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Post by paulf on Jul 20, 2014 9:25:52 GMT -5
For the first time I can remember I have had to fertilize tomatoes and peppers. The plants are just way too small for this time of year. Most every tomato plant has fruit and blossoms but the varieties that should be six to seven feet tall are only 4-5. The five to sixers are 3 to 4 feet tall. The peppers, while getting a late start because of replacement (rabbits chewed them down to the ground and friends sent me new plants and some came back) have just not grown. We have plenty of rain, sun and warm temps but no real growth.
The whole garden must have needed more fertilizer than the soil test indicated (or I didn't apply enough) The next few days will see whether I need to get drastic. I used liquid fertilizer with analysis 8-20-15. We will see.
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swamper
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Post by swamper on Jul 20, 2014 20:31:24 GMT -5
Paul: If you've had more rain than normal, it could be that your nitrogen has leached away. If you have well drained soil phosphorus doesn't go very far, once it soaks into the ground, though plant availability can fluctuate. If you use that ratio consistently you'll end up with a lot of phosphorus accumulation in a few years. Are there symptoms other than slow growth, small size? Yellow leaves? red colors in vascular areas of leaves?
Sometimes foliar feeding can help if there are soil problems, or grubs eating roots...
Peppers are funny about night time temperature, they really like heat.
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swamper
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Post by swamper on Jul 20, 2014 20:49:25 GMT -5
The jewel black raspberries I planted 2 years ago are no bigger than the wild ones nearby. I have wild black raspberries, wild dewberries, and wild blackberries very close to my new berry patch. I'm wondering whether those wild plants carry viruses and what the results would be like if they did.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 20, 2014 21:12:13 GMT -5
Paul,
As swamper suggested, you may be short on N in your soil, and that fertilizer you gave them is more of a "bloom" fertilizer, and you don't want them blooming if they aren't very large. I would look for a high N fertilizer, and maybe an organic one, like bat guano, which would also have many other nutrients, in case any are lacking. It's still early for peppers, so hopefully you can get them going soon.
I uncovered my peppers today, and, as expected, I found aphids (happens every year to the covered ones only). I picked about 5 qts of anaheims, anchos, and jalapeños, before spraying them down with a mix of a spice brew I made in the blender (rosemary, garlic, hot peppers, and coriander seed - all things I've seen in commercial brews), and strained into the sprayer. Then I added some pyrethrins and insecticidal soap, and a sprayer/slicker, and totally blanketed the peppers. This usually works well, and I'll maybe do it again next Sun. In about 2 weeks I'll probably be able to uncover it. I'll put some new yellow sticky traps out, and see if any pepper maggot flies show up - they are all over the ones out there now!
The covered peppers in the EB are aphid free, but I still sprayed them. Those plants are huge, and intensely green!
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swamper
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Post by swamper on Jul 21, 2014 5:34:04 GMT -5
Dave: Do you cover your peppers with plastic? I used agrofabric this year and am very pleased with the results. I too removed the covers this weekend. I didnt see insects, but am not sure I'd know what a pepper maggot fly looks like.
I also put some container peppers in the ground. They are small plants by comparison.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 21, 2014 8:14:01 GMT -5
Swamper,
I use the lightest agribon available, and the peppers grow very well, but it must be something about the increased heat and humidity that lets the aphids run rampant. I spray everything with surround w/some DE just before I cover (when I first start seeing flowers), which works for a while, but once the peppers are on, I can't spray that, as it is not easy to remove from smaller peppers.
Surprisingly, I planted a Big Jim in the uncovered area by accident (probably transfered a seedling to a pot where another died, and didn't re-label it!), and I have not found any eggs on those peppers. And milder peppers are usually the ones prone to pepper maggots.
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Post by paulf on Jul 21, 2014 16:36:35 GMT -5
Without excessive rainfall here I don't think we leached out nitrogen. I think the problem was inadequate amounts of N to begin with. I really don't want the tomato plants shooting up with lots of foliage and no fruits. Every plant has some tomatoes on them and blossoms, too. I think I will apply a granular 10-10-10 as side dressing and see what happens after it is watered in. Slowly the plants are growing. I think starting a week later this spring has something to do with growth rates. By August 1 there should be ripe tomatoes. Now my worry is micro-nutrient levels in the soil.
As for peppers, I seem to always have problems getting enough fruit before frost. This year I was way ahead for the first time until the danged wabbits. Open warfare was declared and there are several fewer of the chewers around. I miss my bobcats.
I did side-dress with high N fertilizer today just to see what happens. Thanks for the suggestions.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 21, 2014 19:53:51 GMT -5
Eggplants and tomatoes are really producing well, though this summer has been cooler, so there's no way to tell if any of these varieties are heat resistant. But then, summer's only a third gone...
