Containers Growing ?

[Tomzhawaii]

Salt,
Some 20 yrs ago, I was the same mainland tourist. Didn't have a clue. I worked as a contractor on boilers and overhead bridge cranes and got to fly to the major islands on a daily basis. Big change from a N.Y country boy.(upstate) I was suddenly a minority and had plenty of issues regarding that. However, I never missed winter. A year went by until I even thought about it.
As far as gardening. I was introduced to some awesome fruits that I never heard of. Lychee, is my favorite. The past 4 yrs have been a great lesson for my gardening skills. I enjoy the weather most of the time. The biggest thing was finding this site and all the real information that people share.
Thrips and Aphids are my biggest foes. All the other things are just about paying attention and making adjustments. I did find a few more Big Cheef seeds and will try again with them. Tennessee suited is coming along nicely. My eggplants are gaining strength and will get a weekly dose of Neem oil.
Anyway, I hope your day is going well. And your health lets you get out and enjoy your garden.
Aloha sir !!!
Heres a picture of paradise

[GrowingCoastal]

Wonderful!

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by Tomzhawaii

Salt,
Some 20 yrs ago, I was the same mainland tourist. Didn't have a clue. I worked as a contractor on boilers and overhead bridge cranes and got to fly to the major islands on a daily basis. Big change from a N.Y country boy.(upstate) I was suddenly a minority and had plenty of issues regarding that. However, I never missed winter. A year went by until I even thought about it.
As far as gardening. I was introduced to some awesome fruits that I never heard of. Lychee, is my favorite. The past 4 yrs have been a great lesson for my gardening skills. I enjoy the weather most of the time. The biggest thing was finding this site and all the real information that people share.
Thrips and Aphids are my biggest foes. All the other things are just about paying attention and making adjustments. I did find a few more Big Cheef seeds and will try again with them. Tennessee suited is coming along nicely. My eggplants are gaining strength and will get a weekly dose of Neem oil.
Anyway, I hope your day is going well. And your health lets you get out and enjoy your garden.
Aloha sir !!!
Heres a picture of paradise

It's beautiful.

[AlittleSalt]

I transplanted two Porter seedlings with two sets of true leaves into 4 inch pots today giving me a total of 4 Porter plant seedlings that some would plant out soon in 100 degree heat? (Probably not huh?) Well, that's actually going to happen later in this hottest month in Texas.

Tomato plants can adapt when started in the right conditions during the hottest part of the year. I have done that in diseased soil directly in the sun. I feel that I have some experience, but won't guarantee it in containers. It's something to see if it's possible. I'm also going to try to grow summer squash in the fall - why not try?

Edit/added

On a side note, here it is August and there are still tomato plants I water daily that were planted in spring. I've changed from the 36-24-36 (Joking) mix to just watering them, and they still look good. At this point, watering them is just to keep them alive. The pepper plants are still flowering and producing.

[Tomzhawaii]

One hurricane gone with no issues. One more(this week) to go.......
Wow, is it hot or what ???

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I transplanted two Porter seedlings with two sets of true leaves into 4 inch pots today giving me a total of 4 Porter plant seedlings that some would plant out soon in 100 degree heat? (Probably not huh?) Well, that's actually going to happen later in this hottest month in Texas.

Tomato plants can adapt when started in the right conditions during the hottest part of the year. I have done that in diseased soil directly in the sun. I feel that I have some experience, but won't guarantee it in containers. It's something to see if it's possible. I'm also going to try to grow summer squash in the fall - why not try?

Edit/added

On a side note, here it is August and there are still tomato plants I water daily that were planted in spring. I've changed from the 36-24-36 (Joking) mix to just watering them, and they still look good. At this point, watering them is just to keep them alive. The pepper plants are still flowering and producing.

The plants still have tomatoes on them, and just watering them is keeping them alive. It won't be long before I remove the spring plants though. The 100F / 37 -38C temperatures are here and those plants have done well. They could cosmetically look better if I were healthier, but my neglect isn't affecting them that much. I should have trimmed brown areas more.

The fact is that those plants are tired and the hot humid weather will do that quickly. You can care for your plants too much by overwatering them - which I did at times.

Then there is a surprise with the spring garden tomato plants. There are 4 plants that I removed along the way this spring/summer. We didn't like Rainbow mix and Red Pear. Yellow Pear basically died back when it was raining way too much. The last one removed was Brads' Atomic Grape. That one is odd to figure out because of its wispy foliage, late blooming, and it was when I was overwatering. I removed it for those reasons and to create more airflow. I left a 5 inch stem growing and it has started growing a plant again that looks good. I'm going to let it grow and see what happens.

