April 1, 2013

• Back by popular demand –Them thar Tomater thingies . . .

  Because I’ve been getting occasional requests, I am reposting this (from June of last year)for the gardeners who have been inquiring. 

  Hope this helps!

  Inquiring minds want to know just what and how it is that Certain Man does his tomato plants.

  

  Daniel fashioned these steel “V” shaped things himself.  He puts them all along his tomato row.
  This picture was taken last week before all the “suckers” were cut off.  He cuts the suckers off — mercilessly, actually.
  (That was what he was doing last night while his grandbaby was making mud pies.) 

  

  This is what things look like now.

  

  When he gets the plants all trimmed back, he goes through and lays fencing
  that he has cut specifically to size along both sides of the “V”.  
  As the plants get high enough,  he trains them up through the openings in the fencing.

  

  He puts the white PVC pipe around the plants,
  pushing it firmly into the soil and allowing it to protrude about a foot above the ground.
  This greatly reduces the problem with bugs and worms.
  As the plants grow, they literally fill the “V.”
  The tomatoes are about waist high and I just reach in and around the plants,
  through the fencing and under the fencing to pick the tomatoes.
  They never rest on the ground, they get more consistent sunlight,
  And the vines do not get trampled when I am trying to pick tomatoes.
  Probably there are people out there that will think of something that would make this unsatisfactory.
  Think away.
  I happen to think that this is the work of a genius.
  It wasn’t original with Daniel, (he saw something similar in an Amish Garden one time)
  but he has refined it through the years,
  (And I really do think he has a stroke of genius when it comes to this sort of thing!)
  And it is so completely satisfactory to me. 

  I will try to answer any questions . . .

  • 4:03 pm
  • 10 Comments