@@GrowVeg Absolutely. I'm on my 4th year of growing, built out a 10 foot greenhouse and small row-type raised bed, a light deprivation unit, and 8 raised beds. It has been a mix of frustration and elation, but I have fallen in love with the feeling of eating something in your own backyard. Thanks for sharing your plethora of knowledge!
Is it for the plants ,..or for the ppl that live in Orlando Florida,…,..}take one tablet everyday because they won’t set flowers when it’s 89 degrees outside ,.. I have Miami cherry 🍒 tomatoes they seem to do better ,..but ,..the flavor is not their. Love your channel,..I’m new ,..cheers
I started gardening last year. I was scared but in the pandemic it gave me something fun to do. I love it. Your videos are wonderful. You have such a pleasant voice and I am working my way through them all. Thank you for sharing your expertise.
I moved into my first house at the weekend just past. I’ve always wanted to grow my own veg so I started with 3 tomato plants and 1 pepper plants! I’m really hoping I can grow some tasty veg from it haha. I guess everyone starts from somewhere
U.S. Ohio Lake Erie growing Early Girl, Beefsteak, San Marzano, and Sweet Million. All doing well this year. Was burying kitchen scraps in the bed a couple weeks ahead. Mixed the native clay we have here with some forest floor compost/mulch and mulched properly with "fallen tree" bark after planting to inoculate with m. fungi. It's mid July, and I'm 80% happy. The Early Girls are getting blighty, so let the nail biting begin. Been a perfect spring into summer weather pattern. A bit on the humid side. No bad storms yet. Thanks for the good info and glad I found your site!
This season, I shall mostly be growing 'Big Mama', 'Marmande', 'Garnet', 'tumbling toms (both red and yellow) in hanging baskets, and some 'Gardener's delight'.............we love our Toms.......:)
I had great success with campari tomatoes two years ago. This year, my seedlings are already looking great, can't wait to plant them outside. Here in zone 7, I don't have a long wait until I can.
I have been saving my seeds for generations, keeping the seeds from the healthiest plants/fruits. I usually grow about 12 - 15 San Marzano tomato plants to make sauce. I have had good success with several yellow tomatoes, like Yellow Boys and a yellow cocktail tomato, that a friend at work blessed me with, originally. They are quite prolific. Round that out with some Early Girls & 4th of July for an early harvest and some good ol' Beefsteak for sandwiches, etc. The Aspirin was news to me, too. I will try that. I am also moving toward the leak/drip hoses instead of sprinklers that wet the leaves.
Lovely varieties there Roger. I think moving to leak/drip hoses will be such an improvement for your tomatoes, and will save a lot of water too. Good luck with this year's crop.
Perfect video thanks, this is my second year growing tomatoes and they were the most successful thing I had last year so hopefully with all your advice it will be even better this year I think the seeds I have are gardeners delight
I grow Early Girl which is indeterminent. I only have room for 3 plants, but they come on early and continue to provide us with tomatoes until it freezes.
Blueberry tomatoes, Plum tomatoes, Early Girls, Yellow Pear tomatoes, Beefsteak. Thank you for sharing your videos with us. I got your book and am enjoying it. 🌻💕🌻💕
I moved to central TX a few years ago and have been struggling to grow tomatoes, the heat and humidity are tough! This year I started many varieties indoors and am hoping for the best! Atomic, blue cream, crazy berry, black cherry, spoon, purple bumble my fingers are crossed!
I have many Tomato plants this year, I have Big Boys, Cherry tomato, Beef Steak, Super Sauce, Heirlooms, Campari and a paste type tomato. I just love going into the garden and picking a cherry tomato and popping it into my mouth. Aw the love of tomato. I can them also for spaghetti sauce and salsa and of course Marinara sauce. Just love your videos keep them coming
Very useful tip with aspirin. Will definitively try this year as tomato blight hit our allotments last year. Growing burlesque, outside so fingers crossed!
Top man! Glad it's arrived, and I hope you enjoy it. I believe the bonus chapters are being sent out imminently. Thanks again for your support - and get on and do more videos yourself once you have the time. I'll be keeping a beady eye out!
Ben, I subscribed today, after watching several of your videos, I am impressed by the quality. No need to beg for people to like your videos when you do a great job producing them. I love tomatoes, but it is hard to grow them here in Hawaii.
I live in Southern US. I'm growing black krim and peruvianum from seed. I've grown the balm trim before and they are lovely, first time with peruvianum.
I'm going to try the aspirin trick. I live in south Alabama (US), and the heat and humidity often lead to tomato disease. Every year I have vines loaded with beautiful green tomatoes to take a wilt and die. This year I am growing Park's Whopper, Better Boy, Roma, Cherokee Purple, German Queen, Triple L, and Mortgage Lifter. Tomatoes are one of my favorite things to grow. Thanks for the helpful videos!
Thank you for that UV trick with the horn worms! My chickens refuse to eat them so I have to get after them myself ;) Good tip too, chickens love tomatoes so if you can't eat them all, your chickens will, and they'll thank you with free fertilizer later!
I have been growing "Tropical Ruby" for the past 6 years and have turned on many of my allotment association mates with this small plum type tomato with such a great taste. Very easy to grow either in the greenhouse or outside on the plot.
I’m in Virginia in the US (zone 7a) and tomatoes are well-suited for our hot, summer climate. This year, I’m growing 4 heirloom varieties - mortgage lifter, white tomesol, Belgian giant, and pink lady.
