The Egg Trick

We've had some questions regarding the “egg trick”.

In short, here's what we do when we plant a tomato:

Dig a hole. Go down as far as you can, the deeper the better.

Put some planter mix or potting soil and/or compost into the hole. Not too much, though or it gets too expensive. Maybe a third of the way or half of the way in the hole, depending on the depth of the hole.

Put the dug dirt back in the hole.

Turn the dirt, mixing the dirt and the good soil together until fluffy.

Take the dirt out again. If you end up digging the hole a little deeper and wider, all the better.

Place a whole egg in the bottom of the hole. No, don't crack it, a whole egg. We amuse ourselves a bit by rolling the egg in from the lip of the hole. The idea is that when the roots of the plant grow downward, they will reach the egg, crack it and have a slow release fertilizer for nutrition.

Fill up with dirt, but not all the way. The rest is dependent on the tomato plant.

Take your tomato plant and remove the lower leaves (if the plant is long enough), leaving about four to five inches of growth above ground. Frequently, you'll have to dig out the hole a bit with your hand to get the appropriate depth.

Fill up with dirt.

Step on the freshly dug hole around the planted tomato, taking the “air” out of the ground. Add more dirt as needed.

Make a “moat” around the tomato plant. This is for when you water. The wider and bigger the better. Seriously. All of our “big” plants have had big “moats” while our laggards have had smaller, shallower “moats” that needed to be fixed later.