To plant tomatoes, we put down a black plastic, called mulch, and space the plants far apart. We have colorful cherry tomatoes, grape and plum tomatoes. In our situation, anything bigger is really asking for trouble in picking, transporting and storing.

We use some tomato cages, but our plants will quickly overtake the cage and spill out everywhere. Last year I tried to tie sisal as support, but didn’t use enough. The vines spilled out everywhere, and the more I trimmed, the faster they grew.

We don’t usually irrigate, the soil retains moisture well. But with transplants, you have to water it well. We’re trying to pull water from the ditches, but the pump is struggling, the hose is collapsing, and once water makes it into the rain barrels, I’m not quite sure how it’ll make it out to the field. Makes a strong case for bringing electricity to the farm in my opinion, Dan doesn’t think so.