July gardens, tell me what is up with yours.

[itsheresomewhere]

On 7/2/2023 at 12:47 PM, Sneezyone said:

Woot! The heat has arrived at last! Hooray! My cherry tomatoes look more like small Meyer lemons but they’re finally ripening. We’re expecting another monsoon today and tomorrow so, presumably, they will only get bigger from here. I should probably put down some more epson salt before it rains. Today’s haul coupled with last week’s green beans means caponata is on the menu. Also seared tuna steaks with roasted garlic miso butter. Looking forward to that!!

My arugula is going strong. I will never plant a different varietal. It’s fab. We’re still throwing that into our salads. My lettuce has bolted and I feel like it’s too hot to replant but might change my mind.

It’ll be time to plant cool season crops soon and I’m making space for those. Most of my pea plants are still producing but some are in decline. I will try, AGAIN, to plant some brassicas there.

ETA: any ideas for a water-loving, gnat/pest-repellent, perennial that won’t take over like my kitchen sage plants? They have GOT to go.

There is actually a plant that some orchid lovers grow to keep the winged insect away from it.  A nice small plant for indoors.  The name is escaping me but I have sent an email out to see if someone remembers the name.  They sold out at the last orchid show so fast. 

[Kalmia]

I live in a colder climate than most of you and we've had endless rain. All the seedlings I raised under lights indoors were on pause for a while after planting, then we had two sunny days and the tomatoes grew seemingly 1 foot each day.. The hardneck garlic I planted last fall is doing well, we cut the scapes last week. The potatoes (red Maria, red Pontiac, and early red Norland) are lush, and I hope that does not mean they won't produce much as the super lush Kennebec and Katahdin's did last year (disappointing!). My husband doesn't like "wet" tomatoes, so I grow paste tomatoes for fresh eating and salsa. I have Amish paste and San Marzano type. They have just started flowering. The sage that overwintered from last year is huge. The rosemary I bought seedlings of has grown just a little. The peppers (early jalapeños, and the sweet peppers king of the north and provident), have flower buds but have barely grown since I put them out weeks ago. They are not having it with this cool weather and rain. But the slugs and snails love the cool weather and rain. Thousands of them. They ate almost everything I planted from seed at the first-two-leaves stage. All the cucumbers, the cilantro, the basil, and the carrots. The beans are trying to live but look like they have been attacked by a paper-punch. I went to the greenhouse at the end of June and bought what they had left for cucumber plants, trying to get the largest they had and those have survived the snails and slugs. I am going to grow cilantro and basil indoors under my lights. The beans will live or die on their own as they are nobody's favorites. I am angry about the carrots (they are my favorite vegetable) as I got good germination using the board method and then two days after lifting the board, eaten to the ground. If it stops raining at fall crop planting time, I will try again. 

[SHP]

The plant that wouldn't die until I accepted it and moved it? It is alive after all! Based on the current size compared to when I moved it I estimate it will take about 10 years for it to get back to that size unless it is has a huge growth spurt.

[Faith-manor]

I picked a pint of black caps yesterday, plus a pint of peas - every time I think those plants are going to give up because of the heat, they surprise me - a handful of blueberries, a tomato for fried green tomatoes, there more radishes, and the first carrot which I regret pulling because it turned out to be too small, and yet, it tasted spoil good.

Those Amish paste. Such ridiculous plants. All their leaves hanging stupid wilted like they have given up on life, and yet it is nothing but a tomato rain forest out there, and I easily have given 100 baby paste tomatoes, and 50-100 cherry tomatoes. I don't know what to make of them. I want to scold, but then they are kind of getting the job done finally.

It was a mini harvest, and highly satisfying.

Tonight I am cutting basil leaves. I will probably have 10 pint size bags of leaves to freeze, and they are so prolific, I would imagine in a couple weeks it will have grown back and can be harvested again. Handling tomato and basil plants makes my hands smell like a fine pasta dish. I don't know why women's perfume is floral. Make tomato and herb perfumes, and then men will come running! 😁😁😁

The grapevine has come back very well from the drought. I hope the grapes will be ready to harvest by the third week of August. I need to cut a bunch of it, shape, and dry it to form the base of a large floral swag for a wedding arbor. I have never dried my own grapevine so that will be another new endeavor.

