Hello Zone 6/7, How are things?

[dcarch]

Hello you all,

How are you doing? How is your garden doing?

We have had some fairly good weather here in NY. sun and rain, 80s day, 60s night.

Any pictures to post?

dcarch

[Doris]

Hi

I'm on the Central Jersey Shore and my plants have been inground more than a week. (about 32 plants) They are all doing very well and getting nice and big. We have been having a lot of wind, some rain, and mostly sunshine. And I have four plants with flowers already........two early Matina, one early Latah, and another plant. Tomorrow I will sprinkle them all with Sea Magic.

Good gardening............................Regards, Doris, NJ

[Tomstrees]

Hey all you 6/7ers !

I potted the dwarf projects and cross projects on May 9th &
the main garden on May 11th-12th, with hot peps the following week around the 14th.

My seed start date was later this year and so was my plant out date - but looks like that "wait" may have been worth it. Also, whether the plants were tall or short, they were all sown deep, and I mean deep, with just the tops out of the soil.

I was able to get "project approval" to extend the garden forward, and sideways, so I have 23 tomato plants and 7 hot peps in the main garden, and 27 "tomato projects" in pots along the shed.
Also, my experiment from last year of planting 2 plants per cage? Yeah, was a bust - need more air-flow ~ not good ... So 1 plant per cage this year...

The garden site is where an old 100 year old oak used to be (people before us cut it down.). So in certain spots, I only have 12-16 inches of soil. Its been "shallow" in the past, but after building it up naturally, I think we're getting there.

This season, its starting to look like all that composted material I over-turned in the fall and seaweed mulch has really broken down to give my soil a great "look" & feel ... Just "looks right" , you know ?

I bought 2 bales of hay and collected 3 bags of seaweed for mulch.
Removed all lower leaves to avoid splash up (I don't use store bought fertilizers or fungicides organic or not; if it gets diseased? Its in the garbage), and have only had to water once so far (rain helped).

These are my "starter" photos. After this weekend, I'll get some real pics up as dwarf projects now have buds of all different sizes, & shapes, and the peps are starting to catch up.

Really excited about 2007. Its the "year of the mater" for me, and I'm getting married on Sept. 1 ... Gonna be one crazy summer !

Hope all is well, and I'll "see you around campus" ...

~ Tom

[tomatoguy]

The garden is doing well despite near drought conditions for the last two weeks. Fortunately, temps have only been in the mid-80's. I have about 30 little green tomatoes. They are on the following plants in descending order: Burgundy Traveler, Earl's Faux, Clear Pink Early, Big Red, Mortgage Lifter. Plants are currently from 1 1/2 to 4 feet tall, not counting Stick and the late starts. ML Bi-color seems to have a bit of bacterial speck and several others have a touch of early blight. Nothing too serious, though, since the dry conditions have slowed the progress of the diseases. I am guessing my first ripe one should come in about June 15 or so. That is about 1-2 weeks later than usual but a good 2-3 weeks ahead of homegrowns hitting the local market. My first round of plants got wiped out by the early April freeze or I would have had ripe tomatoes for Memorial Day. BTW, I watered two days ago. That is the first time I have had to water in May in many years.

mater

[bigcheef]

I’m a little behind ole Mater there, but things are looking good here in middle TN. All 70 + plants are taking off and most of the larger indeterminate plants are between 1 ant 2 ft. tall. Peppers were planted late so are just now beginning to hit their first growth spurt. Melons and cuckes are beginning to sprawl and the corn has jumped out of the ground so fast I could have sworn I heard is say, “Hyyyyy-yah!” the other day.

RIK

[Fert1]

I got my plants in the ground about mid-April. My tallest plants are about chest height (4 ft.?), my shortest one is about 6-8 inches, (my dwarfed Kimberly mutant plant). All my small fruited varieties are setting fruit nicely. The slicers have been blooming for about as long, but not setting fruit for whatever reason.

