Disappointing Garden

tokizy · June 28, 2012

Anyone disappointed with their garden this year?

I might be more pessimistic today, but last night I was trimming the dying leaves on the bottoms of my tomatoes. I was looking at all the fruit to come. I got an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I even told my wife that I was not happy with my arrangement this year and that last years was better.

So you know my setup here is a pic

I have 2 raised beds (4'x8') and have 6 x 2x4 as my posts. I have a rope which acts as my point to tie my stringers too. Last year my largest plant was about 3' over and back down the ropes up top.

This year my plants are heavy and burdening my 2x4's I will post another pic of the bend. I have already had 1 incident of the 2x4 getting pulled down.

1. My plants this year are more curved and sprawling cause of this slack.
I should probably resort to a more rigid setup, but finances are limited so I have to use what I can make from materials around the house.

2. To further add salt to the wound, I have found 2 horned worms already this season which have done mild destruction (nothing I cannot recoup from). I have found evidence of another, but cannot find him.

3. I have splits on some of my tomatoes. I cannot tell if its over water or underwater. Some are concentric, some are not. I am never good at understanding the water needed for my maters.

4. Some of my Oxhearts have BER, which I know if calcium deficiency. I cannot afford to buy anything to re-mediate it besides stealing milk from my fridge.

5. Non tomato related. I built a potato bin and it doesn't seem to be working as the slugs got to my potatoes and I am down 5 from 9 plants.

So all my frustrations are coming out in one post. I might need a cheering up, but moreso I think I need better planning and prep post growing season this year and preseason next year. UGH. The woes of gardening.

dpurdy · June 28, 2012

tokizy,

Sorry to hear about your troubles with your garden space this year. I'm sure that if you post more pictures of your problem areas that members here will help with suggestions on how to improve your situation. Most times it's only a small correction or adjusting the way you do things that will make a big difference with your outcome. One suggestion with your 2X4 supports would be to use a cable or rope to secure them in place (like you would for a tent support or pole). That would keep them from wanting to collapse on themselves.
Most gardeners have experienced the lose of plants due to one thing or another. It's never a good feeling because most have to wait until the next year before replanting a new garden. There's still an opportunity to experiment with some fall crops, that might help to improve your gardening methods. Try not to get too discouraged over the performance of your garden this season. It only takes one good harvest to rid yourself of the feeling.
DP

kurt · June 28, 2012

Move the 2bys to outside corners, run some 45 degree angles from half way up to bed boards below.Join the 2bys at the top(horizontals) on short end of bed.All this will stabilize and hold.Lose the tree height on the right for more sun.

meadowyck · June 28, 2012

I is heartache for sure when you garden doesn't go as hoped.

from your one picture it looks like there isn't much sun getting to your beds or is it just that the picture was taken on an overcast day?

How many hours of sunlight do your beds receive?

delltraveller · June 29, 2012

Cracking is usually related to a sudden influx of moisture. Some varieties are just more prone to it by heredity. I think Tigerella is the variety that Carolyn always mentions as cracking from the morning dew. Concentric cracking seems to be the norm for some varieties no matter what you do.

Regarding the BER on your oxhearts, it may not be a lack of calcium in your soil. It is caused by the plant not properly taking in the calcium, but it may not be an absence of calcium, but something like rapid growth or heat or other stresses causing the plant to struggle with calcium distribution. I've seen some improvement in my Banana Cream plant when I got the roots cooler by thick mulching.

I think dpurdy's suggestion about roping and staking like a tent is a good one. I always think of an old math and physics teacher's in★★★★★★★★ to " use the strength of a triangle" when I do stuff like that.

Save$ · June 29, 2012

I don't know how much the extension services chargers to test soil, but that will take all the guessing out of trying to figure out what is wrong or from adding stuff you don't need.

