Enhance Your Tomato Garden with These 10 Perfect Companion Plants
Companion planting, a cherished tradition in African horticulture, embodies a symphony of nature, blending diverse flora to nurture lush tomato gardens. Beyond aesthetics, this ancient practice fosters a vibrant ecosystem, rooted in cultural wisdom, fostering growth, and celebrating harmonious coexistence.
Before we delve in to the real matter, lets learn Guidelines for Transplanting Tomatoes in seven Simple Steps
7 Steps to Transplanting Tomatoes
The days are becoming closer together; the earth warms more with each bright day, and the clear nights are starting to reach double digits! TRANSLANT DAY for TOMATOES (and other warm-season crops) is quickly coming, and there is a lot of excitement for the harvest.
Timing is everything!
We have tracked the temperatures and our transplant date, as well as the weight of our harvest, throughout the past ten years. We have observed a clear link between mediocre yields and transplanting too soon, when nightly lows are still in the single digits.
Wait until the nighttime lows rise to at least 13C instead of giving in to the temptation to transplant early. We reasoned that harvesting sooner would follow planting earlier. However, we were in error. Tomato plants are stressed by the cold stall!
Therefore, even if these spring days are sunny and beautiful, we advise waiting for those warmer overnight temperatures unless you have a polytunnel or a shaded, warm place!
Meanwhile, begin your preparations right away! These are the procedures we follow while moving our field tomatoes!
1. Prepare the soil
Since we begin getting ready for tomato season in the autumn before our tomatoes are transplanted, this truly merits an entire post. Where the tomatoes will be grown the next season, in April, we seed an autumn green manure that may contain oats, rye, fava beans, lupin, white clover, Persian clover, Dunn peas, and vetch.
To guarantee the healthiest, most robust green manure possible, we may fortify with well-aged manure and apply slow-release soil additives like rock dust before the green manure.
After it sprouts, we apply Biodynamic500, a bacterial soil activator that is good. Winter does not stop the growth of the green manure.
The green manure is broken up, mixed in, and applied once again in the spring to nourish our tomato plants throughout the season by fostering soil bacteria and converting organic waste into stable humus.
Soil testing has its uses; the results are fascinating and sometimes enlightening, but focusing only on soil chemistry has its limitations. Soil biology is a field that may reveal several intricate relationships that exist within living soil.
Additionally, a plant’s relationship to live soil varies during its life because various minerals are needed at different stages of the plant’s development. As biodynamic farmers, we encourage the formation and upkeep of humus, robust bacterial and fungal soil life, and photosynthetic plant growth.
All of these support the ecosystem’s natural intelligence, maintain living soil’s dynamic changes, and provide plants with the power to direct their own well-being. Therefore, studying living soils and supporting them is a lifetime endeavor that pays off in the form of nutrient-dense, flavor-filled food as well as healthy plants and animals.
2. Grow or find a stout, healthy tomato seedling
Our tomato seedlings are small, sturdy, and brimming with energy; I call them Danny Devito seedlings with great affection! They have big leaves and thick, short stalks, and I prefer them lush and green. The first strong wind we encounter will cause them to break if they are too tall or too lanky.
If they are too little, you will have to nurture them in your garden; by the time you transplant, you should be able to take care of them on their own. Instead of the roots looping around the interior of the pot, you want them to barely reach the edge of their area, which is either the soil block or the pot.
3. Let your seeds get hard.
Imagine that you have been enjoying the good life with consistent, ideal growth conditions provided by regular irrigation, ideal temperature fluctuations, ideal space, excellent air movement, and alive soil. Your plant could suffer from “Transplant Shock!” if it is planted without a slow and gradual transition time.
By allowing a plant time to adjust to life outside the “nursery” or glasshouse, we prefer to try and limit sabotaging its genuine drive to expand. Early in the morning, we first begin to fully open the doors to allow in the coolness.
We increase the fan speed to help the transplants strengthen their stems and space them apart so that they have room around each other. After giving them a lengthy, deep watering, we let them dry out. We relocate the plants to a cold frame or sheltered spot outside, shielded from the wind, heavy rain, or hail, and protected in case of a late frost, about a week before transplanting.
They start to experience what it’s like to live outside the glasshouse. After that, we take them onto the field near the shed so that, in the event of bad weather, they will have some shelter, but they will primarily be left on their own. This is making them more resistant.
Consider methods to gradually adapt your plants, such as spending more time outside, letting them dry out in between waterings, and exposing them to the entire spectrum of sunshine. They may be moved into the garden, and you can cover them with plastic hoops at night. Keep in mind that they are susceptible to lows of 13C at night, so you might need to bring them inside on a very clear evening.
