Posted on 07/12/2013 1:19:48 PM PDT by greeneyes
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/johnny
Oh wow. Don’t know about second crop. I’m using pots, so maybe I won’t lose the fertilizer.
LOL! I put some phosphate out this morning. I killed one of the tomato plants which is on the smaller side. I burned it up. Oh well.
I’m going to say partial, because most are in morning shade, then as the sun rises, in the sky they get full sun, and then toward the afternoon, they are in a bit of shade again. I didn’t know that about the heat. I clearly need to take into consideration that we are not in the 80-90 degree full sun of some of our more northerly neighbors. So often we have that 100 degree heat to deal with. More shade is probably appropriate here.
What are you planning to plant for your 2nd crop?
WoW! I know exactly where Tim's is. I go there to get my kimchee base and other SE Asian goodies! I was just at the McCoys across the street today.
Try a raised bed or cold frame with a cover. If you are north of the city, you know we get cold snaps that will destroy many unprotected plants. If you are in the city limits....well, you all seem to have a different climate. I have trouble with citrus, banana, and loquat, but they grow fine in town.
2nd crop...lets see....chives, 2 types of onion, bak choi, lettuce, jalapeno, squash, turnip, beets, tomato, 2 types of radish, pumpkin, pole beans, and peas.
Guaranteed, if we have a sudden cold snap, the pepper, tomato, and beans probably won't produce or will die back. We usually aren't affected by that until late January though. The rest usually live through winter with a plastic drop cloth to protect them.
Silly aside, I love looking at the bulletin board outside Tim's..I have no idea what any of the ads, or little postings say, but it looks so much more interesting than the ones outside my Super S.
Kimchee..ack, I go to Tim's for Korean stuff, but kimchee isn't on my list..I do like fresh kimchee..as opposed to sauerkraut stinkosaurus kim chee..I used to make it in a big crock years ago..but I didn't like it then either.
Thanks, Sarajevo! That makes a lot of sense about the tomatoes. I’ll have to do some deep pondering on what I will do the next time instead of pots.
Your 2nd crop menu sounds great! Are you doing these tomatoes from seed or from previously started plants? If previously started, I’m probably too late. Any chance the ones I have now, if they stay alive, could the cooler weather allow them to produce?
UPS or USPS.
It is hard to say for sure what is your best course of action, since there is no soil test to refer to. I would not mix fertilizers one on top of the other within just a few days of each other. Too much stuff can harm your plants.
The best thing to do is to follow the directions on the packages you purchased. I just gave everything a dose of the mirical gro type product for fruits and vegetables that has 15 30 15 and some trace minerals. The directions say to wait 2 weeks before the next treatment.
When I transplanted stuff this spring, I used an osmote long term release type fertilizer. Sometimes, I use a little fish emulsion, or bloodmeal/bonemeal, some banana peels, and a bunch of crushed egg shells, but I was low on these supplies, and had a bunch of the osmote type stuff that needed to be used.
For my corn and tomato plants once they got up to a pretty good size and the first flower appeared, I used a side dressing of some fertilizer I ran across that was specifically for corn and tomatoes, and everything else just got a side dress of compost.
I’ll be watching the plants, and in about 2 weeks, I may side dress with the bone meal and stuff, or I may just use up some more of the miracle gro stuff or nothing if they are doing ok. I really needed more compost, but I ran out of the home made, and I didn’t want to purchase the stuff from walmart.
I just experiment and see what works with the environment I have. Your local extension agent is your best choice for advice specific to your area. It’s not cheating. It’s being smart.LOL.
I did read an article this week that said that sometimes, a plant will have a bunch of flowers all one sex, and you get no fruit, but typically, you will get new flowers that have both male and female.
Also, you might want to try pollinating them yourself with a small artistic type brush. I have even used a Q tip. I haven’t even mixed up my bug spray this year. I really don’t like to use anything that could harm beesg, and while there are a few leaves chewed here and there, everything is doing ok so far. My beds are close to the house, and the squirrels and rabbits prefer to play in Hubby’s patch on the back forty.LOL
Like I said, if your soil is healthy, the plants usually are too, and less likely to be overun by bugs and diseases.
