’t expect my letter to be made into a full page feature. You could say I almost “fell off my ladder” when the neighbour dropped by to show me their copy (details are on pages 8 and 77).

Since planting my main crop on the 5th of October I’ve spend many hours diligently tending the tomatoes so this article in the “2009 magazine of the year” certainly ended my tomato growing season on a high, excuse the pun.

As the above photo has been reduced from A4 the text is rather difficult to read so I’ve reproduced my unabridged version below.

• I first started growing tomatoes about 30 years ago and along with pumpkins they normally dominant my garden. Not only do I enjoy growing them I also love to eat them. This season I decided to be a bit more adventurous and try some vegetables that I’d never grown before. Normally it’s just Beefsteaks and Money Makers but this year I purchased some heirloom seeds from Kings Seeds. Currently I have about 40 plants including Black Krim, Brandywine, Tommy Toe, Beefsteak and Money Maker. Once the seedlings are planted out I apply worm juice to the root zone every fortnight. I have three bath tub worm farms which produce about 9 litres each week. Worm juice is great as it’s totally organic, environmentally friendly and simple to apply.

• Tomatoes are very easy to grow but to have a good crop you should continually remove the laterals as well as any surplus or diseased foliage. Doing this on a regular basis ensures water and nutrients are directed to the fruit. I use waratah standards for stakes as it easy to attach wooden extensions to them as the tomatoes grow. I drive these well into the ground with a sledge hammer.

• Many of my tomatoes are more that 2.5 meters tall which makes life interesting. Every few days I spend time tying them up with strips cut from truck tyre inner tubes to ensure they don’t fall foul of the wind. Lastly I’m very careful not to overlook the important aspect of watering. Using a soaker hose directs the water only to the roots plus it saves time and water.

The March edition of NZ Gardener magazine hit the stores on Monday so that afternoon I visited our local garden centre to purchase a couple of copies. Whilst doing so I mentioned to several of the assistants that my tomatoes were featured. I think they were impressed until I told them that I had bought the seeds from another supplier.

Looking back I don’t know why I did that?

Perhaps all this celebrity status is affecting my thinking.

Yes that’s the same tomato plant. Amazing what time, a little love and some worm juice can produce.

Amongst those below are Black Krim, Brandywine, Brandywine Pink, Beefsteak, Moneymaker and Tommy Toe. Tommy Toe is a small cherry type tomato. They are great to eat straight from the vine as they are super tasty and sweet.

After all these months, my tomatoes are still receiving a fortnightly feed of worm juice and it’s certainly made a difference. As I have so many plants now, 41 to be precise, I pour the mix around the root zones, since the previous method of spraying was taking too long. Once diluted 10:1, it’s 15 minutes work with the watering can.

The two images below show the beefsteak tomato that has received the worm juice. After picking 3 or 4 tomatoes from it during the past week it still boasts a contingent of about a dozen good sized fruits. The photo doesn’t show it  off very well due to the fact that there are too many vegetables crammed into my garden.

I know it’s not good practice to jam them in like sardines in a can, because plants need space for the air to circulate. But sometimes my enthusiasm gets the better of me.

When time allows, I will make my garden “just a little” larger.

At the 1.4 metre mark.

The beefsteak that has received no worm juice is pictured below and is approximately 1.3 metres in height.

It has a similar number of fruit however they are fractionally smaller and as the photo shows, still rather green.

Even though the two are almost the same height, the tomato plant receiving the worm juice has grown at a much quicker pace with the fruit ripening approximately 17 days earlier. Both plants have produced an equal number of tomatoes, of similar size. The second tomato plant is about a week away from having ripe fruit so I’ve not been able to do any taste comparisons yet.

The rest of the tomatoes are also doing well on their worm juice supplement. Some have grown so tall that I need to use the ladder when tying them up! Out behind the garage, the bath tub farms are producing 3 litres of concentrate each week, so there’s more than enough for the tomatoes and the other vegetables.