[popmom]

@Faith-manorthats a LOT of tomatoes!! 
 

I’m really impressed because I planted Amish paste, too, but I won’t have nearly that many. And yours may ripen before mine! Maybe I need to move a little further north. 😉

[Lady Florida.]

On 7/3/2023 at 4:54 PM, Grace Hopper said:

jealous of all your gorgeous veggie pictures and proud of you all!

My only garden chores this time of year are to keep things watered in the heat and keep cutting back the herb garden plants that want to bolt. 

That's July here. Also planning what to start indoors in pots later this month or next. June through September are always hot and humid but this year is really bad. We've had heat advisories nearly every day. We're used to temperatures in the 90s with high humidity but the heat indices in the triple digits is uncommon, especially for as long as it's been going on. I go out in the morning and check on my butterfly plants (host and nectar), water what needs watering, then return inside to the a/c. 

Dh and I have been taking a Grow Your Own Food class at out local agriculture extension center and they've been giving out some freebie seeds. Those are the ones I'll be starting soon. In the meantime I love seeing all your lovely gardens and delicious harvests!

[Sneezyone]

I let my cilantro plants go to seed so now I’m dehydrating coriander seeds to replenish my spice jar. 🤓

My celery pickles turned out tasty! I could chop or pulse it and use in place of pickle relish. Woot!

My tomatoes are so stinking heavy and juicy but are only sloooowly ripening. I have yet to devise a solution for their weight and we’re expecting more storms. 

My honeynut squash are flowering now so I should have some of those this fall.

I need people in my life who appreciate how heavy these tomatoes are right now. 🤦🏽‍♀️

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, popmom said:

@Faith-manorthats a LOT of tomatoes!! 
 

I’m really impressed because I planted Amish paste, too, but I won’t have nearly that many. And yours may ripen before mine! Maybe I need to move a little further north. 😉

I have no idea! Really. These things have been just stupid. And if you look at them, you would wonder if they are healthy. I have never seen a plant, seemingly healthy, with such propensity for weak, pathetic, no spine, stems, leaves drooping and often flipped over, and just ridiculous looking. Never. I spend all my garden time trying to devise ways to prop the dumb things up! They make me crazy. And yet they bloom like mad, and have baby tomatoes all over them. I propped up another branch today. It has easily 1.5 maybe 2 lbs of green tomatoes on it, and can't find the will to hold itself up. They remind of shopping with a toddler, and when you say it is time to leave, they drop to the floor and become dead weight you have to try to drag. I swear these are the most disobedient plants in the entire botanical realm. But, if even half the blooms produce tomatoes and those ripen and are healthy, usable fruits, I am going to have 2-3 bushels. No joke. I have been calculating, and believe this could be in the realm of 51 quarts of tomatoes/sauce/salsa.

Now here it the most crazy thing of all. 51 quarts is not enough. I will still need to buy another 2-3 bushels because our bachelor sons, the foodies, want a stockpile of one quart per week. They make award winning chili and beef stew with it. On top of that, they would like me to make up 21 pints of salsa for them. I have been collecting jars at garage sales, and purchased bulk lids (I already have likely 300 rings from previous years' canning). But at 7 quarts a load or 14 pints, I am feeling a bit weak in the knees just thinking about it.

I don't trust these plants. I see all of these baby tomatoes, and just feel like these weasel plants are going to just create a whole bunch of useless green fruit that will never ripen. I mean, I have one cherry tomato that has decided to make world record sized cherries - something I do not want because I want to dehydrate them - and only 1 out of 30 or so on that plant has actually ripened. Every last one of them just remain green. My hope is this has something to do with two weeks of wildfire smog, and that now that our AQI is back in the healthy range, they will buck up and start ripening. But I don't know. Every other vegetable plant in my garden is beinf, good, obedient, doing what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it plants. The tomatoes may make me balmy in the head!

