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Jhet posted:If you don't like the weave or cages, I've seen people have good results taking some cattle fencing and sticking it on a heavy duty and deeply driven stake (2x2). You can loosely tie it to the fence at the beginning of the season and weave it through to grow on both sides of it. Oh shoot. Never thought of that. I like that idea. Thanks!
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Apr 24, 2022 22:26
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Apr 24, 2022 22:52
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How much to water tomatoes. I've always hand watered my garden, and I'm in sunny california. This year I'm getting professional and installed soaker hose. The packaging says it releases: "1 gallon per foot per hour". I ran the soaker hose around the tomatoes so that it is on either side of the row. I guess that makes it 2 gallons per foot per hour. My tomatoes are planted 18-24 inches apart. I know they like deep watering. Websites say tomatoes need 2 inches of water per week, what is that in gallons?
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Apr 24, 2022 23:47
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Jhet posted:If you don't like the weave or cages, I've seen people have good results taking some cattle fencing and sticking it on a heavy duty and deeply driven stake (2x2). You can loosely tie it to the fence at the beginning of the season and weave it through to grow on both sides of it. I’ve used that and the main drawback to the cattle panel method is that they are only 4’ tall. If you plan to have tall tomatoes you may have to bend the panel into an arch. This year I am trying the Low and Lean method, it goes by other names, I think. https://youtu.be/tDL3McRkPbg
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Apr 25, 2022 00:10
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Joburg posted:I’ve used that and the main drawback to the cattle panel method is that they are only 4’ tall. If you plan to have tall tomatoes you may have to bend the panel into an arch. I was actually going to do something similar to this that would have been much more expensive. This seems more manageable for sure.
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Apr 25, 2022 01:17
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Bloody Cat Farm posted:Can we talk tomato trellises/supports? What works the best? I tried the Florida weave last year. I tried the Florida weave set between 6-foot t-posts last year and it was a bit messy. This year just tying the main stems to the t-posts themselves. And fewer plants.
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Apr 25, 2022 02:08
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I like strings
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Apr 25, 2022 15:51
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I'll try the weave with t-posts 3-4 feet apart. Hopefully jute wire will last the season
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Apr 25, 2022 15:56
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Actually here's a related question: I hate the synthetic twine that I've used the last two years but I'm worried that a natural jute fiber will retain more moisture and cause mould. Anyone have any input on that?
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Apr 25, 2022 15:58
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I use a lot of twine and have never had mold issues.
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Apr 25, 2022 16:03
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Yeah I have twine that was on my t-posts that were up all of last year and is still on there and not moldy.
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Apr 25, 2022 16:41
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I used a Florida weave with jute twine, then tried multiple different synthetic twines, and ultimately they all failed to UV damage. The indeterminates in particular would get to about 8' tall and have to run sideways and it almost never failed that the string would start popping. We tried jute, cotton, and even the banding polypro a local newspaper uses. I bought a couple bales of Tenax Hortonova a few years ago and use it for pretty much everything now. I'll run rows of 10' T-post early in the season with the Hortonova panels and I'll be damned if you can't grow just about anything vertically. Now if I can just get the weeds under control.
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Apr 25, 2022 16:58
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they grew some more I think I'm eating these for dinner
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Apr 25, 2022 17:08
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mischief posted:I'll run rows of 10' T-post early in the season with the Hortonova panels and I'll be damned if you can't grow just about anything vertically.  10’ T posts?!?I have never seen those available. My local farm store finally got 8’ posts in stock but I had already settled for 7’.
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Apr 25, 2022 17:53
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i am harry posted:Found some lettuce on a walk yesterday I'm extremely disappointed that the lettuce you found growing in the gutter is not actually the Drunken Woman variety. Close, but the leaves are too smooth. We're trying some of this variety this year. I need to get the windowsill starts into the garden but we keep getting frosted in the morning. poverty goat posted:they grew some more Oh hell yeah! No sign of life in our buckets from last summer. I was hoping a second flush might appear. If nothing happens in a few weeks I'll dump them with more wood chips and straw under the Himalayan Giant hedgerow and let them fight with the Stropharia, which is doing just dandy fine and trying to take over the orchard, tyvm. There's some concern the Golden Oysters are alien invasives here. It's delicious enough I'm sure we can hunt it to extinction if it gets out of the hedgerow. Joburg posted:
Yeah, I did a double take when I walked past those the first time last year at our local farm store. Need a stepladder to drive them though and that would be a bit awkward in the places I might want to use them. After giving myself a concussion driving 10' pt wood posts I'm a little cautious about that routine.
