Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2 - Page 124

ginger2778 · October 3, 2016

Continuing on
Now I push some of that mixed older soil up to make a ridge near the front of the box, parallel to the fill tube, then using the side of my hand, I make a trough. 3 cups of new Tomato Tone are placed in it.
Then time to add new PromixBX to the box. You can also see the trough is filled with the new fert. strip.
The new Promix is added to make the bread loaf shaped mound.
The white mulch cover "shower cap" is placed. I tape over the other hole it has that EB places there if I wanted to place it reversed, and for now I taped the fill tube so no rain water or other things can get in. And that's it!

ginger2778 · October 3, 2016

Reminder to the Florida state especially the South Floridans that or 4th annual Tomato, Vegetable, and ornamental plant swap is in less than 2 weeks, Saturday, October 15, 1:30 to 4:30, at Miramar Community Gardens - 3700 Largo Drive Miramar, Fl
There will be wine, soft drinks food, music, a bunch of great garden friends to talk about gardening with, plus 105 varieties of tomato plants, Enjoya striped bell and other peppers, baby lettuces, other people's plants and ornamentals.
Please bring a dish even if it is a ready made one from a store, as this is a potluck too.

maxjohnson · October 3, 2016

Right now I'm scared of hurricane.

ginger2778 · October 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxjohnson

Right now I'm scared of hurricane.

We are all watching it carefully. Luckily, by the 15th it will be long gone. No pressure, Max, do as you wish!

Barb_FL · October 3, 2016

Marsha - Thanks for the updates/pictures. What do you do for jump starting the wicking? I've been moving the mix and dumping 1 quart of water over those ends.

RE: Hurricane - I just checked the 5 PM update and the cone is now covering 1/2 the length of Florida - the entire east coast. Previously, Miami was not even in the outskirts of the cone and the edge of the cone just rested on the rest of the east coast. This looks much worst.

Starting now I'm holding off transplanting the tomato plants into their final homes. I have 4 EBs done and probably about 24 combined. It's way easier moving the 4" pots into the house/garage. The best I can do for the others is drag them in the porch.

We had tons of rain this AM....I only leave those in their final homes out. My Beauty King Dwarf was all droopy; even though I've never had a droopy dwarf before. I have 3 other Dwarfs and they do hold up to the wind/rain really well.

efisakov · October 3, 2016

I am watching weather reports too. I really hope it will go away.

Marsha, your EB looking like a science project. Great job on explaining every step of it. How do you water it? I understand plastic cover helps saving moisture.

ginger2778 · October 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Marsha - Thanks for the updates/pictures. What do you do for jump starting the wicking? I've been moving the mix and dumping 1 quart of water over those ends.

RE: Hurricane - I just checked the 5 PM update and the cone is now covering 1/2 the length of Florida - the entire east coast. Previously, Miami was not even in the outskirts of the cone and the edge of the cone just rested on the rest of the east coast. This looks much worst.

Starting now I'm holding off transplanting the tomato plants into their final homes. I have 4 EBs done and probably about 24 combined. It's way easier moving the 4" pots into the house/garage. The best I can do for the others is drag them in the porch.

We had tons of rain this AM....I only leave those in their final homes out. My Beauty King Dwarf was all droopy; even though I've never had a droopy dwarf before. I have 3 other Dwarfs and they do hold up to the wind/rain really well.

It was looking so much better, now it's getting scarier. This later advisory is getting me worried .

Barb, I don't do anything to Jumpstart wicking, I just add water down the tube.

ginger2778 · October 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by efisakov

I am watching weather reports too. I really hope it will go away.

Marsha, your EB looking like a science project. Great job on explaining every step of it. How do you water it? I understand plastic cover helps saving moisture.

Thanks Ella.
The water goes down that pvc tube you see taped over tight now, the tape will be removed when I plant.

efisakov · October 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Thanks Ella.
The water goes down that pic tube you see taped over tight now, the tape will be removed when I plant.

I was thinking that, just making sure. Nice setup.

