In early May I'll even contemplate adding a few more, after all there seems to be plenty of space. By June, though, it becomes apparent by both physical observation and my wife's advise of "you may want to do something with your tomatoes," that I have once again failed to recall the lessons of last year's tomato experience. Now, the plants are healthy and producing (so maybe I am just very good at maximizing yields per area!), but getting to all of the nice and ripe fruits becomes an all out quest. Alas, I see the usefulness of recording good "field notes." But how does one make sense of information written in plain English rather than spreadsheets full of numbers. Electric and water meter readings, odometer readings, dollar signs, and baseball stats: beautiful! A handwritten entry in a notebook indicating plant spacing, with a follow-on entry indicating LEAVE MORE SPACE: baffling. Something I must remedy...
Or you could make more space for more tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteMy tomatoes always ended up looking like a tropical jungle. Most get so big and heavy they fall over taking the cages with them. I think i had read somewhere about pruning the non-fruit producing branches of the plant to allow them to put more effort into fruit production. Maybe research that and it might help you get to those hidden fruits.
Oh, you make it sound so simple, Barry! I was hoping for more of an elegant mathematical solution! I'll definitely check out the pruning aspect. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteWe've certainly had the tomato jungle problem. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, perhaps leave more space, but it one follows the seed package spacing directions I feel it is an inefficient use of space. So, again, I guess its moderation to the rescue. I;d rather pack them in than have space between the mature plants even if it does make picking more of a challenge. I just want LOTS!