Now's the Time to Plant Tomatoes and Peppers

Early June is a great time to plant warm-season crops such as tomatoes and peppers. The two keys to successfully planting now are to select garden ready plants and to choose varieties that will mature before our first frost. Garden ready tomato and pepper plants feature strong root systems and sturdy stems and are ready to take home and plant in your garden or in containers on your patio or deck. 

Step two is to select varieties that will mature quickly. Our average first frost date is September 28. Last year, our first frost occurred on October 10. This tells you to choose tomato plants that will produce in approximately eighty days or less. Cherry tomato varieties such as Super Sweet 100 are relatively fast growers and will give you good harvest. Medium-sized fruit such as Celebrity or Shimmer are also good choices. Pepper plants are second only to tomatoes in popularity. Whether you’re looking for sweet, hot or snacking peppers, you’ll find garden ready plants that will mature in about seventy days. Once you’ve made your selections, it’s important to acclimate your garden ready tomato and pepper plants after you take them out of our greenhouse. This is a relatively simple, yet important step in the planting process.  

Acclimating or “hardening off” greenhouse-grown plants involves gradually exposing them to outdoor light, wind and temperatures. While you’re waiting for your tomato and pepper plants to adjust to the outside world, take time to prepare the planting site. For garden planting, this means adding organic compost to the existing soil. For container growing, choose a well-draining potting mix. To do their best, your tomatoes and peppers need to be fed on a regular basis. The presence of an OMRI seal on the package is your assurance that the contents are certified organic. If you have questions about selecting the right varieties of tomatoes and peppers, stop in. We’ll be glad to help you.  

Choosing a Fertilizer for Your Victory Garden

In order to get the best from your vegetable garden, it's important to feed your plants on a regular basis. This is especially true if you’re growing tomatoes and peppers. Tomatoes and peppers are heavy-feeders, meaning they require plenty of organic food in order to produce their best yields. This is especially true at this point in the season, when they’re flowering, setting fruit and trying to cope with summer’s high temperatures. There are a number of good vegetable garden fertilizers available, both organic and non-organic, so the choices may seem complicated. Start with the basics. Every garden fertilizer should list the three major ingredients on the front of the container, in this order: Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash. The first number on the label is always Nitrogen. Nitrogen promotes plant growth. The second number is Phosphate. Phosphate helps rooting and blooming. The third number is Potassium. Potassium plays a key role in overall plant development. 

An effective organic tomato and pepper fertilizer would typically contain numbers such as 5-7-3 or 2-5-3. The number represents the percentage of each major component in the package. Note in each case, the middle number is the highest, putting an emphasis on fruit production rather than plant growth. Premium organic fertilizers will also contain elements such as Mycorrhizae and Bacillus designed to improve the soil microbiome, as well as enhance nutrient uptake. 

The presence of an OMRI seal on the package is your assurance the product has been certified organic according to the Organic Material Review Board. Fertilizers are most effective when the tomato plant can absorb them through the roots. Granular fertilizers are applied around the base of the plant at the rate of two to three cups per ten square feet. Beyond basic ingredients, fertilizer effectiveness is determined by a number of factors, including soil structure, pH and fertility. If you have questions, stop in and let’s have a conversation about which fertilizer is best for your garden.