I'm feeling a lot better, thanks. A special thanks to Tplant. I never stopped gardening, just scaled back some. BUT, I am determined to keep growing as much as I can through our Florida summer. Here are some of today's pics fresh from the garden:
Romaine lettuce in the Hyrdostacker fed hydroponically with a mini spray stick
This is crookneck squash growing in a Earthbox
I'm having great luck with English cucumbers. They are self pollinating.
A healthy basil plant
My strawberry patch
My potato patch in a 25 gallon nursery tub
I'm still getting tomatoes
young romaine lettuce started inside under fluorescent lights
Hi Bob -- Good to have you back! Glad to see all your crops are doing just fine. They make me envious! My strawberries were a total wipe out as they developed a rust that I could not control so I destroyed all of them. I'll start over again in the fall but I will purchase from a different supplier as Nourse Farms said that they were getting to much water and that is not the case with an EB as they do very well in them? My melons are doing just great aND i WILL BE POSTING IN THE VEGETABLE FORUM IN A LITTLE WHILE AS i'M ABOUT TO CUT OPEN AN oRANGELO. cAP BUTTON STICKING -- fixed now!
Exciting and fun to see your pictures again. Sure an inspiration to keep me going in the heat.
I have been watching my melon like its gold. Off to see the orangelo
BocaBob, Welcome Back!
Great looking garden. And of course I couldn't be an UberNewbie without asking some questions. I want to grow Romaine lettuce (my favorite) in October. Should I go ahead and start it from seeds indoors now or just direct sow it closer to August? Also, what variety of tomato is that in your pic? Thanks.
Linda
P.S. How long does the Romaine take to come up from seeds and what type is that you're growing?
Always eager to see what you have up your sleeve, Bob.
Bob -- Sure hope you are feeling a lot better!
Tplant- Thanks, I'm feeling much better. Now -back to gardening: My strawberry plants are surviving, but not doing much. A berry here and there. I did read down here to plant them in the fall like all the growers do. So when you are ready to order some for the fall, let me know where you are going to buy from. I'm so disappointed that I cannot grow melons of any kind. And to see yours, and we are only a few miles apart. I think my crops are still doing OK because I'm within the screened pool enclosure, and there is a real difference in heat intensity from the outside. We'll see how long I can keep growing. Even my romaine lettuce is doing fine and not bolting.
Gardenglory- I'm not giving in to the summer heat. Keep going. You may have to shade somewhat if you can. Thanks for the nice words.
Bob
Gymgirl - Romaine lettuce needs light to germinate, so I lay the seeds ontop of the potting mix, inside the house, under a shop light. They germinate in 2 days!!!!. I cover each group of seeds with a little empty plastic Dole fruit cup They work great like a mini greenhouse. Then I keep them within 2 inches of the light for 3 weeks. Then outside. They are ready to harvest in 30-45 days. I use Parris Island Cos. Tender and delicious. the tomato variety in the picture is Solar Set, but I just set outside a variety called Heatwave 11 Hybrid. Burpee claims "produces even in the hottest summer weather, up to 96 degrees" . We'll see.
LouC - I love experimenting, so you will see many new things pretty soon.!!!
Bob
And I love watching your results.
Christi
Me Too!!
Oh, Goody!
I just bought a 16-cup case of Dole peaches and I have little plastic cups! What timing!
Now, you put the cups over the seed just until they sprout then you remove the cups and keep the seedlings near the shop light, correct? oh, Goody, I have my light system all ready to go for the Fall crop! I'm sowing seeds June 15th for plantout on July 31st. Do you use any fertilizer, BocaBob?
P.S. I sent you a d-mail on the pruning article!
Linda(Gymgirl) - Correct!!! I use a 1/2 strength water soluble fertilizer (like Miracle Gro) until they get outside, then full strength.
Use the two following pictures as reference with the pruning article
Here's the second pic on pruning. Hope it helps you Linda
BocaBob
Thanks, Bocabob! I found your link and reread the article.
Today is June 7, and my garden is still producing veggies despite the high temps, especially the night temps(80's).
Here are some pics I took today:
My first fully ripe pepper
Here are some Carmen Italian Peppers:
Here is a yellow crookneck squash that I hand pollinated last Sat. You only have a few hours each day that the female flowers are open and I miss them during the work week. But as you can see, hand pollination does really work.
Here are some Solar Set Tomatoes almost ready to start turning
My English Cucumbers keep coming.
Just started some bush beans in a 5 gallon grow bag
Romaine lettuce starting to have a tough time in these temps. I going to pick them today.
These two pepper plants in a Hydostacker are still going strong. It's been 5 months since I put them out.
Here are two Heatwave II tomato plants in a Earthbox.
And finally, my strawberry patch is hanging in there (no fruit though)
BocaBob
Bob -- You have a healthy farm going there. I wish I could have joined you in the plantings but my construction here has slowed me WAY DOWN! Next week they will be ripping up what is left of my melon garden to put in a drain field. This should be very interesting. Good thing my peppers are in EBs so I can move them although I think I started them way to late for our season but I had no choice because of this construction. Originally I was going to take it easy and not plant anything and just wait it out but I couldn't just sit around and do nothing so I took a chance and planted my melons and it worked out fairly well. Sure glad I did.
Monday, with the help of my son, we will move all our EBs and ten container roses out of their way. A lot of work but it is all part of the deal. They are going to compensate me monetarially when the construction is complete in about a year or so. Meanwhile I'm happy to see you are feeling much better judging by your plants and pictures. Saute some peppers and onions for me and I'll swap you a watermelon. LOL
THATS A DEAL !!!!!!!
I'm very glad to hear you are back and you are feeling better. I'm also glad to hear things are still growing well. I watch your threads closely because I'm just north of you and figure if it's working for you then I have a few more days before heat sets in.
Can't wait to start the seeds under lights for the fall season.
P.s. Where do you usually purchase your seeds from?
A mini-melon!
What kind is that, TPlant?
I believe the watermelon is "Picnic.' It weighed about 10-12lbs. OOOPPPSS!!! My mistake! It is a Bush Sugar Baby...
This message was edited Jun 17, 2008 10:48 PM
2busygardening - Thanks, I went a little goofy buying seeds last year. I bought from 10 different companies. I don't really think it was the smartest thing I ever did. I'll try to list them later after work. Most everything is still growing. I'll post some pics tomorrow to show my progress. Cukes and peppers are doing especially well.
BocaBob
Today is June 24, 2008. Here are some of today's pics:
This is a mini English cucumber. The seeds are imported from Holland. They are self- pollinating. They are having no problem growing in this heat.
