The gardening thread. What are you growing in your garden this year?

[BoomerD]

Wow your greenhouse looks amazing @BoomerD! I know you are in a cooler climate compared to me so growing peppers can be a challenge but I'd say you are doing a great job. Your tomatoes look amazing to!

I'm so happy to hear your jalapenos have some heat. I know in an earlier post you had mentioned that you were really disappointed in the heat output of your peppers over the past couple of seasons so it is encouraging to read that you are getting some with that nice heat that they are know for.

So about those blueberries. When is the last time you measured the PH of your soil? I know they do best in a more acidic soil. Are you supplementing them with a soil acidifier?

I probably should do that. I have a bag of soil acidifier I bought a couple of years ago for that and for hydrangeas.

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue Espoma Organic

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue. Use on all acid loving plants including blueberries.

www.espoma.com

 

[sdifox]

Canada Thistle. Lots of it. They respawn even after I dig out the root.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

I have a hedge of pitisporum between myself and my neighbor that's largely doing a good job of being a privacy screen above the fence line, but as it grows is thinning out below the fence line (so we can see the fence which ruins the effect a bit).

I don't want to prune them way back to get them to fill out again (since we lose the privacy and some of the wild look).

My wife hates them and hopes they die so she can plant other trees where they are.

As such I think what I want to try is to plant some kind of vine between each one that will use the twiggy internal structure of the hedge as a lattice to climb, while simultaneously filling out the space below the fence line. I figure either they get filled out, or the vine kills the pitisporum and my wife gets her wish.

Problem is, I'm not sure what kind of vine that should be, because it would have to be happy in the shade while competing with the pitisporum for resources.

I'm thinking a climbing Jasmine might fit the bill, and give us some lovely flowers as well, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears. We're in the California coastal area, zone 9. Winter rain and a lot of heavy morning fog/condensation here.

 

[bbhaag]

I probably should do that. I have a bag of soil acidifier I bought a couple of years ago for that and for hydrangeas.

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue Espoma Organic

Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier - Turns Hydrangeas Blue. Use on all acid loving plants including blueberries.

www.espoma.com

I would definitely recommend you test your PH first then use the soil acidifier if needed. You should buy a quality PH tester and use the proper method for testing PH. The soil slurry method is how I do it. It may seem complicated at first but once you get more familiar with the process you can have a PH reading within just a few minutes.

I use this PH meter at work and at home with good results. Just don't buy the cheapest one you search for because there are a lot of knock offs of this brand. Purchase it from a reputable dealer not a place like Aliexpress. HM Digital Pro Series PH-200

Also, if you haven't already you should be doing a winter prune on your plants to help with a larger harvest. Cutting out the older less productive canes and thinning the interior of the bush to help with light penetration will go a long way in helping you get a more productive harvest.

I actually did a heavy prune last winter to one of my cherry trees and the results this spring were very impressive. See post #203 on the previous page for the results. I also did it last winter to my Candice grape and while it is still a little to early to tell this years grape harvest is looking better than ever.

 

[BoomerD]

You're in the biz, so a fancy meter like that might make sense. I have a much cheaper version of this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sun-Joe-3-In-1-Soil-Meter-with-Moisture-PH-and-Light-Meter-for-Indoor-Outdoor-Gardens-SJ-MMPH1/319834887

Yeah, I know I need to prune my bushes. I say that every year...but never do.

 

[bbhaag]

You're in the biz, so a fancy meter like that might make sense. I have a much cheaper version of this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sun-Joe-3-In-1-Soil-Meter-with-Moisture-PH-and-Light-Meter-for-Indoor-Outdoor-Gardens-SJ-MMPH1/319834887

Yeah, I know I need to prune my bushes. I say that every year...but never do.

Understandable but the slurry method I linked to costs you nothing and is a proper way to test PH regardless of which meter you own. The same goes for proper pruning which I also suggested. Its not like I'm throwing out baller gardening tech to get you the best results. Heck the last suggestion I gave cost you only $10 and it made a difference.

 

[BoomerD]

Understandable but the slurry method I linked to costs you nothing and is a proper way to test PH regardless of which meter you own. The same goes for proper pruning which I also suggested. Its not like I'm throwing out baller gardening tech to get you the best results. Heck the last suggestion I gave cost you only $10 and it made a difference.

I think the cheapest I saw it...from Amazon was $61...if you see it for $110, link that, please.

Anyway, we had a couple of warm (65F+) days...I picked a couple of roma tomatoes and one cherokee purple today.


Not sure why the purple looks so beat up...I'm not a fan of "heirloom tomatoes." They usually taste great...but grow...weird. (notice...there is zero sign of blossom end rot on the romas...that's unusual for me. That Hi Yield might be to blame.)

 

[bbhaag]

Spent a couple of hours in the garden this morning doing some maintenance and some harvesting.

We had several eggplant ready to harvest. I think I'm going to try making eggplant butter with some of them.


These are new type of jalapeno I'm trying this year. It is called Megatron and is a hybrid jalapeno. Mouse is for scale. These things are huge!



And of course the butterflies are going crazy for the zinnias. This yellow swallowtail was just ignoring me and diving right in for mid morning snack.

 

[bbhaag]

My wife decided to make an arrangement with fresh cut flowers from the garden. It looks really pretty and fills the house with the aroma of flowers.

 

[bbhaag]

My cactus is getting ready to bloom! 6 years and it has never once bloomed so I'm really excited!

Look at this little bud!


Here is the full size of it. It's so pretty

 

[WelshBloke]

Been picking chillies!

 

[BoomerD]

Been picking chillies!

View attachment 128357

Oh my!

 

[WelshBloke]

Oh my!

From the bottom; Fucking hot, oh Jesus no, meh, ouch spicy, and I don't know about the long ones yet!

 

[bbhaag]

From the bottom; Fucking hot, oh Jesus no, meh, ouch spicy, and I don't know about the long ones yet!

Your peppers look great!

 

[BoomerD]

Since I added the Hi Yield, my pepper and tomato plants have greened up nicely and grown dramatically, but aren’t doing much production.

 

[WelshBloke]

Your peppers look great!

I usually grow them in pots that are a bit small as I dont need a huge amount of them. A few small plants gives me enough variety of chillies in the freezer to keep me going to the next season. This year I got sent a padron plant and next year I need to grow a few full sized versions of those!

 

[BoomerD]

Since I added the Hi Yield, my pepper and tomato plants have greened up nicely and grown dramatically, but aren’t doing much production.

Thought I'd add a pic:



Quite a few green tomatoes, not many turning ripe yet.

 

[BoomerD]

I know I'll never get very many tomatoes from my plants here. Climate just isn't great for them, greenhouse or not...but I did pick one 13+ oz Cherokee Purple this afternoon...



It's bigger than my fist. Will probably eat it tomorrow in a salad...ended up using it on BLTs.
I have a couple more Romas ripening and some early girls starting to show the first blush of color.