Tomato Alley

This is this year’s Tomato Alley.

Keep in mind that we grow in the shade. There are numerous trees around and in the yard, so I compensate for that by planting very early, under mini hoop houses. And then we patiently wait while other gardeners enjoy their harvests.

Until right about now, when our tomatoes, cukes, and other goodies kick it into high gear and start to ripen up.

This will be an excellent year for tomatoes. Along with Chadwick cherries, which proved themselves to us last year, I planted Hungarian Hearts, in the hopes that we would enjoy maybe Roma sized tomatoes for slicing and canning. Remember? Shade. But nope. These tomatoes are huge! Weighty, and prolific. This will be our large variety tomato of choice.

I had to deal with some aphids a couple of days ago, but as far as garden pests are concerned, they seem to be the easiest one of all to deal with. Only one here or there remain.

I had planted borage between the tomato plants, and I wound up getting rid of most of the ant-farmed aphids by pulling those plants out. It seems they draw the pest away from the other plants.

Tomato leaf spray is also a real boon for dealing with this pest. To make it, snip up two cups of tomato leaves. If you trim the bottom leaves of your tomato plants to head off blight (non-affected leaves), it’s the perfect use for those leaves. Let the leaves sit in two cups of water for the day or overnight. Strain this into a spray bottle. Add two more cups of water. Dish soap attacks the aphid’s exoskeleton, and if you want, you can add a couple of drops of it to the tomato leaf mixture. Try this spray on a couple of leaves of affected plants, to make sure it won’t damage them. When using it to control aphids, remember to spray the bottoms of leaves, as well as the parts of the plants that you can more easily see. Also, keep in mind that tomatoes are in the nightshade family, so take care to wash your hands, and thoroughly wash any harvested fruit and vegetables before eating it.