TOFGA Tip #1: Keep your tomato plants flowering in the heat of summer
TOFGA Tip #1: Keep your tomato plants flowering in the heat of the summer
As most organic gardeners know, tomatoes and peppers respond very well to compost and living mulch. They are also very demanding of potassium and calcium – something gardeners may not know. So make soil testing a regular part of your organic gardening program. Calcium deficiencies are rare, but can be treated with soft rock phosphate. Additionally, when blossoms start to drop in the middle of summer, it may not necessarily be the oppressive heat, but the fact that magnesium becomes tied up in the soil. To encourage blossom, Reggie Destree, an organic crop consultant, suggests spraying plants with a foliar spray of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts). This is why many experts recommend adding a handful of Epsom salts when putting tomato plants in the ground, and once again halfway through the season. (Free soil tests are available at Calloway’s Nursery in Dallas. Click here for more information.)
