By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

When I was a little girl I used to visit a cousin that owned a dairy farm.

My cousin Roy loved his cows and loved to share his knowledge with anybody that would listen.

My cousin Gay and Roy had no children and since I was the only one of my cousins that visited I was the chosen one.

My dairy adventure began when I was 4 years old and big enough to dress myself even if my boots were on the wrong feet. I would hear my cousin Roy in the kitchen and would run to get down the ladder staircase to join him.

We would go to the dairy barn with lantern in hand and welcome the day with warm milk. This continued until I was about 8 years old when my cousin Roy died. His death made me realize how much I learned from him not only where milk comes from but also how important it is to share knowledge.

I carried this lesson through my gardening career as a teacher and now a somewhat cyber-extension agent. I have worked with many different types of gardeners in my lifetime. Some are seasoned and stuck in their ways while others are open to new techniques. I have also worked with those who had no idea where food comes from or even which end of the tomato plant to put in the ground.

But through it all I have developed a list of 10 commandments that every tomato gardener should understand and follow.

1. Thou shall plan, plan, plan and before you dig the first hole or plant the first tomato plan.
2. Thou shall know thy garden friend and foe before spraying anything.
3. Thou shall measure moisture level with a rain gauge and water accordingly. Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Mulch is a wonderful thing for the tomato garden.

It provides weed control, helps retain soil moisture, raises the soil temperature, and in some instances can raise fruit yield.

But being an environmentalist and avid recycler I am always looking for ways of use some items that normally would end up in the trash.

So as I look at my collection of birthday balloons I come up with the idea of Mylar.

Mylar has a wonderful reflective nature that tomatoes love. It is easy to work with and if you have a lot of tomatoes it can be purchased on a roll. But if you Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Tomato pruning is something I have never really done in my many years of gardening.

The thought of removing leaves from a tomato plant seems to be a waste until I read up on the concept of tomato pruning.

But as I learned pruning tomato plants is much like going to the barbershop or beauty salon and getting that trim or haircut.

Tomato pruning begins even before the plant is placed in the ground. All the leaves of the tomato plant are removed except the top five. Once the plant is placed in the ground, indeterminate tomato plants will need to be staked and two weeks later will need to be pruned.

This pruning process continues until the growing season is over. But knowing how to properly prune and what to prune is one of the secrets to growing great tomatoes.

The first step is to Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Tomato gardening takes space not only from the standpoint of land or containers but also from cages, stakes, or trellises.

But a solution to this problem is no farther than the hardware store or construction site.

This tomato cage is made much like one made from chicken wire, but instead of trying to fold wire, this cage can be taken apart, tied together, and stored away.

The items needed for this project are listed below. But keep in mind that these dimensions can be changed to create a trellis or to house more than one plant.

Materials needed:

• Goggles
• Mulch Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

For many years I have always looked for something to do with all those bales of straw I see going to the landfills after Halloween.

In the past I have gathered what I could and used them for bedding for my animals or as mulch for my garden but there does exist another garden use.

This use can benefit every conceivable type of gardener from apartment homesteader to homeowner.

What could straw bale and gardeners without land have in common?

The answer to this question is straw bale gardening.

The most important aspect of this type of gardening is using the right type of straw. Do not use hay but instead use wheat. The reason for this is Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Gorilla gardening has always fascinated me.

What a wonderful idea to sneak into an area during the night and plant a garden for everyone to enjoy.

Whoever thought of this idea should get the Nobel Peace Prize.

But I have often wondered why only flowers are planted and how are these plants watered.

The other day I found the solution that was like Eureka why did I not think of that. The solution to the watering problem is ooze tubes.

These wonderful tubes have been used for years to water trees but now are gracing gardens as a means of watering plants when you are away. So now the technology has got up with the idea of gorilla gardening but has now raised the bar to reach into the food desert that every city seems to be experiencing.

These ooze tubes they say hold water for up to Read the rest of this entry »