Even More on Leggy Tomatoes...& Salicylic Acid

Another friend of mine who is an organic small farmer in NM had this response to the post of several days ago...

...about leggy tomatoes... It is most likely from not enough light. Tomatoes are very sun hungry and need at least( and preferably more than) 8 hours of DIRECT sunlight per day. Most house windows will not get this , which is why people use greenhouses or grow lights. Grow lights are not  that expensive. I got the long fluorescent tube holders with aquarium/plant tubes for pretty cheap in the past.

 

To deal with the legginess, you can also plant them very deep, for instance with maybe only 8 inches above ground and the rest buried. The stem that is buried will send out roots all along its length and it will be stronger therefrom.  Taking cuttings may set you back a little bit as the plant has to put so much energy into making new roots, rather than working off the roots that it has already established.

To make your own rooting hormone, to help them root faster, you can go cut a few willows and put them in water and the “tea” makes an excellent rooting hormone after a few days to water plants that need to root. You can make it faster by shaving the bark off the willow branches with a pocket knife and soaking them in water.

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Great advice; however, I still can't afford grow lights, so I'm pressing on without them.  About half my 50 plants (mostly tomatoes) are now on the back porch.  That porch is very "open", but it is covered; portions of it get maybe four hours of direct sunlight per day.  The primary problem there is that gusts of wind are sometimes very strong.  We'll see how it goes.

Regarding the hormone from willows...good idea.  I've read, too, that putting an aspirin in the container soil does the same thing AND triggers an immune response in plants that wards off disease.  I'm experimenting with that idea.  It makes sense because willows produce salicylic acid...aspirin.

I also like the idea of transplanting tomatoes deeper.  Just make sure only the main stalk is underground; cut off all the lowest leaf branches or they'll rot and likely damage the whole plant.

Thanks again, Alex and Dixie.

Happy Trails, and Be Well

 

Thanks, and More on Tomatoes

Regarding the last post, a few people emailed me with suggestions...thanks!  We'll get to that shortly, but first... after receiving the information, I did a little research & discovered something interesting, as follows.  [Most of you probably know this already; even though I've been around a long time, it was news to me:]

There are two broad categories of tomatoes--- determinate and indeterminate, in relation to growth/height.  The first are the "bush" varieties (such as Roma); the second are the "vine" varieties (such as most Cherry types).  The "vines" are supposed to grow to 6-10 (or 12) ft high. The "bush" guys---3-4 ft.  I never knew that...thought they all grew to 3-4 ft.  I have a lot of cherry tomatoes!  The articles said they're usually grown on a trellis; the cages are for the bushies.  Live & learn, eh?  In my outdoor or non-container gardening days, I guess it was dumb luck that all I ever raised were determinate tomatoes... never, ever had an indeterminate "vine" tomato.

Here's a response I received from a friend in CA who runs a small organic farm there.  He and his wife, among other things, can about 50 gallons of tomato juice each year.

Yes your problem is insufficient light.Also when you 'clone" plants:take cuttings, propagate from them, they don't produce as well as when from seed.

The remedy is a cold frame. yes it is outside, but the plants will have enough natural light. The other remedy is using lights.The best window for plants faces southwest, and gives good light, no tree shade,curtains.
I plant my tomatoes in the beginning of March, then almost immediately, I put them in a cold frame, if the temps go below freezing, I throw a cover over it.I also have heat actuated openers on the cold frame, so it doesn't get too hot in them.I have nice compact bushy plants.I start my peppers over the wood stove, they must have 80+ degrees warmth in early January.When they are 4-5" high, also into the cold frame.

The melons planted later, also do very well in the cold frame.

Cold frames can be made out of an old window sash, and all used materials.The opener is what you have to buy,or be there to open the cold frame yourself.One warm day without the cold frame opened can damage your plants.

Here's his YouTube Channel...entertaining & informative---
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR3R2OutoTkY4TLSnEUaexw
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I'll post another, different response next time.

Happy Trails, and Be Well