potting up

went to get some onions to plant for greens at the local feed store/greenhouse place and walked into a great find..early tomatoes
just the right size to pot up..put into bigger pots
the one thing about tomatoes is they like to be transplanted into bigger pots before going into the ground
and since it will be about a month or more before i can do that here..they will be really nice EARLY tomatoes

these are early girl which i have grown and early dolly..which i have never heard of
hey..it's good to try new things...lol

these are what you would look for in a potted tomato..short and a nice stocky stem..strong green color of leaves..
turn the leaves over and make sure you aren't bringing home any bugs





here's my process..what i have evolved ..take what you can but you don't have to do this exactly


uncover dirt ..this is from the raised bed we are taking down..it was covered to keep it from being too muddy when i want it and to also solarize it to kill any weeds



this is what good dirt looks like... and was years of adding compost and working it



i am going to shift this because there are weeds and stuff from the garden plot that haven't been killed yet



here's what i am tossing..it will go on the compost pile



a piece of paper in the bottom of the pot..the water will flow thur it but the dirt will stay in the pot
the stuff next to it is vermiculitewhich i was going to mix with the soil..but changed my mind



fill the pot with about an inch or so of soil




then just a pinch of fertilizer...this is 10-10-10..it was what i had..you really should know your soil so you know
which of these three you need more of...my soil is nitrogen rich but in the pot this balance is ok
this will feed the plant when the roots get that far down and you can't plant as fast as you want


yikes..forgot a step..put soil over top of the fertilizer to about half way up the pot....if you put the plant right on top of the fertilizer it will burn it...


then the plant...turn it to the side and pinch the pot..then tilt it out of the pot and place it inot the center of the larger pot
the soil on this is nice and loose
if you have hard soil..sprinkle some water on it and scratch some of the soil off..so the roots can make contact with the new soil
that's the camera strap btw..one handed photos are new to me







press the soil down firmly and then water...you are preventing air pockets by doing this




walla..potted up..you may have noticed that i buried them deeper..and buried some leaves
tomatoes are ok with this..makes for more roots and more roots make for a better plant and a better plant means more food



and then water them in..water the soil around the plant and not the plant
a nice container and into a window it goes


you can take them in and out before you plant them outside..to harden them off
but it will be awhile and i'll update their growth

happy planting and good luck

Wow thanks sky, I really appreciate the effort you put into posting photo's with tips on how to get started.

I will be steering towards potting as I spend a lot of time moving around from house to house.

Can you recommend any good natural fertilizers?

well first off you may notice that i finished that post..the computer is kickin me off something awful and i wasn't done.

and you are welcome i luv to share what i can about growin stuff..and if you have any gardeners around you can probably get more help just by showing an interest

as far as fertilizer..the very best thing is compost...after that animal manure..each kind of manure gives you pros and cons
cow manure will ..dang..can't remember which bug likes cow manure..but they are all different
the best thing you can do is
compost..some dirt some manure and let it break down with some time..or if you want to work at it..you turn it and add water
composting is an art

if you can get your soil tested that will tell you what you are lacking ..of anything

maybe i need to do a little composting thread...hummmmmmmmmmm will work on that
but mostly it depends on your soil

i'm glad you are enjoyin the pics..i'm havin fun

I picked up some good tips here sky as I was doing a couple of things wrong when planting, thank you for all that effort you took for us.

aahhh yes more photos and tips

Cool so if it has a bad smell it must be good for the plant...lol Easy one to remember

yep..
or if there are nice worms in it

I can just see you now R, plantin a little vegie garden, putting in maybe a dwarf fruit tree or two. he,he.

Is it compost that you put on the soil that make the worms sky, cause I have noticed that worms in our neck of the woods are very low on the ground, (oz term meaning little to zero).

Reunite I'm in the same pot as you in regards to having to grow in pots for the most part.

Last year I bought four of these self watering pots and I would happily put myself on their testomonial page! They're good!

http://greensmartpots.com/

If you don't have access to soil then Debco organic potting mix is the way to go!

http://www.debco.com.au/products/potting/OrganicMix.php

I do have a mix for the pots but not on hand. It involves adding cow or chook poo, dolomite lime, and dynamic lifter.


I've got all my herbs in pots like Sky's, aswell as all my chilli plants!

Loving the Garden series Sky

Mate I plan on potting some herbs first, chilli's sound like a nice move too