official veggie gardener's thread

[eldorado99]

Slugs are really bad here this year. Luckily they are leaving my corn alone because there are about 4 old rotting parsnips sitting nearby that they absolutely cannot seem to leave alone. The damn ants keep trying to eat my strawberries though. We used to have ducks and I miss them right now. When we had ducks the only time I ever saw a single slug was when it was in the duck's mouth on its way down.

 

[TraumaRN]

Well came back today after a weekend out of town to see my cantaloupes have basically fully recovered, even got one with a big flower on it...so hopefully we'll have some good melons this summer!

First cuke should be ready to pick in a few days.

And got my first tomato blossom as well.

 

[meltdown75]

my tomato plants are getting too big and crazy... i have to look up how to prune them. i got some chicken wire and stakes out of my Dad's barn... i think I am going to put in a couple lengths of it between the rows. i just want to try to control them a bit and not have growth from one row into another.

the pepper plants are really healthy. i have a baby bell pepper on one of them, it's pretty cute

 

[bignateyk]

my tomato plants are getting too big and crazy... i have to look up how to prune them. i got some chicken wire and stakes out of my Dad's barn... i think I am going to put in a couple lengths of it between the rows. i just want to try to control them a bit and not have growth from one row into another.

the pepper plants are really healthy. i have a baby bell pepper on one of them, it's pretty cute

All I ever do for the tomatoes is prune the offshoots off. I think you only want to have one main stem, otherwise the plant will spend its energy on growing more branches instead of growing more fruit.

 

[spidey07]

All I ever do for the tomatoes is prune the offshoots off. I think you only want to have one main stem, otherwise the plant will spend its energy on growing more branches instead of growing more fruit.

The "suckers" are the branches that form from the main stem and leaf branches. You normally want to pinch them off every couple of days. If you don't the plant will be just fine and those new branches from the suckers will produce blooms and fruit.

Pruning suckers results in fewer, but larger fruit. Not pruning them gives you tons of fruit, just not as large. I follow the "let the last two suckers before the first blossom cluster grow, prune all others" to get pretty large fruit and a lot of it.

 

[meltdown75]

do you guys prune all your tomatoes regardless of variety?

i've been googling and it seems like there are determinate (bushy, set height) and indeterminate (viny) varieties and perhaps different pruning strategies for each. pretty sure i have both types.

i haven't pruned a tomato plant in my life. gonna do some pruning tonight for sure. very interesting.

 

[spidey07]

It's highly unlikely you have any determinate maters. Those you don't touch, they produce all their fruit at once and then they're done. Good for farmers because they harvest everything in a week or two period.

I wouldn't lop anything off that had a blossom cluster. If you haven't kept up on pruning there's likely little you can do now as all the suckers have flowers on them. Also if you do cut anything use sharp, clean scissors.

 

[meltdown75]

cool. i will check my varieties later and google for specific pruning advice.

 

[evident]

My GF started her apt patio garden back in April. she has patio tomatoes which are starting to produce tomatoes now as well as a japanese eggplant and a squash plant in 12" pots. she also has radishes, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, swiss chard and carrots in two 36" long pots. The squash is ready for harvest, and for anyone who has a squash plant, YOU HAVE TO TRY SQUASH BLOSSOMS!!! They are so tasty.


The eggplant has been constantly under attack by aphids. she killed the first infestation by putting some liquid soap (dawn) in a spray bottle and spraying down the leaves, since there's really no way she can use a hose to spray those buggers off. they came back again last week but they were taken care of the same way.
It's really interesting that the aphids are only targeting the eggplant and not any of the other things in her patio garden.

 

[BoomerD]

My GF started her apt patio garden back in April. she has patio tomatoes which are starting to produce tomatoes now as well as a japanese eggplant and a squash plant in 12" pots. she also has radishes, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, swiss chard and carrots in two 36" long pots. The squash is ready for harvest, and for anyone who has a squash plant, YOU HAVE TO TRY SQUASH BLOSSOMS!!! They are so tasty.


The eggplant has been constantly under attack by aphids. she killed the first infestation by putting some liquid soap (dawn) in a spray bottle and spraying down the leaves, since there's really no way she can use a hose to spray those buggers off. they came back again last week but they were taken care of the same way.
It's really interesting that the aphids are only targeting the eggplant and not any of the other things in her patio garden.

I also have aphids in my tomato garden. I use dish soap and canola oil mixed into water and spray. Be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves because that's where most of the aphids will be.

I'd estimate that I have at least 50 tomatos on my plants right now. All still green, but so far, we've had unseasonably cool weather. (and I love it) I'm sure once it heats up, the maters will start to turn.

I picked a large bell pepper and pulled about 1/2 dozen radishes last night for a salad tonight. I have 3-4 more bell peppers that are almost big enough to pick, perhaps a dozen serrano peppers that are about ready, and 6-8 jalapenos that could be picked at any time.

Melty, other than removing the suckers, you shouldn't prune your maters. Let them grow...you'll likely do more damage than good.

 

[spidey07]

I'm getting concerned over the temperatures here and my maters. It's been consistently in the 90s for two weeks now and night time temps are well above 70.

That's not good for tomato pollination, it kills the pollen. Last year I had a good amount of blossom drop, where the plant will just drop the flowers and everything pointed to high temps being the reason so I'll be keeping an eye on them.