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 23, 2014 16:24:48 GMT -5
I am in my annual July garden doldrums...I always get to feeling "blah" about the garden when the spring tomatoes go down and the tree fruit and grape harvests are finished. The hot and sticky weather makes it unpleasant to get out and clean up the tomato debris and get the Earthbboxes ready for the next crop, too. But I will get past that "blah" feeling soon...I always do. The peppers and okra and eggplants are still doing well, and I have tomato seedlings in the house to baby until I plant them out next month. Then in September I can start planting some of the fall crops and look forward to some relief from the heat. So if I am a little erratic in posting for the next couple of weeks, it's just me taking a week or two of "mostly-vacation" from gardening, before I jump back in with renewed zeal for the fall.
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Post by meandtk on Jul 23, 2014 17:13:36 GMT -5
My father-in-law is on his deth bed, so we are in LA mostly. My parents take care of the dog and chickens. My garden is let go, and my yard can be cut for hay. Family is first, however. I can pick back up when we've finished over here. Maybe I can get back in time to get my tomatoes put up. I don't want them wasted.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 23, 2014 20:19:33 GMT -5
meandtk sorry about your father in law. Family definitely is first.
Laura, you get another batch of tomatoes in August?
My corn has red tassels? How do I know when it's ready? Does it turn colors?
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Post by stratcat on Jul 24, 2014 12:16:31 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about your father-in-law. Been picking lots of black raspberries. 16 qt. in the freezer! I see today that two tomatoes sprouted at the 85 day mark; both from my lines. Tuesday we had potential for damaging storms, so I tied lots of tomato plants in town. As a line of thunderstorms was bearing down on us, I wore my headlamp and finished tying tomatoes at Mom's at 11pm. Then, it started to rain and storm. Also on Tuesday, I heard my first cicadas singing; are they a harbinger of fall? After dark, I saw a couple lightning bugs in my backyard. On Wednesday, I carted in the peppers in containers from out back. We have a couple colds nights and I don't want to set those little babies back any. I also fed fish emulsion to the edibles and fed the flowers, too. Another lightning bug.
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Jul 24, 2014 22:04:05 GMT -5
Looked out the back door today, saw rain in the sunshine. So I ran to look out the front door, and there it was.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 25, 2014 10:15:10 GMT -5
meandtk, please accept my condolences about your father in law. I wish you and your family peace and comfort in your grief.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 25, 2014 10:21:05 GMT -5
bestofour, I don't usually get ripe tomatoes in August; I plant another set of tomato transplants in August. The hope is to get ripe fruit before frost, which is usually November 20-30 here. Because plant growth, fruit development, and ripening slow down in the cool weather, late season tomatoes are pretty iffy. Some years we have a warm fall and a late frost and they work out. But if we have a cool fall or an unusually early frost, even midseason varieties can be iffy. The safe bet is to grow early-ripening and cool-tolerant tomatoes. I have a range of maturity dates this year, so I will have to wait and see what makes it. Last year I had pretty good success with picking the green tomatoes right before first frost and letting them ripen in the unheated garage. Some did rot, but I was able to use quite a few. And of course I fried some of the green ones. Although I said I don't get ripe tomatoes in August, I do have one Amelia plant which is hanging pretty tough and it has some large fruits on it which should be ripening soon. I have cut down my other tomato plants, but I left Amelia in place. I also rooted a healthy sucker off my Korol Gigantov to plant out once I get the old tomato debris out of the garden. Hopefully those two plants will give me some tomatoes before my baby fall tomatoes start to produce. Red-tasseled corn? Cool - all the corn I have ever grown has had yellowish tassels. I am kind of a noob with corn; hopefully someone with more experience will answer your question.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 25, 2014 12:00:13 GMT -5
Laura, I ordered the non GMO corn seeds from Patriot Supply. All the package says is Sweet Corn so no idea about it. Phil said to pinch the tip of the cob and if pointed wait and if it's blunt it's done. I'll try that.
Interesting on the tomatoes. May try that next year and see what happens. Around here people, including me, are saying how late the tomatoes are coming in. We had some cool temps to start so I'm guessing we'll have tomatoes late in the season. Everything around here is usually burnt up by July and as of today things are still green and growing. I can't remember the last time my squash plants looked good this far into July.
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Post by stratcat on Jul 25, 2014 15:06:13 GMT -5
bestofour, Lots of us peel back the husk just a little to get a look at the kernels to see if they're ripe. They look "filled out" to me. You can also stick your fingernail in a kernel. If the juice is milky looking, it's getting starchy. Plump kernels with clear juice are better for me. I close the husk back up on the ears that I don't pick. Picked more black raspberries today in the three briar patches. Up to 17 quarts in the freezer and I'm getting tired of donating blood, heheh!