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Apr 25, 2022 18:05
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I've given up on fancy tomato trellising methods at this point. I used cages at first, used Florida weave for a while, and last year set up a low & lean system. This year I'm just sticking 10' 1x2 furring strips into the ground next to each plant and tying my plants to those. I'll probably mostly single stem them, and maybe let a few suckers go as the season goes on. Cages never work for me. The plants always get too big and inevitably outgrow the cages, either reaching the point where they're literally ripping them out of the ground or just extending so far above the top that it's pointless. I like Florida weave a lot, but find that it's basically unmanageable without a lot of work late in the season. And if you gently caress up once or don't stay on top of single stemming then it becomes unmanageable real loving fast. Low & lean with tomahooks was actually really nice, though, and giving up on it is definitely a "me" problem. I think I just can't wrap my brain around the need to drop and lean the vines as the season goes on, and I found it to be really messy in raised beds where I was doing mixed planting. I'm going to try sticking with tall stakes because I really want my plants upright, but don't want to deal with the mess that Florida weaving creates in tight beds.
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Apr 25, 2022 19:45
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 best cluster so far on the blue oyster buckets I moved outside e: though they aren't turning out blue either
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Apr 25, 2022 19:52
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poverty goat posted:
I checked on the progress in my straw bales that I threw together. The mycelium is growing, but it's no where near fruiting right now. Seems to be taking over well enough, but at this point, who knows? Negative of leaving nature to just do its thing instead of running it happily through the process in ideal conditions. Those are great looking clusters too.
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Apr 25, 2022 21:02
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Yeah in hindsight saying "I used the Florida weave" feels disingenuous when I look at photos because holy hell. That was only July too. By August it was madness. Also lol at that loving zucchini.
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Apr 25, 2022 22:59
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Chad Sexington posted:Yeah in hindsight saying "I used the Florida weave" feels disingenuous when I look at photos because holy hell. You did, you just forgot to prune it. My tomatoes have always ended up looking like that no matter how much I try to prune them. Just take one single vacation for a week in July and bam, when you get back you have an actual forest of tomatoes.
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Apr 25, 2022 23:20
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Yeah I prune my tomatoes hardcore. This year the plan is to take almost everything off except fruit buds below the top growing 25% or so. Last year I got the vines up to the ceiling of the tunnel. This year the goal is to get them back down to the ground.
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Apr 25, 2022 23:27
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Squirrels, thank you for digging up my seedlings. They would have just been a lot of work anyway.
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Apr 26, 2022 00:18
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Joburg posted:
If you're not willing to get a a twenty pound sledgehammer on a 
mischief fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Apr 26, 2022 |
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Apr 26, 2022 00:35
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mischief posted:If you're not willing to get a a twenty pound sledgehammer on a LOL, I’m so short I have to use a step ladder for 6’ posts. PSA: Never drive a post with a sledgehammer! My brother crushed a finger doing that  Post drivers are the best uni-tasker around.
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Apr 26, 2022 01:02
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poo poo's finally starting to look like spring around here. Sichuan peppercorn is starting to flower: And those patches of mysterious volunteer bok choy I had popping up at the other end of the yard from where the raised beds are? Left them to go to seed, which they're still doing, and it turns out that house finches absolutely loving love bok choy seed. Here's a somewhat blurry shot of two house finches perched in a very bolted bok choy (it's a little over 4'/1.2 m tall) and a hummingbird trying and failing to intimidate the finches:  This year's direct-sown greens (couple varieties of bok choy, some gai lan, yu choy, and komatsuna) are starting to come up, along with the long beans. About half of the seedlings that got started indoors went into the ground this past weekend. Re-started a bunch of eggplant seeds because all of the starts from a couple weeks ago are looking sad and stunted. Direct sowed a few cukes as well because those starts were looking a little iffy too. Otherwise everything seems to be mostly okay so far. Got some stuff from a local nursery for the first time since the start of the pandemic. I.e. some Italian basil. In the past had good luck rooting basil from the CSA and growing that, but this year for whatever reason all of the CSA basil is refusing to root. Thai basil and holy basil I started from seed both seem to be doing well so far.
