Tomatoes

For years I've tried to grow tomatoes, and for years I've harvested only a handful of fruits from wimpy little plants. In 2012 I did not get one tomato. This last year I tried a new experiment. During the winter I covered the ground where I would be planting my tomatoes with about six inches of straw. In early June, I pulled back the straw where each plant was to go and planted it with a shovel of finished compost. The result? Enormous plants, basically no weeds and juicy red tomatoes. By late summer the plants had grown out of their cages and taken over the pathway. Not anticipating such big plants, I planted two plants in each cage as usual, making harvesting quite tricky. I will definitely do the same thing with the straw next year, but I'm going to plant them farther apart next time!