Thanks for your video After watching this I have finally succeeded in growing large tomatoes Mine use to rot and I would hardly have any yo cook with Thank you
Ben great tips on what you said about tomatoes and I have done all that you have said this yr but I watched a video and they sprayed asprin at the early stage of growing the plant
Thank you for your streams...i now have my own garden in 50yrs and normally kill every plant i have owned. But i have turned to gardening and growing my own veg. I am growing moneymaker toms. I have 15 plants but have been worried about the poor weather we have had in the UK...BUT will take up your advice. Thanks again
In the Pacific Northwest I have had wonderful results for years with a variety called Bloody Butcher. They produce early, are big enough for slicing, and have wonderful tomato taste. They continuously produce throughout the season until the first frost.
another fab and informative video ,,im growing goos ole money maker but also for the first time tumbling toms in my baskets and tigrella a funky looking stripy one cant wait to eat well this summer ,
I grew Early girls last year and I did the aspirin, epsom salt, crushed egg shells and chopped banana peels in the dug out hole covered by a thin layer of soil (to prevent root burn) before adding the tomato plant at an angle to encourage root growth. I had a wonderful yield!!! On another note, I've only just found your channel and I can't tell you how excited I am! I did an entire year of permaculture courses and feel as though I gained less useful information than what I'm getting from you 😅 I am going on my 3rd year of gardening in Colorado and every year I gain a little more knowledge and confidence. You've easily increased my knowledge 1000% haha! Thank you so so much for the time and energy you take to make these videos!
Bless you Natalie, that's so kind of you to say! So pleased you're finding the videos useful. It's great to hear your experiences of adding all those goodies to the planting hole too - sounds like it really worked for you! :-)
@@GrowVeg I will - thanks for your advice! Hope slugs in my garden will be more merciful on young tomatoes. Oh, I just watched your other video on slug control. Looks like there isn't a quick and easy way to get rid of them - I just need more patience and persistence. Thanks!☺
Thanks for the aspirin trick. This year I am growing tomatoes from seed. Federle, Igleheart yellow cherry, and currant gold rush from Seed Savers Exchange.
@@GrowVeg will the aspirin treatment be suitable for peppers as well? Planning on plant tomatoes and pepper in the same section of the yard. If the aspirin isn't good for peppers I will have to rethink my layout.
Thanks for the great information Ben! I've never had a garden spot with enough sun to grow tomatoes. This year I do. I have a dozen Cherokee purple plants and eleven German pinks. I also have two cherry tomatoes growing in containers. They're in the ground and slowly growing. I wish I had found your videos before I got started. At least from this point on I start using your suggestions.
San Marzano growing here is NC and will be planted soon! They are the best tomatoes for mans prostrate health according to my nutritionist friend and flavor and germination of Bakers Creek seeds are wonderful!
First time I have heard or read anywhere such a complete guide. Do so agree about growbags. Have comparative data - yields when grown in containers and when grown in grow bags- cultivated like for like.
Thanks for the aspirin tip, and about planting them deep plus a wealth of other tips! I have Costoluto Fiorentino, Marmande, San Marzano and Santini. I used to live in Italy so I have a fondness for the Italian varieties, I make and freeze a ton of basic pasta sauce cooked with the San Marzano.
Went a bit adventurous with the tomato options this year: Costoluto Fiorentino Noire de Creme Sungold Green Zebra Indigo Rose Never heard about the aspirin trick before, will have to give it a go!
Hi Ben, Enjoy your videos. I grow some Tom's in small grow bags, but I cut grow bag in half, stand on end make holes in the then bottom for drainage. I then plant the tom plant beep in the compost. You can retrieve some of the compost from the bag and use later to top up the bag as the plant gets bigger.
I've gone into market gardening this year! Will have to put these tips to good use to and make the most of the limited space in my greenhouse! Thanks for the tips!
I had blight last year due to reduced air flow inside of my greenhouse (my first year working with it) - so this year I will get more air to my tomatoes but also the asprin trick is genius! A "vaccine" of sorts for the tomatoes! Great!
i live in tx, us. and ive never seen those grow bags before lol thats different also ive never heard of anyone adding aspirin to their garden! i guess ive been watching the wrong garden channels! thanks for the info!
Here in Ontario I start my tomatoes indoors around Earth Day, for planting outside late in May. any sooner and they end up too leggy! I like to grow a colourful variety that look pretty on a platter - Green Zebra, Summerpink, Golden Queen, Old Flame, Black Krim and Glamour are some of my favourites. I have always added crushed eggshells but have never tried the aspirin trick. Looking forward to that!
I am starting seeds today in greenhouse - San Marzano, Italian Red Pear, Brandywine, some cherry tomatoes I keep saving from seed prior year (no idea what it is - but dogs and I all love to snack on them in garden) - And this year I am starting bush beef steak seeds from plant I got at store 2020 - grew in big pots on my deck and they had a ton of fruit. Thanks for the tips
@@GrowVeg Do you spray the aspirin concoction as tomatoes come into bloom (generally I find seems to be in waves) or does one application on first round of buds all you need. And, yes cherry tomatoes, green beans, snap peas, radishes and the little muncher cucumbers rarely make it to the house. My dogs are cherry tomato addicts and I have to chase them out of the beds.
Great video! One other thing to note with regard to blossom end rot is although a shortage of calcium is the reason it happens, the real culprit is the pH of the soil. If the pH is not correct you can add all the calcium in the world and the plant won’t be able to take it up. Always a great idea to get a soil test done before planting
All my seedlings are happily growing away in the conservatory lovely and warm from the house and lots of light, I don’t like my seedlings to get too big so I pot them quite deep regularly. I like to keep short stubby plants with thick stems works well. then when I plant them out they can just grow wild. Brilliant video 👏🏻
For more on pruning tomatoes, check out our sowing to harvest guide to tomatoes: th-cam.com/video/dV5C7rjT64c/w-d-xo.html But I think a more in-depth video on pruning tomatoes is a good idea, so I may well revisit this at a later date.
