Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[kurt]

Originally Posted by kurt

In the plugs so as they do not intermingle and fall over each other I use the skewers to keep them staight up(I grow mainly cherrys).When I transfer the plugs(deep up to 3/4 of plant) I will stop medium 1 1/2 down from top and fill up to top of container lid with fresh well water,then monitor the saucer drainage amount/timing to see if plants are getting sufficient moisture.Crucial during the different growing cycles,and fertilization solutions and height/rootball requirements during life of plants.Trying to optimize water/ferts and watering labor.The velcro green wraps are for the tomato/skewer juncture.I like to cut the 1/2 wide velcro in half lenghwise,crosscut about 1 inch long and use two per plant in the plug stage/trays.Bed Bath Beyond have skewers that are 1/4 inch thick and a full 18inches long.The cheap store boughts seem to rot out,turn black with mold and fungas,I soak them in boiled Linseed oil to get at least 4-5 years out of them.

Finally got files to resize.Sorry about duplicate.Still working out the resizing kinks.

[Imthechuck]

Looks Great!


I think I read somewhere on the forum that you use wonder soil for your seedlings?


@kurt Are there enough nutrients to not add any extra till plant time or close to it? I hate switching 1 inch pot/promix to a 4 inch fox farm or equivalent

Originally Posted by kurt

Finally got files to resize.Sorry about duplicate.Still working out the resizing kinks.

[Barb_FL]

Thanks for the picture Kurt; Helps a lot not having to visualize (haha).

They are HUGE and look great. When will you be transplanting them to their final homes?

[kurt]

Originally Posted by Imthechuck

Looks Great!


I think I read somewhere on the forum that you use wonder soil for your seedlings?


@kurt Are there enough nutrients to not add any extra till plant time or close to it? I hate switching 1 inch pot/promix to a 4 inch fox farm or equivalent

@ Imthechuck.All the plugs are started in Wonder soil.When hydrating WS I will use non clorinated water,I mix in my well water a slurry of(all liquid)Kelp,with sulfate of potash,Bonemeal,Lime,a 4 3 3 fertilizer(amounts and process recommended by the Aggrand manufacturer).I would use WS for final plant out if I could make a bulk order type deal with WS(it is possible if you contact them haven't yet).

[kurt]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Thanks for the picture Kurt; Helps a lot not having to visualize (haha).

They are HUGE and look great. When will you be transplanting them to their final homes?

@ Barb.I call it, when those cherrys "split"into the first fork"Y"thats when they go in the ground 3/4 deep.Note all the seed cover leaves,starter (three petal) leaves have been trimmed off.Roots at this time are protruding from bottom hole.What I really like about the plug trays is that it is a one time germination-final plant out system.In that image you are looking at 95 seedlings. In one row are some nuclear hot peppers.Each tray carries 35/cells.

[Zone9b]

Barb
Thanks much for the seeds. I will try the BCD in the Spring. When I plant my second crop of Broccoli in late December I will plant mainly Premium Crop but I will also plant some of the Green Magic and another variety that looks promising, Coronado Crown Hybrid.
I'm interested in how your Green Magic does in comparison to Premium Crop. That is, in terms of
days to maturity from transplant, head size, color, how it holds in the garden, hardiness, productivity and of course taste.
Thanks again and happy gardening,
Larry

[Barb_FL]

Larry - Thanks for letting me know you got the seeds. If the GM produce well, I will send you more seeds; My pack contained 100. Had good reviews.

Marsha - I got the sticky traps today; So different than the horrible WebFly ones. I had told DH that I was getting them; he was less than thrilled - His comment was "If a lizard get stuck, don't come to me". So when I opened them, my thought was there is no way a lizard / bird would get stuck.

On the WebFly ones, it is blue on one side and yellow on the other. With a thin plastic on top. Hard to get the plastic off off in one piece; plus it is sticky top to bottom, no where to put your fingers without getting sticky.

I'm sure the WebFly could catch a rat/mouse. Inhumane product. DON'T EVER BUY.

Kurt - I checked out that plant the other day (Sunday), the roots were not soggy at all. I ended up transplanting it in a root pouch. It doesn't look better or worse.

