THE OLD FOLK SAY.....

[mensplace]

You DON'T plant before Good Friday!

In far too many years I have made offerings to the tomato gods after being fooled by an extended period of warmth, by planting out early. Not this year.

Despite the forecasts, I looked outside this morning and, sure enough, frost everywhere. Glad I brought everything back in last night,

Now I wish I could remember all the other old sayings!

[Father'sDaughter]

Glad you saved them!

Up here the old timers say, "Never plant out tomatoes before Memorial Day."

I've found it to be good advice.

[Urbanheirlooms]

My area is around May 5. I have always planted about a dozen plants in mid April and if there is any chance of a frost, I cover them. I plant out the rest in early May. I usually get some ripe tomatoes in late June.

[carolyn137]

I'm an Old Folk, as you put it Clarence,and I'm trying hard to post less here at Tville all the time until maybe it gets to the point that just for old time memories I'll go back to January of 2006 when Mischka opened Tville, and read forward to see who is still here,who has died,who got banned, etc.

And the above b/c the general atmosphere here now is quite different from what it used to be, not just my opinion since some long timers here have said the same and that includes those who used to post here regularly who are still very much alive and have chosen not to post here.

Back on topic.

I no longer can raise my own seedlings so I give seeds to a local person who does that for me,then he brings the flats of them here to my home where someone else plants them and cares for them, if she remembers to do so in spite of my asking her to do so.. And the deal is that I also give him seeds for his own purposes, and while I'm technically in a zone 5a here,as he is, it makes no sense at all to put out seedlings, already hardened off, too early,since they sit there and sulk.

Better IMO to just wait until the soil,or however someone grows their tomatoes,since it's known where I live that freezing rain and hail and snow can still appear up to mid June. So most in this area are sowing seed much later than they used to do so.

Carolyn

[pondgardener]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

I'm an Old Folk, as you put it Clarence,and I'm trying hard to post less here at Tville all the time until maybe it gets to the point that just for old time memories I'll go back to January of 2006 when Mischka opened Tville, and read forward to see who is still here,who has died,who got banned, etc.

And the above b/c the general atmosphere here now is quite different from what it used to be, not just my opinion since some long timers here have said the same and that includes those who used to post here regularly who are still very much alive and have chosen not to post here.

Back on topic.

I no longer can raise my own seedlings so I give seeds to a local person who does that for me,then he brings the flats of them here to my home where someone else plants them and cares for them, if she remembers to do so in spite of my asking her to do so.. And the deal is that I also give him seeds for his own purposes, and while I'm technically in a zone 5a here,as he is, it makes no sense at all to put out seedlings, already hardened off, too early,since they sit there and sulk.

Better IMO to just wait until the soil,or however someone grows their tomatoes,since it's known where I live that freezing rain and hail and snow can still appear up to mid June. So most in this area are sowing seed much later than they used to do so.

Carolyn

Carolyn,

I was thinking the same the other day, when I started to read posts from 2006, noticing the names of people I haven't seen post here for a very long time. It seemed like there was more information being shared. I felt the same way, looking back at the idigmygarden board. I think more people should go to the last page of various forums and read backward. I have found quite a bit of information by doing so.

George

[carolyn137]

To several of you who have posted.

Many of us posted at the original Garden Web,now Houzz, but that went downhill rapidly. Some here post at both places.Some posted at idig when it was very popular, I know I did,and some posted at Dave's Garden, but when they started asking for money to post,it was bye bye from me and others as well even though they gave lifetime free memberships to Jere Gettle,Tom Wagner and myself as well. Then there were all those Pro Board sites, too many to mention,most of them gone now. And others I could mention as well, but won't.

What I miss the most here can be summed up in just one word and that word is CIVILITY.

Little groups have formed here and some seem to,or do say, they know it all. No one knows it all.

Some have said they want to grow this or that for next year,tell me if you know any of them and what you think of them .I've done that but it turns out that the person asking for input already knows what they will do. So for those, I know I don't offer suggestions anymore.

