Weekly Gardening Thread – 2011 (Vol. 27) July 15

Free Republic | 07-15-2011 | Red_Devil 232

[greeneyes]

I find tomato plants to be truly amazing. LOL. The ones in my pots now are the ones I hacked from the garden last year, and stuck in a pot to bring inside.

They provided maters during the winter, and then this spring I hacked them again, stuck them in new pots, and so far they are beating the ones Hubby started from seed, and the ones planted direct this spring.

[Red_Devil 232]

Start out with 3 cups Ground Cherries taken out of their paper husks. Wash them well and put in a pot with 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup water and 1 box powdered pectin.

Bring to a boil and when ground cherries start to burst, mash them good. After they are mashed and boiling add 3 cups of sugar all at once. Return to a boil and boil according to pectin package directions, usually 1-3 minutes.

Put in sterilized jars. Screw on lids and invert for 5 minutes then turn over and allow to cool till lids POP! That's how you know the seal is tight. This recipe will make 3 medium jars or 6 small jars of jam.

You can also do a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Bring to a boil and when ground cherries start to burst, mash them good. After they are mashed and boiling add 3 cups of sugar all at once. Return to a boil and boil according to pectin package directions, usually 1-3 minutes.

Put in sterilized jars. Screw on lids and invert for 5 minutes then turn over and allow to cool till lids POP! That's how you know the seal is tight. This recipe will make 3 medium jars or 6 small jars of jam.

You can also do a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Put in sterilized jars. Screw on lids and invert for 5 minutes then turn over and allow to cool till lids POP! That's how you know the seal is tight. This recipe will make 3 medium jars or 6 small jars of jam.

You can also do a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

You can also do a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

[Mrs. Don-o]

So you got tomatoes to root just by hacking off branches and sticking them in the dirt?

I tried that a couple times, hoping to root suckers, but they didn't take. Do you have any pointers for better results?

[greeneyes]

Regarding your Earth boxes-Do you have to order new batch of nutrients each year? If so, how much does that cost approximately for each refill?

[texas_mrs]

IMHO, though, shading does help tomatoes in very hot dry weather.

That would explain why mine are doing pretty well in a partially shaded greenhouse. The temp does get past 100º in there, but they are still blooming a little & I expect they will take off growing again in cooler weather if I can just get them to make it through this heat wave.

[greeneyes]

I had the same trouble with zucchini and pumpkins. I didn’t even bother to plant them this year.

[Augie]

Very nice! I will have to give that a try.

[Just mythoughts]

I had the same trouble with zucchini and pumpkins. I didn’t even bother to plant them this year.

I have read these bugs can 'smell' pumpkins half a mile away. I don't mess with pumpkins, but when I first moved here I had zucchinis to feed a crowd. After about 6+ years I cannot keep these bugs off my plants. I have fought these wicked squash bugs every year, no matter what I do. I have planted them in big planters next to the house with new soil, planters in the garden with new soil and no matter where or what I do these plant killers always find my zucchinis. It is beyond exasperating.

[Free Vulcan]

Saving it at this point, bought the seed a couple of years ago and want to have relatively fresh seed at all times if I can.

[Mrs. Don-o]

To "score" a vegetable or fruit skin means to make a lot of shallow scratches or cuts all over it with a sharp knife before you cook it. Like shallow lines of longitude and latitude. It makes it much easier to chew and eat the skin of a cooked apple, pepper, summer squash, etc., if you don't want to peel it.

I score the skin rather than peel it because I find it more flavorful, plus they say it's more nutritious that way.

[greeneyes]

Well I made sure to get as many “knots” below the soil as possible, and tore off lots of leaves at the bottom too. I watered daily for a while to keep the soil moist and encourage roots to form.

I had about 7 branches, and only one shriveled up. Some of them I kinda laid down and curled around the outer edge of the pot so there would be plenty of joints under the soil.

I was just experimenting last year and didn't really think I would have much success, but was happily surprised.

[who knows what evil?]

My own conclusion was, I will never do "hanging" tomatoes again. They dry out too fast, plus are subject to stem breakage as they sway or torque in the wind.

Same here...I like to experiment every year, but when something doesn't work that well; I don't waste any further time on it.

[greeneyes]

“want to have relatively fresh seed at all times if I can.”

I know what you mean. I planted just 4 Country Gentleman heirloom corn seeds last year, just so I could have a bunch of seed handy in case I needed it. Saved a couple of ears and ate the rest. LOL.

[CynicalBear]

I’m in zone 8. I just started some new tomatoes because the sun got ours. I had two tomato plants that I covered with 60 shade cloth and they are doing fine but the others just burned up. I planted the second batch of sweet corn last week and it’s up. Then I’m planting some cucumbers, beans and spinach. I’m going to wait a little and plant more sugar peas and lettuce. We’re not much into greens so won’t plant any of those.

[who knows what evil?]

Do you have to order new batch of nutrients each year?

You have to replace the fertilizer strip every year with 2 fresh cups of fertilizer (I use a 10-10-10) and some fresh dolomite, but 50 pound bags of either are cheap...you can 'refresh' a LOT of Earth Boxes for about ten bucks. Replacing the mix is pricier, but you only do that every five years.

I have 46 different varieties of tomatoes in EB's right now, and they are ALL cranking. My wife's english cucumbers and bush beans are also going nuts in 'her' EB's.

[CynicalBear]

>> Chives, oregano, and basil doing very well. Have made several servings of pesto already.<<

I couldn’t get my oregano started for the life of me this year. I planted seeds in trays 4 different times and they would come up and die.

[fwdude]

I imagine your relative humidity is way up there as well.

[Tatze]

OMG. I have seven 'volunteers' that came up in a spinach bed in a space a little bigger than that; and it is complete CHAOS. But fourteen..?

I have 24 in a 3 x 9 raised bed. Chaos, it is.

I'll be cutting that probably in half for next year.

[CynicalBear]

>>I’m thinking they might make a pretty good jelly.<<

Ground cherries make excellent jam. My grandmother got me started about 50 years ago. When I was a kid she used to give us some and I convinced her to teach me how to make it. It’s really easy. Add some sugar, cook them down with a little pectin and put em in jars. She used to just use wax to seal them but I put lids on.

[greeneyes]

Thanks. If we have some extra cash at the end of the year, I may just order some. I would like to use them indoors during the winter, and I think my daughters would like to use them, since they don’t have much space to garden.