[Faith-manor]

1 minute ago, Sneezyone said:

I let my cilantro plants go to seed so now I’m dehydrating coriander seeds to replenish my spice jar. 🤓

My celery pickles turned out tasty! I could chop or pulse it and use in place of pickle relish. Woot!

My tomatoes are so stinking heavy and juicy but are only sloooowly ripening. I have yet to devise a solution for their weight and we’re expecting more storms. 

My honeynut squash are flowering now so I should have some of those this fall.

I need people in my life who appreciate how heavy these tomatoes are right now. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Gorgeous!

[Faith-manor]

Also, I planted a whole bunch of bell peppers, chili peppers, and jalapenos. I got the chili and jalapenos mixed up, and didn't have them labeled. Now I am getting a bunch of baby peppers, and I am embarrassed to admit, I am not sure which is which. We harvested one light green pepper, and I thought it was a chili...carefully removed the seeds and such. But it wasn't that hot, so it makes me think maybe it was a jalapeno. However, it occurred to me that maybe when chilis are harvested green, they are very very low on the Scoville rating. I guess next month I will know since they will be bigger, and if chilis, starting to turn red. Or then maybe not? Note to self, do NOT mix your plants up, and for goodness sakes, label things if you are a greenfoot that doesn't know what the heck you are doing.

[Sneezyone]

34 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Gorgeous!

That German Johnson is 1.3lbs. SMH.

[Faith-manor]

10 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

That German Johnson is 1.3lbs. SMH.

Wow!!! That is so impressive.

[Sneezyone]

5 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Wow!!! That is so impressive.

Thanks. I’m not even all that sure what I’ve done differently this year except add blood meal around all of the tomatoes when planting? I put a fish head in last year but maybe the blood meal is better?

I just spent the better part of an hour outside. My DH lent me his height and strength to pull/hold the tomatoes up so I could rebuild my cages after the storm…2 quarts of sweat later and VOILA!! I am so stinking grateful for this man tuh-day!!! ETA: I wish I had a before picture. I was so in my feelings that I couldn’t go out there.

Edited July 6, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Sneezyone said:

Thanks. I’m not even all that sure what I’ve done differently this year except add blood meal around all of the tomatoes when planting? I put a fish head in last year but maybe the blood meal is better?

I just spent the better part of an hour outside. My DH lent me his height and strength to pull/hold the tomatoes up so I could rebuild my cages after the storm…2 quarts of sweat later and VOILA!! I am so stinking grateful for this man tuh-day!!!

Looks awesome!

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Looks awesome!

I am so relieved. There were flower and fruit casualties but nothing like it would have been with another heavy rain.

[Serenade]

5 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

That German Johnson is 1.3lbs. SMH.

Wow!

[itsheresomewhere]

I am cracking up at your Amish paste . Been growing it for years and while they are not going to win the beautiful plant award, they produce so well. Just a warning but once they start to ripen, it will feel like they are coming in all at once.  And they will produce for awhile especially if you hoop them before frost .

[Serenade]

On 7/3/2023 at 3:42 PM, popmom said:

I planted Dragon’s Tongue late, but they are getting there! Very tasty beans! 
 

This is my first year growing zinnias. They are kinda puny looking. Should I cut them?

Zinnias will bush out if cut back, but I rarely do that.  This year the deer did it for me. 😑 It took about 3 weeks to recover from the deer mauling, but they are now starting to bloom.

[Serenade]

On 7/3/2023 at 4:45 PM, Sneezyone said:

Thanks! It's the wild rocket kind, spicier than most but holds up so well to the heat! I planted regular rocket too and it wilted easily and bolted quickly.

I will try that kind, too. The kind I grew this year rapidly went to seed. Thanks for the info!

[Sneezyone]

22 minutes ago, Serenade said:

I will try that kind, too. The kind I grew this year rapidly went to seed. Thanks for the info!

