Joeking Tomatoes

05/16/2026

I was talking to a couple people today about squirrels eating their tomatoes. Here is the answer!! Christmas ornaments!! Hang these as your plants grow and squirrels with be deterred by the not tomato to not bother when the real ones come up!! GENIUS!!

Give your tree an extra sense of style this Christmas with the Shatterproof Ornaments. Add ornaments to your Christmas tree or mix and match in a clear bowl or vase for a beautiful holiday display.Find the ORNMNT SHTRPF RED 10PK at Ace.

05/15/2026

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Stop apologizing for your leggy seedlings. That long, stretched stem is the best thing that could have happened to your tomato 🍅

Tomato stems do something most plants can't — any part of the stem buried underground grows roots. When you plant a tall seedling straight up, only the bottom few inches are in the soil making roots. When you lay it sideways in a shallow trench, the entire buried length roots along its full span.

More roots means more water uptake, more nutrients, and a stronger plant that handles dry stretches without folding. The leggiest seedling in the flat often becomes the strongest plant in the bed.

🌿 How to trench-plant a leggy tomato:

- Pinch off the lower leaves, leaving just the top cluster
- Dig a shallow trench instead of a deep hole — long and horizontal, a few inches deep
- Lay the stem flat in the trench with the leafy top sticking up at one end
- Cover the bare stem with soil. Within a couple of days, the exposed top curves upward toward the sun on its own
- Water deeply at planting and the buried stem starts rooting along its length within a week or two

🌱 One thing to watch for:

- If you bought a grafted tomato, keep the graft point above the soil line. Burying it defeats the purpose — the top variety roots on its own and bypasses the rootstock you paid for. This only applies to grafted plants, which are usually labeled

The leggiest seedling in the tray isn't the weakest one. It's the one with the most stem to bury 🌿

05/15/2026

It’s that time of the year!! Pre sales are being picked up and Park Ridge Garden Club sale is tomorrow at Cumberland Park (Park Ridge, IL) 9:00a-1:00p see you there or at the Memorial Day Parade!!

05/07/2026

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Spring wind can be rough on young plants, especially right after transplanting.

This little setup has saved a lot of my tomatoes and peppers on windy weeks. 🌱

I use a tomato cage or wire cage, then wrap clear plastic wrap around the outside to make a temporary wind shield.

Not tight over the plant — just around the sides.

What you need:

Tomato cage or wire cage
Clear plastic wrap
A few clips, tape, or garden ties
A small stake if your wind is extra strong

Steps:

1. Place the cage around the young plant.

2. Push the cage legs deep enough so it doesn’t wobble.

3. Wrap the plastic around the lower half or lower two-thirds of the cage.

4. Leave the top open so heat and air can escape.

5. Secure the plastic so it doesn’t flap and beat against the plant.

6. Check it on sunny days, because plastic can heat up fast.

7. Remove it once the plant is stronger or the worst wind has passed.

It doesn’t have to look pretty.

It just needs to block that hard wind long enough for the roots to settle in and the stems to toughen up.

I like this better than leaving new transplants completely exposed during those rough spring days.

Do you protect your young plants from wind, or just let them tough it out?

05/05/2026

The more you know.

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One pinch at the right time does more than a month of feeding. Removing a growing tip forces the plant to branch — and every new branch means another round of flowers, fruit, or leaves. 🌿

Nine plants to pinch or prune in May:

Basil — pinch the central stem back to just above a leaf node once the plant has 3 to 4 sets of leaves (around 6 to 8 inches tall). Two branches replace the one you removed. Repeat every two weeks and one stem becomes a dense bush that produces all summer.

Tomatoes (indeterminate varieties) — snap out the suckers that form in the crook between the main stem and each branch. Left unpruned, suckers become full secondary stems that shade the interior and compete with fruit for energy.

Peppers — pinch off the first flower buds that form at the very top of the young plant, sometimes called the "queen bud." Redirecting that early energy into branching produces more fruit sites and a stronger structure before summer heat arrives.

Mint — shear the whole plant back by about half when stems start getting leggy. Mint responds to hard cuts with a flush of tender growth from every node, and regular shearing keeps runners from escaping the bed.

Zucchini — remove the oldest lower leaves as they begin to yellow and droop toward the soil. Improves airflow to the base, reduces powdery mildew pressure, and lets pollinators reach the female flowers at the center of the plant.

Sage — cut stems back by a third after the spring growth flush hardens off. Without regular shaping sage goes woody and sparse, but a firm trim pushes new soft growth you can harvest through summer.

Oregano — shear the entire mound back low just before flower buds open. Flavor peaks right before bloom. The hard cut triggers a second flush of tender aromatic leaves.

Cucumbers (trellised) — remove the first 4 to 6 lateral shoots from the base as the vine climbs. Lower growth diverts energy from fruit production higher up and traps humidity near the soil where disease starts.

Lavender — trim spent flower stalks as soon as the first bloom round finishes. Prevents seed-setting and reliably pushes a second flush of flowers before fall. Cut into the green growth just above the woody base — never into the wood itself. 🌱

Less growth. More harvest. Every cut has a reason. 🪴

05/05/2026

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Maximize your garden's potential! 🍅🌿

04/11/2026

Here pepper pepper peppers!!

02/03/2026

It’s that time of year again!! Let’s start planning for warm weather and TOMATOES!! Send a DM with your order. $6 or 2/$10

04/03/2025

Good to know.

What do you grow with tomatoes and peppers?

Read our latest post with lots of Companion Plants for Tomatoes and Peppers:
sandiaseed.com/blogs/news/companion-plants-for-tomatoes-and-peppers

There are a lot of great companion plants that you can pair with tomatoes and peppers in the garden. If you have a small space, companion planting other vegetables and herbs is a great way to get more harvest out of your garden!

Can you plant peppers and tomatoes together?

While it is said you should plant them apart because they do share pests and diseases and can compete for the same nutrients, often times gardeners just don't have much room in a home garden so we plant peppers and tomatoes together often.

So the answer is yes, you can pair tomatoes and peppers together. Just make sure leave enough space for the tomatoes to grow to their full size. Tomato seedlings are small when young, but they grow into very large plants, so we like to plant peppers to the south of them to avoid getting completely shaded by their height at the end of the season. Also be sure to leave enough room (at least 24 inches apart) for airflow between the peppers and tomato plants, which can help curb disease or pests and reduce productivity. Both tomatoes and peppers have similar growth requirements, so they can be grown together with success!

Here are our top Companion Plant picks
for Tomatoes and Peppers:

1. Marigolds
2. Parsley
3. Onions

See the rest at:
sandiaseed.com/blogs/news/companion-plants-for-tomatoes-and-peppers

Hint: There are a ton more companion options! :)

03/09/2025

2025 Varieties
(descriptions in photos)

Persimmon
Long Keeper Winter Storage
Glacier (D)
Garden Peach
Federle
Earliana
Chocolate Cherry
Black Sea Man (D)
Redfield Beauty
Blondkophchen