THANK YOU - WHO EVER YOU ARE !

SOMEONE WHOM WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS PURCHASED OVER $100 OF BOCABOBS PRODUCTS FOR ME AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE AS BOB PROMISED THE INDIVIDUAL THAT HE WOULD NOT TELL? I AM ALMOST IN TEARS THANKING YOU AS NO ONE HAS EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS FOR ME AND IT COMES AT A WONDERFUL TIME AS THE STOCK MARKET HAS HURT ME TERRIBLEY AS IT HAS OTHERS! HOWEVER, THERE IS STILL MORE TO COME AS BOB FORGOT THE WHITE FIVE GALLON GRO-BAGS. THERE WAS SO MUCH THAT I HAD TO PUT EVERYTHING IN THE TRUNK OF MY CAR AS I DIDN'T HAVE ANY MORE ROOM IN MY SHED!

IN ADDITION TO TOMATOS I ALSO LOVE TO GROW CANNAS, CALLA LILIES, TULIPS, GLADIOLA AND SO MANY OTHER FLOWERING BULBS AS WELL AS SPECIALITY VEGETABLES.

I DON'T KNOW QUITE HOW TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR VERY GENEROUS GIFT AS I WILL BE ALONE FOR CHRISTMAS AS MY SON AND DIL AND GRANDSON ARE VISITING MY EX-WIFE WHO IS VERY ILL AND HER CURRENT HUSBAND WOULD FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MY PRESENCE BUT RECOVERING AND I WILL BE HOME PLAYING IN MY GARDEN THANKS TO YOU AND WILL NO LONGER FEEL LONELY ON THIS WONDERFUL HOLIDAY! NO MATTER WHAT, I WILL NEVER BE LONELY AS LONG AS I HAVE MY FRIENDS ON DAVES WONDERFUL GARDEN! THIS WILL BE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR ME THANKS TO YOU!

I already started to prepare one block of coir for an EB for my spare OSU determinate tomatos so I don't run out this season. I will be setting it up tomorrow. I'll show you more then. Again Thank You and BocaBob for delivering all these goodies to me......I know I am going to have the most beautiful flowers and veggies in Pembroke Pines as I have the perfect place for all these...

TPlant: What, you too old to believe in Santa Claus now? LOL I think whoever sent those is sweet and I would like to thank them also, as that means, you will have lots of pics to show us when you use them right?
joy112854

You bet I will. What a surprise and a Christmas present. Couldn't of happened at a better time!

T, What a Grand Christmas for you!

Happy Gardening!

Jerry

BocaBobs stopped by again this AM with some white grow bags and more importantly the new seed starting kit! I wanted to work with it today but it is raining so I'm stuck inside. The new kit contains little baskets that you place the coir. I tried one when he was here and it was simple and clean. I just dipped it into some coir that I was preparing for my final EB and the OSU tomatos and place it back into its insert pad. The insert is so light and the holes are so spacious that you plant the whole kit and ka-boodle. The roots will have no problem with transplant shock or growing through the spacious insert. Can't wait to get started?

Paw,
Whatever new toys you got, don't overdo it in the yard! Remember, you're working in small blocks of time 'til your DOCTOR clears you for heavier activity.


And, Joy112854!
Like you said, I guess there IS a Santa Clause! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Merry Christmas One and All!

Hey Santa left me something this year besides coal ya'll. Everyone in my family and all my friends seems to realize how much into gardening I am, you should see the gifts I got. On top of that, I had a credit with Jenny from Jenny's Garden from this past Spring for a Stuttgart Canna Lily and she called and then mailed it out to me along with two Peach Gigantum Canna Lilys. You should see them, the Stuttgart is so pretty. My neighbor says I'm jumping the gun too; but, I jumped out and planted corn, onions and peppers in my Burpees seed starting kit, (72 seeds in all) to be split between 3 other people. I have one of Boca Bobs seed starting kits on the way that I'm reserving for my tomatoes. My strawberries leaves are all greening up beautifully in the 2 EBs and the GP. I also now have a bulb planter to use to put my startings in the EBs and a soil testing kit to work my garden up to where it should be for my flowers. What more could a spoiled little brat want right? LOL Besides a bunch more EBs?
joy112854

Merry Christmas! Work has kept me away from our own special place here at Dave's but I think about the wonderful people here OFTEN.

It's seed starting season for me and I better get started!

Tplant and BocaBob, thank you for sharing your knowledge and cheering us on. We couldn't have wished for better teachers.

