Self-Sufficiency Toolkit
Growing
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a crucial part of much of the most beloved cuisine from across the world. They are a great place for beginner gardeners to get started, as well as a mainstay for those with well-develop green thumbs/veterans of the garden.
one of the best/most fun foods to grow. Great for beginning gardeners and foodies alike…
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Tier
What Are Tomatoes?
Tomatoes are a fruit… This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler text. This is filler.
Why Tomatoes?
Everyone loves tomatoes. At least, everyone loves foods with tomatoes in them! Requisite for pizza, pasta, and more—why wouldn’t you grow tomatoes?!
Easy to Grow
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The Pretty Flowers/Unbeatable Ambiance
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Main Ingredient
Foodie patrol
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Major Producer
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Money Maker
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Organics Important!
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Pioneer Crop
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Soil Amender
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There’s a lot that goes into [achieving/learning this favorite]. Here’s a quick look at what the [this favorite] journey has been like for me.
About Tomatoes
| Common Name | Tomato, love apple |
| Botanical Name | Solanum lycopersicum |
| Family | Solanaceae |
| Plant Type | Vegetable / fruit, annual, perennial |
| Mature Size | 3-10 ft. tall, 1-4 ft. wide |
| Sun Exposure | Full |
| Soil Type | Well-drained but moist |
| Soil pH | Mildly acidic (5.8-6.8) |
| Hardiness Zones | 10-11 (USDA) |
| Native Area | South America |
| Toxicity | Stems, leaves, and roots toxic to pets, toxic to people |
or table of contents
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Before You Start
You have a lot of options when growing tomatoes.
You have decisions to make.
- What kind of tomatoes do you want to grow?
- Where do you want to grow them?
- How do you want to grow them?
decide what kind of tomatoes you want to grow
think about where/how you want to plant them
- Importance – 95%
- Passion – 95%
- Mastery – 85%
Determinate vs Indeterminate
indeterminate continue to bloom and fruit until they die… determinate grow to full height, set all their fruit then die
Hybrid vs Heirloom
Heirlooms are varieties that have been grown without crossbreeding for at least 40 years… open pollinated, so they will produce the same type of seeds as themselves
Common Varieties
Tomato Varieties
Books Read
Mentions on My Site
Pulling Threads: A Lion Chasing Rabbits
What the hell is This Site, exactly? A pointless stream of consciousness? A fanboy's ode to his Heroes? A psycho's Favorite topics? All three? Or maybe, it's just the result of a lion chasing rabbits. You might LOL... but this is how it works: I am destined to be the...
Growth Overview
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Hardiness Zones
1-10
Zone 1
March 15 – May 1
Growing Difficulty
3/5
Soil
12″ – 18″
Sunlight
12″ – 18″
Seed Spacing
12″ – 18″
Row Spacing
12″ – 18″
Germination
12″ – 18″
Harvest
12″ – 18″
Tomato Growing Guide
Overall, tomatoes are average difficulty to grow.
With that said, you can be
or
Overall, tomatoes are fairly easy to start growing but fairly difficult to master?
Overall, [this crop] are [difficulty – very easy, easy, fairly easy, average, fairly hard, hard, very hard?] to grow.
It will take X number of growing seasons/Most at-home gardeners can master them in x growing season/Most at-home gardeners will get a decent crop their first time trying to grow them
Planting Timelines
based on last frost
Can get a X-X week head start by doing seedlings… might get an extra X-X week headstart with raised beds/in pots?
Sun & Soil
Tomatoes prefer xyz sun and xyz soil.
[blurb about sunlight – can they deal with worse conditions?]
[blurb about soil comp – can they deal with worse conditions?] … link opps for composting, soil, etc.
