I Started My Tomatoes TOO Early...

[@epichomesteading]

If you want to see what's going on in your soil, give the soil kit a try: shop.epicgardening.com/products/epic-soil-analysis-kit

[@ReasonsWhy5]

Hi Kevin, thanks for sharing all those beautiful tomato plants with us.🍅 I have question: What do you do, if anything, for the WHITE CABBAGE MOTH?🐛

[@elisabetk2595]

Tip: when you plant deep, water them before you fill the hole. The roots will appreciate it! Then fill it and water again. If you're up north and the soil is cold, instead of planting them so deep lay them on their sides.

[@CariMachet]

Thanks I wondered about that

[@Toffnm]

Last night, at 1:30 am after repotting tomato seedlings for 2,5 hours, I realized that I totally got carried away with my tomato dreams this year. Not only did I plant my tomatoes in February even though I live above the arctic circle and it's snowing outside today at the end of March. I also planted ALL my seeds. Yup, 66 tomato plants. 8 different bush varieties. Oh, and I don't have a garden. I have a balcony filled with snow. I'm drowning in seedlings and it's only gonna get worse haha. Long live the fools and their ideas 😂

[@aurorajohnson866]

Glad I'm not the only one who got carried away with the tomatoe seeds this year and also no where to put them 😂

[@LucindaCattery]

🤣🤣🤣ik heb ook te veel elk jaar weer maar ik maak ook graag andere mensen blij met tomaten en verschillende pepers Ik woon in Nederland en mijn tuin is nog steeds een zwembad

[@TheEnglishladyskitchengarden]

That's definitely ambitious 😊❤

[@TheEnglishladyskitchengarden]

​@@aurorajohnson866I'm guilty too. Now I'm surrounded with tomato seedlings and it's 6 weeks too early to put them outside

[@adigmon]

Hahaha! We all do it! I’m in southeast Texas and if we don’t get our tomatoes outside by March first, they cook in the heat and we don’t get tomatoes. I started mine the day after Christmas and planted them outside around Valentine’s Day. I’ve been sticking tomato plants everywhere I can find a spot. I always have too many and can’t seem to toss them. I’ve got around 40 currently planted. I just cross my fingers and hope I get tomatoes before the triple digits get here!

[@Selfsufficientme]

Single or double leader? I'm not sure either, but I'm thinking double because commercially it might be extra work although for home it probably will be more productive. This is coming from a bushy tomato guy... 👍😀

[@conniegonzalez6068]

Hello Mr self-sufficient guy I love your videos I learned so much and ps. Love your accent I guess you from Ustralia 😁

[@gypsy1111]

Love your videos Mark!! I've literally binge watched your entire channel😂

[@catherinebaldwin6580]

I in zone 6, and our marigolds and tomatoes are 2-3 in. My parents are in zone 7, and are just starting tomatoes seeds. So I’m a bit jelly of you! But I’m also very happy, since this is the first year starting tomatoes I saved as seeds, and they’re super healthy!

[@Neenerella333]

Same. My little set up in a sunny window, two warming mats, and a pair of timed desk lamps 2 -3hours a night. I got eggplant,tomatoes, basil and leeks coming up. I'm in 7a, but we've gotten snow and know more is coming. The babies will stay in their indoor spot for now. Good luck with yours!

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Same here. Last frost date is April 28th.

[@Neenerella333]

@@ElderandOakFarm ALLEGEDLY ours is May 1st. But our snowing days are on the warmer side. Plus free water.

[@mel-il4yu]

@@ElderandOakFarm. Why did you stop making videos?

[@ElderandOakFarm]

@@Neenerella333 I get an average of 60"+ of rain per year. We deal with a lot of fungal issues (because of constantly being wet) & root rot & diseases as a result of high humidity. The only time I have to water is the first 2 weeks after planting stuff.

[@kasonglover1638]

For extra eggs, you can make plain egg noodles and dry them in the oven or a dehydrator. It’s my favorite way to preserve eggs!

[@italiana626sc]

Kevin getting perilously close to that cactus. 🌵🌵🌵

[@morganceili]

Came here to say exactly this lol. I was so nervous watching his elbow get that close

[@vickiblizzard1001]

Yes, I held my breath a few times!

[@buttonenfuego]

I wondered about this with you and Jacque, 9B here and started seeds March 1 , and do not plant til overnight lows in the 50s consistently, so Cinco de Mayo, is actually Cinco de Planting

[@pattlambert]

It snowed today in Toronto. We hit 70f earlier in march, garlic is growing, but the forecast goes to 20f this week. Seeing you in shorts brings me joy!

