Should You Prune Your Tomatoes? By Eudora DeWynter

There is a familiar question among gardeners as to whether or not you should or should not prune you garden tomato plants. The fact is that tomatoes don't really need to be pruned; it is more of a choice of preference and choice to the individual gardener him/herself.

Most gardeners that do prune simply just pinch off the side shoots (suckers) of the plant depending on what type of tomato that they are growing. Pruning is basically and simply thinning the plant to prevent its becoming too top heavy, causing leaning and often splitting of the plant when they have grown out of control.

Indeterminate tomato plants such as "Beefsteak", "Big Boy", "Brandywine" and early producing plants like "Early Girl" and "Celebrity" will generally die back before the end of the growing season because they produce earlier which is why they are often called semi-determinate varieties of tomatoes. Some indeterminate tomato plants depending on their growth habit will continue to grow and produce tomatoes all season long. Pruning you tomatoes will compact them, however it will also give you a smaller yield in fruit so if the stems are good and strong leaving some "suckers" on the plant will improve the crop, giving you more tomatoes to look forward to.

If you want to prune, prune out the suckers below the first flowers stems. Many gardeners say that this method improves and helps develop a stronger central stem while others choose to leave the suckers on the lower portion of the plant because they are easily staked.

Determinate tomato plants really don't need to be pruned at all. They are a more compact growing variety of plant that reaches a certain height and generally Stop Growing. When their branches are nearly fully grown the will start to produce their fruit, usually all at once. They will not keep re-producing so pruning is not necessary. These varieties include "Rutgers", "Marglobe" and some varieties of "Celebrity". Sometimes called bush tomatoes they are generally smaller than indeterminate tomatoes and are perfect if you want a large crop at one time.

Whether or not to prune or not to prune your plants is still a matter of preference and a personal decision and depending on your garden size. If you do decide to prune, Less is "better" for the plant; to get a feel of how well it will or will not respond. Pruning really is just an experiment of trial and error on the part of the growers to see what works, what works best and what doesn't work at all.

Eudora DeWynter offers tips on Should You Prune Your Tomatoes on her blog at http://www.gardentoolguru.com

Green Gardening Tips - The Top 10 Fruit & Vegetable Companion Plants By Liz Anderson

Organic Help for Green Gardeners

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to grow your own vegetables & fruit without having to worry about pests? If you have ever taken a morning stroll through your vegetable patch, only to find it decimated by slugs, snails, caterpillars or the like, you will undoubtedly agree. For some, the answer lies in pesticides and chemicals but for greener gardeners, this is not an option. Chemicals kill good insects as well as bad ones and sometimes the birds or animals that feed on them. So what is the answer for those trying to be more environmentally friendly? One method worth trying is companion planting.

Strictly speaking, companion planting is about more than just pest control. The idea is to set up communities of plants that help each other either by adding nutrients to the soil, providing support or shade, or attracting or repelling pests & insects. This last effect is the one that is most important for our purposes.

Companion plants can save the day by:

* masking the scent of other plants to which pests are attracted
* camouflaging plants that pests search for by sight
* attracting predatory insects to prey on pests
* acting as sacrificial plants to be eaten by pests in preference to the main crops

For the best chance of success, your companions need to be planted at the same time as your crops. That way they can be effective from day one. So here are 10 of the top plant combinations for healthy, pest free produce:

