What's Happening in the Garden Today?

[nctomatoman]

Good couple of days in the garden, along with a very welcome hour or so of rain this evening. This morning I picked whatever lettuce I could (tasting it to be sure it wasn't bitter), since it is bolting, then pulled the plants. We then picked a few summer squash, a good quantity of bush beans, and some blueberries, and the second Diva cuke. We are picking these every day now, which makes meal times a pleasure! I also fed my melon and squash plants. We have a few melons that set (Passport, I think).

As far as the driveway Solanum garden, I did several walk throughs to try to find hornworms - all told today I plucked off and killed 15 or so, some of which were quite huge. I then fed and watered all of the pots (hot and sweet peppers, eggplant and tomatoes - about 110 in all). I then went around with my scissors and large ball of twine and tied up the peppers, eggplant and indeterminate tomatoes - I still need to do the Dwarfs. I am amazed to see so many healthy plants out there - Tomato Spotted Wilt appears to be limited to 5 dwarfs and 1 indeterminate, with no new attacks in over a week. And, only one plant showing signs of Fusarium.

I also transplanted the second set of Dwarf experiments into 4 inch pots, and will give them a month or so before they replace those currently growing in the Grow Bags. This will be my first year going for a double crop of tomatoes.

General observations - the Indeterminate tomatoes are really setting fruit well, with some large green fruit on Stump of the World, Cherokee Purple and Chocolate, Lillian's Yellow, and all of the new Dwarf F1 crosses (especially Stumpy!). The dwarfs are just loading up with fruit - Lime Green Salad has so many unripe fruit it is just plain silly. Tomorrow I will pull the first Kimberly (49 days from transplant).

This weekend I hope to put in some Corn where the lettuce and sugar snap peas are now pulled - not a lot, just a few clusters in two rows, to get a few dozen ears in early September.

[QAGuy]

I pulled the last of the lettuce that went to seed and mixed in a bunch
of amendment this week. Planted a few radish and corn seeds,
leaving some extra room for another row of each later.

Pulled all the beets too. They were ready.

Green beans have about spent so they'll be the next to go.
Put in a new row where the beets were.

Almost all the tomato plants are doing great. Many fruit and
good sized ones too. Got Sweet 100, Radiator Charlie, Mortgage Lifter,
Brandywine OTV, Red Brandywine, Kellog's Breakfast, Champion,
Early Girl, Tigerella, Lemon Boy and Boxcar Willie.

Only one, Motomato had something go kablooie and it wilted
on me suddenly. Got a sucker from KB in the kitchen garden window
rooting to take it's place.

Oh, cucumbers are also OK and the horseradish is almost
as big as the tomatoes.

Had about a dozen or so fruit and around 30 or so Sweet 100's. Love them for breakfast!

It's been a good year so far, but it's starting to get hot.

Plumeria are doing nicely too. Growing well and have flowers
on a couple with more to come. They're cuttings I brought back
from Hawaii last year so they're just now getting fully established.

[BigdaddyJ]

Here in my Zone 7 Delaware garden my tomato plants are doing great. Tall, bushy and healthy and lots of small fruit setting. This season has been great weather-wise so far and it should be a good year. I picked my fist ripe SunGold this morning. I didn't grow any early varieties this year. My next ripe will come from Momotaro or Big Beef I think.

[shelleybean]

I wish I had more to report but I'm in between picking things right now. All my radishes, lettuce, spinach, onions and peas are done and all that's left from spring planting is potatoes. They're not much fun to watch because all the action is going on underground. I filled in with snap beans, butter beans, corn, cucumbers, melons and squash as all my spring things finished up. Snap beans are at least seven feet high and cucumbers and melons are flowering. On the other side of the garden, I've picked a few sweet peppers, Melrose, Doe Hill and Tennessee Cheese. My okra has buds. No eggplant set yet. Lots of green tomatoes and waiting for something to ripen. I think Lollipop will be first. I keep checking it but that plant is so dense. It would be easy to miss the little yellow tomatoes!

Hope all is well for everyone else!

[shelleybean]

Oh, yippee! Just found three eggplant--two White Beauty and one Rosita!

[BigdaddyJ]

OK, I see this is a GARDEN report rather than only tomatoes. I haven't posted here much so still learning the ropes. It's nice seeing a lot of familiar and knowledgeable faces here...

Sugar Snap peas were excellent. I harvest last fall planted garlic crop last week. My ancient Chinese cucumbers are huge as usual. I'll pick my first tomorrow. They can go 2 feet long and quite tasty. My pepper plants are on the small side for late June. I gotta move them to a sunnier spot. Japanese Beetles arrived this week and I have a bucket full of dead ones that I knock off the plants into a soapy water death. They don't bother tomatoes at all but love our zinnia. Speaking of flowers, we have a stand of about 50 9 foot tall Orienpet lillies that will be opening soon. This is a sight to behold!

[Ruth_10]

Here is the harvest from yesterday. The tomatoes are Kimberly. I finally put netting over the plants to keep the birds away. The string beans are Tendergreen bush beans. I plant these as early and late crops, with pole beans making up the main crop. The broccoli are probably Arcadia and Marathon. There is a Dark Green zucchini in there somewhere.
harvest 22-June-2007DSC_6953.jpg

We finally got some rain today--about an inch total. It came down fast, but I'll take it any way it comes.