The fall tomato plants are very close to ready to plant out with exception of the container I restarted in late July. All of them will be fed and watered along the way.

[AlittleSalt]

A fire happened in my house tonight. A little one in the kitchen trashcan after a birthday party. A candle caused it from a 10 year old tossing a spent candle into the trash. Things happen, but not while I'm carrying the world's weight on my shoulders. It was the final spark I needed. I'm coming out of my depression - the pain is high but I need to be more.

The 4-18-38 mix along with the 15.5.0 mix works, but not daily - not for everyone.

I did grow a whole lot of cherry tomatoes this year. If I wouldn't have overwatered - there would have been less split tomatoes. Yet 6 plants are producing enough for over 15 young (20s) people and my family. That's not good enough. I can do better.

[SueCT]

I am sorry to hear about the incident with the fire, Salt, I hope there wasn't any damage. i am glad you are emerging from your depression. Hopefully you will get some pain relief soon, too.

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by SueCT

I am sorry to hear about the incident with the fire, Salt, I hope there wasn't any damage. i am glad you are emerging from your depression. Hopefully you will get some pain relief soon, too.

There was no damage. I was able to catch it in time, but what if I wasn't there?
It was a "sobering act" so-to-speak, and I'm one to be overly cautious. That's how I caught it so quickly.

Thank you for well wishes on the pain relief. I refuse to take pain meds, so it's my fault/decision. When I was taking meds, I couldn't function very well. But that's a long story.

[Worth1]

Basil read for another picking.
IMG_20190819_5622.jpg

IMG_20190819_45326.jpg

[AlittleSalt]

I started a thread that I'm going to add more info here:

" I quit watering the tomato plants about a week ago. The near and above 100F temperatures will take it's toll on a lot plants including older tomato plants even if you keep watering and feeding them here.

I have localized books from before the public could use the internet that says to start Fall garden tomato seeds around July 4, and transplant them out in mid to later August. The books are right. The Fall tomato transplants are seeking the sun as I overly protect them. (I should mention that they have never been inside). In a way, it was kind of sad day when I knew it was time to quit watering, but it's also good to see those cages clean and ready for the fall crop.

I should add this to the containers section - the rest will be about container growing."

I emptied seven 5 gallon buckets into a large container and mixed in some 2 year old 10-10-10. The 5 gallon buckets have been solarizing for over a month. It hasn't rained since July, and yet two buckets had wet mix in them while the others were bone dry? All were in a line with no tree cover/overhangs - no explanational reason for them to be different, but they were. I mixed all the mixes together anyway. (I probably should know better if I remember half of what I read, but I often don't understand what I read when I read it.) At least, I'm honest. I just did what I felt was right.

Tomorrow is cleaning the buckets with bleach. Covering some extra holes drilled in them by me, and my stepmother who passed away in 2010. Yes, some of the buckets I'm growing in are from a generation ago.

[Worth1]

Never got around to planting tomato seeds.
Glad I didn't.
Too hot.

[AlittleSalt]

Sometimes the time stamps aren't always right here.

I did get 5 tomato plants put in buckets with what I think is the right mix. Only time will tell.
If I could write out gut-feelings and make them sound technical - then I could explain better. Or I could just be myself:

10-10-10 is manmade and often times is scratched in around the tomato plant. You can see that anywhere online and in many books. Why just use it that way? - you are taking a chance on root burn by doing it. One of the gripes people have about 10-10-10 is that it leaches into groundwater when used in an in-ground garden. I am using it in a container sparingly. Logic tells me that am enriching the mix with equal amounts of NPK throughout the container, but how much is too much and how much is too little?

I'm not sold on any method yet, but I keep trying.

I miss my in ground garden so much. It was worse than losing a long-time beloved pet x 10.

[Tomzhawaii]

Aloha,
During the end of August killer heat, my lettuce was suffering. I put a really cool item in my reservior. It's made for fish tanks and water coolers. It uses a peltier chip with a heatsink and a small fan. Best $30 ever spent. So during this time I decided to use my rail system to start some seeds. As time went on more and more seeds were growing very nicely. Some even might get to stay. The pic is some Japanese dollar store (Daiso) long eggplant. Not to shabby !!!

[Nan_PA_6b]

The neat device is called a chiller when used for fish tanks. (Some fish from glacier-fed lakes or cold streams need them.)