Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[JaxRmrJmr]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

It is not that unusual to get hail in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Hail is created by water vapor being sucked very quickly high into atmosphere. Ironically, it takes a lot of energy (heat) to create the storm that can suck the water vapor that high. Heat creates ice. Go figure.

[Zone9b]

The Cassidy Bush Snap Beans in the photo are my first serious pick from a 5' x 6' raised bed area that I planted 1/06/19. This is the first time I've ever planted beans in the Winter. The time from seeding was 84 days and yes that is a long time. If I had planted these beans on Feb 15, the official day where no more frosts is supposed to happen in Orlando, I would have possibly had my first serious pick around May 20. Therefore, I estimate that I got beans some odd 20 days earlier by planting in the Winter. Whether it will be worth the risk to plant that early again remains to seen. But, there was another thing different with this harvest of Cassidy variety, which I have grown numerous times, and that is the beans picked were almost entirely Sieve 2 sized beans. They were still close to the same length as other times and also nice dark green color. When grown in season I have gotten a mix of sieve 2 and 3 beans. I'm guessing that growing them in the cold helped reduce their girth, which was a pleasant surprise.

[JaxRmrJmr]

I'm up the road in Jacksonville, but I had some volunteers sprout and grow in December this year. I had green beans in February - it gave me the thought of growing them over the winter here as well.

[ginger2778]

Larry those beans look wonderful. I just love green beans. You do such a nice job.

Nice, Larry! My beans are just coming up; I was just so obsessed with tomatoes and peppers this spring. Cukes just breaking ground too.
What else are you growing?

Today’s fava bean haul ...

[JaxRmrJmr]

Originally Posted by PlainJane

Nice, Larry! My beans are just coming up; I was just so obsessed with tomatoes and peppers this spring. Cukes just breaking ground too.
What else are you growing?

My cukes have been invaded by the pickle worm moth every time I have tried them. Let me know if you have good results.

I have some very fine white cloth called insect barrier and I intend to drape it over the cucumber vines. The variety I’m growing is parthenocarpic so I’m hoping to thwart the dang pickle worm this way.
Hate those things!

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by PlainJane

I have some very fine white cloth called insect barrier and I intend to drape it over the cucumber vines. The variety I’m growing is parthenocarpic so I’m hoping to thwart the dang pickle worm this way.
Hate those things!

Jane, I was really successful avoiding the pickle worm one summer using tulle (similar to your insect barrier). I would just drape it over the entire plant plus I was growing Beit Alpha which need bees.

The pickle worm goes out at dark, so I would drape my tulle over before dark and take it off around 7 am. The bees would be waiting to get to the plants.

I had 330 cucumbers in 7 weeks (3 plants - 2 were in Earthboxes, 1 was in a root pouch).

I never sprayed once and only lost 3 cucumbers but they were probably the regular moth.

When my plants got large, I would drape a few layers of tulle and would love seeing the moths crushed between the 2, but never making it to the inside. The moths are small.

Found it: See post 8, then later in the thread, I'm tulle mangos, and then again (post 44, 52), I'm doing a parthenocarpic cucumber plant.


http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=tulle

[Barb_FL]

Larry - Your beans look wonderful!!!

Are you done with broccoli season? I started pulling mine mainly because I didn't want to water it anymore, but the tip with feeding heavy nitrogen upon first heading really worked. I used the liquid fish fertilizer for the nitrogen.

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Jane, I was really successful avoiding the pickle worm one summer using tulle (similar to your insect barrier). I would just drape it over the entire plant plus I was growing Beit Alpha which need bees.

The pickle worm goes out at dark, so I would drape my tulle over before dark and take it off around 7 am. The bees would be waiting to get to the plants.

I had 330 cucumbers in 7 weeks (3 plants - 2 were in Earthboxes, 1 was in a root pouch).

I never sprayed once and only lost 3 cucumbers but they were probably the regular moth.

When my plants got large, I would drape a few layers of tulle and would love seeing the moths crushed between the 2, but never making it to the inside. The moths are small.

Found it: See post 8, then later in the thread, I'm tulle mangos, and then again (post 44, 52), I'm doing a parthenocarpic cucumber plant.


http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...ighlight=tulle

Excellent! Now I’m very encouraged this plan to outwit the pickle worm will work.

Tomato lift off on Black Brandywine, and the newbie seedlings are almost all blooming.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by PlainJane

Tomato lift off on Black Brandywine, and the newbie seedlings are almost all blooming.

Those look so so beautiful.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by PlainJane

Excellent! Now I’m very encouraged this plan to outwit the pickle worm will work.

Barb taught me that trick too. Easy, and really works. Thank you again Barb. I still never get the production you get, but I might get 20 - 25 from a single vine. No pickle worms for a few years.

Thank you Marsha! Lots of your seeds out there; KARMA sisters are going crazy!