So you went ahead and decided to grow tomatoes, having been allured by the thought of growing some beautiful tomatoes that you can admire while they are growing, and then enjoy in your kitchen - there is a different sort of feeling that you get when growing your own food, especially something as attractive as a tomato.
And then disaster; the tomato is struck by pests, or by some sort of blight, or does not grow at all. And then you need to go looking for help, for somebody to tell you what can be the problem. So, here is a link to a resource that should be able to help you grow your tomatoes better.
It is a short guide, but one that tells you about the basics of growing tomatoes, as well as why tomatoes can get sick. You also get to know about organic treatments for some of these problems. In the end, you get a listing of disease resistant tomato varieties, and also a listing of the favorite varieties of the tomato. Here’s the link to the article:

If you’re new to tomato gardening, you should note that the key to avoiding problems with your tomatoes is to grow them under the healthiest conditions possible. This involves proper watering, sunlight, air circulation, and good quality soil with plenty of organic material mixed in. There are also a variety of organic fertilizers out there to give your tomatoes an extra advantage.
Tomatoes can suffer attacks by bugs, fungi, viruses, or bacteria. Tomatoes also suffer stress due to environmental conditions such as excessive cold, heat, sunlight or moisture. Some problems are associated with deficiencies in certain nutrients. Tomatoes can pick up diseases through contaminated soil, the air, through rain or irrigation water that carry fungal spores, or through insects that carry a disease.

FLAME WEEDING - This method can be done with a small propane torch, however for larger areas one of the weed flaming torches is an excellent tool. Weed flaming has long been a practice on organic farms in Europe. The point of flaming is not to charbroil the weeds, but heat them just enough that they wilt. This will heat up the cell sap in turn causing them to expand and rupture. Flaming can be used as a spot treatment in lawns. The grass is going to get singed, however it will bounce right back. You may need to flame tough perennial weeds a couple of times to get rid of them. You will have to practice to get the technique down. Keep some water handy when you are flame weeding!

HOREHOUND LEAVES(Marrubium Vulgare) like many varieties in the mint family, the many tiny flowers attract Braconid and Icheumonid wasps, and Tachinidin and Syrid flies. The larval forms of these insects parasitize or otherwise consume many other insects that we consider pests. A hardy plant; it grows where many others fail to thrive it survives all but the harshest winters, and even then will selfseed effectively. Blooms over a long season, attracting beneficial insects almost as long as you are likely to need them. For best results use horehound directly as a companion plant. (Tomatoes are “encouraged” by growing horehound nearby). This applies to peppers and garden variety members of the potato family.

INSECTICIDAL SOAPS are totally bio-degradable and environmentally safe, however, kills beneficial insects as well. The spray penetrates their bodies and causes cell membranes to burst. Spray only those plants exhibiting symptoms. Works as a smothering agent on a wide variety of insects: aphids, mites, white fly, scale, leafhoppers and others. Safe to use up to the day of harvest. Must be sprayed directly on pests for control. Spray the entire plant thoroughly and repeat applications frequently. Soft water produces a sudsier spray that will reach all surfaces of a plant.

LEBIA GRANDIS (Coleoptera: Carabidae) belongs to a large family of beetles containing approximately 40,000 species. Forty-eight species occur in North America. The life history is known for less than 10 of the North American species. The adults are predators and first instar larvae are parasitoids of chrysomelid beetles.

Appearance: Lebia beetles are usually colourful as adults and range in size from 2.5 to 14 mm in length, depending on the species. Head is usually pale (with a reddish tinge) as are mouthparts, antennae, and thorax. Abdomen is mostly black with metallic blue, purple, or sometimes greenish luster to the elytra (wing covers). Legs are entirely pale with a reddish tinge.

Lebia grandis first instar larvae are pale to tan in colouration, heavily sclerotized (hardened), with well developed appendages, mouthparts and antennae, as is typical for carabid larvae. Body length ranges from 3 to 4 mm and width is about 0.5 mm. The second instar larvae undergo a gradual degeneration of appendages, develop a distended body with reduced sclerotization (a simple form of hypermetamorphosis), eventually bearing little resemblance to the first instars.

Pests Attacked: Lebia grandis is an indigenous natural enemy of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. In fields of cultivated potato, adults are specialist predators of all immature stages of L. decemlineata. However, note that in no-choice feeding trials in the laboratory, L. grandis adults devoured the larvae of the asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi). {Neither adults nor larvae of C. asparagi are known to feed on potato plants.} L. grandis larvae are specialist ectoparasitoids of L. decemlineata mature larvae and pupae in the soil.

