The weather report said the cold nights were over - meaning not really going below 50 degrees, so I decided to start putting the plants n the ground. I had fertilized the soil weeks ago, so all I have to do is dig the holes, add a little fertilizer for each plant (3 T). It's an organic fertilizer for tomatoes and vegetables.
So far, I have planted 9 Bellstar Tomatoes, 7 Yellow Pear Tomatoes, 8 cabbage, 8 eggplant, 8 bell pepper, 8 watermelon and 7 cantaloupe plants.
For the tomato plants, I cut off the lowest branches, as they seem to suck up a lot of the plants energy/food, but won't bear fruit. At least I don't think those branches will. I read on a gardening website that it's good to do this, as well as plant a bit of the tomato plant's stem in the ground - I think this is so it will grow more roots and strengthen the plant.
So, now some of my concerns:
- Only after I put the plants in the ground did I discover that the next 2-3 days are going to be cold. One of the nights will actually dip down to 38 degrees!! I think I may try to cover the seedlings at night to protect them. I'm not sure how yet, but I'm going to have to act fast.
- I did not rake/level the garden as thoroughly as I should have, so it is pretty uneven in parts. I'm not sure how this will effect the plants, but in the fall I'm going to rototill everything! I would have/should have done it this spring, but as always, I just can't seem to get to everything.
- I'm worried about pesky critters eating my plants. I still haven't figured out how I'm going to enclose this huge garden....
- I did not even think to leave paths between the rows of vegetables, so it's going to be a little challenging moving about the garden. I have only planted half of the garden, so I will be sure to leave myself more room when I plant the rest.
- I did not put any stakes in for the tomato plants and am considering doing it this weekend so I don't disturb the roots later.
