My New Book: The Modern Homestead Garden: Growing Self-Sufficiency in Any Size Backyard. You can find it at these different locations... Thanks 4 the Support! Amazon: https:amzn.to/3Hfejue Barnes & Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-modern-homestead-garden-gary-pilarchik/1137153105?ean=9780760368176 Books A Million: www.booksamillion.com/p/Modern-Homestead-Garden/Gary-Pilarchik/9780760368176?id=7961563419439# An Autographed Copy of my book is at my seed and garden shop: www.therustedgarden.com/search?type=product&q=book My seed and garden shop can be found www.therustedgarden.com You can find my new Gardening Podcast here. I am doing 45 minute podcasts now with CaliKim called 'Gardening Coast2Coast Podcasts' gardeningcoast2coast.net/ You can also find our podcasts here on Buzzsprout www.buzzsprout.com/1846799 There are several options to chose from. Seed Starting Supplies: amzn.to/2GrGaZ7 As an Amazon Associated I earn from Garden Fertilizers: amzn.to/2DIQDRY qualifying purchases. It is free to use Garden Disease & Pest Control: amzn.to/2Fqvl8e Here are some links to my Amazon Storefront. Grow Lights:amzn.to/2GudeiO I turn most of that back into the garden and videos. Amazon General Search Page: amzn.to/2DZBzyZ THANKS! Greatly Appreciated - Gary (TRG) I have Neem Oil, Peppermint Oil, Sprayers, Seeds and so much more at my shop...Please check out my Seed & Garden Shop for your gardening needs at www.therustedgarden.com

Found this Channel 3 days ago. It's now my Favorite KZfaq CHANNEL! Thank you for all the great videos. I appreciate Gary.

You really are one of the best gardeners on the internet Gary thanks for so much info it's like going to gardening college lol

LOL "maybe a frying pan"

I saw the flood devastation in Maryland.. Glad you're ok!!! Great video..TY!!

I am using the aeroponics method with my tomatoes and the results are amazing!.

I could not watch this video without commenting about the frying pan. You two are having so much fun with the competition. I love it.

Love watching your channel. I love gardening want to grow vegetables. You have giving me so much information. Thank you.

I'm learning so much from your videos. Thank you!

thanks gary for sharing the much needed information. do enjoy your videos

A frying pan lol. That made me chuckle.😊

Great video again. I need to get some fish emulsion. I’m starting a worm bin and hope to have worm casting tea soon also. Thanks for sharing as always. Have a great day..!!

First viewed. Just in time for this one. I just planted my beef steak tomatoes plants (playing along with you guys).

Thanks so much for the videos is helping me with my tomatoes 🍅

Thank you Gary! Good information about fertilizing. I've got to get some work castingsnandnan organic fertilizer too. I'll watch for your updates on the tomato challenge!

Gary I never thought of regular scissors but I will try Thanks for teaching me Sir. Someone told me to trim the growing tips near freezing in the fall to give growth to finish the tomato harvest and I will always do it now.

I’m happy you and your garden have come out unscathed!

Great video again 👏👏👏

I'm rootin' for ya, Gary! Beefsteaks are the best!

Watering from my the bottom works! I tryed it! It works!

I remember several years ago when I first started growing tomatoes. I see the white nodes at the base of my plants and was like OMG my plant has a weird growth it’s got a parasite 🤣

:O My Mom would always have us remove all the suckers, and we would all be so confused as to why we didn't have a lot of tomatos!!!! Now I am doing my own garden and this is so good to know!!

Don't count your tomatoes yet Gary. Althought Ive not made the video yet I am still in this comp and think you will both be surprised at what the UK has to offer. The video will be very soon as I am weeks behind both of you due to the real bad weather and the fact I hadnt sown beefstake tomatoes. I sowed them about a week after I spoke with you both about joining this challenge. You are both so sure you will win, I hope you know that this record is coming to me ;)

LOLOLLLL HAHAHAA maybe a frying pan!! Hilarious! I am loving watching you two battle it out.

I want some of those tomato cage things you have! Those are awesome!