All the pepper plants however seem to be loving the heat.

 

[LurkerSince2001]

i love fresh picked corn to plate in 10min. (i have no idea where i can pick fresh corn in my area of Northern VA.)

http://pickyourown.org/VA.htm

 

[DrPizza]

Well, at least with tomatoes, I've caught up and passed Boomer. I counted 50-some tomatoes on the plants yesterday. By today, I probably have 70. My beans are sprouting like crazy, ditto my corn, and my peas just started poking through. Something is pulling a lot of my corn out of the ground when it's about 2" tall, and just leaving it. Lost about 50-100 plants so far. Hopefully that stops quickly. I suspect birds?? I'm trying to decide if I want to replant the sections that were affected the most.

Advice needed: what do you do to be successful with cantaloupes & watermellon? My vines are just starting to really take off. But, I've attempted both in previous years and have yet to have a single fruit.

Re: pruning tomatoes - I used to prune them, but I have the space to just put more of them in the ground & not bother. Instead of individually staking plants this year, I'm also trying something new - I'm running wire, like at vineyards, and tying the plants to the wire. I'll still do a minimal amount of pruning though, just to spend a little more time in the garden. Also, eggplant growing tips?

 

[BoomerD]

Well, at least with tomatoes, I've caught up and passed Boomer. I counted 50-some tomatoes on the plants yesterday. By today, I probably have 70. My beans are sprouting like crazy, ditto my corn, and my peas just started poking through. Something is pulling a lot of my corn out of the ground when it's about 2" tall, and just leaving it. Lost about 50-100 plants so far. Hopefully that stops quickly. I suspect birds?? I'm trying to decide if I want to replant the sections that were affected the most.

Advice needed: what do you do to be successful with cantaloupes & watermellon? My vines are just starting to really take off. But, I've attempted both in previous years and have yet to have a single fruit.

Re: pruning tomatoes - I used to prune them, but I have the space to just put more of them in the ground & not bother. Instead of individually staking plants this year, I'm also trying something new - I'm running wire, like at vineyards, and tying the plants to the wire. I'll still do a minimal amount of pruning though, just to spend a little more time in the garden. Also, eggplant growing tips?

Doc...that 50 tomatos...those are on 6 of my 7 tomato plants. The 7th is covered in blossoms, but no fruit yet. (it doesn't get as much sun as the rest, so it's growth has been slower)

 

[DrPizza]

But you had a month head start on me with that Cali weather. Just went out and checked the garden...

F$(@&#ING BIRD (or whatever did it) - 80-90% loss on my corn. Going to have to replant. Something's getting shot. Fortunately, it hasn't touched my beans or peas.

 

[spidey07]

But you had a month head start on me with that Cali weather. Just went out and checked the garden...

F$(@&#ING BIRD (or whatever did it) - 80-90% loss on my corn. Going to have to replant. Something's getting shot. Fortunately, it hasn't touched my beans or peas.

I think that's the purpose of a scarecrow. :awe:

But that sucks. I'd be lividly pissed. Maybe let the dogs roam around.

 

[DrPizza]

The dogs do roam around, but they don't bother birds. And, yeah, scarecrows coming up (dangling pie tins, etc.) Stupid birds.

 

[BoomerD]

But you had a month head start on me with that Cali weather. Just went out and checked the garden...

F$(@&#ING BIRD (or whatever did it) - 80-90% loss on my corn. Going to have to replant. Something's getting shot. Fortunately, it hasn't touched my beans or peas.

Yeah, my maters were in the ground in late March IIRC.

How about hanging some bird netting over the corn?

It's not heavy nor does it cast much of a shadow...but it does a great job keeping the birds out of things.

Not sure how big of an area you need to protect, but it's a decent option if we're not talking about a HUGE expanse of garden.

I've seen mixed results with the hanging pie plates and mylar strips as deterrents.

 

[meltdown75]

Re: pruning tomatoes - I used to prune them, but I have the space to just put more of them in the ground & not bother. Instead of individually staking plants this year, I'm also trying something new - I'm running wire, like at vineyards, and tying the plants to the wire. I'll still do a minimal amount of pruning though, just to spend a little more time in the garden. Also, eggplant growing tips?

this is similar to what i've got going with my Florida Weave.... i had to do some weaving tonight and i will have to add level 3 of my string tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. i do have 3 in cages as well... actually one is cage AND weave... lol whatever works

i did a bit of pruning but nothing crazy.

 

[DrPizza]

Late March?? You had me beat by over 2 months on the toms. And, too much room for netting. 4 rows, roughly 100 feet long each. Or, by hand, a couple of hours of planting seeds again.

 

[meltdown75]

indeed. i forgot... your garden is more of a field.

 

[BoomerD]

indeed. i forgot... your garden is more of a field.

The Doc has enough garden that he should hire 2-3 Mexicans to tend to it for him...

 

[meltdown75]

level 3 of the weave to be commenced within the hour. engage giggitron.

ah god dang it... i need some twine :/

 

[HydroSqueegee]

some of the peas are already ripe and taste wonderful... mmmmm

 

[DrPizza]

It appears that the bird is either a woodchuck, chipmunk, else raccoon. Regardless, I'm a good shot. I might aim the spotlights on the back of the house in that direction & keep my eyes open late at night. 100 yard shot, give or take. I can make that shot from where I'm sitting right now.