Sunshine Community Gardens

27 May, 2021

www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org

Gardener's Picture page

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Flowers of Sunshine Gardens - Part 3

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SCG Election Results

The following Officers of the Board of Directors were elected in a Landslide Election this May 15. Their contact info will be included in next week's Weekly Weeder. Thanks to the Nominating Committee and to all gardeners who voted.

• James "Jim" Willmann - President
• Steve Camp - Vice-President
• Debra Mariano - Treasurer

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Needed Service Hour Tasks - May 27, 2021

To help keep gardeners aware of wha service hour tasks are needed, an attempt will be made to keep this list current.

Priority (Tasks specifically needed)

1. Mowing, Mowing, and MOWING! (With the rain and warm weather, the grass has gone wild. Mowing outside and inside of fence line along 49th St and Sunshine Dr count as TSBVI hours.)
2. Digging up khaki grass. (TSBVI) (Board has authorized to count as TSBVI hours)
3. Weeding granite paths in raised bed area and edging border. (TSBVI)

TSBVI

1. Removing hackberries and Johnson grass growing in cyclone fence around Sunshine. (Please try to dig out as much of the roots as possible. Hackberries should be cut off as deep below ground level as possible.)
2. Cleaning street curb gutters of dirt and debris build up. (At places in the curb gutter along Sunshine Dr. and 49th St., soil and debris has built has up and grass beginning to grow. Scrape off with shovel and put in wheelbarrow. If debris is gravel can be put in low places in parking lot. Otherwise, put in dumpster.)
3. Weeding granite paths in raised bed area and edging border. (Try to get out roots - particularly the bermudagrass along west side by garden plots.)
4. Weeding paths in TSBVI garden and wood chip areas on west side. (This is normally needed. Try to get out roots. Be sure to smooth out paths after weeding to facilitate TSBVI students moving around garden.)
5. Mowing between fence and street along 49th St. and Sunshine Dr. along and 10' inside fence. (Frequent mowing will be needed this time of year.)

Regular

1. Mowing (Please check area around trailer and greenhouses. Frequent mowing will be needed this time of year.)
2. Maintaining common paths.
3. Mowing and cleaning up overgrown/messy areas in common areas.

Note: TSBVI hour tasks can also count as regular hours.

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Top Tips for Terrific Tomatoes

Article from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office in Travis County

Get the Basics Right

There definitely is no one single way to grow terrific tomatoes, but there are some basic techniques to increase your chances of success in tomato growing. Use these top tips for terrific tomatoes to get the basics right.

1. Don't plant in the shade. Six hour of sun is minimal.
2. Sunlight = large, tasty fruit. Shade = skinny, straggly vines.
3. Prepare the site by mixing in organic matter and fertilizer. Most soils are too low in organic matter and fertility.
4. Plant in raised beds. Raised beds warm up earlier in the spring. Also, sometimes it rains too much and tomatoes can't swim!
5. Select locally proven varieties with a VFN after their name. There are plenty of diseases and insects out there that would love to have a shot at your tomatoes. By selecting a VFN variety you are two diseases and one case of nematodes ahead. Plant two or three varieties to "hedge you bet". There is no "perfect" variety!
6. Use a starter solution at transplanting. This gets plants off to a good start. This could be either a synthetic "liquid feed" product or an organic solution like compost or manure tea, or fish emulsion. Pour a cup of diluted solution in the planting hole and then water plants in with the same solution after planting.
7. Mulch soil a few weeks after planting to control weeds and hold moisture. Mulch also reduces some disease problems.
8. Stake or cage plants to keep fruit off the ground. Caging without suckering = more, smaller, later fruit. Staking and removing suckers - fewer, larger, earlier fruit. Take your pick!
9. Feed plants weekly with a balanced fertilizer beginning after the first fruit set. Growing, producing plants get hungry. Once the first fruit set you really need to push plants along with good nutrition, especially the new hybrid varieties.
10. Water regularly when the weather begins to warm up. Deep soakings are best.
11. Inspect plants regularly for signs of insect and disease damage. Early control is very important!

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Know the Different Growth Habits - Determinate and Indeterminate

There are two basic growth habits of tomatoes: Determinate and Indeterminate. Knowing how they are different can help you choose the best varieties for your garden.

Determinate tomatoes are "bush-type" tomatoes. They grow to a more compact height, usually under 4 feet, and tend to set fruit all at once. Once their main tomato crop is done, they may stop flowering altogether. Since they are just setting the one crop, you DON'T want to pinch these back. Determinate tomatoes are varieties that you often see farmers growing for canneries. Roma tomatoes are an example of this. Other varieties of determinate tomatoes that grow well in Austin are 'Tycoon' and 'Viva Italia'. "Celebrity' tomatoes are considered semi-determinate. You'll also see varieties labeled as "dwarf" or "bush".

Indeterminate tomatoes are those that grow until killed by frost or some other external factor. Many heirloom and cherry tomato varieties are indeterminate tomatoes. They will keep growing and trying to produce fruit for the entire growing season, and are going to require staking or caging. Some can even grow as long as 12 feet. These types of tomatoes can use an occasional pruning to encourage lateral versus vertical growth. These tomatoes need a sturdy cage or trellis. Indeterminate varieties 'Big Beef', 'Black Krim', Cherokee Purple, Juane Flamme, Stupice, Juliet, Sun Gold, and Yellow Pears all perform reasonably well in Austin.

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Weeder Content

Please email your article or suggestion to Holly Gilman by end of day Wednesday.

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