I used to really enjoy coming to Tville each day I could,but as the registered population grew and grew, and bickering started between various groups and contentious threads galore started appearing that got nasty, I for one started posting less and less as did some others and some left Tville permanently.

Sometime soon but not right away, I have to consider my own options as to what my level of participation might be here, as others have done the same.

So "we "shall see what the future might bring.

Carolyn, who also notes that she has many long time friends here from not just the US but also Canada, Mexico, Scandinavia, Denmark, England,Wales,Ireland and many many countries in Europe and in the far East as well.Also the newest MD from the health clinic in town who was here on Thursday for a home call, who can tell me all about the Grenadines,including Barbados, just north of Venezuala in South America as well as Alaska.

[rxkeith]

and never, ever plant when you have two feet of snow on the ground.

safe, if there is such a thing plant out date here is first week of june, but you better keep an eye on the weather. even then, plants usually sit there and sulk until july when it starts warming up more. june, the weather can still be on the cool side.



keith

[imp]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

To several of you who have posted.

Many of us posted at the original Garden Web,now Houzz, but that went downhill rapidly. Some here post at both places.Some posted at idig when it was very popular, I know I did,and some posted at Dave's Garden, but when they started asking for money to post,it was bye bye from me and others as well even though they gave lifetime free memberships to Jere Gettle,Tom Wagner and myself as well. Then there were all those Pro Board sites, too many to mention,most of them gone now. And others I could mention as well, but won't.

What I miss the most here can be summed up in just one word and that word is CIVILITY.

Little groups have formed here and some seem to,or do say, they know it all. No one knows it all.

Some have said they want to grow this or that for next year,tell me if you know any of them and what you think of them .I've done that but it turns out that the person asking for input already knows what they will do. So for those, I know I don't offer suggestions anymore.

I used to really enjoy coming to Tville each day I could,but as the registered population grew and grew, and bickering started between various groups and contentious threads galore started appearing that got nasty, I for one started posting less and less as did some others and some left Tville permanently.

Sometime soon but not right away, I have to consider my own options as to what my level of participation might be here, as others have done the same.

So "we "shall see what the future might bring.

Carolyn, who also notes that she has many long time friends here from not just the US but also Canada, Mexico, Scandinavia, Denmark, England,Wales,Ireland and many many countries in Europe and in the far East as well.Also the newest MD from the health clinic in town who was here on Thursday for a home call, who can tell me all about the Grenadines,including Barbados, just north of Venezuala in South America as well as Alaska.

I agree with Carolyn very much, especially this part:

"What I miss the most here can be summed up in just one word and that word is CIVILITY.

Little groups have formed here and some seem to,or do say, they know it all. No one knows it all."

[SpookyShoe]

I post erratically. I am no expert. A year or so ago it seemed to me it became en vogue for people to create and name their own heirlooms as fast as possible and release the seeds to others before the seed was stabilized. In addition, I don't think this site is a place for beginners anymore. I would be intimidated if I were just starting to grow tomatoes. Just my opinion. Maybe the site is too difficult/overwhelming for neophytes.

Donna

[Spartanburg123]

Originally Posted by SpookyShoe

I post erratically. I am no expert. A year or so ago it seemed to me it became en vogue for people to create and name their own heirlooms as fast as possible and release the seeds to others before the seed was stabilized. In addition, I don't think this site is a place for beginners anymore. I would be intimidated if I were just starting to grow tomatoes. Just my opinion. Maybe the site is too difficult/overwhelming for neophytes.

Donna

Donna- I agree. Funny, I have a cousin named Donna who lives in Seabrook, Texas. Any chance you are one and the same?

[SpookyShoe]

I don't think I know anyone in Spartanburg. Donna Nelson is a pretty common name. My unmarried last name was Vrba.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by SpookyShoe

I post erratically. I am no expert. A year or so ago it seemed to me it became en vogue for people to create and name their own heirlooms as fast as possible and release the seeds to others before the seed was stabilized. In addition, I don't think this site is a place for beginners anymore. I would be intimidated if I were just starting to grow tomatoes. Just my opinion. Maybe the site is too difficult/overwhelming for neophytes.

