Weekly Gardening Thread
Posted on 06/18/2010 4:59:42 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners.
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Weekly Gardening Thread
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Morning. We ate our first tomato, zuchinni and onions this week. I made a stack of them with local goat cheese and basil from the herb garden. Yum.
Tomatillos are about to riot. Peppers looking good.
But, my squashes keep dropping blossoms. They are still fairly young, but I got one zuke. Is something wrong?
Are they male or female blossoms?
Roasting hot today, though...will have to get some plants out of the sun, as it heads toward 90. :-(
May need to pollinate by hand...very easy.
Male. I see very few females at the moment.
Headed over in a bit to take a closer look.
For the first time ever, I planted lima beans this year. Some of them have developed splotchy yellow on the leaves. (I cut those leaves off & threw them in the garbage.) Anyone know what? Why? Will it ultimately kill my plants?
I just did the pruning this week, so I don’t know if the infection (if that’s what it is) will spread.
I have 16 quarts of Dill pickles put up. Lots of yellow squash - I froze those.
I am not sure about my potatoes - never tried them before - the plants are starting to wilt so I thought I’d try digging with a pitch fork. Any tips on potatoes?
What can I plant now for a late summer crop? East TN zone 6.
I am a newbie at this - but when I get frustrated with politics I go out an garden. At least I can produce food for myself and family. Goats and chickens next!
2 weeks ago you guys assisted me in impregnating my Giant Pumpkin. For some reason, it just did not want to get pregnant. Anyway, I followed your instruction and bascially helped the plant have sex with itself (yes, I felt dirty afterwards) and am happy to report that I am now the expectant father of a baby Giant Pumpkin!
In ten days it has grown to the size of my fist, and I'm already planning to build a little hammock so as to keep it off the wet ground.
So yeah, thank you all for your help. I'd be barren without you!
But I have another question: The vine itself is now very long; about 20 feet. I have trained it to keep it inside my raised box, and it has come full circle, literally. I noticed that it tries, and mostly succeeds, at putting down roots at every node. The older part of the vine looks all dead and withered, and the leaves have all dropped off there. The newer growth is still healthy and robust, though. So, my query: May I cut out and discard the older part of the vine? It appears that the plant no longer gets sustenance from that part, and since there are roots everywhere else I figure it is recieving the nutrients it requires from those (which are WAY closer to the budding site).
It's not of uber-importance, but I am running out of room in the bed, and I want to plant some peppers I have in Solo party cups. Also, I got a wild hair and decided to try to propagate some Spaghetti Squash seeds I got out of a store-bought squash, and I was a little TOO successful: I have almost 20 seedlings that I'd like to plant, also in Solo party cups. They are growing like weeds and need a permanent home very soon.
If they are male don’t worry about it.
This is what I do to my pepper plants, it might work on zukes too:
I mix one teaspoon epsom salt to one quart of water in a spray bottle. When the plants start blooming I spray them to help retain the blossoms, therefore more fruit. I have doubled/tripled my yield this way.
Any room on the roof?
Talk around the garden forums is that East Tennessee will be the next 'boom area' for small farmers and related farmer's markets...
I wouldn't, but I can't give you a good reason - it sounds like you actually COULD. Can you tuck the other squash in around it and trellis them?
Can you tuck the other squash in around it and trellis them?Well, my Pumpkin is already trellising ITSELF: It has attacked and insinuated itself into my tomato ring; it puts out suckers that strangle any plant it can get ahold of, and I have been very proactive in disallowing that to happen. It is reminiscent of having to follow a toddler around and taking things out of their hand, over and over, constantly.
The baby pumpkin itself is in there, about a foot off the ground, hangin' out with his tomato neighbors. I figure I'd just let him be, as I do not want to do anything that puts my sainted pumpkin at risk.
As for trellising the Spaghetti Squash, I just don't have the room now. I am considering digging up and discarding my basil as it keeps trying to go to seed; I just cut down my sunflowers, and that has given me a little breathing room for a week or so.
But yeah, I'll investigate the trellising option.
I have been trying to get my wife to allow me to dig up more of our lawn and convert it to raised beds, and I just gotta keep harrassing her about it; I can tell I'm wearing her down!
I'm having to battle an invasion of leaf-footed bugs which is doing it's best to ruin our tomatoes.
