Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by DocBrock

All of my tomato and pepper plants are potted in 12-20gal plastic containers with 1/2" holes drilled in the bottom and large rectangular cutouts along the bottom rim like you would see on a nursery pot. I put window screen on the inside before adding soil to keep the dirt in. As far as soil it's that lime green natures care potting mix. I added espoma garden lime, Dr. Earth Home grown granular fertilizer, extra perlite, several tbsp's of Epsom salts, and then planted the seedlings. 2 weeks after planting I started watering weekly, alternating with Dr. Earth Home Grown liquid concentrate and fox farm big bloom on the older plants. I've also water once so far with general hydroponics calmag because a few small tomatoes had BER. My 2 BHN 602 plants that I started with in 5 gallon buckets were planted 3 weeks earlier than my other seedlings and peppers, using the same potting mix. They are 3' tall and full of around 20 developing tomatoes each. My seedlings have barely taken off. Maybe a few inches of stem. Weird thing is my golden jubilee has grown maybe 3" since planting and now has a marble sized tomato on it. Makes no sense that it's fruiting right now. I made sure I picked a plant that didn't have blossoms on it yet when I purchased it, so those developed after planting. The seedlings Im having problems with were planted about two weeks ago. It's gunna bite to get rid of the potting mix they're in if that's problem because I've probably gone through 20 bags at $10 a piece, but I will if it's gunna ruin the joy of having my first harvest.

Isn't that green bag a Scotts organic product? I hate evetything Scotts ever made. Total crap without sterility IMHO, I used the green bag Natures Care at our community garden because they got it for free as a grant, and the solarized bags were used(sterile) and put over thick plastic, not touching the soil at all, and my plants failed to thrive, then started to die. I cut open a stem, and it had fusarium, classic case. Fusarium is SOIL BORNE.
Scott's products are famous for having fungus gnat eggs in them. Go with PromixBX for new pots, you won't be sorry.
Meanwhile, you can reuse this soil next year, but sterilize it in the Summer with the 3mil large clear Husky Bags, kept tight for about 6 to 8 weeks. It will cook and kill everything.

I think your plants might have fungus gnat larvae being the issue here, but if one dies, I suggest cutting it open to see if fusarium is in the stem. (Google it for photos) brown purple vascular plant tissue.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by DocBrock

All of my tomato and pepper plants are potted in 12-20gal plastic containers with 1/2" holes drilled in the bottom and large rectangular cutouts along the bottom rim like you would see on a nursery pot. I put window screen on the inside before adding soil to keep the dirt in. As far as soil it's that lime green natures care potting mix. I added espoma garden lime, Dr. Earth Home grown granular fertilizer, extra perlite, several tbsp's of Epsom salts, and then planted the seedlings. 2 weeks after planting I started watering weekly, alternating with Dr. Earth Home Grown liquid concentrate and fox farm big bloom on the older plants. I've also water once so far with general hydroponics calmag because a few small tomatoes had BER. My 2 BHN 602 plants that I started with in 5 gallon buckets were planted 3 weeks earlier than my other seedlings and peppers, using the same potting mix. They are 3' tall and full of around 20 developing tomatoes each. My seedlings have barely taken off. Maybe a few inches of stem. Weird thing is my golden jubilee has grown maybe 3" since planting and now has a marble sized tomato on it. Makes no sense that it's fruiting right now. I made sure I picked a plant that didn't have blossoms on it yet when I purchased it, so those developed after planting. The seedlings Im having problems with were planted about two weeks ago. It's gunna bite to get rid of the potting mix they're in if that's problem because I've probably gone through 20 bags at $10 a piece, but I will if it's gunna ruin the joy of having my first harvest.

I would use the plastic your soil came in as a barrier underneath your pots, that will keep our native nematodes out. Florida, all of it, is infested with nematodes. If not, the nematodes will migrate into your pots through the drain holes. Root knots don't let the plant take in nutrients..

[efisakov]

Did anyone in Florida tried planting marigolds as companion plant to help with nematode problem? Suppose they suppress nematodes population due to the fact that the roots of marigold are poisonous to nematodes.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by efisakov

Did anyone in Florida tried planting marigolds as companion plant to help with nematode problem? Suppose they suppress nematodes population due to the fact that the roots of marigold are poisonous to nematodes.

Yes. You would need 100 marigold plants per foot!

[efisakov]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Yes. You would need 100 marigold plants per foot!

O, girl. That bad, ha.
Thanks, Marsha.

[DocBrock]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Isn't that green bag a Scotts organic product? I hate evetything Scotts ever made. Total crap without sterility IMHO, I used the green bag Natures Care at our community garden because they got it for free as a grant, and the solarized bags were used(sterile) and put over thick plastic, not touching the soil at all, and my plants failed to thrive, then started to die. I cut open a stem, and it had fusarium, classic case. Fusarium is SOIL BORNE.
Scott's products are famous for having fungus gnat eggs in them. Go with PromixBX for new pots, you won't be sorry.
Meanwhile, you can reuse this soil next year, but sterilize it in the Summer with the 3mil large clear Husky Bags, kept tight for about 6 to 8 weeks. It will cook and kill everything.

I think your plants might have fungus gnat larvae being the issue here, but if one dies, I suggest cutting it open to see if fusarium is in the stem. (Google it for photos) brown purple vascular plant tissue.