Zone9b · October 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by FLGardener

Hey all,

Do any of you grow melons (rock melons and watermelons) down in South Florida? I tried growing them at the recommended time from Jan-Mar and got 1 watermelon from 2 plants and 0 rock melons from 3 plants. I've always though that late Aug-Nov, or sometimes even later in the year, seem pretty ideal in terms of temperature to grow them in SFL, and was just wondering if any of you have tried growing them at that time. Also would love to get some tips on growing melons down here. I've heard it's easy to grow, but along with squash these have proven to be my green thumbs achilles heel xo

I have grown tomatoes in So Florida but never melons. My neighbor here in Orlando used to grow them successfully in the sandy soil, but I have never tried. I am told that they are grown commercially West of Ocala and Gainsville. Sorry that is about all I know about melons in Florida. I wish you luck.
Larry

ginger2778 · October 3, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by efisakov

I was thinking that, just making sure. Nice setup.

Thanks!

maxjohnson · October 4, 2016

Enjoying the weather before the storm.

MarlynnMarcks · October 4, 2016

Do the nematodes in our soil affect melon planting? I'm afraid to grow anything in the ground because of them. I have, however, grown Everglade Wild Tomatoes in the ground with great success. They were plentiful, delicious, and reseeded like mad.

ginger2778 · October 4, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarlynnMarcks

Do the nematodes in our soil affect melon planting? I'm afraid to grow anything in the ground because of them. I have, however, grown Everglade Wild Tomatoes in the ground with great success. They were plentiful, delicious, and reseeded like mad.

I found this article from UF

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ng025

Barb_FL · October 5, 2016

Stay safe everyone. A mandatory evacuation was issued for the barrier island. Even before I knew this, I was surprised to learn a lot of my neighbors planned on evacuating. Some with young kids are gone already.

The models are not very encouraging at all.

October 3, 2016	#1847
ginger2778 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Plantation, Florida zone 10 Posts: 9,283	Reminder of the October 15 swap Reminder to the Florida state especially the South Floridans that or 4th annual Tomato, Vegetable, and ornamental plant swap is in less than 2 weeks, Saturday, October 15, 1:30 to 4:30, at Miramar Community Gardens - 3700 Largo Drive Miramar, Fl There will be wine, soft drinks food, music, a bunch of great garden friends to talk about gardening with, plus 105 varieties of tomato plants, Enjoya striped bell and other peppers, baby lettuces, other people's plants and ornamentals. Please bring a dish even if it is a ready made one from a store, as this is a potluck too.

October 3, 2016	#1851
efisakov Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NJ, zone 7 Posts: 3,162	I am watching weather reports too. I really hope it will go away. Marsha, your EB looking like a science project. Great job on explaining every step of it. How do you water it? I understand plastic cover helps saving moisture. __________________ Ella God comes along and says, "I think I'm going to create THE tomato!”

October 4, 2016	#1858
MarlynnMarcks Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Port St Lucie, Florida Posts: 180	Melons and Nematodes Do the nematodes in our soil affect melon planting? I'm afraid to grow anything in the ground because of them. I have, however, grown Everglade Wild Tomatoes in the ground with great success. They were plentiful, delicious, and reseeded like mad.

October 3, 2016	#1848
maxjohnson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: OH 6a Posts: 592	Right now I'm scared of hurricane.

October 3, 2016	#1850
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Marsha - Thanks for the updates/pictures. What do you do for jump starting the wicking? I've been moving the mix and dumping 1 quart of water over those ends. RE: Hurricane - I just checked the 5 PM update and the cone is now covering 1/2 the length of Florida - the entire east coast. Previously, Miami was not even in the outskirts of the cone and the edge of the cone just rested on the rest of the east coast. This looks much worst. Starting now I'm holding off transplanting the tomato plants into their final homes. I have 4 EBs done and probably about 24 combined. It's way easier moving the 4" pots into the house/garage. The best I can do for the others is drag them in the porch. We had tons of rain this AM....I only leave those in their final homes out. My Beauty King Dwarf was all droopy; even though I've never had a droopy dwarf before. I have 3 other Dwarfs and they do hold up to the wind/rain really well.

October 5, 2016	#1860
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Stay safe everyone. A mandatory evacuation was issued for the barrier island. Even before I knew this, I was surprised to learn a lot of my neighbors planned on evacuating. Some with young kids are gone already. The models are not very encouraging at all.