2012 so far

ChrisK · May 20, 2012

Looking pretty good so far. We've had good rain and mild temps.

A few pix of two of the beds below. I have more work to do to tidy up though. I'm also doing a few in pots this year to see how they fare.

geeboss · May 20, 2012

Your off to a great start enjoy the coming tomato havest!!! And post some BLT pics!

PA_Julia · May 20, 2012

Excellent looking!!

It appears as a tidy and well thought out planting.

Congrat's!!

Julia

crystals1943 · May 20, 2012

What type of mulch are you using?

Thanks ... Tony

ChrisK · May 20, 2012

Raleigh has an abundance of Oak trees (it's the City of Oaks!) so we collect in the Fall and bag for late Winter spreading. That's what is around the tomatoes several inches thick. Helps keep the weeds down significantly and doesn't seem to affect the growth of the tomatoes. At the end of the season they are tilled in or just left depending on how ambitious I feel!

The pathways and around the house have freshly chipped trees from one of the local services that works in our neighborhood often. Tree services are usually happy to dump their whole load for you for free. Saves them time and expense and the material doesn't end up in a landfill. You do get the leaves and some larger pieces and it's not triple shredded but the price makes it worth it, IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crystals1943

What type of mulch are you using?

Thanks ... Tony

crystals1943 · May 20, 2012

Thanks for the help. My tomatoes are in EB containers, 20" plastic pots (converted to SWC) or fabric. I'm looking at using cypress mulch around my tomatoes, but, I'm getting mixed feedback concerning cypress or any hardwood.

ChrisK · May 20, 2012

I don't have experience with EB so can't advise. However, I have used the wood chips around the tomatoes in the ground in the past with no discernible adverse effects. I think they were aged for a few months though before planting. The chips are a mix of hard and softwoods since it's whatever is in the back of their truck.

You could always do the experiment and come to your own conclusions since there doesn't seem to be consensus.

FILMNET · May 20, 2012

Nice Florida weave , I do the same!

kath · May 20, 2012

Everything is looking great, Chris- and very neat and tidy. Hope all continues to go well and you have an abundant harvest.

ChrisK · May 20, 2012

Once I went FW, I never looked back!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FILMNET

Nice Florida weave , I do the same!

lakelady · May 23, 2012

very nice pics! I wanted to do a Florida weave in several spots just never got my act together as I was too busy building beds etc.

I really do need a man servant !

FILMNET · May 23, 2012

Make sure you use wood sticks, as the string is holding stems up i use a staple on the string to the wood. I do this after the plants are tall. Each plant has a 6" stick and only 1 stem from the ground for the plants for 5-6' tall. Then i let the plants grow crazy before cold in late September.

May 23, 2012	#11
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	very nice pics! I wanted to do a Florida weave in several spots just never got my act together as I was too busy building beds etc. I really do need a man servant ! __________________ Antoniette

May 20, 2012	#2
geeboss Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fairfax, VA Z7 Posts: 524	Your off to a great start enjoy the coming tomato havest!!! And post some BLT pics!

May 20, 2012	#3
PA_Julia Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Princeton, Ky Zone 7A Posts: 2,208	Excellent looking!! It appears as a tidy and well thought out planting. Congrat's!! Julia

May 20, 2012	#4
crystals1943 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Zone 7b - SC Posts: 8	What type of mulch are you using? Thanks ... Tony

May 20, 2012	#7
ChrisK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,448	I don't have experience with EB so can't advise. However, I have used the wood chips around the tomatoes in the ground in the past with no discernible adverse effects. I think they were aged for a few months though before planting. The chips are a mix of hard and softwoods since it's whatever is in the back of their truck. You could always do the experiment and come to your own conclusions since there doesn't seem to be consensus.

May 20, 2012	#9
kath Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: zone 6b, PA Posts: 5,664	Everything is looking great, Chris- and very neat and tidy. Hope all continues to go well and you have an abundant harvest.

May 23, 2012	#12
FILMNET Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA Posts: 1,803	Make sure you use wood sticks, as the string is holding stems up i use a staple on the string to the wood. I do this after the plants are tall. Each plant has a 6" stick and only 1 stem from the ground for the plants for 5-6' tall. Then i let the plants grow crazy before cold in late September.