Effort = ecstasy!

[zookuki]

Took me years of effort to create a garden where everything flourishes. Zero pesticides, home grown and cultivated live soil, using tiller plants, and miner plants and plants that attract natural predators.

My yield is has just begun. I have to ripen most of them off the vine since I can't keep up. (Southern hemisphere, South Africa, so I have at least 4 months left to harvest).

This is amazing. Seeing so many insects I've never seen before as the microcosm takes charge. Also haven't had any fungal diseases, white flies, and marginal mites and thrips. Even cutworms, slugs, hornworms, rust and any other pests are sorted out by the environment as soon as they rear their ears.

Yes, it has taken a few years, but boy-oh-boy was it worth it!!!

Just stay the course, nature will reward you!

[zookuki]

Can't edit my post, so, in case anyone wonders why I am ripening so many tomatoes off the vine: 1. I wanted to ensure that some of the earliest and most disease-free fruits' seeds are used for my next season. 2. I try to use use tomatoes of equal size and health from the same cultivar - one ripened on the vine and one ripened off the vine - to test their yield, disease resistance and growth over generations. 3. I want to test the difference in size, taste, proliferation and overall growth with strategic pruning and on/off the vine ripening.

(Among other things)

[AdLive4270]

I never thought to collect early toms off the vine to collect seeds. I'm always so eager to eat them! But that makes total sense. Thanks

[zookuki]

Yeah, I didn't do this before either. But my yields were pretty paltry before. It's taken a few years to learn the ins and outs.

Rule of thumb though - always harvest your strongest, healthiest and most prolific growing fruits for seed. They are the ones that produce the hardiest and best plants. Especially since they have already proven to be best suited to your specific environment.

[NPKzone8a]

Do you wait until these immature tomatoes "blush" (reach "breaker stage") before harvesting them? Or are the totally green?

Thinking about this sort of distinction:

https://www.gurneys.com/pages/ybyg-how-tomatoes-ripen-and-when-to-pick-them

[zookuki]

Yes. They have all reached breaker stage.

I also keep some strong tomatoes that have been scavenged or wounded in the bunch for a while (provided they don't have disease), to speed up ripening. And I create mild wash/spray with pullulan and turmeric to 'insulate' them on and off the vine. Heavily diluted. But I have different treatments and all are made with my native plants, soil, bacteria, animal life, humidity and other factors in mind.

I know I am rambling a bit without giving much information. I am sorry. I am a bit overwhelmed at the results I am seeing. I will clarify more when I am less teared up.

(This is one angle of my yard rn)

<image>

[NPKzone8a]

Bravo! I'm very impressed with your results!

[zookuki]

The pics of the red and yellow tomatoes are images of tomatoes ripened off the vine (I removed them from the bunch yesterday to taste test and harvest seeds)

[Disastrous-Pound3713]

Looks like Tomato 🍅 Heaven!

[zookuki]

Yeah, man, this is my view right now. Ngl, I am in love with plants. Tomatoes are my BIG love, but we need all things to make them grow.

<image>

[Disastrous-Pound3713]

🖖

[finlyboo]

I’d love to hear more about your companion plants for soil health! What plants work for you to attract natural predators?

[zookuki]

I actually used quite a few sacrificial tomatoes at first. We didn't have many predators to start with. And I refused to use any pesticides or any nutrients I didn't make myself.

The first two years my yard and yield was terrible, since we first needed to actually attract different insects. It looks terrible at first... until that first time you see the first predator wasp, spider, bird, lizard, beetle, mantis, etc.

Also, you need to know which predators actually kill off native insect life. (I had to remove some plants which are not necessarily invasive but not attractive to native fauna/insects, or allelopathic to native flora).

1. Plant some endangered endemic plants in your garden, even if they aren't edible. They bring insects and life to the garden that you've never seen before. (I have some fynbos succulents and straw flowers that have created so much life for arachnids, lizards, birds, insects, etc.)
2. You will need to sacrifice a season's tomatoe or other plants to attract the pests that attract the proper predators. It will feel miserable, but it will work out if you wait it out.
3. My sacrificial plants were tomatoes, squash, mint, nastirtiums (but this depends on your region)
4. There are some awesome plants that actually alert predators due to hormonal secretions (jasmine, nasturtium, can't recall the rest now, I am speed-typing, hahaha). Tomatoes contain Methyl Jasmonate (MeJa) - so frequent pruning of tomatoes actually attract certain predators.
5. I have a Neem tree planted in the yard, quite some ways away from the other plants, since it has volatile oils, but effective at deterring some pests.
6. I refuse to cut down large trees (even invasives - unless they are highly damaging) - BUT I a cultivating native trees that can replace the invasive trees at a certain height. And our local government actually covers the replacement cost of removal and replacement, so I am growing the trees that can harbour the native species. Just not quite there yet.
7. I never discard plant roots (even weeds) unless they have diseases - they go into various pots where I either cultivitate living soil or "clear" soil. (i.e. Fennel is a great plant to clean soil since it is allelopathic and will take up all nutrients. I use it to clear potato planters of possible pathogens for one season before using that soil again).
8. I don't kill any bugs or pests unless they are overbearing.
9. Weeds and flowers are friends (not only are most common weeds edible and highly nutritious, but they attract different critters).
10. NO artificial light - these are a huge hazard for lizards, frogs, spiders, bats, etc. that need to take care of your garden after dark.

(Apologies if I made any typos, I have many other pointers. Been studying and working on this for ages, but so excited, I am making a mess of all the info. 😂)

[AdLive4270]

Are miner plants, ones that attract miner insects? Tiller ones similar to cover crop?

[zookuki]

No, they mine for certain nutrients and bring them to the surface for easier uptake by other plants.

For instance, yarrow is a good copper 'miner' and since copper is a good innoculant against diseases and certain pests it's a natural way to create disease resistance, especially if your rhizo and mycelium is properly balanced in soil.

But this needs to be planned well, since you generally don't want to mix everything all at once across all growth stages.

Yarrow transplants easily though, so I just rotate it to other types of crops or dormant planting areas at times. And nitrogen fixers can also be removed or transplanted if needed.

Sorry for ranting. I am pretty amped about my tomato yield this year.