My tomato plants have flowers and are huge I'm in GA zone 7 too the weather has been crazy, I already have zucchini and squash almost full size to harvest, my melons are producing flowers for fruit I can't wait to harvest this season

Very nice video

I vermicompost year-round in the basement. When doing final sifting, removing andvreturning worms bscknyonthr bins, I blend in 50% coconut core. Its for personal use and enables me to fond smaller worms. Makes it easy to blend into the garden too. Very effective tip.

I know you're not too far from EC. Glad to see that the Rusted Garden made it thru ok

Thanks So Much For The Information On Pruning And How To Fertilize! Now I Know Why My Tomatoes Look Like Skeleton Every Year. Its Because I Clip The Suckers! Not Going To Clip Them This Year To See What I Get. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Great job Gary

Very great Video Gary, Cheers

💕👌Người bạn video tuyệt vời, cảm ơn vì đã chia sẻ

I love your tips. I've learned so much from your videos - thanks for what you're doing!

for years and years, we used old news papers to keep the dirt from splashing up and hold some moisture

My dad grew some beefsteak tomatoes one year that weighed over three pounds each, they put his picture with them in the Teamster newsletter. The next year he used to much fertilizer and had humongous plants but not many tomatoes. After that he became a constantly good tomato gardener. One technique he used was a metal pipe for a stake. He drilled holes in the pipe where the roots would be when driven into the ground. He used liquid fertilizer and poured it in the pipe. Worked great just don't overdo the fertilizer. I personally like Tomato Tone , Epson salts, egg shells pulverized and a little lime, also liquid fertilizer when I plant and again in about 2 months.

I’m growing beefsteak tomatoes 🍅 this year for the first time .

I highly recommend putting fish in the hole. I always have but didn't this year and my tomatoes didn't do guite as good as the last 8 years. I think it gives them nutrients but also draws in earth worms around the roots and that is really good for the plant. By the way my tomatoes do so well that the neighbors call me Mr Tomato Man.

GOOD VIDEO,GOOD INFO!!!!

After watching a few video's on determinate and indeterminate tomatoes, I finally gave up on what to do, so what I will do is just trim the bottom leaves, most video's say sucker the indeterminate, and don't sucker the determinate, I could go crazy deciding what plant to sucker and what to leave alone, so my plan is just to leave the sucker's on and trim the bottom leave's. My decision is due to this video, you make more sense than most of the video's. thank's

I add worm castings to my seed-starting mix too

there is a huge bamboo patch close to where I live that I have access to so when I need them I cut what I want. Bamboo is great. last for years too.

Great video

Living in south eastern US and routing for you in this challenge as well as getting fantastic tips for my beefsteak tomatoes! I wish I could ask you a question about my basil plant before the sub tropical storm hits.

Crab and lobster shell is great for top dressing it’s great for blossom end rot lots of calcium and magnesium great for bugs also

I plant in February in lousiana and i let the lower branches go until temps start to approach 80 degrees generally. As i see yellowing begin to occur i begin to prune those lower branches, but i often get first fruits down very low, and then higher up as the plant progresses. I do use the fish emulsion, epsom salt, and organic calcium, and i like Jobes specific for tomatoes.

enjoyed your video

Frying pan! So funny 😂

Great video. I love the way but you and Cali Kim keeps everything simple. I will say being from the northeast I am rooting for you, but I wish you both good luck.

Hi again Gary! I know it is early in the season. I really enjoy all your videos but am equally interested in your favorite recipes to make with things for your garden. If you can for later use, do you have any interesting combinations you like? I thought this might be fun new videos to see from you in the future. Happy gardening!

I have that same tomato cage (5 of 'em actually) that were SOO pretty when they were new and red. Mine are orange now too! They're really too small for my tomato plants already this year, but they'll do!

Looking good. I put mine in a large container. Doing a video tomoro on mine.

I'm in 5B and I just planted like a week ago and had some seeds come up. I grew 8 plants I bought from a fundraiser last year by adding in lime and Dr Earth fertilizer, some in ground watering close to roots with a soda can with holes in put in the ground, and fertilized on a schedule. I have clay like soil too. I'm doing something different this year to try out, and I do have different granular fertilizers. My own seedlings didn't fare well with hardening off. I only had 3 to plant. I have 2 or 3 spoon seedlings still growing in their pot.

thank you!

