If someone is interested in starting tomato plants early, a Wall of Water can be used to start the

transplants outside. This provides an enclosure around the young plants.

After planting, use water and fertilizers to feed the young plants. Dr. patton told about his friend

Lester Bray who has raised vegetables over many years. "A plant has no teeth, stated Patton, the only thing

they can do is drink and get food through their roots." To begin the process Dr. Patton recommended using

large 5 gallon bucket to mix one cup of 5-10-15 or -6-12-12 fertilizers with a bucket of water. After diluting,

add one to two cups of the mix around the stem of each of the plants.

Most vegetables need one to two inches of water each week. Water needs to be applied directly to

the ground - soaker hoses are one of the best ways to apply the water. When sprinklers are used the water

hits the soil and bounces up onto the plant - when water is applied in this manner the plants are prone to

getting disease from the soil. A battery timer can be used to set the water to come on. Patton stressed that

during periods of intense heat and drought if a plant looks wilted in late afternoon - check it again in the

early morning to see if it is still wilted. If so, then it would be okay to water. Also, it is critical to water deeply

in order to get the roots to grow deeply. Watering shallow is really bad for plants because the roots will

grow shallow.

Using mulch will help to keep weeds down and will also help hold in moisture. Grass clippings can

be placed around plants or products such as Natures Helper or a leaf compost also works well as a

mulch. Make sure however, if using mulch from your own compost pile that the materials are well decomposed.

It is important to watch for pests in your garden area. However, don't just spray without identifying

the pests to make sure that they are not beneficial bugs which you don't want to harm. Dr. Patton

suggested bringing a leaf or a dead bug to Home Depot or to other nurseries to identify the pest or disease. You

need to be careful not to kill bees or butterflies or other bugs which are beneficial to your garden.

Other important tips included - know when to harvest your vegetables, keep your garden clean and free

of diseases or plants which are not developing and most importantly, enjoy, enjoy what you are doing.

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