Philadelphia area gardening thread

Fiishergurl · May 29, 2016

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I are in the Philadelphia area from now until mid October. He is a GC and building a restautant here. Anyways I had to leave my Florida garden behind just as the tomatoes were ripening and with the advice already from johnnyHat, Adenn1, JRinPA, Gardeneer, and PhilaGardener I already have started my Philly Garden.

I bought my plants from Wolff's Apple House in Media and put 8 tomato plants in the ground and 3 in self watering containers. But growing in Philly is different than Florida so I have some questions and was hoping you all could help.

So here goes...

1. The soil looks very rich like a mix of clay and topsoil and has lits of earthworms in it. It has been worked for years by the owner of the house with homemade compost added and worked in over the years. When I dug a hole and filled it with water, it took a good 10 minutes plus for the water to leach in. How often should i water the plants in this type of environment?

One of the plants i planted in the ground this morning. I know Im a couple weeks late but we just moved in on Friday.

Anither plant in the ground. Not sure what to mulch with.

Swc pots above (going to add some more mix). The perrenial garden is in the background.

2. Will the Florida Weave work here? It doesnt work where i live in Florida... lol. But thought it might be an inexpensive and easy way to support the plants while we are here this summer.

3. Are cutworms a problem here?

4. What are the main soil and leaf diseases and pests to look out for?

Thanks and looking forward to hearing about your gardens and seeing the pictures... :-)

Ginny

PS, below are some tomatos and peppers my neighbor picked yesterday from the garden i left behind... :-)

Jonnyhat · May 30, 2016

this is my first year growing anything directly in the ground as my garden is all raised beds at my house; I took over a 200' x 40' plot at my friends place as he is too busy to work it. The soil has been worked for years as well but I try 1 gallon per plant per week.

as far as pests and diseases... not sure where your garden is, but big problem in the burbs is deer, they will demolish a whole garden and there are soo many out here. If you are in the city and not near any of the bigger state parks this should not be a problem. Squirrels are also evil . Horn worm can be an issue for tomatoes, cabbage worm for brassica (Sp?) onion maggots for garlic and onions, and Squash boarer for cucumber and squash.

As far as diseases, early and late blight, and blossom end rot are the main ones I ran into for my tomatoes. Last year my potatoes all got destroyed by verticillum wilt, and this year my onions by onion maggots. Point of note I do everything 100% organic, so my best friend this year and last has been neem oil and Dr bronners soap mixed in a sprayer and BT, those 3 ingredients saved my kale, lettuces, chard and cukes last year.

greenthumbomaha · May 30, 2016

I used to work in Philly at the navy yard and lived across the river in Turnersville NJ. I was a novice gardener and young mom then. The ground is gold. Everything seemed to taste better from there. Mushroom compost is readily available and you might have that in your garden. I never mulched and everything did great. Enjoy your stay, the people are great too.

- Lisa

Adenn1 · May 31, 2016

Ginny,

That's good soil...lot's of clay and hold moisture pretty well. I always watered when the surface looked dry, and based it on when it last rained. The blight issues are always something to address. I found that mulching with grass clippings or with straw helped. I also trim off all of the lower leaves on the plants to 12-16" above the ground.

In your case, I would probably use some 6' t-posts or bamboo for each plant. I have used the weave in the past and at the end of the season it does get hard to keep large plants up.

Great pictures...enjoy and good luck.

Fiishergurl · May 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonnyhat

this is my first year growing anything directly in the ground as my garden is all raised beds at my house; I took over a 200' x 40' plot at my friends place as he is too busy to work it. The soil has been worked for years as well but I try 1 gallon per plant per week.

as far as pests and diseases... not sure where your garden is, but big problem in the burbs is deer, they will demolish a whole garden and there are soo many out here. If you are in the city and not near any of the bigger state parks this should not be a problem. Squirrels are also evil . Horn worm can be an issue for tomatoes, cabbage worm for brassica (Sp?) onion maggots for garlic and onions, and Squash boarer for cucumber and squash.

As far as diseases, early and late blight, and blossom end rot are the main ones I ran into for my tomatoes. Last year my potatoes all got destroyed by verticillum wilt, and this year my onions by onion maggots. Point of note I do everything 100% organic, so my best friend this year and last has been neem oil and Dr bronners soap mixed in a sprayer and BT, those 3 ingredients saved my kale, lettuces, chard and cukes last year.

Johnnyhat, thats an awesome amount of new space for you to work with. Keep us posted on how that goes... :-)

I did put a little line in the holes so hopefully that will help with Blossom End Rot.

Ginny

Fiishergurl · May 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

I used to work in Philly at the navy yard and lived across the river in Turnersville NJ. I was a novice gardener and young mom then. The ground is gold. Everything seemed to taste better from there. Mushroom compost is readily available and you might have that in your garden. I never mulched and everything did great. Enjoy your stay, the people are great too.

- Lisa

Hi Lisa... thats near where my husband is working on the Philly side near the shipyards. I was working in Bensalem about 15 years ago and one of the Office personnel brought in a couple of huge home grown Jersey tomatoes. They were amazing! I will never forget those... lol.

