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plasticbugs posted:I had no real concept of how tall these things grow when I planted it. I put a 3 foot stake in the ground when they started and thought that was sufficient. assuming im reading that post right, i would just tie the tomato plant to the fence in lots of different places and guide it to grow sideways EDIT: if you do that, bring some branches down to the dirt and they will root! Banana Factory fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jul 17, 2009 |
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Jul 16, 2009 23:53
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plasticbugs posted:Should I leave the crimp and hope for the best? Anything short of a complete break will not phase a tomato plant. They are ridiculously tough. For the record, my dad and I have had tomatoes top out our 6 foot cages before, lop over the sides and touch the ground again.
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Jul 17, 2009 00:11
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kid sinister posted:No, but squirrels are! Awww, the poor little guy's got the bed spins and he's on solid ground! It'll be OK my fuzzy pal. The horse was stumbly and goofy and would walk into poo poo (and nuzzle you too with the I LOVE YOU MAN!! vibe), but I have heard tales of horses who are mean drunks and will gently caress up your poo poo even if they are nice when they are sober.
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Jul 17, 2009 01:32
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ChaoticSeven posted:Thanks for the blueberry info. I think I'll try to put some out this fall if I'm back from out of state by then. So how do they have time to become established before they freeze planting that late? They have a few weeks to put out roots into the surrounding soil, allowing them better protection than whatever they were potted in. Also, blueberries happen to be native to North America, so they're perfectly comfortable in their home climate.
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Jul 17, 2009 02:45
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kid sinister posted:Anything short of a complete break will not phase a tomato plant. They are ridiculously tough. That is absolutely insane...I thought my 4 foot plants were tall! Albeit my garden is only 8x10 and has way too many plants in it, so they look bigger than they actually are...
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Jul 17, 2009 17:10
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coyo7e posted:You can thank Disney for that, in large I believe. Johnny Appleseed was a pretty badass mofo, and a lot more savvy than people assume from popular myth. It’s been awhile since I read the book, but if I remember right, in the winter, they could freeze buckets of apple cider, and because the water preferentially freezes out in the ice that forms, you could concentrate the cider into a brandy that could easily become 20 or 30% alcohol. People universally liked Johnny Appleseed, and they enjoyed his visits, his stories, and the news he brought, but on the other hand, they all agreed that something about him was very queer. There is speculation that he may have been a homosexual since as far as anyone knows, he never married, dated, or courted any woman.
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Jul 17, 2009 19:12
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I had a terrible nightmare last night that there were caterpillars eating all of my tomatoes and I couldn't kill them fast enough. Then I woke up and picked my first green beans and had them with some pasta! Hurray for gardens!
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Jul 18, 2009 03:21
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I got my first green beans too... tossed them in a pot of vegetable soup and served it up with some homemade bread.  I'm hoping I get a lot more of them, the first ones to mature only amounted to about a handful. My pepper plant finally put out a bloom, too. Looks like the rest of the buds will follow suit shortly.
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Jul 19, 2009 05:05
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I'm growing cherry tomatoes and they've been coming out very strange. They've got this split running right up the side from top to bottom, and it's on practically every ripe tomato. I have no idea what's going on, here's a picture of what's happening. http://j.photos.cx/DSCN1619-739.jpg
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Jul 19, 2009 23:27
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Did you forget to water them for a couple of days then give them loads of water? I think that can make tomatoes burst like that. It's nothing to worry about really since your tomatoes are ripe and edible.
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Jul 20, 2009 00:08
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Eugenics posted:I'm growing cherry tomatoes and they've been coming out very strange. They've got this split running right up the side from top to bottom, and it's on practically every ripe tomato. I have no idea what's going on, here's a picture of what's happening. It's nearly almost always overwatering that causes those types of bursts, but I just wanted to give you an alternate explanation in case you've been pruning near the stalks with tomatoes on them - that can do it as well as under and then overwatering.
