How Does Your Garden Grow? 2010

[mbaz73]

mbaz, looking good! I planted some herbs this year in the strawberry topsy turvy, but am embarrassed to say, I really don't know what all i can do with them. We have Basil, oregano, Thyme, Apple Mint, I would love to learn to cook with them and I made really great fresh salsa last year, but I know there is SO much more I can do! Maybe as the gardens proceed we can post some recipes and cooking ideas!

Thanks!

[mbaz73]

mbaz, I need that salsa recipe. I would say half our budget goes to buying salsa for my husband's insatiable salsa appetite!

I'll see if I can get the wife to give it up!

[midgetyaz]

Does this sound like your problem? [more on the link.]
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What Causes Tomato Blossom Drop and How to Control It
Blossom drop is a common tomato growing problem that can be extremely frustrating to the home gardener. Otherwise healthy looking tomato plants set flower blossoms, only to have them dry up and fall off the plant before a fruit is formed.
http://gardening.about.com/od/problemsp ... omDrop.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I looked at that link, and it could be the environment. I mean, it is Georgia, what can you do? But I have no idea about the soil. It's kind of my first time in ground, so I used Miracle Grow soil, so it really shouldn't be a problem. We got a bunch of rain, so we'll see if maybe I'm just not watering enough.

I did go through and prune some of the extra leaves. These are the fluffiest tomato plants I've ever had.

Thanks!

And mbaz, there are 4 plants and none of them are doing much of anything. Actually, I'm just kind of surprised they aren't all dead!

[somberbear]

update from this week end ... more to add

[mbaz73]

Looks good somberbear!

[mbaz73]

Does this sound like your problem? [more on the link.]
-------
What Causes Tomato Blossom Drop and How to Control It
Blossom drop is a common tomato growing problem that can be extremely frustrating to the home gardener. Otherwise healthy looking tomato plants set flower blossoms, only to have them dry up and fall off the plant before a fruit is formed.
http://gardening.about.com/od/problemsp ... omDrop.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I looked at that link, and it could be the environment. I mean, it is Georgia, what can you do? But I have no idea about the soil. It's kind of my first time in ground, so I used Miracle Grow soil, so it really shouldn't be a problem. We got a bunch of rain, so we'll see if maybe I'm just not watering enough.

I did go through and prune some of the extra leaves. These are the fluffiest tomato plants I've ever had.

Thanks!

And mbaz, there are 4 plants and none of them are doing much of anything. Actually, I'm just kind of surprised they aren't all dead!

What is the expected maturity date? My beefsteaks and Grapes are due in in August. Approx. 74-80 days to maturity. I see blooms starting to form and will post some update pics as the fruit starts to form. Also, did you use some plant food? This is what I used when I planted, http://www.espoma.com/p_consumer/tones_overview.html. They also have a special formulation specifically for tomatoes. We did tomatoes last year and didn't have much luck we are hoping for better results this year!

[NoAm]

The plants that I repotted from the egg containers to larger pots last weekend are going nuts! I can already see roots down to the bottom of the new pots! Garden area finally got tractor tilled on Friday so we picked up cardboard yesterday and might start planting today! Woo Hoo! Topsy turvys and upsy downsy are very happy too! Those containers like a lot of water.

[mbaz73]

Update on our small garden:

Grape tomatoes



Blooms



Beefsteak tomatoes



Blooms


And our herbs...

Already started harvesting from our Sweet Basil


And our Cilantro

[RogerK]

We are in the middle of michigan, and we have had lettuce, spinach, radishes and peas out of our garden.

[NoAm]

Garden has been tractor tilled & I cut the cardboard boxes to lay down tomorrow night

Topsy Turvy's and Upsy Downsy are doing great, the tomato plants are getting HUGE!

Lowe's has their tomato plants on sale for $3.89 instead of $5.89, these are going in the big garden.

These are the seedlings I started and then we will be purchasing more plants this weekend at the local Farmers Market

The potatos are doing well, I guess, I have never grown potatos before

[mbaz73]

NoAmnesty, is the cardboard to inhibit weeds? Your setups are looking real good!

[somberbear]

week 4 update: new auto water system put in .... soakers near the stocks and sprayers from above on a short cycle with a 4 times a day electronic timer...






keep it up guys looking good so far

[NoAm]

NoAmnesty, is the cardboard to inhibit weeds? Your setups are looking real good!

Thank you dear! Yes, I REFUSE to weed all Summer long! A neighbor used cardboard in his tiered garden and I LOVED IT! So this year, with a little cardboard, a different bit of a layout in the vege's we can have a more successful garden then last year. We are planting blueberry bushes below the hemlock trees and placing the tomatos along the top of the garden, instead of the side. Hemlocks are very acidic and blueberries and tomatos LOVE acid! I may add some extra lime into the rest of the garden, we really NEED to do soil testing,
but we are SO late getting started, we are just going to "Go For It!"

