SUNFLOWER PLANT

GROWING SUNFLOWERS

Botanical Name: Helianthus

Plant Type: Flower

Sun Exposure: Full Sun

Soil Type: Loamy, Sandy

Soil pH: Alkaline/

Bloom Time: Summer

Flower Color: Yellow

Hardiness Zones

Special Features:Attracts Birds,

Sunflowers say “summer” like no other plant. Heliotropic, they direct their growth in
response to sunlight! Native to North America, sunflowers are heat-tolerant, resistant to pests, and
beautiful. You can even harvest them for seed. An annual plant, sunflowers have big, daisy-like
flower faces of bright yellow petals (and occasionally red) and brown centers that ripen into heavy
heads filled with seeds.
Tall and coarse, the plants have creeping or tuberous roots and large, bristly leaves. Some
sunflowers grow to over 16 feet in height, though there are also varieties today that have been
developed for small spaces and containers.
Most sunflowers are remarkably tough and easy to grow as long as the soil is not
waterlogged. Most are heat- and drought-tolerant. They make excellent cut flowers and many are
attractive to bees and birds.
 TOMATO PLANT

Top 10 Tomato Growing Tips

How to Grow Your Best Tomato

1. Start with seeds.

Buying and setting out transplants is the easiest way to grow tomatoes. But to explore the many
distinctive varieties available, start seeds indoors. Six to eight weeks before the last frost, sow seeds in
pots filled with seed-starting or potting mix. When the seedlings sprout two sets of leaves, transplant
them into bigger containers.
2. Seek the heat.

Seedlings need lots of light and heat. Put them in a sunny window, or 4 to 6 inches under an artifical
light, to encourage stout stems. To prepare for transplanting, set them outside for a few hours daily in
early spring. When temperatures stay above 55, it’s time to plant.

3. Show your support.

To help keep your tomatoes clean and disease-free, provide plenty of support with stakes, trellises or
cages. Vining (also known as “indeterminate”) tomatoes will grow until killed by frost. Keep them off the
ground with at least a 5- to 8-foot-tall cage or a trellis. Bush varieties (known as “determinate”
tomatoes) are especially good choices for containers or small spaces. Use small stakes or cages.

4. Know your dirt.

Tomatoes grow well in soils with a slightly acidic pH level of 5.8 to 7, but they adapt nicely to slightly
alkaline soils, too. If your soil is sandy or claylike, work in 2 to 3 inches of compost. Have your soil tested
and follow the recommendations for best results.

5. Quench their thirst.

The best thing for tomatoes is consistent watering. This helps prevent leaf-end roll, blossom-end rot and
“cat facing”—those misshapen cracks you sometimes see on the stem end of the fruit. Give tomatoes at
least an inch of water a week. Water in the morning to help prevent disease and leaf burn. And don’t
water the leaves.

6. Mulch ’em.

Mulch keeps soil moist, protects low-growing tomatoes from resting on the ground and helps prevent
potentially disease-spreading soil from splashing onto the foliage during a good rain. It also controls
weeds and keeps the soil cool. Use organic mulches, such as leaves, straw or marsh hay, or herbicide-
free grass clippings. As these materials break down, they enrich the soil and improve its structure.

7. Don’t get suckered.

If you train tomatoes on a single stake for support, keep removing the suckers, those little shoots that
appear in the crotch between the stem and branches. Suckers turn into fruiting stems, which lead to an
even larger plant that’s hard to contain to a single stake. Removing them will give you fewer but earlier
fruits. If you use tomato cages or let plants sprawl on the ground, leave the suckers on for a more
fruitful harvest. And always keep the leaves, which produce the nutrients that make tomatoes delicious.
8. Focus your energy.

About a month before the first frost, pluck new flower clusters off tomato plants to direct energy into
already-set fruits.

9. Cool it.

You can store ripe tomatoes at room temperature for a few days. To keep them longer, store in a dry,
fairly cool location. But taste-lovers beware: If kept in temperatures below 55 degrees, tomatoes lose
their flavor.

10. Plant plenty.

A rule of thumb says you’ll need two tomato plants for every tomato eater in your household. But if you
plan on canning, four per person is a better bet. In either case, there’s plenty of good taste in s

1. Don't Crowd Tomato Seedlings in Their Pots

Tomato Seedlings

Once your seedlings have grow "true leaves", they can be put into individual pots. Kevin Summers /
Getty Images

If you are starting tomatoes from seed, be sure to give the seedlings plenty of room to branch out.
Crowded conditions inhibit their growth, which stresses them and leads to disease later on. You should
transplant tomato seedlings into their own individual 4-inch pots shortly after they get their first set of
true leaves. Here are some detailed tips for growing tomatoes from seed.

