Posted on 07/24/2015 1:28:56 PM PDT by greeneyes
The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks.
No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table(recipes)preserving, good living - there is no telling where it will go and... that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us!
NOTE: This is a once a week ping list. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest are welcomed, so feel free to post them at any time.
Thanks for the update and tips. Useful info for sure, and glad to know Johnny is apparently somewhat better.
I understand what you mean about priorities. We all get to that point sooner or later. I miss his posts, but totally get that he can only do so much.
I find my tomatoes are happier if I mulch them. Lots of different ways to do this that will work. I use newspapers on top of the soil and then a layer of hay or raked leaves on top of that to keep the papers from blowing away. I use 6 or so layers of paper overlapped to keep weeds down.
Mulching also prevents soil borne diseases from splashing up on the leaves when it rains or you water.
The second thing I do for blight is spray with bleach.
Take 5oz (exactly) of Clorox concentrate (just that one, other bleaches have different concentrations and that might be too much or not enough of other brands) and add that to 1gal of water. Put that in a pump sprayer and, after the sun goes down, thoroughly spray the entire plant making sure to get under the leaves and around the base of the plant. Don’t do this during the day. Make sure there will be at least 3 hrs before the sun will hit the plants or they’ll burn up. Do this every couple days while you have an active outbreak going on and then prophylactically every week or after a heavy rain.
Your plants will look like hammered hell for a couple of weeks but if the vine is still green they’ll come out with a tomato jungle of new growth. First though, all the leaves that were infected will die off. So patience is rewarded. I usually feed them with a tomato food of some sort (I’m partial to Texas Tomato Food right now though).
The fruit production likely halted if your ambient temps went over 90 in the day and 70 or so at night. Tomatoes don’t like to set fruit when it gets really hot. Although the Cherokee Purple should have less of an issue with the heat. Maybe they’re unhappy for another reason and somebody else will have a good idea about that...
I seem to remember that some use dilute solutions of bleach or baking soda. Maybe they’ll see your post and chime in.
I haven’t actually had much in the way of blight. Gardens Alive has some nice pictures in their catalog of various problems and products for sale to treat them:
We had some sort of the same type problem in a raised bed last fall. Didn’t really get anything but elephant garlic out of that bed. Hopefully you’ll find the problem, darwin it, and have better luck than we did.
I used to crochet quite a bit so that when watching TV I didn’t feel like I was totally wasting time. Now, I don’t watch much TV, as I just hit the TiVo/DVR and think I’ll watch it later. Later I start to watch it and then go to sleep. LOL
Nice to hear from you. Thanks for the update. I’ll have to check out those peanuts. Mine are 120 days, I think. The weather never did get to the point where I thought they would do well. Hubby was going to plant some, but decided against it. Best I remember they did not like wet or cool weather here in Missouri, and that’s what we’ve had a lot of this year.
Please keep us posted on your gardening and crocheting too!
That’s a new one on me. I’ll have to try to remember to research it a bit. TIK would probably know, if he has his computer issues solved.
Just finished lightly sauteeing some chopped up shishito peppers and sealing them in food saver bags. Love my foodsaver. I can make a small size bag and just freeze enough for the 2 of us. I did 5 bags. I’ve tried them a few ways now, favorite is in an omlette. I actually have a few spaghetti squash hiding in a massive plant. More blossoms than I could count so I’ve started cutting them off. I only want 4 or 5! It’s been a great garden year. The mosquitoes have been so bad I got behind on my weeding but I am caught up now. We are hosting a family reunion that started out as 10 people and is now up to 21. It’s a week away.
I like my food saver too. I also like the handy zip lock seal bags that uses a hand held battery operated device for quick packaging of leftovers. If put 2 or 3 servings in fold over sandwich bags and stick them inside the vacuum bags and then use the hand held gizmo and toss in the freezer in a box that I keep for leftovers.
Thank you!!!!!!!
That’s exactly when I do crochet. Hubby likes to watch the evening news and then we watch Perry Mason or something similar for a bit before bedtime. I get a couple hours in that way and still spend time with hubby.
I really should stay away from the seed sites. I find that Shumway has something called ‘Double Red Sweet Corn’. *sigh* I suppose I’ll have to put that on the ‘try’ list for next payday.
The peanuts are touted to grow in a mountain type climate in New Mexico so they might be happier in your area than regular peanuts.
Thank you so much for that update on Johnny.
Hi Everybody!
((((HUGS))))
Not much planting going on here in Phoenix but been busy busy busy!
I’m starting a seed/plant business so getting all the permits, licenses, insurance etc. This has been my dream for a long time and I’m finally doing it!
Wish me luck!
Thanks for the good news about Johnny and the helpful tips which I’ve copied and saved under “Marcella’s Hacks.” I thought hacking was a bad thing, but for some reason people call time- or effort-saving hints “hacks.” Go figger.
“8. To prevent potatoes budding, add an apple in the bag.”
Good to know!
My basement is a huge disappointment- it is not as cool as I expected, so my onions and potatoes are sprouting. I will be trying this method, since my apple trees are running amok and I have plenty to experiment with!
I didn’t know about water and tomato taste. Nor anything about blight. Having escaped Mexifornia, I didn’t know about rain ;) So my plants look naked on the bottom since I stripped off the yellowed leaves and am spraying what’s left with fungicide.
mason jars! I acquired 10 cases for $40 last weekend! So had to but some tattler lids and some extra ball lids (for giving away). The good deal turned expensive, but unwanted to have lids for all my jars- my life seemed incomplete without each jar having a tattler (the new EZ seal ones!) lid.
“I will be trying this method, since my apple trees are running amok and I have plenty to experiment with!”
Good, I hope it works, I didn’t know about this, either.
You are welcome. Good Luck.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.