Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[elight]

I put plastic grow bags filled with straight potting mix (some Pro-Mix, some homemade 5-1-1) on top of a raised bed. Those plants are generally doing much better than the raised bed a few feet away. Watering is an issue with pots in Florida but since I already had a drip system, I simply replaced the drip tape with individual drippers in each pot. I like the idea about using the potting mix bags as an additional barrier for the nematodes.

I gave up on growing most things in the ground but will now try some non-tomato plants in pots. Also curious what other plants will not be susceptible to the other things we battle little bugs and foliage disease.

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[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by MarlynnMarcks

Has anyone successfully planted tomatoes in the ground? I put several varieties in and they all died. I am afraid to try more even though they are labled as nematode resistant.

Also, what veggies can be put in the ground without fear of nematodes? Swiss chard?
mustard greens, green beans, broccoli, radishes, onion?

I’m going out on a limb here and say the Florida is only second to California if fresh vegetable production. Examples include 2015 tomato production with Florida No. 1 at 9,499 hundredweight , California 2nd with 9,424 hundredweight and Tennessee 3rd with 1,033 hundredweight. The top producing US states for Snap Beans are said to be Wisconsin, Florida and New York. One can also find that Florida is a major producer of many other vegetables including lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers and the list goes on.
Can you grow in Florida Dirt? It would appear the answer is obviously yes.
But, should a Gardener in Florida choose to grow in the dirt rather than raised beds or containers? The answer to that is a bit more complex. 1st of all, it depends on the crop. I have grown in the dirt in South Miami Dade County and here in Orange County Florida, The soil here in Orlando doesn’t compare in quality to the soil in South Miami Dade County. But still I find some crops that do grow well in the soil in my Orlando garden. These include Cow Peas, Brussel Sprouts, Rattlesnake Pole Beans, Sweet Potatoes, various Herbs and Kale. Other crops that I found that do well enough in the dirt are Turnips, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Cayenne Peppers and Chinese Cabbage. I have tried to grow Winter Squash in raised beds (RB) without much success, however, I did grow Hubbard in the dirt one season with good success.
My success with growing tomatoes and egg plant in the dirt is much more limited. I find I can do much better growing these crops and quite a few others in RBs or containers. I should point out that my RBs are not lined on the bottom, therefore, are complete with nematodes much as the native soil is. Also, some of the RBs are fairly shallow and as a result roots often extend down into the native soil. Both the RBs and my 10 gallon containers are filled with compost. The containers are kept high enough off the soil so nematodes don’t invade them.
I have grown quite a few varieties of tomatoes in both RBs and 10 gallon plastic pots (containers). I have found that if I have a good productive tomato variety which is nematode resistant it will almost always grow bigger and produce more tomatoes in a RB than in a Container and this includes the shallow RBs as well as the ones where I have used 2x12s. This applies to not only F1 nematode resistant varieties but also OPs such as Brandywine Cherry Dark which appears to have some tolerance to nematodes.
I like to grow nematode resistant tall indeterminate varieties in RBs. Shorter varieties, indeterminate or determinate, nematodes resistant or not are left to go into the containers, most of which are 10 gallons, although I do have a few 6 gallon and 7 gallon containers as well.

Hope this helps in some way.
Larry

[MarlynnMarcks]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

I’m going out on a limb here and say the Florida is only second to California if fresh vegetable production. Examples include 2015 tomato production with Florida No. 1 at 9,499 hundredweight , California 2nd with 9,424 hundredweight and Tennessee 3rd with 1,033 hundredweight. The top producing US states for Snap Beans are said to be Wisconsin, Florida and New York. One can also find that Florida is a major producer of many other vegetables including lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers and the list goes on.
Can you grow in Florida Dirt? It would appear the answer is obviously yes.
But, should a Gardener in Florida choose to grow in the dirt rather than raised beds or containers? The answer to that is a bit more complex. 1st of all, it depends on the crop. I have grown in the dirt in South Miami Dade County and here in Orange County Florida, The soil here in Orlando doesn’t compare in quality to the soil in South Miami Dade County. But still I find some crops that do grow well in the soil in my Orlando garden. These include Cow Peas, Brussel Sprouts, Rattlesnake Pole Beans, Sweet Potatoes, various Herbs and Kale. Other crops that I found that do well enough in the dirt are Turnips, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Cayenne Peppers and Chinese Cabbage. I have tried to grow Winter Squash in raised beds (RB) without much success, however, I did grow Hubbard in the dirt one season with good success.
My success with growing tomatoes and egg plant in the dirt is much more limited. I find I can do much better growing these crops and quite a few others in RBs or containers. I should point out that my RBs are not lined on the bottom, therefore, are complete with nematodes much as the native soil is. Also, some of the RBs are fairly shallow and as a result roots often extend down into the native soil. Both the RBs and my 10 gallon containers are filled with compost. The containers are kept high enough off the soil so nematodes don’t invade them.
I have grown quite a few varieties of tomatoes in both RBs and 10 gallon plastic pots (containers). I have found that if I have a good productive tomato variety which is nematode resistant it will almost always grow bigger and produce more tomatoes in a RB than in a Container and this includes the shallow RBs as well as the ones where I have used 2x12s. This applies to not only F1 nematode resistant varieties but also OPs such as Brandywine Cherry Dark which appears to have some tolerance to nematodes.
I like to grow nematode resistant tall indeterminate varieties in RBs. Shorter varieties, indeterminate or determinate, nematodes resistant or not are left to go into the containers, most of which are 10 gallons, although I do have a few 6 gallon and 7 gallon containers as well.