[@vaevictis6990]

Yup, 10cm coming here tomorrow (Loyalist Township) and to think I was in a tee shirt last week 😢

[@TinMan445]

Can’t believe you don’t grow sweet million cherries. They are the only tomato I grow and actively eat the second they are ripe. Very sweet as the name implies.

[@WindingRoadCrochet]

We just got hail in phoenix AZ. It melted fast and didn’t seem to hurt my garden but it was decent size hail.

[@sweetcandubandu]

Im so envious that you are already planting. I am in Illinois patiently waiting for the weather to decide if its spring or winter. 34 degrees today :(

[@laurafrey5244]

Broke my heart watching you cut down those peas! Those are my favorite garden treat!

[@INeedABeatDJ]

I think the side planting for tomatoes is mostly for colder climates. It keeps the roots warmer near the top of the soil.

[@debrabray8855]

I really like the new layout of the EPIC Garden, especially the pathways. Looks like you're getting your best health in line also. Good for you!

[@epichomesteading]

Thank you!!!

[@danielmay8588]

Make homemade pasta with the extra eggs!

[@SundiMyint]

Some egg recipes to try that can be done in 20 minutes or less: thai style tomato egg scramble (hotthaikitchen has a great recipe for this!), chinese silken steamed egg, korean steamed egg in an earthenware pot, and burmese or indian egg curry (boiled eggs added to a tomato based curry sauce). I started using WAY more eggs once I started utilizing these recipes!

[@heatherj3030]

I just got a 2 1/2 oz, 12 portion baby food silicone tray with a lid. It works perfectly for freezing eggs. Scramble a dozen eggs, put in a little salt or sugar to maintain the correct texture, put the lid on and freeze. I did a test batch with salted eggs and then defrosted and cooked the eggs scrambled. The texture was perfect. I was really expecting it to be fail. What an awesome surprise!

[@blossomvalleylife5503]

I agree the weather here has been so crazy! The thunder, lightning, and hail in the last storm scared my dogs and even the chickens! So happy that today, the first day of Spring, it was finally sunny. Costoluto Genovese is one of my favorite tomatoes. I actually was able to overwinter one plant and we have been getting a small amount of tomatoes each week. I planted so many tomato seeds this year, I have over a hundred I have potted up! My friends are happy to have the overflow.

[@juliemcgugan1244]

I thought I'd started my tomatoes at the perfect time and then some cold weather came through and took out all but three! Oh well, back to the potting shed to plant smoe more!

[@GeorgeMoore55]

Hi Julie🌹🌹 How are you doing?

[@MattyBeanz]

Chocolate sprinkles & black cherry are two of the best for taste and production in my garden! Love it

[@tahursh637]

It's time for the next Epic Homestead phase: the Epic Root Cellar! Waterglass your eggs also!

[@dread_thewise-pe5ic]

I would love to see it as well. got a couple root cellaring books

[@nint1359]

love this idea

[@Alison2436]

I'd love to see them make a root cellar! that's make an awesome episode or 2

[@stormraven4183]

I love the Epic Totems ❤. Last year I started one tomato of each variety at New Year's, when I started onions. By March I had some massive, floppy vines. They were great window dressing, and I only had 4 plants to manage so it wasn't terrible. I then took about a dozen cuttings from each, and within a week I had all of my starts for the year.

[@TheEmbrio]

I’d like to try that !

[@mandiesplace]

I’m definitely going to try this as well! Thanks!

[@willsolarski8550]

I played around with using double leaders in my slicer bed last year and I didn't notice a significant difference from the single leaders, so I'll probably continue using single leaders for all my tomato beds (saucing/slicing/cherries), but I'm excited to see how yours turn out!

[@Katherine.2024.]

You mentioned having an over abundance of eggs. There's a cookbook called Too Many Eggs, I highly recommend it

[@ILikeZerg]

I'm in zone 7 and I just started my tomatoes indoors. Your videos are perfect because I get a 4 week buffer between what you're doing, and planning/doing it in my own garden. Awesome video!

[@epichomesteading]

Love it :)

[@smas3256]

Weather is nuts here on east coast Zone 6b too. Hope you don't get damage. Solar panels. I won't get them on my roof. Hope you have time for an updated. Thanks Kevin. BTW. great way to dig deep for your tomatoes.

