Nematode's not yet epic Hydroponic thread

[Nematode]

Talkin to myself I guess.
Anyway hydroponic potato are looking very good after the slow start.

[Nematode]

2 weeks time for a wide shot
I always think I can squeeze a few plants on the south of a row end and they always suffer from jungle-itis.

Pole beans look wore out, I might have time to re-plant.

[salix]

Not just talking to yourself, Mr. N - I for one have been enjoying your thread. Lovely jungle!

[Nematode]

Hydroponic jalapeno
Couple of stubbies down low, I think they formed when I was hand watering and they got dry a few times. It's all automatic now.

[Mike723]

I've been lurking, lookin great brotha!!

[Nematode]

Cucumbers are coming much faster than I can use them, and fridge is already packed with quick pickles.
As you can see I am a huge fan of trellising. Everything is pretty visible, dirt free, and can pick most.of it without bending too far.

The part you can't see is that the garden is almost entirely within the dripline of an enormous oak tree.
Containers/hydroponics prevent root intrusion.

Bloody butcher are making some small round fair tasting fruits, but the first couple hearts have come in and are very tasty, based on what I have seen so far next year I would pass on the BB and plant more hearts. Stupice was supposed to be early but havent seen any ripes there yet.

Sungolds are kicking in with a.few sun sugar as well.
Both are very good.

Thanks for listening!

[Nematode]

What I should have did:
Pull up pole beans cut.down the trellis string and.dispose of the whole old plants that seem.to be struggling with some disease, bleach the bato buckets, use fresh perlite media.

What I did:
Cut off beans at "soil" level.
Poked new bean seeds in the perlite.

Guess im just like that.
At least fall beans are in.

[Worth1]

Looks great.

Worth

[Nematode]

Confession: I am a terrible gardener.
The subtleties of soil nutrition elude me completely.
I am a fair technician, which is mostly what hydroponics requires.
Mix a plus b dilute with x gallons. Get a garden.

My space is limited, about 20 x 20, so crop rotation is not an option.
I rotate the grow media instead, 2 years and get new.

Here are my dirt potatoes vs my hydroponic potatoes. You can guess which is which.
I forget to fertilize and.water the dirt.
The oak roots dry it out.
Think I pulled one weed that started in the hydro. I hate weeding.

[Nematode]

The sungold/sunsugar production is outstanding have been picked many times already.
Fresh off the vine sungold beats sunsugar, but the splits are a problem. In a salad or whatever im not sure I could tell the difference except for the tougher skin.

[Nematode]

Bloody Butcher update.
I think they will return next year. The flavor is good and they are a good bit earlier than the hearts, which have just now started coming in in numbers.

[Mike723]

Those are some beautifully happy suns! I've been loving the Black cherries this year.. what a nice heirloomy flavor they have .. Heirloomy - is that a word? haha .. They taste like a sweet, larger sized rich tomato, with a welcomed bite.. The Isis were delicious too, but very disease prone.. In the first pic you can see the isis in the foreground on the left (small and sad lol).. The black and chocolate cherries are the next monsters on the left..



I'm loving the trellised cukes as well.. Unfortunately these "Mini Sweet Gherkins" are terrible.. very sour.. I'm not sure if they were mislabeled as it's my first year trying the variety, but never again lol.. The "Marketmores" were nice though..

[Nematode]

Toms are looking good Mike. Heard others are liking black cherry, they r on the "maybe" list for 2016.
Cool cuke trellis, leaves on top pickles underneath.

[Mike723]

Thanks brotha.. Yea I'm loving the ease of picking with the cuke trellis.. The tomatoes are ahhh ok this year lol .. It was my first year with a hairy vetch cover crop so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of additional N requirements .. I went a little too light, and they suffered because of it.. Although the cherries are happy.. Have a little disease going on.. lost a Noire to fusarium, and a few Isis to leaf mold and/or canker.. tricky diagnosis.. But nothing like the Septoria that wiped me out last year, so no complaints! Those hydro potatoes are gorgeous btw!

[Nematode]

These are very tasty.
Galia melon from Johnny seed.
The plants are surprisingly compact in sq ft terms when trellised vertically.
They have a neat feature in that they slip from the vine when ripe. No more guessing if they are rjpe or not.
I have to bag them in nylons with a tomato clip to the trellis string.
Neighbor calls them panty hose melons