The okra is producing well now - enough to fill a pot for myself every other evening.
Why are some of the leaves on my otherwise healthy tomato plants turning yellow and brown? The are in good soil, they get plenty of water, and the diseased leaves are all in one area and on only two of my five plants. Could it be that it is too hot for the plants? It has been 90+ here for the last week or so.
Appreciated the green house plans from last week, After much research, the crosses that are available for the not recommended schedule 40 pvc, are not very available for schedule 80 pvc. Found a few for 30+ dollars each on the net. So, I had to change the plans to eliminate the crosses and just build the straight support with the metal conduit inside so it can fit under the bows and tied to them. Haven’t built it yet but working on it.
Speaking of gardening, yesterday I had to move all the potted tomatoes, to a protected area so the wind didn’t rip them out by the roots. This is already a second planting, first wiped out by hail. I expect it will be at least two to three weeks before the first blooms appear. Meanwhile the pepper plants which did survive the hail are almost recovered to the point my newly planted tomatoes are at now.
If this was Christmas I’d be tempted to spout some Dickens. Grocery stores may not be as good as home grown, but at least they sell ripe tomatoes and peppers.
You’re not over-watering, right? Tomatoes dont like it too wet.
Congradulations.
Geeze wish I knew some of the stuff I am learning here back in the day when I had the physical agiliy and time to Garden.
But it sure is good knowledge when talking to folks around here off screen about their adventures in gardening.
Getting a bumper crop of sweet cherry tomatoes and at the point where I’m giving away most of them because there are too many for just myself. They taste great with my lettuces and herbs. The cucumbers confound me because their growth remains stunted. There are few leaves and no flowers. They get as much sun and fertirlizer as the rest of the garden. Onions doing great and so is garlic. Our weather here in VA has been on the hot and humid side. Have to water later today.
Try some boric acid powder for those bugs. I use that every year with great success. That also works for ants and other insects.
I’m also in zone 6-over here in Nashville. Bush green beans have always been a success for me-I’ve planted them early and late-even as late as August and they did well. Just have to be faithful about giving them a little water in the morning and evening after you plant the seeds-keep the soil a little moist until they germinate. Good luck!
Finally!
Got the main gardens in. Last year I was focused on fighting cancer, so all I grew here was weeds. I cleaned out all the raised beds with roundup. Then added a bag of manure and a bag of topsoil to each 4’ x 4’ bed.
I planted:
Red, Yellow, and Green Sweet Peppers
Yellow Beets
Red Beets
summer Squash
and Cucumbers
Everything is sprouting like mad. Yippie!
Also replanted the flower beds in the front of the house with dahlias and celosia.
My one remaining big task is to screen out the rocks from a flower bed alongside the driveway and replant it with dahlias.
never used boric acid powder-do you sprinkle it on the plant itself or just on the dirt around it or what? I have some of those pesky bugs too. Yick!
Glad to hear you are better and back to gardening!
I had those same bugs attacking my tomatoes and was wondering what they were. How do I eliminate them?
Actually I had the bugs AND blossom end rot simultaneously. applied the epsom salt to remediate the blossom end rot issue, but now it is too hot for tomatoes to set and I will need to wait til fall, I guess...:(
Where do you buy your Boric Acid?
I use an old (non trigger) spray bottle and drill the top out to the size of the suction tube and putting the tube into the hole. Fill the bottle about half full, give it a squeeze and it will dust the plants.
You and everyone else, I think.
It’s been a very frustrating week for me as I have never seen so much sunshine but it is accompanied with 25 to 35 MPH winds plus I have had something to do every morning that takes me downtown or to a doctor. We did get 2 or 3 hours in the main garden and we are starting to slowly push back against the weeds.
Wife has picked 2 1/2 gallons of Raspberries in the last 5 days and I had to dig my Inchellium Garlic yesterday due the late rains causing the wrappers to rot. I’ll have to check my notes but I believe it is a couple of weeks early and the bulb are smaller but still acceptable. I fear they will not last as long in storage although a grower told me to peel and freeze them in Zipper bags. That should stink up the freezer real good.
I fertilized the strawberries and scratched that in and watered them. I held these plants over from last year and they are stunted and producing small fruit and it’s too late to replant. I also fertilized and hilled the corn which is about 8” tall and very healthy with plenty of moisture in the compost rich soil.
