Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[AudreyFL]

Barb I appreciate the quick reply. Yes, it's pricey and I have lots of the 6 cell trays already. Do you know if I can get ProMix in any major stores in South Florida or up towards you? I recall being unable to find it and was hesitant to order online.

Thanks again! ��

[ginger2778]

Audrey, I am not Barb, but this place carries Promix BX, last year it was $30 per 3.8 cu ft bale, which fluffs to about 7 cu ft. Oddly, they don't mention Promix on their website, but
I have been buying it there for years, never has been on their website.
http://universalsupplycorp.com

Audrey, here's the manufacturers page for who distributes their product.
http://www.pthorticulture.com/en/distributors/?type=pro

[Barb_FL]

Marsha - What a great price! It is 41 by me and I'm glad I can find it.

Audrey - You can start your seeds with a variety of mixes; I just use Pro-Mix so I only have to buy one mix. I hate the spongy things because they don't come off ever. Even after pulling the plant it is a struggle.

If the store mentioned by Marsha is close enough, I don't think you could beat that price. If it is too far, check your local hydroponic stores for it. I get it at HTGSupply.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by AudreyFL

Hi everyone!
We were away for the summer and am just now planning to start tomato seeds. I was looking through old posts here and saw the recommendation for Park Seed Biodome. Is that what you all have found works best? This is my 2nd tomato season and had mixed luck last year alternating between jiffy pots, recycled 6-Pack black plastic pots from Home Depot prior veggie purchases, and cheaper dome products.
Wondering if starting seeds directly in 4" pots and just transplanting once into permanent container is recommended. (Since I won't of course need grow lights and things like our northern friends need...)
And thanks for the heads up on yellow sticky traps sale on Amazon. Just ordered!
-Audrey in Jupiter

I often do essentially what you are suggesting, that being planting seeds in a cup large enough to take the seedling all the way to transplant, without the necessity of replanting from small cups to larger cups. I actually use 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" cups. I place the cups into inserts that will hold 18 cups, which in turn I place into a 1020 flat tray with drain holes. One issue with this method is if one fills each of these cups with sterile seed starter it starts to get expensive. What I do to cut the cost is to fill the cups with compost then make a largish hole in the center of each with my thumb and fill it with seed starter. This seems to work well for me, however, I'm not sure the results would be any different if I used 100% compost to start seeds in.

In the winter when I'm starting most seeds indoors I am forced to change my approach. I am forced to use smaller cups in order to get all my seedlings under the some 1/2 dozen 4' grow lights that I use. Then I am forced to up size to larger cups when I get the seedlings outside.

Also, when I am starting seeds outdoors on my front porch I do no use plastic domes, however under the grow lights I always use a dome, sometimes short and sometimes tall.

Hope this helps in some way.

PS: My germination for Tomatoes and Broccoli using the above method for preparation for this fall season was very close to 100% and the plants look very good. Oh, and also I almost always use 1 seed per cup.
Larry

[kayrobbins]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Hey all is it time for a new Florida thread since we are starting our Fall crops?

Ginny

I really would like to see a new thread because it has been really interesting to see how many responses we get in a year and also to keep searching for old posts easier. I wish we could have a regional forum like there is for the regional tomato taste testing and we could have each year posted in that forum.

Really I think a new Regional Tomato Growing topic would be good because we are not the only ones with unique challenges. I would take our heat, humidity and insects over those that have to cope with incredibly short growing seasons any time.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by kayrobbins

I really would like to see a new thread because it has been really interesting to see how many responses we get in a year and also to keep searching for old posts easier. I wish we could have a regional forum like there is for the regional tomato taste testing and we could have each year posted in that forum.

Really I think a new Regional Tomato Growing topic would be good because we are not the only ones with unique challenges. I would take our heat, humidity and insects over those that have to cope with incredibly short growing seasons any time.