Ginny

Fiishergurl · May 31, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adenn1

Ginny,

That's good soil...lot's of clay and hold moisture pretty well. I always watered when the surface looked dry, and based it on when it last rained. The blight issues are always something to address. I found that mulching with grass clippings or with straw helped. I also trim off all of the lower leaves on the plants to 12-16" above the ground.

In your case, I would probably use some 6' t-posts or bamboo for each plant. I have used the weave in the past and at the end of the season it does get hard to keep large plants up.

Great pictures...enjoy and good luck.

Hi Mark,

Do you think I will have problems with BER? I put a little garden lime in the holes but not much because i wasnt sure.

I am going to use the Bamboos for now. Hoping there is enough sun to let them do their thing. That part is questionable at best but nothing I can do about that. I dont want the headline on the news to be "Crazy tomato lady cuts down trees so tomatoes can get more sun"

Thanks for all the help! How is your garden doing?

Ginny

Adenn1 · June 1, 2016

Ginny,

I think you will be ok and BER should not be an issue. Yes, at some point you just have to let the tomatoes do what they can with what is available.

I am letting my 12 year old son take over my garden spot behind the garage this year. He has four sweet peppers and eight hot peppers...two of which are Ghost peppers. He also has a cherry tomato and some cucumbers in. Lastly, he is also growing some herbs like rosemary, basil, etc. He ran out of room for tomatoes, but that's okay as my neighbor has about two dozen plants out in his garden and we can take whatever we want.

He was really excited to do this and I told him he could have it all and he would be in charge of taking care of everything. I helped some and he has spent a good amount of time researching on line.

The cucumbers are doing well and the rest is coming along slowly. The recent warmer days have helped and no problems yet. We have had some issues with insects eating the pepper plants, but some Safer soap is helping address that.

Will keep you updated and do the same

Jonnyhat · June 2, 2016

I decided today that I am single stemming averything in my hyome garden except my cherries, while the 70 plants I have in ground at my buddies I am going to let grow au natural. But still staked. Same with7 the. Cukes and squash at my house, those will be caged and trellised while at his place free range squash.

Jonnyhat · June 4, 2016

PhilaGardener · June 4, 2016

My planted tomatoes are finally picking up with this warmth. Jonnyhat yours look great!

Ginny, make sure you visit the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College. Just a few miles to your East, no admission fee, great collection. Longwood Gardens to your West is a bit further and $, but a fantastic day trip if you haven't already done it.

Jonnyhat · June 4, 2016

dont forget Tyler Arboretum and Winterthur Museum and gardens. all top notch.

Thanks for the thumbs up on my Toms, I have been working extra hard on them... i wish there were 8 days in a week and 28 hours in a day

Fiishergurl · June 5, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adenn1

Ginny,

That's good soil...lot's of clay and hold moisture pretty well. I always watered when the surface looked dry, and based it on when it last rained. The blight issues are always something to address. I found that mulching with grass clippings or with straw helped. I also trim off all of the lower leaves on the plants to 12-16" above the ground.

In your case, I would probably use some 6' t-posts or bamboo for each plant. I have used the weave in the past and at the end of the season it does get hard to keep large plants up.

Great pictures...enjoy and good luck.

Hi Mark,

Thats so cool that your son is interested in growing things as well. Its the way of the past and now back to basics for the future as well it seems.

Thanks for all the good advice and help... :-)

Ginny

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adenn1

Ginny,

I think you will be ok and BER should not be an issue. Yes, at some point you just have to let the tomatoes do what they can with what is available.

I am letting my 12 year old son take over my garden spot behind the garage this year. He has four sweet peppers and eight hot peppers...two of which are Ghost peppers. He also has a cherry tomato and some cucumbers in. Lastly, he is also growing some herbs like rosemary, basil, etc. He ran out of room for tomatoes, but that's okay as my neighbor has about two dozen plants out in his garden and we can take whatever we want.

He was really excited to do this and I told him he could have it all and he would be in charge of taking care of everything. I helped some and he has spent a good amount of time researching on line.

The cucumbers are doing well and the rest is coming along slowly. The recent warmer days have helped and no problems yet. We have had some issues with insects eating the pepper plants, but some Safer soap is helping address that.

Will keep you updated and do the same

Fiishergurl · June 5, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonnyhat

Johnny those look AMAZING!! So healthy and well planned and protected. You will be rolling in tomatoes in no time. What types are you growing? Who needs Wolffs, I should have come shopping at your place... :-)

Keep us posted!

Ginny

Fiishergurl · June 5, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

My planted tomatoes are finally picking up with this warmth. Jonnyhat yours look great!

Ginny, make sure you visit the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College. Just a few miles to your East, no admission fee, great collection. Longwood Gardens to your West is a bit further and $, but a fantastic day trip if you haven't already done it.

PhilaGardener and Johnny.... thanks for the heads up about the Arboretums. I would have never thought to look for those and now cant wait to visit them.

PhilaG... good luck with your garden too!

