official veggie gardener's thread

[Savarak]

almost 3 months and now finally my eggplants have started to show blooms/flowers! long beans are doing great, very prolific, harvested twice already and already in a few days i could do a 3rd harvest (each harvest is about 1.5 servings for me, or about 12 actual long beans) coming from 9 plants. grand rapids leaf lettuce grows far faster than I can eat them, got about 15 of those growing. Burpee's bush green beans only gives one harvest of about 10 beans, and then dies out, so i'm not too happy with it. Celebrity tomatoes have good flavor, but are tiny and I'm not very used to the flavor, so I'll grow roma or cherry next time. Better Belle bell peppers are like 1 small (3 inches diameter) pepper per plant... one harvest and they're done, it seems, although when I didn't water them for 2 days in this 100+ Tucson heat(They are in 12" containers), they appear to have survived and started to grow blooms (!?!?!??????), so I started watering them again in hopes they'll provide another harvest.

 

[spidey07]

almost 3 months and now finally my eggplants have started to show blooms/flowers! long beans are doing great, very prolific, harvested twice already and already in a few days i could do a 3rd harvest (each harvest is about 1.5 servings for me, or about 12 actual long beans) coming from 9 plants. grand rapids leaf lettuce grows far faster than I can eat them, got about 15 of those growing. Burpee's bush green beans only gives one harvest of about 10 beans, and then dies out, so i'm not too happy with it. Celebrity tomatoes have good flavor, but are tiny and I'm not very used to the flavor, so I'll grow roma or cherry next time. Better Belle bell peppers are like 1 small (3 inches diameter) pepper per plant... one harvest and they're done, it seems, although when I didn't water them for 2 days in this 100+ Tucson heat(They are in 12" containers), they appear to have survived and started to grow blooms (!?!?!??????), so I started watering them again in hopes they'll provide another harvest.

Sounds like the peppers need fertilizer. You did put fertilizer in the pots, right? Bell peppers should produce out the wazoo if given enough food.

 

[Savarak]

Sounds like the peppers need fertilizer. You did put fertilizer in the pots, right? Bell peppers should produce out the wazoo if given enough food.

the containers only had brand new miracle-gro potting mixture, which supposedly has 3 months of fertilizer, and i did occasionally give them some liquid fertilizer as well

 

[spidey07]

the containers only had brand new miracle-gro potting mixture, which supposedly has 3 months of fertilizer, and i did occasionally give them some liquid fertilizer as well

Some osmocote vegtable fertilizer could help. Miracle grow mix doesn't have enough for peppers and the liquid isn't going to be a steady supply, think about the size of the fruit they have to produce.

 

[snoopdoug1]

Some osmocote vegtable fertilizer could help. Miracle grow mix doesn't have enough for peppers and the liquid isn't going to be a steady supply, think about the size of the fruit they have to produce.

My green peppers are the same way. Should I just shake some fertilizer on them?

 

[TraumaRN]

Picked a ridiculous amount of collard greens today, bought some salt pork, cooked the pork til tender then added all the liquid + pork + uncooked collards to my pressure cooker, cooked for about 6-7 minutes and was in heaven.

Also picked a huge head of broccoli that I roasted as well.

My corn is going to be massive I think. It's already thigh high! Got lots of cherry tomatoes setting too. Beans are just starting to flower. I'm really getting into the thick of things food wise. My grocery bill is starting to shrink already. Within a couple weeks we should only have to buy meat and dairy from the store, we'll have tons of fresh fruit/veggies.

 

[snoopdoug1]

Pulled and ate broccoli - it was great! Planted green beans in its place. I still have 1 broccoli plant that hasn't sprouted yet...

I also went ahead and planted some spaghetti squash, hopefully it comes up and works out

My tomato plants are HUGE (5 feet tall), and probably have 30-40 maters on them, with another 40-50 blooms. Should be a good harvest!

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Moths have virtually ruined the thick leaf crops (brocolli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts) but everything else looks great.

Cukes are taking off.

