Gardening: (2016– )

**Shelby** · July 10, 2017

Going to haul the dehydrator up today.

Just came in from the garden .....yes, boys, there are those GREEN BEAN things in there.....

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kayb · July 10, 2017

A question, for you tomato-growers out there.

I have a variety of different kinds of tomatoes in my garden -- Romas, cherries, hybrids, heirlooms. I've been getting four or five tomatoes every two or three days, along with a dozen or more cherry tomatoes, in the past few weeks. My plants are pretty well populated with green tomatoes. But for some reason, the ripening seems to have gone on hold, and in the last week, I'd say my tomato take is down to maybe one every three days, and a small handful of cherries.

The plants look no different. The green tomatoes seem to be thriving. There's just a ripening hiatus going on, apparently. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

On the other hand, the cubanelle sweet banana peppers are producing prodigiously. They're a key ingredient in my tomato relish.

And of course, there are the cucumbers. Which, thank all the saints, seem to have slowed down to a manageable pace. I'm getting a couple of zucchini every couple of days, but the yellow squash is slow.

**Shelby** · July 10, 2017

5 minutes ago, kayb said:

A question, for you tomato-growers out there.

I have a variety of different kinds of tomatoes in my garden -- Romas, cherries, hybrids, heirlooms. I've been getting four or five tomatoes every two or three days, along with a dozen or more cherry tomatoes, in the past few weeks. My plants are pretty well populated with green tomatoes. But for some reason, the ripening seems to have gone on hold, and in the last week, I'd say my tomato take is down to maybe one every three days, and a small handful of cherries.

The plants look no different. The green tomatoes seem to be thriving. There's just a ripening hiatus going on, apparently. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

On the other hand, the cubanelle sweet banana peppers are producing prodigiously. They're a key ingredient in my tomato relish.

And of course, there are the cucumbers. Which, thank all the saints, seem to have slowed down to a manageable pace. I'm getting a couple of zucchini every couple of days, but the yellow squash is slow.

Have the temps been into the 100's over there? High temps make them stop ripening. They like heat....but not too hot for long periods of time. It makes them stop producing the chemical that helps them ripen--I forget what they are called.

Toliver · July 10, 2017

Not related to the current tomato question up for discussion, but intriguing nonetheless:

"Tomatoes can turn plant-eaters into cannibals, study shows"

I had previously heard about the chemical release warning neighboring plants. But the cannibalism angle was new to me.

kayb · July 10, 2017

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

Have the temps been into the 100's over there? High temps make them stop ripening. They like heat....but not too hot for long periods of time. It makes them stop producing the chemical that helps them ripen--I forget what they are called.

No. We're getting into the low, mid-90s daily, but haven't hit three digits. Yet.

ChocoMom · July 11, 2017

Well, I did a boo-boo. In my haste to get the garden planted, I neglected to diagram the garden. I even failed to label the rows. So, while I was out pulling weeds today, I came to the conclusion that in about 8 weeks- I will be able to figure out what I planted where.

The potatoes, beans, peas and beets are obvious. Its the brussel sprouts, cabbage, kale, chard and rutabaga that I am clueless about. To top it off, hubby and the kids tossed all the old squashies from the root cellar out into the garden. The chickens and turkeys ate plenty, but some seeds appear to have planted themselves. Now, I have absolutely no idea what is growing all over the south west corner of the garden. Its maddening. No clue what I need to plant elsewhere. Grrrr.

I rototilled today, and will plant the carrot varieties tomorrow morning. Also need to get more of my tomato seedlings planted- because all eight of my tomato plants died. There were 4 Belarus, and 4 of the 50 day BuckBee. I am totally bummed about that. Tomorrow is our last warm day for awhile. Wednesday, we are forecasted to get 3/4" rain with a high of 59F. So much for "summer". =(

JoNorvelleWalker · July 11, 2017

6 hours ago, Toliver said:

Not related to the current tomato question up for discussion, but intriguing nonetheless:

"Tomatoes can turn plant-eaters into cannibals, study shows"

I had previously heard about the chemical release warning neighboring plants. But the cannibalism angle was new to me.

Any word on getting blueberry plants to eat birds?

