Sunday, April 17, 2011

transplanting tomatoes and chayote

On Wednesday, I transplanted three of our tallest tomato plants.  In a big tub, I mixed in some compost, bone meal, blood meal, worm casting chicken manure, a little bit of kelp meal, greensand, and dolomite lime.

Tomato planting

Tomato planting

After I loosened up the soil and dug three big holes, the compost mixture went into the holes with a handful of crushed eggshells sprinkled on top.  Some soil was mixed in to reach the depth I wanted.

Tomato planting

Tomato planting

Then, I snipped off the lower branches and planted the tomatoes deeply.  The tomatoes look really happy in their permanent spots (for the season).  The rest of our tomatoes are getting really big in their 4-inch pots.  I need to transplant them soon.

Tomato planting


Tomato planting


Tomato planting

I also planted a chayote squash.  Chayote is a tender perennial in tropical or subtropical area, so it should survive the winter in our climate.  It's grown as an annual in cooler climates.  I like chayote squashes, but I LOVE their vines.  I always look for them when I go to the farmer's market.  Young shoots and leaves simply sautéed with garlic tastes fantastic.

chayote

I bought the chayote squash on the left about 2 months ago.  I kept it by the kitchen window and it sprouted.  The vine was about 3 inches by the time I planted it.  I later purchased the one on the right (about 1 month ago).  It's showing sign of sprouting.  I guess I'll have to wait a little before I can plant it out.

chayote

This is our first time growing chayote.  I did some research.  Some said to bury the whole squash leaving only the tip of the sprout above the ground and some said to plant it at an angle with the fat side down so that the stem end is just at the soil level.  I decided to follow the second method.

2 comments:

Mac said...

The chayote will grow well for you, it's a perennial plant in Socal. I grew them last year but didn't get many mature fruits because they didn't set fruits until mid or late October, by that time our weather had gone way down and lots of baby fruits were frozen, I'm growing it again this year, I'll be happy with the shoots saute with garlic.
Good luck with your chayote.

Sherry said...

Thanks, Mac. I read that they are day length sensitive, so they won't flower and set fruit until fall. The season here should be enough for the fruits to mature. It'll be great if we can get some fruits. If not, I'll be happy with the shoots, too.