You can see it there in the front bed, all bushed out after being cut last week for dinner. When my fam came for DDs graduation last month, we had a cookout and served grilled zucchini from the garden and added arugula to the salad. Still going strong!

I do not have a big garden space. I would like to add oooooone more bed for asparagus, lemongrass (I am determined to make it a perennial here) and more tomatoes but this is good. My neighbor is tickled pink when I bring him Italian veg. Last year it was pepperoncinis, this year, I succeeded with Melanzana eggplant. ☺️

I feel guilty being wild/wooly with my landscaping so I pay them in veg. 🤣

Edited July 6, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

Has anyone made polish tomato pickles? I’m thinking about it using my early cherry tomatoes for this experiment. I have some romas ripening but I’d like to save those for the freezer.

I grabbed some garden herbs this morning and I *think* these are oak leaves? Are grape leaves a decent substitute to add tannins to the jars just in case these aren’t the right leaves? I think I could snatch a handful of those from the jaws of the Japanese beetles.

[Faith-manor]

7 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Has anyone made polish tomato pickles? I’m thinking about it using my early cherry tomatoes for this experiment. I have some romas ripening but I’d like to save those for the freezer.

I grabbed some garden herbs this morning and I *think* these are oak leaves? Are grape leaves a decent substitute to add tannins to the jars just in case these aren’t the right leaves? I think I could snatch a handful of those from the jaws of the Japanese beetles.

I think the accepted substitutes are bay leaves and mustard seeds. I am pretty sure if you use oak or maple you will get a funny flavor.

[Sneezyone]

19 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I think the accepted substitutes are bay leaves and mustard seeds. I am pretty sure if you use oak or maple you will get a funny flavor.

Upon further reflection/research, it seems anything the beetles like is fair game for inclusion, including my raspberry leaves. Follow the damage, find the tannins, in which case, I’m on the right track. I’ll grab some of the grape leaves and raspberry leaves too.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Sneezyone

[wisdomandtreasures]

Those #+!?*@ stupid chickens ate all my lettuce and onion sprouts! 

They went bye-bye last weekend. More lettuce and onions were promptly planted. 

Stupid freaking chickens! 

The lettuce and onion carnage was not the only reason we got rid of them, but it was the final straw! They were my son's. He begged and begged for them. We got them last May and he took great care of them for the first two months. After that, he got bored so it's been a year of frustration that ended in one escaping, one starving to death because he wasn't caring for them (despite having their care added to his daily list and my reminders), and then he just completely stopped checking for eggs (which he said he wanted to sell! So we were paying $40+ a month on feed for nothing) so after they were gone my husband checked and there were probably 100 eggs all over the coop (because would my son find the blasted ceramic dummy egg and put it in the nest box? No!). "Give your kids farm chores!" they said. "It'll teach them responsibility and instill a strong work ethic!" they said...

Never again! 

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Sneezyone said:

Upon further reflection/research, it seems anything the beetles like is fair game for inclusion, including my raspberry leaves. Follow the damage, find the tannins, in which case, I’m on the right track. I’ll grab some of the grape leaves and raspberry leaves too.

I just read about raspberry leaves being good for this. So yay, another option!

[Sneezyone]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I just read about raspberry leaves being good for this. So yay, another option!

So, it’s Friday, and l’m anxious for the weekend. I’ve been using my active movement breaks to explore what’s already growing in the yard and it occurred to me that all the little acorn seedlings that I’m constantly yanking out provide, duh, smaller and more tender oak leaves so I plucked a few of those.

Then I found a volunteer cherry tree hidden behind/under a camellia bush, probably a gift from the birds, but their leaves are supposedly good for this as well so I grabbed a few of those.

This is the recipe I’m going to use: https://happykitchen.rocks/russian-grandmas-pickled-tomatoes/

FTR, my husband finds this whole thing beyond extra. I’m like, do you even know me? Extra is my other name. 🤓 How do you know what works best if you don’t try different combos?

