The Impossible Garden

Fiishergurl · October 23, 2015

I'm posting some pictures of my fall garden from my phone that i took this morning. I was gone all summer and had to start my garden over from scratch. I'm hoping to transform it from the mess it is now to a beautiful flower and vegetable garden with eye appeal by spring. This thread will document my progress and see if I can meet my goals... :-)

Just a note... My seedlings that I started died while i was away and had someone baby sitting them. But Barb_FL shared about 25 or so seedlings she had with me. So most of the tomato plants are courtesy of Barb.... :-) Thank you again Barb!

Ginny

This pot has petunias in front and sugar ann snap peas in back. I put some bamboo sticks in hopes the snap peas will find their way to the trellis. Last spring this pink pot had a humongous, healthy, loaded with flowers petuina plant in it. Hoping to repeat that.

These are mandeville vines which i will repot this weekend and try to train up the trellis. I have one for each side of the pink pot pentunias and these flowers are pink as well.

This is one of two inground plants. The soil here is actually crushed shells as this land we are on was made when the intracoastal waterway was dredged 100 years ago (the intracoastal waterway channel is pictured in the background). I started last year by digging holes 2 feet deep and putting in soil, fish that we caught , crab shells from crabs we caught and ate and lots of other good stuff. Successfully grew tomato plants last year in the two holes (and no critters dug up anything). So when hubby and i got back we went speck fishing and i saved the carcases and dug my two holes up and started the process again. So far so good. We will see if the nematodes or other diseases affect these in ground plants. The folding table is only tempory. I used it in desperation as a wind break because we have had 10-15 mph winds gusting up to 30 mph all week. Those are our kayaks pictured in the background and a crab trap... :-)

Buttercrunch lettuce, red romaine lettuce and radishes in a shallow container.

Cherokee purple plant. .. has about 40 blossoms on it at the moment. I buzz them several times a day... :-) Also for now there is a buttercrunch, a red romaine, and some radishes sharing the pot but soon the CP will probably be shading them out.

Big Beef with som lettuce friends. It isnt as full leaved as the CP, GGWT, or PBTD plants. Maybe it will catch up with time.

More Sugar Ann snap peas to hopefully grow up the trellis.

Close up of pea plants.

Pink Berkley Tie Dye on the right and Girl Girls Weird Thing on the Left with lettuce and Radish friends. Very happy.

Rainbow Swiss Chard blocking out sun for the two tomato plants behind them. I have to remember to turn the SWC around tonight so the Captain Lucky and Rebel Yell will be in front getting more sun.

This SWC is breaking all the rules... lol. Way too much going on. Back row is - you guessed it, more pea plants to climb the trellis.

Middle row is cilantro on left, then lettuce and raddish. Front row are shi-shi-to pepper plants. I have to try to relocate the 2 lettuce plants as they are getting shaded out.

Curly Kale.

There are a lot more tomato plants growing but they all look about the same as the ones I posted.

So why did I call it the impossible garden? Because a couple of years ago when I first decided to have a garden here, all my neighbors said growing a garden here is impossible because of the salt spray, the wind, the humidity, and the soil issues. Oh and I forgot to mention the rain, rain, rain, and more rain. So i found great places like here and found all of you knowledgable people here and elsewhere that shared info and I grew the impossible garden. Those same neighbors cant wait until the tomatoes ripen again. Not only are we able to grow them right here in the impossible garden, but we grow plenty to share... :-)

Ginny

kayrobbins · October 23, 2015

You are off to great start and I have no doubt you will meet your spring time goal.

greyghost · October 23, 2015

I think everything looks great--so healthy!

AdrianaG · October 23, 2015

Are those micro-tomatoes in the DIY self-watering planters?

Fiishergurl · October 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdrianaG

Are those micro-tomatoes in the DIY self-watering planters?

No, i dont have any micro tomatoes pictured. I have a few dwarf plants from Barb but didnt post pictures of those. I added text under the pictures so now it says what each one has in it... :-)

Ginny

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Fiishergurl · October 23, 2015

Thank you GreyGhost and Kay. Everything is healthy so far. I'm going to try starting some tomato plants each month so when something gives out I can replace it. Summertime july/august will be only cherry tomato plants probably. They can produce and ripen before the plant succumbs.

