Carolyn’s Tomato Growing Tips

Watering: This seems to be the most confusing issue about growing tomatoes. We suggest watering tomatoes planted in the ground once every 7 to 10 days. Frequency of watering for containerized plants will vary depending on the size of your container. Watering should be deep enough to moisten the soil to the depth of at least a foot. Whether your plant is in the ground or in a container, water when the soil 2 inches down is barely moist. A 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch on top will help your soil retain that moisture while keeping the roots cool. Over-watering produces mushy fruit with bland flavor; in addition, there is a greater danger of blossom end rot. 

Support: Studies have shown that caged tomatoes out produce staked ones. Since a healthy indeterminate (vine-type) tomato plant can easily grow 7 feet tall or more, it is a good idea to use a sturdy 6 foot cage.  Determinate (bush-type) varieties rarely get more than 3 to 4 feet tall and can use a smaller cage. 

To thin or not to thin foliage - that is the question. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between volume of foliage and flavor of the fruit. For this reason I do not recommend removing side branches or shade leaves. 

Pollination: Because there is a shortage of bees, plant flowers that will attract them in or around your vegetable garden. Alyssum, cosmos, rosemary and African blue basil will lure bees to your plants.  If you see lots of flowers but no fruit is setting and you see no bees, you may need to hand-pollinate. Simply cupping the flowers in your hand and flicking them with your index finger will shake up the pollen. Another method is to take a soft paint brush and swipe it around inside the open blossoms.  

Use pruning shears to cut the tomato’s stem when harvesting, so you won’t rip the branches or bruise a ripe fruit. Avoid refrigerating ripe fruit as it damages the flavor and texture. If you have any problems with your crop, bring samples in to our Information Center for diagnosis. We are here to help you succeed...the first time with your tomatoes. Enjoy your harvest! 

Our tomato selection is at its peak! There is something special for every garden and taste. We have just received 2 very special varieties in a very limited supply, 'Ed’s New Millennium' and 'Phil’s SPAce'. Both are progenies of Brandywine, a popular heirloom variety. 'Ed’s New Millennium' is a cultivar of Brandywine, a selection made by a local master gardener. It is exceptionally flavorful, winning taste test after taste test. It is a large beefsteak thin-skinned, very meaty, with a rich flavor. 'Phil’s SPAce' is a cross of Brandywine with a selection from Santa Paula of an Ace tomato (longtime favorite hybrid) made by Phil Villa hence--Phil’s SPAce. This one will likely be available only this year. These are two varieties you’ll want to try! Sorry, for Phil’s SPAce we have a 2 plant limit per person.

Attention Pumpkin Growers--If you missed Stuart Shim’s Pumpkinmania workshops, you still have a shot. The Giant Pumpkin Kahuna left us with quite a few Giant Pumpkin Kits including Giant Pumpkin seed packets, a sample of HB-101 and growing instructions, FREE for the asking while supplies last. We have even included 6 free peat pots to start your seeds. We encourage anyone interested to pick up a kit and give it a go.

Stuart’s advice: Start your seeds around May 10th to plant out by the light of the full moon on May 20th.

Yamagami’s Nursery is planning a Giant Pumpkin Growing Contest with judging taking place on Saturday, October 11. Garden Author and Radio Personality Bob Tanem will be the judge and award the prizes.

The Grand Prize for the largest (heaviest) pumpkin is truly fabulous: A gourmet four-course dinner for four supplied by Whole Foods in Cupertino. Their professionally trained chefs will prepare a marvelous meal with a pumpkin based option for each course. Your dinner can be enjoyed here in the nursery in a garden setting after hours or delivered to your home!

Other contests and prizes will be announced as the pumpkin season progresses. Yamagami’s Nursery is growing a giant pumpkin here inside the nursery using our new ‘frame it all’ instant raised bed kit (see article below). There will be a prize for every grower who registers as a contestant by June 1st, and grows one larger than we do! We will be posting photos of our pumpkin patch and those of contestants on our website, yamagamisnursery.com, as the season progresses. We would be happy to print yours! Just bring them by or send them by email using the "contact us" button on our website. Happy Growing!

Don’t feel like digging, but want a garden? Yamagami’s has the solution! Frame It All is a modular edging system with many uses in the garden including creating instant raised beds. You can create a vegetable garden, a water garden, or a flower bed with very little work! An instant sandbox is another wonderful use for Frame It All. You can even buy a specially made sandbox cover to keep cats and leaf litter out when the sandbox is not in use. Frame It All components come with a five year manufacturer’s warrantee.

Frame It All consists of anchor joints, stacking joints and composite "timbers". The joints are made of a high impact plastic that is durable as well as weather- and heat-resistant for long lasting beauty. The "timbers" are specially constructed of a composite of 40% wood fiber and 60% recycled polyethylene, making them both lighter and stronger than solid plastic. Each timber is 5½ inches tall and 44 ½ inches long so that when placed in the frame they make a 4 foot length. Using the stacking joints, you can create any height you want as well as any length!

Come to Yamagami’s Nursery to see and touch Frame it All for yourself before digging into your clay soil. We have created a 4 foot square, four foot deep box to use for our Giant pumpkin patch. We also used the optional solar light kit. Just imagine what you could create in your own garden!

We’ve just received our first spring shipment of “California” Mums, a collection of named varieties usually seen only at florists or in collector's gardens. Football mums, Spider mums and other exotic forms in beautiful colors are included in the collection. For extra-large blossoms, this is the time to get started.

Start with our robust plants in a #1 size can. You will watch them thrive until June when you will cut them down to about 6" tall, leaving some green foliage. This will give you a more compact plant with sturdier stems and more attractive foliage during bloom and for cut flowers. For exhibition sized flowers you will remove all but 3 or 4 stems of the resulting growth. If you would rather have more but somewhat smaller flowers let more of the clump develop. For the largest possible flowers remove all but the top bud on each stem, this is called "disbudding."

'Yosemite Falls' blooms feature a central large ball-shaped flower with trailing florets all in pinks and lavenders. 'Half Moon Bay' is a spider mum in a dusky bronze with pink and orange hues. 'Sutter's Mill' is a large pale golden "incurve" or football mum. 'Mt. Whitney' is a large white snowball blossom. 'Rodeo Drive' buds begin to open like those of a common cushion mum but keep going until they end up a mound of ruby in the center surrounded by a petalled skirt.

Chrysanthemums have been treasured for thousands of years as "The Flower of Happiness." Add some traditional happiness to your garden with California Mums. If you have always wanted to grow the enormous blossoms seen in so much Japanese and Chinese art, these are the mums for you. Come to Yamagami's Nursery for the best garden color and everything you'll need to succeed...the first time!

Bring in your mother or come alone to meet Mrs. Janice Kellogg, the matriarch of Kellogg Garden Products, for whom the equally beautiful Janice Kellogg rose is named. It’s the perfect red rose for Mother’s Day, large, burgundy red, peony-like flowers with a mild fragrance and a long lasting cut flower. Mrs. Kellogg will be here Saturday, May 10th from 10 AM to 2 PM to meet mothers and show off her namesake rose.

Every purchaser of Janice Kellogg roses that day will receive a FREE bag of Gardner & Bloome Rose Planting Mix! Give your mother something special this year--time together in our gardens, a chance to meet an amazing mother and businesswoman, and last but hardly least, a beautiful rose bush for years of bouquets.