Tomatoes! From plants bought at the Ashland Garden Club Plant Sale in May. 
Tag Archives: Growing Tomatoes
5 W’s for Fertilizing
Article by Kelly Brainard, Owner Ashland Greenhouse
“There are always so many questions about fertilizing. I would like to go over some of the basics, especially since early spring can be a key time for taking care of fertilizing needs. Always ask yourself:
The type of plant you are focusing on (perennials, annuals, vegetables, ect).
What type of fertilizer to use based on season and the plant(s) you’re fertilizing.
When do you apply fertilizer? Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter?
Where is the best place to apply fertilizers? Topically or to the root zone?
Why is this necessary? What are the benefits of fertilizing?
Since we could write a book on everything mentioned above let’s keep it brief and relevant to what we should focus on in early spring. This is a great time of year to focus on perennials. Most perennials prefer a well-balanced or all-purpose fertilizer (all three numbers on the packaging are identical, i.e. 3-3-3 or 16-16-16). Perennials fed in early spring develop strong root systems which in turn produces larger, healthier plants. Apply granular fertilizers to the soil around the root zone.
For annuals that are tough enough to be outside early and continue blooming throughout the summer, like petunias and verbena, apply well balanced or slightly higher nitrogen fertilizers. This gives them an extra boost, encouraging growth. You can successfully use either a granular or foliar fertilizer. Foliar fertilizers tend to react faster than granules since they are taken up by the plant through the leaves but need re-application more often. For annuals I like to use granular fertilizer applications in the spring and start using weekly or biweekly applications of liquid fertilizer in the summer. Remember as a rule of thumb – ALWAYS apply fertilizers in the morning. It is less stressful for the plants.
Vegetables are a completely different beast when it comes to fertilizing. There are numerous techniques when it comes to fertilizing your vegetables. If it’s grown for leafy greens then apply fertilizers heavier in nitrogen. If it’s grown for the fruit apply fertilizers heavier in phosphorous. Nitrogen promotes healthy, green foliage and too much of it can discourage fruit development while phosphorous promotes bud and flower growth which encourages more fruit.
When in doubt about fertilizing don’t hesitate to ask a fellow gardener. Some of the best advice is the advice that we share with each other!”
Eight OSU-Developed Tomatoes To Try
CORVALLIS, Ore. – As you pore over seed catalogs in these cold winter months, you’ll likely include tomatoes in your vegetable garden dreams.
Oregon State University’s vegetable breeding program has developed several varieties over the past 40 years that are now mainstays in many Pacific Northwest gardens. Perhaps you know of Indigo Rose, the novelty purple tomato that OSU debuted in 2012. But did you know about the other varieties that the program has created?
In the past, the whole idea behind the breeding program has been to breed seedless types that are adapted to the cooler springs we have in Oregon and tomatoes with determinate growth so that they bloom earlier and set fruit under cooler conditions,” said Jim Myers, OSU’s vegetable breeder.
Under Myers’s leadership, the program has focused on two areas in recent years – developing varieties with late blight resistance and increasing phytonutrient potential.
“We try to build on the material previously developed in the vegetable breeding program,” Myers said.
Myers suggested the following OSU varieties, many of which were developed by his predecessor, Jim Baggett.
- Legend: A tomato that produces large fruit that is good to eat straight off the vine. Resistant to some forms of late blight. Ripens 60-65 days after transplanting. You can get a larger-sized, earlier-ripening fruit by growing them first from seeds in gallon-size pots then transplanting them, Myers said.
- Gold Nugget: Among the first to ripen, this prolific variety grows cherry tomatoes with a deep yellow color and mild, juicy flavor. Ripens in 60 days.
- Oroma: This tomato makes good tomato sauce and paste. Early to mature; average ripening time of 70 days. Prolific after ripening. Fruit is meaty and thick-walled.
- Oregon Spring: Ripens in 60-70 days. Slicing variety that can be eaten fresh in salads or straight from the vine. It will produce high, early yields of silver-dollar-sized juicy tomatoes.
- Oregon Star: Ripens in 80 days. An early-maturing, red paste-type tomato. Large, seedless fruit. Good for fresh eating and for canning.
- Santiam: Ripens in 65-75 days. Suited for salads and fresh eating; good, tart flavor.
- Siletz: Ripens in 70-75 days. Reliable tomato with good flavor; ideal for eating fresh from the vine. Not resistant to late blight.
- Indigo Rose: Ripens about 80-90 days after transplanting. First of a new class of tomato that is high in antioxidants. Its purple color comes from the anthocyanin pigment in its fruit. This open-pollinated variety is semi-determinate – or larger than a determinate type but smaller than indeterminate types – and a prolific producer. Get the best flavor by picking the tomato at its ripest; it will turn a muddy brown, dull purple color in September when ripe.
Find these tomatoes in the seed catalogs from Territorial Seed Co., Victory Seed Co., Ed Hume Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Nichols Garden Nursery.