Donna

Donna,I couldn't agree with you more as I'm sure you know from all the years we've known each other.

For many here it's become what I would call being overly scientific in how they grow their tomatoes and other crops.

I had intended to start a thread in either General Discussion or wherever to discuss, well, a bit of the following.

Person A will say I switched from growing only hybrids to OP heirlooms and I'm seeing so much more diseases, I need help.

Fact. The most common tomato diseases,worldwide are ones that infect the foliage, and F1 hybrids don't have any effective/useful,not resistances, rather tolerances against foliage diseases. Dr. Randy Gardner,now deceased, developed a few but it mean instead of spraying every 3 to 4 days you could go out to 5 to 7 days, which was indeed a large savings on the cost of the sprays as well as labor costs for those with large commercial tomato farms.

Person B might say....I find that using lights with X #of lumens, and leaving them on for 12 hrs each day works best.

Who cares about how many lumens, I never did, my large plant stand was 4 feet long and 4 tiers high and for each tier, there were 4 bulbs,one warm and one white one each side. Why would I care how many lumens, etc,if the seedlings I grew were pretty darn good, that was enough for me.

Then we get into the continual arguments about switching which fertilizers/amendments to use as plants mature. Use only 5-2-5 at first, then switch to 6-8-12 later, and on and on.

So yes, Donna,I agree with you completely that new gardeners here are no longer served well in my opinion.

Carolyn, reminding herself to em Rob,since someone met him down in town and he said he wanted to get up here and talk seeds again,some for me, some for him and some for both of us and he sows the seeds and raises the seedlings for both of us..I just found out he's getting married,he talks at about 80 wpm,so he must have found a woman who also talks that fast.

[SpookyShoe]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Donna,I couldn't agree with you more as I'm sure you know from all the years we've known each other.

For many here it's become what I would call being overly scientific in how they grow their tomatoes and other crops.

I had intended to start a thread in either General Discussion or wherever to discuss, well, a bit of the following.

Person A will say I switched from growing only hybrids to OP heirlooms and I'm seeing so much more diseases, I need help.

Fact. The most common tomato diseases,worldwide are ones that infect the foliage, and F1 hybrids don't have any effective/useful,not resistances, rather tolerances against foliage diseases. Dr. Randy Gardner,now deceased, developed a few but it mean instead of spraying every 3 to 4 days you could go out to 5 to 7 days, which was indeed a large savings on the cost of the sprays as well as labor costs for those with large commercial tomato farms.

Person B might say....I find that using lights with X #of lumens, and leaving them on for 12 hrs each day works best.

Who cares about how many lumens, I never did, my large plant stand was 4 feet long and 4 tiers high and for each tier, there were 4 bulbs,one warm and one white one each side. Why would I care how many lumens, etc,if the seedlings I grew were pretty darn good, that was enough for me.

Then we get into the continual arguments about switching which fertilizers/amendments to use as plants mature. Use only 5-2-5 at first, then switch to 6-8-12 later, and on and on.

So yes, Donna,I agree with you completely that new gardeners here are no longer served well in my opinion.

Carolyn, reminding herself to em Rob,since someone met him down in town and he said he wanted to get up here and talk seeds again,some for me, some for him and some for both of us and he sows the seeds and raises the seedlings for both of us..I just found out he's getting married,he talks at about 80 wpm,so he must have found a woman who also talks that fast.

You were a great teacher to so many of us and you still are. Thank you so much for not looking down your nose at us, judging us, our thinking we were "silly" because we held certain beliefs.. Donna

[marc_groleau]

Memorial day is the weekend for getting the garden planted. On occasion, the weekend before. Never earlier.

[Fred Hempel]

I am a late Bay Area planter. First week of May.