Hope this helps in some way.
Larry

[oakley]

Anyone in the south, Ginger, etc...
starting their season, want to grow out Metallica?

I think it is an F7 maybe, (need to check with Craig)

Such a beauty and I would love to see it grown elsewhere now to
advance it. Heavy for its size, 6-8oz., possibly more in a larger pot

4-5 ft in my small pot. From the DwarfProject but both of my
plants are identical in taste and scale. One fruit is oblate and
near a heart in shape. Very similar to GGWT in taste.

I have a few seeds for a few that want to grow it now...
(Will have more seed for next season when the last few ripen.)

No postage needed, my treat.

[elight]

If Florida is producing so many tomatoes, is it for non-fresh applications (canned, commercial, etc.?) I see tomatoes in the supermarket from California, Mexico and Canada, but almost never from Florida. Would be curious why it's cheaper to ship fresh tomatoes from the places than to source them locally if they are being grown locally.

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[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by elight

If Florida is producing so many tomatoes, is it for non-fresh applications (canned, commercial, etc.?) I see tomatoes in the supermarket from California, Mexico and Canada, but almost never from Florida. Would be curious why it's cheaper to ship fresh tomatoes from the places than to source them locally if they are being grown locally.

The state of Florida is the largest producer of fresh market tomatoes in the U.S. and has been for many decades. It would appear to me that it is no accident that the University of Florida is so involved with fresh market tomato issues including breeding of better fresh market tomatoes. Previous to NAFTA south Miami Dade County, especially area around Perrine through Homestead, was the major producing area of Winter season tomatoes in the US. I’m happy to say I got to see it before it became mostly suburban neighborhoods. California produces more tomatoes but takes a much larger share of the process market for tomatoes. I took the liberty to copy and paste passages from an interested article by the USDA. The link to the article is here:-
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crop.../tomatoes.aspx

Interesting points made in a USDA article are below:
Tomato varieties are bred specifically to serve the requirements of either the fresh or the processing markets.
Processing tomatoes, which accounted for 89 percent of all tomatoes produced
California and Florida each produce fresh-market tomatoes on 30,000-40,000 acres--almost two-thirds of total U.S fresh-tomato acreage
As they have for decades, Florida and California annually account for two-thirds to three-fourths of all commercially produced fresh-market tomatoes in the United States
Including processing, Florida is the second-largest tomato-producing State; except for 2008, it has been first in producing fresh-market tomatoes for decades.
California is the leading producer of all tomatoes in the United States, accounting for 96 percent of U.S. processing tomato output and one-third of the fresh crop.
California's share of national fresh-market output has remained between 25 and 37 percent since the 1980s.
Florida's winter crop is largely shipped to markets in the East, while the bulk of Mexico's crop is shipped to western States.
The percentage of U.S. fresh-tomato supply that is exported has slipped to about 6 percent this decade
About three-fourths of U.S. fresh tomato exports are shipped to Canada
The tomato season is now split into two periods--each with a separate reference price. California and Baja, Mexico, are covered from July 1 to October 22 ($4.30 per 25-pound box), while Florida and Sinaloa, Mexico, are covered from October 23 to June 30 with a higher floor price ($5.42 per 25-pound box
Americans consume three-fourths of their tomatoes in processed form

[elight]

Very interesting and thank you for this information. It still begs the question of why I almost never see a Florida tomato in a store. Maybe they're just not labeled that way, or maybe I'm just not looking, or maybe the varieties that I tend to buy (when I have to) aren't the ones produced here.

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[ChefBert]

I ususally use Pro Mix and I am very satisfied with it. But the only source is 1/2 hour away, but more importantly, it is not open on the weekends. Makes it inconvenient to pick some up.

I stopped in at Bushel Stop across the street from work, to get some pine fines! (!!they finally started carrying it and is the only place I can find it) and they had Bonnie's Professional Potting Mix, $12 for 3.8 cf. Canadian sphagnum peat moss, perlite, Dolomite and wetting agent. ph 5.5 - 6.5. Very comparable. $9 for a bag of mycorhizae, and voila, Pro Mix! at a discount and no travel.

