Photo copyright National Geographic

Bigger, faster, more. Who wouldn’t want that when it comes to tomatoes?

Driven by catalog hype (I was very succeptible last January when all the seed and supply catalogs hit my mailbox), I decided to try some red plastic mulch on my tomatoes this year. Not only would it improve the performance of my ‘maters, it promised, but it would help me overcome the price my tomatoes pay for my lack of dedication to weeding, too. Why not experiment? I decided to order some in the name of science.

On Monday, I finally unrolled the package of red plastic mulch and immediately learned some important things:

First, put the mulch down before you plant tomatoes. If you forgot until after you’d planted your tomatoes (um, like me), it’s not too late. But it is a bit challenging to unroll the plastic, lay it over your tomatoes and cut holes for the seedlings. Add a lively breeze, and you have…a circus.

Second, if any of your neighbors drive by while you are wrestling with the twisting, blowing plastic, explain it away as art (I had to, since I spent a good half hour looking like the artist Christo).

Third, don’t forget that if you’re going to mulch with plastic, you need to do drip irrigation to get water to the plant. So, now I’ve got something else on my gardening “to-do” list.

I should have asked you if you’ve used red plastic mulch before, and how it worked, and what kind of advice you have for me (but it was January and, frankly, you just weren’t around much).

But for others who prefer to do their homework before jumping in, please hop into the discussion below and add your two cents.

If you’re curious about this stuff, there’s some evaluation of it here and a more professional assessment at the Center for Plasticulture at Penn State (who knew?).

When making a raised bed, many organic gardening books recommend digging up the sod and reusing it to fix dead patches in the lawn. This seemed like a great idea, but the sod had other plans.

	Sod does not roll up clean and smooth like new carpet. It is alive, lumpy and quite determined to stay exactly where it was seeded. Our dull shovels were no match for the rocks, tree roots, and nest of orange centipedes. After a half hour of sweating and swearing, Brian and I suddenly cared more about saving our backs than saving our scraggly patch of grass. Thirty bucks can rent you a fine rototiller.
	While Brian tilled, I found this buried under the grass. Can any Hot Wheels fans identify this object d’art from 1969? Thanks for the tip, Underblog. This Peeping Bomb clip-on pin belongs to the the Hot Wheels redline collection. Mattel produced these cars between 1968 and 1972. The name “redline” comes from the red stripe around the tires. What surprises have you unearthed from your topsoil? Send a snapshot to jchismar@startribune.com for an online gallery.
	Because we have a full compost bin, we decided to use free compost instead of buying peat moss to lighten the soil. Though many gardeners recommended using peat moss, an environmentalist cautioned me against it. She claimed it was a non-renewable resource that took hundreds of years to re-establish. After a quick Google search, I learned the differences between a peat bog and Canadian sphagnum peat moss. My friend was half right – peat bogs do take hundreds of years to regenerate, but peat moss can re-establish itself rather quickly. (You can learn more about Canada’s peatlands and preservation policies here.)
	A beginner’s big mistake: Mulch is not the same as compost. Mulch, like grass clippings, wood chips or straw, goes on top of the soil after you plant to preserve moisture and cut down weeds. I got the two confused and tried to till the straw into the soil. Wrong! Tilling straw is like twirling spaghetti with a fork. Quick and tight, the straw wound around the blades and choked the machine.
	We cut a 50-foot soaker hose into three pieces and customized a watering system for each bed. Hopefully, this will save us time lugging hoses around the backyard and a little money on our water bill. Has anyone actually buried a soaker hose in the garden? Does it make a difference?
	Ta–da! Three 4×8 raised beds and two unused bales of hay. Let the planting begin! PS: Is it too late for carrots?