I’m trying a brand new tomato staking system in my garden this summer and here’s a video to help show how simple, easy, and inexpensive it can be to trellis tomatoes in your backyard garden:

Start with the tallest metal fence posts you can find, add a spool of 16 gauge wire, something to tie the tomato vines onto the wire, and there you have everything needed to train and trellis your heirloom tomatoes.

I’m using the tomato trellis clips from Johnny’s Seeds and while they are made of non-biodegradable plastic, they are reusable and can be used from one season to the next. There are also other applications such as training cucumber vines that will put these clips to good use.

Pruning your tomato vines and removing the sucker growth is an important part of the trellising process, but it takes very little effort if you are consistent about it. I have to thank and credit Leslie Zuck of Common Ground Farm for sharing this trellising system at last winter’s annual PASA Conference.

As with any growing method, you should plant your tomato transplants very deeply when setting them out in order to encourage strong root systems. Leslie also emphasized using a mulch around the tomato plants as part of this trellising system. That’s something I normally don’t do with my tomatoes but I’m following her advice and applied a straw mulch after transplanting.

I’ve just strung my third strand of wire along the row and this tomato trellis system is working out better than the cages ever did for me. Plus the wire can be reused over and over, and the t-posts will take up much less space in storage during the off-season.

I don’t think that I’ll be going back to using cages anytime soon! In fact, if anyone local is looking for a couple dozen used tomato cages, I know where you can find some.

Earth Boxes are popular because they are specially designed to eliminate the guesswork and problems related to feeding and watering plants that are container grown. You can use the EarthBox to cultivate the same plants found growing in the typical backyard vegetable garden, and you can even use them to raise edible plants indoors.

Convenient Features and Advantages of Earth Boxes:

•    Built in reservoir guards against over or under watering
•    Mulching system eliminates the need for weeding
•    Casters make it easy to move your garden or track the sun
•    Optional trellis system supports all types of climbing veggies
•    Simple enclosed instructions make its setup and use a snap
•    Serves as a great self-watering planter for the deck or patio

I’m not going to compare the EarthBox to actually growing plants in the ground, but if you don’t have a backyard or space for growing a garden this is a great alternative for producing a limited quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables anywhere there is suitable light. Organic gardeners can easily substitute their favorite organic fertilizers.

Year-Round Production and Planting Guide for the EarthBox:

•    Spring: Sow loose leaf lettuce and leafy green vegetables such as kale, mustard, arugula, and spinach. Fast growing cool weather crops like radishes, kohl rabi, baby turnips, and Swiss Chard can also be included in this rotation.

•    Summer: When the early crops are finished it will be warm enough to transplant tomatoes, peppers, or even eggplants into your Earth Box. Other summer options include cucumbers, squash, melons, and a variety of edible flowers and herbs.

•    Fall: As the days grow cooler and shorter plant another round of fast growing leafy greens including collards, kale, escarole, spinach, and oriental greens. If you time it just right you could even grow a fall crop of broccoli, turnips, cauliflower, or cabbages in your Earth Box.

•    Winter: Rather than shut down the EarthBox for the winter, consider moving it inside to try your hand at growing a few indoor edibles such as herbs, pea shoots, sunflower greens, or mesclun lettuce mixes near a sunny window or under a grow light.

Get that organic garden started today with the incredible Earth Box available right here at the Veggie Gardening Tips storefront for your convenience and without risk as your satisfaction is guaranteed by the OpenSky Project.

You’ll find a number of articles right here at Veggie Gardening Tips related to growing both gourmet and medicinal edible mushrooms, and today I wanted to add a little video content to show just how easy it is to start your own crop of Shiitakes, Maitakes, Oysters, Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Chicken of the Woods, and other interesting and delicious mushroom species.

Grow Your Own Edible Mushrooms Indoors or Out

There are many different techniques used to cultivate mushrooms commercially, but for the home gardener the best options are the convenient kits used to grow them indoors or hardwood log inoculation for cultivating mushrooms outdoors.

The great thing about using hardwood logs is that once they are inoculated and begin fruiting they will continue to produce pound after pound of gourmet mushrooms for years to come at no additional expense or labor requirement.

After watching the mushroom log inoculation video visit the following links to read previous articles here at Veggie Gardening Tips that are related to growing mushrooms in the home or backyard garden.

Links for Additional Mushroom Cultivation Information:

• Inoculating Hardwood Shiitake Mushroom Logs
• Cultivating Mushrooms Indoors with Growing Kits
• Growing Gourmet Edible Mushrooms Outdoors

At times when most gardeners reach for a shovel, a digging fork could actually do a better job. I used the same digging fork for over twenty years, but it was recently retired when I discovered the new NRG PRO Series Digging Fork, manufactured by Radius Garden.

A digging fork is essential for the raised bed gardener and fills more roles than the typical shovel that many gardeners labor with. Digging forks are more efficient than shovels and also require less effort to loosen soil and dig down deeply into the earth.

The Radius NRG PRO Digging Fork incorporates a one piece stainless steel blade, an unbreakable resin encased steel shaft, and a comfortable, round shaped O-handle to create a practical garden tool that is both extremely durable and functional.

If you’re interested in the NRG PRO Digging Fork I hope that you will purchase it from the Veggie Gardening Tips: OpenSky Storefront. Your patronage will help to produce future videos of my favorite gardening tools and supplies, and also demonstrate innovative organic gardening techniques that are perfect for the backyard vegetable gardener.

I’m excited about the opportunity to demonstrate and actually show you many of the tips and gardening techniques in a way that will make it easier than ever for you to follow and implement them in your own backyard garden!