[korney19]

Hey Gary... howdya like them Catawissas? I've been growing them since the late 1990's here... they are everywhere in the yard now!



I'm way behind, got double carpal tunnel & cubital/ulnar tunnel and just finally got most of the maters in the ground, still have a couple watermelons to plant and hook up the drip system & repair some broken fittings from the hired help...

Good gardening to you (and Earl & all.)

Mark

[Volvo]

Will upload a coupla more piccies later on but had my first walk around the vegypatch since last Thusday and due to the rain and being on shift left it all to the Missus to look after which she did via the side window lol..
Anyhows, Tomato plants all still looking GREAT!! and happy as can be.Have three sweet1000 plants which maybe shoulda only planted out one plant as its incredible at the amount of fruit these plants shed and giving them away by the Haloumi Bucketfull lol..
Like walking into a rainforest to get in among em and pick i'll tell ya!!..
Oneof the Syrian Giants has a bundle of Tomatos all bunched together and about seven or eight in the bunch just tending ripe and good size fruits too..That plant has really amazed me at how many and sizewise fruit it has yeilded so far..Worth growing for those thinking about it, from this end it has been anyhow..
Stump of the World?? well i think ive said all needs saying so far and truly a top taster as is the Oluers allthough Olyers seems to be ripening one by one and a tad slower than the rest and am planning a Summer plantout of these weather permitting??..
Mariannas??, still ripening, as are other varieties ive yet to taste..
Beans ??, Nup!! wrong time of the year maybe or weather has been putting them off mindya this is the third lot in the same spot so maybe thats the problem??...
Earls Huge Giant parsely which still amazes me at the size it grows is going for the second term without looking like giving up the ghost...
Missus got me to plant some mint which is trying its darnest to take over the whole area and need to chop the bejayzuz out of it and turn into a steak/veal cuttlet topping(toplittle recipe if anyone needs it...
Three capsicum plants which so far so good..
Rocket taking off like a rocket lol and Corianda which has had the sulksfor the last coupla months and dont wanna put on a show whatsoever??, who knows just might not like the taste of my soil???...
MY FigTree is chirping away and happy as can be with near four/five baby figs comming on..
And my paw Paws!!! well i wont say no more about them incase i give em the evil eye but will take pics when the fruit are looking like i can afford to brag about em lol..
Did i leave anything out???..
Anyhows wishing all well and happy gardening ey..
Cheers

[Volvo]

Okay lets see how we goes ??..

[frankkj]

Been busy pickin maters everyday. The flavor seems to get better and better. Peppers are doing well also.

I am really surprised how great these HEB work. I plan to have many more next year.

June 24, 2007.jpg

[materlvr]

Earl, what can you tell me about growing artichokes? I'm interested in planting some. What varieties are you growing? Seeds or starts? Who did you get seed from? Required care? How long till you get real atries?????

Yum! And, thanks!

Janie

[nctomatoman]

Today was a real busy one in the garden - pulled out the bolting lettuce, weeded and cultivated the area and planted Corn. Picked squash, cukes, beans, blueberries. (I can't believe the productivity of the bush beans...tonight, grilled Old Bay shrimp, steamed beans, grilled zucchini...and a nice chardonnay, on the deck!)....removed dozens of Japanese Beetles from the basil and pulled off the foliage that they fouled, as well as the developing flower clusters. Weeded the bean row as I picked.

Potted up a few wave petunia plants we got close out priced at the Farmer's Market, as well as a whole load of my extra experimental ornamental hot peppers. Potted up a few replacements for the dwarfs that have Tomato Spotted Wilt (I don't have replacements for 3 of the varieties, but 2 are repeats from previous years). Did some record keeping - observations on the Dwarf project and my pepper projects. Tied all dwarfs to their stakes. Now I am pooped!

[Earl]

Craig. I've been pooped for a month or more. Been digging up a rash of thistle that I can't seem to get rid of. It's roots go down to about 18 inches deep and will break off and make more thistle. I feel like Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny.

I finished 2 H.E.Bs today [homemade earth boxes]. Got so many different type plants to put in them i'm not sure what it will be. Have about 12 going now. I really like them. Dug down in my Russian Banana potato EB and found small spuds. Herbs like them too as does celery. The carrot EB is doing great. Garlic bed is doing great, some that I transplanted.

Most all my peppers are planted, 38 of them. Planted some cantaloupe and melons today. Did Roma II green beans yesterday. Still got to prepare beds to plant leeks, green onions, beets, cukes and etc. Me oh my, wish I could take the shotgun to them thistle. Oh, and I forgot to mention the invasion of Bermuda grass from my neighbor's yard. The grass, not the neighbor. LOL.

Jamie, don't remember name of artichokes. They are real slow to get started. Just kinda sitting there.

[kelleyville]

Mark,
I feel for ya and know how it feels to be slow gardening because body parts won't comply I take it you have cats? (the buckets!). If so what brand is that bucket from? if it wasnt kitty litter well then where did you get the square buckets? I been looking for white ones with no print!
Kelleyville/Kelley