Gardening: (2016– )

[KennethT]

That's the problem with habaneros... I love their fruit flavor, but the heat is just way too intense.  I wish I could grow the red, long hot peppers I've seen in SE Asia - they're usually about 4-5 inches long and about 3/4" wide at the widest point, tapering to a point.  They've got great chili flavor, but aren't very hot.  I think I've seen seeds for them from time to time, but I don't know what I'd do with a flush of peppers all at once... there's only two of us, and once frozen or pickled, it's not the same as if you were using them raw and sliced thinly.  I wish there was a such thing as an indeterminate pepper plant that would keep growing for a year putting out a few peppers per week.... that would be awesome...

[Anna N]

35 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I wish there was a such thing as an indeterminate pepper plant that would keep growing for a year putting out a few peppers per week.... that would be awesome...

Perhaps a tomato plant with the same properties would be welcome?

[Martin Fisher]

55 minutes ago, KennethT said:

That's the problem with habaneros... I love their fruit flavor, but the heat is just way too intense.

 

Have you tried Numex Suave Orange? They're mild.

There's also a Numex Suave Red.

[HungryChris]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

Those bells will eventually turn red.

 

What will you do with the habaneros?  I grew them one year....they were pretty, but they were atomically hot.

I have found that a single habanero in a quart of salsa puts just the right heat in it. The heat of jalapenos vary wildly in my experience, even from the same plant. I intend to cook up any excess I may have in a bit of oil, keep it in the freezer, and see if I can use that in salsa during the winter. I make and give away quite a bit. Deb uses it as currency at work, to keeps things running smoothly.

HC

[KennethT]

@Anna N There are - they are indeterminate tomatoes!  Most heirloom varieties are indeterminate.  I grew one hydroponically in the corner of my apartment for almost a year until its roots finally clogged my system and caused a major flood - I had about 20 gallons of nutrient in a pond in the middle of my living room floor!  It was the best tomato plant ever, for the two of us that is... it just kept giving... maybe 4-5 tomatoes per week...  the caveat is that while the plant keeps producing, the vine keeps growing also - so you wind up with a vine about 30 feet long.

 

In fact, most greenhouse tomatoes are indeterminate as well, as they provide steady production for a long time.  Those are usually hybrids though, typically bred more for fungus/disease resistance than for flavor.  Most greenhouses train the vine up a string tied to a truss of the greenhouse's ceiling.  Then, as the plant grows towards the ceiling, they let some string out and lean the plants over to take up the space.

 

@DiggingDogFarm - I have never seen those... I wish I could try one before trying to grow it...  I've got pretty limited space (I'm on the 21st floor in about an 800 sq. ft. apartment) - so unless I want a pepper plant in the bathroom or bedroom (which would be an issue because of lighting), I need to be selective as to what I want to grow in the limited space my living room provides...

[KennethT]

@HungryChris I just noticed, what's going on with your tomato plant... is that a fungus I see?

[HungryChris]

6 minutes ago, KennethT said:

@HungryChris I just noticed, what's going on with your tomato plant... is that a fungus I see?

I think it's called Leaf Roll. It happens every year, but doesn't seem to effect the fruit. The tops grow fast enough to stay ahead of it.

HC

Edited July 28, 2017 by HungryChris (log)

[KennethT]

No, I was talking about the yellowing leaves and the black spots.

[HungryChris]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

@HungryChris I just noticed, what's going on with your tomato plant... is that a fungus I see?

I think it's called leaf roll. It happens every year, but doesn't seem to effect the fruit. The tops grow fast enough to stay ahead of it.

HC

Edited July 28, 2017 by HungryChris (log)

[HungryChris]

19 minutes ago, KennethT said:

No, I was talking about the yellowing leaves and the black spots.

Me too. It seems to happen more in the older plants, like Rutgers and not so much in the newer hybrids. I collect the dead leaves, usually the lowermost ones and remove them to another place.

HC

[KennethT]

Someone put this link on one of the gardening forums I belong to on FB...  I don't know if it's BS or not, but worth a look:

http://theplantguide.net/2017/06/08/7-important-reasons-use-cinnamon-garden/

[kayb]

My garden has just not performed well. I picked three ripe Roma tomatoes today; I don't even have any green tomatoes, to speak of, on my plants.  Bush limas didn't come up well, nor did yellow squash; the zucchini isn't even bearing much. I do have, that I found today, two small watermelons and a cantaloupe. The two outliers are the alien cucumbers that are taking over the planet, and my Cubanelle peppers. I picked a dozen or so reasonably sized cucumbers today, and threw away probably twice that many as big as my arm, and picked very nearly a full gallon of Cubanelles, off three plants. 

 

Part of all this is my fault; a combo of a few days feeling poorly, a few unexpected days on the road, and a totally nuts work schedule in June and July has hurt my ability to get into the garden and work on it, thus it is a huge weed patch with plants here and there. Part of it is that, after an unusually cool, lengthy spring, it hotter than the proverbial "two rats" in July, and I think just scorched most everything.

 

Ah, well. We, by George, have pickles aplenty. And will have more. Half sours are on the agenda after I get back from this next road trip, which will consume the rest of this week.

 

[Shelby]

17 hours ago, kayb said:

My garden has just not performed well. I picked three ripe Roma tomatoes today; I don't even have any green tomatoes, to speak of, on my plants.  Bush limas didn't come up well, nor did yellow squash; the zucchini isn't even bearing much. I do have, that I found today, two small watermelons and a cantaloupe. The two outliers are the alien cucumbers that are taking over the planet, and my Cubanelle peppers. I picked a dozen or so reasonably sized cucumbers today, and threw away probably twice that many as big as my arm, and picked very nearly a full gallon of Cubanelles, off three plants. 

