Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Caring for Your Plants
Methods for starting your seedlings and transplanting them were
described in Chapter 2 “Starting Your Plants.” In this chapter, we will
look at how to train the plants and some accessories that will facilitate
this process.
Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and cucumbers must be trained vertically
to best utilize the growing area of your room. I use plastic string to sup-
port the plants to either a series of hooks or a support wire above. If you
are growing the plants in a spare bedroom, you probably do not want to
suspend wires with hooks along the ceiling. I believe it is more presentable
to use decorative hooks (available at garden centers) that are used for hang-
ing plant baskets from your ceiling. Use one hook for each plant. After all,
how many plants are you going to grow? Probably no more than 8 to 10
vine crops. One European cucumber plant that produces two to three fruit
per week has always been more than enough for my salads. Several pep-
per plants and five to six tomatoes should be sufficient for all the peppers
and tomatoes of an average family. Remember to grow at least one cherry
tomato. I have never tasted any better tomato than the cherries!
STRINGING
Tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers will have to be lowered as they approach
the ceiling. Indoors you will probably carry your plants for about 6 to
7 months from seeding. That is, two crops per year. We will talk about
that later when discussing cropping schedules. At this point, however, it is
important to decide on how long you wish to carry the crops as that will
determine how much extra string you should allow for the lowering pro-
cess. Generally, I have found that tomatoes over a period of 6 to 7 months
will grow to a length of about 11 to 12 feet. So, if you have an 8-foot ceil-
ing, allowing 2 feet for your lights, that gives you about 5 to 6 feet of use-
able height for the plants. Use “tomahooks,” which are special wire hooks
for attaching to your support cable or hook above (Figure 4.1). Wind 12 to
14 feet of string on the hooks to give you from 10 to 12 feet of string that
will support your plants (2 feet is needed from the ceiling to the tops of the
plants at their full height). This extra string will permit your lowering of
the plants weekly as they reach within 2 feet of the ceiling.
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