Organic Gardening

From Down Under

Project Tomatoes

Experimental Page.

The idea of this project is to grow BIG Tomatoes by feeding the tomatoes through an agriculture pipe 450mm under the plant, encouraging the plant roots to go deeper making a stronger and healthy plant, which hopefully will have larger and more fruit.
BUT:- this idea is not mine. It was found while I was researching tomatoes on the net; it is a great idea and I have adapted it, to suit my method of gardening in Sunny Queensland Australia.
Have a look at Danny Parrottino web page with more information on how to go about this idea.
If you have any good ideas, how about writing a article on it and we will post it on our Organic Web Site?.

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I have not grown Tomatoes in this garden before, so it should be disease free ?.  Dig out the trench, spade wide and 450mm deep (18'') keeping the bottom of the trench roughly level. Place a 50mm agriculture pipe  on the bottom of the trench, backfill with enough soil to hold the pipe in position, leaving 150mm (6'') either end sticking out of the ground, so you can feed the tomatoes with liquid fertiliser from either end of the pipe. (a agriculture pipe is a plastic pipe with slotted or drilled holes in it so the water will seep out)
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Hammer in your Tomato Stakes. Then you can fill trench with compost or old manure, I have used Comfrey and backfill with the soil, then plant your Tomato Seedlings. I have planted oxhearts tomatoes. I will up date this page as the tomatoes grow, hopefully we will have 1 to 2.5kg tomatoes????????? can't wait I just love tomatoes.
It's now the 29/10/99 and This Experiment is working and "Looking Good have a look".

Here is another way of growing tomatoes?.

Pot plant.jpg (25579 bytes) These tomatoes are fantastic 2.5 metres tall, the best I have had for years, I have tried out a little experiment, planted out the seedling in the garden, then placed a 150mm plant pot with the bottom cut out, around the tomato plant, as the tomato plant grew, I then filled the pot up with compost, chicken manure and have also been feeding the tomato plant with comfrey water mixed with chicken manure, making a very good liquid tea. With the pot full of compost and manure, it has encourage root growth up the stem of the plant, making a stronger and more prolific, more off and larger fruit. Try this and you will be able to feed the hole street, for a small fee of course. photos

Tomatoes just Love
See How I plant tomato seedlings
And there's MORE Organic Hydroponics ??????

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My better half ("KAY") says I am mad in letting the world know about this ONE, but when your desperate for a disease free tomato like I am you will try any thing.
I am Experimenting with organic hydroponic tomatoes using comfrey water plus a couple of other top secret ingredients. Well here it is; a plastic container 20 litres with a 50mm pipe spout sticking out on top. You will need a piece of netting over and inside of the spout to stop the balls falling out.  Fill the container with polystyrene balls and liquid fertilizer. Then a potted up tomato plant with compost, push the pot inside the container opening so it is just sitting on top of the polystyrene balls and liquid fertilizer, place a tomato cage around the unit. Then cross your fingers and hope to grow a BIG one. As I mentioned before this is an experiment, and I think I will have to change the liquid fertlizer (comfrey water) every couple of days to keep the plant in good health and avoid bad smells. So I will be updating this project regularly keep in touch. If any one has a couple of ideas don't hesitate to post me, "Thanks" (photo grandson Matthew 2.5 years old and a keen gardener already, Great I love it.) Sorry this Experiment has failed, I will try again later on, ("I think it needs a pump and air filter?????" Kay was right)

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