Warm weather crops are now in as of the last weekend of May and early June. Had to wait a bit as we had such a cool spring. Planted my tomatoes on the garden side that I planted a spring cover crop. All kinds of field peas shooting up also, will leave them and weed out the weeds that the oat straw has produced...normal. The field peas are high in nitrogen. Hoping to not have to fertilize the tomatoes all summer but will watch their vitality and growth rates and also buds and blooms for any need of fertilizer. After the tomatoes start blooming, higher nitrogen fertilization needs to be avoided as the plant energy garnered from fertilization needs to go to the blossoms and fruit and not to the leaves. Nitrogen helps create the green and the leaves. So more Potassium, Phosphorus fertilization needed to support stems, water circulation, and blossoms and fruit.
Perhaps if you did a cover crop in the spring or fall on the soil you are using for Tomatoes you may well not need to fertilize, especially with nitrogen. It is very individual depending on how you have supported your soil before plantings. Even if your soil is rich in nitrogen (compost, cover crops) you still not to watch for good blossom formation and development of the fruit of the tomato.
Because of our rather long and cool spring it is hard to tell how the warm weather crops are doing until we get a few hot sunning days. And then watch them grow rapidly.
Warm weather plants planted this year: Squash, including zucchini squash, peppers, tomatoes, green beans (climbing and bush...and purple in color), cucumbers (slicing and pickling). Pictures below.
It is important to support your tomatoes with cages, fencing, some form of staking. If I use bamboo poles I cut up an old sheet into strips and tie the main branch of the tomato to the bamboo pole. Heavier wood might need to be used. And whatever you do just be sure to support your tomato bush. Be sure you know if you have a determinate (more of a bush tomato plant that has a determined time of growth and fruit production) or indeterminate (climbing, keeps growing and bares fruit throughout the season and even into fall for some varieties).
When watering, try to provide drip tape water irrigation, soaker hose or controlled hand watering at the root zone about one inch of water a week, which includes rain. Avoid watering from above with sprinklers, etc. as it is more possible to attract fungi or what we call blight. Once blight has set in, not too much you can do but pull off the infected leaves and take them out of the garden put in trash bag and sent with the garbage. Do not compost these infected leaves.
More on other warm weather crops in future blog postings. Stay tuned.
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