Weekly Garden Thread - July 16-22, 2022 [Ode to a Tomato Edition]

July 16, 2022 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

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.

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[AppyPappy]

Start feeding a cat outdoors

[AppyPappy]

The volunteer small tomatoes have come back and are almost as prolific as last year. We built a little area up against the house where we dumped all the dirt left from the marijuana crop last year. It will contain some really powerful organic fertilizer. Also the cat used it as her litter box. We planted 6 Early Girls there and they are booming. Cages are a total loss. A pear tomato volunteered there and my peas were an experiment. I’ll harvest them as seed. We also have a purple cherry tomato and another cherry. Peppers seem like a loss and another tomato (unknown) went to the front of the house where the deer trimmed it but it is hanging on.

We got bigger pots for the marijuana(limit of 4 plants) and I planted one directly into the dirt to see what would happen. A relative gave us a bag of his crop from last year and we are pulling it apart to harvest the seeds to give away. There are 3 of us in the group and none of us use it so we don’t mind trying new things.

The big question is how to start a real garden. Where to put it, etc? The front yard a par 3 basically is Southern exposure. We have good dirt for beets in Va.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Eric excellent! Fresh is best! Easy meals with little or no cooking!

Bruchetta with fresh basil, tomato salad w mozzarella, pasta with fresh tomatoes and olives! Olive oil, artichoke, capers, crusty bread!

What types of tomatoes are you growing?

Weather....A few sprinkles passed over KC. Looks like some in the area Camdenton.

(My Daughter and SIL are visiting Gravois Mills (MO) this weekend.)

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

This morning I went out to the garden and found 2 tomatoes ripped up. I went and put some more water in a low bird bath.

The tomatoes were pretty big and in a fenced in area so I suspect squirrels, or possibly a small rabbit that snuck into my garden and did not leave before I locked it for the evening.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Celebrity is our favorite.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Yes, if you use too much calcium nitrate. (”Don’t overdo it!”)

I mix it with other fertilizers including Tomato Tone. No, no blossom end rot any year I have done this.

[Sacajaweau]

I've used the Tomato-Tone for 3 years now. It's economical and a good balance. I have used the Rusted Garden site for helpful hints.

But I'm satisfied with both an extraordinary yield and no end rot.

Last year, every Krim was perfect in color and form (no weird shapes) and taste. To die for....

And my Black Cherry tomatoes outdid themselves last year. Couldn't pick them fast enough.

In another vein...if you haven't tried purple basil...give yourself a treat. Awesome!!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Sacajaweau; Black Krim (Black from Tulsi) is an excellent tomato...its like the aged filet mignon of the tomato world....juicy, mahogany colored, slightly smokey (although that last may be my imagination!)

I have what is left of a 25 lb bag of Tomato Tone.

I am starting to use Dr Earth products.

[GaltAdonis]

"...squirrels, or possibly a small rabbit..."

Squirrels and rabbits can eat tomatoes -
I just looked it up. So you could be right.
I have never had a problems with them, however - but who knows?

Squirrels will eat peaches off of the tree and corn off of
the stalk - I know that. And mockingbirds will strip your
your blueberry bushes clean in an hour.

Hey - we all get hungry, right?
Be vigilant. And Good Luck!

[metmom]

There is far too much wildlife that is as interested in eating my garden as we are.

Fortunately, my garden is out in an open area that gets full sun all day, and we have lots of hawks and owls around. We don’t have much of a squirrel or chipmunk problem although I did see a raccoon family on my porch one night.

I need to keep my 22 more accessible.

[Mrs. Ranger]

“Last week I had over two dozen green plum tomatoes blasting
away on the plants.
Thursday morning I went out - and they were all GONE. “

Many years ago, when we were still living in the mts. of western PA, I went out one morning to start picking my tomatoes to can. As I got closer, I was shocked to see that my entire patch, about 40 plants was - gone! On closer inspection, the wood stakes were laying around haphazardly, either pulled from the ground or broken off at ground level and about an inch of stalk left. The vines and all- GONE! The rest of the garden was untouched.???