June 28, 2012	#1
tokizy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Dacula,GA Posts: 51	Disappointing Garden Anyone disappointed with their garden this year? I might be more pessimistic today, but last night I was trimming the dying leaves on the bottoms of my tomatoes. I was looking at all the fruit to come. I got an overwhelming feeling of disappointment. I even told my wife that I was not happy with my arrangement this year and that last years was better. So you know my setup here is a pic I have 2 raised beds (4'x8') and have 6 x 2x4 as my posts. I have a rope which acts as my point to tie my stringers too. Last year my largest plant was about 3' over and back down the ropes up top. This year my plants are heavy and burdening my 2x4's I will post another pic of the bend. I have already had 1 incident of the 2x4 getting pulled down. 1. My plants this year are more curved and sprawling cause of this slack. I should probably resort to a more rigid setup, but finances are limited so I have to use what I can make from materials around the house. 2. To further add salt to the wound, I have found 2 horned worms already this season which have done mild destruction (nothing I cannot recoup from). I have found evidence of another, but cannot find him. 3. I have splits on some of my tomatoes. I cannot tell if its over water or underwater. Some are concentric, some are not. I am never good at understanding the water needed for my maters. 4. Some of my Oxhearts have BER, which I know if calcium deficiency. I cannot afford to buy anything to re-mediate it besides stealing milk from my fridge. 5. Non tomato related. I built a potato bin and it doesn't seem to be working as the slugs got to my potatoes and I am down 5 from 9 plants. So all my frustrations are coming out in one post. I might need a cheering up, but moreso I think I need better planning and prep post growing season this year and preseason next year. UGH. The woes of gardening. __________________ War Eagle!!!

June 28, 2012	#4
meadowyck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Brooksville, FL Posts: 1,001	I is heartache for sure when you garden doesn't go as hoped. from your one picture it looks like there isn't much sun getting to your beds or is it just that the picture was taken on an overcast day? How many hours of sunlight do your beds receive? __________________ Jan “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” -Theodore Roosevelt

June 29, 2012	#6
Save$ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Maine Posts: 46	I don't know how much the extension services chargers to test soil, but that will take all the guessing out of trying to figure out what is wrong or from adding stuff you don't need. __________________ Love to Garden, Burn Pellets, Have a solar space, cloche and do vertical growing. Will do a lot of canning if I can keep LB away.

June 28, 2012	#2
dpurdy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Norwich, New York Posts: 255	tokizy, Sorry to hear about your troubles with your garden space this year. I'm sure that if you post more pictures of your problem areas that members here will help with suggestions on how to improve your situation. Most times it's only a small correction or adjusting the way you do things that will make a big difference with your outcome. One suggestion with your 2X4 supports would be to use a cable or rope to secure them in place (like you would for a tent support or pole). That would keep them from wanting to collapse on themselves. Most gardeners have experienced the lose of plants due to one thing or another. It's never a good feeling because most have to wait until the next year before replanting a new garden. There's still an opportunity to experiment with some fall crops, that might help to improve your gardening methods. Try not to get too discouraged over the performance of your garden this season. It only takes one good harvest to rid yourself of the feeling. DP

June 28, 2012	#3
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,500	Move the 2bys to outside corners, run some 45 degree angles from half way up to bed boards below.Join the 2bys at the top(horizontals) on short end of bed.All this will stabilize and hold.Lose the tree height on the right for more sun.

June 29, 2012	#5
delltraveller Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 481	Cracking is usually related to a sudden influx of moisture. Some varieties are just more prone to it by heredity. I think Tigerella is the variety that Carolyn always mentions as cracking from the morning dew. Concentric cracking seems to be the norm for some varieties no matter what you do. Regarding the BER on your oxhearts, it may not be a lack of calcium in your soil. It is caused by the plant not properly taking in the calcium, but it may not be an absence of calcium, but something like rapid growth or heat or other stresses causing the plant to struggle with calcium distribution. I've seen some improvement in my Banana Cream plant when I got the roots cooler by thick mulching. I think dpurdy's suggestion about roping and staking like a tent is a good one. I always think of an old math and physics teacher's in★★★★★★★★ to " use the strength of a triangle" when I do stuff like that.