Ohhh, those hornworms are going down this year! They can strip a tomato plant in a day if left unchecked, and they're hard to spot! Thanks for that awesome tip. Tomato varieties this year include Blue Berries, Rio Grande, Fox Cherry, and Brandywine. (And whatever volunteers this year, there's always a few ;)) Thanks from Zone 8/American Southwest.
Good tips. I know about aspirin and the black light for the worms. This is my 35th year growing tomatoes in Sacramento, Ca. This year I am growing Super Sweet 100's , Red Robin's and 1/4 Century's. Five of each type..
I am experimenting by using fish heads and bones under the plants. Started the seeds off with a few chopped up bones under the potting mix, a few maggots, but they came up great. Doing it with chillis also
I will be growing Tiny Tim Cherry Tomatoes and will use the aspirin spray to improve the plants. For the egg shells, will be making a calcium solution to fertilize the plants...one tablespoon ground egg shells dissolved in one tablespoon white vinegar and added to one gallon water once the shells have been dissolved. Enjoy your channel and the helpful suggestion given to make gardening fun and productive. Thank you.
Excellent! Just ran across your channel. Enjoy your content. I am in FL, have a yard made out of fill - crushed concrete and sand, so have to grow everything in containers. Had good success with Green Peppers, some types of tomatoes, especially the native, Everglade Tomato. It grows like a weed, sets fruit year round, but is the size of a grape. Tastes great, and produces a ton.
I've gone a bit tomato mad this (my 2nd) year. I'm trying Tigerella & Outdoor Girl from saved seed, & also growing.... Latah, Logos, Cedar, Purple Ukraine, Stupids Aurora & a favourite from last year Dwarf House Cherry which is fabulous in hanging baskets. Such a tiny tiny plant that grows soooo many tomatoes considering its size! Thanks for the great tips!
Great channel, Here is the south USA I have bad disease pressure here and sometimes its hit or miss with what varieties really work well, many of the cherrys like midnight snack do well here, and sometimes can get production out of my favorites like pink brandywine and cherokee purple, each season I improve and learn more in getting better healthier plants and yield
@@shawns0762 I pick them off, and raise them indoors with the kids. This will be the third year growing tomatoes in this area, and over the past two years, we only got a single Tobacco Hornworm. No Tomato Hornworms yet. They're so cool, and I intentionally grow extra to be able to pluck leaves from the plants without sacrificing the harvest. I do the same with dill for the lovely Black Swallowtail Butterflies, and grape vine for the really cool looking Achemon Sphinx Moths. To encourage Sphynx to lay eggs, I plant evening blooming flowers like Four O'Clocks, so they have nourishment for all life stages. I hope to have Zebra Swallowtail Butterflies when the Pawpaws get a bit bigger. We've planted milkweed for the Monarchs, but haven't seen any over the past few years. In the areas where I haven't been able to set up a proper garden, but it isn't visible as a problem area with the city, I let a few thistles grow for the Painted Lady Butterflies. The local bees love the wild daisies, salsify, borage, alfalfa, and dandelions around the edges of the garden. There's also the added benefit of getting extra nitrogen in the soil from the alfalfa, and the borage digs up nutrients from way down in the soil, to make it accessible to the garden when it dies back in the winter. The dill and borage especially bring in lots of happy ladybugs and praying mantis, too, so they help to keep the more problematic insects in line. It's fun to share the garden, and teach the kids about all the cool critters in this world. It gives an opportunity for generation after generation of wonderful pictures, too. If you hand raise the "pest" caterpillars inside, you control which leaves they eat, and don't have to worry as much about any specific plant being stripped bare. Also, you get the added benefit of extra pollinators for your garden.
@@gardennerd1757 I remember when I was 7 and there was a field behind our house on Long Island with a lot of milkweed plants that's when I first discovered monarch caterpillars. I often find praying mantis eggs and put them in my garden, they keep the bugs away and some wild cats keep the birds away. I am into Pawpaws too, went to a festival in Ohio last year. Where do you live?
@@shawns0762 Colorado, in zone 5b. How about you? I'm really hoping the pawpaws do well here. They're supposed to be hardy in zone 5. We just got them last year, so this spring is their first big hurdle. If all goes well, we'll have pawpaws, persimmons, peaches, plums, apricots, pears, crabapples, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, honeyberries, currants, gooseberries, elderberries, chokecherries, strawberries, rhubarb, and sunchokes as permanent producers in the yard, as well as the annual garden I set up each year. (Most of those have already started producing, but a few have yet to arrive and be planted.) The peaches and apricot were started from pits, and the biggest was planted 4 years ago. Full-fledged garden-nerd here. Aside from raspberries, what types of plants do you grow? It's really cool that you're able to move the mantis ootheca to your yard. They're so very helpful! Neighbor cats frequent the garden, but we still manage to get some squirrels, rabbits, mice, and birds as visitors.
Another great video. I always use aspirin spray on my tomatoes every 2-3 weeks. It helps with disease prevention here in the sub-tropics and the fruit are much tastier.
