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Best Tomato Supports: Cages vs Staking vs Fencing

Many people who are new to  growing heirloom tomatoes in the ground start with a tomato plant, a bag of fertilizer and a tomato “cage” purchased at a garden center.  Here are some alternatives to typical tomato cages that will result in more tomatoes, a longer season for tomatoes and higher quality tomatoes. This support …

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How to Get the Earliest Tomatoes: Heirloom or Hybrid

When I sell the tomato plants at the Farmers’ markets in early spring, customers are always curious about which tomato varieties are the earliest to produce and what they can do to hurry it along. Here are some tips that will lead to an early harvest of tomatoes, whether they be heirlooms or hybrids. Jump …

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Tips to Harden off Tomato Seedlings Before Transplanting Outside

Hardening off young tender plants so they can withstand the heat, wind, rain and cold swings of Spring is the most important thing you can do before transplanting seedlings in your garden, particularly if you started your plants indoors. Jump to: Step by Step for Transplanting Seedlings OutdoorsPro TipsTroubleshootingVideo For me, hardening off young plants …

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Growing Food in Pots for Decks, Patios or Balconies

For many people in urban settings, growing tomatoes and edible plants in pots is necessary due to space constraints (or lack of an aread with 6 hours of direct sunlight). This video and post explains the 6 key requirements for growing food in containers or pots.  Benefits of Growing Food in Pots As noted above, …

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Companion Planting with Heirloom Tomatoes: Does it Help?

As we plan our gardens, we consider an array of things. We likely start by deciding what we’d like to grow (with edibles, this obviously is based on what we want to eat), then consider what we can grow given available space, growing conditions, and the time we can devote to gardening.   An additional factor …

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Growing Tomatoes in the City: Backyard, Decks or Balconies

There is really nothing that compares in flavor to a homegrown tomato. For those living in urban areas, there are certainly some specific challenges. These but these limitations can often be overcome with a little research and imagination. Here are some ideas to consider if you want to experience the flavor of home-grown tomatoes, and …

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Comparing Heirloom Tomato Varieties Growth Characteristics

Every spring I sell heirloom tomato plants at the farmers’ markets and I’m always trying to organize the information in a way that is not so overwhelming for people.  Based on the questions I have received over the years, I’ve put together a chart that is about comparing heirloom tomato varieties against each other. Of …

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