I've got a dead seedling that I'll check before I return it to hd. I feel like it wasn't planted long enough for fusarium, unless it takes a week for fusarium to kill a plant. In regards to the BT granules I added to the soil... do you think it's possible to soak some of those granules in warm water for a while to make a "tea" and then water my containers until water is draining from the bottom to make sure the BT gets down deep? I keep thinking those surface granules and the ones I scratched in aren't going to make it far enough down into the soil to kill the larva down deep.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by DocBrock

I've got a dead seedling that I'll check before I return it to hd. I feel like it wasn't planted long enough for fusarium, unless it takes a week for fusarium to kill a plant. In regards to the BT granules I added to the soil... do you think it's possible to soak some of those granules in warm water for a while to make a "tea" and then water my containers until water is draining from the bottom to make sure the BT gets down deep? I keep thinking those surface granules and the ones I scratched in aren't going to make it far enough down into the soil to kill the larva down deep.

Should be OK, but mind that the temp is just tepid, not too hot. So the BT are still viable.
In 1 week fusarium would not take the plants down. Fungus gnat larvae surely would.

[DocBrock]

I pulled that seedling and replaced it. I sliced open the stem and it was nice and green with no purple and there were 1" rootlets growing all around the stem that formed after I planted the original stem 2/3rds deep. Not sure what happened to the plant. Could be that it was in the 80s most of its life and suddenly dropped to the low 50's upper 40s. Maybe the major temp swing along with transplant shock was too much for it. Bonnie's greenhouse for all the local big box plants is in Labelle, which is only 30 miles from me so I'm sure it grew in similar climate. It was a cherokee carbon. I replaced it with 2 more in a deep 20gal tub. Maybe I can get one to grow hahah. I'm stuck with big box plants until I can start my first batch of seeds in the fall.

[ginger2778]

Time for photos DocBrock.

[DocBrock]

I didn't take very good pics but here's the stem.

[DocBrock]

That's what I'm growing tomatoes in this season. Next year I'll use earthboxes or earthtainers, but learned about them after I planted. It'll save a lot of potting media and time compared to what I've got now.

The plant in the round grey container was taken 3 days ago and contains the cherokee carbon that went south. It was overnight that it completely wilted and the leaves turned brown.

That last pic in the orange bucket is 1 of 2 plants that have grown amazing. They are BHN 602. Will probably be prettt bland and boring tasting but I planted them as 8" tall seedlings on 1/24 and they're already loaded with fruit. After I planted them I started reading about heirloom varieties and went that direction for my next plants.

[DocBrock]

That's the bottoms of the leaves. The tops were brown/bronze. I just ran out to retrieve the plant and the leaves are so shriveled by the afternoon sun that they're unrecognizable.

[DocBrock]

Hey all, it took me 2 weeks....but I finally finished reading every post of the year 1 AND 2 floridians threads! Holy smokes I sure learned a lot. Since my last post, a lot of my issues have resolved once I switched from the nature's care MG potting mix to pro-mix HP. I lost a few plants and still have a few pots of peppers in the old soil that are struggling, but i keep an eye on them and they've been regrowing foliage since I got rid of the aphids and fungus gnats with soapy water made with dr. Bronners peppermint soap. It worked incredibly well!

Anyhow, last week we got some pretty incredible winds with 30mph gusts and a container I planted with bush beans took a beating. I wasn't able to be home one day and the planter was left out in the wind and full sun the entire day. Half of them were almost uprooted and were laying on their side. I put them upright and staked them up, but several days later they looked diseased. Initially I could see some windburn and possible sunscald, but now it looks like something a lot worse. I replanted a new batch of seeds in a different container and have kept the old ones seperate from my other plants, but I wanted to ask whether I should just get rid of the old ones asap to keep disease from spreading. Although the leaves are wilted and brown, the beans on the plant continue to get larger everyday. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

-Brock

[kurt]

We have been nailed by 20 plus winds,looks like a curly top virus type( a variant)You an cut to main ,but you take a chance of transfer which has already occurred.Isolate those around a corner,protect those other bueatiful plants.I myself do the scorched earth method,bagged in the dumpster at the first sign.Good luck.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by DocBrock

Hey all, it took me 2 weeks....but I finally finished reading every post of the year 1 AND 2 floridians threads! Holy smokes I sure learned a lot. Since my last post, a lot of my issues have resolved once I switched from the nature's care MG potting mix to pro-mix HP. I lost a few plants and still have a few pots of peppers in the old soil that are struggling, but i keep an eye on them and they've been regrowing foliage since I got rid of the aphids and fungus gnats with soapy water made with dr. Bronners peppermint soap. It worked incredibly well!

Anyhow, last week we got some pretty incredible winds with 30mph gusts and a container I planted with bush beans took a beating. I wasn't able to be home one day and the planter was left out in the wind and full sun the entire day. Half of them were almost uprooted and were laying on their side. I put them upright and staked them up, but several days later they looked diseased. Initially I could see some windburn and possible sunscald, but now it looks like something a lot worse. I replanted a new batch of seeds in a different container and have kept the old ones seperate from my other plants, but I wanted to ask whether I should just get rid of the old ones asap to keep disease from spreading. Although the leaves are wilted and brown, the beans on the plant continue to get larger everyday. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

-Brock

Mites. They may not be salvageable, but it couldnt hurt to hit them with permethrin spray. It's synthetic pyrethrins, only stronger. Pyrethrins are natural, ftom chrysanthemums. I use a 10% concentrstion, diluted into my 2 gallon sprayer at 2/3 of a tablespoon spray, and I also put in my diluted copper fungicide since thry are compatible and can be sprayed together. Mites need spray evrry 4 days for 3 times to kill the hatching nymphs.
Actually doing it this am.