NEEM when sprayed to foliage often deters leaf-feeding insects (caterpillars). It apparently affects the hormones many insects need to develop, killing them as they attempt to molt or emerge from eggs. Its demonstrated safety to humans (used as toothpaste in India), has recently exempted Neem from food-crop restrictions, by the EPA; thereby enabling manufacturers to market its use on edible or ornamental plants.

Rats are a significant risk to humans, especially to the elderly, young and weak. They can carry dangerous diseases, and wild rats do not make any kind of good pets. Rats also carry fleas, mites and ticks and can cause acute allergic reactions.
Any rat problem inside the home must be treated urgently. Rats in the garden and other external areas can also be high risk, particularly in areas used by children or pets. It is important to get rid of rats in the garden to reduce the risk of them trying to enter the home. You need to prevent rats from entering both the garden and home to prevent them making either area as a base. Just fighting them in the garden or home is not enough.
Gardeners wage an ongoing battle with animals that eat their plants. Using poisons is dangerous; they pose a dire threat to children and to pets. What’s more, they are only marginally effective. Using a trap to capture or kill an animal may be illegal in many areas.

Signs of rat infestation:
* Urine dribbles left in high traffic areas, usually near walls and other objects. The residues will glow under a black light.
* Dirty ‘rub’ marks along the sides of vertical surfaces that they often run along.
* Gnawing damage and debris, especially around food stores.
* Entry-holes gnawed into walls.
* Scratching noises in walls or under the floor as rats scurry around.
* Distinctive smell – rats leave an ammonia-like smell that will be particularly strong in enclosed areas such as under cupboards.
* Nests – rats build nests in warm, hidden places using shredded material such as newspaper and fabrics. Nests will often contain young rats.
* Burrows - In gardens, rats will dig burrows especially in compost heaps or under sheds. They will also build nests under garden decking.

Never use rodent poison in homes with small children. You might be able to reduce a mouse population by eliminating their food supply or at least their access to it. Put pet food and bird seed in metal or glass containers with tight-fitting lids. Keep garbage in containers with tight-fitting lids. Don’t feed birds in summer when birds have many other food sources and the seed can attract ro-dents. Keep outdoor areas clean and free of garbage. Keep grassy or weedy areas mowed to minimize potential nesting sites.
Rats are very talented at getting into human structures. Norway rats can come up from sewer lines and actually swim up and out of toilets and drains. Roof rats have been known to run along electrical lines and onto roofs where they find entrance into the house and take up residence in attics. Both are good climbers, burrowers, and can gnaw through almost anything. When rat-proofing your home you must be thorough and block all such entry mechanisms.

For a garden, use the following measures:
* Birdhouses and seed should be on poles and in trays rats can’t get.
* Plant bushes so they will stay at least 3 feet from your house.
* Do not compost any animal products (fish, meat, chicken, cheese, butter). Keep lids tight.
* Do not leave your pet food outside. If your pet doesn’t eat it, the rats will.
* Roof rats get into your house from tree branches that hang over the roof. Keep trees cut back and cover any openings in the eves.

Now if you have rats, then some mechanisms for getting rid of them:
* Barn owls are extremely efficient at getting rid of rats. Consider erecting a nesting box to attract some onto your property.
* Use traps. The best trap is the large, simple, cheap wooden “snap trap.” They are sold in hardware stores.
* If you have a mouse problem that you do not wish to deal with yourself, contact the environmental health department of your local council or call in a pest control company.
* Lay glue boards in pathways that rodents travel as an alternative trap.
* Use a natural rodent poison as a last resort. Look for brands of rodent bait made with vitamin D3. Rats and mice eating a small amount of this vitamin suffer heart failure within days. There is no chance of secondary poisoning of your pets even if they find and eat the dead rodents.
* The use of anticoagulant rodenticides is the most efficient and cost effective control technique currently available. These rodenticides are based on a number of compounds. However, adequate care needs to be taken while using them.

Q: Is there something out there that will melt snow that won’t harm my plants or my dog? I know there are “pet safe” stuff out there, but I don’t know what it is in it! Which means to me, not good. I’d like a non-chemical method to use. We do shovel, but since our lot is so shaded by the big trees it doesn’t melt fast and we are also burdened with city laws requiring us to “clean up” which is understandable, but I don’t want to do it at the risk of my precious plants and animals dying! If you have any ideas I’d love to hear it.

Ans: Pure sand can help to give traction in ice. About the safest there is is calcium chloride which is quite safe around plants. In fact, they make a liquid spray for improving tomatoes that start out with blossom end rot. Calcium chloride is also used in home made pickling and comes in small boxes called ‘Pickle Crisp’. It does have a chloride base, but that usually dissapates quite well, leaving calcium a natural soil nutrient. I would also apply a little calcium chloride to my tomato plant area, which helps them get more calcium. The other option is a bit more costly, as it involves heater tapes and power controls to control temperature.

