What's Going On With Your Veggie Garden: Part 4

NicoleC well you might get some then. Here to hoping for a bumper crop of them for ya before frost.

Jan

Stephanie, what a perfect tomato! I'm going to show your picture to my Rutgers, see if I can shame them into behaving ;0)

Kevcarr, not much help here. Stink bugs and thrips are not my biggest nemesis, your plan sounds good tho. Perhaps, investigate some repelling companion plants too.

cocoa -

Kev,
What are "aeration containers?"

Honeybee, I just found it interesting they could be a garden problem. I couldn't remember ever seeing a tortoise in Texas. When I looked it up..sure enough..Texas only has one tortoise and it's limited to a very small southern region. Sorry they are after your veggies, but thank you for leading me to learn something new.

Lynea, let me know if the shaming thing works with your tomatoes! LOL

Cocoa - the tortoises don't do too much damage, so I don't mind sharing with them. Unlike the pesky squirrels!

Honeybeenc
I wish God would teach the squirrels the no waste rule.....don't just take one bit and let it fall to the ground. LOL

Jan

The "aeration containers" are the Smart Pots, Root Pouches, Grow Pots, etc... The fabric pots that provide better aeration to the growing media for the growth of the root ball & a better plant overall...

Ok.

P.S. Check the Texas Gardening Forum for the next RU. They're calling for possible dates between October-November.

This morning, I harvested my first carrot ever! It's the "Short & Sweet" variety - it's 7" long, and FAT! I also picked zucchini (need to tell hubby how to find them before they get steroidal), strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions (bunching) and beets. Not bad for a two person garden!
I threw on the composted manure around the strawberries, and rhubarb, and tomatoes. Then, limed the tomatoes. Then had a bale of straw that I scattered about, really hitting the strawberries heavily.

Oh, I also sprayed a concoction of Baking Soda, Dr. Bronner's soap, and Neem on just about everything. The garden just loves it, and so do my roses and Jane Magnolias! Takes care of powdery mildew, and is pleasant to work with. Cleaned out my shed, washed out some tools and pea wire fences with a mild bleach solution - time to put them away. Staked up some wandering tomato branches...

Now, in the 95 degree heat, I only could take gardening until 12:30, but the results are so worthwhile.

Congrats Gayce, sounds like a productive day! Your first sentence was more then I got done today. lol

This morning I picked four "Tasty Bites" melons, some "Jimmy Nardello's" peppers, "Moneymaker" tomatoes, "Monica" tomatoes, "Viva Italia" tomatoes and one lemon squash.

How are the VIVA ITALIA? I am growing those also but no ripe fruit yet on mine.

newyorkrita -

I keep waiting for ripe fruit on mine but they are STILL all green.

I don't know what is going on with my cucumbers. MY CHINA LONG have more blooms than I have even seen on cucumber plants. Tons of blossoms and hardly a cucumber set. One here and there but hard to find any! On the other hand the PALACE KING right next to them are loaded, loaded with little fruits set. Both planted at the same time, both asian cucumbers.

newyorkrita - how many female blossoms are there on the China Long?

I don't know how to tell the difference between the male and female blossoms. Never had to even think about it before. All these years I have been growing cucumbers I get flowers, I get fruit set. Lots of fruit set.

newyorkrita - it could be that most of the blossoms you are seeing on your China Long are males. More female blossoms should appear at some point, then you will get more cucumbers.

I decided to give the cucumbers some fertilizer. I watered around the roots with my Neptunes Liquid Seaweed and Fish Blend Fertilizer late today. Did all the cucumbers. Couldn't hurt.

I just have NEVER seen so many flowers on cuke plants before. I mean what with THAT many flowers I really expected some fruit set. I know people do like this variety of cukes so they must get at least a decent amount of fruit

newyorkrita
could be possible that the variety you are growing makes only female flowers?
Some packages have female seeds only and they include some pollinators seeds (normally male and female)
It is just a thought ...
I have been planting parthenocarpic cucumbers for a couple of years now (they don't need to be pollinate). I love the fact that they keep producing fruits under extreme heat ... maybe because they don't stress of waiting to be pollinate.

I don't think CHINA LONG is one of those facy ones. Besides I have plenty of other cucumbers here if they need pollination. Even the other asian cukes right next to them.

Well, we will just wait and see what happens. The vines certainly are growing well.

I don't know, Rita, once those blooms kick in, it sounds like your going to swimming in cucumbers :0)

I harvested another couple hundred pounds of tomatoes this morning, gearing up for a weekend canning marathon. Sent out e-mails for friends to come glean the vines so I can start pulling them up. With the temps I think it will take me all of August to get the area prepped for fall.
I think the timing worked out well this year. It's starting to get really dry here. I priced and discussed putting in irrigation yesterday. Not as expensive as I thought it would be, will wait and see if Santa agrees!

Hope to get the rest of my fall seeds started today.

I will be swimming in cucumbers! I planted at least three times as many cucumber plants as I usually do and went a little crazy with all the types I planted. Oh well.

Here are my tomatoes I picked this morning while it was sunny. Left to right. WHOPPER, EARLY GIRL, another WHOPPER, PATIO and 2 FOURTH OF JULY with a quarter so you can see size scale. The 4TH OF JULYs are just small tomatoes, I doubt that they will be back next year. If I am going to have small tomatoes then I would rather have cherry and grape types. I want more size than they have on the regular types.

I have been having the grape and cherry tomatoes, some Patio and a fair amount of 4TH Of July to eat already but The EARLY GIRLS are just comming on now and that is my first fruit off the Whoppers.

finally picking brandywines! have to get them when they first blush before the racoon gets them


-Vaughn

Saw a male tortoise eating a tomato this morning. I watched for a few minutes, then left him to his breakfast. I know his girlfriend is probably around somewhere, but haven't spied her yet. It amazes me as to how far up they can reach! They also devoured two melons a couple of weeks ago.

This summer, I have to live vicariously through those people whose gardens are doing well. Mine has been blasted by heat, drought, rabbits, bugs, slugs, snails, etc etc. I also suspect that the homemade growing mix I put together may be a culprit. I used equal parts fine pine bark, cotton burr compost and ProMix potting mix. I'm ready to give up on the cucumber and zucchini; the pepper plants have plenty of leaves but no peppers; tomato plants are not as big or lush as usual, with small fruit. Only true success was the lettuce, and the chard which is not my favorite to eat but is pretty to look at.

Goldenberry - what kind of fertilizer are you using? Your soil mix sounds good to me.

I remember when the tortoises had been here,the males with yellow stripes reaching the heads to look around or get goodies to eat.Not many around here anymore.
Not been a good year for many places with the gardens,hold out a while,,it usually gets better,and I have lost a few cucumber crops and vines before,they seem to do better in soils that have set a while,and sometimes they resent fertilizer,cukes can get finicky.!

Honeybee, I use Espoma products mainly. Tomato-tone for the 'maters. The pepper plants got Epsom salts and some Garden-tone. Not sure what to give the cukes and zucchini. I had to blast them with triple-threat Earth-tone to rid them of bugs/fungus/whatever. They are looking a bit better with a few flowers. I put lime in the soil mix for the tomato plants on transplanting. Right now I am afraid to give anything more to any plant other than the tomatoes for fear of over-fertilizing.

There are a couple of small businesses in my area that will install or consult on vegetable beds. Next spring I think I will ask for some hands-on help.

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PLEASE DO NOT POST ON THIS THREAD!! PLEASE CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION ON PART 5!