Control of the environment sometimes makes it easier to grow herbs that you normally have trouble growing outdoors.  When growing your herbs a good southern exposure to sunlight is ideal because your plants will need a minimum of 8 hours of sunlight so a grow light may become necessary for adequate light.

Florescent lights placed closed to the plants have been known to work equally as well. One way to know if your plants are receiving enough light is to watch their leaves to make sure they are not falling off for any reason or fading or maybe the plant itself is becoming long and leggy.  These are sure signs that your plants need more light.

Other concerns are room temperature and soil moisture.  If the inside temperature becomes to dry, misting your herbs will give them the added moisture they need or as an alternative you can place their pots into trays and add water allowing the plant to absorb the humidity as the water evaporates so be prepared to re-fill the trays often.

Plant pests can become a problem to your herbal garden also and seem to appear out of nowhere.  Once you see these insects crawling or flying around your herbs, make some warm soapy water (a mild detergent) and use your hands to cover the base of the plant and swirl the plant in the water to wash the leaves and stems off.  This will kill of any insects or pests and will not harm or cause damage to the plant itself.

Another way is to mix warm soapy water in a spray bottle and saturate the leaves and stems, making sure that you soak the underside of the leaves as well to kill any hatchlings or eggs.  If you follow these few simple guidelines your indoor herbal garden will flourish and you can enjoy fresh herbs for eating and cooking all winter long.

[tags] Indoor Herbal gardens]

Ideal soil conditions for growing lettuce should have a PH of 6.0 or 7.0 and a good supply of nitrogen to get the best leaf production.  In very warm weather when not harvested at the right time lettuce will turn bitter and go to seed very quickly.  If you reside in a hot climate it is best to plant lettuce in partial shade or in an area where in will only get the morning sun or at least be in some sort of shade.  Lettuce has shallow roots and it will need watering frequently because it becomes hard for it to compete with the root systems of weeds ( most weeds have deep roots) keeping it weeded is recommended also.

If you begin planting your lettuce using seeds is sure to plant them a good 5 inches apart.  Again when harvesting, and to get the maximum flavor from your crop of lettuce is essential because when you allow mature lettuce to stand in your garden it turns “Bitter” and become tough.

Most farmers group lettuce into four different types and they are Crisphead, Leaf, Romaine and Butterhead.

Leaf Lettuce is a home gardener’s favorite, because it matures quickly, varies in color from red to green and has smooth or curly leaves

Butterhead is smaller in size but has a smooth buttery flavor

Crisphead is the most common and found in your local grocery store, its leaves are thin and the color is light green and it grows densely packed together

Romaine is the most flavorful ( in my opinion) of all the lettuce varieties, the plant itself is tall with  lightly paced leaves that are dark green in color with the inner leaves has a little less color.  This lettuce is very flavorful for salads. Romaine will bolt and turn bitter and to seed fast in very warm or hot weather.  If your lettuce does turn bitter, crop off the smaller leaves wash well and store in the refrigerator for a few days and the taste does dissipate, but it is still best to harvest at the right time for the best flavor.

[tags]  Gardening Fall Lettuce]

Most gardeners that do prune simply just pinch off the side shoots (suckers) of the plant depending on what type of tomato that they are growing.  Pruning is basically and simply thinning the plant to prevent its becoming too top heavy, causing leaning and often splitting of the plant when they have grown out of control.

Indeterminate tomato plants such as “Beefsteak“, “Big Boy”, “Brandywine” and early producing plants like “Early Girl” and “Celebrity” will generally die back before the end of the growing season because they produce earlier which is why they are often called semi-determinate varieties of tomatoes as well.  Some indeterminate tomato plants depending on their growth habit will continue to grow and produce tomatoes all season long.  Pruning you tomatoes will compact them, however it will also give you a smaller yield in fruit so if the stems are good and strong leaving some “suckers” on the plant will improve the crop, giving you more tomatoes to look forward to.

If you want to prune, prune out the suckers below the first flowers stems. Many gardeners say that this method improves and helps develop a stronger central stem while others choose to leave the suckers on the lower portion of the plant because they are easily staked.

Determinate tomato plants really don’t need to be pruned at all.  They are a more compact growing variety of plant that reaches a certain height and generally Stop Growing. When their branches are nearly fully grown the will start to produce their fruit, usually all at once. They will not keep re-producing so pruning is not necessary.  These varieties include “Rutgers”, “Marglobe” and some varieties of “Celebrity”.  Sometimes called bush tomatoes they are generally smaller than indeterminate tomatoes and are perfect if you want a large crop at one time.

