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Great Gardens Simplified

 How to keep your tomatoes from cracking and splitting

Salmonella contamination of tomatoes has been in the news a lot lately, but that’s an unusual problem we rarely see, and probably not one you need to worry about in your own home garden.  There are more common problems the home gardener will face with tomatoes. It’s that time of year when people’s homegrown tomatoes are ripening and invariably I get the question, “Why are my tomatoes cracking?” or, “Why are my tomatoes splitting?”

I’ve heard all sorts of reasons offered, but the problem is pretty easy to explain.

The simple truth is that on the inside of the tomato, the fruit grows faster than the skin can develop and stretch to contain that fruit. Think “stretch marks”. Okay, so that’s the issue, but what can you do to prevent these so called “stretch marks”?

The trick is to regulate the growth of the fruit as much as possible.

Fluctuations in the temperature, fertilizer levels, or amount of water can cause the tomatoes to grow in spurts rather than at a gradual pace. A plant goes through a “hardening off” period after it has a spurt of growth, which would not occur if all of the growing elements (fertilizer, water, heat, etc.) remained somewhat constant. This “hardening off” happens to the fruit and the skin.  Once the skin has hardened off, if the fruit has another growth spurt, the skin will not be able to stretch to contain the fruit inside it, hence the cracking or splitting.  Your goal should be to keep your tomatoes growing at a steady, consistent pace, avoiding the hardening off period until they are ready to pick.

Here are some tips to help regulate the fruit development and avoid the cracking:

Water regularly and deeply. If you get a period of heavy rain, then you should reduce supplemental water. If you go on vacation, don’t soak them before you leave and let them go dry until you return, and soak them again. Use a sprinkler (drip preferably) on a timer, or hire the neighbor kid and give him a five minute training course on how to water consistently.

Be careful with the fertilizer. Buy a good vegetable fertilizer and follow the instructions, or better yet, use composted humus from your compost bin on a regular basis and avoid commercial fertilizers. Compost will both regulate the soil moisture and provide a steady level of nutrients. In either case, don’t load up with fertilizer in the beginning of their growth and then fertilize them again as the fruit sets. Use lighter doses on a more frequent schedule and never more than the manufacture says to use.

Watch the sun exposure. Like I said earlier, fluctuations in temperature are harmful. Mother Nature has control of the macro climate, but you can control to some degree the micro climate temperature. As some tomatoes mature, they tend to drop some of their leaves, and in some cases, it is even beneficial to remove some leaves. If lost leaves is the case with your vegetable garden, just make sure that fruit that was previously shaded is not exposed to direct sunlight when the temperature heats up. A simple shade structure should suffice.

Commercial growers take other steps like fertilizer adjustments based on rain water, but for the home gardener the above suggestions should suffice.
To reiterate, the enemy to growing nice, beautiful tomatoes is uneven growth rates.

Remember: your tomato plants need regular, even watering, compost or evenly spaced fertilizer applications, and limited direct sun exposure. Following these three suggestions should solve the splitting tomato problem. Oh, and one last comment, the split tomatoes may not look as pretty, but they taste just fine. Cut ‘em up and drop ‘em in a salad, or use ‘em for sauces!

Craig Rees Cowden

I love looking at all the photos of peoples gardens on the gardening blogs and wanted to share a few of mine. I’ve been without a functioning camera for a while now but recently found my charger and spent a few minutes shooting some photos of flowers in my yard. I hope you enjoy them.

Bougainvilleas and firebush on my patio

Firebush closeup

Allamanda

I need some help identifying this last one. I believe it’s a type of purslane. It has succulent foliage and the flowers close as the sun sets and reopen when the sun comes out. The flowers are so vibrant if anyone can help pin down the name I’d appreciate it.

I need to enjoy these all now as the summer rains will begin soon and blooms won’t last long. Hope you like.

Craig

  A problem I am asked for advice on regularly is how to stop my dog’s urine (or the neighbors’ dogs’ urine!) from killing my grass. There is an easy solution to the problem, but first let me tell you why this is happening so you’ll understand the solution better.All dog’s urine contains urea, a form of ammonia which converts to nitrates. Concentrated nitrates burn plants. It’s as simple as that! The level of urea will vary, with the first morning pee having the highest concentration. Urea can actually be good for your lawn if used in low doses; in fact, it’s a component of many fertilizers.

