Hello from the not-so-sunny Golden Bay, where rain seems to be the number one theme this week.
The early hours of Monday morning brought a deluge from the skies – basically 1ml per minute for a couple of hours – which was not at all fun, for me or the plants. A total of 161ml that morning, plus more yesterday and overnight means everything is just wet and soggy. I did think it was supposed to fine up this morning but it’s pretty bleak out there so I’m in the office for a bit instead.
In between all the rain I have been attempting to pot up plants as fast as I can, because suddenly there is a shortage again and lots of new things coming on that need to go into larger pots ready for sale. So watch this space…
In the meantime, there are just a few new additions to the website this week, which are listed below, or you can find everything on my website here https://www.seaflowersnursery.co.nz/perennials.html#/
 
Dianthus barbatus ‘Kaleidoscope’
Helipterum roseum ‘Pierrot’ (punnets)
Potentilla rupestris
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Cherokee Sunset’
Salvia ‘Costa Rica Blue’
Salvia lanceolata
Salvia nemorosa ‘Blue Queen’
Scabiosa caucasica ‘House Hybrids’
Solidago ptarmicoides (previously Aster ptarmicoides)
Symphyotrichum (Aster) ericoides
Verbena hastata ‘Pink Spires’
 
Out in the garden I have been busy weeding as time allows, and planting the odd thing in gaps. Really I need to wait for the soil to dry out a bit before I can develop any more of the gardens I have planned. I am very impressed with a bed I put in over winter, which has now filled out and is looking fantastic. Geranium ‘Victor Reiter Junior’ teams up nicely with Centaurea dealbata, then the foliage of the ever-expanding Campanula primulifolia which is slowly coming up to flower. I think there’s some Phlox and Achillea tucked in there too. The Peony foliage makes a great backdrop for my favourite Agastache cana ‘Bolero’ which forms bushy clumps of fabulous smokey purple foliage, and the spikes of small, dark magenta flowers are a nice colour pop too. I’ve blended it with Thalictrum aquilegifolium ‘Purpureum’ and Knautia arvensis, the field Scabious. The Knautia is seriously impressive – what a great plant! It is tough, hardy, and just keeps on sending up masses of lilac Scabiosa-like flowers on long stems which look lovely waving about in the breeze. Perfect for picking too, as the flowers are only small-medium sized so don’t hang their heads from being too heavy. It looks like it will just keep going all summer long but will wait and see. I also have an outstanding new Echinacea in this bed, which is an E. pallida var. simulata hybrid. Take your best, most vibrant deep pink Echinacea purpurea cultivar and add elegant drooping petals for drama and long narrow, soft grey-green foliage for effect and that is pretty much what this seedling has turned into. It also stands about 80cm tall at present, and looks stunning rising out of the luscious frothy foliage of Geranium ‘Joy’. The Echinacea is one of three seedlings I put in that spot and so far it is the biggest and best, with twice as many petals as a standard E. pallida…and very early flowering, but I’m waiting to see what the other two come up with. One is definitely going to be paler…so we shall see.
 
Anyway, it looks like the sun is trying to send some sort of weak glow of hope through the drizzly clouds, so I’m off to have lunch then head out to the nursery again.
 
Happy gardening!
Kate Jury

​Hello everyone, and a big hello to all the lovely people I met at last weekend’s Motueka Garden Trail.  I had a fabulous time talking to the hundreds who had come to see Angela’s garden and buy plants, and I also put faces to names for quite a number of existing customers.  Thank you for supporting the Toy library and my small business...I hope the brave souls that came out after the flood on Sunday morning dried out and warmed up when they got home.
That’s the thing with opening your garden for an event such as this...you really are at the mercy of the weather and there are never any guarantees what it will do. But the reactions from those that came to view the garden made up for the incredible deluge which arrived at 4am on Sunday morning. Many visitors walked around the corner and were stunned by the layout…there were plenty of oohs and aahs, lots of sighs and smiles of satisfaction and wonderful comments about the beauty and design of the garden. Overall, I think the feel of the garden was what people liked the most…it just feels so welcoming. It is a real credit to Angela’s hard work and dedication that she has transformed a slightly overgrown blank canvas into a work of art filled with sumptuous colour, form and fragrance, and all in not-quite ten years. The most asked about plants over the weekend were the roses ‘Lavender Pinocchio’ and ‘Chevy Chase’, the tractor seat plant which we all still incorrectly call Ligularia reniformis, but which is actually Farfugium japonicum var. giganteum, and the purple honeywort, Cerinthe major, which of course is an annual best grown from seed…so I will be adding this last one to my to-do list.
 