FALL TOMATO woes: I'm slightly embarrassed to post this:

On Sunday, I also ended up transplanting my other 2 best/biggest plants into an earthbox (solarized for 4 months; new Pro-Mix on top). I took them out of the sun (shade cloth) around 2 PM and transplanted around 6 PM.

The plants (GGWT and PBTD) came out of their containers easily and I pretty much just set them in the EB. Basically no trauma to the plants and it was the best I ever did with the shower came. Very Neat (I put the Shower Cap on after the plants were planted) and the best X cuts I have ever made. No trauma getting it over the plants either.

I wanted to take a picture I was so proud. They looked fantastic. I watered from the top. I didn't add a Bamboo pole, or tomato cage so roots, etc were not disturbed.

I didn't fill the EB b/c I'm convinced that a lot of my problems in SWC was water was too wet. (I've eliminated PH - water and mix).

So the next morning, Monday, I went out around 7AM to move my plants in the sun and the 2 EB plants look EXACTLY like the Large Barred Boar (pic above). I couldn't believe it. What is going on?

So in all this time I've been growing tomatoes, I've never had a mature tomato plant wilt - ever. I didn't think the LBB was wilted b/c the branches feel sturdy, not flimsy.

But with the GGWT/PBTD looking exactly the same, other than wilt, what else could it be? Something caused them to go in shock. I've just been keeping all 3 on the porch.

On Monday, I filled the reservoir on the EB. I'm hoping all 3 will recover; leaves are green; stem is healthy.

[ginger2778]

Barb- good luck with the Seabright , they are so much better. We still had a few, put them out, zero trouble. I have been searching all over the yard for a couple days now, haven't seen the little bird, alive or dead. Maybe it is going to be OK......
Barb, Earthboxes don't work unless you fill the water reservoir. Just sayin....

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Larry - Thanks for letting me know you got the seeds. If the GM produce well, I will send you more seeds; My pack contained 100. Had good reviews.

Marsha - I got the sticky traps today; So different than the horrible WebFly ones. I had told DH that I was getting them; he was less than thrilled - His comment was "If a lizard get stuck, don't come to me". So when I opened them, my thought was there is no way a lizard / bird would get stuck.

On the WebFly ones, it is blue on one side and yellow on the other. With a thin plastic on top. Hard to get the plastic off off in one piece; plus it is sticky top to bottom, no where to put your fingers without getting sticky.

I'm sure the WebFly could catch a rat/mouse. Inhumane product. DON'T EVER BUY.

Kurt - I checked out that plant the other day (Sunday), the roots were not soggy at all. I ended up transplanting it in a root pouch. It doesn't look better or worse.

FALL TOMATO woes: I'm slightly embarrassed to post this:

On Sunday, I also ended up transplanting my other 2 best/biggest plants into an earthbox (solarized for 4 months; new Pro-Mix on top). I took them out of the sun (shade cloth) around 2 PM and transplanted around 6 PM.

The plants (GGWT and PBTD) came out of their containers easily and I pretty much just set them in the EB. Basically no trauma to the plants and it was the best I ever did with the shower came. Very Neat (I put the Shower Cap on after the plants were planted) and the best X cuts I have ever made. No trauma getting it over the plants either.

I wanted to take a picture I was so proud. They looked fantastic. I watered from the top. I didn't add a Bamboo pole, or tomato cage so roots, etc were not disturbed.

I didn't fill the EB b/c I'm convinced that a lot of my problems in SWC was water was too wet. (I've eliminated PH - water and mix).

So the next morning, Monday, I went out around 7AM to move my plants in the sun and the 2 EB plants look EXACTLY like the Large Barred Boar (pic above). I couldn't believe it. What is going on?

So in all this time I've been growing tomatoes, I've never had a mature tomato plant wilt - ever. I didn't think the LBB was wilted b/c the branches feel sturdy, not flimsy.

But with the GGWT/PBTD looking exactly the same, other than wilt, what else could it be? Something caused them to go in shock. I've just been keeping all 3 on the porch.

On Monday, I filled the reservoir on the EB. I'm hoping all 3 will recover; leaves are green; stem is healthy.

[Barb_FL]

Marsha - how are all your seedlings doing?

RE: EB - I know that the reservoir needs filled; it's filled now and the mix on top feels damp.

