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Have you ever tried growing tomatoes yourself?

Nothing like those that grow organically in our garden. Want to know my secrets?

If you do not have the possibility of sowing, you still have the option of feet to plant in the garden or in pots on the balcony.

Oh yes, why not? Even more so if you have a south-facing balcony. Make it profitable!

This year, I'm going for it. It's been a long time since I last made a very beautiful, very natural tomato. I got there a little late and missed the planting season. So, I went to the garden center.

At 5.10 € the 3 tomato plants, which will give me at least 5 kilos each, that makes me per kilo of tomatoes at ... 0.34 €! On the market, they exceed € 1.80 per kilo at the moment, it all depends on the varieties. The season being 5 months, if I consume 1 kilo per week, I save at least: 30 €.

And here I am with my 3 feet of tomatoes which will ensure the consumption of my little family until the fall. I unearthed them pretty pots, big enough, and big stakes, to make them grow under my awning, sheltered from the rain and the wind.

The leaves and fruits of this beautiful red do not like showers. It attracts them all kinds of miseries and the like diseases as'powdery mildew.

In Brittany, all the same, I could have played lazily when it comes to watering, but no, not with tomatoes!

Tomatoes at the foot of the wall

They are delighted:directly south ! If they don't give me tasty fruit, I quit. And since they are next to the front door, I don't risk forgetting them. A little watering every 3 days, and who is the big fruit for?

You can also plant marigolds and lavender. Installed in the ground before them, it seems that it diffuses I do not know what in the ground which protects them. I note for next year. As to with basil, which I placed next to it, it seems that it makes the tomatoes less acidic. Yum. I'm going to binge on gazpachos.

To discover : The Practical Guide For Combining Vegetables From Your Garden.

It reminds me of my friend Jacqueline who puts every year 4 feet of Cherry tomatoes on his balcony in Paris in planters. The balustrade acting as a tutor. Too funny the aperitif while pecking directly on the foot, at the source.

But that's not all, before eating them, we should perhaps feed them.

The tomato is very friendly with nitrogen

So now that I'm green (according to my children!), I have tricks. I'm going to try my hand at nettle manurelike organic fertilizer.

Anaïs keeps saying it: "Nettle is your friend!". So, I lugged my unconvinced children in search of the lost nettle ... or almost, on the side of the roads before they were mown by the municipal employee.

Discover here the nettle manure recipe that your vegetable garden will love!

What does nettle have to please? Nitrogen when it breaks down. So you have to put chopped nettle at the bottom of the hole when you plant your tomatoes and sprinkle with nettle manure: 1 time per week, 10 ml of nettle manure in 2 liters of water. Then every 2 weeks when the flowers come out.

Tomatoes are friends with copper

I just thought I was going to have to snatch some copper wire from my kid's tinkerer.

And why do ? To pierce my tomato plants at the base, because the legend says that it protects them against the mildew. And me, when I can avoid the pesticides and other nut chemicals I take!

On this subject, I came across a book that might connect you well, too: "Nettle manure and company: plants to the rescue of plants".

The tomato has its sweet tooth

No I'm not talking about my kids, but about those kinds of branches that grow under the armpits of leaves. Well, above rather. Because on a tomato plant, there are leaves and stems on which the tomatoes will grow. If stems grow at the base of the leaves, you have to cut them.

These are the foodies. They exhaust the plant. Oh sure, they'll give tomatoes, but all the tomatoes on the plant will be tiny. Pity ! So you have to check every day that it does not grow back, and hop, we cut if it is the case.

I will also cut off the head at my feet ... of tomato, when the fruit stems will be 5 in number, no more. That way I will have good big fruits.

My little notes

I wrote down in my gardening diary:

- We remove all the leaves when the tomatoes no longer grow, at the end of the season.

- We no longer water when the fruits turn red, to enhance their taste.

- We keep the seeds of a few tomatoes to make 100% free organic next year.

- We do it a little earlier to sow the seeds in a bucket: January in a heated greenhouse, March in an unheated greenhouse

Savings made

I did not sow this year, so I will not give a number. But it's bound to be even more interesting.

But even buying my tomato plants late, I find myself there. Based on 1 kg per week tomatoes, my food budget is reduced by 30 € for the year. And much more preserving the seeds for the following year.

To the delight of my taste buds!

Your turn...

Frankly, I can't wait to make me mozzarella tomatoes ... If you ever know her better than me, I'm counting on you to tell me what she likes in a comment.

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Also to discover:

13 Tips For Growing More, Bigger, and Tastier Tomatoes.

The Little Tip To Make Your Tomatoes Ripe Faster.