For the first time we suffered some serious damage from deer. They ate most of the seedlings that were planted this Sat. Some hardy volunteers came out tonight to not only replant what was lost, but plant even more. They also worked to put in place some deer deterrents until we can work on a more permanent solution.
We've been fortunate to have some great volunteers who are willing to share not only their time, but also their expertise. Here is some advice on planting tomatoes and peppers from one of our garden mavens:
"Tomatoes and some peppers will form additional roots on their stem if the stem touches soil. So, if you have a leggy tomato seedling (which most are, by this time of year), the recommendation is to remove all but the top 3 or 4 branches/leaves and plant the tomato sideways in a trench with just the top 3 or 4 leaves above ground. This eventually gives the plant more root to gather nutrients and moisture.
Since 3 Sisters is so dry and the weather is so hot, I adjusted this technique and planted not only the rootball, but the first 6 to 9 inches of stem down into the ground. This got the rootball down into an area that still held some moisture and was cooler on the 90+ degree days.
The picture is of a couple of the tomato seedlings that we had to pull up because the deer had eaten them. Even only 3 days after being planted, you can see that roots are starting to form on the stem. The rootball has also started to loosen up and send out roots in all directions."
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