I am hoping for great results.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by ChefBert

I ususally use Pro Mix and I am very satisfied with it. But the only source is 1/2 hour away, but more importantly, it is not open on the weekends. Makes it inconvenient to pick some up.

I stopped in at Bushel Stop across the street from work, to get some pine fines! (!!they finally started carrying it and is the only place I can find it) and they had Bonnie's Professional Potting Mix, $12 for 3.8 cf. Canadian sphagnum peat moss, perlite, Dolomite and wetting agent. ph 5.5 - 6.5. Very comparable. $9 for a bag of mycorhizae, and voila, Pro Mix! at a discount and no travel.

I am hoping for great results.

That's a big time discount. Is the amount of perlite the same? I would love it if you report on your results. The promix 3.8 cf does fluff to about 7cf. Of course it settles later through. Thanks for posting about it.

[ChefBert]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

That's a big time discount. Is the amount of perlite the same? I would love it if you report on your results. The promix 3.8 cf does fluff to about 7cf. Of course it settles later through. Thanks for posting about it.

Yes the perlite is about the same amount. The savings really varies with the cost of the mycorrhizae. One 8oz bag is $8.99, and the label says that is for 20 - 25 gal. But its exponential, 2 oz for 5 gal, 4 oz for 10 gal. So its probable that more than one bag of mycorrizhae will be needed. Still, its a lot more convenient.

[Barb_FL]

How is everyone's garden doing?

I came back from Tennessee on 9/30 with 15 healthy plants, needing transplanting ASAP. The seedlings I left with my neighbor were all toast since she left them on the porch (east exposure - worst case for Irma) during the entire storm.

The earliest transplants had to endure 2 huge rain makers over the last week and several days of constant 30-40 MPH winds. I know I will lose quite a few of the 15. Sad that the SunChocola's look the worst, both basically dead. The SunPeach sharing an EB with SC had some life this AM, but drooping by mid-morning.

I am now using shade cloth as some of them can not handle the change in sun intensity, humidity, and heat. It is much different than starting the seeds and growing entirely in Florida.

I have started a few over, but we are still on a boiled water alert so I don't even want to use that water for the plants.

[ginger2778]

Barb, are you coming to this year's swap? I have an extra Sun Chocola I can give you.

[elight]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

How is everyone's garden doing?

I came back from Tennessee on 9/30 with 15 healthy plants, needing transplanting ASAP. The seedlings I left with my neighbor were all toast since she left them on the porch (east exposure - worst case for Irma) during the entire storm.

The earliest transplants had to endure 2 huge rain makers over the last week and several days of constant 30-40 MPH winds. I know I will lose quite a few of the 15. Sad that the SunChocola's look the worst, both basically dead. The SunPeach sharing an EB with SC had some life this AM, but drooping by mid-morning.

I am now using shade cloth as some of them can not handle the change in sun intensity, humidity, and heat. It is much different than starting the seeds and growing entirely in Florida.

I have started a few over, but we are still on a boiled water alert so I don't even want to use that water for the plants.

Mine is recovering. The plants in grow bags that I sheltered during the storm are fine, although perhaps a little behind due to the continued high heat. The ones in the ground took a huge beating (due to being on lean-and-lower strings that got twisted around one another) but have come back from the dead.

Biggest problem is that it seems that mt herbicide issues from the spring were not a result of the spraying prior to my lawn re-sod, but probably from bad pine bark mulch that I use in some of my potting mixes. I had some left over that I'm still using and those plants are showing the same symptoms. The plants in potting mix without that mulch are all totally fine. Pretty annoying to lose most of two growing seasons over this.

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[ginger2778]

Time to post about the annual plant swap. Its from 1-4pm on Saturday Oct. 21st.
I will have about 300 tomato plants and about 50 pepper plants, the tomatoes are from 109 varieties, 14 varieties of peppers.
All free bring your plants to swap(no invasive please), but if you don't have any it's fine, just bring a dish or (adult?) beverage, because this is also a potluck, and yes, there will be wine! And my friend Virginia's famous Jungle Juice too, hehehe. Soft drinks welcomed too.
Tomatoes, vegetables, ornamentals all welcomed.
Miramar Community Garden
3700 Largo Drive
Miramar, Florida 33023

[Barb_FL]

Marsha - I wish I could go, but not this year. Thanks for the offer of SunChocola, I started new seeds along with SunPeach last night when our Boil Water notice was rescinded.

Elight - Sorry to hear about the bad pine mulch being the cause of your problems; it's almost worse.

---
Marsha - Did you Mango trees get beat up in the hurricane? Both of mine did, mainly on the east side. Do you think I should cut them back?

OTOH, the pineapple plants all look great; no different than before we left.