I just finished planting my garden in my raised vegetable garden bed. Everything went in by seed except for my tomato plants. There were probably a hundred varieties of tomato plants to choose from at the garden store. Check out this picture of all the different tomato plants to choose from. I asked an old farmer shopping there which variety he used. I was lost as to which variety to get. He said the Celebrity tomato
was the best tomato out there and it's hard to find. You can click on the link to find it on Amazon. He pointed me in the direction where the Celebrity tomato plants where and grabbed a couple for himself. He told me his neighbor plants 500 of them and sells them at fresh produce markets every week.
He said every tomato comes out exactly the same size, the size of a baseball. And he said it produces a ton of tomatoes that were rich in flavor. All you have to do is "put a scoop of sheep shit in the bottom of each plant and they'll grow forever". That's what he said. No kidding. I think I'll skip that step. So I grabbed myself a four pack of Celebrity tomatoes for about $2.50 and a couple grape tomato plants and went searching for the rest of my garden. In the end, I decided to try everything else from seed
(except for a couple cauliflower plants). My garden seeds and plants
and supplies cost me just under $45. What did I get this year?
was the best tomato out there and it's hard to find. You can click on the link to find it on Amazon. He pointed me in the direction where the Celebrity tomato plants where and grabbed a couple for himself. He told me his neighbor plants 500 of them and sells them at fresh produce markets every week. He said every tomato comes out exactly the same size, the size of a baseball. And he said it produces a ton of tomatoes that were rich in flavor. All you have to do is "put a scoop of sheep shit in the bottom of each plant and they'll grow forever". That's what he said. No kidding. I think I'll skip that step. So I grabbed myself a four pack of Celebrity tomatoes for about $2.50 and a couple grape tomato plants and went searching for the rest of my garden. In the end, I decided to try everything else from seed
(except for a couple cauliflower plants). My garden seeds and plants
and supplies cost me just under $45. What did I get this year? 
- Tomatoes
- Grape tomatoes
- Yellow squash
- Zucchini
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Pumpkin
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Red Peppers
- Okra
- Cucumbers
- Peas
I also bought brussel sprouts and waxed yellow beans, but I ran out of garden space, so they'll have to wait until next year, assuming my seeds survive. You see, I accidentally left the seed packets out in the rain last night and all my extra seeds got drenched inside their packaging. I took them all out of their packages and dried them out on the dining room table. You can see that picture here as well. Hopefully, that keeps them all from germinating and allows me to use them next year. If anyone has any insight on this, I'd love to hear it.
With all that said, I did get my tomato plants in the ground this week as well. I think I'm past the freeze date in my neck of the woods. One trick I learned from a wise old grandma was how to plant your tomato plants to keep them from leaning or tipping over as they get bigger and to provide them with a strong rooted base. Tomato plants can get real big and heavy, so they need a strong base from which to root into the ground. This trick only works if you are planting tomato plants and not seeding them. Let them grow to about a nine to twelve inches high. When the tomato plants are about a foot high or so, snip off the leaves on the bottom 6-9 inches of the plant and bury the entire stalk up to the remaining leaves on the last 3 inches of plant. Where ever you snip off the leaves, new roots will form and the base will root much stronger.
However the last key to preventing your tomato plant from tipping over itself is to plant that entire 6-9 inches of tomato stalk sideways. That's right. Drop your tomato plant onto the ground sideways with 6-9 inches of its stalk lying parallel to the ground. Throw some dirt over it and turn the remaining tomato leaves (outside of the ground) perpendicular and prop some dirt around the new base you've created to make the new leafy stalk perpendicular to the ground. All the areas of the stalk now underground where you tore off the leaves will generate roots and you'll have a 6-9 inch tomato base/root system to make it nice and sturdy. That's how you plant your tomatoes so they have a nice strong and sturdy base from which to grow from. Happy gardening all!