LOL 2 fish and a frying pan :P so funny :D. using your idea of sunken planter can cut bottom out of a pot bury it around plant with 6+ inches above ground to fill with soil when plant gets big enough so can root up stalk. This is to make up for her transplanting outside and being able to plant deeper.

Good video

Love your videos! They have REALLY helped me out in my garden and get much better production!!! Could you tell me (us) where we can get that tomato cage? I can't seem to find a decent cage without spending an arm and a leg. I know you tend to be cost effective, which works for me! So, I assume they do not cost too much! Lol Thanks again!

I started using azomite as well for trace minerals, and if i have them i do add fish down 6-8 inches deep, and worm casting if i can find them locally, and i top dress with a wood chip/ leaves and twig mulch. , that has been run through a chipper., and this is just to create nice aeration and a nice protective canopy to hold moisture, and nutients in.

Love this channel. I was wondering where to get those v-shaped cages? They look awesome and seem to be a space saver.

no kidding I was waiting for frying pan when she threw the fish in the hole...lol

I use the little colour stone pebbles in the bag and doctor earth tomatoes don’t like a lot of water right

No worm farm Gary? Super easy and you get a nice supply of fresh castings.

A frying pan... dying laughing at that one Gary... subtle shade... #rootingforyouboth #funchallenge #immaeastcoastertoo

This video is super helpful. I've been taking notes and this was very informational. If I could rate it out of 5 I would give it a 4.7

Nice

Once the fruit starts to set, wouldn't a higher phosphorous number be a good thing?

Oh! I see you have Chef’s choice Red (AAS). I’m trying Chef’s choice pink. I’m SO excited. I’ve never tried to grow a large tomato before....only cherry tomatoes.

Gary v. CaliKim, huh? This will be fun! I couldn't help but grin during the 1st minute of this video. It's expected to hit 100 degrees here in TX next week, and all tomatoes are pretty much played out for now. Got a ton of fruit off my Cherokee Purple & sudden wind gust blew it over (in container). Noticed some had BER, so have found that I'm having to use gypsum as often as liquid fertilizer. MUST water every day. Determinate toms still full of fruit just now starting to turn, but indeterminate just not doing well. Got some on the porch, which cuts temp a bit, and a few in part shade to cut temp, so still trying. Think it's now too hot for zucchini now; plenty of girls, but blossoms just won't open. Peppers and eggplant, as well as cherry sized toms doing well. Have TONS of green beans, and bulb onions about done; they don't get too big because can't put in ground, & bed is only about 4" deep. Now going into drought here. Have had great showers that are missing me by 2 BLOCKS! Makes me so mad! GL in your CaliKim challenge!

Not as bad down here in coastal VA, but still rainy and humid. Despite pruning lower stems, mulching, and weekly baking soda spray (adding aspirin every other week), yesterday I discovered what looks like leaf spot on all my tomatoes. Got rid of affected stems and sprayed again with baking soda. Crossing my fingers.

I remove the suckers and plant them, starting new plants.

I hear sarcasm. I love the frying pan comment.

1:47 that one caught me off guard :D

Hi just a suggestion when you plant your tomatoes plant them deeper ..remove the bottom leaves and dig a hole and plant them .as they grow top the soil up like potatoes then you get a good root system .plants are healthier stronger and weather resistant and better tomatoes

Really helpful video, Gary. Enjoying watching your and Kim's channels! You mentioned that you water with worm tea and fish emulsion about every 1-2 weeks. How often do you top dress like you showed? (If you mentioned it I don't think I caught it.) I have a worm bin so am harvesting my own castings every so often but not sure when I should use it (first time gardener!). Thanks!

