Southern Agrarianism and the culture of the Old South

Tag: tomato (Page 2 of 2)

Planting in Stages

Looking from back to front in this photo: Tomatoes, the first batch of beans, the second batch (planted 2 weeks later), and dirt where the unsprouted next batch of beans will be coming up in another day or two. These are the Blue Lake variety – our all around favorite.

Bush beans tend to produce in one large flush of beans, followed by a few sparse beans later. By planting in stages, we get fresh beans while also having them ripen in a large enough quantity to make it worth cranking up the canning operation.

Pole beans tend to produce regularly throughout the life of the plant. Those are great when you have a good place to plant them. We have some planted so that they climb up the water tower that supplies water for the chickens (more on that project in another post).

The Need For Light

Seedlings need light – lots of light. This photo was taken on March 2, and shows two tomato plants that were both raised under artificial light, 18 hours per day. The plant on the right was transplanted about 3 days before the photo was taken. You can see how much darker the plant on the left is, having received 18 hours of bright full-spectrum light, while the one on the right received much less light during the relatively short daylight in early March.

Before I had the lights and timer, my seedlings were tall and spindly. They were not strong enough to stand up straight and take full advantage of the sun. With a full 18 hours of light, the plants grow very sturdy stalks and make a much healthier plant.

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