I picked a serving or two of string beans over the weekend that were delish.

A bunch of tomato fruits growing as well.

This week I anticipate at least a dozen squash.


FU MOTHS!

 

[spidey07]

You must use something on those or it will always happen. I use BT.

Those little white butterflies you see about the size of a quarter? They lay eggs everytime the land. Evil.

 

[fatpat268]

Yep... thuricide

http://www.amazon.com/Bonide-Thurici.../dp/B000OBIP20

Your local lowes/home depot should carry the stuff. Your crop is probably ruined by now, but in the future spray the leaves (top and underside) once every few days. They will come back if you forget to spray, trust me.

 

[BoomerD]

I'm going to have to get some BT this year. I saw a MONSTER moth a couple of nights ago...and they're the adult of the tomato worm...

 

[spidey07]

I'm going to have to get some BT this year. I saw a MONSTER moth a couple of nights ago...and they're the adult of the tomato worm...

Do it now then. Hornworms can destroy and entire plant in a matter of days. I had them one year, they will decimate a plant leaving nothing but stems. It wouldn't be a bad idea to check for damage every single day, they blend in with the plant incredibly well, hard to see. But they are huge, as big as a fat mans middle finger.

In the mean time I always plant marigolds near my maters to keep them away.

 

[BoomerD]

Do it now then. Hornworms can destroy and entire plant in a matter of days. I had them one year, they will decimate a plant leaving nothing but stems. It wouldn't be a bad idea to check for damage every single day, they blend in with the plant incredibly well, hard to see. But they are huge, as big as a fat mans middle finger.

In the mean time I always plant marigolds near my maters to keep them away.

I killed a monster worm a couple of years ago. Biggest one I'd ever seen.
Last year, I saw some "spoor" but no actual worms. Never had any noticeable damage either.
I have no doubt, they're around. (if they're hatching into moths, they've gotta be getting mature)

for those who have never seen a big tomato hornworm...

 

[TraumaRN]

I killed a monster worm a couple of years ago. Biggest one I'd ever seen.
Last year, I saw some "spoor" but no actual worms. Never had any noticeable damage either.
I have no doubt, they're around. (if they're hatching into moths, they've gotta be getting mature)

for those who have never seen a big tomato hornworm...

That bigass mofo is exactly why I have 12 tomato plants and 12 marigolds all interplanted.

On other news, harvested my first batch of collard greens and sauteed them in a little bit of bacon fat, OMGWTFBBQ good. I'll never buy collards from the store again.

And another side note speaking of tomato....my Topaz or Huan U heirloom cherry yellow with green speckle tomato plants...are HUGE All growing out of the top of my 58 inch tomato cages and have set more fruit then I've ever seen from a tomato plant in Michigan this early in the year. From my rough count I have at least 2 dozen tomatoes forming on each of my 4 plants. And it's only June!!:awe::awe: And they are still blossoming like mad.

I sense cherry tomato gluttony coming.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

So that marigold trick actually works? Is it used for any other pests or just tomato worms?

 

[spidey07]

So that marigold trick actually works? Is it used for any other pests or just tomato worms?

A lotta pests. They aren't called "a gardeners best friend" for nothing. They give off a scent/chemical that many insects don't like so they avoid.

 

[BoomerD]

A lotta pests. They aren't called "a gardeners best friend" for nothing. They give off a scent/chemical that many insects don't like so they avoid.

Unfortunately, around here, the snails and slugs LOVE marigolds...they rarely last more than a couple of nights. They're snail & slug magnets.

The slugs will also get any tomato that touches the ground, so low-hanging maters usually get wasted if I don't hang them in a way that they can't touch. The bastards also find a way to get my strawberries...but only a couple of plants. The rest don't get touched. <shrug>

 

[snoopdoug1]

A lotta pests. They aren't called "a gardeners best friend" for nothing. They give off a scent/chemical that many insects don't like so they avoid.

sounds like i need to plant some...

 

[BoomerD]

Bah...I'm pissed...

