Tomatoes 2021

[indaswamp]

I have been trench composting fish carcasses in my garden beds for 8 years. I alternate back and forth so every two years each bed gets between 5-800 pounds of fish carcasses. I hot compost on top of the bed and that absorbs any odors from the fish. Bumper crop of super tasty tomatoes every year. No synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.

I turn this...

Into this...

 

[indaswamp]

I feed the soil, and the soil biology feeds the plants....

 

[poacherjoe]

I too have been using fish for years. I used to take my speargun to the river and shoot lot's of carp but now I just get the leftovers from fishing trips. I dug a trench with the rototiller and layered the bottom with carp and backfilled it with compost and soil and planted Asparagus crowns in it. My asparagus ferns are over 6 feet tall just like the tomatoes and everyone loves what comes out of this garden,,

 

[indaswamp]

That picture above is what I buried from our recent snapper fishing trip. About 100# of fish carcasses. I'll have three rows of trench compost by the time summer is over. I will plant in this bed next spring. All those salt water fish have all the micro nutrients that make tomatoes REALLY tasty! Plus lots of phosphorus and calcium from the bones...

 

[Colin1230]

A good friend of mine years back grew State Champion melons and pumpkins using fish emulsion.

 

[poacherjoe]

I bet all your friends say you have the best tasting tomato's ! All that hard work pay's off in the long run . What variety of maters are you growing ? I think Brandywine is the best tasting tomato out there. You just don't get as much fruit off them.

 

[indaswamp]

I bet all your friends say you have the best tasting tomato's !

True that! The way a tomato is suppose to taste!!!

All that hard work pay's off in the long run . What variety of maters are you growing ? I think Brandywine is the best tasting tomato out there. You just don't get as much fruit off them.

I grow oxheart and creole tomatoes mostly. The oxheart are a very meaty tomato with fewer seeds. Great for salsa! Some of my creole tomatoes grow to 24-28oz each!

 

[indaswamp]

A good friend of mine years back grew State Champion melons and pumpkins using fish emulsion.

Whole fish carcasses are even better than fish emulsion because nothing is extracted-you get it all in the ground...

 

[crazymoon]

IDS, Nice fertilizer and no waste !

 

[indaswamp]

IDS, Nice fertilizer and no waste !

Best there is IMO....

"It's only waste when it is wasted."

 

[Hamdrew]

I am growing a new one me this year- white currants (tiny); I like to think I have a green thumb but they are VERY hardy and growing aggressively.

Do you ever do any companion planting, to help the soil etc. another way? Licorice mint is my favorite for anything potted/contained. As a ground cover, it both provides some nutrients and acts as a GREAT pesticide being a fairly strong mint. It has never gotten close to choking out any established plants, and as a bonus is a great substitute for thai basil when cooking.

Mycellium in the soil is gaining a lot of popularity these days, too.

 

[indaswamp]

I am growing a new one me this year- white currants (tiny); I like to think I have a green thumb but they are VERY hardy and growing aggressively.

Do you ever do any companion planting, to help the soil etc. another way? Licorice mint is my favorite for anything potted/contained. As a ground cover, it both provides some nutrients and acts as a GREAT pesticide being a fairly strong mint. It has never gotten close to choking out any established plants, and as a bonus is a great substitute for thai basil when cooking.

Mycellium in the soil is gaining a lot of popularity these days, too.

Late summer after I have buried all the fish, I spread the compost out and plant field peas for a cover crop. Then in late fall I chop n drop; plant clover/vetch/rye/oats to over winter. Great soil builder mix. In the spring I chop n drop then cover with leaves right before planting my tomatoes and pepper...I try to keep a living root in as long as I can. I am no till except for the trench composting of fish....that is the only soil disturbance I do. Tons of worms!!

 

[jcam222]

True that! The way a tomato is suppose to taste!!!


I grow oxheart and creole tomatoes mostly. The oxheart are a very meaty tomato with fewer seeds. Great for salsa! Some of my creole tomatoes grow to 24-28oz each!

I’m planted 2 oxheart this year. Looking forward to trying them. Also planted Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, German Johnson, Chefs Orange Slicer, Potato Leaf Yellow Brandywine, Aunt Annie’s and Green Zebras. For cherries planted Sun Sugar and Chocolate Cherry. The sun sugar are the best and most prolific cherries. I grow them annually and friends beg for them lol. I have 40 plants in all. I really need to do a better job enriching my soil annually.

 

[Hamdrew]

I really need to do a better job enriching my soil annually.

Thats where mycelium come in. Something like-

Those Cherokee purples can really be something else. One particular seed had unfortunately no yield, but the softest and least pulp I've ever seen. Only a handful of seeds in each fruit; practically bruised by looking at them lol

 

[indaswamp]

I’m planted 2 oxheart this year. Looking forward to trying them. Also planted Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, German Johnson, Chefs Orange Slicer, Potato Leaf Yellow Brandywine, Aunt Annie’s and Green Zebras. For cherries planted Sun Sugar and Chocolate Cherry. The sun sugar are the best and most prolific cherries. I grow them annually and friends beg for them lol. I have 40 plants in all. I really need to do a better job enriching my soil annually.

I like cherokee purple but hard to grow here. I should grow some cherry tomatoes...never think about it though when planting seeds. I grow a salsa garden.

I have been building my soil over the years...2 yards of homemade yard and kitchen waste compost every year, along with all the fish. I started using biochar 6 years ago and it makes a difference. The miccoryrsal fungi absolutely LOVE charcoal! they mine the metals held by the char particles...

 

[indaswamp]

My soil now has 11% carbon......

 

[Hamdrew]

edit- dupe

 

[Hamdrew]

Cherry toms can be REALLY rewarding. I do try to stress everything as much as possible, but even still, this plant was over 11ft long. These tomatillos (purple keepers from adaptive seed bank) spanned 15ft wide, each big branch about 10ft

 

[zippy12]

This is a smart thing to do... some fish I prefer stock though

 

[indaswamp]

This is a smart thing to do... some fish I prefer stock though

I do make stock with some of the fish heads, then add that to the trench after....