It is an exciting time in my garden right now...the weeds are in full force of course but there are also many new plants and old friends all growing madly, or just appearing, or even some in full flower already. I have been weeding in the shady garden up near the bush and loving all the different textures of foliage, variations of green and the calm feeling that the area has. I am adding plants in slowly, finding small treasures to pop in around the roots of the big titoki. The Corydalis ochroleuca and ‘Blackberry Wine’, Disporopsis omeiensis and Borago pygmaea are all starting to expand, along with various Tricyrtis, Epimedium, Arisaema and several Lilium species. The native Fuchsia procumbens is beginning to sprawl, while nearby the hybrid Fuchsia excorticata x procumbens 'Lincoln Bronze' is just coming into leaf. I am waiting for Isoplexis sceptrum to flower…it is getting bigger and bigger so can’t be far off. I have some ferns waiting to go in the shadiest areas, and am contemplating attaching my staghorn to the large roots on the bank below the titoki. It is an interesting, peaceful area, and so different from the hot border in full sun that I was creating a couple of weeks ago, so I want to keep the colours and textures fairly calm here, to retain that peaceful feeling.
 
In other news…I have adjusted the freight prices for both the upper and lower South Island now, most have gone down, or are a flat rate for more plants. I’ve also discovered that recently many emails from customers have been sent into confinement in the spam folder on the Spark server…so if you have sent me an email recently, or even an enquiry via the website, and haven’t yet had a response, then please get in touch again, as I’m hoping I have thwarted the spam gremlins…for now at least.
 
This week there are three varieties on sale at 30% off – Gaura ‘The Bride’, Centranthus ‘Snowcloud’ and the sumptuous Carnation, Dianthus ‘Raspberry Ripple’. Stock numbers have been updated and there are a few new plants this week…I sold an awful lot at the garden trail last weekend, but there are always some new treasures to add (see list below). You can find these latest offerings (and more) on my website here https://www.seaflowersnursery.co.nz/perennials.html#/  or email me direct with a list of what you would like.
 
Agastache rugosa ‘Arcado Pink’
Callistephus chinensis, China Aster, ‘Lilliput Blue Moon’
Delphinium requienii
Eryngium planum
Erysimum cheirii ‘Blood Red Covent Garden’ (new stock)
Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron’  .....note I think these have already sold out overnight!
Primula vialii
Salvia ‘Big Blue’
Salvia ‘Shangri-La’ (new stock, few only)
Salvia canariensis var. candidissima (2 only)

