Tomato season is upon us and, after deciding which tomatoes you’d like to grow, they need to be planted! For this project, we chose a Brandywine heirloom tomato to plant into a container, but the same steps work for planting tomatoes in the ground in a garden bed.
It’s April and tomatoes are here! We know you’re ready to get them planted since it’s sunny (wait… now it’s cold and raining…. wait! It’s sunny again! Wait…) ;) but your tomato plants won’t grow into incredibly prolific tomato producers if you don’t protect them until the night temperatures remain consistently above 50 degrees. Most of us at Swansons swear by protection tools so we can plant our warm-season vegetables earlier and encourage larger, stronger plants and better harvests. Here’s what we use and how to use them.
For many of us, the choice of which tomatoes to grow can be daunting. We've boiled down the tomato decision process into a few helpful questions and our suggestions: a secret (tomato) sauce, if you will, of how to make the right choice for your individual tomato needs. At the end of this post are a handy infographic and a link to our tomato variety list.
In this post, I’m repotting a very rootbound Marble Queen Pothos plant. I’ll walk you through all the steps for a successful repotting. These steps are essentially the same for all types of indoor and outdoor plants, so you can take these tips and use them for any potted plant.
No matter whether this is your first-ever vegetable garden or just the first time planting this year, if you take a little time to prepare before you plant, everything will go more smoothly and you’ll be more successful. Here are a few simple things to consider when starting a vegetable garden this spring.
It’s summertime and that means vacations. You’re a good plant parent and you want to make sure your plants are well taken care of but you don’t need to stay home all summer. I talked to the people who have years and years of knowledge gleaned from experience: the Swansons’ team. They offered their best tips for keeping your outdoor and indoor plants happy and healthy while you’re away.
Do you know what the No. 1 cause of poor health or death of plants (especially new plantings) is? It's not disease. Not unexpected freezes. Not mistakes made during planting. Watering, you say??? Aww, you looked at the title of the post — yes, it's insufficient or incorrect watering. These living organisms you've just planted can be delicate and demanding, and neglecting their water needs, even briefly, can undo all your hard work getting them planted.
Drought tolerant* or low water use* are terms we use often in Northwest gardening. You see them on many of our plant signs and information sheets at Swansons. More so each year, as we recognize the importance of saving water in the face of our region's growing population and potential effects of climate change. Also, we see ever more examples of how beautiful a well-designed, drought-tolerant garden can be! However, this doesn’t mean these plants don’t need water. Read on to learn the truth about helping these plants thrive.
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