[@samanthakopis4050]

Making angel food cake and custard is a great way to use up eggs! I think it takes ~a dozen whites for a standard cake recipe? And custard/lemon curd uses whole eggs and yolks. Add some garden-fresh berry jam and you can make trifle.

[@mannbat]

Great to see the season taking off for you. Tomatoes have just started to finish up here where I am in Australia. A quick tip on your knife handling - when removing leaves/suckers hold the stem *above* where you're cutting, not below. You'll never slip and nick you fingers this way.

[@epichomesteading]

Yep good call :)

[@jadedarkrose]

I love using my pea plants as mulch! It's great. I lay them out to dry then chop them with some long handled clippers and then pile up where I need mulch.

[@caratmama4769]

Love Chocolate Sprinkles!!! I will make sure to get some seeds from BI for the Fall. Central Florida here, so tomatoes are already in the ground.

[@bellepfeiffer3630]

Snowed last night in Burlington VT (3/19) But my first tray of tomato babies have popped up under the lights and on a heat mat. Only took 3 days to sprout. Now I need to get busy and collect all the stuff I need to actually build a raised garden bed this year. I've been growing in the giant 22" pots from Costco the last 3 years.

[@IQLion]

Some more things to do with eggs: Fried rice (uses couple eggs, but can be easily frozen and reheated) Homemade rolls/bread Breakfast bowls (eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, peppers, etc.) These freeze really well. Homemade hollandaise sauce. (There are a few no-fail recipes out there using a blender) Homemade pasta (This is nice, because you can dry it out or freeze and keep it for a while) Various baked goods.

[@elainajean7626]

You should absolutely look into donating your extra eggs to the food pantry - it would be like gold to receive!

[@christinacooper8731]

I'm planting a ton of Cost Genovese this year for the first time. I'm so excited to see how they do.

[@Phalaenopsisify]

Your monster chard in the background looks so good! And how strange it looks to have a lush vegetable garden but bare decidious trees, for someone from much more northern latitudes.

[@janettebyler9858]

Question for you. Does leaving the roots of the peas in the ground interfere with the future roots of the tomatoes? If not I’m going to do this too.

[@jeannamcgregor9967]

I did the same thing, along with my peppers. About a month too early. They are going in the ground now so I'm just praying for continued warm weather so they don't stunt. And I had sworn I wouldn't do that this year...again. 🙄

[@joepa6106]

I'm in Central Pennsylvania and I'm going to start my tomatto seeds this weekend ... we dont get clear of frost untill may 15th

[@smas3256]

Heads up in Pa. town saying chickens are causing a mouse problem and want to step in with regulation. Talk loud so they can hear ya.

[@Kristen-603]

same here in NH. Starting my tomatoes this week :) I'm going to experiment with trellising

[@alorastewart7091]

Our last frost date is also May 15th. Was April 15th until last year though. So I was aiming for May 1st planting out and started mine March 1st. I've been watching the forecast like a hawk and so far it looks like our last frost might actually end up being closer to April 1st.

[@catherinedonley2781]

I kinda think your tomato experiment will show similar results for planted upright verses planted on their sides. Have you ever tried Healthkick tomatoes? I love them! They’re good producers and they won’t rot at the bottom before becoming fully ripe when an Oxheart will in the same soil.

[@claytonpike8247]

I live in Fallbrook in San Diego and the hail was wild!

[@alorastewart7091]

I just moved my tomatoes from 1in 6 cell trays to individual 2.5 in pots so they are only like 2 inches tall right now. Our last frost date isn't until May 15th so we are still about a month and a half out from when we are supposed to plant but I've been watching the forecast like a hawk and it's really looking like our last frost will be early this year so hopefully I'll be able to put them out a little sooner. I still have a larger pot to move them up to again when I need to. So they should be fine lol.

[@gypsy1111]

Where abouts are you located ?

[@alorastewart7091]

@@gypsy1111 washington state

[@gypsy1111]

@@alorastewart7091 wow that's odd, we're in winter in may too, here in Australia. Why can my brain not comprehend that

[@JulioWY]

In Wyoming and started my tomatoes quite a while ago. Can’t plant the outside ones until Mothers Day, the others will go in the greenhouse. No worries for me, they always seem to do well

[@AmandaRPatterson]

Can't wait to see what you do with the sauce tomatoes! I love tomato sauce above all things to do with tomatoes.

[@jackvotes24]

Jess from Roots and Refuge puts an egg under her tomato plants. Great success.