​Today I finally decided I’m going to tackle the terrible world of FREIGHT. I say ‘terrible world” because it seems to be the one thing that makes customers and small business owners cringe more than any other aspect of running a business.
When you’re sending products (in my case plants) via courier across the nation, reliable freight services are absolutely critical to your business. Without them you can’t get your products to your customers. Without them to safely deliver your products for you, you would not be in business. And let’s face it, without our businesses they would not have parcels to collect and deliver either, so technically they need us to stay in business too.
BUT. Sigh…yes there’s always a but…freight seems to be a huge hurdle for so many customers to get their heads around. Almost every week I receive questions or responses from customers or potential customers about the exorbitant cost of freight. So I thought I would say something…I might look silly for doing this, but I really feel it can be such an ‘icky’ subject for small business owners and their customers that it needs addressing.
As a long-time plant addict/customer myself I totally understand – freight costs make the plants, or other products, you are purchasing that little bit more expensive. But I prefer to think of it as a way of supporting several different businesses. First there’s the one you’re purchasing the actual product from (such as my nursery). Then there’s the courier driver, earning their living delivering your parcel, so that they can then financially support themselves and their families. What about the businesses who produce the cardboard cartons, packaging tape, labels etc? They too are earning a living by providing goods which ultimately you are benefitting from as well. Basically, one carton of plants can support many different New Zealand businesses…it might seem small but every dollar counts right.
I am really grateful for all the customers who not only buy my product, but also happily pay the correct freight, as this helps me to cover at least some of the costs associated with postage and packaging. I found it a little tricky to figure out the different shipping rates from my new area at first. So a big thank you to all of you for your patience while I worked on this, and for negotiating your way through all the different rates and choosing the right option for your carton size and delivery address (yes there are now both urban and rural options specific to the North Island). If there’s anything that you find confusing about the shipping options please let me know, I’m always looking for ways to make the checkout process as easy as possible. And thanks for reading this too…with your support, local small businesses like mine will continue to thrive :) 

​​Hello, I wrote this a couple of days ago now of course, but it is still relevant….
 
I’m not sure if other gardeners do this but virtually every day I wander around my garden, usually in the morning, to see what is happening. Sometimes nothing has happened of course, but mostly I see something new each day. It’s not necessarily that what I have spotted today was not there yesterday, but rather my focus and perspective has shifted, allowing me to see something that I hadn’t before. Today’s jaunt brought me to the clump of white bluebells that are just starting to open. Yesterday they looked uninspiring, but today their buds are the most beautiful creamy lemon, with flowers changing to pure white as they open.  The seed heads on my Anemone pavonina are all bursting, but collection will have to wait until the damp weather has passed, perhaps tomorrow with any luck. I know plenty of you would like some babies of these beauties so I must get on with sowing them, as fresh seed is best when it comes to Anemones. Salvia ‘Shangri La’ seems to be thriving in the hot stones near the house, the leaves are getting bigger every time I look at them. And they look gorgeous with the dew on the hairs catching the light and going all shimmery, almost looks like frost. On down to the shady corner bed that I put in not long ago…the Pulmonaria are starting to flower and there is one particularly good bright blue form, from Roger of course, but not labelled. The first flower open on Ranunculus cortusifolius…a new plant so it won’t look as spectacular this year, but still, a stunning yellow. And one lonely little Trillium poking its head through the soil. I’ve never grown them before so this will be a bit of a test.
Enough garden rambling…there is work to be done in the nursery, shifting older plants out from the tunnelhouse so they can harden off. Lots of trays to be carted out and put where they can get both sunshine and rain (and hopefully not frost!). Of course this leaves gaps for lots more babies to be potted up…I have always loved the excitement of seeing what sort of plants I have produced from seed. Many people see this as a rather tedious and boring job, but I’m always interested to see what sort of root systems my babies have, how many have come up, whether they all look true to type or if there are any different ones amongst them.
 
Anyway, on to the news of today – the next lot of plants are ready and waiting for their new homes, and have been uploaded to the website. You can view the plants available here https://www.seaflowersnursery.co.nz/perennials.html#/
Just a note about ordering. Unfortunately my website is not set up to take orders for payment via internet banking (frustrating I know…I’ve tried!). If you would like to pay this way then please send me an email to seaflowers@xtra.co.nz – there is no need to send this through the website, just send me an email from your phone, laptop etc, and include a list of the plants that you would like to order. Your delivery address is helpful as well. Then I can reply with confirmation of availability and costs, and we can go from there. Adding plants to your shopping cart on the website won’t automatically reserve them for you I’m afraid, but if you send me a quick email then I can adjust the numbers available very quickly. There are no guarantees of course but hopefully you won’t miss out if someone else buys them online in the meantime.
 
