Growing Tomatoes * Blight * Heirloom Series * All Natural Anti-Fungal Spray

You planted, cared for and loved your tomatoes with hopes of a hearty harvest of juicy sweet tomatoes. You dreamed of thick slices of tomatoes a top a delicious garden fresh tomato sandwich to only find this....

photo credit  

The leaves of your tomato plants are turning yellow curling up and dying. What happened? What did you do wrong. Nothing really. Your tomatoes have blight. What is blight and how on earth did my tomato plants get it?!?

Blight is a fungus. It's pretty easy to get rid of but it's also pretty easy to spread. As soon as you see this yellowing and curling of the leaves follow these simple steps to cure your tomato plants of fungal blight.

• When working with your plant with blight DO NOT touch any other plants before washing your hands
• Cut (do not break) off all the dead and yellow leaves and tomatoes. These are the parts with blight. Not to worry if you are down to just a few leaves. At this point most of the plant's energy is going to growing your tasty tomatoes.
• Throw away the contaminated parts in the trash or burn them. DO NOT put them in the compost pile.
• Wash your hands and tools.
• Make our Sweet and Simple Anti-fungal plant spray and spray all the leaves and plant down to the soil. 
• To prevent more blight make sure your plants are not over crowded. Fungus likes dark and moist. 
• Water from the bottom of the plant such as a drip line hose. 
• Tomato plants like the soil to dry out a bit. DO NOT over water. 

Crisis diverted. Enjoy all those tasty Home Grown Tomatoes!

Sweet and Simple Anti-Fungal Plant Spray

• quart glass canning jar
• all purpose spray bottle
• 1 quart pure water
• 1/2 teaspoon natural dish soap
• 1/2 teaspoon Spark Naturals pure essential Melaleuca oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Spark Naturals pure essential Lemon oil
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Add all ingredients to quart canning jar. Add lid then shake vigorously to mix oils soap and water together. Pour into an all purpose spray bottle. Mist garden plats effected by fungus such a blight and dusty mildew to kill fungus. Use as needed as soon as possible to prevent the death by fungus. 

Having this all natural chemical free fungicide on hand is a must for the home gardener. 

Store in a cool dark place until needed again.

Sweet and Simple Tip: I recommend purchasing the Spark Naturals Essential 4 Pack for a great discount as well as having the 4 basic oils we always use on hand. Use our coupon code SweetandSimple for an added 10% discount!

Note: Sweet and Simple uses Spark Naturals pure essential oils because of the trusted quality and purity of the oils. Spark Naturals is a Sweet and Simple affiliate. 

Fresh Pico de Gallo * Food & Drink

Do you have your recipes ready for Cinco de Mayo? Whipping up some fresh Pico de Gallo. It's so easy and oh so delicioso!

Fresh Pico de Gallo

Chop:

• 3-4 large ripe organic tomatoes
• one medium to large onion
• a large bunch of fresh cilantro
• 1-2 fresh jalapenos (without seeds)

Then:

• squeeze the juice of one lime over the top
• sprinkle with sea salt
• toss together on cutting board

Eat with tacos, nachos, burritos, enchiladas, chipotle steak etc. You can make more or less depending on the size of your party. This is a to taste recipe.

Tips:
-Caution use gloves to de-seed the jalapenos or your hands will be covered in the hot oils
-Roll the cilantro in a tight bunch then chop

Food & Drink * How to Grow Tomatoes and Peppers

"Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes... only two things that money can't buy and that's true love and home grown tomatoes!" John Denver

Everything from a fresh tomato and mayonnaise sandwich to fresh pico de gallo, summer is time for eating sweet tomatoes and tangy peppers from the garden. There are a few tricks to an abundant harvest of tomatoes and peppers.
Both tomatoes and peppers are in the same plant family, which means the tips we are giving you apply to growing both.

• Prepare the Soil

Start with the right soil. Tomatoes and peppers like soil that is well drained. Check your soil. Tomatoes and peppers like soil that is neutral to slightly acidic. If the soil is too acidic add some lime. The soil must be full of rich nutrients and loose. Add a good aged compost. If your soil has a lot of clay add some sand to loosen it up a bit along with your compost.

• Transplanting Starts

Before transplanting your seedlings give them a good watering. Dig a hole deep enough to bury the plants roots and also the first couple of layers of the bottom leaves. Water your hole before placing the seeding in the ground. This gives the soil below the plants a good watering and helps the roots anchor deep.  Gently loosen the roots after removing the pant from the container. Fill the soil around the plant being sure to cover the bottom couple of layers of leaves. Water seedlings.

• Mulching

Mulching is important in the garden. It keeps the weeds down and the soil moist. With tomatoes and peppers it is best to wait until your plants are around 1-2 feet before mulching. This will prevent the lower leaves from rotting. Once they are tall enough mulch away. We like grass clippings they are abundant. Be sure to turn your mulch to prevent mold. 

• Watering

Tomatoes and peppers like to be watered regularly but not too much. Once they are established  you will want to let the soil dry out at bit. Not too much so the plants are wilting and distressed but enough they are not too moist. 

• Pruning

Pinching back the small leaves or suckers that grown in the crook of the stems with force more energy to the tomatoes and peppers. 

• Staking 

It's important to stake tomatoes and peppers when they are small. Placing a bamboo stick in the ground next to the plant and tying the plant with gardening twine to bamboo stick will hold up the plant as it grows. You can also buy tomato cages. The tomatoes and peppers will be heavy. 

A little bit of care will bring big beautiful pepper and tomatoes for your Summer meals.

recipe & photos by April A. founder & editor-in-chief

Food & Drink * Tomato Jam Recipe

We have a special foodie guest this week sharing tomato recipes for the abundant end of summer tomato harvest, Sam Henderson of Today's Nest. Have you been wondering what to do with your tomatoes? Sam has some amazing recipes to share with you. Enjoy!
xo
april-living the sweet life


The summer growing season is well upon us. Home gardeners around the country are filling their garden beds with tomatoes to complement their summer menus. Pretty little specimens pop up in salads and sandwiches, but what about those that are not quite as visually appealing? We have even bigger plans for them.
A good tomato crop can mean far more tomatoes than you can possibly eat. If you plan properly, though, you can enjoy the flavor long into the winter months. Use your bumper crop of tomatoes to make these simple recipes that can be canned or frozen for later use.

Sidenote: All of these recipes for the week specify roma tomatoes. While it is not necessary to use that variety, they often have a higher ‘meat’ to seed ratio. If you use another variety, you may wish to add a little to compensate for the difference.

Tomato Jam Recipe
By Sam Henderson

This will come as a bit of a surprise to many. While not very common, this tomato jam is at once savory and sweet. It is loaded with spicy goodness. Try this tomato jam on a cracker with a bit of goat cheese or spread it atop a meatloaf. You might even like it in lieu of ketchup on an artisan burger.

Before you start:
This tomato jam will be most appealing if you have removed all of the seeds beforehand.
Turn up the heat a bit by adding another jalapeño.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced
• 1 medium jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• ½ tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves

Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring
frequently.
2. Reduce heat to low and cook for 60-90 minutes, stirring often.
3. When mixture reaches thick jam like consistency remove it from heat and allow to cool
completely.