QUESTIONS: I want to grow my own plugs indoors. I had a greenhouse a while back but don’t have it any longer and I’d like to grow some plugs indoors.

Ans 1:
For many years now, I started nearly all my garden plants indoors. I used a 2′x4′ metal shelf system with wooden (wood chip boards) shelves. The shelves posts are steel as are the side struts to support each shelf. I drilled 2 half inch diameter holes into the side metal supports (the 2 foot wide ones), to hold some small chains. I bought 4 foot long twin bulb shop lights, and attached chains to their tops and the chains are placed hrough the half inch holes, and held in place my
a piece of stiff wire. In this way, I cam move the lights away and closer to the plants. I use approx 11 x’19 inch plastic trays with 2 inch square pots. The trays hold about 32 pots each, and 4 trays can be on each shelf. I also use heat mats under each tray, for just to get seeds to germinate, then turn the heat mats off once I see green shoots. The trays also have clear plastic domed lids to help keep
moisture in for the first few weeks. Once the seedlings emerge and reach the clear lids, the lids get removed and the flourecent lamps are fairly close at all times. Once the plants grow the lights are moved up, by pulling on the two side chains, and reattaching the stiff wires through a link in the chains. The shelf system comes with a total of 6 shelves, but because I have 8 foot ceilings and the top most shelf would be too short to waste, I bolted all the two piece side pieces a little closer together (they are 4 foot lengths, and butted to each other originally). Because the top most shelf has no lamps, I added a wooden frame that holds just one fixture there. Its at the top, where its a bit warmer, so it doesn’t need much more. I
have all the lights on a timer, and they are on a 6am, to about 11 pm. Once the plants are growing beyond he height limits of the shelves, they get moved to another location where they grow under 500 watt mercury vapor lights. At about the time they reach the max heights on the shelves, they are watered every day. I use a high quality seed starting soil from Garden Alive, called Natural Beginings. Also use
some mild seed starting fertilizers. I grow peppers, herbs, tomatoes, brocolli, flowers, asparagus, and many other things this way. I do NOT use any peat pots as they do not work well for me. I do have a 6×8 foot greenhouse, where in mid May everything gets moved to ‘harden off’ the plants. Most get planted the end of May. My success rate from seed to outdoor plants is about 97% so far, the few lost are usually failed germinations, broken stems, or stunted seedlings. If I were to
buy one of these lighted shelf systems, it would have cost me about $900. I figure my efforts cost me only about $250. I do use plant grow lights in each fixture too. Home Depot sells the for about $3-4 each, fixtures run about $10 to $20 each.

Ans 2:
What kind of Heat do you have up there? If it is steam or a hot water radiator type then your half way home. But if not there are always grow mats. the soil temp for needs needs to hover in the upper 60s and use one of those seed starting mixes. It is really fine in texture and makes it easy on the seeds for germination and it is easy on you cause this stuff is so fine you can use a tablespoon in it. I use a big baking sheet I picked up at a thrift store and put the grow mat in that. The grow mats are water proof so I put my growing trays on the mat and the baking sheets sides are just tall enough to form a reservoir in if I get a little zealous with the watering. A south window is perfect if you don’t have one, hey that’s why they invented grow lights. Now grow light manufactures can charge an arm and a leg for a complete set up. So go to Home Depot and go to the lighting section and get one of those 48 inch shop florescent light fixtures that run for about 10 or 12 dollars. Then go buy some 48″ grow light replacement bulbs and you will have saved your self upwards oh about $40. One more thing get a timer that plugs into the wall then plug the grow light into that. Now if you have the southern exposure, then set the timer to come on when it starts to go dark and set it to run the lights for about 4 and 1/2 hours. So if it comes on at 5 pm it would shut off at about 9:30 pm. Now if you don’t have the southern exposure then set the timer for 5 am to 5pm. Position the lights so they are about 18 inches above the plants and to focus more of the light I tape a 10 inch strip of aluminum foil on the outside edge of the florescent fixture.

Question: There are little black gnats flying around my house, and I’ve tracked them back to my houseplants. How can I control these annoying creatures, and are they harming my plants?

Answer: The little black insects are most likely fungus gnats. They breed in overly damp soil, where both the larvae and adults feed on abundant soil fungi. If the population of gnats is very high, the larvae may run out of fungus to eat and turn to your plants’ rootlets for food, but this rarely causes plants distress. To rid yourself of these pests, allow the soil surface to dry out a little between waterings. Most houseplants do better when the soil is not overly wet, so this should not hurt them. To break the breeding cycle and eliminate the pests you can also spread a thin layer of sand or gravel over top of the potting soil — this works well if you have plants that do actually require a constantly wet soil. This layer will dry out very quickly (faster than the potting mix) and the gnats will have no place to breed. Each generation lives only a short while so once the surface moisture stops they should disappear in a few weeks. There are also commercial products containing a special strain of the biological control Bt that help control this pest.