Still holding off (with difficulty!) another 3 weeks before planting. Frost warnings past 2 nights- in MAY!!! Nights won't be 10degrC/50F for soil warmth until then. Highly unusual. But my first year starting from seed (way too early, mind you) are Gold Medal, Early Girl, Rainbow, Mr. Ugly, Sweet 'n Neat and some unnamed cherry from Mom that goes crazy! I'm going to try cordoning this year, as have little soil and do a lot in containers. Had a donor last year called 'Polish' tomato. Never seen one so abundant. Hope I get one this year. Several other veg on the go too. Thanks for your efforts; I have truly enjoyed your videos over the past couple of years and have learned so much I've placed well in our Hort Club competitions
All indeterminate cherry or truss tomatoes, trellised up cattle panel arches: Verona, Valentine, Sweet Million, and new this year, Midnight Snack. Extreme northwest Missouri, zone 5a-ish. In addition to eating daily in season, we dehydrate many pounds for use through the rest of the year.
For snail & slug control, try Escar-Go from Garden's Alive, Lawrenceburg, IN, USA. Sprinkle it under the plants to attract; causes them to stop feeding. I'm in Northeastern USA, will be planting 4th of July, Early Girl, Jetstar and Sweet 100"s this year and will try Sandwich Slicer for the first time. I try a new tomato every year, but have yet to find something different that I like enough to grow more than 2 years in a row other than the 4 that I mentioned - will keep trying. Will definitely try the aspirin. Thanks for sharing that!
That aspirin trick is new. I'll try it. thx. This year, I will try grafting tomatoes for the first time. I'm wondering if that would really yield stronger and more tomatoes. I usually sow too many seedlings and half of my street is growing my tomatoes. Happy Spring!
I watch a ton of gardening videos on TH-cam. I discovered your channel about a month ago, and you have quickly become my favorite.
Thanks so much - it's a pleasure to have you as a new viewer! :-)
@@GrowVeg Absolutely. I'm on my 4th year of growing, built out a 10 foot greenhouse and small row-type raised bed, a light deprivation unit, and 8 raised beds. It has been a mix of frustration and elation, but I have fallen in love with the feeling of eating something in your own backyard. Thanks for sharing your plethora of knowledge!
Honestly.
I'm so happy this isn't behind a paywall.
Excellent stuff!
Yeah, this bloke is so good. I thought he was off the tele.
Interesting about the aspirin! I've never heard this. Thanks!
Will try this!
I do it every year seriously helpful.
Is it for the plants ,..or for the ppl that live in Orlando Florida,…,..}take one tablet everyday because they won’t set flowers when it’s 89 degrees outside ,.. I have Miami cherry 🍒 tomatoes they seem to do better ,..but ,..the flavor is not their. Love your channel,..I’m new ,..cheers
I hate those horn 🐛 !! Seriously ,..in Florida ,..they will beat your bloody arse down ,..they are evil!!!!
Oh spoiler alert! I was waiting till the end lol!😂
I started gardening last year. I was scared but in the pandemic it gave me something fun to do. I love it. Your videos are wonderful. You have such a pleasant voice and I am working my way through them all. Thank you for sharing your expertise.
And thank you for watching Alison. Gardening is so empowering.
Thank you for your amazing videos and everything you have done to help us novice growers
I moved into my first house at the weekend just past. I’ve always wanted to grow my own veg so I started with 3 tomato plants and 1 pepper plants! I’m really hoping I can grow some tasty veg from it haha. I guess everyone starts from somewhere
Absolutely. Enjoy your first harvests - it's such a treat!
Pop some potatoes in to break up the soil.
Did they grow ok? Xx
Желаю хороших успехов в выращивании овощей , богатых урожаев .
I'm going all in on heirlooms this year. Writing notes from this video! Asprin, WHO knew?.. 😀 Well, I do now! Thanks so much.
U.S. Ohio Lake Erie growing Early Girl, Beefsteak, San Marzano, and Sweet Million. All doing well this year. Was burying kitchen scraps in the bed a couple weeks ahead. Mixed the native clay we have here with some forest floor compost/mulch and mulched properly with "fallen tree" bark after planting to inoculate with m. fungi. It's mid July, and I'm 80% happy. The Early Girls are getting blighty, so let the nail biting begin. Been a perfect spring into summer weather pattern. A bit on the humid side. No bad storms yet. Thanks for the good info and glad I found your site!
Here's to a bumper harvest Jeff!
Thanks growing loads of different kinds looking forward to seeing what ones work
This season, I shall mostly be growing 'Big Mama', 'Marmande', 'Garnet', 'tumbling toms (both red and yellow) in hanging baskets, and some 'Gardener's delight'.............we love our Toms.......:)
Outta of the millions of stuff to watch on internet ! This is the most calming and wonderful to watch!! Keep up the good work!! 🙂
Cheers Dean, will do!
I had great success with campari tomatoes two years ago. This year, my seedlings are already looking great, can't wait to plant them outside. Here in zone 7, I don't have a long wait until I can.
I have been saving my seeds for generations, keeping the seeds from the healthiest plants/fruits. I usually grow about 12 - 15 San Marzano tomato plants to make sauce. I have had good success with several yellow tomatoes, like Yellow Boys and a yellow cocktail tomato, that a friend at work blessed me with, originally. They are quite prolific. Round that out with some Early Girls & 4th of July for an early harvest and some good ol' Beefsteak for sandwiches, etc.
The Aspirin was news to me, too. I will try that. I am also moving toward the leak/drip hoses instead of sprinklers that wet the leaves.
Lovely varieties there Roger. I think moving to leak/drip hoses will be such an improvement for your tomatoes, and will save a lot of water too. Good luck with this year's crop.
Perfect video thanks, this is my second year growing tomatoes and they were the most successful thing I had last year so hopefully with all your advice it will be even better this year
I think the seeds I have are gardeners delight
Great stuff - I'm growing those as well.
