_TheZenMaster said: I was watching the radar and I was prayin for ya! I am glad that you and your tomatoes are OK!

Yes, scary weather for you folks down that way. Couple tornadoes in Nebraska and Iowa (I think that was the other state), but thankfully none by us.

Very glad to hear you guys are ok.

Johannian said: Yes, scary weather for you folks down that way. Couple tornadoes in Nebraska and Iowa (I think that was the other state), but thankfully none by us.

Very glad to hear you guys are ok.

Sioux Falls is under threat tomorrow, but I think it's not going to be that bad. Compared to OK, IA and NE anyway. Worried about wind and hail, per usual.

Some of these chasers get too darn close!

Really wanting to get outside and wrap up hardening of my tomatoes ect, but Mother Nature keeps putting up roadblocks. I'd like to get them outside and keep them there. About time for another weak fertilizer applications. I'm using Neptune's Harvest fish and seaweed. Seems to be doing a great job at half strength.

Hope all your maters are doing well.

Will be praying, Elizabeth. I doubt we'll get anything, seeing as we're very fortunate to not have a history of tornadoes over here. Although I think it was last year that a tornado did momentarily touch down in Custer County (probably two years ago now).

I was planting tomatoes again today. Managed to plant 17 plants. Many more to go.

Usually I have 2 or 3 of a variety that I plant. But have one spot off by itself and it has 7 cages. So I planted 7 Homestead there.

It is a shorter determinate plant and makes lovely small slicers that taste good.

I have my two usual Cream Of The Crop in the same spot as last year. Two plants each of Aprocot Zebra and Tropical Sunset.

In the big backyard tomato bed I did plant 3 of a new Cream Of The Crop. A Swirled slicer called Beefy Purple. It looked stunning in the pictires at Totally Tomatoes.

@Newyorkrita I looked up the Tropical Sunset tomato. Most photos have it looking like Sunrise Bumblebee, but the SESE photo had it paler, and wow so pretty! How sweet is it?

CorabethGodsey said:Newyorkrita I looked up the Tropical Sunset tomato. Most photos have it looking like Sunrise Bumblebee, but the SESE photo had it paler, and wow so pretty! How sweet is it?

Quite Sweet. Much sweeter than the Bumnlebee Series. And yes, paler and about the same size or larger.

Rita, that sounds like the conditions needed to grow seed for Victory Seed, in case that's of interest to you. They list 'Homestead 24' tomato on their site -- is that the same as yours, do you think? https://victoryseeds.com/produ...

There were so many tomatoes I wanted to try this year! So I'm planting 2 of any varieties I've started.

critterologist said: Rita, that sounds like the conditions needed to grow seed for Victory Seed, in case that's of interest to you. They list 'Homestead 24' tomato on their site -- is that the same as yours, do you think? https://victoryseeds.com/produ...

There were so many tomatoes I wanted to try this year! So I'm planting 2 of any varieties I've started.

Not going to be growing and saving seeds. Too much to do as it is.

No, tha one pictured is a different tomato from the one I grow. At leeast I think so. Mine is a determinate short plant with small roundish slicers.

Planting more tomatoes again today. Also weeding and more but lots to do yet.

I really would like to get these tomatoes done. But it is slow going as the more I plant the more I have to keep watered.

One the plants get settled andd growing then I usually do not need to water much. But at first, as I plant, there is lots of watering.

Rita, if you can run soaker hoses along the base of the tomatoes, you could save yourself a lot of effort... even if you haul the garden hose over to each soaker hose in turn and let it run a while, that's still less effort than hand watering or moving the sprinkler several times. Quick-connect hardware helps a lot if you do it that way. Tomatoes love soaker hoses because their leaves don't get wet (which can encourage & spread disease).

You can get pressure-compensating soaker hoses or drip lines if you have more than a couple feet of change in elevation along the line.

Much too big a job to set up soaker hoses for the big backyard tomato bed. I have been watering by dragging the hose around and doing it myself.

When the plants are first put out in ground and the roots have not had a chance to grow is when I have to do a lot of watering. Later not much unless we get no rain and it is really dry. Usually we get rain here.

I pruned some suckers off my plants that were growing too low on the stem. Stuck them in water just to see if they root.

Today to be sunny and top at 91 F. I will hold my seedlings another day and the weather will be much better for them.

critterologist said: Rita, if you can run soaker hoses along the base of the tomatoes, you could save yourself a lot of effort... even if you haul the garden hose over to each soaker hose in turn and let it run a while, that's still less effort than hand watering or moving the sprinkler several times. Quick-connect hardware helps a lot if you do it that way. Tomatoes love soaker hoses because their leaves don't get wet (which can encourage & spread disease).

You can get pressure-compensating soaker hoses or drip lines if you have more than a couple feet of change in elevation along the line.

Even though I have few plants, and they are all in containers, the automatic drip irrigation system from Mr. Landscaper that I installed is the best idea I have had in the last 20-years...

I haven't had to use it in full automatic mode yet because we have been having fairly regular rain and the temperatures have not been too high, yet... But on the occasions when the plants need water I hit the manual button and set it for 5-minutes and man it is like a dream come true.

I would not want to install an automatic drip irrigation system for as many plants as Miss @Newyorkrita grows at this stage of my life but I sure would contemplate paying someone to do it for me.

The best thing about soakers or drip is that you do it only ONCE and it is done. It does take a bit of thought but what a relief to know you don't have to go outside in the heat and drag a hose around. Somehow my plants always need a drink when I am especially wiped out.

Partly depends on climate , and garden layout. I'm closer to Rita in climate, we still just use a back and forth old fashioned sprinkler as needed.

sallyg said: Partly depends on climate , and garden layout. I'm closer to Rita in climate, we still just use a back and forth old fashioned sprinkler as needed.

I use the back-and-forth sprinkler on my small lawn, but for watering tomatoes and hot peppers, I am down with automatic drip irrigation...

ardesia said: The best thing about soakers or drip is that you do it only ONCE and it is done. It does take a bit of thought but what a relief to know you don't have to go outside in the heat and drag a hose around. Somehow my plants always need a drink when I am especially wiped out.

Agree 100%

Also, I am sure that this will come as a surprise to a few folks here but the recommendation from Craig LeHoullier that you passed along to me regarding the use of StaGreen mixed with cow manure has turned out to be superb. In spite of the hail storm, the plants are the healthiest and most vigorous that I have ever grown, and the mix does not dry out anywhere near as fast as the Happy Frog I have always used previously.

Thank you ma'am!

I'm having automatic sprinkler system running for me right now...its raining.
I had to stand up some plants that fell over, Im asking the sewing members in my family if they have extra scrap material I can use for ties. I don't have enough cages for my plants and a couple of the cages are broke.