Growing a tomato plant inside my house-- help me make this successful

[CassieW]

Water Soluble fertilizer yes, best (cheap & organic) is homemade compost tea: You take completed compost medium (decayed manure, vegetation & etc) place in course burlap optional in a container or water (water barrel, gallon buckets or container) making a supplemental nutrient tea adapt with watering.

Cheapest & space saving form rendering (build your soil) at end grow the fall clean grow beds and convert into composting beds in winter. Or plant green winter cover crop soil fertilizer such as; buckwheat, winter rye, mustard greens, winter wheat and/or oats.... (50/50 share soil & livestock) these serve as supplement fresh winter green feed to livestock too but add plenty of nutrients tilled back into soil late winter/early spring. Great thing winter composting if my issue very little complaints odor from neighbors. I rotate winter green crop/winter composting pending the type of crops grown prior as some garden veggies/fruits strip more nutrient out of soils.

P.S. don't forget adding calcium to prevent end blossom rot best source egg shells.

 

[Arielle]

Now I have another use for all those egg shells!! Normally we crush the shells and dump them back on the ground where the hens travel . . .now it will be to the garden beds . . . or at least some of them.


I envy those that have nice clar soil to till . Someday I will have that too . . . . I do have tons of manure, rotten maure and fresh manure to work with !!

 

[Arielle]

Oh I forgot to mention . . . I learned just a few short years ago to compost the bone after a meal and had been putting htem in an old water trough filled with soil. Dump bones, cover with soil, dump bones, fill with soil. ANd I have transplanted 2 tomato plants into that trough this year-- will be exciting to see how they do

NO bones go in the trash anymore-- none!!

 

[CassieW]

Tip: another use eggshells - if hens are laying thin or irregular weak egg shells a sign of calcium deficiency. Must crush egg shells very well and mix with feed ratio is a teaspoon to every 2 cups feed. Shells must rinsed/microwave 20 seconds/crushed: kill bacteria (salmonella) & crushed disguise source identity or they cannibalize own eggs. I've seen hens cannibalize own eggs due severe mineral deficient if not using supplemented feed.

Note: shells via boiled eggs no need rinsing or heating needed, but save the water for your compost tea or let cool water plants or chickens with calcium supplemented water.

Please trash: Bones as well as meats and dairy as attract vermin, (mice, rats, possum or etc) which love marrow fats eventually aroma draw attention toward chickens or eggs. Latter rats & possum are aggressive attacking layers for eggs. It's heart

breaking destroying sickened hens due illness these vermin carry.

 

[Arielle]

DO you have chickens?? any meat scraps given to the chickens are woofed down so fast , don't blink or you will miss the event, lol . BOnes-- are usually roasted and stewed before hitting the bone yard and then covered with soil/compost-- there is no evidence of any being dug up.

I dont consider the wild animals vermin but part of the ecosystem that I live in. I am in the woods and abutt a wildlife area, a massive area set aside for all the wild animals from racoons, to skinks and deer, turkey, and many more. DH and I both took a course on wildlife diseases in college.All animals could carry disease however very few actually do carry disease. I have a far greater concern for the diseases that I can pick up from other humans. AND the super bug being created by over use of antibiotics.

I appreciate your concern--

 

[CassieW]

That was once true, currently same happening with live stock as toward humans (H5N1, MRSA & HIV/AIDS). New transmission never existed are now entering the fray. Imports are increasing introducing as domestic production declines. Many meats are imported despite lobbying labeling origin denied as done with imported produce. Once beavers ability acquire rabies minimal as a rodent contraction obscure & herbivore: two girls swimming in lake Anna in VA were attacked in water by a confirmed rabies infected beaver along with other incidents New York through Louisiana. West Nile disease didn't exist in the U.S.. Many old diseases that meant nothing due vaccines discovering evidence proving new adaptations transmission, incubation or clinical identification changes.

"Chicken anaemia virus a non-enveloped icosahedral single stranded DNA virus. Infection causes anaemia, bone marrow atrophy, and severe immunosuppression in poultry the virus affects production red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Clinical infection are predominantly found in young chicks due transmission from breeder hens whose maternal antibodies not yet formed following exposure. Clinical disease rare because widespread issue due practice vaccinating breeders, but "subclinical form of disease" (nosigns or symptoms)- which affects transmission is ubiquitous very resistant within the environment, making elimination difficult. The concern now if it is capable mutating such as the mad cow disease with a developed incubation period from a few months to 8 years non-symptomatic and/or prove durable directly in the environment as yes a strain (MCD) proved viral agents survived several years in soil confirmed U.K. The question will the sub-clinical variation lead toward environmental incubation resistant vaccination strains?"

Not attacking your knowledge base just the base becoming obsolete due suppressed new threat progression reporting. Concern remember licking cake batter spoon as a kid never getting sick or eating raw fresh produce without threat e-coli in strawberries, melons, sprouts or salad greens which include organics. Recalls once meant something, foster farms chicken march 2014 distributed not reported July 2014 (4 mths) recall after 600 deaths.

 

[Arielle]

Maybe this explains my take on the subject better . . .


NOthing is perfect . . . . .it is about balancing the risks and just trying to do our best to live in the world that we have been handed.

 

[Arielle]

I took a number of cuttings fromt he tall blue berry-- carefully removed all the leaves except 2 at the top. IF large I cut it in half and if tiny left them. Dipped in root tone, poked ahole in the damp soil and set in the cutting. Praying some take root-- I will be so thrilled.

I have been eyeing other possible blueberries . . . but will wait to see if my technique is good enough!!!

I have found a raspberry bush to take cuttings of!!!

 

[Arielle]

NOw I am learning that I can dip the trimmings form a tomato and plant it . . . .

I'm confused about how to trim a tomato. THe intederminants sprout a the junction of a leaf and the main stem. How many should I leave? Should they be kept lower than the main stem??

Left uncontrolled last summer the interterminants grew huge and fell over in to a useless tangled mess. THat is NOT my goal this year. lol

 

[hosspak]

NOw I am learning that I can dip the trimmings form a tomato and plant it . . . .

I'm confused about how to trim a tomato. THe intederminants sprout a the junction of a leaf and the main stem. How many should I leave? Should they be kept lower than the main stem??

Left uncontrolled last summer the interterminants grew huge and fell over in to a useless tangled mess. THat is NOT my goal this year. lol

I had a branch droop down to the ground that I didn't notice. I did actually touch the ground, when I did find it and when I was trying to tie all the branches up, that branch that was touching was actually rooted very well into the ground.

We prune half of whatever doesn't have flowers and sometimes anything with flowers that is growing in the wrong direction. Cut off at the junction and the bud that is forming or that bud will start another branch.

Last year, we pruned heavily on all our heirlooms and the indeterminates went crazy vertical. Some over 10ft... So far this year, we haven't touched them. They are all under 4 ft and have many fruits, more than last year. Go figure. But either way you will need to tie them up..... trelise, stakes or cages you just gotta do it!