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Jul 20, 2009 05:25
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Here are some updated pictures of the container garden. Slightly different angle. I haven't taken a picture of all of the harvests, but they are definitely coming along nicely. Here is the latest harvest. The tomatoes are Kosovo (pink oxheart), and they are wonderful. Really unique, sweet taste, and very meaty. So far, they have averaged about 14oz for me, with the largest being 18oz. The peppers are heading off to a friend. I have had a few of the Paul Robeson (black tomato) and although they don't taste as crazy as I was hoping (I had never had one), they are great. The cherry tomatoes have been heavenly. The only two plants left to try are my Giant Belgian tomatoes, and the bell peppers.
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Jul 21, 2009 18:31
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Anybody have any links to good seed suppliers?
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Jul 21, 2009 21:11
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Shazzner posted:Anybody have any links to good seed suppliers? http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net http://www.burpee.com Those are my two favorites.
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Jul 21, 2009 22:16
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http://www.highmowingseeds.com/ http://www.seedsofchange.com/ http://rareseeds.com/ - their print catalog is amazing All good places for something new or unique for a season. Had a lot of success this year with the lettuce mixes from Bakers Creek.
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Jul 22, 2009 00:53
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https://www.tomatogrowers.com has a good reputation for tomatoes. https://www.localharverst.org is a site to find suppliers locally. Less selection in general, but I was really pleased with the service--the place I bought from was able to tell me how the varieties they sold had performed in the area, which I imagine is even more useful in areas with problem weather.
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Jul 22, 2009 03:43
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I got all my tomatoes (and eggplant) from https://www.tomatogrowers.com. I had great germination rates, and the tomatoes are excellent. I ordered all of my peppers from Chile Pepper Institute. I am pretty convinced my California Wonder (bell) is not actually a bell pepper, but except for that discrepancy, I am incredibly pleased. I like the stated purpose of the CPI, so if you are planning on a lot of peppers, I would start here.
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Jul 22, 2009 16:36
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  They look cute don't they? Dont let outward appearances fool you though, they are horrible cunts who are determined to destroy everything I plant  I've had them chew a couple of things back to stems, I thought I'd finally gotten a set up that was too difficult for them to get at, but I found my plants halfway chewed to pieces today. I've put some wire mesh up, hopefully that is enough to keep them away from what's left. I will probably kill the little bastards if I see them, cute or not!
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Jul 23, 2009 05:15
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Thanks for the seed links
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Jul 23, 2009 15:42
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Grisly Grotto posted:
I've had pretty good luck with granulized fox urine keeping the rabbits at bay. Not sure if it would work for those guys or not.
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Jul 23, 2009 20:33
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Grisly Grotto posted:They look cute don't they? Dont let outward appearances fool you though, they are horrible cunts who are determined to destroy everything I plant There's pretty much nothing that can get through those cages without really putting effort into destroying them, and my parents' strawberry crop this year is proof of that. 
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Jul 23, 2009 20:51
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I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to get tired of the tomatoes. Not eating them, of course, but rather the worrying that always seems to accompany growing them. Every year, it's some new blight or fungus or wilt, every year I wrangle to keep my huge heirlooms (probably eight feet now) confined in my tiny garden space, every year I feel like I stop enjoying them around this time of year and just worry, worry, worry. So I'm thinking next year, maybe I will switch things up, go with only determinate. Something hardy and bred to fight off disease that I can find easily at the garden center. It's not as flashy as growing heirlooms, but honestly, I am getting tired of dealing with all the problems they have. I'm also thinking about planting some squash and zucchini in my big containers, now that the tomato production has slowed due to disease, and since we'll be boiling hot well into October. I will have to get creative with the garden space, though. But now that the borage is blooming its rear end off and the bees are abundant, at least I wouldn't have to worry so much about pollination like I did last year. I need some new baby plants to coo and fawn over.