Here’s what has been added to the website today…
Antirrhinum majus ‘Canary Bird’ (very few, punnets)
Antirrhinum majus ‘Defiance’ (only two, punnets)
Centaurea macrocephala 1 litre
Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii  9cm
Helenium ‘Sunny Wonder’   9cm
Nepeta tuberosa, tall form   9cm
Poppy – Beth Chatto’s – Papaver dubium ssp. lecoqii var. albiflorum
Salvia uliginosa ‘Ballon Azul’ (few only)  9cm
Salvia canariensis var. candidissima  9cm
Salvia interrupta  1 litre
Symphyotrichum (Aster) cordifolius ‘Silver Spray’  1 litre
 
Also new stock added of Monarda ‘Squaw’, Salvia ‘Shangri La’ and a few extra Symphyotrichum (Aster) ‘Little Carlow’
 
Happy plant hunting and thank you for supporting small businesses like mine 😊

​Well it’s another cold and rainy day here so I am in the office catching up on emails and other important jobs (and to be honest there’s a heater in here so it’s the place to be today 😉). 
I just thought I would take this opportunity to let you all know that I am busy making adjustments to the website in preparation for when the online shop finally opens again. I’m hoping for sometime in the next couple of weeks. Growth has been really slow but the plants have finally decided that spring is here and they are starting to grow at long last!  Initial offerings will be limited compared to what will be on offer later in the season, so don’t be disappointed if something you have been wanting is not on the first list, as chances are it will be available a little later. I tend to update my online shop at least once a month (when it’s open) for much of the year, so there are always new things coming on. As we live in a reasonably temperate climate, as a nation we tend to garden off and on for all year round, so it makes sense to always have something coming on to offer keen gardeners around the country.
I do already have some potted, “in the green” specialty bulbs, surplus to requirements, now listed for sale on Trade Me for anyone that is interested. With so much interest in these I decided that the fairest way to distribute them was to sell them on Trade Me, otherwise it would always come down to who happened to see my email first. The auctions close on Sunday night (seller jury1 or listed under perennials in the outdoor, garden section).  I will have more bulbs available in about February (in packets).
There are a couple of minor changes to the way I do business which I would like to make you aware of. The first is that I have begun using Daltons Organic Potting Mix for all of my plants (there are a few that are still in transition between standard mix and organic). The second is that when online orders do recommence, I will only be sending plants via CourierPost, as Aramex (Fastway) is not an available option in my area.
I had to have a couple of trees taken out last week, as they were hanging over the back of the house and had lots of rotten branches on them. Felt very sad to see them go (I gave them each a big hug before they came down), but the arborist reminded me that even trees have a lifespan. The positive side is that it has opened up a whole new area of potential garden space for me. There are areas of shade with lots of leaf litter, then gradually descending down the slope into part shade and eventually large areas of full sun. So plenty of room for all sorts of ideas here, and I am very lucky as the soil is great to work with too. I have a number of seedling Salvias to trial so the sunnier areas will be ideal for these….hopefully something exciting comes out of this batch 😊
 
Take care and happy gardening, or if you’re like me – happy keeping warm!
 
Kate Jury

​
The Salvias are a mixed bunch at present – some have that distinctly ‘wintry look’ where they are basically hiding away any signs of growth until someone turns the temperature up. Others like ‘Waverly’, ‘Indigo Spires’, S. elegans ‘Sonoran Red’, S. confertiflora and S. canariensis var. alba are still doing okay, particularly if sited in a warm corner. Salvia karwinskii is just coming into bloom, about to light up my daily life with its spikes of vibrant watermelon flowers. So unique to have a Salvia that loves to flower in winter and early spring! The wee birds and bees will appreciate it too I'm sure.  I quite often update my Instagram and Facebook pages with photos while I'm outdoors, but finding time to update the photo gallery on my website can be a little trickier. For those of you who use social media you can find me on Instagram as @kateseaflowers and on Facebook search for Seaflowers Nursery or click on the little blue F icon near the top of the homepage here on my website. 