I don’t grow squash anymore, and those were what had the most trouble with bugs.
Sometimes, I get a hornworm on the tomato plants, but I just pick those off and cut them in two.
I am thinking I want them both. I want to try the thin chips and green beans for snacks instead of greasy potato chips. Thanks.
I just like to get a stash of zuke recipes to try, since Hubby continues to plant them, and I don’t want to fill my limited freezer space up with zukes.LOL
I would pick off all the leaves with spots and destroy them; don’t put in your compost pile. The pictures look like white spots, and generally that’s a mold or fungus, though some sort of blight could be a cause too I guess.
Is your climate hot and humid? We always have trouble with the lower leaves of our tomatoes, but they are usually yellow or brown/black spots. I always just cut them off and dispose of them, and the rest of the plant does fine.
As a last resort, you may need to try a fungicide. I also have less trouble when I mulch the tomatoes to preserve moisture, but also it helps keep soil borne diseases off the leaves.
Yes, Southern Ohio near the River. I went ahead and pinched off all the leaves and will continue to do so if more appear.
If that doesn’t work, you may have to try a fungicide as a last resort.
I made zucchini chutney to go with burgers (Mr. Sg makes the burger buns) last night. It would go well w/hot dogs, too!
Bok Choi question...
Do you tie the heads/top leaves of your bok choi near harvest time to keep them from “spreading”? If you do tie them, what do you use?
I read that raffia or vines was good, but thought strips of ladies’ nylon hose might work well..
If you can dig into our soil and amend it, or even try this method: Planting Into Potting Soil Bags Pt 1.
Personally, I would lay the bag on a base of thick newspaper, then cut through both sides of the bag so the soil underneath is automatically amended and roots have a place to grow.
You shouldn't be too late for a second crop. If you start planting now, they should produce by late October or November if your weather holds out.
Wow. From seed! I did most of my stuff from seed this time. Definitely a learning experience! How cool is that to have a good friend salvage the out of date seeds for you and your neighbors!
I looked at your link. That’s a pretty wonderful idea! Still pondering about trying for a round two this year! After I murdered my poor little tomato plant, Darlin’ said, (probably because I’d been complaining about the heat and my ineptness at knowing what to do to keep my plants happy,) “well, that’s one way to bring your season to a close! Just execute them!
LOL!
Well, the sunflowers and okra are still doing well, and I was amazed to see the fava beans start blooming again!!!! I thought they had about died back, but there was still some green, and yesterday, there they were, just blooming away!
So even though I vent frustration from time to time here, I really am not giving up!
I potted my second romaine experiment this morning, along with the celery stump in another pot. The celery had developed some capacious roots, and I’m wondering if anything will happen. The first romaine experiment is great! It has really taken off, and I’m delighted! It is actually quite a beautiful plant! I’m hoping to bring it in at the end of the season and see if I can keep it going.
That's fantastic! I actually developed my techniques by failing many times. If you have access to YouTube, you can find many teaching video's that are excellent.
I potted my second romaine experiment this morning, along with the celery stump in another pot. The celery had developed some capacious roots, and I’m wondering if anything will happen. The first romaine experiment is great! It has really taken off, and I’m delighted! It is actually quite a beautiful plant! I’m hoping to bring it in at the end of the season and see if I can keep it going.
That's interesting. I never thought of trying to grow celery form the stump! Keep us informed on the results.
That is a good point: Gotta fail a lot in order to gain experience. Hope I can pay enough dues before it might become necessary to have to rely on the skills!
I will certainly report on the celery stump. My guess is that I buried it and it will be compost! LOL! It had started already to rot, most of it - the old stalk stumps had. Still had a green center, but no upward action from it. Darlin gave the ultimatum that it had to leave the kitchen counter. I’ll just water it and keep an eye on it.
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