This is super cool, totally subscribed to your channel. My question is, other websites / videos said to take out the suckers (prune them) to make the plant devote more energy to tomatoes instead of leaves and such. I'm in a 5B area (not 7 like you) so is that a better way to do it? I'm mostly doing beefsteaks this season (amana orange, brandywine OTV) and some black cherry little tomatoes which aren't growing as robustly. I'm growing my seedlings inside without artificail light, just window light, so it's a bit of a challenge

Hey Gary, loved the video. We had a couple of locust trees cut down 2 months ago, and they turned the stumps into mulch for me. Is it okay to use mulch that new for my tomatoes, or should I buy some from a box store instead so it is more aged? Thanks if you get a chance to answer:-)

Another great video Gary. Was wondering your thoughts on using cardboard for mulch.

If I soak my plants with fish emulsion I get raccoons shortly after digging everything up. Sometimes foxes. If I put it only on the soil I can then water it in after and they'll leave my garden alone.

What if all i have are flower clusters because i cut to much? Did I kill my plant? I bought it at the store and mine has three main branches from the bottom. Please help

I use my aquarium water on tank cleaning day. Is that ok to use??? I’ve been using it on my peppers 🌶 , tomatoes 🍅 , watermelons, cucumbers 🥒, green beans, house plants, my out door flowers, and herbs! Would that have the right ferts?

What is the white container in the middle of the bed? A vermicomposter?

Can you do a video on how to grow asparagus and what bugs and problems there are with growing asparagus please??!!

very helpful. how often do you put the slow release fertilizer during growing season? And what about epsom salt? I am just sticking to FE and worm casting tea for liquid feed. Would you suggest adding the miracle gro liquid feed too?

a friend gave me a bottle of Alaskan fish fertilizer 511, is this okay to use on tomatoes, cucumbers and pole beans? Thanks for all your videos.

Hi, Gary. Do you have the link to the whole playlist?

Gary I use straw for a weed block is that a good idea?

Hi Gary, What size is the bed in the video? If you kept air flow and pruning good, do you think you could push 3 plants across instead of the 2 across? I look at my 4x8 beds and sometimes I feel that I have "wasted" space,,,Im wondering if you think 3 may work,,,,thanks for all your videos

What do I do??? I tried to follow the directions on the JOBE fertilizer bag for established tomato plants. I used 1 full cup per 10' by 2' foot garden beds. I noticed you just sprinkled the fertilizer. Did I just kill my beautiful plants???!!!

Hi Gary, I am getting long leaves that droop to the ground. Can I cut back part of the leaves on a stem so they will not promote issues? Also, if you inadvertently break a main stem, how should you proceed?

Can I add store bought hay on top of my seeded cucumber, zucchini, eggplant containers and transplanted tomatoes planted May 22nd in Detroit MI instead of mulch?

Do you have any vids addressing keeping indeterminate tomatoes from growing over 4 feet tall? Does the rain ever destroy any of your tomato plants or fruit?

How do you support the very heavy trusses, just lost both of my bottom 2 trusses because of weight, trusses just sheared/snapped off main stem :( they had like 6 beautiful forming tomatos on each truss, had to bin them.

Calikim will definitely win the challenge.... her zone has high UV Rays ...so much that she often throws shade cloths. Her fish in the hole ...is a proven technique used by ancient ancestors including Mayan and even here in America by the native American. That followed by her irrigation system... well we shall see who wins ..

I live in Arizona. We've already had quite a few 100 degree weather days. Is that okay for my beefsteak tomato plant and is the constant sun too much?

What was the stake at 8:34, looked like copper or bamboo. where did you buy that from? Love your videos 💕

Do you take the temperature of your soil prior to planting tomatoes, do you know if 45/50 degrees is to cold to plant tomatoes?

Is there a moisture meter you recommend? If any

is it best to use either worm castings or organic fertilizer or is using both on plant at same time ok? do you feed the plants every 4-6 weeks with these? (jobes says to plant every 4-6 weeks). Can you use all three - castings, fertilizer, and compost at same time or is this too much? also do you water with the tea 1x/week during the watering process?

What part of Maryland are you in? I’m down in st. Mary’s county my tomato plants are about 4 or 5 feet so far already setting fruit

Is the white pvc pipe for composting ? IT was in the center of the tomato bed