This forum already seems regional to me, i.e. for the most part it represents gardening issues which are faced by gardeners in Florida. Yes we get interesting contributions from others outside of Florida but many of the posts here are at least to a degree involving the issues of Florida gardeners. It seems to me if the region gets bigger, you often don’t get any responses to your posts. Also if you cut the pie too small such as Central Florida you maybe have 3 or 4 gardeners involved. In my mind you need a few more than that to make it interesting. If one thinks another thread would be more successful then one should create it, but for me this thread works pretty well. We have enough contributors to make it interesting and while we don’t all garden the same way, at least for me, I try learn from others.
I like this thread and will continue to use it for general gardening issues. Not until many others leave and I am posting to myself will I look for another general use thread.
Larry

[Barb_FL]

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=42519

I just got back from Walmart and they are still well stocked. I commented in the other thread.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

http://http://www.tomatoville.com/sh...ad.php?t=42519

I just got back from Walmart and they are still well stocked. I commented in the other thread.

Barb
Your link doesn't work for me. Maybe you can edit it.

[Barb_FL]

Larry - I think the issue is to start a YEAR 3 thread vs continuing on with this one.

Another benefit to starting a Year 3 thread, is to get all the important stuff like Marsha's Fungal recipe, type of sticky traps to buy, etc in the first post.

The only benefit I see for keeping posting to Year 2 is that it is stickied so we never have to find it.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Barb
Your link doesn't work for me. Maybe you can edit it.

TRY NOW ..... It is the Tomato Tone Thread... in General Discussion.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Larry - I think the issue is to start a YEAR 3 thread vs continuing on with this one.
Another benefit to starting a Year 3 thread, is to get all the important stuff like Marsha's Fungal recipe, type of sticky traps to buy, etc in the first post.
The only benefit I see for keeping posting to Year 2 is that it is stickied so we never have to find it.

I thought that somehow a Year 2 thread would make it easier to search the thread and it may have for a very short time but soon the thread got long and it was hard to find anything, even my own posts, in it. I have come to the conclusion that if one is looking for a particular post in a garden forum, that it will be difficult. Well chosen key words in Google is what seems to work best for me. Search engines are said to be getting more sophisticated and less dependent on key words. I hope that is true but for me it appears selected appropriate key words in one's search is most important.
Another concern is a switch to a new thread would cause us to lose readers and posters.
However, all said, if a new Year 3 Florida thread is created I will be among the first to switch.
Hey Fellow Floridians
Larry

[kayrobbins]

As it is now we are not a forum but a post under another forum. If we could have a forum we could have separate posts under it that would things easy to find. For instance when you post about your broccoli it could be a post. We could have post where insects and diseases are discussed. I can't tell you how long it took me to find Marsha's post about her spraying schedule when I wanted to refer back to . It would still just be a Florida discussion but other states could create their if they thought it would help. It may never happen but to me it would be great. I have learned so much from here and this is my favorite part of Tomatoville.

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

I've been canning for 3-4 years now. It opens up so many doors once you get that skill. OK, Ginny, time to graduate to homemade ketchup, sweetened mostly with blond raisins? This recipe also has ginger. It's so much better than the store bought high fructose corn syrup stuff, once you try it, you'll never go back. Excellent on those rosemary oven fries when they are crisped up in the toaster oven the next day.
Posting now so I don't lose this, I'll be right back with the recipe.

OK, here it is: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/tom...-tomato-sauce/

I use a food mill on the large holed disc much faster than straining, I don't add any sodium benzoate.
Great recipe, I have made it 4 times.

Marsha,

I'm going to make the home made ketchup some time between now and Monday.... :-)

Do any of you have a good oven drying tomato recipe? Dehydrator is at home. Kay i dont have the smoker yet, going to get one when we get home but wanted to try drying some. I have lots of Costoluto Genovese and I think that one is supposed to be good for drying. Will have to double check.

My tomatoes are ripening and I have a new food mill and the canning bug... Yay!

Ginny

[ginger2778]

I have been putting titles on the important how to and antifungal preventive stuff, to make it easier to find.
I guess it's fine with me if y'all want to start a new Florida thread. I'll go with the flow.

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by maxjohnson

Too excited not to post this. Sungold growing in Dr. Earth potting soil and part shade.

MaxJohnson,

How are your Sungolds doing?

Ginny

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