If you pay attention, you will see that the area immediately around a dead spot in your grass will actually be dark green and growing well. You would see a similar result if you poured a cup of fertilizer in one spot on your grass. The spot where you poured that fertilizer would probably die, but the surrounding areas would turn dark green. So you see, the problem is not necessarily the pee, it’s the concentration of the urea in the animals’ pee.

Here is the easiest fix:  Immediately dilute the pee.

How? Well, I suggest you keep a watering can at the ready, in the area where your dog usually goes.  As soon as she is done doing her thing, sprinkle a little water there and…presto!  Dilution complete! That should take care of the problem. See how easy that was? (Great Gardens Simplified)

I’ve heard the suggestion that you can add things like tomato juice to your dog’s diet, but that seems silly and probably won’t work. It’s not an acidity issue like some say.  Not to mention the fact that a dog with an upset stomach in the house is a worse problem than a dead spot on the lawn, if you know what I mean!

Another good suggestion is to train your pet to go only in one location. A good idea if you can do it, makes it easier to use the watering can in only one spot too.

I’ve also heard that Petsmart carries some supplement that you add to your dog’s food, but I don’t have any personal experience with it, and in general I’m against adding anything unnecessary to my pet’s diet.

Another good idea is to make sure your pet always has fresh water available so it can keep hydrated.  This will help dilute the level of urea in your pup’s urine naturally, and may be a sufficient solution in some cases without the need for a watering can.

So how do you fix existing dead spots in your grass that your dog has already killed? Repairing and patching is simple. Just scratch the dead lawn away, sprinkle a good portion of grass seed on the spot, cover it thinly with peat moss or some other organic mulch, and water it. In a few weeks the spot should begin to fade as the grass fills in. Make sure to try to match the grass seed with whatever type of turf you already have.

If you are planting a new lawn, I am told that perennial ryegrass and fescue are a little more tolerant of high urea levels, and they make a great looking lawn when blended together.

I hope this helps.

Craig Rees Cowden

Ok all you gardeners out there time for a quiz. Make your best guess as to what this is a photo of.

These copper leaves came out as one whirl, at the tip of the leader, and doubled in size each day. They went from nothing to 14 inches long in one week.

Here is another shot from a bit more distance. Can you guess what it is?

Hints:

• If you look at the background planting you will see that it is growing in a tropical region.
• It will only grow within 20 degrees of the equator.
• It does best as an understory planting.
• It likes to have daily rain and loves high humidity.
• I’m not growing it for its fruit but it is edible.
•  

Do you give up yet?

• Think warm drinks….humm……….no its not coffee.
• Think cake……..that’s too easy now….any guesses?
• Think syrup…….no…not maple, silly.

Ok one last hint.

• What I hope to harvest actually grows directly off of the trunk and branches and can get up to 12 inches long………HA!….no it’s not a banana, sorry.

  Okay enough teasing. It’s a Cacao tree, you know, where chocolate comes from. I bought this on one of my trips down to western Miami. I don’t expect it to produce anything for a few years though….Life fantasy 64 is to own a Cacao grove in the islands someday…  

• Craig Rees Cowden  
•  p.s.  Shortly I’ll be telling you where you can get your hands on a few of the seeds if you want to try making some chocolate yourself. 

Here is a progress report on our Mr. Potato project:

Back in March, Gracie’s grandmother assembled the parts for a fun project to do with kids I wanted to share with everyone. I called it Mr. Potatohead. I can remember from my own childhood doing the same project, and I thought Gracie would have fun watching her potato grow too.

We followed the instructions and half submerged the potato in a bowl of water. See earlier post  http://www.greensideupblog.com/?p=67#more-67 . Well, as it turns out, the project was a complete flop…… Even though we regularly changed the water, the potato only put out one scrawny root and then eventually rotted. And now from this experience, I can tell you that a rotting potato is deceptive. From the outside all looks well, like it is a normal happy potato, but the inside has secretly been turning to mush. Word of warning….never pick up a rotten potato with your bare hands! I’ll spare you the photos.  Suffice to say it is messy, stinky, and a pain to clean off your hardwood floors.

And now for the good news: Undeterred, we decided to make a second go of it. Grandma Maggie bought another potato, but this time I decided to let it develop some shoots first. I left the potato in a dry dark cabinet for about one month, and as you can see, the buds developed as expected. Now Gracie is going to give it another shot to see if we can make this one grow like I remember as a kid. Thanks Grandma Maggie. Keep you fingers crossed.

