Joeking Tomatoes

I was talking to a couple people today about squirrels eating their tomatoes. Here is the answer!! Christmas ornaments!! Hang these as your plants grow and squirrels with be deterred by the not tomato to not bother when the real ones come up!! GENIUS!!

Decoris Red Shatterproof Baubles Ornaments 2 in. Mfr# 9020172 - Ace Hardware Give your tree an extra sense of style this Christmas with the Shatterproof Ornaments. Add ornaments to your Christmas tree or mix and match in a clear bowl or vase for a beautiful holiday display.Find the ORNMNT SHTRPF RED 10PK at Ace.

https://www.facebook.com/share/18VuKtz2wy/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Stop apologizing for your leggy seedlings. That long, stretched stem is the best thing that could have happened to your tomato 🍅

Tomato stems do something most plants can't — any part of the stem buried underground grows roots. When you plant a tall seedling straight up, only the bottom few inches are in the soil making roots. When you lay it sideways in a shallow trench, the entire buried length roots along its full span.

More roots means more water uptake, more nutrients, and a stronger plant that handles dry stretches without folding. The leggiest seedling in the flat often becomes the strongest plant in the bed.

🌿 How to trench-plant a leggy tomato:

- Pinch off the lower leaves, leaving just the top cluster
- Dig a shallow trench instead of a deep hole — long and horizontal, a few inches deep
- Lay the stem flat in the trench with the leafy top sticking up at one end
- Cover the bare stem with soil. Within a couple of days, the exposed top curves upward toward the sun on its own
- Water deeply at planting and the buried stem starts rooting along its length within a week or two

🌱 One thing to watch for:

- If you bought a grafted tomato, keep the graft point above the soil line. Burying it defeats the purpose — the top variety roots on its own and bypasses the rootstock you paid for. This only applies to grafted plants, which are usually labeled

The leggiest seedling in the tray isn't the weakest one. It's the one with the most stem to bury 🌿

2025 Varieties
(descriptions in photos)

Persimmon
Long Keeper Winter Storage
Glacier (D)
Garden Peach
Federle
Earliana
Chocolate Cherry
Black Sea Man (D)
Redfield Beauty
Blondkophchen