Edited July 7, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Faith-manor]

Question, and I recognize that this might be unanswerable because my plants seem to defy logic.

Are Amish Paste plants supposed to have scoliosis? Mine have the most amazing S spines, and frankly, it is bugging the tar out of me because I spend so much time trying to tie them up to their cages. My moms Early Girl tomatoes grew up nice and tall, straight and strong. I am very jealous. She put tomato cages over them before they got very big, and they too them just fine, and are well supported. But mine look like they need orthopedic surgery.

I keep saying I am not going to let them bother me anymore. And then they manage to annoy me again. I may need therapy. 

[SHP]

Just now, Faith-manor said:

Question, and I recognize that this might be unanswerable because my plants seem to defy logic.

Are Amish Paste plants supposed to have scoliosis? Mine have the most amazing S spines, and frankly, it is bugging the tar out of me because I spend so much time trying to tie them up to their cages. My moms Early Girl tomatoes grew up nice and tall, straight and strong. I am very jealous. She put tomato cages over them before they got very big, and they too them just fine, and are well supported. But mine look like they need orthopedic surgery.

I keep saying I am not going to let them bother me anymore. And then they manage to annoy me again. I may need therapy. 

What is the sun situation? I have some full sun plants that get like that because there is an overhang of the house and they have a small amount of shade for a short time. They are all dramatic about it, the plants that ended up not even two inches out are happy. I moved some plants earlier this spring and will probably move some of the more dramatic ones this fall. Just not my hibiscus since it's someplace I need to fill in space and the rest of summer it will be out of the teeny bit of shade. 

[Rosie_0801]

I've just planted a dwarf blue java banana and I'm sure it would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

[Faith-manor]

58 minutes ago, SHP said:

What is the sun situation? I have some full sun plants that get like that because there is an overhang of the house and they have a small amount of shade for a short time. They are all dramatic about it, the plants that ended up not even two inches out are happy. I moved some plants earlier this spring and will probably move some of the more dramatic ones this fall. Just not my hibiscus since it's someplace I need to fill in space and the rest of summer it will be out of the teeny bit of shade. 

Well, they get 6 hours of sun pretty directly and then they habe some shade but not a lot. The cherry tomatoes which are interesting the same bed have lovely, strong stems.

I swear these Amish paste have secret meetings behind my back just to plot all the ways they can make me go crazy! It is penance for years of being a serial plant murderer. 😂

I can't move the dumb things. They are in a raised bed that is 2.5' deep, 3' wide, and 13' long. Next year, if I grow them again, I am moving them to a new bed that will be 8 hours or more...very strong sun. My peas and carrots are going to go into the Amish Paste current bed.

[Faith-manor]

53 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I've just planted a dwarf blue java banana and I'm sure it would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Holding your banana into the light! 😁

[Rosie_0801]

I just read that bananas are happy to have citrus peel included in their mulch, which is thrilling because I have more oranges on my tree at the moment than I know what to do with and the worms in my worm farms don't like them.

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I've just planted a dwarf blue java banana and I'm sure it would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

🤣😂

[Sneezyone]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Question, and I recognize that this might be unanswerable because my plants seem to defy logic.

Are Amish Paste plants supposed to have scoliosis? Mine have the most amazing S spines, and frankly, it is bugging the tar out of me because I spend so much time trying to tie them up to their cages. My moms Early Girl tomatoes grew up nice and tall, straight and strong. I am very jealous. She put tomato cages over them before they got very big, and they too them just fine, and are well supported. But mine look like they need orthopedic surgery.

I keep saying I am not going to let them bother me anymore. And then they manage to annoy me again. I may need therapy. 

I need a picture. I’m having a hard time visualizing. All of my indeterminate tomatoes have somewhat S-shaped spines at this point partly because of how they grew and partly because of the weight of the fruit. Both the Romas and the San Marzanos have leaves that grow out then down then out. They’re plenty healthy. I do trim off bottom branches as they get taller and the leaves start to yellow. I also pinch off suckers. I just started pinching the tops off.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Faith-manor]

11 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

I need a picture. I’m having a hard time visualizing. All of my indeterminate tomatoes have somewhat S-shaped spines at this point partly because of how they grew and partly because of the weight of the fruit. Both the Romas and the San Marzanos have leaves that grow out then down then out. They’re plenty healthy. I do trim off bottom branches as they get taller and the leaves start to yellow. I also pinch off suckers. I just started pinching the tops off.

