Has anyone ever heard about this 'perfect tomato trick'?

To grow near perfect tomatoes you place powdered milk in the hole prior to dropping in the tomato plant. If you grow them with seeds, wait until the tomatoes begin to appear and then push a stick around the plant to create a few holes and then drop powdered milk into the holes. I have been told that something in the powdered milk (the calcium I am assuming) helps the skin of the tomato to grow nearly perfect (also grows redder!?!?).

I don't know if this is true, and can't find much help about it elsewhere, hoping one of you can help.

Thanks!

Phil (rednaz23)

I did not add that exclamation point to my post... I have no idea how that got in there!

Foxy Lady: Bringing it back to gardening; the weather in both regions is very similar. Minnesota gets a bit colder, but upstate NY gets a bit more snow, ok... a lot more snow. All and all, I can relate to the weather.

On Tuesday and Wednesday here, it never got above 5 degrees F. COLD!!! I was blue from the cold!

Yesterday (Saturday), it hit 54 here. Just the weirdest weather! I could tell you all about it... but that would be sad... I was studying to be a meteorologist until not long ago when I switched to another field, and then switched again, again, again, and... again.

Foxy Lady: Many of those can be used for Minnesota as well...

Foxy Lady: Do you have lots of rabbits in your area that could get into your strawberry patch? If so, what do you plan on doing about it? We had a problem with that a couple of years ago...

edited to fit this board.

ajtgirl: Thanks! That helps... I like the idea of having taller flowers in the back and smaller as you move forward. I have an idea of colors from past years. I can look at her pictures too! Thanks all, you have been a big help. Oh, I was thinking of doing your additional gift as well!! :-) Thanks again!

Foxy Lady: I don't think she has planted anything. I am about 100 miles from home... so I don't know! We haven't seen frost like temps for a couple of weeks! So that is a good thing. My brother works at a greenhouse, and he said that flowers usually start selling a lot more in May when the temps become more consistent... Still... I am in need of ideas for her and that plot that is easy to maintain and something she will enjoy! Any ideas would be greatly appreciatted!

Foxy Lady: I have talked to my father to do some "detectice work" and find out what her plans are for that plot. I should know maybe later today! :-)

My Mom is from Minnesota. Twin Cities area. So I think that is zone 4 if I remember right. She loves gardening, but I want to make it easier for her. My father retires in less than a year, and my mother will soon follow (she also has had a bad back the past few years). She has lots of planting areas around the house, and I am thinking specifically in this 4x5 little plot she has... Raised up about 6 inches from the ground around it, just on the south side of a little 12 foot Maple, so it is mostly in the sun. Last year she put red, white, and purple flowers there in the shape of an American flag. Looked quite nice! but I think those were annuals... So, she has an empty plot. I don't think she has put anything in there yet, so I want to get her something that will be easy to maintain for the years (so perennials) to come!

What do you suggest?

I think I might just go to the greenhouse and look around for things that she might like. But I am so unfamiliar with gardening (besides pulling weeds for my Mom! LOL), I wouldn't know where to start!

Thanks for helping me! :-)

Hi all... new to this board, any suggestions on what types of flowers a Mom would like that will be easy to maintain? Mother's Day is coming up! And I want to give her a gift that she will have many years to come! Any ideas? (From Minnesota)