Gardening ..again

[Eutycus]

Tiller woes set us back. Ol' Reliable Troy-Bilt Super Bronco died in the gearbox. $1300 bid to fix. Identical (now Craftsman) at Lowe's $999. Bought one. Week later, no reverse so return for another. Got home, gassed/oiled/started right up. No reverse again. Back-up cable very slack. Guessing Lowe's unpacking/setup person ain't reading paper directions. 40-mile round trip to return new one. Plans are NOT coming together.

I got the 7 horse pwr. Craftsman. Good tiller but I wish I'd bought the smaller one some years ago.I'm getting too old to wrestle and manhandle that big thing. But I was younger back then too.

 

[snakebit]

Went out to check on the garden and found this gem. Not there yesterday. Maybe it was, but hiding behind a blossom? Yellow zucchini.

 

[Eutycus]

I did not know there were yellow zucchinis.Are you sure that plant didn't cross pollinate with something?

 

[snakebit]

I did not know there were yellow zucchinis.Are you sure that plant didn't cross pollinate with something?

Me either so we got one to try.

 

[SOLANCO]

Oh my garden is quite fertile with plenty of organic matter. I have been tilling in "tons" (alot) of leaves, manure, table scraps, wood ashes, etc. through the years. I don't use chemical fertilizer, insecticides , or herbicides. I dont know something about is just different.Some parts seem like they have like an oily film. But yet no oil is noticeable or present. Water more or less puddles instead of soaking in.

There are things in the plant world that can coat soil and cause that. Chapparal, for example, when burning waterproofs the ground beneath it.

 

[snakebit]

I got the 7 horse pwr. Craftsman. Good tiller but I wish I'd bought the smaller one some years ago.I'm getting too old to wrestle and manhandle that big thing. But I was younger back then too.

Yep. That's why I went to a rear tine machine. Not as rough on my neck and shredded shoulder. Gettin old sucks.

 

[TDM]

Beans are still producing strong at the camp and the okra is finally starting to get some height. Muscadines are doing good too. My Wife sent me a photo of her morning harvest at home. She says the tomatoes are really coming in now, piles of them. Going to head back home tomorrow and enjoy some.

 

[sheriff john]

Tiller woes set us back. Ol' Reliable Troy-Bilt Super Bronco died in the gearbox. $1300 bid to fix. Identical (now Craftsman) at Lowe's $999. Bought one. Week later, no reverse so return for another. Got home, gassed/oiled/started right up. No reverse again. Back-up cable very slack. Guessing Lowe's unpacking/setup person ain't reading paper directions. 40-mile round trip to return new one. Plans are NOT coming together.

As suspected, the problem was a simple fix. Whoever assembled the tillers neglected to properly tighten the pulley that routes the reverse cable - too loose. Fixed it in minutes with a wrench. Someone who buys the tiller I returned will get a real bargain. So, Management (wife) is happy.

Bright side - Blueberries are ripe and it's a good year. My teeth are blue, but that's ok.

 

[snakebit]

Cherokee Purple really taking off.

 

[Eutycus]

Cherokee Purple really taking off.

Love a Cherokee Purple. I plan on using that variety in next year's garden.

 

[snakebit]

Love a Cherokee Purple. I plan on using that variety in next year's garden.

I looked high and low for Cherokee Purple cherry tomatoes with no luck. I'm going to order some seeds and start them indoors I guess.

 

[Eutycus]

I looked high and low for Cherokee Purple cherry tomatoes with no luck. I'm going to order some seeds and start them indoors I guess.

That is something I want to try.I have Cherokee Purple seeds and Large Red Cherry seeds. But I hear they cross pollinated the two varieties.I do have seeds from a cross pollination of Large Red Cherry and either Old German or Cherokee Purple. I'm just not sure which.All I really know for sure is that one of the "parent" plants was a Large Red Cherry.

 

[SOLANCO]

Thought I should check out the 15 year old raised beds. Put them together with black locust. They still look new. I had worried they might affect plants in the beds but they have not.

It is rural here and we boast a good sawmill/specialty lumber business. Found quarter sawn sycamore for my kitchen counter. A friend replaced a dashboard on his boat with rosewood.

 

[snakebit]

That is something I want to try.I have Cherokee Purple seeds and Large Red Cherry seeds. But I hear they cross pollinated the two varieties.I do have seeds from a cross pollination of Large Red Cherry and either Old German or Cherokee Purple. I'm just not sure which.All I really know for sure is that one of the "parent" plants was a Large Red Cherry.

I did a quick look online, couldn't find any Cherokee Purple cherry size seeds. Have to see about getting a seed catalog ordered.

 

[TDM]

Back home now and was pleased to see the garden doing well. The tomato plants are a solid 7’ tall, not sure I’ve ever grown any that tall before, and they are loaded and ripening nicely. Yellow squash is still producing at a steady pace but the zucchini is putting on very little fruit. The plants are beautiful and flowering, but not producing like zucchini should. I’m thinking the new garden soil had a little too much fertilizer in it.

 

[snakebit]

Back home now and was pleased to see the garden doing well. The tomato plants are a solid 7’ tall, not sure I’ve ever grown any that tall before, and they are loaded and ripening nicely. Yellow squash is still producing at a steady pace but the zucchini is putting on very little fruit. The plants are beautiful and flowering, but not producing like zucchini should. I’m thinking the new garden soil had a little too much fertilizer in it.

Very nice haul!

 

[SOLANCO]

Beans are still producing strong at the camp and the okra is finally starting to get some height. Muscadines are doing good too. My Wife sent me a photo of her morning harvest at home. She says the tomatoes are really coming in now, piles of them. Going to head back home tomorrow and e

You fellows in the deep south sure have the climate advantage on us. But when our corn and tomatoes come in we will be happy campers too.

New Jersey gardeners and Pennsylvania gardeners constantly argue whose corn and tomatoes taste better. Maybe you guys could send an impartial Louisiana/Misssissipi panel?

 

[snakebit]

You fellows in the deep south sure have the climate advantage on us. But when our corn and tomatoes come in we will be happy campers too.

New Jersey gardeners and Pennsylvania gardeners constantly argue whose corn and tomatoes taste better. Maybe you guys could send an impartial Louisiana/Misssissipi panel?

Im a PA guy. Lived in NJ for a bit, I'd vote for their tomatoes, and silver queen corn. That's coming from a fella who likes to eat.

 

[SOLANCO]

Im a PA guy. Lived in NJ for a bit, I'd vote for their tomatoes, and silver queen corn. That's coming from a fella who likes to eat.

Personally I will concede the corn. But gardeners here in PA have been working with different strains of tomatoes and some of them are outrageously good.

 

[Eutycus]

I kind of doubt y'all are experiencing the Heat Wave that is clobbering us in South Texas.