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Post by bestofour on Jul 25, 2014 22:36:56 GMT -5
stratcat stratcat, are you making black raspberry jelly or jam? We don't even have that kind in the grocery store.
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Post by stratcat on Jul 26, 2014 16:46:33 GMT -5
bestofour, My friend with the homemade beers/wines, horses and gardens is going to turn it into excellent wine. I just dropped off 12 quarts from last year's pickings in June.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 26, 2014 23:30:26 GMT -5
I have been harvesting large numbers of tomatoes, and eating all of those things I have missed for so long that can only be made with fresh tomatoes from the garden. I have also had some visitors showing up daily, to help me eat these things! LOL Tonight, after making a couple more dishes, using a few more pounds of tomatoes, I realized that I had to do something with the tomatoes that were accumulating, so I halved over 60 of the smallish, dead ripe ones, and put 5 racks of them in my dehydrator. Later in the season I'll freeze some whole ones; I'm not really into canning, as the types for canning simply don't have the flavor when fresh. Drying and freezing are my favorite ways of saving them for later use. I have also frozen a bunch of ratatouille, and eventually I'll make a buch of caponata to freeze.
Soon, it will be the peppers I will have huge numbers of! My early pots are starting to ripen, including the 7 pot and mustard habs. And almost all of the Thai peppers are getting some red (it really is early, for here!). And those Thai Nippon Taka, which were always a favorite of mine, but disappeared from the market a few years ago, seem to be growing true from seeds from some old peppers I found, despite being "hybrids". Only one of 6 plants does not have the peppers growing in clusters - a trait of the variety - and I'll choose the best plant, bag some unopened blossoms, and save some seeds. I will definitely not lose these again!
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Post by paulf on Jul 27, 2014 10:00:04 GMT -5
Picked one tomato, a Nicky Crane, but letting it ripen on the windowsill until maybe tomorrow. Cucumbers are going crazy. I need to reassess how many cukes get planted next year. Two hills this year with four plants per hill. Zucchini are giving us a steady stream, pumpkins are beginning to form fruit, but nothing from the melons yet.
Tomatoes plants are beginning to get bigger and each plant has good sized tomatoes but are all green. Peppers all have blossoms and a few have little, tiny peppers. Green beans were replanted after that part of the garden was let go because we were on the road for a couple of weeks and they are just now blossoming. Amazing they are still going after getting a haircut from the deer a couple of weeks ago. (added a bunch of deer fence).
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Post by stratcat on Jul 28, 2014 21:48:09 GMT -5
It's been more of the same. For the last couple of days, I've been picking berries. 18 quarts in the freezer and I've pretty much had it. As we had severe weather in the area yesterday, I was out tying tomatoes before any storms rolled through. Today, I tied more tomatoes. Carted in my peppers again because we're supposed to be in the hi 40s tonight and still cold Tuesday and Wednesday nights. It took three trips and the plants are under lights again. I really like my garden cart. With the cooler summer temperatures, it looks like I'm getting better than usual fruit set on my tomatoes.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 30, 2014 23:20:08 GMT -5
And I thought 58° (what it got down to here) was low! It was also 8° below average for a high, so I got a lot done today. I uncovered my peppers again, and found some aphids, but not as many, and there was a lot of new growth and peppers. I harvested a bunch of jalapeños, and a few more poblanos, but it's still early for most.
My 7 pot and mustard habaneros are ripening big time! I'll have more than I will be able to use, at least the 7 pots. I haven't tried a fully ripe MH, but they were already very hot when green, and not full sized.
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Post by stratcat on Jul 31, 2014 22:56:21 GMT -5
The week (so far) in gardening: On Monday, I carted peppers in again as we had cold nights ahead. Tied plants and picked berries. Caught a red squirrel at Mom's and gave it a ride further out in the country. 700 feet down the street, I saw a 94 year old woman pushing her mower on her lawn. Wow! I put in some more tomato stakes on Tuesday. Did a little tying. Saw three Goldfinches working on the catnip at Mom's porch step. Wednesday, I fed fish emulsion to my edibles in town. Got into weeding again. Tied tomatoes. Dropped my Coca-Cola barrel off at my house. I have to cut the top off to convert it to a rain barrel. It holds 59 or 60 gallons. The peppers came back outdoors on Thursday. I carted them to the table in the backyard. Potted up five Stock. My potted 2013 Bellingrath Gardens Purple pepper plant (two, really), got eaten down to 4" and 14". Darn rabbits, or deer in Mom's yard. The plants were really tall, so now they'll have a chance to grow bushy. Need to move the shorter one to its own pot. As they had lots of babies, I potted up six BGP. Fed fish emulsion at Mom's. Also, on Thursday, I picked a big handful of black raspberries for Mom. Noticed one of my tomato lines had a seed sprout at ~92 days! At 61 days, I see almost ripe tomatoes on Divlji Polički - Police Pirišče, a nice red cherry. I'm seeing orange on a Sun Gold at 60 days. Fed the flowers. One of the days, I noticed Queen Anne's Lace has a nice fragrance! Glad I let some grow.