Last year, we bought some "SunSugar" tomatoes at Lowes. The plants didn't get very large, but they produced nice large tomatoes...and nearly all came ripe at the same time. VERY sweet, meaty tomatoes with excellent flavor.

I bought ONE cherry tomato to plant in a Topsy-Turvy, in an area that got good sun, but not if I planted it in the ground. (next to a 6' privacy fence) That would have been enough cherry tomatoes for our use...

This spring, when we were getting ready to plant, Lowe's didn't have the SunSugar tomatoes, but I found them elsewhere...or thought I did. Turns out they were cherry tomatoes...and it said so on the back of the tag...in tiny print. :|
So...I pulled two and gave them to neighbors, and kept two for use in salads. That gave me 3 cherry tomatoes...more than I wanted, but, OK, I can deal with it.

In early May, we were at Lowe's...and they had the Sun Sugars we bought last year...or had the same tag anyway...so I bought a 4-pack and planted them.
NOT the same tomatoes. The plants have gotten huge...already over 4' tall...and they're fucking cherry tomatoes too.

I'm considering trying to find a couple of other tomato plants to give me some for canning...but it's so late in the season already, I'm afraid I won't have much of a harvest.

Fucking dickwads...I don't know if someone switched tags at Lowe's last year, and the "SunSugars I got then weren't...or this year...but I think I'm done buying my vegetable plants at Lowe's.

If you remember, last year, I bought a Fresno chile there...and it ended up being a habanero...probably someone switched tags then as well.

 

[TraumaRN]

Bah...I'm pissed...

Last year, we bought some "SunSugar" tomatoes at Lowes. The plants didn't get very large, but they produced nice large tomatoes...and nearly all came ripe at the same time. VERY sweet, meaty tomatoes with excellent flavor.

I bought ONE cherry tomato to plant in a Topsy-Turvy, in an area that got good sun, but not if I planted it in the ground. (next to a 6' privacy fence) That would have been enough cherry tomatoes for our use...

This spring, when we were getting ready to plant, Lowe's didn't have the SunSugar tomatoes, but I found them elsewhere...or thought I did. Turns out they were cherry tomatoes...and it said so on the back of the tag...in tiny print. :|
So...I pulled two and gave them to neighbors, and kept two for use in salads. That gave me 3 cherry tomatoes...more than I wanted, but, OK, I can deal with it.

In early May, we were at Lowe's...and they had the Sun Sugars we bought last year...or had the same tag anyway...so I bought a 4-pack and planted them.
NOT the same tomatoes. The plants have gotten huge...already over 4' tall...and they're fucking cherry tomatoes too.

I'm considering trying to find a couple of other tomato plants to give me some for canning...but it's so late in the season already, I'm afraid I won't have much of a harvest.

Fucking dickwads...I don't know if someone switched tags at Lowe's last year, and the "SunSugars I got then weren't...or this year...but I think I'm done buying my vegetable plants at Lowe's.

If you remember, last year, I bought a Fresno chile there...and it ended up being a habanero...probably someone switched tags then as well.

Not to sound like an ass but this is exactly why I go through the trouble of growing from seed and ordering said seed from reputable sellers of heirloom products.

My dad has run into troubles like this before Boomer, and now he won't buy plants from Lowes/HD he goes to one of our small local nurseries and has had much better success in getting the right plant every time.

And just from looking around the web SunSugar seems to be a cherry tomato only, so perhaps what you got last year wasn't a SunSugar after all, but some other orange beefsteak tomato, maybe orange brandywine or a Kellogg's Breakfast

 

[spidey07]

My green peppers are the same way. Should I just shake some fertilizer on them?

I'm growing some peppers in a pot just for fun. They didn't look so happy so I gave the a healthy dose of osmocote. Within a week they got very happy.

Veggies need food.

 

[BoomerD]

Not to sound like an ass but this is exactly why I go through the trouble of growing from seed and ordering said seed from reputable sellers of heirloom products.

