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Monday, May 07, 2012

Score one for the hippies.

Where's that smoke coming from?

So, technically, the Cherokee Purple was tied with the Berkeley Tie Dye tomato for the win, but since I'm the All Powerful Oz around here (remember...) I went with the Berkeley Tie Dye because, well, obviously.

Also, if I put in both plants I might lose the dog in the overgrowth.

Right in the line of fire, there.

Because I don't prune my tomato plants like everyone else in creation. I'm actually starting to feel a little weird about the fact that I don't prune my tomatoes since everyEFFINGone does this.

Do YOU prune your tomatoes? Does it help with yields? Are you able to grow more plants and get the same yields in the same small space?

These are things I need to know, people, if I'm going to ever entertain the idea of pruning my tomatoes.

For now though, no pruning.

I expect 50 lbs of tomatoes per plant and I have The Fear of ruining those yields with flights of fancy called Pruning.

So, yeah, unless you can convince me otherwise, I Shalt Not Prune.

I SHALL, however, rip shit out of my landscaping to make room for just the one tomato because why the hell not, right?

Also, this looks better than before anyway.

So, yeah, gigantic overgrown rosemary bush OUT, hippie tomato IN and the dog takes naps - not bad for an Adopt a Crop update.

Then, maybe later this season this plant will do something productive and I'll be able to provide one of you lucky freaks with a weird little something produced from this weird little plant.

Would you like that weirdness?

Thought so.

Freaks.
at

8 comments:

  1. Pattyskypants5/07/2012 4:59 PM

    I seem to have better yields by leaving them alone. And by "better" I mean that I am happy with them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. IMQTPI5/07/2012 6:55 PM

    Never "pruned" here - although I have heard-tell of folks who do. Can't opine whether one is better than the other (pruners vs. non-pruners) but I lean toward the "Don't Prune and Let Nature Decide..." (Only b/c I've always been on the "Non-Pruner" side of the equation!!!)...

    I actually plan to "double-plant" my Maters this year (two, per-hole/cage) (b/c I went FREAKING NUTS at the Santa Clara Master Gardener's Sale) and I *don't* have enough space for all the sh*t I purchased this year!!! (PLUS the Finny-Farm Additions! Oooops!). So I am anticipating "half-production," per-plant, which should STILL be MEGA-PRODUCTION for my Summer-Garden, this year!

    Did I P*ss and Moan about my "Volunteers" that came-up from LAST YEAR'S GARDEN??? Holy sh*t! That - PLUS the 20+ plants I got from the Master-Gardeners' Sale *AND* the Finny Farm???

    Okay, I really *shouldn't* b*tch, right???

    This will be a BANNER YEAR for 'maters!!! Definitely for ME, and HOPEFULLY, for you, too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. elizabeth5/07/2012 8:40 PM

    I prune since I grow tomatoes on vertical trellis in the greenhouse. If I lived in CA, I might just let the plants be free and go wild. Is that one or two tie dye plants in that cage? It looks like you planted two back to back, do you do that in all your cages?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FinnyKnits5/08/2012 9:50 AM

      Actually, I think that is two plants in that one cage - when I potted them up from their tiny cells, some were real closely tangled at the roots, so I just potted them up together so they wouldn't get mangled in the untangling.

      Mangled untangling - good band name.

      Anyway, yes, that's two plants and no, I don't usually do that. We'll see what tragedy will unfold.

      Delete
  4. Heather5/07/2012 9:19 PM

    Prune? pr...ooone. Huh. I keep hearing that it is a good idea, but I have had awesome yields while never messing with the plants. Of course, I live in a desert, so the added sprawl may add to the little micro-climate that the tangle of green causes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FinnyKnits5/08/2012 9:51 AM

      I like to think that the sprawl keeps the soil cool and the moisture in - which is good. Also, where there are tomato plants growing, weeds don't stand a chance, so that's good.

      Delete
  5. bittenbyknittin5/08/2012 3:53 AM

    Once upon a time, I pruned my tomatoes. Or rather, I would prune for a while, then forget about it. Now I just skip to the forget about it part. I am experimenting with square foot gardening this year and will be planting 16 Roma plants into one 4'x4' bed, with no pruning or staking. We'll see how THAT works out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FinnyKnits5/08/2012 9:52 AM

      ARE YOU EFFING SERIOUS? That sounds wild. I've never done the SFG thing, but every time I read through the book and see a tomato plant in that small space I harken back to memories of all of my tomatoes and laugh.

      I am very interested to see how yours does. I'm imagining...tomato hedges. LUCK!

      Delete

[2013 update: You can't comment as an anonymous person anymore. Too many douchebags were leaving bullshit SPAM comments and my inbox was getting flooded, but if you're here to comment in a real way like a real person, go to it.]

Look at you commenting, that's fun.

So, here's the thing with commenting, unless you have an email address associated with your own profile, your comment will still post, but I won't have an email address with which to reply to you personally.

Sucks, right?

Anyway, to remedy this, I usually come back to my posts and post replies in the comment field with you.

But, if you ever want to email me directly to talk about pumpkins or shoes or what it's like to spend a good part of your day Swiffering - shoot me an email to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom.

Cheers.