 

Part of all this is my fault; a combo of a few days feeling poorly, a few unexpected days on the road, and a totally nuts work schedule in June and July has hurt my ability to get into the garden and work on it, thus it is a huge weed patch with plants here and there. Part of it is that, after an unusually cool, lengthy spring, it hotter than the proverbial "two rats" in July, and I think just scorched most everything.

 

Ah, well. We, by George, have pickles aplenty. And will have more. Half sours are on the agenda after I get back from this next road trip, which will consume the rest of this week.

 

Well, shoot.  I was hoping that your tomatoes had just taken a little hiatus and would come back on strong.  Do the plants themselves still look ok?  If so, you may still get another round.

[Shelby]

Picked some Silver Queen corn yesterday.  I planted 200 seeds and not even half came up.  I have no idea why.  But, even if I can't freeze any, I'll take what I can get.

 

 

I canned another 4 quarts of tomatoes day before yesterday and one didn't seal.  That irritates me to no end.  Perhaps I should go bath to the water bath method....I dunno.

 

This is my counter right now.  I remember some years having all my counter space filled with tomatoes, but I'll take what I can get this year

 

 

[kayb]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

Well, shoot.  I was hoping that your tomatoes had just taken a little hiatus and would come back on strong.  Do the plants themselves still look ok?  If so, you may still get another round.

 

No, the vines are starting to die off. Which is not uncommon in this part of the year, in this part of the world. My garden gets full sun from about 10 a.m until about 4 or 5 p.m., which is great early in the year, but gets tough in July and August. I think that string of 95+ degree days in July with no rain got it.

 

[dcarch]

As high as elephant's eye?

 

Not yet, may be elephant's belly. 

 

dcarch

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, dcarch said:

As high as elephant's eye?

 

Not yet, may be elephant's belly. 

 

dcarch

 

 

 

I once saw a cartoon with that caption.  The elephant upside down.

 

[dcarch]

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

I once saw a cartoon with that caption.  The elephant upside down.

 

 

People take poetic license. They will do anything to rhythm.

Where can you find elephant in Oklahoma?

 

Corn? Yes plenty.

 

dcarch

 

[chromedome]

On 01/08/2017 at 9:47 AM, Shelby said:

Picked some Silver Queen corn yesterday.  I planted 200 seeds and not even half came up.  I have no idea why.  But, even if I can't freeze any, I'll take what I can get.

 

Several years ago, the manager of the store where I worked was listening to his next-door neighbour bewail the effect of an unusually dry summer on his garden. Seeking desperately for a positive, he finally hazarded, "Well, at least your onions are coming good."

The confused neighbour followed his pointing finger, then scowled and said "That's my corn."

[KennethT]

Getting ready to put the yu choi and cloned herbs back in the main windowsill garden... but first, I have to give it a proper cleaning and sterilizing!

[Shelby]

We planted this tree like 13 years ago--maybe more--and I forgot what it was.  I see now that it's an apple tree .   It's never made fruit before.  Well, they look like apples and they taste like apples, anyway.  Very exciting.

 

 

 

In other news, my artichoke plants have not advanced any further than this:

 

 

First and last time experimenting with this.  I guess there is a reason why you don't see fresh artichokes at the farmer's market in Kansas lol.

[KennethT]

Growing up, we had a few different fruit trees... a couple different apples, peaches, etc.  I seem to remember that we'd have to give the trees some kind of fertilizer every year, otherwise they wouldn't really produce too much fruit.  I have strong memories of driving a stake about 1" in diameter into the ground about 6-12" from the tree trunk, angled inwards, then, once in about 6", moved around to widen the hole.  We then poured in about a handful of some kind of gray fertilizer that looked like small gravel.  I know that's not really helpful, but I was a kid.  We stopped fertilizing the trees after I was about 12 years old or so because the neighbors would wind up stealing most of our fruit before we could pick any!  This was back before you could set up a video camera to watch the thieves in action....

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, KennethT said:

Growing up, we had a few different fruit trees... a couple different apples, peaches, etc.  I seem to remember that we'd have to give the trees some kind of fertilizer every year, otherwise they wouldn't really produce too much fruit.  I have strong memories of driving a stake about 1" in diameter into the ground about 6-12" from the tree trunk, angled inwards, then, once in about 6", moved around to widen the hole.  We then poured in about a handful of some kind of gray fertilizer that looked like small gravel.  I know that's not really helpful, but I was a kid.  We stopped fertilizing the trees after I was about 12 years old or so because the neighbors would wind up stealing most of our fruit before we could pick any!  This was back before you could set up a video camera to watch the thieves in action....

Damn thieves!

 

Thanks, I will research.  The poor tree has really had to fend for itself......We thought it had died a couple years ago but it made a miraculous recovery.

[HungryChris]

Most of my tomato plants are easily over 7 feet tall and being held aloft by all manner of ropes, strings and hooks. Finally, I have a bunch that will be ripe within a day or two. Up until now it has only been the littler orange cherries, which I love.

HC

[dcarch]

4 hours ago, Shelby said:

We planted this tree like 13 years ago--maybe more--and I forgot what it was.  I see now that it's an apple tree .   It's never made fruit before.  Well, they look like apples and they taste like apples, anyway.  Very exciting.

 

 

A dear couple of friends many years ago gave me an apple tree. 

Poor couple. They wanted children. They tried and tried. Went to fertility clinics, nothing. Went to folk "medicine man", nothing.

Same thing with the apple tree. Beautiful lush big tree, but not fruitful.

Then one year, the tree was loaded with sweet crispy apples.

And the wife got pregnant the same year.

 

Be careful

 

dcarch