Originally Posted by WilburMartin
this is my first "serious" year to grow anything; lots of great things learned - some triumphs, some disappointments, of course
biggest disappointments:
1 - yield from my "Patio" tomato plant; after a good start, rain toppled the main stem; the second stem produced 6 tomatoes; when another main stem appeared, it has produced 1 3-4 oz globe, and there are about 5 tiny green tomatoes on there at the moment
2 - straight eight cucumber plants - I never could get the water correct, and some herbicide drifted and savaged that plant mainly, as well as hitting parts of others - there was a distinct line of dead, so I have to assume that is what caused the issue
got about 8 cucumbers from the plant, tasted ok; will look for a decent bush, self pollinating cucumber for next year, if I grow cucumbers again
3 - cocozelle zucchini - I planted two plants in a huge barrel-type planter; 1 died after a few weeks; the remaining one has grown great, but only 1 fruit so far has not suffered from blossom end rot - although there is another that appears to be healthy
there are other female buds on the plant - hopefully I can get the watering right and get a few fruit later when the weather cools some here
4 - cilantro - out of three packs of seeds, not a single plant got over 3 inches tall; too hot and humid, I assume
5 - thyme - out of 3 packs of seeds and two Bonnie plants, the seeds died after sprouting, and the plants just died after looking great, they died in about 2 days
biggest triumphs so far:
1 - Ichiban eggplant - all 5 plants have produced abundant, sweet fruit; will grow those again
verdict is still out on my tomatoes - the creole and patio tomatoes were my first plants - set outs from Bonnie; they have done ok - neither have produced like crazy, but I may be to blame with a combination of over and under watering to get them right - they were in poor containers in ancient potting mix that grew who knows what before I transplanted - all in all, I guess they have done ok based on my learning curve
3 Pink Brandywine from Burpee seeds - 1 in a shopping bag, 2 in 5 gallon paint buckets with a mixture of commercial potting mix, compost, and leaf mold/brown leaves in the bottom; the shopping bag plant is huge, and is laden with buds; looking great so far - hope it produces like it promises too; the two plants in the buckets are laden with fruit - already had one turn and picked it - but mom cut it up with another tomato (a creole) and a cucumber and dressed it in Italian dressing - I have no idea how it tased, so teh verdict is out on the taste yet! There are about 8-10 green tomatoes I will probably harvest after the weekend; come on and get cooler, MS!
3 Mortgage Lifter from Burpee seeds - all 3 in 5 gallon paint buckets - same potting mix as the pink brandywine; have 6 fruit ripening inside; and a bunch of green fruit on the vines - looking forward to tasting these - I hope they hold out until it gets cooler.
1 Sweet Careros Pink from seed - holy cow; best looking tomato plant out of mine - about 12 green tomatoes on a huge, sprawling plant; grown in an 18 gallon Sterilite container, with 6 drain holes about 2" up from the bottom on the sides - had two growing initially, but some neighborhood animal disposed of one plant as a seedling - sigh
2 Pink Berkeley Tie Dye in a Sterilite 18 gallon container - huge, sturdy plants - tons of fruit and still flowering like crazy - Wild Boar Farms is no joke when it comes to tomatoes - Sweet Carneros and Pink Berkeley Tie Dye are on my list for next year, and I have yet to even taste a fruit
I have a serrano pepper and a Better Bush Bonnie set out I bought almost as an after thought - local Home Depot was blowing them out late - sharing an 18 gallon Sterilite - one tomato harvested, has not turned yet - lots of tiny fruit are there now - come on cooler weather!
I will try to post the pics top to bottom to match the narrative - I have been scarce because I am seeing an awesome lady, and spending time with her trumps posting pics, but I will try to post more as my fall tomatoes start to ripen
|