What have I been up to? Well apart from fighting off the headcold which seems to be taking hold of almost every 2nd person in the district (possibly an exaggeration…) I have been busy sending cartons of plants off to customers all over the country. Most of them have gone to warmer areas of course, as spring still hasn’t sprung in many regions to the south….but this can change in the blink of an eye, as one of my customers brightly said the other day, “we’ve been removing layers of merino all day”. (After they had been suffering through a seemingly endless period of bitter cold and damp, while I swanned around in 18 deg and shorts and t-shirt).
 
Anyway, I’ve got plants taking off all over the place, so my list and website updates are happening almost weekly at the moment. They probably need to though to keep up with demand, as it seems as soon as I’ve listed some things they are snapped up by eager gardeners. It is really satisfying for me knowing that I’m supplying plants that people truly want to grow….of course it can also be quite disconcerting when I think I’ve grown plenty of something and they’re all sold out within a day. Leaves me wondering how many I should have grown instead!
 
This week I have potted up various new lines, which should be ready in a few weeks…punnets of Queen Anne’s Lace, Ammi majus; the infamous Red Orach aka Atriplex hortensis var. rubra which is used quite extensively overseas as a striking accent plant with deep beetroot-red foliage; some more of that exceptional Great Dixter Poppy with the amazing name Papaver dubium ssp. lecoqii var. albiflorum (and interesting to note that it’s pink, not white, even though the name suggests otherwise). I’ve put Helenium ‘Butterpat’ into individual pots, it really wowed me last summer as it had been severely neglected but put on an amazing show and was very tall but didn’t need staking at all. Also into pots this week went Aster ‘Hi-Jinx’ a must-have one for me that mixes happily with other perennials or equally as well with smaller native shrubs; Centaurea jacea, not one I’ve grown yet but I’ve become happily addicted to these plants, knapweeds as they are known. They’re not weedy at all of course but seem to produce endless amounts of cornflowers all summer which the bees and butterflies love. Echinacea purpurea ‘Mellow Yellows’ a new seed line which has all the vigour of the true species but in a beautiful range of soft to bright yellows. The seedlings have shown good strong growth so far so I’m excited to see how they perform in the garden. Lobelia x gerardii ‘Vedrariensis’ has just been potted up too. Great for those partly shaded areas where you still want some colour, I find this one is pretty tough and sends up multiple strong stems smothered with vibrant purple flowers.
 
I’m sure there’s others I’ve potted up….but here’s a sneak-peek of a few of the plants on next week’s update…
 
White honesty, Lunaria annua f. albiflorum I had a customer looking for this last year as it provides a good light colour for part shade and self-sows easily. The attractive seedpods are an added bonus. Leucanthemum (Shasta Daisy) ‘Phyllis Smith’, big white and slightly unruly looking but such a good long-flowering plant. Rudbeckia laciniata a giant for the back of the border, I’m a sucker for big daisy flowers and this is a favourite. Salvia nemorosa ‘Rose Queen’ a reliable performer in sunny, free draining soils, great for smaller gardens or even pots. There are bound to be others on the list of course….
 
I’ve just been on RadioLive Home & Garden Show this morning chatting to Tony Murrell about perennials that are tough enough to cope with coastal conditions in New Zealand. Tony was in fine form this morning and we had a thoroughly enjoyable talk, if you missed my list then I will post it as a separate blog, in a more condensed form!
 
In the meantime, it is a glorious day here but I must stay away from the nursery and do some housework instead! Enjoy your weekend…

This blog is based on notes I prepared for my interview with Tony Murrell on The Home and Garden Show, Radiolive 24th February 2018. Tony and I were discussing caring for Salvias, and in particular pruning to shape and how long to leave flowers on before trimming to encourage more to form.  There’s always so much more to discuss than we have time for on the radio, so below is my extended version of advice on this subject.
 

Salvias are fantastic plants – whether you’ve got a hot dry Mediterranean type garden or a shady, damp woodland area, there’s a Salvia for virtually every spot in your garden.
 
When we’re talking about caring for Salvias, and in particular pruning, it’s easiest to divide them into 3 specific groups.
 
