Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Night before last something pulled a 3" ripening GGWT tomato from the plant and ate almost all of it. I can live with that.
But, last night something worse happened. I had 5 trays (90 plants) of Broccoli seedlings out where they can catch the sun. Most were approximately 1 3/4 inch high with their first true leaves.
Looked at them first thing this morning and something had devoured over 2/3s of the seedlings. Most were completely gone but a few had stems only sticking up. The soil was not much disturbed. My guess is an opossum.
Any ideas of what may have done this and how to deal with it would be much appreciated.
Larry

I would bet the broccoli was devoured by snails/slugs. I don't see too many slugs so my damage is primary caused by snails.

One of my mature pepper plants was completely stripped on Weds; (like the work of a tomato hornworm) and the one next to it had lots of bare spots. When it was dark the night I noticed it, I went out with a flashlight and found many snails on the plants. Keep in mind, all my root pouches are on wooden pallets, my other pepper plants are on big sheets of wood, raised on 1/2 cinderblocks, and then raised on grills on top of bricks and I find LOTS on the root pouches working their way up to the plants.

Much worse when it rains. Yesterday (no rain), I went out to do the snail tour and found 9 snails by the peppers. (none in the broccoli, but found lots the day before when it had rained).

The Slug and Snail bait works well, it lasts a few weeks.

===
The tomato could be anything; if at night, probably a rat

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

I would bet the broccoli was devoured by snails/slugs. I don't see too many slugs so my damage is primary caused by snails.

One of my mature pepper plants was completely stripped on Weds; (like the work of a tomato hornworm) and the one next to it had lots of bare spots. When it was dark the night I noticed it, I went out with a flashlight and found many snails on the plants. Keep in mind, all my root pouches are on wooden pallets, my other pepper plants are on big sheets of wood, raised on 1/2 cinderblocks, and then raised on grills on top of bricks and I find LOTS on the root pouches working their way up to the plants.
Much worse when it rains. Yesterday (no rain), I went out to do the snail tour and found 9 snails by the peppers. (none in the broccoli, but found lots the day before when it had rained).
The Slug and Snail bait works well, it lasts a few weeks.
===
The tomato could be anything; if at night, probably a rat

Barb
I bet you're right on the slugs and snails. I've never to my knowledge had a problem with them but I guess there is always a first time.
Thanks, Larry

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Barb
I bet you're right on the slugs and snails. I've never to my knowledge had a problem with them but I guess there is always a first time.
Thanks, Larry

I am thinking Barb's last line is correct. Rat. Put peanut butter on your trap and put it out near the tomatoes, even the broccoli. Rats like peanut butter better than veggies.
If it is a posdum, find a place to tilt a smooth walled thirty gallon trash can, and place cat food in the bottom. Possum will crawl in against the step ladder you tilt it on, eat some cat food, not be able to climb out. Just put the lid on the trash can and go drive it several miles away. or dispose of it your way.

[Barb_FL]

I tried my EARLY Birthday present today. Vegibee from my DD; it was delivered yesterday and she said that if I could use it now, I didn't need to wait to open it.

It came already charged. The vibration is NOTHING like an electric toothbrush. I think it is better than I expected.

On the box it suggests buzzing 11-2 or 70-82 (haha not in this November summer).

Seriously, our night time lows are the same as August/September. Does this mean I CAN grow tomatoes in the summer with the Vegibee?

I'm so psyched about it.

[ginger2778]

My hubs just asked me if it was really different than an electric toothbrush, because one reviewer said it wasn't, but when I told him how it was different, he said he guessed that I did my homework, so he was on Amazon today buying it.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

I am thinking Barb's last line is correct. Rat. Put peanut butter on your trap and put it out near the tomatoes, even the broccoli. Rats like peanut butter better than veggies.
If it is a posdum, find a place to tilt a smooth walled thirty gallon trash can, and place cat food in the bottom. Possum will crawl in against the step ladder you tilt it on, eat some cat food, not be able to climb out. Just put the lid on the trash can and go drive it several miles away. or dispose of it your way.

