[Sca-cooks] A tomato problem... A bit OT

[Jeff Gedney]

I never had too much problem with em, (except with 
fruits cracking from uneven rainfall totals) 

Of course, I always started mine indoors, hardened 
em off in the porch, and planted them mid may as 
16-20 inch vigorous seedlings (the ones that the cat 
did not eat while 
small!)

Here is a well recommended trick: place red plastic or 
fabric on the ground around em. They seem to react to 
red in their vicinity. You can buy stuff like this in 
most garden stores. With the sunlight you describe, this 
should promote ripening.

Make sure that they are not planted so close that they 
are fighting for that sunlight, too.

When I did vegetables, I planted lots and lots, and 
ruthlessly thinned them out to have the healthiest 
ones more than 20' apart and had them well trelliced 
or caged to support the bearing branches. 

I also pinched off a lot of blossoms if it looked like 
the plant was going to "set heavy". Lots of fruit may 
seem like a good thing, but they each will need their 
share of the mother plant's resources, and that delays 
full maturity. Fewer, higher quality and faster fruit 
is better, IMHO.

Capt Elias
Dragonship Haven, East
(Stratford, CT, USA)
Apprentice in the House of Silverwing

-Renaissance Geek of the Cyber Seas
- Help! I am being pecked to death by the Ducks of Dilletanteism! 
There are SO damn many more things I want to try in 
the SCA than I can possibly have time for. 
It's killing me!!!

-----------------------------------------------------
Upon the hempen tackle ship-boys climbing;
Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give
To sounds confused; behold the threaden sails,
Borne with the invisible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms through the furrow'd sea,
Breasting the lofty surge: O, do but think
You stand upon the ravage and behold
A city on the inconstant billows dancing;
For so appears this fleet majestical,
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