It's raining so I can't take a pic right now. But if yours have S spines, that makes me feel better! 😁

I never thought about the weight of the fruit contributing to this.

[Serenade]

On 7/5/2023 at 9:38 PM, Sneezyone said:

You can see it there in the front bed, all bushed out after being cut last week for dinner. When my fam came for DDs graduation last month, we had a cookout and served grilled zucchini from the garden and added arugula to the salad. Still going strong!

I do not have a big garden space. I would like to add oooooone more bed for asparagus, lemongrass (I am determined to make it a perennial here) and more tomatoes but this is good. My neighbor is tickled pink when I bring him Italian veg. Last year it was pepperoncinis, this year, I succeeded with Melanzana eggplant. ☺️

I feel guilty being wild/wooly with my landscaping so I pay them in veg. 🤣

A gardener never has enough space!  I stuck various veggie plants in all kinds of interesting places this year.  I have tomatoes, peppers and eggplant somewhat hidden in my front flower bed.  I made use of the spot where a plum tree died, and planted a tomato in the space until I can get a new plum.  When my DH cut down the nandinas, I promptly used the now sunny space in front to plant veggies and herbs.  Sigh.  I still have 2 homeless tomato plants and 1 homeless pepper.  If I can find a spot for them this week, they still may produce this year.  Things grow quickly right now.

[Faith-manor]

3 hours ago, Serenade said:

A gardener never has enough space!  I stuck various veggie plants in all kinds of interesting places this year.  I have tomatoes, peppers and eggplant somewhat hidden in my front flower bed.  I made use of the spot where a plum tree died, and planted a tomato in the space until I can get a new plum.  When my DH cut down the nandinas, I promptly used the now sunny space in front to plant veggies and herbs.  Sigh.  I still have 2 homeless tomato plants and 1 homeless pepper.  If I can find a spot for them this week, they still may produce this year.  Things grow quickly right now.

I agree. In addition to the two raised beds Mark is going to add to my growing menagerie of raised beds, I am going to use our small rototiller, and grind up some grass in another sunny spot, actually two spots. One is getting sweet corn, and the other sun flowers. Less mowing, more food and pretty too. Both of those plants are lovely to look at. I am also going to plant all 10 of my 5 gallon buckets to broccoli so I vacate the bed that had 8 broccoli in it this year, so I can grow more oregano in between more celery or carrots or something, anything. Now that I am having some success, I have this desire to plant more. I think the small planter that had the four dwarf snow pea plants and the scallions will get butter crunch lettuce. 

I have been sketching on graph paper trying to work out all the spaces I will have next year. Even my bell peppers will need to be companion planted with something else because they are getting huge, and competing with my eggplant. The chili peppers have gone wild, yet are shorter so I am thinking about bell peppers, chili peppers, jalepeno, and basil in the one 13 ft bed. It is 3 ft wide so I think I can get all of them together and not get to crowded. Then I have a 4x4 bed, and a 6' long, 3' deep, and 3' wide water trough. I think these will be tomatoes. I have a 2' wide x 6' long raised bed for carrots and radishes. One more pallet bed will be added for green beans which should get me up to 40 ish plants. So the two new beds can be other things which will include broccoli but also have to decide what else.

Ya'll, I have something hilarious to report. Remember when I cut the rest of my broccoli heads and baby crowns, and then pulled the plants? Well, I was in a big hurry, and though I knew they would need to be chopped up in order to compost better, I thought, "I am going to toss them in now, cover them with a few leaves, and then run the rototiller through their later because I do not have time to deal with it." Ya. I did. It. And then I totally forgot to go do anything about those plants and their roots. Can you guess? Oh yes. I have broccoli plants that rerooted int he compost and are growing.

