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All you folks with giant freaking plants right now are somewhere in the south, right? My tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers are going fine as far as I can tell but I think it'll be another month before I'm getting big plants and much stuff off of them.  Meanwhile my radishes and carrots from seed still have a bit to go before I can pull them, and I'm not convinced my beets survived, still mostly just seeing the germination leaves and no true leaves  Next year I'm definitely getting ahead of the curve and using my aerogarden indoors to get starters going.
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Jul 1, 2023 19:36
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| # ? May 31, 2024 00:44 |
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Jhet posted:Have you considered cutting them in half and drying them? I do this with cherry types all the time when I’m sick of dealing with it. If they’re really small you can just open them up so they can dry out instead of completely in half. Oven at 180F for until they’re not completely leather and they’ll save in a jar for a year or so. Yeah. Dried cherry tomatoes are God's own candy. As are dried tomato slices.
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Jul 1, 2023 19:57
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Alucard posted:All you folks with giant freaking plants right now are somewhere in the south, right? There are several people around me in WI with massive plants already. They started their plants indoors way earlier than me.
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Jul 1, 2023 20:45
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You can store roasted cherry tomatoes in oil too.
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Jul 1, 2023 21:11
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Doesn't that run a similar botulism risk to garlic oil? I know tomatoes are more acidic but not that much
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Jul 1, 2023 21:15
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Racing Stripe posted:I have this same question. I have a nice (or, big and shady, at least) mulberry tree in my back yard, and I just did some extensive ivy removal from it. In the process of doing that, I discovered that there are lanternfly nymphs all over it. I go out periodically to smash the ones I can catch, but they move kinda quick and there are lots of places for them to hide, so I don't think squishing them manually is going to solve the problem. If I could spritz them with raid, I'd probably have a higher per-target success rate, but that might be similarly/more damaging than the lanternflies themselves, so I don't know what I should try next. I was just reading about spotted lanternflies on a Government of Canada web page. Spotted lanternflies aren't a thing here yet but the experts are very concerned about their northern movement. Another slightly terrifying thing to look forward to. Mulberries aren't a thing here either but they seem to do okay if you can find stock to plant. We planted ours in 2017 and it produced a few fruits last year and a respectable crop this year. Unfortunately we didn't look up how to harvest them until after they started to disappear in the tall grass then an emergency kept me away from home for a couple of days and everything has disappeared by the time I got back with the string trimmer and tarp. Next year the grass will be trimmed and the tarp laid out while the fruits are still green. bloody ghost titty posted:My partner got us (me) a dehydrator earlier this year and I gotta say, it’s a game changer for our herbs and excess seasonal fruit. May your tomatoes be perfectly ripe and unbothered by raccoons. It really is. Fortunately we had one the first year we planted Principe Borghese, the classic sun-drying tomato. We planted 6, a bad move. You only need to start 2, one to plant and the other as a backup in case the first died before planting. Throw away the backup because you really don't need that many sun-dried tomatoes. They're delicious but six plants turned into a ridiculous number of jars of dried tomatoes.
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Jul 1, 2023 21:17
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Soul Dentist posted:Doesn't that run a similar botulism risk to garlic oil? I know tomatoes are more acidic but not that much Yup.
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Jul 1, 2023 21:42
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Well, last year was the first time I've tried growing pole beans. I've always grown bush beans, but decided to try something new. Oh wow, I've been missing out. Scarlet runners turned out so well with nice foliage to shade the patio, and beautiful flowers, and plentiful big beans. This year I managed to start a whole bunch more from beans I saved. I'm very pleased with myself over this, and wanted to crow a bit. Also, the potatoes I threw in the raised beds 3 years ago sprouted in the middle of a bunch of volunteer garlic. Looks like it might be a productive summer.
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Jul 1, 2023 22:49
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B33rChiller posted:Also, the potatoes I threw in the raised beds 3 years ago sprouted in the middle of a bunch of volunteer garlic.
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Jul 2, 2023 00:35
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Alucard posted:All you folks with giant freaking plants right now are somewhere in the south, right? I’m near Savannah, GA so my plants have been going for a while. Last frost this year was March 21st. My white pumpkins are doing great but all my other squash varieties have given up already. I discovered I have root knot nematode and a lot of my plants are stunted/yellow/dead.  I pulled out all my cukes at the beginning of June and since then I’ve pulled out some tomato and pepper plants. It’s a bummer but I’m glad I know why my plants have been failing. I’ll focus on resistant varieties and rotating in nematode suppressing cover crops from now on… Stupid nematodes.