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Post by paulf on Aug 1, 2014 10:10:01 GMT -5
Three weeks without rain and last night we got .13 inches. The big rainstorm fizzled before it got here, so the garden gets watered today. The peaches are beginning to ripen. Now if I can beat the raccoons to them. Another two tomatoes out of thirty-five plants. Everything is still pretty green with a few beginning to turn. Late green beans are beaning, peppers are blooming and peppering, cukes are cuking faster than they get eaten and zucchini are slow but sure. Even picked some blackberries. Need to find a better spot for the thornless blackberries.
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Post by stratcat on Aug 2, 2014 23:57:14 GMT -5
On Friday, I saw the first little watermelon on a plant that's growing in a potting mix bag. It's a Blacktail Mountain. I finally got around to mixing up some Plantskydd to spray on my ornamental cabbages and was a day late. The rabbit already started pruning some lower leaves. When I checked the cabbages out on Saturday, they were left alone since Friday. At suppertime on Friday, I sat down in my chair in the backyard and enjoyed the view. I had my headphones on listening to music and ended up falling asleep. Nice nap. Saturday, I picked a cup of black raspberries for Mom. There are still a few more ripening. Had my first tomato; a Divlji Polički-Police Pirišče cherry. Mmh!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 3, 2014 11:30:07 GMT -5
I'm waiting for my first try at fall cucumbers and pole beans to come up. IFAS says those are planted Aug. - Sept. here, but fall plantings on both can be kind of iffy. Depends on how wet it is (fungal diseases), whether we get rough tropical weather, and how bad the pickle worms are when the cukes start developing fruit.
I also have some baby White Acre pea plants growing, and the okra and peppers are still producing well outside. The okra is as tall as me now - I will need a ladder to pick soon. The fall tomato seedlings are growing well indoors, and seem to be on schedule for a late-August transplant.
It's about time to start the broccoli and cauliflower seeds (indoors). So I need to figure out which spots I will have available in September for them, as well as for the first greens, and carrots.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 3, 2014 12:16:03 GMT -5
Turned off the water! LOL Actually, I did that Friday night, as it rained then, Sat. morning, and again last night. Last night, before the rain, I harvested as many tomatoes as I could find that were ripe, or ripening, and now, about 17 hours later, there are many more ready to be picked! This is definitely the best tomato season I have had in many years, due to the mild summer.
Peppers are doing well, as always, and in about a week I should be able to remove the cover from those I have been having aphid problems with. Those Thai nippon takas I grew from saved seeds are doing great, and, as in years past, it is one of the fastest growers, and earliest to ripen. It may well have been a hybrid, as 2 of the 6 plants have the peppers growing normally, all over the plants, while the other 4 have them in clusters, as they have always grown before. Both taste the same, and are ripening at the same rate. I'll bag some buds before they open, and save some seeds, for sure.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 6, 2014 22:45:33 GMT -5
I went out with a 6 qt bowl, to pick my ripe tomatoes before spraying a bicarb/oil fungicide on all of them, and had the bowl filled from just 3 of the plants! I filled another 12 qt and 4 qt, and left a bunch of half-ripe ones for later in the week. Definitely the best crop in several years.
However (there's always that "however"!), several of the varieties are EXTREMELY prone to splitting when it rains heavily, some so much so that I did not get one unsplit ripe tomato after those rains (I have almost 4 lbs. of chunks in the fridge, of the ones I saved pieces from). Yet, a couple varieties I did not get a single split tomato on! I'll make another post with my experiences with all of these varieties, as well as my taste tests, when I finish everything.
One thing I won't be able to tell you (so far) is whether any of these new varieties are resistant to heat. But then, I won't complain!
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Aug 7, 2014 12:47:19 GMT -5
Eggplants, okra, peppers. Trying to get my fall corn transplants in but the heat is killing me. Ready to plant some black crowder peas. And the fall baby maters are outdoors now, really coming to life in their 4" pots. No ripe watermelons yet, I planted them late deliberately to keep them from splitting in the July rains.
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