Philadelphia area gardening thread

[Jonnyhat]

i think i could have cherries before the end of June, also Raspberry Giant is really owning up to its name.

[PhilaGardener]

You are way ahead of me! What varieties of cauliflower are you growing? I've never been able to get them to head successfully here.

[Jonnyhat]

graffiti and skywalker

[Fiishergurl]

You are way ahead of me too! Below are some pictures...


Above are my potted plants taken today. Below is a picture of them on 5/29.



Below are the ones in ground. Not sure if they get enough hours of sunlight...



Does it get too hot for them to set fruit here soon? Or is there still time?

Ginny

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Does it get too hot for them to set fruit here soon? Or is there still time?

There may be stretches when it's too hot for fruit set, but there are always plenty of windows of decent temps during which fruit set happens fine throughout the summer. It's not like further south, where after a certain point in the year, you basically give up on any new fruit set.

Cherry tomatoes will set fruit continuously without problem all summer. At least that is my experience. Larger tomatoes can be finickier, and I'm sure some varieties are very finicky, but if you have the time and really want continuous fruit set and daylight temps have been high, you could try going out in the morning while temps are still cool and vibrating newly opened blossoms with an electric toothbrush or giving them a good flick with your hands.

[PhilaGardener]

With the weather variable like it is, we can only tell you next week!

Generally, we are OK in all but the hottest days of summer.

[Fiishergurl]

Gorbelly and PhilaGardener... thats reassuring. I ended up with 22 plants, all in the ground but 3. 11 plants I know are getting enough sun and 11 are questionable (which is why I ended up with more than planned because I planted more after I found a really sunny spot after being here a few weeks).

I've already been buzzing them a few times a day. Thats a habit from where i live in Florida on the water with all the humidity. If i dont buzz them there nothing will set except a few cherries no matter what the temps are. Its just consistently too sticky wet. I even buzz the immature blooms because i think its like a mother talking to the baby in the womb.... lol encouraging them to do their thing.

I'm finally starting to get a lot of blooms and some tomatoes setting....





So excited!!

Ginny

[Jonnyhat]

of the 45 in my back yard now only 3 do not have fruit set, and I am so happy that Liz Birt who took well over a month to germinate now has 2 tomatoes!! her peat pots were about ready to go in the compost after 37 days with nothing... so excited.

[Fiishergurl]

Jonny that's awesome news! I'm so happy to find out that tomatoes set all summer here. I am totally not used to that.

You need to post more pictures when the plants get loaded up with tomatoes.

Ginny

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[Barb_FL]

Ginny - even during a heat spell, I'm sure the nights cool off considerably into the 60s. In our area in FL, we would actually be OK with the daytime highs, it's the night time lows that is our problem. This year, I've seen 80 as the night time low with a daytime high of 85-87. That is crazy. Of course humidity plays a part too but I'm convinced it's the night time lows that is the biggest culprit.

Are you buzzing there?

You always get a ton of fruit.

[Fiishergurl]

Barb,

You are right about the night temps. Heres the next 10 day forecast.



And yes, I am a buzz-a-holic so i buzz the blossoms a few times a day... pretty much every time I take my dog out. The guys here confirmed that could help here like it does in Florida. There arent too many blossoms yet so its real quick. My husband and I put those bamboo cages around the potted plants that you showed me last year. I love the way those look and how well they support the plants... :-)

I was so worried I was running out of time for fruit set so I'm happy to know I'm not... :-)

Ginny

[gorbelly]

Fishergurl, is that comfrey I see in the blurry background? If so, was it already growing on the property, or did you plant it?

[Fiishergurl]

There is a beautiful perennial garden here that is constantly blooming with something different and I dont know what any of it is. The owner of the house has cultivated it over the years. I didnt plant anything in it. It is maintenance free and surprises us with new blooms all the time. Oh wait, i did plant one basil and one cilantro on the edge of it. She gave me permission to plant the tomato plants in the vacant gardens on the side of the house. We are renting the house for almost 6 months and there is a food/leaf compost pile that is LOADED with earthworms. I have fun adding our veggie scraps to it and seeing all the worms. Its a wonderful house and yard and less expensive than the hotel and we have it to ourselves. AirBnB is a cool app for finding places to stay when you are away from home without being stuck in a hotel!

Ginny

[gorbelly]

Not comfrey, but what a nice cottage-style garden! I'm a sucker for a garden that is more easygoing and isn't too manicured looking.

[Lastfling]

I see a white Day Lily and Garden Phlox in the first picture. The yellow in the 2nd is also a day lily - Stella D'Oro possibly.