I grow Early Girl which is indeterminent. I only have room for 3 plants, but they come on early and continue to provide us with tomatoes until it freezes.
Blueberry tomatoes, Plum tomatoes, Early Girls, Yellow Pear tomatoes, Beefsteak. Thank you for sharing your videos with us. I got your book and am enjoying it. 🌻💕🌻💕
So pleased you're enjoying the book Linda, that's great to hear. Enjoy your yummy tomatoes!
My Favorite tomato to grow is the Black Krim Tomato, I just love the taste of it and its a nice dark colour as well. Victoria, Australia.
Superb variety!
Sweet 100" is my tried and true, go to strain. They are my all-time reliable continuous fruiting variety. They do very well here in NJ.
I moved to central TX a few years ago and have been struggling to grow tomatoes, the heat and humidity are tough! This year I started many varieties indoors and am hoping for the best! Atomic, blue cream, crazy berry, black cherry, spoon, purple bumble my fingers are crossed!
Keeping fingers crossed for you Carla. :-)
I have many Tomato plants this year, I have Big Boys, Cherry tomato, Beef Steak, Super Sauce, Heirlooms, Campari and a paste type tomato. I just love going into the garden and picking a cherry tomato and popping it into my mouth. Aw the love of tomato. I can them also for spaghetti sauce and salsa and of course Marinara sauce. Just love your videos keep them coming
Lots of lovely tomatoes there by the sounds of it. Always worth growing plenty. :-)
Very useful tip with aspirin. Will definitively try this year as tomato blight hit our allotments last year. Growing burlesque, outside so fingers crossed!
Same here Sandra! Fingers crossed!
You are the best mate! Can't thank you enough for all this. Your book has just arrived too. I'm looking forward to receiving the extra chapter :)
Top man! Glad it's arrived, and I hope you enjoy it. I believe the bonus chapters are being sent out imminently. Thanks again for your support - and get on and do more videos yourself once you have the time. I'll be keeping a beady eye out!
I am putting in (from seed) Cloudy Day. Developed in England which I think is cute as a Brit living and gardening in Breezy Point NY!
That's a great job! Lovely to have that connection. :-)
Ben, I subscribed today, after watching several of your videos, I am impressed by the quality. No need to beg for people to like your videos when you do a great job producing them. I love tomatoes, but it is hard to grow them here in Hawaii.
Thanks so much for subscribing Daryle - welcome!
I live in Southern US. I'm growing black krim and peruvianum from seed. I've grown the balm trim before and they are lovely, first time with peruvianum.
I’m growing Gardener’s Delight and Sungold this year. Thanks for the tips!
I'm going to try the aspirin trick. I live in south Alabama (US), and the heat and humidity often lead to tomato disease. Every year I have vines loaded with beautiful green tomatoes to take a wilt and die. This year I am growing Park's Whopper, Better Boy, Roma, Cherokee Purple, German Queen, Triple L, and Mortgage Lifter. Tomatoes are one of my favorite things to grow. Thanks for the helpful videos!
Some super varieties there Lisa.
Thank you for that UV trick with the horn worms! My chickens refuse to eat them so I have to get after them myself ;)
Good tip too, chickens love tomatoes so if you can't eat them all, your chickens will, and they'll thank you with free fertilizer later!
I like that - closing the loop on the system. :-)
I am sorry to hear that you have to eat the horn worms : )
@@50sorrowC Eeew lol
Appreciate the tips! I’m growing 4 varieties in middle TN; early girl, big boy, better boy & celebrity. #hopeful!!
I have been growing "Tropical Ruby" for the past 6 years and have turned on many of my allotment association mates with this small plum type tomato with such a great taste. Very easy to grow either in the greenhouse or outside on the plot.
Will put this on trial list...
Great video and I love your dog in the background! ❤️
Well spotted - she's a new addition and loves to garden too!
I’m in Virginia in the US (zone 7a) and tomatoes are well-suited for our hot, summer climate. This year, I’m growing 4 heirloom varieties - mortgage lifter, white tomesol, Belgian giant, and pink lady.
I've heard great things about Mortgage Lifer.
Thanks for your video
After watching this I have finally succeeded in growing large tomatoes
Mine use to rot and I would hardly have any yo cook with
Thank you
Brilliant! So pleased to hear that Gabby.
Thanks Ben! Love your videos!
Thank you so much for these tips ! I appreciate the time put into this. Very helpful
I absokutely love your channel! I will be growing tomatoes for the first time this year 🍅😍🍅
Best of luck with them - they'll taste amazing!
Ben great tips on what you said about tomatoes and I have done all that you have said this yr but I watched a video and they sprayed asprin at the early stage of growing the plant
Thank you for your streams...i now have my own garden in 50yrs and normally kill every plant i have owned. But i have turned to gardening and growing my own veg. I am growing moneymaker toms. I have 15 plants but have been worried about the poor weather we have had in the UK...BUT will take up your advice. Thanks again
Great to hear Terrie. It has been unusually cool hasn't it - hopefully things will warm up just a little soon.
Wonderful info. I grow in Arkansas, hot and dry. I'm going to try aspirin this year.
In the Pacific Northwest I have had wonderful results for years with a variety called Bloody Butcher. They produce early, are big enough for slicing, and have wonderful tomato taste. They continuously produce throughout the season until the first frost.
Great to have found such a prolific cropper there Bill.
your videos are super clear and helpful, full of useful info and entertaining too! thank you
My favorites to grow are Cherokee Purple, Black Krim and German Green! Love the aspirin tip! Love every video! Thanks! ❤️
Thank you, Ben! Awesome video!