Of course as any gardener knows there are hundreds of little projects that get done as you walk through your garden and at the end of the day you can’t remember a single one and wonder why you got so little accomplished...
I think Home Depot or Lowes is where I got the boric acid. If you can find beau’ darc (sp) apples (horse apples), they work best for ants and roaches.
Congratulations. You’ve been very quiet, and I’ve wondered where you’ve been. I’ll post pictures of my raised garden beds a little later this AM. I’m nearly ready to tear out all the lettuce.
The best way to eliminate them is if you can catch them & kill them by hand. I get a few that way, but not enough.
I bought some “End ALL” insect killer - which is organic. The reason being that these tomatoes are ready to pick & eat today. But, that didnt seem to do much to affect them.
Here is a link to check out:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/Galveston/weekly_Q&A/p&dc_12.htm
What do you mean by that? I thought that "hilling the corn" meant to plant the seeds in a mound of earth. Do you mean that you are bringing earth up higher around corn that has already sprouted? 'Splain, please.
I arranged my corn in rows in the raised bed, but I furrowed the dirt like corduroy and planted the seeds in the ridges. Will that work? Or, am I supposed to do something else?
The corn is sprouting, except for one place where the sprinkler washed it out, and I have one piece that is sprouting where I don't want it. Must have dropped a seed when planting. Can I dig that up and move it?
Our 10 day forecast Note the temps which are typical and normal since we sit on the shores of Humboldt Bay
I am in a fog every morning until the third cup of coffee.
I start my corn in the greenhouse and transplant into 6 rows 12’ long with plants spaced 12” and rows 30” apart and hill once or twice. These rows are flat until I hill with a garden hoe (vs a street ho) The way you planted a common and accepted and I had a attachment for my Wheel Hoe that made furrows for my corn until I put boards around the raised beds. I water with 1/4” drip line laid down each side of the corn (and other crops). and yes you can transplant that wayward corn seed but take a deep plug to get most of the tap root.
We’ve gotten a lot of rain this past week. So much rain that I gave up a couple of times on the automatic waterer and turned it off. I tiptoed out at 4:45 AM today (before light) to turn it off again because we had a big T storm last night. I don’t know how much rain we actually got because I haven’t checked the rain guage. I will later.
The garden is almost completely planted. Perhaps over-planted. I have 2 little sections on the perimeter that could hold some flowers, or some shallow rooted veggies. Also 3 squares in one of the raised beds where I took the cauliflower out. Any suggestions?
My main tomatoes are nearly 4 ft. tall and starting to blossom (6 varieties). The later planted tomatoes (planted May 27 — 8 plants, various) that were stunted and dying in their seed starting pots are about 1 1/2 feet high. They have tripled, or quadrupled their size at planting in 2 weeks.
They are on the perimeter of the garden inside the because I ran out of space. I don’t know if they will do anyting, but they look healthy. Those perimeter beds are only about 7 in. deep and lined with carboard on the bottom. I don’t imagine that there is enough root room for anything big yet, because the cardboard probably hasn’t disintergrated enough to allow the roots to penetrate into the clay.
My peas and my peppers are blooming. One variety of bean has not sprouted. May need to re-plant. My pea foliage has become “mottled” — lighter green and darker green on the leaves. Is this normal? The plant looks healthy, otherwise.
Snipped that caterpillar in 2 with the scissors, per Red’s instructions. Eeeewwwwww!
I won’t tell you how I am sitting here in not much, haven’t showered yet, drinking my 2nd cup of coffee after my first cup of tea. Rest assured I only do this on the new Garden Thread Day. My first wife just informed me she was looking for a Garden Wizard hat for me to wear when posting on your threads...
I planted a variety of cherry tomatoes...
bfl
Outstanding figs...is the a ‘Smart Pot’ on the left in the second pic? Looks a bit too firm for fabric, but you can never tell with pictures.
Actually, I haven't been there in a couple of years, so maybe it's not so bad now since Pelosi turned off the water.
Didn't it used to be a death penalty offense for early pioneers to poison a well, or make a pond unusable for livestock? Turning off the water and ruining crops and orchards in the bread basket of CA ought to warrent a similar fate for Pelosi and some judges, I should think.
We love Figs but they are tough to grow here. I must try again when I find a variety that will do well for this climate. Where do you garden and what type of potting soil did you use and how often do you water?
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