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Jul 24, 2009 14:48
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FuzzyDunlop posted:I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to get tired of the tomatoes. Not eating them, of course, but rather the worrying that always seems to accompany growing them. Every year, it's some new blight or fungus or wilt, every year I wrangle to keep my huge heirlooms (probably eight feet now) confined in my tiny garden space, every year I feel like I stop enjoying them around this time of year and just worry, worry, worry. So I'm thinking next year, maybe I will switch things up, go with only determinate. Something hardy and bred to fight off disease that I can find easily at the garden center. It's not as flashy as growing heirlooms, but honestly, I am getting tired of dealing with all the problems they have. they also don't get as big as ten feet, which may be good or bad in your opinion. determinate tomatoes means you're going to be eating nothing but tomatoes for a week and nothing before and after that. if that isn't going to make you hate tomatoes i will eat this post.
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Jul 24, 2009 14:53
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Banana Factory, I'm really into putting up my tomatoes as sauce and salsa, so the issue with determinate production doesn't sound entirely terrible to me. We're lucky to have some good farmer's markets around, so I could easily satisfy my heirloom craving in the meantime. I did have my heirlooms in containers last year, the trouble was 1.) keeping them upright and 2.) they still got a shitload of fungus diseases. I have thought of ways to keep them from falling over, like using wire and stakes to pin down the containers, but they still grew just as large last year as my ground-planted ones this year. But the fungus...oh the fungus. I've been spraying milk like crazy, but these Georgia summers are just awful for disease.
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Jul 24, 2009 15:25
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FuzzyDunlop posted:Banana Factory, I'm really into putting up my tomatoes as sauce and salsa, so the issue with determinate production doesn't sound entirely terrible to me. We're lucky to have some good farmer's markets around, so I could easily satisfy my heirloom craving in the meantime. well if you are making tomato sauces then go for it how big were the pots you used? i've never had a tipping problem- i'm using 15 inch pots right now. they are barely too heavy for me to pick up alone, so nothing should tip them over. they are also big enough i can stick tomato cages in the pot itself. letting the tomato leaves sit in the dirt and wet(when they fall over)might be a cause for fungus. i don't know what georgia summers are like but the north carolina summers are pretty nice for tomatoes. you could also prune suckers and all the other growth tips once the plant gets big enough, so it diverts more energy into fruit production.
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Jul 24, 2009 15:33
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I had bigger pots than that, if you can believe it. Giant Rubbermaid containers, with cages and stakes. A few days in August we had strong winds, and that tipped them right over. By that point the plants were around 8 feet, so even with the million pounds of soil in the containers, they were top-heavy. And I prune my suckers, oh yes. I think that's part of the reason why my tomatoes get so tall. Georgia summers are incredibly humid, which is why fungus can be a problem for us. And hot as loving balls. NC doesn't seem to get that bad, which is why I'm usually running for the mountains this time of year.
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Jul 24, 2009 16:17
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Does anybody know what these black streaks are on my peppers? They are showing up on all of the peppers in my garden. My first harvest was perfect.. but now these streaks are showing up on the 2nd growth.
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Jul 26, 2009 19:59
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Binya Binya posted:Does anybody know what these black streaks are on my peppers? Why yes, your peppers are starting to ripen, nothing to be worried about.
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Jul 26, 2009 20:56
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I've been growing vegetables indoors under fluorescent grow lights. A month or two ago, my tomato got some kind of weird leaf disease (a fungus?) and pretty much died. I got rid of it in the hopes that whatever hit it wouldn't spread to the other plants, and things seemed alright until recently, but now my peppers seem to have the same issue. The leaves get dry, whitish blotches covered in black specks, then leaves start falling off starting at the base of the plant and moving upwards. Here's a picture of an affected leaf: Any idea what this might be? After I got rid of the tomato, I discarded the potting soil I was using and scrubbed and bleached the pots.
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Jul 27, 2009 05:33
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Anyone know why my celery plants seem to have stopped growing and look half the size of those I buy in the grocery store? I think they might be biennial so that the second year is when I get good size and the first year won't yield very large crop. Any ideas?