Whether or not to prune or not to prune your plants is still a matter of preference and a personal decision and depending on your garden size.  If you do decide to prune, Less is “better” for the plant; to get a feel of how well it will or will not respond.  Pruning really is just an experiment of trial and error on  the part of the growers to see what works, what works best and what doesn’t work at all.

[tags]  Tomato Pruning]

One of the most common knows diseases to tomatoes are called “Early Blight”.  When a plant is infected with early blight its leaves will have small circles and spheres in the middle and dark spots on the older leaves while the leaves surrounding them will begin to turn yellow.  Early blight not only affects the foliage but the stems and fruit as well.  The disease can be transferred from new transplants, and since it is soil born, it can over-winter in your garden from residue of the previous year.

Another form of foliage disease is also blight, this one is called “Late Blight” which also affects the leaves and fruit of the tomato and it spreads very fast. If you suspect that your tomatoes have late blight, look for greasy irregular shaped gray spots on the leaves with a white mold if the weather is or has been extremely wet. The spots will turn paper-like and dry with blackened areas appearing on the stems. If you think the blight has attacked your fruit, look for large greasy irregular shaped spots as a symptom, this is what will distinguish it from “Buckeye Rot“, another type of tomato disease.

The third tomato disease to look for is called “Gray Leaf Spot” which affects only the leaves of the tomatoes.  It will usually begin with the older leaves and they will have small dark spots in both sides of the leaves and they will grow larger then begin turning a grayish-brown as the center of the spots start to crack and fall out while  the leaves on surrounding plants will turn yellow, dry up and drop off. Gray leaf spot will also inhibit the plants fruit production.

“Septoria Leaf Spot” is often mistaken for late blight because it also attacks the older leaves first.  Leaves infected with this common tomato disease will have paper-like patches which will later develop tiny dark specks inside. “Southern Blight” will have a white mold at the stem near the soil line accompanied with round spots on the inner and outer stems that eventually become discolored.  Once this fungus takes hold on the stems it prevents the plants from absorbing much needed water and nutrients.  Small newly planted plants if infected will simply die at the soil line.

The last disease that can literally ruin your garden is called”Verticillium Wilt”. The leaves will often turn yellow, dry up and seem to wilt.  This is another soil born fungus that affects not only tomatoes but a variety of vegetables.  The plants will literally wilt during the hottest part of the day and only seem better at night only to begin to turn yellow then brown in the leaf veins.  The older leaves will be show signs of this first, then the lower leaves will develop a discoloration inside the stems. This type of disease will inhibit the plants ability to absorb water and nutrients also which will eventually kill the plant.

If symptoms of any of theses diseases start to appear on your plants either a copper or a sulfur spray can be used to prevent its further development, but know which disease your plant has first.  As for management of these fungi it is best to buy disease resistant plants, rotate you crop, and when you fertilize try and use a fertilizer that contains ammonium and or calcium and in the fall remove all remains of an infected plants and any other garden debri. Remember also that some diseases are soil born so also  remember to watch your plants carefully when the weather is consistently and extremely wet, wet weather stresses many plants and warm humid weather will worsen many fungus problems.  Before you use any fungicide spray, always read and carefully follow the manufacturer’s suggestions.
[tags]  Common Tomato Foliage Diseases]

If you choose wooden stakes (one of the most popular methods), choose stakes that are at least 2 in. x 2in and 8 ft. long as they will need to be 24 to 30 inches into the ground for stability to give the plant the support that it will eventually need.  As they begin to grow and climb, tie them with string, biodegradable is good because it can be composted into the soil come fall.   Tie the young plants secure, but not so tight as to damage them, they will need to be checked  periodically during their growing period and then daily as they begin to develop fruit, to make sure that the fruit isn’t pulling the vines down. This method of staking works well in any size garden, especially container gardens.

Another method if staking is far easier than putting wooden or plastic stakes into the ground.  Many people use tomato cages and allow their tomatoes to grow up into the cage, however as easy and simple as this method may seem, tomato cages very seldom give the plants the support that they need when they reach maturity and start bearing fruit.

The last method that is becoming more and more popular is called stringing tomatoes or trellis staking. This method allows the tomato plants to be trained to grow and climb onto a string that is attached to an overhead crossbar or up a trellis.  The string must be good and tight with enough tension during the growing period to support the plants fruit as it develops additional string can always be added.  This method is excellent if you have a small garden with a limited amount of space.  Staking tomatoes will nearly always give you a successful tomato garden with a healthier and improved quality crop at harvest time.
[tags]  Effective Staking of Tomatoes]