**Shelby** · July 12, 2017

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rotuts · July 13, 2017

@Shelby

re lettuce bolting

when I had a garden I grew many varieties of bibb and other thiings

never bolted w shade clolth

get 50 %

I got black as that was all they had in the previous century

white might be better

easy to ' hang ' from a few posts about 3 - 4ft high

http://www.gemplers.com/shade-cloth

best stuff ever.

never bolted all summer long

also consider Remay woven cloth for covering beds in very early spring and fall

you will get 2 more months of lettuce and etc.

Edited July 13, 2017 by rotuts (log)

**Shelby** · July 13, 2017

1 minute ago, rotuts said:

@Shelby

re lettuce bolting

when I had a garden I grew many varieties of bibb and other thiings

never bolted w shade clolth

get 50 %

I got black as that was all they had in the previous century

white might be better

easy to ' hang ' from a few posts about 3 - 4ft high

http://www.gemplers.com/shade-cloth

best stuff ever.

never bolted all summer long

also consider Remay woven cloth for covering beds in very early spring and fall

you will get 2 more months of lettuce and etc.

Interesting. Thank you! I will have to look into this for next year.

rotuts · July 13, 2017

sorry , its reemay cloth

https://www.amazon.com/Reemay-Garden-Blanket-67-100/dp/B001FA9SNE

KennethT · July 13, 2017

They sometimes use shade cloth when growing lettuce in greenhouses too. Very effective - lettuce doesn't need or like full sun.

rotuts · July 13, 2017

Lettuce and everything else grows under the Reeay , its very light and you use it for many years.

it also helps warm the earth after your first tilling , which might be when there is still a little snow on the ground

I used 4 ml black plastic after the till and reemay on top of that.

as soon as I could.

warms the soil nicely and w no extra work.

I miss my garden terribly.

I had a large yellow Lab and two seasoned ' hunting ' cats

no bunnies , no woodchucks ever !

rotuts · July 13, 2017

here are three pics scanned at the same time :

top : Reemay

then shade cloth

then my fine gardening tools

cheers !

**Shelby** · July 13, 2017

You had a beautiful garden!

**Shelby** · July 15, 2017

Eggplant!

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shain · July 15, 2017

Plenty of cherry tomatoes this year.

And figs are just starting.

Jacksoup · July 16, 2017

Today's haul. The gardener thinks bigger is better so he lets a lot of squash get over large. The extra large one pictured with the basil was a complete oversight. I also have 3 large zip locks full of frozen yellow cherry tomatos which ripened while I was on vacation. Making the roasted tomato sauce today. Also some fennel fronds with pollen which I'm going to try to harvest.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Jacksoup
Fennel (log)

KennethT · July 18, 2017

I planted 5 yu choi seeds in a rockwool cube and put in my diy cloner on Sunday afternoon... Check this out!!!

KennethT · July 23, 2017

This is the yu choi 7 days after planting - just about to set true leaves. There were 5 plants but I plucked 2 - I usually set 3 plants in one cube; 5 would be too many and would shadow each other.

heidih · July 25, 2017

Grrr - had a full flat of pumpkins sprout within a week and sport several true leaves within another week - done for local botanic garden. Only to find out all mowed down within day of ground planting. Probably cotton til bunnies.... Next flat planted and they will cover/protect

Thanks for the Crepes · July 26, 2017

11 hours ago, heidih said:

Grrr - had a full flat of pumpkins sprout within a week and sport several true leaves within another week - done for local botanic garden. Only to find out all mowed down within day of ground planting. Probably cotton til bunnies.... Next flat planted and they will cover/protect

Surprised to hear that the grounds maintenance crew responsible for ~~taking care of~~ destroying my landlord's property here in Cary gets out to LA to. Sorry for your frustration, and I share it. I won't get started, because if I did, I'm afraid I might manage to get myself banned from the site.

**Shelby** · July 27, 2017

Pulled all of the onions. Ronnie washed them and we let them dry on these screens for a bit. They are now all snug and cozy on shelves in the basement.

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HungryChris · July 28, 2017

Normally, most of the peppers I grow are shishitos, but this year I have a broader selection and here is why. One of the clients of the truck sales and repair shop where deb works is Bonnie Plants. This spring, Bonnie had a truck in for service that required a special order part that would take a few days. The folks at Bonnie Plants said that in that case, the employees at the shop were welcome to help themselves to the entire cargo. Deb was on the phone when the word spread and the melee began and by the time she was able to look, the only things left were a few pickling cukes and hot peppers. Here is my little pepper patch.