Keeping Houseplants Healthy in Winter

Keeping your houseplants healthy during winter months may seem difficult. Light from windows is reduced, days are shorter and humidity may be lower due to heating. But by making a few changes, you can help keep your houseplants healthy.

Keeping things light
In winter, your plants receive sunlight for less time and in less intensity. Houseplants native to rainforests that are used to lower light will be fine with that, but most plants need more light. Try to move your plants near a brighter window (S/SW exposure) to get them more sunlight.
If you have no brighter windows (due to shade trees or apartment living), you might want to consider the purchase of plant lamps that are designed to provide the full spectrum light your plants need. They can be mounted under shelves over plants or on specially-designed plant stands. Leave them on about eight hours a day, and they’ll give your plants the light they need.
You can also use cool fluorescent bulbs as close as 6 inches from the top of plants.

Temperature
Most plants do not do well when subjected to rapid fluctuations in temperature. Keep them away from hot air sources and cold drafts alike. Run ceiling fans on low if the house is closed up. Fans break up stagnant air; that’s healthier for both you and your plants.

Humidity
Some symptoms of low humidity are brown leaf tips and wilting. Low humidity makes your plants work harder to get moisture from the air and soil, as well as keep what they have inside.
One way to give your plants some extra humidity is to mist them two or three times a day. The water will evaporate off the leaves and provide a cloud of higher humidity around the plant. For a less labor-intensive method, put a layer of pebbles in the bottom of a tray and fill the tray with just enough water to cover the bottom of the tray (below the top of the pebbles). Place potted plants in the tray.

Other
Fertilizing should be done less often for most plants in winter.
Give your plants a good washing. Dirt, dust, grease, and other particles can settle on leaves. Dirty leaves can’t absorb as much sunlight as clean ones. Gently wipe clean the leaves with a soft sponge or cloth dipped in plain water. Sturdier plants can even be given a quick shower in the bathroom with tepid water.

Caladium–Dig up after first hard frost. Place in warm, dry location 1 to 2
weeks. Cut off dry foliage, and bury tubers in dry peat moss. Store (60 to
65 degrees).

Calla Lily–Cut foliage after hard frost 1 to 2 inches above soil surface.
Dig up rhizomes. Dry in warm, dry location 1 to 2 weeks. After drying,
bury rhizomes in peat moss and store (50 to 60 degree temps).

Cannas–Cut back 4 to 6 inches above soil after a hard frost. Leave a small
amount of soil around cannas. Dry for several days. Store in box (40 to 50
degree temp).

Dahlia–Cut back foliage 2 to 4 inches above soil a few days after hard
frost. Shake off soil, cut the stems back to the crown. Wash tuberous
roots. Allow to dry to the touch. Place dahlia clumps upside down in
boxes, cover with peat moss. Store in 40 to 50 degrees temp.

Elephants Ear–Dig up after first hard frost. Cut off foliage. Dry tubers
for 1 to 2 weeks. Bury tubers in peat moss (70 to 75 degree temp).

Gladiolus–Dig up in later summer or early fall. Shake off soil. Cut back
foliage 1 to 2 inches above corms. Dry corms for 2 to 3 weeks. Place corms
in mesh bags or nylon stockings and hang in cool, dry location (35 to 45
degree temp).

Tuberous Begonia–Dig up tuberous begonias a few days after hard frost.
Leave a small amount of soil around each tuber. Cut off stems 1 inch above
tuber. Place in cool, dry area 2 to 3 weeks. Shake off soil; bury tubers
in dry peat moss. Store (40 to 50 degree temps).

Question: How do I keep the squirrels from digging up and eating my newly
planted bulbs ?

Answer: Squirrels consider tulip bulbs to be the equivalent of candy. There
are several things you can try, but if there are a lot of squirrels where
you live it may be better to plant daffodils instead. You can try:
1. dipping the bulbs in a mole and rodent repellent just prior to planting;
2. applying a repellent spray to the mulch over the planting area;
3. watering the area repeatedly immediately after planting to settle the soil well;
4. covering the area with wire mesh or old window screens to cage them out;
5. or encase the bulbs in wire mesh cages before burying them;
6. you can add a moth ball to each planting hole just below the soil line. The moth ball will mask the scent of the tulip bulb and keep the squirrels away..