ETA: Whoah Somberbear! Snazzy little water outfit you got going on there! Please elaborate for us domestically dysfunctional please (Referring to myself of course, the rest of you guys seem pretty seasoned)

[somberbear]

Um this is my first year going it alone , and 3 years sence i did a real garden.... so im relearning about every thing.

i went over to the big farm supply house and checked out what they had... im kinda in a bind and gotta go outta town. and in the pots the wee ones dry out fairly quickly. so i got the best programable controler they had and some fittings. they had a flat hose with misters ever 6 inchs or so... and that seamed like a good idea... and got a roll of soaker hose .... threaded it between the stem and the tomato cages all the way across.... im going to get another timer and split the two hoses soon... it doesnt need that much water honestly.... but the spray hose rigged like that also some what cools the conex behind it dropping the temp about 5 degrees ... i will have the spray hose fire in the hottest part of the day for a short time , and have the soaker do early morning watering.

the option im looking at is i have a proportional mixer some place ... and ill rig the mister hose with a mix of folar feeder and pest contol enough to spray during one watering and be flushed and the soaker will be kept clear cause i have a few other liquid plant foods for later in the cycle.... and they are all very plant dependant....

whole system cost around 85 bucks ... but its double what i need ... and im starting to add plants very soon....

it always amazes me how fast zuks and cukes take off growing..... thats why i like keeping weekly pictures i was just flipping threw them watching them get bigger.

[NoAm]

Well Very Impressive! I may have to check into a similar setup. I was thinking of soaker hoses, right now I would have to use the regular hose, but want to work toward rain barrels. "Here's to you" * Saluting

[MissClaireee]

WOW I just have to share our little triumph last night.

Each year we've added a few things, made a few changes or conversions here and there in the shift towards self sufficiency. This year I attempted my first vegetable garden. Since you all don't know me, can I just mention that I have a black thumb? And by black, I mean I killed ivy once. That I was trying to grow.

We are fortunate enough to have a 40 acre farm, so space was not an issue. Me being a doof however, was. I was petrified to try at all, but I finally just thought "hey, what's the worst that can happen" and dove in.

Last night we had a meal that was produced almost entirely off of our farm using organic practices. We had chicken baked with garlic and fresh herbs, with sweet corn. The only thing not produced on the farm was the chicken, garlic cloves and olive oil. My goal is to at one point this year be able to serve a dinner that is 100% off our farm. After fall processing of chickens, looks like I might be able to make that boast.

It's also quite nice to be making out my grocery list for the week and realizing that most likely the entire month's worth will fit into a basket rather than a buggy.

Hooray for taking a chance!

[NoAm]

Congratulations Miss Claireee! I fells SO WONDERFUL to be able to bring your garden to your table to feed the family! We are still novices at all this, but for this domestically challenged leady, I am willing to try and learn! That is about all we can do! Again, any suggestions anyone has please share! Just now getting home from work, so the cardboard will wait until tomorrow, we weill be planting on Saturday and I will post some pictures

[Shmerlin]

Weve had a pretty bad spat of nasty weather the last couple of days, w/ lots of rain and such. I went out this morning and It looked like all my Cucumber plants were dead or dieing. I'll up load some pictures tommorow.

[Emberfox]

Well, I had a plant swap go very successfully (Or maybe it was a disaster, depends on if you think like me or like Tails!). For 4 strawberry plants I received 5 onion plants (had more, but only these survived), a good dozen squash plants, and two tomato plants.
And I felt like I was out of space before all that!

Recent pics this week:

[NoAm]

WOW Emberfox! Looking GREAT! I was talking about your wonderful garden to a co-worker today. She said she was in an apartment and couldn't garden, so I was telling her about your garden!

I could some of the cardboard down today. I obviously will need more..................


A friend brought me some scallions today. They were growing at the house he and his family just moved into.


I cut the blooms off and turned them into a neat arrangement until they dry. The pods are really pretty!


After the pods dry I can save the seeds and plant my own next year

[Dark Cloud]

Update:

So far we've taken a dozen cherry tomatoes, with some big green ones on the way. The lettuce, spinach and radishes are played out (never ate a radish before this year - quite full of flavor). A buddy gave me a wal-mart bag full of kale and mustard greens which I slow cooked in saucepan (adding a little at a time as I stripped the greens from the stems) with one can of chicken broth. I also chopped up one of my radishes in there. Talk about good!

I did the same with my own turnips (again never ate one before this year). Not as tasty as the mustard/kale combo, but I like that I can eat the greens AND the starchy tuber as well. It's two for the price of one.

I already have some jalapenos, but I will wait to see if they get any bigger. Harvested seven heads of broccoli (let one go to flower to maybe get next year's seeds - did the same with the butter crunch lettuce and the spinach). Looks like some of the broccoli stalks (I left them all in the soil) are sprouting new heads. Is that normal?

Cailiflower needs to be blanched soon and I think I will be sick of teating turnips this week.

Took three large cucumbers so far and two or three pounds ofheirloom, stringless bush beans. the best thing about the beans is that I let a bunch of pods dry on the vine last year and shelled them. Then I planted those seeds this year and have already had several servings of newly grown and TOTALLY FREE green beans!

I don't know if this qualifies as "organic", but they were heirloom beans and I only ever added water and sunshine to them.

I'll be planting three 24 foot rows of okra this wek. My sunflowers are five foot tall and starting to produce flower heads. My gourds (birdhouse, pumpkins, watermelon, spaghetti squash, cantaloupe) are going insane, growing all over the tilled patch. Sure it starts out looking all neat and organized, but at this point it's a vegetable jungle!

[NoAm]

Dark Cloud,

That is SO great! Sounds like your garden is going FULL FORCE! I would LOVE to see some pictures!

I got some hot banana peppers today and the farmer told me the smaller you pick your peppers, the bigger the taste.

We got the Big Boy tomatos planted today and will try to get the rest in throughout the week after work. Will post pics when done.
The trash can potato plants are doing great, there are green leaves up to the top of the can. All the stuff in the Topsy Turvy's and Upsy Downsy are going nuts!

[Dawgboy]

My tomatoes are very happy. this is my second harvest and is about 10 pounds or so.

[NoAm]

Nice maters there Dawgboy! How many plants do you have going?