Annapet

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Hannukah to my Jewish friends! Wouldn't it be beautiful if this feeling was shared all over the world and not just on Holidays? Well anyway I must say this is the greatest Christmas that I can ever recall thanks to one of you and all of you.
Ted

And Gymgirl I'll try very hard not to over do it. Thank you for thinking of me! But Oh Boy!!!!

This message was edited Dec 25, 2008 12:40 PM

Beyond the real Christmas Story this is the best story I have heard this year. My appreciation to the secret Santa. This was really nice.

Yes, shows that even in the times of economical troubles we still care for one another, that is a beautiful thing.
joy112854

TPlant, I'm so glad to hear about your wonderful gift from your anonymous benefactor. We're all grateful. Anything that keeps you posting about your experiences with self-contained box gardens is a good thing for ALL of us!

Picked a few tomatos today and will show them when I'm finished double checking.

Wow Tplant, I'm happy that Santa was so good to you. Now we get to benefit by watching and learning from all your successes. You must have been a real good boy this year. ^_^

Have fun playing in your garden, and Happy New Year!
~Susan

Hey, everybody, back in ohhhh maybe August I told my mom I'd like an Earthbox with the casters to move it around for Christmas (mostly as a joke, because who pays any attention in August? and at 47, aren't I a little old for that kind of thing?) and guess what I got for Christmas???? I can't tell anybody else but it's better than all the silk scarves, cashmere sweaters and gold earrings! Wooo hooo how soon can I start?

Up your way you can't plant out until end of May but start seedlings in April indoors under lights.

No space for that, Ted, but I can try the kitchen window, or just buy them. Eeeeeek, I'm excited!

Carrie, congratulations on joining the Fellowship of the Self-Contained Box Gardens, aka Earth Boxes. They're so rewarding. Buying your seedlings is fine--here on the Cape I winter-sowed my tomatoes and pepper seedlings in mid-April and of course had far too many for my EBs (so I gave a lot of seedlings away.)
Anyway, we look forward to hearing about your adventures!

I was thinking of WSing some - but were they ripe in time to eat?

Oh, Emily, this gets better and better! Thanks a million.

Had some good pickins today Delicious, larger round one, Roma egg shape ,OSU multi colored. Sungold
and some mixed red cherry tomatos. OSU tomatos are very tasty. Not overly sweet, soft seeds and a thin skin. However I have some bad news about them which I will show later.

Put an EB togeather today for two Chapman tomato plants. Packed it with BocaBobs coco coir, added two cups of lime as I always do plus two cups of 10-10-10 as seen on the left.

Planted the two Chapman,watered from the top just this once to make sure no air holes which I don't think can happen with the coir because it packs so smooth. I really enjoy working with it and plan to use four white five gal gro bags for four OSU's that I had on standby.

Now as far as the OSU are concerned they seem to be subject to fusarium wilt and spread it to my black plants. Black from Tula and Black Cherry. All my other plants are doing fine. I may cut them out after this picking as they are determinate anyway and limited production. I will replant the remainder seedlings of OSU and seperate them from the rest of the pack. I've always had problems with the black tomatos but they taste so good?

This is weird. It is some sort of red pollen that is on my tomato stakes and some on a few of the very tips of my vines. I think they are some sort of eggs -- good or bad--I don't know?

TPlant: you have some mess of tomatoes there, might I ask what you do with all of them? I'm considering getting a Ball beginner canning kit and learning how to can some veggies, wish I had others living in my area that were interested in that.
joy112854

Joy -- I have so many doctors and nurses plus the construction crew building the new cafeteria that I could have twice as much and still not have enough for me and we still eat our share especially fried green tomatos.

Tplant...........I have not a clue what that red might be. Shooting from my hip I would treat that stake with any oil you may have to see what happens. Neem Oil, any other horticulture oil or even crisco oil, soap and water. If it works on the stake to dry it up or make it seem to go away I would then go to the label of the Neem Oil or other horticulture oil and spray one tomato and see if you get a positive reaction. If you try this and get a favorable kill so to speak please tell us how you did it.

TPlant: I have some catologues I'm looking through now, they have some green tomatoes, these tomatoes are actually green, they have black ones too. And guess what else? Blue corn? Red corn too? They are in the RH Shumway's Illustrated Garden Guide Catologue, I also received a Jung Seeds and Plants catalogue and a Territorial Seed Company Catalogue. I'm happy, can just go through these catalogues and dream of Spring and Summer hey? LOL
joy112854