The poop is low-burn high-nitrogen fertilizer. The birds till the soil, eat the bugs and turn them into fertilizer.
They can sleep, lay and brood upstairs (safe from predators) and be let down in the day (or out to free range).
Posted on 07/03/2009 4:00:47 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good morning to all of you gardeners. I hope every one of you have a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend! Since just about everyone grows tomatoes in their vegetable garden I thought I would share some information I stumbled across concerning when to pick your tomatoes.
Every tomato lover knows fresh, “vine-ripe” flavor is by far the best.
At the same time, many don’t know what “vine ripe” means. So, whether growing or buying tomatoes, they may be limiting their access to the top flavor of the season.
Tomatoes develop their optimum nutrition, color and flavor when they’re in the full red-ripe stage. But getting to that point doesn’t have to occur on the plant.
Tomatoes go through specific steps in developing “vine ripeness”:
* A gas called ethylene regulates the ripening process. Tomatoes start producing this gas internally when they reach full size and become pale green.
* When tomatoes turn about one-half green and one-half pink (called the breaker stage), a layer of cells forms across their stem, sealing them off from the main vine. At this stage, tomatoes can ripen on or off the vine with no loss of quality or flavor.
* Tomatoes don’t ripen at refrigerator temperatures. If harvested in the breaker stage, however, keeping them in a cool place (to a minimum 50 F) will slow down their ripening process. Keeping them warm (to a maximum 85 F) will rapidly bring full ripeness. And, once ripe, they can keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.
This kind of control allows you to spread out the good eating over a longer period. A breaker-stage harvest also allows you to protect tomatoes from the heat extremes of summer. Tomatoes can’t form their red pigments when temperatures are above 95 degrees. They’ll still ripen, but they’ll end up a yellowish-orange.
Leaving tomatoes to ripen on the vine also increases the odds for cracking and other types of damage. Plus, it puts an increasing weight load on the viney plant.
I’ve got a question related to gardening for all the folks that do multiple crops or succession planting...
I have about 500 square feet of raised beds needing a crop to be planted for fall. I’m probably going to sterilize several beds (black plastic mulch for the duration of the season) and I might also put in a cover crop for turning over late season and building a little tilth. The soil is a heavy clay loam but the fertility is quite high according to the USDA.
I’m considering some fall kraut cabbage, but I need some more ideas soon because I’m too tired to wander through catalogs looking for solutions. Of course, the rest of the garden is competing with the house for attention, the orchard needs some time, and then there’s the winter wood supply . . .
Any ideas out there would sure be appreciated!
Curious about the picture on you profile page. "Anvil shoot"?
Yes, it’s an anvil shoot. Have a friend who puts them on every 4th of July. But, that’s not me in the photo. I took the picture. I had a great time-line going of the whole process from loading to shooting it, except the memory card got full right before the big bang. I’ve tried for 3 years to get the bang but keep missing it. This year will be my last chance to catch it. It’s the last anvil shoot my friend will be doing here.
NH’s Governor Lynch aigned a ‘gay marriage’ bill last month, and it been in the upper 50’s with rain ever since. Upper 50’s...more than TWENTY degrees below normal. Thank the Almighty for container gardening...I am able to move things around to avoid the rain; and all veggies are still doing well.
I'd be interested in seeing pictures.
I've been watching my first ripening tomato all week...will pick it today for a scrumpous BLT today!
I'm thinking of replanting that area in peas...food for me and for the soil.
My zucchini plants will soon be pulled...in time for the straight neck yellow squash that I planted from seed. By the end of the summer, I may turn into a sqash. LOL
Thanks for this thread, Red Devil. I love to read it and all the posts of people who enjoy growing things as much as I do. Tarheel: My grandpa always planted his fall crop of turnips by August 15.
You should see the tomatoes plants I am growing from seed I saved last year. There is NOTHING like growing a nice fat garden right from seed...
I picked more tomatoes early today. We have several drink flats full now. Some of those will be put up today. Squash are still producing well.
Have a great Fourth of July tomorrow!
The local Saturday and Sunday garden shows were talking about getting red Christmas balls and some Styrofoam balls and hanging them on the plants early in the growing season. Birds try to eat them and think they are the worst tomatoes ever and will let the garden alone. I am doing that next year.
Great advice!
We have been eating new potatoes for several weeks now.
I planted Yukon Gold. Someone told me to put a little bit of bonemeal with each potato piece when I planted them.
My potatoes are huge. And the plants are still green with some blooms. I dig around the plant and remove one or two potatoes and leave the plant alone to grow more.
Does anyone else use bonemeal?
I have used Steamed Bone Meal in the past. I was buying it at a farm store in 50# or larger sacks and I may do it again this fall. It takes a while to become available but it stays in the soil for some time. I also have to add Dolomite Limestone as the soil here is acidic from the Redwood trees. I don’t put it on the Blueberries...
What is a chicken tractor? All I can envision is a John Deere pulled by a couple of roosters.
Have a great 4th of July weekend RD...
The poop is low-burn high-nitrogen fertilizer. The birds till the soil, eat the bugs and turn them into fertilizer.
They can sleep, lay and brood upstairs (safe from predators) and be let down in the day (or out to free range).
I guess my strawberries are done for the season.
High in potassium, promotes tuber formation.
I'm going to be making a slurry and dumping it near the roots of my tater plants, if I can get in among them. The patch looks like a bonsai tropical rain forest.
Still have a few zukes to come off in a few days. Did not think to put in yellow squash after the zukes are done. Will check out some possibilities later today.
Got my first few eggplants growing, finally. I planted it late so am anxious to see some results. Cukes are still producing nicely.
Sorry, not potassium. Phosphorus.
The second number in fertilizer. The P in N-P-K.
That is best because the birds are your friends. They eat all the big bugs that eat you tomatoes.
Everyone needs to try Armenian cucumbers. Even too big they are great.
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