2021 How does your garden grow

[kje54]

I guess my brain went on vacation.

Happens to me on occasion also.

 

[Eutycus]

I call them senior moments.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Well, I ran out of garden and have lot's seed left over.......Again.

 

[Eutycus]

I too have a few seeds left over as well as 3 squash plants and am totally out of space. The seeds can just wait till next year. The squash plant I'm not sure what to do with them. I might use them for replacements to the other squash plants in the garden. From what I recall squash is short lived and some are already producing. Which means they'll be finished in a few weeks. We'll see.

 

[Eterry]

I too have a few seeds left over as well as 3 squash plants and am totally out of space. The seeds can just wait till next year. The squash plant I'm not sure what to do with them. I might use them for replacements to the other squash plants in the garden. From what I recall squash is short lived and some are already producing. Which means they'll be finished in a few weeks. We'll see.

Has the rain hurt you down there ? Its raining as I type this, been raining most of the month. I haven't been in my garden in 2 weeks =cause its a SWAMP!

 

[Eutycus]

No, we were so dry the ground soaks it up in no time. The plants are loving it, But it is bringing out the mosquitos.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Mother nature raised her mighty fist and gave my garden a royal smack down. She thought my garden was looking so hot and sassy it needed cooling off with some frost. I lost about 20 pepper plants, 6 tomatoes, potatoes look like you took a lawnmower to them, everything else has a lot of damage. Earlier frost already killed my fruit tree buds for the year.
Kind of a bummer.

 

[Jim Wag]

Here's your season's yield
When your
Cherry tree
Is located in a
No Kill Zone
Established by the
Property owner

Jim in La Luz

 

[Eutycus]

Not to complain too much, but all this rain we've been getting is making my tomatos split. The tomatos are producing like crazy and It's a job giving them away.but that's half the fun of gardening and it's worth it.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Heavy rain right as the tomatoes are ripening will cause them to split.
I'm experiencing the opposite problem. I'm having to water them right now.

 

[Eutycus]

I give them heavy doses of calcium like eggshell and Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate)and on some I add chunks of Sheet Rock (gypsum board). Calcium is supposedly helpful in preventing splitting but some of them are splitting anyway. Just too much rain.

 

[Master Blaster]

This one of my wintered-over jalapeno pepper plants. Lotsa blossoms but they may not set fruit until temperatures cool off to <90°F. I'm in zone 9a/b. 104°F right now...

 

[Eutycus]

Did some mowing around what was part of last years garden. I abandoned a piece of of the garden plot due to bermuda grass taking over. There was this "Weed" growing in the grass. I recognized it as a Buffalo Burr from last year, yellow flowers, leaves like watermelon and lots of thorns. Out West I think these are called tumbleweeds. A few years ago I spread some manure on this section. The manure came from the local livestock auction and they must have got some west Texas cows in for sale because there are some weeds coming up that I never seen before. I wish I'd have taken a picture before I put the shovel to it.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

I give them heavy doses of calcium like eggshell and Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate)and on some I add chunks of Sheet Rock (gypsum board). Calcium is supposedly helpful in preventing splitting but some of them are splitting anyway. Just too much rain.

When do you add the Epsom Salt? Or I should say, when is it too late to add it?

And.. just sprinkle some around the base of each plant?

Thanks!

 

[Eutycus]

Yes just sprinkle it around the bae of the plants when they are blossoming. Some might call it the yellow flower stage. It can also be watered in. About a teaspoon per plant, or was that a tablespoon? Don't want to over do it. It is magnesium sulfate but it's a salt as well. I dont really measure, I just put a couple of plastic spoonfuls in the watering can. Then water around the bottoms.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

Yes just sprinkle it around the bae of the plants when they are blossoming. Some might call it the yellow flower stage. It can also be watered in. About a teaspoon per plant, or was that a tablespoon? Don't want to over do it. It is magnesium sulfate but it's a salt as well. I dont really measure, I just put a couple of plastic spoonfuls in the watering can. Then water around the bottoms.

Thank you!

 

[Eutycus]

Any expert tomato gardeners with some advice out there, just jump in. I'm only an amateur.

 

[11Bravo]

All I know about tomatoes, is I never have any luck with them. I heard years ago tomato plants are like grapes, they grow better if their stressed. Not to much water. I live alone now so all I grow is what I like, pickling cukes, Japanese eggplants, potatoes, banana peppers and Diakon radishes. I save all my coffee grinds and filters, and egg shells, in the spring I turn it all into the soil with peat moss and manure. Here is a funny story about tomatoes, maybe 40 years ago I was growing tomatoes and some weed. I just wanted to see if I could grow it. So my Mom and Dad were over and I was in the pool with my Sons and my Mom said "The tomatoes good great, but these other ones have no tomatoes" my Dad said " You dope, your son is growing pot", I couldn't stop laughing.

 

[Eutycus]

If anything my tomatos are stressed from too much water . Plants normally like rain water but enough is enough. Here I was ready to give my neighbor some yellow squash yeterday but those were yellow leaves I was looking at.

 

[Master Blaster]

The sun and heat here in the Central San Joaquin Valley are great for tomatoes! We grow Big Beef every year and occasionally Sun Gold cherries. I have them on a simple automatic drip system, 30 minutes every day.

My one good tomato tip: if you use a lot of organic soil ammendments in your tomato bed soil consider adding a gypsum product to prevent blossom end rot (eg. "Rot Stop").