😂😂😂😂😂 I am such a ridiculous gardener!

Edited July 8, 2023 by Faith-manor

[itsheresomewhere]

15 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Question, and I recognize that this might be unanswerable because my plants seem to defy logic.

Are Amish Paste plants supposed to have scoliosis? Mine have the most amazing S spines, and frankly, it is bugging the tar out of me because I spend so much time trying to tie them up to their cages. My moms Early Girl tomatoes grew up nice and tall, straight and strong. I am very jealous. She put tomato cages over them before they got very big, and they too them just fine, and are well supported. But mine look like they need orthopedic surgery.

I keep saying I am not going to let them bother me anymore. And then they manage to annoy me again. I may need therapy. 

Yes.  They are not a stand up pretty plant but the flavor they have makes up for their looks. 

[Sneezyone]

Oh! I remembered something more I added this spring when I was prepping my beds…azomite (heavy in potassium and trace minerals). I tilled and amended with compost, perlite, bloodmeal, azomite, and a slow-release, all purpose fertilizer. 

This mix seems to be working really well for the tomatoes and peas but is less successful for my peppers which were more productive with an all purpose blend last year. It could be the pepper varietals I’m growing too, more hot ones this year including yellow jalapeño and scotch bonnet. I’m getting lots of Melanzana eggplants now and my Saitama is finally starting to bloom.

[popmom]

On 7/8/2023 at 1:31 PM, Sneezyone said:

Oh! I remembered something more I added this spring when I was prepping my beds…azomite (heavy in potassium and trace minerals). I tilled and amended with compost, perlite, bloodmeal, azomite, and a slow-release, all purpose fertilizer. 

This mix seems to be working really well for the tomatoes and peas but is less successful for my peppers which were more productive with an all purpose blend last year. It could be the pepper varietals I’m growing too, more hot ones this year including yellow jalapeño and scotch bonnet. I’m getting lots of Melanzana eggplants now and my Saitama is finally starting to bloom.

I just ordered some azomite. My soil is lacking--something. My tomatoes are mealy. That has been very disappointing. 

[SHP]

Started the next hardscaping project. Staked where to dig. Went around with a spade and loosen the ground and make the first few inches easier to remove and to clearly mark where to dig.

Walked outside to find a "helper" digging in the wrong place. This will result in a lot more work for me. 

[Sneezyone]

Our hardscape project (above-ground deck replaced with ground-level patio) starts next month. This is two years in the pleading/making. If there's enough budget leftover, we'll redo the master bath too. We renovated when we moved in but the shower stall was done incorrectly and needs to be fixed. SMH.

4 hours ago, popmom said:

I just ordered some azomite. My soil is lacking--something. My tomatoes are mealy. That has been very disappointing. 

I invested in a soil tester today. My soil is in the 'ideal' range but that's after adding epsom salt (which I didn't need). Turns out what I needed to add was calcium and blood meal (for the tomato/pea bed) and calcium and BONE meal for the squash/onion bed. Lessons are STILL being learned. I've decided on a plan for the fall which is to co-plant bush beans with the squash in Bed#1, plus brassicas and herbs alongside. In Bed#2, I'm going to plant peppers in place of the petered out beans, next to the tomatoes which, at this rate, will produce through October. My butternut squash plants are thriving where my corn experiment proved a spectacular failure (right next to the petering out beans in Bed #2). I'm still hopeful. I picked my first two Turkish/Melanzana eggplant this weekend. Tiny little suckers but...interesting!

[popmom]

12 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Our hardscape project (above-ground deck replaced with ground-level patio) starts next month. This is two years in the pleading/making. If there's enough budget leftover, we'll redo the master bath too. We renovated when we moved in but the shower stall was done incorrectly and needs to be fixed. SMH.

