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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
The challenges of growing everybody's favorite veggie
Every
body’s
favorite
vegetable,
the toma
to (which
is really
a type of
fruit), is
just about
the most
widely
grown of
ft
Tim Lewis
Garden
Columnist
all garden plants, edible
or otherwise. Its popular
ity, however, is not due
to its freedom from cul
tural problems. This week
we take a look at some of
the fruiting challenges of
tomatoes. Even though it
is relatively early in the
tomato growing season, I
submit this information
now so that you will be
able to take appropriate
preventative measures.
First up is poor fruit
set. Plants may be quite
healthy, but little or no
Try antique roses in your garden
The garden sections at
Lowe’s and Home Depot were
clogged with shopper/garden-
ers this
weekend.
Almost
every cart
had at
least one
Knockout
Rose in
it. I love
those
roses too
because
you can
Jillinda Falen
Antiques
totally ignore them and they
grow like crazy! The thing is,
a lot of vintage roses are very
hard too and they smell won
derful unlike the Knockout’s
!which have no fragrance.
If you are an antique lover
;and collector you may want
'to expand your love of vin
tage things to the garden.
Antique roses are very hardy
and grow well in our Georgia
;climate. They have with
stood the test of time, floods,
.hurricanes and pestilence.
;Many antique rose bushes
;that were originally brought
;by the settlers from Europe
•are still alive today and over
100 years old. The settlers
brought little starts of roses
;to plant in the New World
-and remind them of home.
;Long since abandoned these
•roses have been neglected,
• not fertilized or fussed over
-and yet they have not only
• survived but thrived!
• Technically “old garden
iroses” are those types that
! were found or propagated
i before 1867 when the first
i hybrid tea rose was propa
• gated. The roses that you
: receive from florists that
Recipes, gardening
and ideas for living
Every Wednesday
in the Houston Home Journal
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fruit develops. Why? There
may be several reasons,
including: (1) extreme tem
peratures- once daytime
temperatures rise above
90 degrees or nighttime
temps exceed 75 degrees or
fall below 55 degrees most
tomato plants stop setting
fruit, even while continu
ing to produce flowers.
Among the few varieties
that are able to take the
heat is the old southern
standby “Atkinson”; (2)
dry soil- blossoms dry and
fall when plants are under
extreme drought stress; (3)
shading- few blossoms are
produced when the plants
receive too little sunlight,
which is anything less than
six hours of sunlight per
day; and (4) excessive nitro
gen- high levels of nitrogen
in the soil, from too much
fertilizer, encourage beau
tiful, lush leaf growth at
the expense of blossom and
fruit formation. One fel
fg ' •
Kristina Simms
Roses bring beauty and fragrance to your home garden.
have long straight stems with
perfect large buds and blooms
have been specially bred
and grown for that purpose.
Vintage roses are typically
not like that at all but they
are especially fragrant and
range from pastel to vibrant
colors. At my old 1850 plan
tation home in Elko, I had
several varieties of vintage
roses and when you sat out
side on the porch swing, they
just filled the air with their
heavenly fragrances. There
just isn’t anything quite like
going to bed on crispy fresh
cotton sheets that were dried
on the clothesline and a big
bouquet of sweet smelling
fresh cut tea roses in a vase
next to the bed.
The great thing about vin
tage roses is that they tend
to bloom profusely and bloom
more the more often they
are cut so that you can share
them with friends and family.
There are over 150 varieties
to choose from as well. Some
tend to like wet areas, some
FOQD&vHOME
low told me he once had a
14 foot tall tomato plant
with only one blossom at
the top!
To prevent poor fruit
set, try the following: (1)
water tomatoes regularly,
never allowing the soil to
completely dry out. Mulch
with straw, black plastic, or
other material to maintain
uniform soil moisture; (2)
plant tomatoes in an area
that receives at least six
hours of direct sunlight per
day. If your yard is shady,
consider growing some
tomatoes in containers on
your porch or patio; (3)
correct the nitrogen imbal
ance with superphosphate
(0-20-0) or a brand of 0-
10-10 and remember to go
easy on the nitrogen.
Second is blossom-end
rot. In this case, a round,
sunken, water-soaked spot
develops on the bottom of
the fruit. The spot enlarg
es, turns brown, and feels
shady, some full sun so you
can see that there is some
thing for everyone regard
less of their gardening condi
tions.
There are several garden
companies on the internet
that sell old garden roses
exclusively. They have done
lots of research and gotten
original specimens from cem
eteries (with permission of
course) and old homesteads
throughout the US and
Europe. Beware though,
you can get hooked on
these fragrant beauties and
become a collector of roses!
Happy Spring and Happy
Collecting!
Jillinda Falen is the for
mer owner of Carrie Lynn’s
Antiques in Perry. She has
been collecting and selling
antiques for 23 years and
is an estate liquidation spe
cialist and licensed realtor.
You may contact her via the
Houston Home Journal or
falen@windstream.net.
hard and leathery. The
disorder always starts at
the blossom end, and may
enlarge to affect up to half
the fruit. Blossom-end rot
occurs on tomatoes, squash,
peppers, and watermelons.
It is caused by a lack of
calcium in the developing
fruit resulting from one or
more of the following: (1)
extreme fluctuations in soil
moisture, from very wet to
very dry, (2) rapid plant
growth early in the sea
son, followed by very dry
weather, (3) excessive rains
that smother root hairs, (4)
high levels of soluble salts
(fertilizer) in the soil, and
(5) cultivating too close to
the plant.
The first fruit are the
most severely affected by
blossom-end rot. Mold may
grow on the rotted sur
face, and result from fungi
or bacteria that invade the
damaged tissue. The rotted
area is of no value but the
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rest of the fruit is edible.
To prevent blossom
end rot, follow these guide
lines: (1) maintain uniform
soil moisture by mulching
and by watering wisely.
Apply enough water at
each irrigation to wet the
soil to a depth of 18 to 20
inches. Water when the soil
two inches deep is bare
ly moist; (2) avoid using
high nitrogen fertilizers
or fresh manure in large
amounts; (3) plant in well
drained soil; and (4) avoid
cultivating deeper than one
inch within one foot of the
plant.
Later: More tomato prob
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Tim Lewis is a
Georgia Green Industry
Association Certified Plant
Professional, gardening
writer, former Perry High
School horticulture instruc
tor, and former horticultur
alist at Henderson Village
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