[@btagg2024]

I did that last year and a racoon dug them all out.😬

[@darylhankemeier3564]

​@bethtaggart2935 the same thing happened to my tomatoes too. I did manage to salvage a few dug up tomato plants, but I had to buy some starts.

[@Rcart024]

1:00 as an engineer that is the stronger config, probably only needed 1, but looks nice and symmetrical. This is how steel I beams work most of the strength is from the vertical section(web) rather then the flange( the horizontal top and bottom). It is the height that has the most resistance to bending vs the width. just how the stress calcs work

[@GrowCookPreserveWithKellyDawn]

It has taken me many years to learn to start my tomatoes at the right time. I'm in Ohio, though, so quite different.

[@Lukas9877]

I'm in England and my tomato plants have tomatoes on them already! I started them in January way too early I also planted potatoes then and they are close to harvest 🎉

[@christophervanmeier1648]

Having had 150 chickens, you can't sell them all. Make Quiche--they freeze really well, and you can incorporate a lot of your veggies from the garden.

[@epichomesteading]

150!?!

[@northerngirlhobbies]

Can wait for the ground to thaw and to be growing! All looks awesome! That's a super cool tomato variety also! On the list, for next year!

[@kittiew260]

I am in zone 6, still waiting to plant tomatoes until next weekend. I will not start on heat mats either. I have learned no tomato trees, please. I honestly thought tall tomatoes were great, but I realized transplant shock is not worth the size. Love Mycos been using last few years it makes a huge difference upon transplant. PS you can use any tomato sauce Kevin. I love using sweet beefsteak varieties with sauce types.

[@jpmatth]

let's hear about that trichocereus sometime. looks like it's ready to go in the ground and reach some epic heights.

[@tobysshades]

Wish I could plant some of mine in the ground but can't risk it in 7b

[@yqqoq]

We want irrigation vid and those things (timers, dripline, etc) in the shop!!!

[@willsolarski8550]

Ditto!

[@diannasgardenmenagerie967]

Oh wow, you rocked those maters!!!!

[@IxHATExUCLA]

Great content. Thank you, I’m pretty new to this, and growing tomatoes now for the second time. “Healani” variety. I thought they were beefsteak for a bit, but these are real nice! Talk about sliceability! PM and these bugs on the stem have been the biggest issues here, big island. Stoked on all the success! Excited to continue learning along the way..

[@parkerlamonica2661]

I’m glad I started my tomato’s later! I’m in sd as well and was worried I planted my seeds too late. Love the content Kevin, keep it up

[@achang8599]

I started my toms too early last year so this year I waited for St Patrick's Day to sow them. I also keep/crush the clippings to make a aphids spray. It works wonders and can be applied any time of the day!

[@epichomesteading]

Good call!!!

[@epidgegg]

Artisan Tiger Stripes are beautiful and tasty.

[@MethodMan10304]

Love the Epic Totems!

[@coachminix702]

New to gardening AND your channel, thanks so much for putting this whole catalog of yours out for us to watch. I have consumed several hours worth of your channels videos.

[@ariellebro]

I can't wait to get my garden planted!

[@MovingBlanketStudio]

Your peas called, they asked for justice from the tomatoes planting.

[@epichomesteading]

HAHA

[@debbiethomas2622]

My tomatoes (zukes & cukes) from starting too early are too tall, also. I mean to the point of flowering! Still too cold to place (zone 5b) them on my porch (I'm in an apartment) as our weather is roller coasting as well. I got a lot of hardening off of plants to do.

[@lesliee6721]

Your toms look great Kevin. I’m really glad I waited until February 4 to start my cherry tomatoes, eggplant and peppers this year. Our May and June were so cool and wet that the powdery mildew took out my plants so I waited to start my beef steak and paste tomatoes. I’m giving it one more week and then I’m starting those. I plan to transplant in mid June. My peppers and cherry tomatoes will be out in the garden next month.

[@epichomesteading]

Your plan sounds great!

[@lollycardoza9114]

If you want to preserve some eggs, you can crack them in a container, mix them and freeze them! You can put them in ziplock bags to save room

[@Plantandpeoplecarer]

Love everything you do Kev, I fertilise everything in my garden once a week except in winter! I prefer liquid fertiliser as the uptake is always great!

[@presidentjesus5061]

I heard from an owner of a nursery that planting tomatoes deep does nothing because the old roots just die to make way for the new roots above it. A magazine years ago did a study on it.