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Zenbaas · October 23, 2015

Ginny how big would you say is the container with the GGWT and the PBTD tomatoes...?

Fiishergurl · October 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zenbaas

Ginny how big would you say is the container with the GGWT and the PBTD tomatoes...?

Hi Zenbaas,

That is an 18 gallon container from Home Depot. I bought it for 7.87 when it was on sale, and you know the saying... you get what you pay for. I didnt want to spend more at the time because i wasnt sure if we would be able to grow much in our conditions. I will be gradually switching to EB's as my SWCs are falling apart in the Florida sun. As long as I don't lift them to move them they seem to be hanging in there but i have lost 3 of them to leaks (wouldnt hold water in the reservoir) after moving them.

I have used them for 2 years.... 6 growing seasons here... spring, summer and fall.

Ginny

Zenbaas · October 23, 2015

Thanks Ginny..! Your garden looks great.

I the bought some 30 gallon containers for some SWC but was worried they might not be big enough. Glad to hear they should be OK.

So you live close to the sea I'm assuming because of your salty air comment...?

Barb_FL · October 23, 2015

Your garden looks fabulous - you have such a green thumb. Really impressed with the lettuce growing in the heat.

Fiishergurl · October 23, 2015

Hi Zenbaas,

I think you can grow ginormous plants with lots of tomatoes with that size. The sturdier ones hold up better from what i hear. I bought really cheap ones (my mistake).

If you look at the third picture in my original post you can see the salt water is up to our backyard. We live on the intracoastal in the Mosquito Lagoon area.

Ginny

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Fiishergurl · October 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Your garden looks fabulous - you have such a green thumb. Really impressed with the lettuce growing in the heat.

Thank you Barb!

Thanks to you I will have lots of tomatoes again this fall... :-) Should have anyways.

Ginny

Zenbaas · October 23, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Hi Zenbaas,

I think you can grow ginormous plants with lots of tomatoes with that size. The sturdier ones hold up better from what i hear. I bought really cheap ones (my mistake).

If you look at the third picture in my original post you can see the salt water is up to our backyard. We live on the intracoastal in the Mosquito Lagoon area.

Ginny

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I see...! The reason I was asking is because if you can grow such lovely tomatoes so close to the salty water then there is hope for other. My folks stay right against the ocean and the salt water spray tends to kill almost anything and everything except for certain "cactus" type plants. I will see If I can get them to try growing some tomatoes in SWCs.

Fiishergurl · October 23, 2015

Hi Zenbaas,

From what I can tell the salt doesnt bother them at all. Its the wind, rain and humidity that cause a problem. If i dont buzz my blossoms with an electric toothbrush every day, i get very few larger tomatoes developing due to the humidity. Also, we were in a different location the first year that was literally on the sea wall and my plants were about 15 feet from the water and they were fine. I will post pictures of that later. Our vehicles get a coating of salt also and they are farther away from the water than the plants so I know there is salt flying around.

Ginny

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kurt · October 24, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Hi Zenbaas,

From what I can tell the salt doesnt bother them at all. Its the wind, rain and humidity that cause a problem. If i dont buzz my blossoms with an electric toothbrush every day, i get very few larger tomatoes developing due to the humidity. Also, we were in a different location the first year that was literally on the sea wall and my plants were about 15 feet from the water and they were fine. I will post pictures of that later. Our vehicles get a coating of salt also and they are farther away from the water than the plants so I know there is salt flying around.

Ginny

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See reply #21.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...ht=Agri&page=2