Planting Options
Need section about sowing – direct seed vs start+transplant vs cutlings vs grow bags/pots… preferred soil
Direct Sowing
Soil depth, clusters, singles, etc.
you can usually shave X amount of time off/gain X amount of production time by starting your seedlings early
Starts to Transplant
modified planting instructions
transplant details
Bags/Containers
pots, grow bags, buckets, etc
Sowing
Support
stake? trellis or no? tied up or no?
Maintenance
removing “suckers”
hill up
mound up or no
guiding tendrils
prune or not?
watering specs
lifetime or plants
get rid of early flowers or not
pest/disease fighting… extending the life of your tomato plants
bolting
Harvesting
Need section about harvesting – repeat harvests or not? over winter or not? get rid of early flowers or not
Need section about tips/mistakes/pests/etc – overwinter? plant throughout season for continued harvest/lifetime of plants/
Storage & Curing
Growing Tomatoes Step-by-Step?
01
Discover Your Why
If you don’t want it bad enough, you won’t do what is necessary to achieve it. Most people lack the motivation to even write their goals down, let alone pursue them. Ironically, goals are motivating. When you do it right, they provide a constant source of motivation.
Where Tomatoes Fit In Your Garden
I’m climbing my way toward mastery.
More than anything, I just need a few more years.
I already have a fairly sophisticated system. But for me, figuring out what I really want takes reps.
I use my goals to carve out a life purpose.
Points of emphasis respond to change in both me and in the world. But all the while, they pull me forward.
I create goals then mold my character to the traits that those objectives require. My goals help me discover the man I need to be so that I can do the things I want to do.
So far, they’ve served me well. Long may it continue.
- Importance – 95%
- Passion – 95%
- Mastery – 85%
Determinate vs Indeterminate
Hybrid vs Heirloom
Common Varieties
Companion Crops
Basil
Books Read
Mentions on My Site
Similar Plants
Basil
Books Read
Mentions on My Site
Same Season
Basil
Books Read
Mentions on My Site
Goes Together in Food/Table Partners
Basil
Books Read
Mentions on My Site
Common Mistakes, Tips, and Other FAQs
Need section with basic plant specs – plant type, number of varieties,
Need section about tips/mistakes/pests/etc – overwinter? plant throughout season for continued harvest/lifetime or plants/
Need section about different varieties
corresponding videos spread out into their corresponding sections? (might be hard because some of the best will probably be full overviews)
needs link to gardening page… and self-sufficiency toolkit?
"Everything Is My Fault"
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"Honey Empire"
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"Clouds & Dirt"
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"If You Want a 1% Life"
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"Day-Trading Attention"
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"A Game of Perspective"
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Remember: just start. The first time you put your goals on paper, you’re closer to achieving your dreams than 90% of the population.
My Favorite Tomato Growing Videos
You can find everything you need to know about goal-setting online.
I’m no high performance titan. I stand on the shoulders of giants. I simply listen to what my Heroes say and apply it. Not everything sticks. But enough does to make a lasting impact.
Data
Dump
When I am trying to teach someone about how to set goals, this is where I start. The first few videos are meant to change your paradigms about goal setting. They all lead up to a nine minute exercise in the last video. It’s great to do in groups and share.
Grow Lots of Tomatoes... Not Leaves
Spank Your Tomatoes for Bigger Harvests
Prune Tomatoes for Maximum Yield
Plants to Intercrop with Tomatoes
Tim Ferris: Fear Setting
Goals: Process vs. Product
Goals, Targets, and Obligations
Putting Goals
to Action
Setting goals is only half the battle, if that. At some stage, you actually have to do the work. It’s not always easy, even when you know what you want and love the work you do. Developing goals that propel you is a skill and an ongoing process of personal growth.
How I Use Goals to Create the Life I want
If you haven’t noticed, I take this stuff seriously.
You don’t have to do it like me. But maybe you wanna know. So I guess I’ll tell you. You might have picked some of it up by reading through this page or clicking on some of the links.
I’ll spell it all out here.