Woody stemmed Salvias
These are shrubby types, they can be low growing or can get quite large. Salvia greggii and microphylla hybrids are the most well known, and gardeners will be familiar with the Glare series and more recently the So Cool series, as examples of this type. Others in NZ are those that originate from South Africa, like Salvia ‘African Skies’, S. aurea (previously S. africana-lutea), and S. lanceolata.
 
Generally they flower from late spring until late autumn in New Zealand, so it’s hard to know when to trim or prune them.  Because they flower for so long they can easily become woody and straggly.
To maintain the shape and encourage bushy growth and more flowers, lightly trim or tip prune a couple of times over summer.  If you want to keep flowers showing during this process, then trim only the second or third flowering stem back to the first obvious set of leaves. Next time around do the stems that were left from the first pruning. 
 
Or if you don’t mind the slightly bare look for a couple of weeks then you can do it the quick way and use hedge trimmers – don’t worry that you’re cutting flowers off, plants will soon recover. Aim to create a nice rounded shape, slightly higher in the middle than at the edges of the bush. At the end of autumn give the bush a better prune by about half, again aiming for that rounded shape.
 
Deciduous Herbaceous Salvias
 
Sounds like a mouthful but really it just means those plants that shoot direct from the base, but can in some cases reach great heights and can develop woody stems throughout the growing season. Then all the leaves fall off in winter leaving bare stems.
 
Examples are Salvia mexicana ‘Limelight’, S.elegans the Pineapple sage, S. ‘Waverly’, S. leucantha the Mexican bush sage and S. ‘Indigo Spires’.
 
Flowering times vary greatly in this group but to maintain the best shape I recommend tip-pruning after the first flush of flowers.  This often encourages the plant to produce a second flush of flowers and it’s after this that the timing of the main annual pruning becomes extremely important….and observation is the key.  Only prune the plant back to ground level if new growth is showing at the base. Otherwise you will kill it.
In frost-free areas this may mean that the main pruning can be done at any stage in autumn as new growth happens more readily in warmer climates. In cooler regions you might be best to wait until spring before pruning, but if the plant is very tall you can trim the stems back by about half until new growth shows in the spring. If you get frosts then you will need to mulch and cover the base of the plant as well.
 
Herbaceous Perennial Salvias
 
These types form a rosette or clump of leaves at ground level, then send up flower stems from the base.  Some are evergreen, some winter-dormant.
 
Examples are Salvia nemorosa, Salvia x superba or S. x sylvestris and their hybrids such as ‘Caradonna’, ‘Rose Queen’ and ‘Mainacht’; Salvia verticillata, S. transsylvanica ‘Blue Cloud’ and S. pratensis or Meadow Sage are other examples.
 
Caring for these Salvias is slightly easier. In spring simply tidy up any old leaves from around the base of the plant to get rid of any overwintering bugs and unsightly brown leaves, then once the first flush of flowers has finished, cut the spent flower stems back to ground level. Most will send up more flower stems and these can be cut back to the ground again when finished in the autumn.
 
Annual Salvias:  The focus on the topic of pruning today was mostly about perennials, but no doubt many gardeners will also be growing annual Salvias as well (or bedding Salvias). These are marketed under a variety of names in NZ and whilst some are genuine annuals, many are short-lived perennials that are frost tender, so grow them in pots, or take cuttings in early autumn.
 
Examples include Salvia farinacea, such as ‘Blue Bedder’, ‘Select Blue’; Salvia splendens types, such as ‘Purple Lighthouse’, ‘Red Velvet’, ‘Van Houtei’. Plus Salvia coccinea varieties like ‘Brenthurst’, ‘Lady in Red’ and ‘Snow Nymph’.
 
These varieties need regular tip pruning to keep them bushy and to keep the flowers coming. As with any plant if you let them set seed they frequently feel like they’ve done their job and don’t flower as well, so the trick is to keep them dead-headed.