We always have ours split in the autumn! I think the sudden and prolonged rain makes them swell tok much
I think you're right - always happens with mine too.
@@GrowVeg 😆 it’s such a pain!
another fab and informative video ,,im growing goos ole money maker but also for the first time tumbling toms in my baskets and tigrella a funky looking stripy one cant wait to eat well this summer ,
I grew Early girls last year and I did the aspirin, epsom salt, crushed egg shells and chopped banana peels in the dug out hole covered by a thin layer of soil (to prevent root burn) before adding the tomato plant at an angle to encourage root growth. I had a wonderful yield!!!
On another note, I've only just found your channel and I can't tell you how excited I am! I did an entire year of permaculture courses and feel as though I gained less useful information than what I'm getting from you 😅 I am going on my 3rd year of gardening in Colorado and every year I gain a little more knowledge and confidence. You've easily increased my knowledge 1000% haha! Thank you so so much for the time and energy you take to make these videos!
Bless you Natalie, that's so kind of you to say! So pleased you're finding the videos useful. It's great to hear your experiences of adding all those goodies to the planting hole too - sounds like it really worked for you! :-)
Super clear! Thanks! 😊It may be a bit late now, but hopefully I can get some leeway with the cooler Scottish weather!
May be worth starting with young plants if you haven’t sown them already. 😀
@@GrowVeg I will - thanks for your advice! Hope slugs in my garden will be more merciful on young tomatoes. Oh, I just watched your other video on slug control. Looks like there isn't a quick and easy way to get rid of them - I just need more patience and persistence. Thanks!☺
Thanks for the aspirin trick. This year I am growing tomatoes from seed. Federle, Igleheart yellow cherry, and currant gold rush from Seed Savers Exchange.
Delicious!
@@GrowVeg will the aspirin treatment be suitable for peppers as well? Planning on plant tomatoes and pepper in the same section of the yard. If the aspirin isn't good for peppers I will have to rethink my layout.
Thanks for the great information Ben! I've never had a garden spot with enough sun to grow tomatoes. This year I do. I have a dozen Cherokee purple plants and eleven German pinks. I also have two cherry tomatoes growing in containers. They're in the ground and slowly growing. I wish I had found your videos before I got started. At least from this point on I start using your suggestions.
Thanks Lonnie. Look out for our upcoming video on tomatoes too - coming out sometime in June. :-)
Perhaps try the 42 day version, thats the name of it "42 day tomato"
Tips of the tomato trade. Great alliteration!
Glad you spotted that, thanks!
Great video, tfs, Laura🍅🍅 🍅
San Marzano growing here is NC and will be planted soon! They are the best tomatoes for mans prostrate health according to my nutritionist friend and flavor and germination of Bakers Creek seeds are wonderful!
Very good for sauces too.
Here in South Florida - 10B we also use an anti-acid like Tums full of calcium
First time I have heard or read anywhere such a complete guide. Do so agree about growbags. Have comparative data - yields when grown in containers and when grown in grow bags- cultivated like for like.
Hi Tony. Thanks for your comment on this, it's good to know others' experiences on this too.
I use the seeds from shop bought tomato’s works for me. 🍅
You are perv ,but i like you .
Thanks for the aspirin tip, and about planting them deep plus a wealth of other tips! I have Costoluto Fiorentino, Marmande, San Marzano and Santini. I used to live in Italy so I have a fondness for the Italian varieties, I make and freeze a ton of basic pasta sauce cooked with the San Marzano.
San Marzano is the very best for sauces! Great stuff!
Do you have a particular recipe you love? Also do you can it or only freeze it?
So happy TH-cam put you in my recommendations! I subbed right away. Great tips, short format! Thank you so much!
Cheers for the sub! :-)
I've grown vine tomatoes for three years now and have had great success with huge yields. I remove the suckers every day. My vines grow over 2m tall!
Wow, that’s very tall!
Went a bit adventurous with the tomato options this year:
Costoluto Fiorentino
Noire de Creme
Sungold
Green Zebra
Indigo Rose
Never heard about the aspirin trick before, will have to give it a go!
Nice selection - enjoy!
Hi Ben, Enjoy your videos. I grow some Tom's in small grow bags, but I cut grow bag in half, stand on end make holes in the then bottom for drainage. I then plant the tom plant beep in the compost. You can retrieve some of the compost from the bag and use later to top up the bag as the plant gets bigger.
That sounds like a much more thorough way of giving your toms the support and sustenance they need.
You can add it to one of your tips programs if you wish.
wonderful enthusiasm and thanks for the Aspirin-tip, will check it out.
Such well done videos!
I'm growing Black Cherry, Red Robin and Sweet Million this year. So excited to see how they all fare 😀🤞
Some cracking varieties there Holly.
I've gone into market gardening this year! Will have to put these tips to good use to and make the most of the limited space in my greenhouse! Thanks for the tips!
I grind egg shells try putting them dry in an old jam jar and crushing them with an end of a rolling pin, I also do this for my wormery and composter
Great idea.
@@GrowVeg sorry about mistakes I typed it on a mobile I hate mobile but it was late when I replied
@@Chris-pv2ht once finished cooking in oven I put egg sheels on tray then in oven till it goes cold and crush in old Mortar and pestle, G.
I had blight last year due to reduced air flow inside of my greenhouse (my first year working with it) - so this year I will get more air to my tomatoes but also the asprin trick is genius! A "vaccine" of sorts for the tomatoes! Great!
i live in tx, us. and ive never seen those grow bags before lol thats different also ive never heard of anyone adding aspirin to their garden! i guess ive been watching the wrong garden channels! thanks for the info!