Knowledge of Self and Divination
When you set goals like this, it becomes a spiritual thang. Self Awareness is my fave. 🤩 It might be the best tool for sorting out things like your “heart’s desire” or “life purpose.” And when you get it right, your goals become your destiny. Predict your own success, then take responsibility. You’ll be able to look back and say “Called it, b!tch.” 😏
Bullet Journal, Save Us
I pretty much put my entire life in my Bullet Journal. It’s a straight up lifesaver. More than that though: for me, it’s a life maker. Bullet journals let you create your own dynamic layouts that are perfect for goal setting. I create new layouts every year as I learn and my needs develop. Without it, I don’t know how I would be able to plan as I do.
Turning Big Rocks Into Little Rocks
Each year, I revisit and revise my life goals. I add and subtract as needed then build out a yearly plan based on that. I break those down into monthly targets, to be reviewed and updated each quarter throughout the year. Finally, I use weekly and daily journal layouts to plan and track the individual tasks that need to get done day to day.
Day Dreaming with Homework
I approach goal setting with a “shoot for the moon” mentality. I’m all about bringing imagination into it. But that has to be anchored with tracking and review. I basically create worksheets for myself. They range from daily To Do Lists to monthly project planning to financial dashboards. Together, they help me identify what gets results for me.
Sharing is Caring
If you haven’t noticed, I like to share my goals. 😁 It’s good for you. I even try to set up group goal setting activities when I can. (See: First Mastermind) Support and accountability are underrated. Masterminds provide both. Beyond that, I like to announce my goals to the world because I’m a sh!t talker and it motivates me to do live up to my words.
Favorite Coaches
Favorite Teachers
Favorite Entrepreneurs
My Goal Setting Posts
Becoming Legendary: My 2022 Goals
I'm fairly confident 2022 is going to be the most successful year of my life so far. I'm writing this post to help guarantee that. Obviously, I can't control the future. But I can set intentions and create a plan of action. That's what Goal Setting is all about. So...
Setting the New 20s Off Right: My 2020 Goals
New Year's Resolutions get a bad wrap. It's not their fault though. It's yours. The truth is: The beginning of the year is a perfect time for a reset. You have to execute though. Do it right and this year could be the best year you've ever had. No guarantees. Because,...
![How to Become a Morning Person [Life-Changing Habit #1]](https://zachbradshaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/How-to-Become-a-Morning-Person-and-Stop-Being-a-Night-Owl-400x250.png)
How to Become a Morning Person [Life-Changing Habit #1]
Becoming a "morning person" has changed my life. Only time will tell, but it could go down as a top five factor to my future success. Learning how to wake up early wasn't easy. Until the second half of 2018, I've been a notoriously late sleeper. It started as a kid: I...
Becoming Legendary: My 2022 Goals
I'm fairly confident 2022 is going to be the most successful year of my life so far. I'm writing this post to help guarantee that. Obviously, I can't control the future. But I can set intentions and create a plan of action. That's what Goal Setting is all about. So...
Setting the New 20s Off Right: My 2020 Goals
New Year's Resolutions get a bad wrap. It's not their fault though. It's yours. The truth is: The beginning of the year is a perfect time for a reset. You have to execute though. Do it right and this year could be the best year you've ever had. No guarantees. Because,...
How to Become a Morning Person [Life-Changing Habit #1]
Becoming a "morning person" has changed my life. Only time will tell, but it could go down as a top five factor to my future success. Learning how to wake up early wasn't easy. Until the second half of 2018, I've been a notoriously late sleeper. It started as a kid: I...
Setting Goals for 2019
I have mixed feelings about New Year's Resolutions. I don't believe in waiting to make changes. I think it makes more sense to try to grow everyday. Create good new habits. Erase the negative old ones. Do it all the time. However, I find that measurement is...
My Top 3 High Performance Coaches
"YouTube University" has brought many a life-optimizer across my path. These three are my favorite high performance coaches.