Posted on 07/05/2013 1:06:42 PM PDT by greeneyes
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Thanks for sharing that info. It gives me some ideas.
Hi greeneyes!
The romaine showed quarter inch long rootlets, so we decided to pot it. I mixed up some potting soil and put it in a pot. We bought another head of nicely trimmed romaine today and decided to see if we could replicate the results. So we put the stump into root hormone dust in a dish of water. So far the celery stump has not responded. Maybe it got shaved too far back.
We harvested my first ever home-grown tomatoes! What is with the stretch marks??? The skin on one of them was splitting open. At any rate, split or no split, what they say is TRUE: homegrown tomatoes really DO taste better!
My squash are not doing well. Good green leaves, good blooming, and the straight neck is forming squash, but they have not been developing. My scallop squash will bloom, but then the end of the vine will wither with the blossom on it. No squash developed at all.
I asked the lady at our local gardening store - not the box store - and in our conversation, we decided that probably I have squash bugs on the yellow squash. She said that several things could account for the problems with the scallop squash. I purchased a soap solution for killing bugs. She suggested I try that on both and see what happens.
Re my legume problems: I had what I thought might be a “Duh” light bulb moment earlier today. I realized I had not obtained any inoculation bacteria. I specifically went to the garden store for it. The lady at the store said that this was the first year that they are not selling it because no one is buying it any more. She said that legumes usually do just fine without it. As far as my problems are concerned, it could be too damp, too dry, micro creatures, fungus, bugs, and disease. *sigh* The advice is to squirt the soap on them as well and see if that helps, as a first measure.
I had some extra dirt, so covered up my sweet potato vine some more. I saw a sweet potato peeking up at me, so with more dirt, here’s hoping that more will form! The vine is very pretty.
I bought some fish emulsion (5-1-1) and some osmocote (14-14-14). They have directions and I’ll see about applying it sometime in next few days. Can anyone tell me why I would use one and not the other? Would I use both on the same plant? Not sure at all what I’m doing here. My Darlin has been urging me to open and use the Miracle Gro blue stuff as well.
My grand experiment is harvesting me so far two tomatoes, an active lifestyle, 4 chigger bites in delicate places, quite a bit of fun, and loads of realization that I know nothing! Nevertheless, my learning curve is trending straight up, and I’m so grateful that we are not dependent on feeding ourselves at this point from our garden! We would surely starve. Maybe I can do better next year, by God’s grace.
Do you have a rifle and some ammo? What about a guard dog? I never have any deer here. We have so many dogs in the neighborhood barking all the time, and we’re a little close to town.
We have plenty of rabbits, squirrels, occasional possum, coon, and fox.
Yesterday, my husband planted some of my seedlings in flower boxes that hang off of our deck. Squash, hot yellow peppers and eggplant. He also planted one tomato in a large container. We were both too worn out today to do much of anything, but I'm hoping to get some more seedlings into the ground tomorrow. It's been so hot here and with all of the rain, the bugs are everywhere in force.
Just re-read carefully your post. I hope you guys are feeling better! Thanks for posting the thread! And happy belated Fourth of July!
Sorry to hear about your sunflowers! We had ours attacked by a herd of little black crawlie worms which I immediately neemed, then stomped! The leaves they had chewed on looked like little transparent ghost leaves. So far the plants are surviving, but it is a blow to lose a sunflower. They are so very dear and special.
Marcella, I’ve been thinking of the Jerusalem sun chokes you have been discussing. I’m wondering if it might be possible to obtain oil from sun choke seeds. I realize they are quite a bit smaller than the mammoth, but in extremis, I’m thinking they might be a possible oil source as well as food source from the roots. Have you looked into that or run across that info in your researches by any chance?
No. I thoroughly studied the Jerusalem Artichokes and the other choke which is “Sun Chokes” thinking that might work, too, but they have little to no oil and very few seeds. The flowers have thin petals and the flowers aren't big. They are just grown for the everlasting tubers, not for oil and not for eating.
The “Black Oil” Sunflower is the one for getting oil from the black seeds.
