Tomato Master Class - all are welcome
Lots happening in the garden right now, but planting tomatoes is not one of them! Come learn why, how & when to plant this year.
It’s May! Know what that means? Harvest time.
If you planted your spring garden in the last week of March and first two weeks of April (like we talked about) then right about now you should be harvesting some baby lettuce leaves, waiting on the radishes to fully mature and anticipating your snap pea harvest. Your hardy herbs should be full and flowering! Harvest those, too - they’ll grow back fast.
Longer-to-grow crops like broccoli and kale will start to come into maturity later this month at earliest, so don’t panic.
It’s been a dry spring. Make sure you are watering daily! If your plants aren’t putting on much growth just now, it’s likely that water or lack of sun are the culprit. How much should you be watering, you ask? Short answer: I dunno! All soil compositions are so different, and everyone has varying sun exposure, so there is no ONE right answer.
Long answer: water, wait a few hours, then go test your soil to see if water is being retainted. To test, dig down one shovel deep (about 5 inches) and grab a small fistful of soil. If the soil holds together, like a slightly wet dough, your watering is perfect! If it’s drier than that, water more. If it’s wet and soggy, water less.
The last week of April and first week of May are great weeks to step back and take stock of next-best-plans. The FIRST of our summer crops - beans, cucumbers, zucchini and melons can be sown mid-month UNDER A CLOCHE. It’s still too cold for those seeds to germinate on their own. You can sow them if you have space in your beds, or wait until the first week of June (and even later - more on that in early summer) like I suggested doing when I gave you this yearlong plan.
Tomatoes get planted after the middle of the month, when temperatures are slightly warmer and more consistent. There, I said it: TOMATOES.
I know you’re all chomping at the bit, ready to move your tomato starts outdoors, but it’s not a good time. Want to learn why? Then please join me in this FREE Tomato Master Class where I walk you through when to plant, how to plant and how to care for & support you tomato plants all year long.
Tomato Master Class : May 10th, 5:30pm
I am VERY PASSIONATE about tomato-growing because there is so so much bad information out there, that I’m breaking my own rule and inviting ALL subscribers to this class. Even those of you who only signed up for the free version. (And, honestly - the paid version is worth every penny.)
SAVE THE DATE: May 10th, 5:30pm
YOU MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR THIS CLASS: Register
(The class recording will be available after broadcast ONLY for paid subscribers.)
This online class is for those of you that have serious questions & truly want to learn. We are not doing a shallow skim of basic how-tos — I am offering STEP BY STEP details and we will cover how & when to plant and cultivate tomatoes in your garden this year, whether in soil or a container. You can ask specific questions about your garden or space - like a one on one consultation with others.
Tomato misinformation shocks me every year. Nurseries are already pushing you to buy starts (don’t do it), landscapers are planting them out (don’t do it) and even people that kinda look like they know what they’re doing (hobby-instagram-gardeners, I’m lookin’ at you) are planting tomatoes, but like I said - don’t do it.
Typically, free courses are only offered to those that subscribe, but how else will people learn how to properly grow tomatoes?! Come learn why we wait! You’ll be like…..”ohhhhhh, now I get it!”
SAVE THE DATE: May 10th, 5:30pm
ALL SUBSCRIBERS MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE FOR THIS CLASS: Register
I will send all paid-subscribers an updated What to Plant Now list of edibles within the next 2 weeks, as spring advances, but for anyone who missed it, you have a FULL LIST here for April, and all of these plants can still be planted this week!
And case you missed it, here’s some more great info and plants you can grow…..
Raspberries! Learn how to pick the best canes for your space (& temperment!)
Need seed? Fellow (paid) subscribers are happy to share!
If you think somethings up with your soil or your veg/herb leaves are turning yellow, have it tested - it’s free for Seattle property owners.
And finally, YES - you can still grow potatoes! Here’s how. And here’s a little video I made showing how to find and cut the potato seed, isolating the ‘eye’.
Hope to see you all in class soon!
Lettuce-ly Yours,
amyp oxo
ps - for any free subscribers ready to up their garden game, please & thank you