First of, I want to share with everyone how much my little
tomato seedlings have grown over the past three weeks. In picture one, you'll see an aerial view of over a dozen
tomato seedlings newly transplanted into the seedling bed. If you're looking for
tomato care, check out my past post. In picture two, you'll see that most of them have two sets of leaves already. But I also found out that my seedling bed can only accommodate about
three full grown tomato plants! Yikes! I have to move all the other ones.
So I moved on the phase two. I removed two seedlings from the plot and placed them in a glass of
water. Why? I saw in another blog how a big tomato plant was grown in a jar. Imagine that! I figured I'd ease the transplant shock by letting them recover in water first.
Meanwhile, I also transplanted one seedling into a bigger pot (on its own). It must be one of those independent spirits. However, I placed minimal soil in the big pot. Why? I read that as the plant grows, I should add more organic material (or soil) so that the part of the stem beneath the soil will also grow roots. So the move makes for a good rooting system. In my last
tomato chronicle, I also quoted a similar point wherein a broken stem should be submerged in soil to make it grow new roots.
But the best part of the story here is that I'm also experimenting with the upside down tomato. If you look at the picture to the right, you'll see this little sprout on the underside of the hanging pot. On the top side, you'll see a cameo of a newly planted
Japanese Mint. Mint on top, tomato at the bottom. I am wondering though if the pot is too small. But hey, it's an experiment. How did I do it? I got the tomato seedling from the
bottle of water (with the soil washed away) and inserted it inverted at the bottom hole of the pot. Then I put soil in the pot while it's standing on its side. After there was enough soil, I held on to it right side up and continued putting in the soil and the
Japanese Mint. And that's it! Try it out too!
Wanna read my complete tomato adventure? Started with me
buying seeds, then I moved on to
planting them in little yogurt cups,
transplanting to a seedling bed and
waiting for them to become bigger.
Hi Paul Here thought I'd take a look at you, Good blog. Looks as though you enjoy experimenting in the garden just give it a go it's the only way to learn. More power to you. Left you a reply to your question on the end of the post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by! Yep, it's learning by experimentation for me. It's more thrilling that way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting over at my blog. I'm pleased to see what you're doing over here! I love the "let's try it" approach to learning, and it's so appropriate for gardening: just cuz it works and seems appropriate for someone else doesn't mean it'll work or be appropriate for you.
ReplyDeleteI experimented with upside down planters last season and decided: I'll never put another plant through that kind of torture. It's bad enough that we grow these things in undersized containers as it is. Of course, when you're short on space, container gardening rules, but hanging these poor plants by their roots is unnecessarily cruel, and all other things being equal, a plant growing upside up will outperform the upside down plant every time.
Keep at it, I like your style!
Thanks for visiting my blog too. I'm always glad to have new visitors around.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing my blog rounds too. That's how I pick up stuff to try in my own garden.
As for the tomatoes, cruel or not, I just have to give it one try when my seedlings grow bigger. It's such a novelty.