I think for the last 2 seasons, my bout with the pot worms was because my media was too wet. Since every EB has the same reservoir, I just thought my mix started too wet.
I'm trying to avoid all that this fall.

When I was solarizing the EBs, I actually emptied one into another; (cleaned the EB, redid the wicking, etc, added dolomite and to the later ones Neptune's Harvest Crab Shells.

--
I actually started solarizing my last EB last week; The plant was from last year and just one; was going to see how it did on year 2 but ended up wanting the EB for 2 plants. Anyway, the reservoir was full of mix. And the mix was much less wet; and no pot worms.

Do you ever cover your grill/screen with anything so the mix doesn't fall through?

On the EB that I planted on Sunday, I emptied once again, and cut a piece of my shade cloth, to cover the screen/grill except for the wicking parts.

[ginger2778]

Barb, there's a problem with covering that screen, it is very important not to cover it to allow air to get to the mix and roots. That screen won't wick any more water up, but you will choke out your roots, suffocate the plants by covering the screen. If you start with perfectly clean mix, no worm eggs, the worms cannot get into your EBs, it is closed to the ground too, not an opening for them to get in. Your mix had to have potworms or their eggs to begin with. That's the only way they could get there. I have never had a single potworm, or any other worm in all the 7 years in all the 43 EBs, and I keep my reservoir filled, so I think that might not be the answer to your potworms. Why do you think it was too wet? If you used potting mix, not soil, it can't be too wet, the wicking system is very precise.
The seedlings got hammered the last few days in very windy driving rainstorms, so I have been dilute copper spraying every morning, and surprisingly, they are holding their own. Happy about that! The spraying isn't too hard when they are small like this. Thanks for asking, I'll try to post a new photo tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Marsha - how are all your seedlings doing?

RE: EB - I know that the reservoir needs filled; it's filled now and the mix on top feels damp.

I think for the last 2 seasons, my bout with the pot worms was because my media was too wet. Since every EB has the same reservoir, I just thought my mix started too wet.
I'm trying to avoid all that this fall.

When I was solarizing the EBs, I actually emptied one into another; (cleaned the EB, redid the wicking, etc, added dolomite and to the later ones Neptune's Harvest Crab Shells.

--
I actually started solarizing my last EB last week; The plant was from last year and just one; was going to see how it did on year 2 but ended up wanting the EB for 2 plants. Anyway, the reservoir was full of mix. And the mix was much less wet; and no pot worms.

Do you ever cover your grill/screen with anything so the mix doesn't fall through?

On the EB that I planted on Sunday, I emptied once again, and cut a piece of my shade cloth, to cover the screen/grill except for the wicking parts.

[ginger2778]

These babies are getting strong. They did fine after last night's storms.

[ginger2778]

Closer up- wow the Cherokee Tiger chartreuse foliage really stands out in the crowd, doesn't it?

[ginger2778]

Peppers getting large

[Barb_FL]

Marsha - They look great and grew a lot! Do you leave them out all the time now? Any shade?

I am still babying mine; the way the sun has moved, it is reflecting really hot off my pool at 9:30; I use to leave them without shade until 11-1, but now 9:30 AM.

We have not had any rain in 3 days now.

Thanks for the EB encouragement; I think my too wet scenario was self-inflicted; I'm pretty sure I watered the mix too much in the beginning at planting time.

I'm hoping the solarizing really helps; I have not seen any potworms from the solarized mix.

Only used Potting Mix - EarthBox Brand, Gardener's supply brand, Pro-Mix, Lamberts Organic. 14 EB; My first EB was January 2014 and my last was Spring 2015 so nothing is really old.

---
My 3 plants looked slightly better today.

[Imthechuck]

@kurt

I think I'm going to use Wonder Soil on my next round of seedlings. It seems like it has "a lot of the good stuff"

Originally Posted by kurt

@ Imthechuck.All the plugs are started in Wonder soil.When hydrating WS I will use non clorinated water,I mix in my well water a slurry of(all liquid)Kelp,with sulfate of potash,Bonemeal,Lime,a 4 3 3 fertilizer(amounts and process recommended by the Aggrand manufacturer).I would use WS for final plant out if I could make a bulk order type deal with WS(it is possible if you contact them haven't yet).