My dad has run into troubles like this before Boomer, and now he won't buy plants from Lowes/HD he goes to one of our small local nurseries and has had much better success in getting the right plant every time.

And just from looking around the web SunSugar seems to be a cherry tomato only, so perhaps what you got last year wasn't a SunSugar after all, but some other orange beefsteak tomato, maybe orange brandywine or a Kellogg's Breakfast

Yeah...I considered that last year's were mis-labeled...but the tags don't say "cherry tomato" on them anywhere.

We've considered trying to grow from seeds...but it's somewhat time consuming...and I don't really have any place to do the grow-out. No good sunny window space in the house, and it's usually a bit too cool here until early March to do it outside...and I always try to get my plants in the ground by March 15.

On the good news side...my jalapenos are doing great. Each plant has several 3-4" peppers...and more blossoms every day.
My Fresno are doing fabulous. At least a dozen 4-5" peppers, and some are starting to change color. I've tried a couple of them while they were green...GREAT flavor, nice heat.

My Serrano is FINALLY taking off. Lots of small peppers, tons of blossoms.

My "New Mexico Hatch Chile" turned out to be a damned green bell pepper.

 

[rpanic]

A lotta pests. They aren't called "a gardeners best friend" for nothing. They give off a scent/chemical that many insects don't like so they avoid.

I’ll have to try this never knew they keep some bugs away. Right now my best defense has been my little boys and I out collecting bugs for fun, so far we have found 2 of those horned tomato worms. Kids are waiting for them to come out of their cocoons.

 

[spidey07]

I’ll have to try this never knew they keep some bugs away. Right now my best defense has been my little boys and I out collecting bugs for fun, so far we have found 2 of those horned tomato worms. Kids are waiting for them to come out of their cocoons.

You find horn worms. You kill on site. No mercy. Evil.

 

[TraumaRN]

Yeah...I considered that last year's were mis-labeled...but the tags don't say "cherry tomato" on them anywhere.

We've considered trying to grow from seeds...but it's somewhat time consuming...and I don't really have any place to do the grow-out. No good sunny window space in the house, and it's usually a bit too cool here until early March to do it outside...and I always try to get my plants in the ground by March 15.

On the good news side...my jalapenos are doing great. Each plant has several 3-4" peppers...and more blossoms every day.
My Fresno are doing fabulous. At least a dozen 4-5" peppers, and some are starting to change color. I've tried a couple of them while they were green...GREAT flavor, nice heat.

My Serrano is FINALLY taking off. Lots of small peppers, tons of blossoms.

My "New Mexico Hatch Chile" turned out to be a damned green bell pepper.

Yeah I've got the time to do start from seed, plus I have two good south facing windows and a grow light for helping things along on cloudy days.

On my garden update front, onions are starting to heavily bulb up, pulled one of my largest carrots today and it was about 3-4 inches long and as thick as my index finger so another 10 days or so until they are the correct size.

Celery is doing OUTSTANDING, should be ready to harvest the first stalks by mid july.

All tomatoes have set fruit, especially my Topaz/Huan U cherry tomatoes, 4 plants with at least 25 tomatoes per plant right now.

My beans and black eyed peas are ready to blossom.

Cabbage is heading nicely.

Collard and beet greens I've already made 3 harvests of. Growing like mad.

Almost all my corn is 3+ feet high already:awe:

My Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers have multiple 2-3 inch fruits on, my black hungarian peppers all have multiple fruits and my cuban seasoning peppers are FINALLY growing and looking to blossom soon.

My watermelon, cantaloupe are all blooming up a storm, should see fruit set any day now. First cucumbers are about 4-5 inches long and still really thin should be another week or so til I can pick one.

My white scallop summer squash is probably the largest summer squash I've ever seen in my life. Absolutely massive and setting blossoms too.

And last but not least my giant sunflowers range in height from approximately 5 foot tall to about 8.5 feet tall. The 2 that are 8.5 feet tall are trees, literally.

I'll post some pictures soon.