The “Sunspot” Sunflower grows only to 2 or 2 1/2 ft., has 10 inch flowers and is packed with striped seed which is the one for eating. These are the ones I just grew from seed and will plant soon within the next few days. I'm gong to try growing them in grow bags. They are not perennial like the Jerusalem and Sun Choke ones.
Tomatoes like to have consistent watering. When the weather is dry, and then there is a big rain, the tomato will split the skin due to more water than usual.
Squash may need some additional potassium, phosphorous, or trace minerals during the bloom time? I have never heard of squash without squash bugs, so you probably have some.
Fish emulsion is good to add nitrogen to your soil, when you have other nutrients in adequate amounts. For example, you might have grown a bunch of lettuce and depleted the nitrogen quite a bit, but P or K not so much. So you might want to add a little fish emulsion before replanting the second crop in that space.
The 14 14 14 is just a balanced mix, fine for generic soil nutrients. However, plants with blooms like melons, roses, tomatoes etc usually need additional Phosphate(P)especially during the bloom time.
In light of the green beans not doing well, you might want to do a soil test. Even if it’s just one of the at home kits. If your extension office is close, that’s also a good place for info, help, and soil testing usually.
Keyhole gardens ay? Thanks for sharing the article on it. Do you personally know of anyone using these type of gardening models with success?
I did not think they touched the leaves, but this year they are feeding heavily on the plants. Does anyone have any idea how to stop them?
30-06 or .308, 165 grain soft point should do it.
LOL. That was my first thought too, but she’s in an urban area, and that’s not possible.
Does your city have an animal control department?
Deer are relentless and destructive pests. I have shot many on my property when they destroy my plants and trees.
That being said, you can go the passive route and erect a “tent” of deer netting over the plants to deter the varmints. Small sachets of human hair or Irish Spring bar soap is also said to deter them, but I haven’t tried that technique.
No, but I have had volunteer plants growing in my compost pile, so it shouldn't be much of a difference.
“I’m not buying tobacco seed next year.”
Maybe you could send me some of those next year. I know I can sprout seeds now and still hate it that I didn’t manage to grow those others you sent. I learned from that not to trust “seed grower trays” you buy at stores. At least I have the plastic trays left and now know to use the cups and organic seed starter.
/johnny
Fortunately, the sugar snaps have taken it in stride. We're picking daily. Tuesday, we sold 15 pounds to a private customer. Wednesday, we gave 5 pounds to a local restaurant owner; she has been giving us the coffee grounds from both of her locations for the past year and a half. Yesterday, I prepared a couple of pounds of them as a side dish for dinner with friends: bacon & balsamic glazed snap peas; we also took large bags of fresh ones for each of the other two couples.
We've been eating carrots & radishes, but so far, while coming along well, nothing else is even remotely ready to harvest...except a Giant Marconi pepper in one of the hanging upside down pots.
Need some FReeper garden help:
Some of my Grey Stripe sunflowers looked diseased; tops withered & drooped over. When I touched them, the stem separated cleanly, as if cut or bitten through. On close inspection, the stem had small, shallow brown pits and short channels, like insects chewing; and where it separated, it had been girdled by them. No bugs in evidence; and none of the native Blackeyed Susan types or the black oilseed seem affected. I have no idea what is doing it.
Although it has been cloudy and gloomy here in Missisippi the temps for this time of year have been beautiful, mid eighties during the day and mid sixties overnight this whole week. Some nice rain today with current temp at 75. Yesterday I picked 12 Breba figs, early maturing figs that grow on last years old growth. New growth figs are just two numerous to count and should be a good crop late August or early Sept. We ate the fresh figs for snacks and desert yesterday. My pear tree has a low volume of smaller fruit compared to last year. Lovely canning pears, we only have one jar left from last years crop.
“Sad to report the death of all sunflowers except 1.”
Sorry that happened. I’m going to grow the ones I have sprouted (Sunspot) in grow bags and make a decent net cover over them so varmints can’t get to them. That will take some rigging to get the net far enough away from the plants that the varmints can’t reach them. That is the plan. I’ll do it in the next few days.
You have so much growing and know so much. Could you box up what you know and air mail it to me?
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