As always great tips! Thank you.
I am growing Beef Steak; big Boy; Cherry; Yellow Pear; yummy and thank you for sharing your advise.
Here in Ontario I start my tomatoes indoors around Earth Day, for planting outside late in May. any sooner and they end up too leggy! I like to grow a colourful variety that look pretty on a platter - Green Zebra, Summerpink, Golden Queen, Old Flame, Black Krim and Glamour are some of my favourites. I have always added crushed eggshells but have never tried the aspirin trick. Looking forward to that!
Some lovely varieties you're growing there Jane - such a stunning range. :-)
Thanks for this video!
I am starting seeds today in greenhouse - San Marzano, Italian Red Pear, Brandywine, some cherry tomatoes I keep saving from seed prior year (no idea what it is - but dogs and I all love to snack on them in garden) - And this year I am starting bush beef steak seeds from plant I got at store 2020 - grew in big pots on my deck and they had a ton of fruit. Thanks for the tips
How nice to have a healthy at-the-ready garden snack like that. :-)
@@GrowVeg Do you spray the aspirin concoction as tomatoes come into bloom (generally I find seems to be in waves) or does one application on first round of buds all you need. And, yes cherry tomatoes, green beans, snap peas, radishes and the little muncher cucumbers rarely make it to the house. My dogs are cherry tomato addicts and I have to chase them out of the beds.
Great video! One other thing to note with regard to blossom end rot is although a shortage of calcium is the reason it happens, the real culprit is the pH of the soil. If the pH is not correct you can add all the calcium in the world and the plant won’t be able to take it up. Always a great idea to get a soil test done before planting
Sage advice Sharon, thanks for sharing that.
Thank you, great advice ❤️
All my seedlings are happily growing away in the conservatory lovely and warm from the house and lots of light, I don’t like my seedlings to get too big so I pot them quite deep regularly.
I like to keep short stubby plants with thick stems works well.
then when I plant them out they can just grow wild.
Brilliant video 👏🏻
Sounds like a good system there.
great tips as usual! Thanks for sharing!
Good tips, pruning too.
For more on pruning tomatoes, check out our sowing to harvest guide to tomatoes: th-cam.com/video/dV5C7rjT64c/w-d-xo.html
But I think a more in-depth video on pruning tomatoes is a good idea, so I may well revisit this at a later date.
Baxter's blush cherry tomato is what I'm growing. I saw my last night and said I have to lol
I'm growing, Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon ) from Kings Seeds. They did well last year 👍
Ohhh, those hornworms are going down this year! They can strip a tomato plant in a day if left unchecked, and they're hard to spot! Thanks for that awesome tip. Tomato varieties this year include Blue Berries, Rio Grande, Fox Cherry, and Brandywine. (And whatever volunteers this year, there's always a few ;)) Thanks from Zone 8/American Southwest.
It's amazing how the volunteers just pop up - often in the compost heap. They seem to do just as well!
Good tips. I know about aspirin and the black light for the worms. This is my 35th year growing tomatoes in Sacramento, Ca. This year I am growing Super Sweet 100's , Red Robin's and 1/4 Century's. Five of each type..
Nice mix of varieties there Stephen. You're clearly an expert after all those years growing tomatoes. :-)
I am experimenting by using fish heads and bones under the plants. Started the seeds off with a few chopped up bones under the potting mix, a few maggots, but they came up great. Doing it with chillis also
It will be very interesting to see how they do with that bone mix.
I’m growing cherry Roma and slicer. Thank for the aspirin tip hopefully it helps here in the heat of Texas
Looking foward to growing cherry roma as well someone promised me a couple of plants...
Love your garden mate!
Thanks! :-)
Never heard about the Aspirin tip. I am growing a cherry tomato called 'Gardeners Delight'. Here in the UK.
I will be growing Tiny Tim Cherry Tomatoes and will use the aspirin spray to improve the plants. For the egg shells, will be making a calcium solution to fertilize the plants...one tablespoon ground egg shells dissolved in one tablespoon white vinegar and added to one gallon water once the shells have been dissolved.
Enjoy your channel and the helpful suggestion given to make gardening fun and productive. Thank you.
Thanks for watching. Great idea to make a solution out of the egg shells.
I'm growing Mariana's Peace for the first time. It is rated in the top 3 for taste. Let's see in the summer
Excellent! Just ran across your channel. Enjoy your content. I am in FL, have a yard made out of fill - crushed concrete and sand, so have to grow everything in containers. Had good success with Green Peppers, some types of tomatoes, especially the native, Everglade Tomato. It grows like a weed, sets fruit year round, but is the size of a grape. Tastes great, and produces a ton.
Oh wow - that sounds like the perfect tomato!
I've gone a bit tomato mad this (my 2nd) year. I'm trying Tigerella & Outdoor Girl from saved seed, & also growing.... Latah, Logos, Cedar, Purple Ukraine, Stupids Aurora & a favourite from last year Dwarf House Cherry which is fabulous in hanging baskets. Such a tiny tiny plant that grows soooo many tomatoes considering its size! Thanks for the great tips!
Best of luck with all those Lucy - I hope you'll be able to make use of them all!
Great channel, Here is the south USA I have bad disease pressure here and sometimes its hit or miss with what varieties really work well, many of the cherrys like midnight snack do well here, and sometimes can get production out of my favorites like pink brandywine and cherokee purple, each season I improve and learn more in getting better healthier plants and yield
What an awesome caterpiller, that would be the greatest thing in my garden.
Just one of those caterpillers will reduce a whole tomato plant to sticks and stems overnight. You don't want them. Trust me.
