How To Keep Tomatoes From Splitting

Tomatoes split their skin when they have not been watered regularly.  If they have gone through a dry spell and then are suddenly watered, the tomatoes skin may split.

I once had a tomato plant that I forgot to water for a week.  When I realized how dry the soil was, I watered the tomato plant immediately.  Within a few hours, all of the tomatoes fell off my tomato plant. I didn't get any tomatoes that year!

Lesson learned:  Water your tomato plants regularly!

Do I Water The Leaves Or The Dirt?

When I was a new gardener, I would water the plants leaves and the dirt because I never knew where to water.  Now that I have been gardening for decades, I have learned where to water the plants.

When you water your garden, water the dirt!  The water is pulled into the plant by the roots.  The roots are what need the water.

Watering the leaves of a plant could actually damage it.  It could promote mold growth.  The only time I recommend watering the leaves is if you have aphids.  

You could normally find aphids on the underside of the leaves.  Give them a strong spray of water to knock them off the plant.

So remember, water the dirt, not the leaves!

We Finally Have A Tomato That Is Turning Red!

We planted our Big Boy Tomatoes in early spring.  I am just now seeing our first red tomato of the season!  Yay!  Our tomato plant produced and is still producing enough tomatoes to get our whole family (of 4) through the summer.  As you can see, our tomato plant has already reached the top of our privacy fence.  It must be the Miracle Grow Soil and the fact that I didn't overcrowd the plant this year.

Our Pepper plant has doubled in size since my last post.  Two of the pepper plants have flowers only on them and one has flowers and peppers!