Ginny

May 29, 2016	#1
Fiishergurl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Oak Hill, Florida Posts: 1,781	Philadelphia area gardening thread Hi Everyone, My husband and I are in the Philadelphia area from now until mid October. He is a GC and building a restautant here. Anyways I had to leave my Florida garden behind just as the tomatoes were ripening and with the advice already from johnnyHat, Adenn1, JRinPA, Gardeneer, and PhilaGardener I already have started my Philly Garden. I bought my plants from Wolff's Apple House in Media and put 8 tomato plants in the ground and 3 in self watering containers. But growing in Philly is different than Florida so I have some questions and was hoping you all could help. So here goes... 1. The soil looks very rich like a mix of clay and topsoil and has lits of earthworms in it. It has been worked for years by the owner of the house with homemade compost added and worked in over the years. When I dug a hole and filled it with water, it took a good 10 minutes plus for the water to leach in. How often should i water the plants in this type of environment? One of the plants i planted in the ground this morning. I know Im a couple weeks late but we just moved in on Friday. Anither plant in the ground. Not sure what to mulch with. Swc pots above (going to add some more mix). The perrenial garden is in the background. 2. Will the Florida Weave work here? It doesnt work where i live in Florida... lol. But thought it might be an inexpensive and easy way to support the plants while we are here this summer. 3. Are cutworms a problem here? 4. What are the main soil and leaf diseases and pests to look out for? Thanks and looking forward to hearing about your gardens and seeing the pictures... :-) Ginny PS, below are some tomatos and peppers my neighbor picked yesterday from the garden i left behind... :-) Last edited by Fiishergurl; May 29, 2016 at 04:39 PM.

May 31, 2016	#4
Adenn1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 559	Ginny, That's good soil...lot's of clay and hold moisture pretty well. I always watered when the surface looked dry, and based it on when it last rained. The blight issues are always something to address. I found that mulching with grass clippings or with straw helped. I also trim off all of the lower leaves on the plants to 12-16" above the ground. In your case, I would probably use some 6' t-posts or bamboo for each plant. I have used the weave in the past and at the end of the season it does get hard to keep large plants up. Great pictures...enjoy and good luck. __________________ Mark

June 1, 2016	#8
Adenn1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philly Posts: 559	Ginny, I think you will be ok and BER should not be an issue. Yes, at some point you just have to let the tomatoes do what they can with what is available. I am letting my 12 year old son take over my garden spot behind the garage this year. He has four sweet peppers and eight hot peppers...two of which are Ghost peppers. He also has a cherry tomato and some cucumbers in. Lastly, he is also growing some herbs like rosemary, basil, etc. He ran out of room for tomatoes, but that's okay as my neighbor has about two dozen plants out in his garden and we can take whatever we want. He was really excited to do this and I told him he could have it all and he would be in charge of taking care of everything. I helped some and he has spent a good amount of time researching on line. The cucumbers are doing well and the rest is coming along slowly. The recent warmer days have helped and no problems yet. We have had some issues with insects eating the pepper plants, but some Safer soap is helping address that. Will keep you updated and do the same __________________ Mark

May 30, 2016	#2
Jonnyhat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Downingtown, PA Posts: 337	this is my first year growing anything directly in the ground as my garden is all raised beds at my house; I took over a 200' x 40' plot at my friends place as he is too busy to work it. The soil has been worked for years as well but I try 1 gallon per plant per week. as far as pests and diseases... not sure where your garden is, but big problem in the burbs is deer, they will demolish a whole garden and there are soo many out here. If you are in the city and not near any of the bigger state parks this should not be a problem. Squirrels are also evil . Horn worm can be an issue for tomatoes, cabbage worm for brassica (Sp?) onion maggots for garlic and onions, and Squash boarer for cucumber and squash. As far as diseases, early and late blight, and blossom end rot are the main ones I ran into for my tomatoes. Last year my potatoes all got destroyed by verticillum wilt, and this year my onions by onion maggots. Point of note I do everything 100% organic, so my best friend this year and last has been neem oil and Dr bronners soap mixed in a sprayer and BT, those 3 ingredients saved my kale, lettuces, chard and cukes last year.

May 30, 2016	#3
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	I used to work in Philly at the navy yard and lived across the river in Turnersville NJ. I was a novice gardener and young mom then. The ground is gold. Everything seemed to taste better from there. Mushroom compost is readily available and you might have that in your garden. I never mulched and everything did great. Enjoy your stay, the people are great too. - Lisa

June 2, 2016	#9
Jonnyhat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Downingtown, PA Posts: 337	I decided today that I am single stemming averything in my hyome garden except my cherries, while the 70 plants I have in ground at my buddies I am going to let grow au natural. But still staked. Same with7 the. Cukes and squash at my house, those will be caged and trellised while at his place free range squash.

June 4, 2016	#10
Jonnyhat Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2015 Location: Downingtown, PA Posts: 337

June 4, 2016	#11
PhilaGardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Near Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,940	My planted tomatoes are finally picking up with this warmth. Jonnyhat yours look great! Ginny, make sure you visit the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College. Just a few miles to your East, no admission fee, great collection. Longwood Gardens to your West is a bit further and $, but a fantastic day trip if you haven't already done it.