Gardening: (2016– )

[dcarch]

9 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

I have two and a seedling.

 

Animals got my crop this year :-((

 

Would you like to have my recipes for squirrels?

 

dcarch 😆

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

There was a overnight frost last weekend that did in my 2 zucchini plants but didn't kill my tomatoes.

Still a lot of green slowly ripening as we've been going through an unusually warm late October.

Indoor hot peppers: Carolina Reaper, Habanero and Jalapeno. I had to trash the Jalapeno plant due to a disease problem that I didn't want spreading to the other plants.

 

[KennethT]

@Senior Sea Kayaker Have you ever topped your chilli pepper plants?  I'm debating whether I should top mine but it looks like the keriting is already splitting its apex....

 

Edited Friday at 12:05 AM by KennethT (log)

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

@KennethT

I have topped, and pruned, some of my hot pepper plants. It's dependent on the variety and growth pattern. 

I'm not familiar with the variety you're growing however I tend to top if the plants get too leggy to encourage more side growth.

In the case of jalapenos I always have to top the initial shoot and the side shoots to promote a fuller plant. 

With habaneros it wasn't necessary as the plant produced plenty of side shoots and filled out without any pruning.

Cheers.

 

[KennethT]

Do pepper plants make suckers that need to be removed?  There are a bunch of these sprouting:

[haresfur]

On 10/24/2024 at 10:33 PM, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

There was a overnight frost last weekend that did in my 2 zucchini plants but didn't kill my tomatoes.

Still a lot of green slowly ripening as we've been going through an unusually warm late October.

Indoor hot peppers: Carolina Reaper, Habanero and Jalapeno. I had to trash the Jalapeno plant due to a disease problem that I didn't want spreading to the other plants.

 

 

For what it's worth, my experiment last autumn was successful plucking off all the leaves to get more light to ripen the tomatoes.

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

3 hours ago, KennethT said:

Do pepper plants make suckers that need to be removed?  There are a bunch of these sprouting:

 

I'd leave them and see.

They should fill out the plant and start budding.

Again I'm unfamiliar with that varietal so just my $0.02.

 

 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

1 hour ago, haresfur said:

 

For what it's worth, my experiment last autumn was successful plucking off all the leaves to get more light to ripen the tomatoes.

 

I'll agree to a point. These are indeterminate varietals so I topped them a few weeks ago and removed any suckers and spent leaves.

The 'trick' is to convince the plant its time is up and to put all it's energy to the ripening tomatoes, therefore seed production, so leaves are necessary.

Exposing the tomatoes themselves to sunlight won't make any difference.

 

 

 

[KennethT]

3 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

I'll agree to a point. These are indeterminate varietals so I topped them a few weeks ago and removed any suckers and spent leaves.

The 'trick' is to convince the plant its time is up and to put all it's energy to the ripening tomatoes, therefore seed production, so leaves are necessary.

Exposing the tomatoes themselves to sunlight won't make any difference.

 

 

 

Most tomato plants only need about 4 feet worth of leaves on the vine.  Professional greenhouse tomato growers use indeterminate varieties and let the vine grow to 30 feet long (using a string attached to the roof and leaning the plant as it grows), only keeping the top 5 or so feet full of leaves.  The rest of the vine just has tomatoes.

[KennethT]

12 minutes ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:

 

I'd leave them and see.

They should fill out the plant and start budding.

Again I'm unfamiliar with that varietal so just my $0.02.

 

 

Thanks.  I pinched off the top of one of the keriting plants just out of curiosity so I can compare the two.  Both rawit plants are already compact - I wouldn't attempt pinching them yet.

[curls]

Cleared a bed and planted two varieties of hard neck garlic that I picked up from a local nursery. First time planting both of these varieties but I liked the descriptions. The varieties are Duganski and Romanian Red. I’m hoping that the wildlife doesn’t dig them up.

Nursery descriptions:

- Duganski is a mid-season purple stripe type. A stunningly beautiful garlic with large bulbs and an amazing flavor that matches its looks and size. Purple outer wrappers protect the violet-tinged cloves that burst with a fiery flavor and mellow out with a pleasant aftertaste.

 

- Romanian Red is a late-season porcelain type. A magnificent garlic in every way, these huge heads contain 4-5 fat cloves with a hot, pungent, long-lasting flavor. The silken skin on the cloves is streaked with purple-red, and the heads are wrapped in creamy white. Excellent storage too.