2. Provide Lots of Light

Light for Seedlings

Keep seedlings within inches of the light source. © Marie Iannotti

Tomato seedlings need strong, direct light. Days are short during winter, so even placing them near a
very sunny window may not provide them with sufficient natural light. Unless you are growing them in a
greenhouse, your best option is to use some type of artificial plant lighting, for 14 - 18 hours every day.

To ensure the tomato plants grow stocky, not spindly, keep the young plants only a couple of inches
from fluorescent grow lights. You will need to raise the lights (or lower the plants) as the seedlings grow.
When you're ready to plant them outside, choose the sunniest part of your vegetable garden to plant
them in.
 3. Put a Fan on Your Tomato Seedlings.

Growing plants

s0ulsurfing - Jason Swain / Getty Images

Tomato plants need to move and sway in the breeze, to develop strong stems. That happens naturally
outdoors, but if you start to grow your seedlings inside, you will need to provide some type of air
circulation. Create a breeze by turning a fan on them for 5 - 10 minutes, twice a day. That small amount
of time will make a big difference.

Another option is to ruffle the tomato plants by gently rubbing your hand back and forth across their
tops for a few minutes. You will need to do this several times a day. It's a bit more effort, but their
wonderful tomato scent will rub off on you, as a bonus.

4. Preheat the Soil in Your Garden

Plastic Mulch Sheeting

Plastic mulch sheeting warms the soil before planting. © Marie Iannotti

Tomatoes love heat. They won't really start to grow until both the soil and air temperatures remain
warm. You can speed things up in the soil by covering the planting area with black or red plastic a couple
of weeks before you intend to plant. Those extra degrees of soil warmth will translate into earlier
tomatoes.

You can lift the plastic before you plant, but some research contends that red plastic mulch has the
added benefit of increasing your tomato yield.

5. Bury The Stems of Tomato Plants

How to Plant a Tomato

Bury the stem of the tomato seedling, for a stronger plant. © Marie Iannotti

Plant your tomato plants deeper than they come in the pot, all the way up to the top few leaves. When
planted this way, tomatoes are able to develop roots all along their stems. And more roots will make for
a stronger plant.

You can either dig a deep hole or simply dig a shallow trench and lay the plant sideways. It will quickly
straighten itself up and grow toward the sun. Just be careful not to drive your tomato stake or cage into
the buried stem.
 6. Mulch Tomatoes After the Soil Has Warmed

Mulching with Straw

Straw Makes a Great Vegetable Garden Mulch. © Marie Iannotti

If you are not going to leave plastic mulch on the soil (see Tip #4, above), hold off on putting down
mulch until after the ground has had a chance to warm up. While mulching does conserve water and
prevents the soil and soil born diseases from splashing up on the plants, if you put it down too early it
will also shade and cool the soil. Since tomatoes love heat, allow the sun to warm the soil in the spring.
Once temperatures remain warm, both during the day and at night, you can add a layer of mulch to
retain moisture.

7. Remove the Bottom Leaves of Tall Tomato Plants

Tomato Leaf Spot

Many tomato diseases start with the older, lower leaves and move up the plant. © Marie Iannotti

Once your tomato plants reach about 3 ft. tall, remove the leaves from the bottom 1 ft. of stem. These
are the oldest leaves and they are usually the first leaves to develop fungus problems. As the plants fill
out, the bottom leaves get the least amount of sun and air flow. And being close to the ground, soil born
pathogens can easily splash up onto them. Removing them helps prevent fungal diseases from taking
hold. Spraying weekly with compost tea also seems to be effective at warding off fungus diseases.

8. 313Pinch and Prune Tomato Plants for More Tomatoes

Tomato Suckers

Tomato suckers form in the joinst of branches. © Marie Iannotti

Pinch and remove suckers that develop in the crotch joint of two branches. They won’t bear fruit and
will take energy away from the rest of the plant.

However, go easy on pruning the rest of the plant. You can thin out a few leaves to allow the sun to
reach the ripening fruit, but it's the leaves that are photosynthesizing and creating the sugars that give
flavor to your tomatoes. Fewer leaves will mean less sweet tomatoes.