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Jul 2, 2023 01:26
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Jhet posted:Have you considered cutting them in half and drying them? I do this with cherry types all the time when I’m sick of dealing with it. If they’re really small you can just open them up so they can dry out instead of completely in half. Oven at 180F for until they’re not completely leather and they’ll save in a jar for a year or so. I haven't, and I'm going to try it with a pint or two. I'm not sure how it will turn out given most of the fruit is around the size of a dime, but I don't lack for very small tomatoes so no reason not to give it a shot. Thanks for the suggestion. And I've been meaning to get a dehydrator for a while now. Really could have used one a couple of years ago when the fig tree was killing it. If the oven method works that's next on the agenda. Alucard posted:All you folks with giant freaking plants right now are somewhere in the south, right? I'm in New Orleans, and the tomatoes have been growing for quite a while. They are also just about all that's doing well for me now. I have no idea how they are still setting fruit when it's been in the high-90s for at least 8 hours every day for what seems like an eternity.
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Jul 2, 2023 04:31
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rojay posted:I haven't, and I'm going to try it with a pint or two. I'm not sure how it will turn out given most of the fruit is around the size of a dime, but I don't lack for very small tomatoes so no reason not to give it a shot. Thanks for the suggestion. I like the oven method better than sun drying too, but mostly because I don’t have any sun left when I’d be drying them in Sept/Oct. Dehydrator would be good too, but unnecessary if you can turn the oven on, get them hot and then crack the door open regularly to let the moisture out. The ones I did last year were about nickel size, and they get flatter more than smaller in diameter. Lovely in stews and braises.
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Jul 2, 2023 04:42
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Hexigrammus posted:I was just reading about spotted lanternflies on a Government of Canada web page. Spotted lanternflies aren't a thing here yet but the experts are very concerned about their northern movement. Another slightly terrifying thing to look forward to. Thanks for the reply. I'm not concerned about any berries that might come from the tree (I've never seen it produce anything I'd call edible fruit) but rather worried about the tree dying soon/prematurely from whatever stress these drat things put it through by slurping up its sap. I just read this, however, from a Penn State University website: "To-date, we have only seen spotted lanternfly kill sapling trees, sumac, grapevines, and tree-of-heaven. Healthy and established ornamental trees have not been recorded to have died from spotted lanternfly, though canopy dieback and plant health decline has been observed, particularly on some of spotted lanternflies favorite hosts including black walnut and maple. Additionally, sooty mold has been recorded to kill groundcover plants, particularly immediately below large populations of spotted lanternfly in trees. This is a continued area of research." So, I guess I probably don't have to worry about these things killing the tree since it is big and old. Still, "canopy dieback and plant health decline" don't sound great, so if anyone's got any suggestions other than manually smashing the ones that hang out on the trunk no higher up than 7 feet up, let me know.
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Jul 2, 2023 14:02
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Hey folks, I just noticed some tiny bugs crawling all over this tall flower head. I thought they were baby spiders, but upon closer inspection, I think they may be baby ladybugs. Can anyone here tell for sure? https://youtu.be/sBcXMdrIrWE
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Jul 2, 2023 19:34
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B33rChiller posted:Hey folks, I just noticed some tiny bugs crawling all over this tall flower head. I thought they were baby spiders, but upon closer inspection, I think they may be baby ladybugs. Can anyone here tell for sure? They're fine. They're eating the pollen. That might damage a couple of the flower buds, but overall they're just being pollinators. Just don't let them inside the house.
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Jul 2, 2023 20:02
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Thanks. Cool. I don't expect them inside. No carpet here, and I'm happy to have little pollinators doing their thing. Edit: I do have a couple heavy shedding cats though!
Dr. Honked posted:the junk, rather than the trunk B33rChiller fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Jul 2, 2023 |
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Jul 2, 2023 21:02
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Anyone know what might be happening to my apple tree? It's in direct sun in 7b-8a.