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Jul 30, 2009 01:51
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My celery is still barely coming out of the ground after two months, so you are way ahead of mine. I've never done celery before, so I don't know what to expect. Also, I must have missed one zucchini when I harvested this weekend because today I found this one that has grown to an epic size. 
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Jul 30, 2009 04:44
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toenut posted:My celery is still barely coming out of the ground after two months, so you are way ahead of mine. I've never done celery before, so I don't know what to expect. I have blossom rot on like half of my tomatoes Oh well, I can't eat enough beans to get rid of all of them and the cucumbers, cantaloupes and peppers are starting to come in. Hurray! I must have planted like ten cantaloupe seedlings in a little 4x4 square... it is the most delicious kind of overflowing but I will know next year that even though they look little they get really big 
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Jul 30, 2009 05:50
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toenut posted:My celery is still barely coming out of the ground after two months, so you are way ahead of mine. I've never done celery before, so I don't know what to expect. If everyone in America planted a dozen hills of zucchini world hunger might just be defeated. Although, I think it might hurt international relations when we dump a cargo ship of zucchini in a Canadian harbor and run away, in the middle of the night.
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Jul 30, 2009 14:27
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Gigantor zucchini is not uncommon (I'd say it's actually rather common for a decent garden and late-season zucs,) however they generally aren't that great when they are over a certain size.
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Jul 30, 2009 17:47
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Anubis posted:If everyone in America planted a dozen hills of zucchini world hunger might just be defeated. Although, I think it might hurt international relations when we dump a cargo ship of zucchini in a Canadian harbor and run away, in the middle of the night. We're perfectly capable of growing retardedly huge amounts of zucchini ourselves.  Go dump it somewhere else, like Australia. Unless you bake it into cake first, then we'll take it.
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Jul 30, 2009 18:02
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toenut posted:My celery is still barely coming out of the ground after two months, so you are way ahead of mine. I've never done celery before, so I don't know what to expect. My grandmother never used to pick them until they were that size or larger because it was great for double-batches of zucchini bread. I have to pay extra at farmers markets to get anything half that size, so now my mom plants them for me in her garden. Last year we spent a Saturday making about 16 loaves of zucchini bread.
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Jul 30, 2009 18:12
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I also made my first attempt at pickling this weekend. The recipes I followed were from this book http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Pickling-Revised-Flavor-Packed-Vegetables/dp/1558323759/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248976385&sr=8-1 First I did some Zucchini relish. It tastes pretty good, but doesn't really have a relish consistency.  Then I did some spicy green beans. Two jars with habanero and one with jalapeno. I have to wait 3 weeks until I can try them. 
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Jul 30, 2009 19:03
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toenut posted:My celery is still barely coming out of the ground after two months, so you are way ahead of mine. I've never done celery before, so I don't know what to expect. An oversized courgette is technically a marrow. They're good if hollowed out and stuffed with a mixture of the courgette and rice and then baked in the oven. Although if you're purposely growing them that size, it's best to choose a variety designed to get big, as some may taste bitter or too watery the larger they get. Does anyone know of any good varieties of sunflowers to grow as a food crop? It's mainly to feed poultry, but it would be good if we could eat them too. Less that 10 feet tall would be good too, as I'm pretty titchy. We've got a site that get's tonnes of sun though and has good drainage.
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Jul 31, 2009 03:28
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My pole beans seem to have stopped producing. I'm going to have a huge crop of tomatoes though, and plenty of strawberries come next summer when the 7 plants I have really get going. I bought a book by John Seymour on homesteading the other day (I spend a stupid amount of money at Half Price Books) called The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. It's got a wealth of knowledge in it and covers a huge range of subjects. If only it'd tell me how to get my beans to put out some more blossoms.
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Jul 31, 2009 04:46
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I have a small container garden on my apartment's balcony. Currently we have 2 tomato plants, 4 zuccini plants, 6 jalepeno plants, and a shitton of basil. Can anyone recommend some other easy plants to grow? Is there anything that can be planted at this time of year? I live in DC and my balcony gets a good amount of sun.
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Jul 31, 2009 20:07
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