1. MARIGOLDS: probably the most generally useful of all the plant deterrents. African marigolds produce a substance called thiopene which repels nematodes. This is particularly good for protecting root crops & aubergines. Plant French marigolds liberally around your plot & amongst your vegetables, to repel aphids, white fly, carrot root fly & tomato worms. The strong smell of the flowers is believed to confuse pests and mask the smell of the surrounding crops. They are also considered delicious by slugs which will eat them in preference to your plants. Marigolds also attract predatory insects such as hoverflies which will eat aphids & other pests.
2. NASTURTIUMS: great for attracting black fly away from beans & caterpillars away from brassicas. They are not just sacrificial plants though & can repel aphids. Grow them for their looks & their flowers (delicious in salads!) too.
3. ALLIUMS: these are plants such as garlic, onion, leek, shallots, chives etc. It has been suggested that these plants can help to deter slugs as well as aphids & weevils. Certainly worth a try, although be careful about planting them near to beans & peas (legumes) as the antibacterial action of allium roots can adversely affect the bacteria in the root nodules of leguminous plants. Alliums inter planted with carrots can be very effective in deterring carrot fly & onion fly as both pests are put off by the scent of the other plant.
4. MINT: like the alliums, all types of mint can help to repel slugs. It is also a deterrent to ants, rodents, fleas & aphids and attracts hoverflies & predatory wasps.
5. BORAGE: attracts beneficial insects like bees & wasps and repels tomato & cabbage worms, so good for your tomatoes & brassicas. It is believed to improve the health of many other plants and their resistance to disease. Apparently improves the flavour & yield of strawberries when the two are grown together.
6. LOVAGE: attracts predatory wasps & beneficial ground beetles. Like borage, it is also thought to improve the health of almost all other plants around it, although it should not be planted near to rhubarb.
7. GERANIUMS: can be used as sacrificial plants to lure pests away from other crops. They are particularly effective for keeping leafhoppers away from tomatoes, peppers, & aubergines. They can also be beneficial in keeping pests away from roses & grapes.
8. SAGE: good for repelling bean pests and cabbage flies while attracting honey bees. Plant with cabbage beans & carrots for best effect.
9. YARROW: is supposed to increase the essential oil production of some herbs, a trait it shares with chamomile & anise. It can also be used in compost or as a mulch to improve soil quality.
10. OREGANO: repels aphids & provides good ground cover to protect other seedlings. Like marjoram and basil, it also helps to raise humidity levels for plants such as peppers.

These are just a few of the many beneficial plant partnerships available to green gardeners. For more information on companion planting and other green gardening ideas CLICK HERE

Garden Hopping Essentials - Notebook Pencil and Tape Measure By Thomas Fyrd

You need never hesitate to ask questions of the various owners while on a garden tour, garden owners are noted for their willingness to share their knowledge, and sometimes their plants! The roses that are so perfect... what is the spraying schedule... and what kind of sprayer is most satisfactory? How often is the lawn fertilized? Were the chrysanthemums started from divisions or cuttings?

Your notebook will soon become a priceless reference book, filled with answers to the problems of your specific locality.

Naturally, the flowers and plants you see will be an exciting adventure, for in May and June all the world seems a garden. Some kinds will be new to you, others will be old sorts that you had forgotten, and some, perhaps the most thrilling of all, will be familiar favorites used in unfamiliar ways.

I shall never forget the enchanting picture of hundreds of columbines blooming beneath the arching branches of an ancient elm, the sunlight filtering through in just the right measures to assure six or eight weeks of bloom from these happy and dancing flowers.

And who could think of anything to mitigate the commonplace look of a barberry hedge? But one homeowner did when he planted at its base a wide band of Pachysandra terminalis (spurge). The different heights of the two kinds of plants added great interest, and the green of the pachysandra provided a wonderful foil in fall and winter to the scarlet fruits of the barberry.

But you must not let the beauty of the individual plants distract from some of the basic principles of design. There are many months when the size and shape of a flower bed will have as much to do with your pleasure in it as its colorful contents in the spring. When one particularly pleases you, measure its width in relation to its length; the width of the paths: and note also what relation they all bear to the adjacent grass area. Proportion is a subtle thing that can delight you with its unobtrusive perfection.

Your pleasure will be greater, too, if you can follow a path that takes you through the garden one way and brings you back another, without retracing your steps. And it may give you the chance to discover the little mowing strip of bricks laid on sand that outlines the shrub border: the compost pile artfully hidden behind a large shrub in a tiny yard of handkerchief size; the hedge-like edging of ordinary lemon thyme around an herb garden; and the wonderful adaptability of lily turf (liriope) to both sun and shade, and its rich accent in perennial beds.

And always you must be alert to see how the homeowner has achieved privacy, "the most priceless heritage of civilized man." Even with the smallest of yards it is possible, and the more discouraging the problem the greater will be your delight in its solution.

I have in mind a house with a picture window at the side, floor length, looking into an open garage less than 40 feet away. A formal lily pool was built at the base of the window, the side opposite the window semi-circular in shape. This same curve was repeated in a tall hedge of privet along the side boundary, and in this recess was a charming stone figure with urns of white petunias near by. Simple, serene, and inexpensive, yet in the hot summers of Mid-America, what could give greater illusion of coolness than the clear water, the green lawn, and snowy flowers against the rich, dark background of smartly trimmed hedge?

The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of small backyard landscaping ideas. Visit us for lots of free information at plant-care.com.

Green Gardening Tips - How To Tell When Your Root Vegetables Are Ready By Liz Anderson

4 HANDY TIPS FOR 'GROW YOUR OWN' GARDENERS

Growing your own organic vegetables can be a great experience. The environmental & health benefits of green gardening are well documented, but how do you ensure that your kitchen gets the best from your labours? Many gardeners who are new to vegetable growing find it difficult to tell when to harvest their crops, especially when the edible part is underground. Never fear! Here are some foolproof tips for picking ripe roots.