If you’re keen on growing great vegetables, my advice is to get yourself a worm farm, because it’s helped to give me the best results I’ve had in 30 years of gardening. I also have smaller worm farms for sale.

Finally, special thanks to my tiger worms for all their hard work … thanks guys, I couldn’t have done it without you. Gosh, hope Rose doesn’t read this as she already thinks I’m half mad.

Do you ever wonder where all the bees have gone? It’ s no easy task to find bees whereas not many years back they were everywhere plying their all important trade.

I can remember many an occasion when one of our children would come storming into the house hollering that they had trodden on a bee on the lawn. Sadly it seems those times are gone as nowadays I often wander around our lifestyle block bare footed never fearing that I may get stung.

Like all avid gardeners I notice when the bees are about but this year more than ever they seem almost non existent. Occasionally a diligent bumble bee can be seen going about it’s business but the same can’t be said for the common “garden variety” honey bee. Spotted the bumble bee below just today whilst checking the pumpkins.

Much to my delight several months ago whilst working in the vegetable garden I found myself in the midst of a massive swarm of bees, however my joy was short lived as it was only a fleeting visit. From the time it took me to sprint from the back garden to the kitchen and back again yelling to my wife as I went, “quick come look at the bees, look at the bees” they were gone.

When Rose finally made it to the laundry door she casually commented “where are they” to which I simply replied, “you were too slow, they’re gone”.

The sky was black with this massive wave of bees and they cast a eerie shadow over a large part of the back lawn, it was an incredible sight. This was the second time I have seen this phenomenon in the 11 or so years they we have lived here.

As I sat on the back deck feeling empty and rather melancholy I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be to have them stay.

How does one catch a swarm of bees as large as that, don’t know that “yet”.

I’ve been thinking about getting some hives for some time now and seeing all those magical bees certainly set me a yearning. After many weeks of repeatedly telling my family “I’m getting bees” I finally decided to take action.

Two weeks before Christmas I called the president of the Auckland Beekeeper’s Club and was advised to attend their next meeting which was set for the 9th of January.

The outing proved to be very worthwhile and enjoyable and now I’m a paid up member of the Auckland Beekeeper’s Club.

Below are some of the photos I took and no I didn’t get stung, more good luck than good management.

Inspecting the hives.

Harvesting honey.

Cup of tea and a sandwich plus opinions from the experts.

Components of Langstroth beehive … as a “beeginner” let’s see if I can get this right.

From the top:

• Metal hive cover … protects the hive.
• Inner cover … creates airspace for insulation from heat or cold.
• Honey box/super… comb building and honey production.
• Bee escape boards.
• Queen bee excluder …keeps the queen bee in the brood chambers.
  
• Brood box … queens lays eggs here and honey stored for brood food.
• Botton/ landing board … forms the floor of the hive.
• Hive stand … for stability.
  

I think that’s correct but if not please let me know. I’m sure it will all “beecome” second nature “beefore” too long.

I’ve always “beelieved” that the best way to learn is to get doing so the next step is to purchase an active bee hive. Really looking forward to doing that, should “bee” a real “buzz” sorry, I’m all excited about getting my own bees.

Hopefully by doing this the presence of the friendly honey bee will again become the norm and I will no longer be able to wander down to the garden in my bare feet. A small price to pay if it means “the return of the bees”.

Some interesting bee facts

]]> http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/01/13/return-of-the-bees/feed/ 0 http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/01/05/tomatoes-high-on-worm-juice-part-2/ http://www.justaddworms.com/2010/01/05/tomatoes-high-on-worm-juice-part-2/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:59:21 +0000 Rodney http://www.justaddworms.com/?p=6371

Now that the Christmas and New Year’s festivities are over I thought it time to see how my two trial tomatoes are progressing. Since my post of the 18th of December all the tomatoes excluding the one below have received another generous dose of worm juice however I’m now applying it with a watering can. Spraying 40 odd plants takes some time so I needed a quicker option.