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Jul 2, 2023 23:06
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Jhet posted:I like the oven method better than sun drying too, but mostly because I don’t have any sun left when I’d be drying them in Sept/Oct. Dehydrator would be good too, but unnecessary if you can turn the oven on, get them hot and then crack the door open regularly to let the moisture out. Thanks again for the idea. I now have a pint of raisin-sized tomatoes, and they're excellent. I'm probably going to dry the 2 liters I have in the fridge as well. Still getting around a pint a day off what I can only characterize as my tomato trees. I was seriously considering buying a dehydrator, but the shelves in my back pantry are lined with a high-end juicer, a sous vide circulator, my industrial-sized pressure-canner, a meat grinder, waffle iron and probably a device or two I've forgotten about. I use the circulator and the waffle iron pretty often, but the juicer just stares at me accusingly and I've only made sausage once in the two years I've had the grinder. It's too humid here to dry them in the sun, but the oven worked just fine. I did not core, peel or glaze them as suggested by Serious Eats: https://www.seriouseats.com/tomato-raisins-oven-dried-whole-cherry-tomatoes That would be maddening work on normal-sized cherry/grape tomatoes and would lead probably end in violence with the sort I grow. I just popped them in the oven in one layer and set the oven to preheat to 170 fahrenheit. I cycled the oven on and off over the afternoon because I wanted them to dry slowly but I think next time I'll just maintain 170 for a couple of hours and see how it works. Time to start thinking of ways to use them. Going to give some packed in olive oil to my neighbors who routinely bring me eggplant, loofah and chiles. Definitely going to make some bread with garlic and herbs, some cornbread with jalapenos and maybe a savory granola. It also occurred to me that I haven't made picadillo in a long time because my wife hates raisins. She tasted a few of the tomatoes and gave a thumbs up. Yay.
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Jul 3, 2023 16:34
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Machai posted:Anyone know what might be happening to my apple tree? It's in direct sun in 7b-8a. Disclaimer over, it's always interesting when the veins stay green while the leaf yellows. In apple trees, this can often be caused by an iron deficiency. https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/extension-topics/gardening-and-horticulture/trees-and-shrubs/apple-trees/diagnosing-apple However, even weirder: Is your tree by chance a young Honeycrisp? Because the picture on that page under "honeycrisp leaf mottling" is a dead ringer for yours.
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Jul 3, 2023 17:39
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Ants are in my pepper plants!! How do I kill them without poisoning myself?
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Jul 4, 2023 04:34
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Diatomaceous earth barrier ring. It won't kill them instantly but it will dry them out and they will die. You can also put down a terro bait or another borax and sugar based bait if you want to kill their nest, but it takes a while for them to consume it and take it home and spread it around the colony.
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Jul 4, 2023 05:54
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I've got a massive bindweed infestation in my backyard and garden. Article I read says I pretty much have to either nuke everything with glyphosate, or till up my whole yard every two weeks for five years lol. I'm just gonna switch to cheap hydroponics, I think.
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Jul 4, 2023 14:11
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Arsenic Lupin posted:However, even weirder: Is your tree by chance a young Honeycrisp? Because the picture on that page under "honeycrisp leaf mottling" is a dead ringer for yours. It is! That's a relief.
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Jul 4, 2023 14:57
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 I haven't ever done banana peppers before, how does one know when they're ready? If it's helpful, the fruit is about six inches long.
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Jul 4, 2023 17:33
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Farchanter posted:
You can pick that bad boy right now https://youtu.be/qPAFoH2P64Y
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Jul 4, 2023 17:41
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Organic Lube User posted:I've got a massive bindweed infestation in my backyard and garden. Article I read says I pretty much have to either nuke everything with glyphosate, or till up my whole yard every two weeks for five years lol.
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Jul 4, 2023 19:48
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Arsenic Lupin posted:There's nothing wrong with glyphosate, used as directed. (waits for Motronic to Kramer in) It's just all over inside my garden, I'm sure I'll wind up contaminating or killing some of my plants. I guess I can hit it in the fall after everything is done in the garden, but if that doesn't take care of it, I'm abandoning the soil.
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Jul 4, 2023 20:28
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Organic Lube User posted:It's just all over inside my garden, I'm sure I'll wind up contaminating or killing some of my plants. I guess I can hit it in the fall after everything is done in the garden, but if that doesn't take care of it, I'm abandoning the soil. That's actually a really good time to do it. And then again in the spring if/when things start coming up again. Should be totally safe to re-seed grass or whatever you want 2 weeks after that.