1. THE PACKET: this may sound a bit basic, but lots of gardeners don't keep hold of their empty seed packets. After all, who wants lots of messy bits of paper all over the place? Well that's fine, of course, nothing wrong with being tidy, but you might want to consider tucking them inside an old folder or tin, or recording some of the information on the back in a notebook, before you bin them. Most seed packets give guidance on when your vegetables should be ready to eat & this will at least give you an idea of when to start checking for maturity.

2. FOLIAGE: the leaves of the plant can often give clues about its readiness. Onions, shallots & parsnips are ready to lift when their foliage dies down. For onions & shallots, leave them in the ground for 2 weeks after the leaves turn yellow & flop over, then lift them & dry them for storage. Parsnips can be lifted gently with a fork for eating when their leaves die down. You can leave them in longer if you want, but cover the tops with a thick layer of straw to stop frost damage.

Foliage can also give a clue to the readiness of potatoes. For early varieties wait until the flowers or buds have withered (no earlier than June, normally) & then gently dig a little soil from around to tubers to see how big they are. The ideal harvesting size will depend on the potato variety. Main crop potatoes are harvested later in the year from September onwards when the foliage starts to die & turn yellow.

3. BEAUTIFUL BABIES: some root vegetables are delicious when immature. This includes carrots, turnips & beetroot. You can 'thin' your produce by pulling out small, young roots to eat as baby produce and leave the rest to grow & mature. It's a great way to reduce waste and have wonderful sugar sweet mouthfuls early in the season. Carrots can be picked any time after the green tops have sprouted & beetroot is best left until it reaches golf ball size (but don't let it grow bigger than a cricket ball before harvesting). Baby turnips are usually ready to eat around 6 weeks after sowing.

4 DIG IT: sometimes there is no option but to take a look see. Be as careful as possible when you dig up a 'trial' root - you don't want to damage the rest of your crop. Gently loosen the soil around the root with a fork or spade and then work it free. Carrots are considered mature when they reach a diameter of 2-2.5cm although you can leave them to get bigger if you wish. Like the parsnips, carrots need some protection from anything more than a light frost, so cover them with a layer of hay or straw if you want to leave them in the ground over winter. Swedes can be lifted as soon as they are big enough to use but can also be left in the soil and lifted, as required, through to spring.

One last piece of advice for perfect produce: make sure you harvest on a dry day if possible and leave your roots to dry before storing in a cool, dark place. Most roots store well for long periods, if kept correctly, so you can still be eating your autumn pickings well into the New Year. Bon appetite!

For more information on green gardening & organic produce, including money saving ideas, CLICK HERE

A Color Turn on With Daylilies By Thomas Fyrd

My experience with Daylilies began for me in my West Virginia garden. Although there had been gardening of the most delightful nature during the ten years we lived in Chile, South America, there had been no daylilies. When we returned to West Virginia the only daylilies I found at that time were the common roadside one and the sweet old lemon lily treasured for very early flowers. Each year they were among the first to bloom and will mingle sweet scented, light yellow flowers among nodding bells of snowflakes, spikes of white fraxinella and blue-starred spikes of camassia.

Then a friend who lived in their backyard landscape and garden selected for me a number to give successive bloom. That was a revelation, for previously I'd thought the daylily bloomed only in late June and for only a short time.

One of those selected was a good old-time variety cherished because it is in flower long before any of the so-called "early" ones of more recent introduction. This was the first to open of the list selected. It added so much interest among self-sown drifts of white sweet rocket.

An additional extra early sort was had which grew in grassy clumps and sent up bright golden orange to orange flowers along a border's edge.

Some years after I planted in my small backyard the first assortment I discovered two more early flowering varieties and hybrids. They were not so tall in the garden as many others. They flowered abundantly beside rich purple Iris virginica. Each flower of one variety added a dash of spice with novel black buds and stems among brown red flowers.

When established, 'Troy Hills,' a newcomer, rivaled many of the older ones for early flowering. This novelty was one of the most strikingly and vividly colored of the newer ones tried. The basic color is deep orange. Then there is a contrasting midzone of brown to deep maroon. Even on a small new plant the blooms have been plentiful.

Daylilies changed my world of outdoor gardening and the landscape with their beautiful bouquet of flowers allowing me to enjoy them from spring to fall.

The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of small backyard design. Visit us for lots of free information at plant-care.com.