In talking with the neighbors,we figured out we had a bear with selective taste. He got my tomatoes, another’s bean patch and another’s sweet corn. LOL!

[GaltAdonis]

"...Start feeding a cat outdoors..."

Yeah - good idea.
Decades ago when Fluffy my Maine coon cat patrolled the
yard there were no problems such as chipmunks eating tomatoes.

Heck, Fluffy even contributed to mole control -
She would lie on the lawn motionless until she felt the
vibrations of a mole burrowing underground - and when
she felt one she would start digging furiously until
she came up with a mole in her mouth.
It was pretty amazing to watch.

You have put it in my mind to get another 'Fluffy'.
Maine coons are very cool and very big cats.
Smart, intelligent, playful and affectionate too.

Hmmmmm....

[GaltAdonis]

"... another’s bean patch ..."

Years ago I had a small patch of pink beans, black beans and pinto beans
in the back corner of the yard.

Driving up in front of the house one day I noticed a deer,
a young buck, munching down on my bean plants.

I went back there and tried to shoo him away.
He just ignored me until I became a nuisance.
Then he just stood there - glaring at me - while huffing
and puffing and stomping his front hooves.

He was making it clear that those delicious bean plants
were HIS and he was not going to stand for any of my
interference.

So I gave up - and decided to NOT have the neighbors call the
police on me for discharging a firearm in close proximity
to neighbors houses. Nor did I want to risk getting kicked
from swatting the deer on it's behind.

That buck ate those bean plants - stems and all - down to
flush with the ground. They must have been pretty good.

[Mrs. Ranger]

I don’t get a chance to post often, but do want to thank you and all the posters, especially the ones who post pictures. This yearI wished I new how, but will have to wait until the grandchildren visit to learn, as I had never seen anything like how my potato patch bloomed . It looked like I was growing flowers. In fact, the whole garden is looking pretty good, although we could use a nice soaking rain, about now.

Except my peppers, which obviously don’t like where I put them this year. :). Lesson learned.

I did pick my first ripe tomato today. The rest are still green as grass, although I have a good number so far.

Right now, I’m canning beans, 50 pts. so far and lots more to go. :)

I save reading this list as a “treat” at the end of the day.

[GaltAdonis]

Yes - they are both "Smart" and "Intelligent".

Oh boy - time for bed for me.

[GaltAdonis]

...I did see a raccoon family on my porch one night....

Decades ago I had a racoon problem.
It / they loved the contents of garbage cans.

Serious mess - garbage all over the yard.
But a neighbor took care of it. (Not Ralph - somebody else, different location.)

[cherry]

you know, we've let the number of critters go a bit too much....

squirrels have done great damage to my garden and I even saw one go into a bluebird house, and later that day, we found a dead bluebird on the ground.....grrrrr.....

I've got my husband doing his great white hunter bit though....

[Paul R.]

A paper wasp got me twice on the back of my right hand yesterday, about .7” apart, then once on left arm. I treated all with Lanacane. The left arm hit diminished after treatment pretty quickly. The right hand double hit diminished too, tho’ not as much. No real swelling. Now 12 hours later I’ve awoken early and the back of my hand has developed moderate swelling (not awful, very slight discoloration of ~ 3 sq. inches), there’s some moderate general soreness in the area, fingers seem fine above the first joint (MCP). I have not experienced this in the past - granted I’ve never been stung twice or thrice (and 2 stings in close proximity, too.) I HAVE had my ring finger swell quite a bit after a sting right on the joint just above my wedding ring.

This though is almost like one time when I sprained some ligaments in my hand. I expect it to be much shorter lived, of course.

But, curiosity: Effect of the venom only? It seems like a lot for a double paper wasp sting. Possible localized allergic reaction of some sort?

[Paul R.]

BTW, 1st inning, wasps 3, Paul R. 0.

2nd inning, wasps 0, Paul R. 5.

3rd inning called due to 2nd inning death of entire wasp team by poison, and incineration of their home and children.

;-)

[Ellendra]

Makes sense. That way you don’t risk killing a pet in a lethal trap, and you don’t risk missing your shot and hitting something else.