I invested in a soil tester today. My soil is in the 'ideal' range but that's after adding epsom salt (which I didn't need). Turns out what I needed to add was calcium and blood meal (for the tomato/pea bed) and calcium and BONE meal for the squash/onion bed. Lessons are STILL being learned. I've decided on a plan for the fall which is to co-plant bush beans with the squash in Bed#1, plus brassicas and herbs alongside. In Bed#2, I'm going to plant peppers in place of the petered out beans, next to the tomatoes which, at this rate, will produce through October. My butternut squash plants are thriving where my corn experiment proved a spectacular failure (right next to the petering out beans in Bed #2). I'm still hopeful. I picked my first two Turkish/Melanzana eggplant this weekend. Tiny little suckers but...interesting!

I need to do a soil test. These are new beds I made this year. I didn't want to keep planting the same stuff in the same beds. I filled the bottom with leaves and partially composted grass clippings. Then on top I put the recipe for "Mel's Mix", so I thought I'd be okay. I'm wondering if all the the partially composted leaves and grass are eating up all the nitrogen as they decompose.

idk, everything is growing like crazy though--lush and green. 

I have recently added bone meal, Tomato Tone, and a bunch of Neptune's Harvest fish emulsion that I applied much stronger than recommended because it rains every single day lately. I put this on everything except my beans and okra. There's still a lot of season left for my maters and peppers, so fingers crossed...

Edited July 10, 2023 by popmom

[popmom]

Went outside yesterday and found evidence of hornworms on two tomato plants. I couldn't find the suckers, so I went back out as soon as it was dark with my blacklight. I found them right away. One on each plant. They were huge! icky. I got them, though. I suppose I'll go out again tonight.

I am really enjoying having fresh lettuce from the Aerogardens. The Merlot variety does really well in hydroponics. Better than buttercrunch. I have a variety of turnips (grown for the greens--no big roots) in my diy hydro set up, and they are doing well, too. Love, love, love!

Tomatoes are gradually getting tastier, so I am optimistic. I got my Azomite, so I should probably try to work some of that in before it rains today. 🙂

 

[LifeLovePassion]

No veggies this summer for me. Flowers are blooming though.

[Faith-manor]

21 minutes ago, LifeLovePassion said:

No veggies this summer for me. Flowers are blooming though.

Beautiful!

[Faith-manor]

We have harvested our first green beans, first carrot, several more radishes, and first scallion. Cucumbers are trying to take over the world. I am afraid to leave on vacation tomorrow because I feel like I will the victim of a horror film on my return, and those things will have eaten the entire yard. Is it okay to prune them? I have pruned the tomatoes so they have some air flow, and because they cannibalized two basil plants, and one marigold. I wish they would stop worrying about growing and now actually make an effort to ripen some tomatoes!

Still getting peas. Every time we think they are going to die back and stop blossoming, we get overnight coolness which seems to revive them.

[Loowit]

My pumpkins are doing well on their arch.  We have got a few, but not as many as I had hoped.  We just don't have enough bees this year to pollinate.  My tomatoes plants are huge and producing tons of flowers, but not much tomatoes.  The plant with the smaller cherry type tomatoes has a few, but the other one only has one tomato so far.  I am pretty disappointed.

My roses on the other hand did really well, even the ones we transplanted this year, but my sunflowers aren't looking great.  They are growing really slowly and I have lost several.  I think that it is the heat.

 

[popmom]

@Faith-manor my tomatoes are crowding out my basil, too. It’s such a jungle out there—I wouldn’t know where to start!

[Sneezyone]

5 hours ago, Loowit said:

My pumpkins are doing well on their arch.  We have got a few, but not as many as I had hoped.  We just don't have enough bees this year to pollinate.  My tomatoes plants are huge and producing tons of flowers, but not much tomatoes.  The plant with the smaller cherry type tomatoes has a few, but the other one only has one tomato so far.  I am pretty disappointed.

My roses on the other hand did really well, even the ones we transplanted this year, but my sunflowers aren't looking great.  They are growing really slowly and I have lost several.  I think that it is the heat.

 

Swoon! I have considered an arch lo these many moons.