@@feralcat8612 I would trade a thousand tomatoes for 1 of those caterpillars, if they touched my raspberries I might get a little pissed off.
@@shawns0762 I pick them off, and raise them indoors with the kids. This will be the third year growing tomatoes in this area, and over the past two years, we only got a single Tobacco Hornworm. No Tomato Hornworms yet. They're so cool, and I intentionally grow extra to be able to pluck leaves from the plants without sacrificing the harvest. I do the same with dill for the lovely Black Swallowtail Butterflies, and grape vine for the really cool looking Achemon Sphinx Moths. To encourage Sphynx to lay eggs, I plant evening blooming flowers like Four O'Clocks, so they have nourishment for all life stages. I hope to have Zebra Swallowtail Butterflies when the Pawpaws get a bit bigger. We've planted milkweed for the Monarchs, but haven't seen any over the past few years. In the areas where I haven't been able to set up a proper garden, but it isn't visible as a problem area with the city, I let a few thistles grow for the Painted Lady Butterflies. The local bees love the wild daisies, salsify, borage, alfalfa, and dandelions around the edges of the garden. There's also the added benefit of getting extra nitrogen in the soil from the alfalfa, and the borage digs up nutrients from way down in the soil, to make it accessible to the garden when it dies back in the winter. The dill and borage especially bring in lots of happy ladybugs and praying mantis, too, so they help to keep the more problematic insects in line. It's fun to share the garden, and teach the kids about all the cool critters in this world. It gives an opportunity for generation after generation of wonderful pictures, too. If you hand raise the "pest" caterpillars inside, you control which leaves they eat, and don't have to worry as much about any specific plant being stripped bare. Also, you get the added benefit of extra pollinators for your garden.
@@gardennerd1757 I remember when I was 7 and there was a field behind our house on Long Island with a lot of milkweed plants that's when I first discovered monarch caterpillars. I often find praying mantis eggs and put them in my garden, they keep the bugs away and some wild cats keep the birds away. I am into Pawpaws too, went to a festival in Ohio last year. Where do you live?
@@shawns0762 Colorado, in zone 5b. How about you?
I'm really hoping the pawpaws do well here. They're supposed to be hardy in zone 5. We just got them last year, so this spring is their first big hurdle. If all goes well, we'll have pawpaws, persimmons, peaches, plums, apricots, pears, crabapples, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, honeyberries, currants, gooseberries, elderberries, chokecherries, strawberries, rhubarb, and sunchokes as permanent producers in the yard, as well as the annual garden I set up each year. (Most of those have already started producing, but a few have yet to arrive and be planted.) The peaches and apricot were started from pits, and the biggest was planted 4 years ago. Full-fledged garden-nerd here.
Aside from raspberries, what types of plants do you grow?
It's really cool that you're able to move the mantis ootheca to your yard. They're so very helpful! Neighbor cats frequent the garden, but we still manage to get some squirrels, rabbits, mice, and birds as visitors.
Another great video. I always use aspirin spray on my tomatoes every 2-3 weeks. It helps with disease prevention here in the sub-tropics and the fruit are much tastier.
That's great to hear Peter, thanks.
Still holding off (with difficulty!) another 3 weeks before planting. Frost warnings past 2 nights- in MAY!!! Nights won't be 10degrC/50F for soil warmth until then. Highly unusual. But my first year starting from seed (way too early, mind you) are Gold Medal, Early Girl, Rainbow, Mr. Ugly, Sweet 'n Neat and some unnamed cherry from Mom that goes crazy! I'm going to try cordoning this year, as have little soil and do a lot in containers. Had a donor last year called 'Polish' tomato. Never seen one so abundant. Hope I get one this year. Several other veg on the go too. Thanks for your efforts; I have truly enjoyed your videos over the past couple of years and have learned so much I've placed well in our Hort Club competitions
So pleased you've found this video useful. Here's hoping the frosts end soon for you!
All indeterminate cherry or truss tomatoes, trellised up cattle panel arches: Verona, Valentine, Sweet Million, and new this year, Midnight Snack. Extreme northwest Missouri, zone 5a-ish. In addition to eating daily in season, we dehydrate many pounds for use through the rest of the year.
Sounds like you grow an absolute load of tomatoes - great stuff! :-)
First time growing from seed. Roma, coeur de boeuf, marmande.
Some crackers in there - really hearty toms.
For snail & slug control, try Escar-Go from Garden's Alive, Lawrenceburg, IN, USA. Sprinkle it under the plants to attract; causes them to stop feeding. I'm in Northeastern USA, will be planting 4th of July, Early Girl, Jetstar and Sweet 100"s this year and will try Sandwich Slicer for the first time. I try a new tomato every year, but have yet to find something different that I like enough to grow more than 2 years in a row other than the 4 that I mentioned - will keep trying. Will definitely try the aspirin. Thanks for sharing that!
Good on you for persisting with trying new varieties - you never know when you might find a new winner.
I'm growing Oregon Spring and Dwarf Mary's Cherry. Thanks for the tips!
That aspirin trick is new. I'll try it. thx. This year, I will try grafting tomatoes for the first time. I'm wondering if that would really yield stronger and more tomatoes. I usually sow too many seedlings and half of my street is growing my tomatoes. Happy Spring!
Grafting sounds like a great project. I know if you match the right rootstock to the right variety you can get some incredible results.
Great videos Ben
Each year I grow Rio Grande, Amish Paste, Yellow Pear, Sweetie Cherry, and Pineapple varieties. I usually find a new one at a local plant sale to try.
Great varieties there!