Most gardeners who grow robust tomato plants with abundant, healthy fruit know the importance of mulching. Applying a layer of mulch around plants can keep the soil cool in summer and warmer in spring ...

Q: In your Aug. 16 column concerning tomatoes, you mentioned red plastic mulch. Is the mulch shredded or in sheets? If it's in sheets, how do you water the plants properly? A: Red plastic mulch for ...

To that part of me that sees my vegetable garden as a bastion of natural processes, plastic mulch has always seemed a synthetic intrusion. The scientifically curious and greedy parts of me, though, ...

Q: Do tomatoes need pruning? A: When we first plant our baby tomato plants outside, we will remove the bottom side shoots and dig a hole deep enough to cover several inches of the main stem. If you ...

Wondering which mulch won’t whither your wonderful tomatoes? WTOP Garden Editor Mike McGrath has answers for you. (Getty Images/ThinkStock) Anne in Falls Church, Virginia, writes: “My husband just ...

Readers have written with a question on rose hips and suggestions for growing tomatoes. Q: I have a question about tea. I like drinking rose hips and wonder if any rose will do or there is only a ...

15:29, Mon, Aug 11, 2025 Updated: 15:30, Mon, Aug 11, 2025 Keen gardeners will soon be gearing up for the end of tomato harvesting season. The peak time to pick your tomatoes generally ends in ...