For the record, ghosts are easy as hell to grow. As are Scorpions and Reapers!
Just getting them from seed to seedling/transplanting to ground is the most trying. After that its smooth sailing! Tomatoes always seem much more fragile in the early stages, IMO.
Yeah I've never done this before so I'm experimenting between planting directly in the ground/pot and growing some seedlings inside then transplanting. Supposedly anything you directly seed here is hardier than those you grow inside (which is good in southern NM) so I'll be interested to see how the yields differ between those grow methods.
Nice part about this area is that there aren't any squirrels, but the birds are some aggressive mofos and there are a surprising amount of bugs for a place that gets 9 inches of rain a year.
Sounds like a good plan! We grow strictly from seed simply because we harvest our own annually and keep the heritage going, etc. Id much rather skip the first 2 months of seed/seedlings with heating pads and lighting, and just get plants to set in the ground, but I can't justify that to myself when we can do it ourselves. Its also a lot more rewarding, and we enjoy that part as well.
If you have birds that will even touch those plants I would be surprised. Worry more about ground rodents and insects. Aphids and caterpillars are the bane of my gardens existence. We buy ladybugs and release them every year to mitigate all we can. The best method, though, is just old school hand picking them off your plants daily. That and making some food/bee-safe sprays.
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