After some back and forth on what the exact dimensions of the planting bed would be, we have decided to stick with what we had been planning on for the last few weeks: two planting beds in a 68′ x 5′ plot.

Today was very productive; I started by finishing the application of amendments to the soil, adding sulfate of potash for potassium and sulfur, and Solubor for boron. I then laid the Solar Mulch and added a wood chip path in between the two rows and finished the day by planting the first rep of tomatoes. We officially have tomatoes in the ground! I will transplant the second rep tomorrow after class.

A picture will be posted of the map showing the location of the 12 varieties in the 2 field representations, this will be referenced in the future. The  finalized experiment design has 4 plants of each variety in a single representation, the location of each variety being chosen at random. The second rep will also contain 4 plants of each variety, placed in a different configuration than the first rep. This will allow for an un-biased and randomized set-up for data collection and data analysis in the future.

Next week I will begin construction of a trellis over the tomatoes, and now that the tomatoes are outdoors I will be paying closer attention to growth habits and pest influence that may begin to present themselves.

Happy growing.