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Apr 26, 2022 02:11
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Joburg posted:PSA: Never drive a post with a sledgehammer! My brother crushed a finger doing that I just make my wife hold them.
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Apr 26, 2022 17:37
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mischief posted:I just make my wife hold them. My bro was holding the hammer up close to the head and the hammer slipped off the post and his finger was crushed between the handle and the post. Just horrifying. Multiple surgeries were needed, etc. If you really want to be safe you should hold the post while your wife holds the hammer. 
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Apr 26, 2022 19:57
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Joburg posted:My bro was holding the hammer up close to the head and the hammer slipped off the post and his finger was crushed between the handle and the post. Just horrifying. Multiple surgeries were needed, etc. Clearly they both need hammers and 17' ladders. One to put the hammer on top of the post, the other to hit the other hammer. Then they can both fall off the ladders.
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Apr 26, 2022 20:17
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Platystemon posted:Pine needles don’t do much for pH. Don’t bother. I dunno if the lil Peach Sorbet I got from Walmart is gonna make it. The other night the rain turned to snow and wilted all the cute newly sprouted growth. 
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Apr 26, 2022 20:55
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I never thought I would feel  about winter squash but here I am comparing waltham butternut to table queen acorn to ebony acorn to honeynut to butterbush and
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Apr 26, 2022 23:57
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Joburg posted:LOL, I’m so short I have to use a step ladder for 6’ posts. I was driving a 10' x 4" pt post on a ladder when the post hit a soft spot and dropped more than I expected. I didn't notice until I lifted the post driver too far on the return stroke and it tipped back and hit me in the forehead. I wear a hard hat now when driving posts, idgaf what kind of poser the neighbours think I am. Bit terrifying not being able to remember my birth date. I was able to work it out from knowing my daughter's birthday and how many days after my birthday hers is. Brains are weird. The drat kiwi vine I was driving the post for never did produce.
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Apr 27, 2022 04:20
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Hexigrammus posted:I'm extremely disappointed that the lettuce you found growing in the gutter is not actually the Drunken Woman variety. Close, but the leaves are too smooth. Go home lettuce, you're drunk.
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Apr 27, 2022 16:04
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Hearing these post-driving injuries makes me feel some kind of way about how I use the back half of a splitting maul. But then, they're just 6' t-posts going into raised bed soil. Still... maybe the mallet next time.
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Apr 27, 2022 16:32
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What's everyone's secret on getting a t-post OUT?
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Apr 27, 2022 19:16
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Fozzy The Bear posted:What's everyone's secret on getting a t-post OUT? Erosion or the heat death of the universe. Whichever comes first. This is honestly not something I’ve ever considered. Every time we’ve used them they’re intended to just stay there for a long time. I assume it’s like any post where you just want to dig it out as little as possible before pulling it out.
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Apr 27, 2022 19:23
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Fozzy The Bear posted:What's everyone's secret on getting a t-post OUT? T Post puller, it’s awesome. https://youtu.be/odkGVqP4fws Joburg fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Apr 27, 2022 |
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Apr 27, 2022 19:25
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Fozzy The Bear posted:What's everyone's secret on getting a t-post OUT? Tractor and a chain or a high lift jack and a chain.
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Apr 27, 2022 19:29
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Gloves and 42 years of repressed rage, or a skid steer if I'm done asking.
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Apr 27, 2022 19:52
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Fozzy The Bear posted:What's everyone's secret on getting a t-post OUT? Relatively gentle, sideways swings near the top with a sledgehammer until you can move it around by hand, then wiggle the post around until the soil is loose enough to let it go.
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Apr 27, 2022 19:59
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can also get a hook thing on a chain for use with a jack. i went with that route since i can then use the jack for other things too
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Apr 27, 2022 20:50
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