9. Water the Tomato Plants Regularly.

Blossom End Rot doesn't show up until the tomato ripens. © Marie Iannotti

Water deeply and regularly while the fruits are developing. Irregular watering - missing a week and
trying to make up for it - leads to blossom end rot and cracking. The rule of thumb is to ensure your
plants get at least 1 inch of water per week, but during hot, dry spells, they may need more. If your
plants start to look wilted for most of the day, give them a drink.

Once the fruit begins to ripen, you can ease up on watering. Lessening the water will coax the plant into
concentrating its sugars, for better flavor. Use your judgment. Don’t withhold water so much that the
plants continually wilt and become stressed or they will drop their blossoms and possibly their fruit.

10. U0038Getting Your Tomato Plants to Set Tomatoes

Tomatoes growing on the vine

Cecile Lavabre/Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images

A lot of vegetable gardening is at the mercy of the weather, but sometimes we can help things along.
There are two types of tomato plants. Determinate tomatoes reach a certain height and then set and
ripen their fruit all at one time, making a large quantity available when you’re ready to make a sauce.
These tend to start flowering fairly early in the season and it shouldn't be a problem getting them to set
fruit unless weather conditions are unfavorable and cause a condition aptly named "blossom drop".

Those big, juicy beefsteak tomatoes we all crave grow on indeterminate plants. Indeterminate means
the plants just keep growing taller. (Tomatoes are actually vines that we stake and grow as upright
plants.) Indeterminate tomatoes reach for the sun. They like to grow tall before they start setting fruits.
So don't be alarmed if your tomato plants look healthy and lush, but aren't flowering for their first
month or two in the garden.

If you're impatient, pinching off the tips of the main stems in early summer will encourage
indeterminate tomatoes to start putting their energy into flowering. This is also a handy trick toward the
end of the summer when you want the last tomatoes to hurry up and ripen
Common name: Mango

Botanical name: Mangifera indica

Avg Height X Width: 15' X 15', according to variety

Family: Anacardiaceae

Origin: Southeast Asia and India

Season: May to January, according to variety

Mango Tree Philippine Variety Grafted in a 3 Gallon Container. This variety originated from Philippines
and is also popular in Mexico and Cuba. This small fiberless fruit was introduced to Florida from Cuba. In
Mexico, it is known as Manila, in Philippines - as Carabo. The flesh is soft, melting, and has a sweet rich
flavor, with an aroma typical of the Indo-Chinese types, it is very different from the Indian types. The
fruit hang in clusters on the stem. The tree is well adapted to South Florida. Makes a great shade tree.
Cayenne pepper is a hot chili pepper in
the Capsicum family that is frequently added to
dishes to enhance their flavor.
SWEET PEPPERS & CHILE PEPPERS

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Sweet and chile peppers are both fruits from the pepper bush. When they
are ground as a spice, they are often called "pepper" in the United States,
which can become confusing when compared to peppercorns.

SWEET PEPP ER S
The most commonly known sweet peppers are named for their bell-like
shape. They have a mild, sweet flavor, and varieties include mild peppers
like pimentos (or cherry peppers), European sweet, Cubanelle, and sweet
banana pepper.

These peppers are used best fresh to add sweet or pungent flavors to your
cooking. They can be used raw to add crunch to salads or sandwiches. Red
peppers are often used cooked in Mediterranean cuisine, and dark green
peppers are part of the holy trinity of Creole-style cooking (onion, garlic,
green peppers).

CHILE P EPPE RS
Chile peppers have a high concentration of the hot oil capsaicin. They vary
in their level of spiciness, which is measured in Scoville units on the aptly-
named Scoville scale. Spicy peppers range in size, shape, and variety, and
they come from all over the world (including America, the Caribbean,
Thailand, and Mexico).
The most common spicy pepper varieties include peppers with
fruity flavors like jalapeño pepper, serrano, poblano, Anaheim, ancho chile
pepper, and pasilla. Hotter peppers include habanero pepper, Tabasco (most
commonly known for making hot sauces), Thai chiles, scotch bonnet, and
ghost peppers (one of the hottest pepper in the world).

These spicy peppers are often dried and ground into peppers, or pepper
flakes. When you're chopping chile peppers, it's best to use protection for
your hands. Slick your hands with olive oil before dicing, or wear gloves.

C AY ENN E PE PP ER
The Spicehouse
These long, slender red peppers are hung to dry until all the moisture is
removed, leaving a dark red and crinkly pepper. Finely ground, they should
be stored in dark jars with a tight lid. In addition to adding spice to your
food, cayenne has been used for health benefits.

Use cayenne pepper in large quantities to add heat to your food (like chile),
or in small quantities to brings out the other flavors from your cooking (like
adding a pinch to hummus).