In The Garden with Judy- Week 5
Wind, wind, go away, come again another day! The weather is finally warm and perfect for planting, but the spinning windmill in the garden is a sure sign that the weatherman’s prediction of gusts up to 65 mph may be right on target.
It’s not the best day to be transplanting tomatoes into the ground, but they’re longing for a permanent home, and if they aren’t settled in soon, the wind might break their tender stems or blow them down the street.
So, today, I’m going to tuck an Ace tomato and two Black Krim tomatoes into a raised bed. The first step is to gently ease them out of the containers. 
A unique feature of tomato plants is the root nodes that grow all along the stem. When the stem is covered with soil, these nodes become new roots. And, the more roots your tomato plant has…the more nutrients and moisture it can uptake for healthy production. So, the next step is to cut off the lower branches from the part of the stem that will be buried under the soil. (You want the lower stem to be 1/2 to 2/3 bare.)
Then, make a trench in the soil 3″-4″ deep and lay the stem and roots down in it horizontally, leaving the top ½ to 1/3 of the stem above the soil. Don’t try to force it upright; it will straighten up on its own as it grows and reaches for the sunlight. After that, insert a tomato cage on top, being careful to avoid damaging the buried part of the tomato plant. Now…water immediately! It’s easy to get caught up in other garden chores after this, thinking you will go back and water the tomatoes soon, only to forget and find that your newly transplanted tomatoes have wilted beyond recovery.
While the tomatoes will take up a lot of space in the bed, there will still be room to border them with some flowers. I’m choosing Little Gem Marigolds for one side (from transplants) and Nasturtium Peach Melba (directly sowed from seed) on the other. Some other good companion plants for tomatoes include: basil, borage, chives, and onions.
Finally getting tomatoes into the ground is a good feeling, but the best part of today is going to be lunch! I’ve got vigorous young crops of lettuce ready for thinning: Little Gem, Red Sails, Valentine Mesclun, and Tom Thumb. Before I started, I grabbed a big metal colander from the kitchen. Since I watered the beds last night, the soil is nice and soft, making the seedlings easy to pull. To thin, I pull out a small clump then pinch off the roots before tossing the baby greens into the colander. Doing it this way, makes it easy to get lots of ready-to-eat salad in a jiffy. As an added touch, I pinched off a few chive blossoms from a nearby bed, pulled them apart and scattered the petals on top of the salad mix. Once inside, I’ll give this lovely gourmet blend a quick rinse, and it’s ready for the table. It looks so elegant, I may have to set the table with candles to go with it! Nah…it’s too windy today to play with fire near the back porch. But, what a fun thought! 