October 23, 2015	#1
Fiishergurl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Oak Hill, Florida Posts: 1,781	The Impossible Garden I'm posting some pictures of my fall garden from my phone that i took this morning. I was gone all summer and had to start my garden over from scratch. I'm hoping to transform it from the mess it is now to a beautiful flower and vegetable garden with eye appeal by spring. This thread will document my progress and see if I can meet my goals... :-) Just a note... My seedlings that I started died while i was away and had someone baby sitting them. But Barb_FL shared about 25 or so seedlings she had with me. So most of the tomato plants are courtesy of Barb.... :-) Thank you again Barb! Ginny This pot has petunias in front and sugar ann snap peas in back. I put some bamboo sticks in hopes the snap peas will find their way to the trellis. Last spring this pink pot had a humongous, healthy, loaded with flowers petuina plant in it. Hoping to repeat that. These are mandeville vines which i will repot this weekend and try to train up the trellis. I have one for each side of the pink pot pentunias and these flowers are pink as well. This is one of two inground plants. The soil here is actually crushed shells as this land we are on was made when the intracoastal waterway was dredged 100 years ago (the intracoastal waterway channel is pictured in the background). I started last year by digging holes 2 feet deep and putting in soil, fish that we caught , crab shells from crabs we caught and ate and lots of other good stuff. Successfully grew tomato plants last year in the two holes (and no critters dug up anything). So when hubby and i got back we went speck fishing and i saved the carcases and dug my two holes up and started the process again. So far so good. We will see if the nematodes or other diseases affect these in ground plants. The folding table is only tempory. I used it in desperation as a wind break because we have had 10-15 mph winds gusting up to 30 mph all week. Those are our kayaks pictured in the background and a crab trap... :-) Buttercrunch lettuce, red romaine lettuce and radishes in a shallow container. Cherokee purple plant. .. has about 40 blossoms on it at the moment. I buzz them several times a day... :-) Also for now there is a buttercrunch, a red romaine, and some radishes sharing the pot but soon the CP will probably be shading them out. Big Beef with som lettuce friends. It isnt as full leaved as the CP, GGWT, or PBTD plants. Maybe it will catch up with time. More Sugar Ann snap peas to hopefully grow up the trellis. Close up of pea plants. Pink Berkley Tie Dye on the right and Girl Girls Weird Thing on the Left with lettuce and Radish friends. Very happy. Rainbow Swiss Chard blocking out sun for the two tomato plants behind them. I have to remember to turn the SWC around tonight so the Captain Lucky and Rebel Yell will be in front getting more sun. This SWC is breaking all the rules... lol. Way too much going on. Back row is - you guessed it, more pea plants to climb the trellis. Middle row is cilantro on left, then lettuce and raddish. Front row are shi-shi-to pepper plants. I have to try to relocate the 2 lettuce plants as they are getting shaded out. Curly Kale. There are a lot more tomato plants growing but they all look about the same as the ones I posted. So why did I call it the impossible garden? Because a couple of years ago when I first decided to have a garden here, all my neighbors said growing a garden here is impossible because of the salt spray, the wind, the humidity, and the soil issues. Oh and I forgot to mention the rain, rain, rain, and more rain. So i found great places like here and found all of you knowledgable people here and elsewhere that shared info and I grew the impossible garden. Those same neighbors cant wait until the tomatoes ripen again. Not only are we able to grow them right here in the impossible garden, but we grow plenty to share... :-) Ginny Last edited by Fiishergurl; October 23, 2015 at 01:50 PM.

October 23, 2015	#14
Fiishergurl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Oak Hill, Florida Posts: 1,781	Hi Zenbaas, From what I can tell the salt doesnt bother them at all. Its the wind, rain and humidity that cause a problem. If i dont buzz my blossoms with an electric toothbrush every day, i get very few larger tomatoes developing due to the humidity. Also, we were in a different location the first year that was literally on the sea wall and my plants were about 15 feet from the water and they were fine. I will post pictures of that later. Our vehicles get a coating of salt also and they are farther away from the water than the plants so I know there is salt flying around. Ginny Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk Last edited by Fiishergurl; October 23, 2015 at 07:04 PM.

October 23, 2015	#2
kayrobbins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 820	You are off to great start and I have no doubt you will meet your spring time goal.

October 23, 2015	#3
greyghost Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: southeastern PA Posts: 760	I think everything looks great--so healthy!

October 23, 2015	#4
AdrianaG Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Georgia Posts: 153	Are those micro-tomatoes in the DIY self-watering planters?

October 23, 2015	#7
Zenbaas Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: South Africa Posts: 340	Ginny how big would you say is the container with the GGWT and the PBTD tomatoes...?

October 23, 2015	#10
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Your garden looks fabulous - you have such a green thumb. Really impressed with the lettuce growing in the heat.