Rees

             What follows is a basic guide to growing and maintaining a successful grassy lawn in shady areas.  I’m going to be blunt in telling you that shade and grassy lawns do not sit well together.  The combination of deep shade and new sod just do not combine well.  However, I’m happy to provide some options those who choose to attempt to combine shade and a beautiful, grassy lawn.  Some will say that the combination is hopeless, and it is often true that the two do not flourish together but for those of you who choose to pursue, feel free to take a look at what I’ve provided solution-wise.

            First on my list of suggestions is to take a close look at your overhanging trees and decide how much trimming and pruning is feasible.  Penetration of light is your main goal.  As heavy as possible on the pruning is preferred, but please be careful not to compromise the shape or health of the tree.  For large trees, I strongly suggest hiring a Certified Arborist (give me a shout if you need suggestions on who to hire) so as not to cause unanticipated damage to the tree.  It is well worth the added expense, as you will be able to explain your goals and see end results that are contenting to you and your tree.  Please keep in mind that pruning will now become an annual maintenance, as once your tree is trimmed and pruned it will need to be kept in that condition.  This will help to avoid lack of proper light reaching your new sod and potentially killing your newly planted lawn. Low light equals no grass!

Secondly, you’ll need to remove any existing lawn or vegetation. I know, you’re likely groaning at the thought of clearing your property out but yes, it must be done! This can be accomplished manually with a shovel, rake or chemicals. You may decide for yourself which you are comfortable with. Personally, I prefer to limit the usage of chemicals unless absolutely necessary (see post on “Killing Poison Ivy”).  If you are going the chemical route you will still need to remove dead materials before beginning to spray.  I’ll advise you to spray the chemical mixture before digging, to kill vegetation.  Spray the area, grub/dig up the materials and wait to see what vegetation continues to sprout.  At this point, re-spray and continue this cycle until all weeds have diminished.  Note that a healthy lawn that grows vigorously will prevent the re-growth of the weeds. A common and safe chemical that can be used is Round-up, available at your local garden store.  For those against the usage of chemicals altogether, a method I happened upon is the purchase and laying of black plastic sheeting.  After testing, I’ve learned that this is just as successful a method for you to use. Completely cover the weeds with the plastic, let it remain in place for two weeks, water the area and watch for re-growth over the next few weeks.  Repeat this process until no new weed growth is noticeable and your soil appears sterile. The idea is for the plastic to starve and bake the weeds, killing them off completely.

            Thirdly, you must be certain that your drainage system is working correctly.  I often come across lawns with issues in shaded areas that have excess moisture present.  A properly-functioning irrigation system with good drainage is a must for a shaded, lush lawn.  As with the arborist, I’m happy to offer further advice related to irrigation and drainage upon your request.

             The next step in your project is to lay sod.  Seeding is a long process, and particularly frustrating to attempt in shaded areas.  Starting a lawn from seed is an option in some cases but with shade in large amounts it is wiser to begin with sod.  Trust me on this!

Sod selection depends on your location in the country.  A friend of mine, (whose question prompted this post) is located in Florida so I suggested that she use Empire Zoysia or Celebration Bermuda grass.  I strongly discourage the usage of Floratam and Seville in shaded areas, as both of these St. Augustine sod types do poorly in low-light.  Alternative St. Augustine breeds are usable (though not highly recommended) as long as they receive four or more hours of direct sunlight daily. For those living further north, a strain of creeping red fescue is advisable rather than Kentucky Bluegrass.  Remember, the more direct light, the better!

Here are just a few more tips for the maintaining of your lawn in shady spots:

• When cutting your lawn, keep the areas in shade higher than you would traditionally. When more leaf surface is left, more sunlight can be absorbed.

• Irrigate less than in direct-sun areas, as less water will be evaporated in the shaded areas. As well, you’ll need to use less fertilizer because the lawn will grow more slowly than in your direct-sun areas.

• Be certain to remove fallen leaves and debris quickly, as any vegetation of this sort will block penetrating sunlight. I also recommend an annual over-seeding with your sod type.

Growing a lawn on shaded acreage is not a simple task.  However, once the decision is made to pursue this project, if a wholehearted attempt is given it can be accomplished.  More sunlight is the key to a healthy lawn with shade trees present.  As well, note that there are several attractive and usable groundcovers out there that will do quite well in heavy shade.  Hope you enjoyed, again please do not hesitate to ask questions or provide responses with personal experiences!

I truly hope this helps, Cheri.

-Rees Cowden