Except for Indigo Rose, these tomatoes are determinate types, meaning that they are bushy in form and have fruit that sets on the bud at the tip of the stem, Myers said. They continue growth from side branches. All tomatoes from determinate type plants ripen in a concentrated period of time. Indeterminate tomatoes, on the other hand, will grow vigorously to heights of up to 12 feet and produce fruit until frost kills them.
If you’re overwhelmed by all the tomato choices and only have limited space, Myers has some advice.
“Find a few tomato varieties that work really well for you and use them as standbys, but reserve some space every year for experimental types that you want to try,” said Myers, the Baggett-Frazier Professor of Vegetable Breeding in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
By Denise Ruttan, denise.ruttan@oregonstate.edu, on Twitter at @OregonStateExt
Source: Jim Myers, myersja@hort.oregonstate.edu
This story is online at: http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening2324
About Gardening News From the OSU Extension Service: The Extension Service provides a variety of gardening information on its website at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/community/gardening. Resources include gardening tips, videos, podcasts, monthly calendars of outdoor chores, how-to publications, information about the Master Gardener program, and a monthly emailed newsletter.
FEBRUARY: Getting the Greenhouse Ready
It’s time to get your greenhouse ready for planting! 
Start with cleaning the shelves using 1 part bleach mixed with 9 parts water.
Read eHow for tips on cleaning a small greenhouse:
http://www.ehow.com/small-greenhouse_care.html
Sterilize your trays & pots with this same bleach solution. Purchase or make your seedling mix (which is a soil-less mix), gather your plant labels & permanent markers and you’re ready to plant.
Read how to make your own soil-less seedling mix Organic Gardening website: http://organicgardening.about./seedstartingmix.htm
To calculate greenhouse planting start dates, check each seed packet and plant according to the instructions. Count back the weeks needed for seeds to grow and when you want them really for the garden club’s plant sale or to plant in your garden after the last frost. Seeds typically need 8-12 weeks to grow. For example: AGC’s plant sale is May 11 2013, 12 weeks back from May 11th is February 16th, 8 weeks back is March 16th . Check your seed packets for start dates.
Below is a list of flowers you can start in your greenhouse in February: Petunias, Impatiens, Lobelia, Lupine, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Coreopsis, Salvia, Lavender, Scabies, Delphinium, Pansies, Shasta daisy, Forget-me-nots, Gaillardias, and Nasturtiums.
You can also start: Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Beets, Lettuce, Cilantro and Spinach seeds. It is recommended for larger vegetable seeds, like beets, to soak them 12 to 24 hours before planting.
To begin: fill your sterilized trays with seedling mix, water the seedling mix thoroughly, and then let them sit until the next day to warm up. On day two, plant your seeds, mark your trays/pots, then water them in.
Seeds need warmth to germinate. Check out Heirloom Seeds’ website showing seed germination/soil temperatures:
http://www.heirloomseeds.com/germination.html
You can provide warmth with heating mats (available at garden supply stores) which sit under your seed trays or you can warm your greenhouse with a portable heater.
Some seeds also need light to germinate, so place trays a few inches below a grow light or a florescent light, and keep the lights on 24 hours a day.
After the plants have developed several sets of true leaves, transplant them into sterilized pots with a good garden variety potting soil. To avoid transplant shock water them in with a B1 solution; B1 is available at garden stores. Once plants are established in their new pots, fertilize them once a week with a 1/4-strength water-soluble fertilizer. During the rest of the time use plain water; keep the seedlings moist, but not wet. Keep plants under the lights, keep them warm and watch them grow!
By: Carlotta Lucas & Melody Jones
Tomatoes
Coax Tomatoes & Peppers to Maturity
CORVALLIS, Ore. – There’s probably nothing more exasperating than working hard in the vegetable garden all summer, only to end up with hard green tomatoes, unripe melons, and sweet peppers the size of robin’s eggs.
Oregon ‘s cool springs and cool summer nights can prevent tomatoes and peppers from flowering and setting fruit early enough to grow to a decent size before the frosts of fall arrive.
Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, recommends using plastic sheeting to warm the soil. The sheeting comes in various colors including black, green and even red. Black seems to be the most popular color with vegetable gardeners.
“Lay sheets of black plastic on the soil where those heat-loving vegetables will be growing,” Penhallegon said. “The plastic absorbs heat during the day and keeps the soil warm during the night.”
Black polyethylene film in rolls three or four feet wide and 1 to 1.5 mils thick works fine, but Penhallegon recommends using thicker plastic if you want to use it for more than one season. If you want something that will decompose by the end of the year, look for black paper mulch.
Before planting peppers, melons and tomatoes, lay the plastic on the ground where the plants will grow. Cut six-inch holes in the plastic every two feet. If you use drip irrigation in your garden, put drip lines under the plastic.
If you use sprinklers to water, dampen the soil before you lay the plastic down and cut the holes larger to ensure that enough moisture enters the ground from the sprinklers.
Dig a hole for each transplant where there is a hole in the plastic. Then plant your plants. Be sure there’s enough plastic on all sides to cover a mature root system.
After everything’s planted, take a pitchfork and punch some holes in the plastic so water will soak through, but avoid the drip hose. Then weigh down the edges of the plastic with a few mounds of soil.
Tomato Tips