4. Remove any flowers and fruit.
If you want tomatoes as quickly as possible, this could be challenging, but pulling the fruit and blooms promotes the plant to grow deep roots. Tomatoes must strike a balance between fruit production and vegetative development.
Give your plants time to establish deep roots and gather minerals during their first few weeks in the ground if you want them to endure. You’ll be rewarded with a more robust plant and a larger crop.
5. GET IN DEEPER!
It’s time to dig your plants a new hole when you determine that the evenings are warm enough, that they require additional room, and that your soil is ready.
We bury our tomato seedlings quite deeply since tomatoes develop roots right from the stem, which aids in their strong rootedness. The initial genuine leaves are also buried, together with the seed leaves (cotelydens), and are only allowed to wither away. We would plant this, burying the first three leaves visible from the soil up in the image above.
Either bury them at an angle or dig a big hole. We put our seedlings straight since we tend to grow shorter, sturdier seedlings, and we have heard that this is helpful because the soil is warmer.
Tomatoes have amazing roots that may extend up to a meter underground!
6. Proper spacing is crucial!
In our system, a tomato needs 45 centimeters of room, but we prefer 60! Tomatoes require enough ventilation to lower the humidity, which can contain pathogens. They are also big feeders, with a vast root system. Make sure you leave room for the support system your tomato will need. We installed our support system before we transplanted. (Refer to the final image in this post.)
Grow large if you’re cultivating in a container! For a full-sized tomato or cherry, use a pot with a minimum diameter of 60 cm; for a dwarf tomato, use a pot with a minimum diameter of 40 cm. Fill the pot with the best soil you can find. Recall that your tomato will require a robust support system.
7. Include partners—two of our faves are marigolds and basil!
These draw helpful insects that prey on pests that may visit your tomatoes and spread illness. Additionally, adding plants with varying root depths is a favorite of both the soil microbiota and tomatoes. It’s also lovely!
Now go put up your max/min thermometer to monitor those low temperatures at night, organize your soil and support, and start looking forward to tomato season!
In the kaleidoscope of African gardens, the essence of companion planting, often overlooked, holds profound significance. Steeped in tradition, it embodies a holistic ethos that honors the land, preserving ancient wisdom for generations to come.
This eco-conscious approach, deeply ingrained in African heritage, gains momentum for its reverence for nature and its capacity to reduce reliance on harmful pesticides while yielding abundant crops—a testament to the interconnectedness of all life, revered in African traditions.
The joy of growing tomatoes, a beloved pursuit woven into the fabric of African communities, is revitalized. With a clarion call for organic produce and the rising cost of sustenance, the quest for self-reliance through food cultivation becomes paramount.
The advantages of integrating companion plants with tomato cultivation resonate deeply.
- Abundant Harvests: Nature’s collaboration yields a bounty beyond measure.
- Pest Resilience: A shield against intrusive pests, safeguarding the harvest with grace.
- Nutrient Enrichment: Soil enriched with nature’s elixir nurtures robust tomato growth.
- Weed Suppression: Harmonizing the garden to curb the encroachment of unwanted weeds
Explore these revered ten companion plants, treasured in African gardens, enriching the tapestry of your tomato patch:
Flowers
1. Amaranth
Repelling insects while harmoniously coexisting without encroaching upon the water and space that tomatoes demand
2. Calendula
Deterrent to whiteflies on tomato bushes via the release of “limonene,” safeguarding the tomato crop without compromising pollinators like honeybees.
3. Cleome
Welcoming beneficial insects and butterflies fosters a more prolific tomato crop through enhanced pollination.
4. Cosmos
Creating a conducive habitat for tomatoes, enticing bees and pollinators that fortuitously visit the tomato plants, thereby amplifying tomato fruit production.
5. Nasturtium
Not just a companion but an edible delight with blooms that repel insects, diverting them away from your precious tomatoes.
Herbs
6. Basil
A natural insect repellent with the added bonus of enhancing tomato growth and flavor
7. Borage
An unsung hero aids tomatoes by inducing ethylene gas production, bolstering nutrient absorption, and fortifying against diseases and pests.
8. Parsley
Aromatic and inviting, it attracts parasitic wasps and beneficial insects while providing ground cover and shade to tomatoes in the sweltering summer heat.
Vegetables
9. Beans
The nitrogen-fixing ally to tomatoes, a match destined to replenish the soil, is particularly suited for bush beans.
10. Carrots
With their soil-loosening prowess, carrots assist in moisture retention, which is a boon for preventing tomato desiccation. Best planted alongside young tomatoes for a bountiful harvest without compromising on carrot size.
Embrace these revered companions or seek kinship in other plants, enriching your African tomato sanctuary. Share your garden tales—do these companions grace your fertile earth, nurturing your cherished tomatoes to bountiful fruition?
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