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Hello, again!
He was an American Texas country and folk singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer. He released more than twenty albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffett, Lyle Lovett, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, and Rodney Crowell. He won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album: My Favorite Picture of You. But what I know him for is his 1983 hit single off of his Better Days album that reached #42 on the American Country chart. The song is Homegrown Tomatoes by Guy Clark. It’s one of those catchy tunes that gets into your head and stays there for a while!
Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon and lettuce and home grown tomatoes
Up in the mornin', out in the garden
Get you a ripe one, don't get a hard one
Plant 'em in the spring, eat 'em in the summer
All winter without 'em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' and diggin'
Every time I go out and pick me a big one
Well, it is tomato planting time in our area! With our recent precipitation and overcast conditions, all of the plants we have added to our gardens are getting nicely established. With adequate moisture present, it looks to be a good gardening season. As our tomatoes develop their root systems, they also harden off in the cool temperatures.
Initial fertilization of transplants is very important in the establishment of the small tomato plants - as with anything you are planting, whether fruiting or flowering. Kansas State University recommends a starter solution as did my Dad whenever we would set out our tomatoes and peppers. We’d carry around a galvanized bucket filled with a starter solution and put ‘some’ on the small plants. I like ferti-lome Blooming and Rooting Soluble Plant Food with its 9-59-8 ratio at one scoop per gallon at planting time. I’ll follow it up with ferti-lome Gardener’s Special granular plant food a couple of weeks later and once a month during the growing season.
Here are my tips for successful tomatoes:
- Select a sunny spot: Gardens will grow in part sun, but as a general rule, the more sun the better.
- Soil prep: I’ll add compost to the soil, either from what I’ve composted, or I’ll use Cotton Burr Compost in the planting hole. It will add beneficials to the soil which are not added with most fertilizers.
- Select a variety: It’s a great debate on which variety is best. I’ll always plant Jet Star, Big Beef, Cherokee Purple and at least two varieties of cherry tomatoes. We’ll have dozens of varieties to select from this spring; have fun and plant something new along with your favorites.
- Fertilize regularly: I start with ferti-lome Blooming and Rooting at planting time. Research shows a high phosphorus fertilizer at planting time will dramatically increase yields all season long. I’ll side-dress with ferti-lome Gardener’s Special or ferti-lome Tomato and Vegetable Food monthly during the growing season as well.
- Mulch: Cover the garden soil with wheat straw to not only keep weeds down, but also conserve water. Mulch also keeps water off of the foliage which will keep leaf spot disease from starting on the bottom leaves of your tomatoes.
Stop by the stores; we’ve stocked up on not only tomatoes, but peppers, vine crops and other vegetable plants and herbs for your garden.
Your friend in the garden,
Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Centers