[@willsolarski8550]

That's interesting, do you happen to know what magazine did the article-I'd be curious to check that out!

[@presidentjesus5061]

@@willsolarski8550 He said Sunset magazine.

[@presidentjesus5061]

@@willsolarski8550 He said Sunset magazine.

[@misakimei8715]

But if you bury it deep, then you can esure those new roots will be in the soil and you won't have to add more at the base.

[@presidentjesus5061]

@@willsolarski8550 I've tried to respond twice, and my comment has been removed both times. I guess magazine names aren't allowed.

[@berghauss]

This year, it's all really weird. Yesterday we (Slovenia) had 20 degrees Celsius (68-70F), a thunder and hail storm in the evening, and today it is snowing. The other thing I have no idea what is going on is tomatoes. I sowed them at the same time as last year, but they are already huge, basically perfect for the garden. A month too soon! I have no idea what is going on, it is just the substrate in the planters that is different. Just in case, I sowed a new batch this weekend,

[@PepperplacewithShawna]

Thanks, Kevin. I love Cherokee Purples.

[@RevRedmondFarrier]

I just had my (hopefully) last frost the night before last and I am a little behind. I am just getting seeds in soil today. I do have hundreds of tomato seedlings growing in my compost bin from last seasons cleanup, but I don't have a way to know what kind each one is so they will get turned under to feed my known varieties.

[@ashleyalexander7388]

You can cut them above the first node and allow them to regrow over 2 weeks :P

[@ColeSpolaric]

Look at you using that organic fert like it's cheap or something! 😆

[@IanFarquharson2]

Still got a threat of frost in London, but I’ve got some 4” leggy seedling toms to pot up at the weekend, with the aim of getting them in mid April.

[@michaelhorwitz5007]

Nice video. Id wait 24 hours after pruning branches to plant to deter bacterial infection in fresh wounds. Also I like to add some magnesium in that hole like epsom salt, bone meal, or ground egg shells. I also use the mychorrizal, that stuff is great.

[@Shridra]

I started my tomatoes and peppers way too early last year (late Feb/early March. Last frost is late May/early June) and then summer just didn't want to start. By the time I got to plant them out they were 2 feet tall and floppy too. The peppers did okay but the tomatoes struggled a bit to overcome their start =/

[@JuliePascal]

You've just about sold me on the planting drill with this.

[@diannasgardenmenagerie967]

It weird weather in NorCal to!

[@BrennanLeigh]

I also started mine way to early, they are huge and I still have about 6 weeks before I can put them out.

[@joshualarkin747]

You need to try egg glassing to preserve them for when your chickens lay less

[@ann7318]

You can put a couple eggs each --no shell--into zipper bags in your freezer...

[@TormentedOracle]

Pickled eggs are a yummy snack that you can customize with whatever flavors you fancy!

[@TheConlinHomestead]

We finally had self control and didn’t seed a month early this year! We are in 5b and our tomatoes are just around 1/2 inch

[@ardenthebibliophile]

I took a weekend trip to San Diego and I was surprised how cool your nights get! The water gives the air an extra bite

[@epichomesteading]

Honestly it's pretty cold sometimes!

[@ardenthebibliophile]

@@epichomesteading yeah it's definitely not short sleeve weather! I've got my 40-ish tomatoes just barely starting here in NJ. Gonna be the year of the paste tomato for me in the community garden!

[@AnyKeyLady]

When did you sow those out of interest Kevin? Another option for taller/ leggier tomatoes, is that you can cut several trusses down the plant leaving a sucker on the original plant and then putting the top cutting in water for propagation for another but stockier plant two weeks down the line. Sometimes, if i have to wait too long for the weather, i can dig at an angle, reducing the amount of depth i have to go. They grow along the floor naturally so are quite flexible if handled gently when planting. I over wintered another tomato plant in doors again and when it gets too tall, i cut the top section off and replant it in another pot. I am growing a couple of F1's this season Mountain Magic and Honeycomb, so hope to do the same at the end of the season for next year. We sowed ours on the 8th Feb in London, UK Zone 9a. Whilst the temps are ok, we too have had a lot of rain here atm. I am about to up pot them for the second time. Our green house is our house so i need to find some more space for them as we also just sowed our courgettes and squash. I think finding more space is always an issue for keen gardeners but i like the conveyor belt system we have this year as it has meant that i have timed it a bit better at getting things out earlier like the cool weather crops. I also sow beans the same time as the tomatoes as i like to get them ready so they flower just after i transplant them. It's starting to get a bit jungley but so far it hasn't been too much with the crops going out. I just need to pick the keepers of the tomatoes and chilli's and put the left overs in a less of a prime position. Re the crazy weather, i think from what the Met office said for us in the UK, it's still El Nino so still wet and warm but i think they also mentioned that they expect it to end around May as it normally lasts about 2-3 years. So yes weird early on in spring, but late spring weather still, like last year. Great to see the hens having a "P" Party! Have you tried liming the eggs yet? I have seen Simple Alaska Living do this in big buckets. Or if you have a fire pit, hire one of those very large paella pans and have a massive omlette party for your friends/team there?! You could even lime the eggstra eggs and save them for when you have peppers, tomatos, onions, etc to add to it! Great video Kevin and Team!