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Jul 4, 2023 20:42
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My mom's house and yards have been slowly encroached on by japanese knotweed on multiple fronts for decades now but she refuses to chemical them I'd be out there glyphosate painting fresh-cut stems every month
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Jul 4, 2023 20:45
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Nosre posted:My mom's house and yards have been slowly encroached on by japanese knotweed on multiple fronts for decades now but she refuses to chemical them Japanese knotweed is more of a Paraquat (i.e. Gramoxne One) kind of situation, and that stuff is way nastier than glyphosate. You probably could eventually get it with enough focused attention with glyphosate. I'm really tired of adding new "this is how you control X new invasive plant or bug species" to my repertoire. USDA needs to start getting as serious as they are when arriving in Hawaii at least, if not more. For all CONUS.
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Jul 4, 2023 21:12
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Motronic posted:Japanese knotweed is more of a Paraquat (i.e. Gramoxne One) kind of situation, and that stuff is way nastier than glyphosate. You probably could eventually get it with enough focused attention with glyphosate. Good to know. Yea my sister has actually tried on her own infestations and the glysophate wasn't the final solution; it basically made the Knotweed come back really tiny, like miniature versions of itself. But it still came back. I was hoping it was because she just leaf-sprayed and didn't do the cut stem trick.
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Jul 4, 2023 21:56
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Nosre posted:Good to know. Yea my sister has actually tried on her own infestations and the glysophate wasn't the final solution; it basically made the Knotweed come back really tiny, like miniature versions of itself. But it still came back. The bad news is I think Paraquat is one of those things I need to present my official pesticide applicator license to buy, so it's probably easier/cheaper to hire that out for a once or twice application.
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Jul 4, 2023 22:13
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Came home from a two week vacation. It rained the entire time I was gone. I don’t even know where to start with the weeding. It is completely out of control in my veggie garden.
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Jul 4, 2023 22:59
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Nosre posted:My mom's house and yards have been slowly encroached on by japanese knotweed on multiple fronts for decades now but she refuses to chemical them
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Jul 5, 2023 02:44
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PokeJoe posted:You can pick that bad boy right now That's the good stuff, thank you!
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Jul 5, 2023 05:50
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Reporting from the trenches in the war against the Tree of Heaven in my yard: Last fall there were 3 trees of about 1.5-2 inches diameter each, growing from a single root system spread over about 25 feet. I treated the lower bark of each one with triclopyr last fall and waited 30-60 days, then felled them. Unfortunately, I don't think the triclopyr was strong enough and now each stump has aggressively sprouted. There are also small seedlings in my raised bed, but I don't think they're from shoots (I'm PRAYING that the thing doesn't take over one of my raised beds). I am being vigilant about pulling the seedlings daily. My question is, should I do foliar application of triclopyr on the stump sprouts? If so, should I wait until late summer for root uptake? The stumps are very small and the sprouts are green and haven't formed any bark, so there's no real hack-and-squirt potential there. It really sucks because this thing is deeply intertwined with a bunch of good plants and I don't want to kill them all with triclopyr. Like shoots coming up in between branches of a plum tree, in between irises, in between rose of sharon, right beside my tomato plants...
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Jul 5, 2023 13:37
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My neighbors seem to be starting up an amateur thistle farming operation. Anything I can do to prevent these from spreading over to my yard other than trying (likely futilely) to get them to kill those spiky bastards with prejudice?
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Jul 5, 2023 15:39
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  Anyone have an idea what is eating my oak leaves? Haven't seen anything crawling on it so I don't think it's caterpillars. South western Ontario. Edit V whatever it is it's not going after Maples, redbuds or wild plums. Even this stunted habenero pepper plant is untouched (it may getting to the point of sizing up the pot) 
MasterBuilder fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Jul 5, 2023 |
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Jul 5, 2023 16:02
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I have some holes like those in my pepper leaves, my only guess is a leafcutter bee here because I've seen a few big fat bees flying around and the cuts are perfect little circles. Mine are like one hole every few leaves though that looks like a ton of cuts.
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Jul 5, 2023 16:10
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you guys have any gardening shoes you prefer? i've just been wearing sneakers i don't care about, but i'm considering getting something more waterproof.
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Jul 6, 2023 02:22
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