Since last measuring, the tomato above has grown a further 36 centimetres and now stands at 76 centrimetres. It’s very healthy with a 10 or so flowers but no fruit at this stage which is a little odd as all of the first planted host tomatoes. During the last 10 days I’ve added extra compost to help keep the roots moist and a soaker hose has been installed to automate the watering process.

As much as I love gardening my time down in the dirt is limited as I’m becoming increasingly busy with the Just Add Worms business. In spite of it being the holiday season the orders are still rolling in, which is excellent.

The weather over the last couple of weeks has been sunny and hot with temperatures in the mid 20ies therefore the tomatoes have taken off in leaps and bounds. Some have already grown above the top of the 1.8 metre stakes which in itself creates another interesting challenge. More about that another day.

Trial plant number two that is receiving the worm juice is just under 1 metre in height and as before out performing its counterpart. There are about a dozen flowers and it boasts 4 large tomatoes and a smaller one.

The 8000 tiger worms we have are producing 5.9 litres of juice per week so there’s no shortage of the “magical mixture”. I’m thinking that soon we will have enough tomatoes to start our very own La Tomatina festival.

Hopefully in my next post about using worm juice I can show some big fat juicy luscious tomatoes.

Shouldn’t be long now so don’t forget to check back for part 3.

My post of the 5th November “How to grow bigger and better tomatoes using worm juice“ covered the subject of using this as an organic fertiliser. Since then I have sprayed the liquid in a 10 x 1 diluted form around the tomato’s roots on three separate occasions and it certainly seems to be making a difference. The real test will come however at harvest time when the quality, size and taste of the crop can be correctly assessed.

Will leave passing judgment till then. As they say “don’t count your tomatoes before they ripen”.

In the experiment as described in my November post the trial beef steak tomato plant that hasn’t received any worm juice is approximately 40 centimetres tall and growing well.

By comparison it’s companion that has been receiving the worm juice is 60 centimetres tall. The remainder of the tomato crop is also receiving the mixture and these plants also have substantially more growth. The 50 centimetre mark in the photo below is partially obscured.

It’s too soon to draw any conclusions so in the meantime it’s just a matter of keeping on with the worm juice, tying the plants to the stakes and removing those ever emerging laterals.

If the current growth is anything to go by we should be enjoying some very tasty tomatoes before too long. Itching to taste the heirlooms as I’ve not grown these before. Of the six different tomato types I have planted the Black Krims are the most vigourous growers and are almost at the top of the stakes. They have plenty of flowers but unlike the Money Makers no signs of any fruit just yet.

More photos will be posted as soon as they start to show their “true colours”.

For the 30 years I’ve been growing vegetables tomatoes have always had pride of place in my garden as I enjoy growing them and love eating them. As mentioned in a previous post, this season I have planted six different tomato varieties so hopefully some bumper crops are not too far away.

With two bath tub worm farms set up recently I now have a continuous supply of concentrated liquid fertiliser that can be used on the garden. Over the last couple of weeks I have sprayed all the vegetables on two separate occasions and already some noticeable changes can be seen. Its too soon to draw any conclusions however I intend using worm juice for the next few months to see how it compares with other fertilisers.

I am curious as to how beneficial the worm juice will be for the tomatoes so I’ve set up a very basic experiment. The beefsteak tomato plant shown below has been separated from the main crop and unlike the others will not receive any juice. Over the next three months it should be very interesting to view the differences, that’s assuming there are some.

Compared to it’s stable mates its already looking a little jaded.

To minimise the risk of fungal growth and disease the mix is applied to the roots rather than the foliage. I also poured the worm juice through an old kitchen sieve to ensure that the sprayer nozzle didn’t block up.

As worm juice is highly concentrated it needs to be diluted prior to being used. The above 3 litre bottle made 30 litres of spray.

Please don’t forget to revisit for further updates.

Favourite Quotes:
If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old. Lord Chesterfield