[@epichomesteading]

6+ weeks ago!

[@AnyKeyLady]

@@epichomesteadingYes a bit early i think lol

[@crazyaboutcards]

You're so lucky. I just started tomatoes a few days ago. It snowed again here today. 😂

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

The first time I ever succeeded growing tomatoes, I followed the advice of an expert on the radio (the show was Offramp on (then) KPCC): Pluck off all leaves but the top, and bury that sucker deep so the top leaves are poking out. Did you film this yesterday? We got hit with a thunderstorm without warning. Nothing in the weather forecast, so that was weird. Forgot to mention: Lemon tree fruited this year, very small lemons, so I might need to have a look at it. I've decided to take a few of the lemons and preserve them with some salt like they do in Morocco.

[@epichomesteading]

Yep, yesterday!

[@GardenYourHeartOut]

We got hail a few weeks back in Florida too. It was a bit odd because we usually get them in the summer if we got any.

[@epichomesteading]

So weird!

[@billbobaggons]

I was scared you were gonna poke yourself on that cactus❤ stay safe during the weather.

[@StayresIntoSpace]

Definitely try curing egg yolks! Once they're cured, you can grate them like parmesan :) soooooo good

[@trayvixk4642]

If you need ideas for your eggs, there are a lot of easy Korean dishes that call for a lot of eggs. You can make rolled omelet, steamed eggs, and marinated eggs.

[@carlydillon6926]

Your garden is looking beautiful!

[@Firstmarinewife]

I’m in the high desert in socal and weather has really been super weird this year

[@kevinbossick8374]

I put mine out last Saturday. Woo hoo.

[@xenothonstelnicki597]

Eggs: waterglassing. You're going to find it's quite easy

[@II-vd3wp]

i live in Poland there is cold yet. so i m gonna make a first tomato seedlings tommorow.

[@portaamber]

Omg I LOVE that mural wall ❤❤❤

[@dkielp11]

At 10:30 why are the tomato plant branches curled like that? mine did that last year it didnt affect them at all just curious

[@jaredmccutcheon5496]

Tomatoes are my hands down favorite crop to grow. I typically grow close to 100 plants every year of 30-50 varieties and I have a couple tips I’ve adopted over the years to help avoid excessive disease in my tomatoes. If you’re having disease pressure in your tomatoes try rotating to new spots in the garden each year if you can. I have 3 different distinct garden plots in my garden area and move from one to the next each year with veggies that are prone to specific diseases and insect pressure. Also with things like tomatoes and squash, I don’t compost the old vines, since I don’t have a tractor and can’t turn my compost every day to keep it hot enough to kill off pathogens, I throw them away at the end of the season so the pathogens aren’t harbored in the compost for the next year. Also if you get really long plants try digging a trench and laying them on their sides so just the end few inches are sticking out of the soil and they’ll develop a fantastic root system up in the most fertile zone of your soil. I’ve tried the single leader method and IMO it’s better suited for greenhouse growing with shade cloth. The single leader system allows so much sunlight inside the plant I’ve experienced sun scald and didn’t get as much production from my plants. I prefer to make cages out of concrete reinforcement wire and allow the plant to fill it in with foliage that shades the fruit. I live in a little bit hotter part of CA though, so maybe in SD it’s not quite as much as an issue as it is here on the central coast of CA. I hope you have a great tomato harvest this year!

[@teakkabean]

Eggs in excess. Try a clafoutis!! We love grape clafoutis.

[@idkJustKat]

Weather patterns have been super wild the last year or two! Im over in NC and it almost terrifies me how long we've gone without some of our regular natural disasters. My dad is in his 70s and he swears that everything happens in cycles and there is nothing new 😂