Earlier this month the plant study group that I am a member of held their monthly meeting, and the study topic was tomatoes. As usual it was a great meeting with so much interesting information brought along for discussion. Everyone agreed that my Mum (Pauline Bassett) should provide a copy of her tomato growing notes so that they could all try her methods and see how they got on this year. Mum has been growing tomatoes in her garden for as long as I can remember (and I obviously caught the bug from her, as I have been growing them in my garden(s) for more than 20 years). Heirloom varieties became popular with us fairly early on as we love the different sizes, shapes, flavours and textures that they bring to the table. Being able to pick a rainbow of tomato fruit each summer for a multitude of uses in the kitchen is a real joy (excluding those that never make it inside because they are like lollies in the garden of course!).
​Lots of different methods for soil preparation and plant treatment have been tried over the years, with varying rates of success, but I'm pretty sure Mum has it down to a fine art now and produces a healthy crop every year. With her permission I have included her growing notes below, so that others may benefit from her knowledge.
Every gardener is different of course....and I have made my own adjustments to her methods. Yesterday I finally found time to get the bulk of my tomato plants in....in addition to the 3 that I planted a week ago, I planted another 21 different varieties yesterday. Still have another 6 to plant, which will give me 30 tomato plants – I must be bonkers.
Anyway, my plants get something similar to Mum’s concoction.....1/2 cup of Anlamb milk powder (when in need...use what’s available), a handful of blood and bone, and each plant surrounded by a mulch of wilted comfrey leaves, slightly buried under the soil, to provide extra minerals. (Comfrey is high in potassium, which tomatoes really need). Compost and lime was applied to the soil last week. Now that it's rained and the soil is damp each plant will also be fed with soil microbes (beneficial soil bacteria and fungi) and liquid seaweed fertilizer mixed with water. My soil has been damaged over the past 6 months due to the extreme wet and replacing these microbes makes sense to me, as it should help to restore the microbial balance needed to fight plant diseases and pests.

​Anyway, here are Mum's notes..... 

Pauline’s Tomato Notes     October 2017
 
The plants need good soil.  Put stakes in first, on a straight string line.  I use bamboo (length 180cm), solid stakes, bang them in with a waratah standard rammer.  I grow mostly indeterminate plants, 70cm apart in the rows, 80cm between the rows.  This year there will be three rows of four plants, plus Scorsby Dwarf and Yellow Canary on the edge of the garden – they can hang out there!
Each planting hole is prepared using a trowel with the hole close to the stake, preferably on the northern side of the stake (the most sun).  The magic mix for each planting hole is:
                              ½ cup whole milk powder (calcium, combats blossom end rot)
                              Handful blood & bone (the plants need an early boost of nitrogen)
                              Tablespoon Epsom Salts (anti fungal)
                              Neem granules or kawakawa leaves (to give pests a fright)
All of the above seems to work but it could be just muck’n’magic!  However I have had better results with this mix in comparison to commercially prepared tomato plant food.  I stir the magic mix around in the hole and then plant into it, ensuring that the lower hairy stem up to the first leaves is buried.  In other words, normal planting rules are broken – the plant is put in at a greater depth than when it was in its pot.  Roots will form along that hairy portion of the stem thus giving greater stability and ensuring better uptake of nutrients.
Some years I have made evil concoctions from comfrey leaves steeped in water for foliar feed, but usually I use liquid fish fert about once a fortnight when the tomatoes start to set.  I stop the fish fert once they start to ripen, nothing worse than a fishy tomato in a salad!   I do mulch with piles of seaweed close to the plants and when I can get it, I use ‘sea mulch’ (mix of leaf-mould and fine red seaweed) between the rows. 
My plants are kept to a single leader where possible and I take the laterals off religiously.  In conjunction with this I keep the plants tied as they grow upwards, using stretchy plant tie material, figure of eight so there is material between the plant stem and the stake, but tied not too tight.  Well in theory I do this, but I have been caught out.  Ignore them for a few days and they go mad.  Sometimes a plant will grow two leaders and by the end of the season I can have some interesting jungle gyms of tomatoes.  However I work on the premise of keeping the plants and tomatoes off the ground, tied so they cannot break, but with good air flow around them.
Mostly this works!  Good luck all tomato growers.