For the first time today, I saw one obvious fruit set on a Lucky Cross. My Cherokee Chocolate, Rose, Aunt Ginny's Purple, Aunt Gertie's Gold, Stump of the World, Cherokee Green, and Brandyboy are just producing blooms and having a lot of blossom drop. Aunt Ginny's Purple at least seems motivated. I counted about a dozen blossoms in one blossom cluster, which looked as if it might be several clusters fused together.

[tomatoguy]

A couple of pics taken yesterday for your enjoyment. EF has 9 little greenies now and BT has 10.

mater

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by tomatoguy

A couple of pics taken yesterday for your enjoyment. EF has 9 little greenies now and BT has 10.
mater

That's amazing for Z6B. Do you have a greenhouse to start seeds?

I use a removable GH to get my plants in ground early.
dcarch

pic of Sub Artic Maxi

[Warren]

Originally Posted by dcarch

That's amazing for Z6B. Do you have a greenhouse to start seeds?

I use a removable GH to get my plants in ground early.
dcarch

pic of Sub Artic Maxi

Very nice looking plants

[tomatoguy]

I start my seeds under a Metal Halide light. No greenhouse or cold frame.

mater

[jcmorse33]

In central Virginia I planted out in mid-April... 2 Pruden's Purple, 2 Kellog's Breakfast, 1 Big Beef, and 1 Lemon Boy in a double dug raised bed that I put together this year. I planted these using something similar to Earl's hole method. Plus I also have Sweet Baby Girl, Sun Gold, Super Bush, Jetstar, and Husky Gold in 5 gallon self watering pots from Walmart set up like the Earthbox instructions tell you (dolomite lime mixed in the potting mix, fertilizer strip on top, plastic mulch cover). In the raised bed I have a trellis that is about 5' 6" tall above the soil surface with the plants on a 18 inch center spacing pruned to 2 or 3 main vines. The pots all have cheap wire cages and I let them grow however they like.

At this point (end of June) all my plants are at the upper limit of their supports. I have over 100 assorted slicing tomatoes set (probably 25 of these on the heirlooms) and hundreds of cherries. I am just starting to harvest cherries and am eagerly awaiting my first slicing tomato (and in particular my first ever non-vermin chewed heirloom).

Next year I think I am going to have to limit the potted tomatoes to cherries as I can't seem to get any more slicers to set without developing BER. I can only fill the water reservoirs in the morning and evening and they really need a mid-day watering the plants have gotten so large. But since I can't even hope to eat all the tomatoes I have set now and my wife isn't a tomato fan cutting back to what I can grow in the bed probably won't be an issue. I just wanted some backups this year in case I repeated my experience from last year with my first heirloom variety which ripened all of 1 tomato which the field mice got.

--Justin

[remy]

Dcarch,
Thanks for the links! I enjoyed watching the video. It must be how my husband feels when he sits on the porch with a beer while I garden.
You did make a very nice easy set up that works wonderfully for your spot. Could you come over here and design something for me.
Oh, and I have lots of little tomatoes on my Orlovskie Rysaki plants that I didn't see a couple days ago. I'm way far behind you but still excited.
Remy

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by remy

Dcarch,
Thanks for the links! I enjoyed watching the video. -----, and I have lots of little tomatoes on my Orlovskie Rysaki plants that I didn't see a couple days ago. I'm way far behind you but still excited.
Remy

where are you in NY? I am in Westchester.

dcarch

[remy]

Dcarch,
I'm Tonawanda. It is a suburb between Buffalo and Niagara Falls along the Niagara River. Being close to the water, I'm in that little strip of zone 6 across the state from you.
Remy

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by jcmorse33

In central Virginia I planted out in mid-April... 2 Pruden's Purple, 2 Kellog's Breakfast, 1 Big Beef, and 1 Lemon Boy in a double dug raised bed that I put together this year.-------Justin

would love to see a few pictures .

dcarch