Thanks for the info. Hope you're feeling better each day.
Larry

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by ginger2778

My hubs just asked me if it was really different than an electric toothbrush, because one reviewer said it wasn't, but when I told him how it was different, he said he guessed that I did my homework, so he was on Amazon today buying it.

Cool! Will you get it Sunday? I ordered something on Amazon for DH today and it is being delivered Sunday. I don't know if all areas have Sunday delivery; we've had it for awhile; the PO delivers it.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Cool! Will you get it Sunday? I ordered something on Amazon for DH today and it is being delivered Sunday. I don't know if all areas have Sunday delivery; we've had it for awhile; the PO delivers it.

I think mine is going to be held for a holiday present.

[kayrobbins]

I am so happy to see you are getting those Vegibees. They really are different from the toothbrush. I have not been able to use mine for 2 days since I am volunteering at the International Herb Association conference. I am so tired and glad today is the last day but the speakers have been great.
Sunday I will be out buzzing again!

[Zone9b]

In Florida it sometimes is difficult to plan on the same garden results year after year. An example high temperature for Nov 2, 2015 Orlando was 90 degrees. Low temperature for Nov 2, 2014 a record at 43 degrees.

[elight]

It's been so unseasonably hot for the past month, I have no doubt it's had an effect on my tomato plants. They've been out since mid-August (granted, a tad early), and some plants haven't fruited at all yet.

Big Beef, Cosmonaut Volkov, Bundberg Rumball, Sunsugar and Fireworks seem to be doing OK with the heat. The others not so much.

I was just out mowing the lawn, heat index 98. High yesterday was 91. Looks like some rain is coming tonight to cool things off - a welcome development.

In other news, this is the toothbrush I've been using:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage
... seems to get the job done. You can find it at the local drug store as well. Should last years before that battery dies.

[Zenbaas]

Originally Posted by elight

It's been so unseasonably hot for the past month, I have no doubt it's had an effect on my tomato plants. They've been out since mid-August (granted, a tad early), and some plants haven't fruited at all yet.

Big Beef, Cosmonaut Volkov, Bundberg Rumball, Sunsugar and Fireworks seem to be doing OK with the heat. The others not so much.

I was just out mowing the lawn, heat index 98. High yesterday was 91. Looks like some rain is coming tonight to cool things off - a welcome development.

In other news, this is the toothbrush I've been using:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage
... seems to get the job done. You can find it at the local drug store as well. Should last years before that battery dies.

I doubt that It should last a while though.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by elight

It's been so unseasonably hot for the past month, I have no doubt it's had an effect on my tomato plants. They've been out since mid-August (granted, a tad early), and some plants haven't fruited at all yet.
Big Beef, Cosmonaut Volkov, Bundberg Rumball, Sunsugar and Fireworks seem to be doing OK with the heat. The others not so much.
I was just out mowing the lawn, heat index 98. High yesterday was 91. Looks like some rain is coming tonight to cool things off - a welcome development.
In other news, this is the toothbrush I've been using:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage
... seems to get the job done. You can find it at the local drug store as well. Should last years before that battery dies.

elight,
Given that we both garden in Orlando, I will be curious to how your varieties perform for you. I am on what seems an endless search for varieties that work well here. Also I am curious as to what you are using as a growing medium and whether you are growing in containers, raised beds or native soil. I grow in a combination of raised beds and containers.
Varieties that seem to be working ok for me at the moment are: Granadero, Champion II indeterminate, Fourth of July, Clear Pink Early, Early Wonder, Sun Gold, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Girl Girl's Weird Thing and Indian Stripe. However, that doesn't mean they all will be working well in a month. In fact I'm sure that some will have not continued to perform well.
I have come to believe that in general taller intermediates perform better in general for me not shorter bush varieties (especially dwarfs). Short plants, even the ones that do a good job of setting fruit being close to the soil tend to be overcome by Early Blight, however a towering vine such as Champion II or Granadero, while they have Early Blight lower on the plant, they see to outgrow the EB and much of the plant at above a point are largely blight free and perform well. Also some varieties and plants seem to be better at resisting EB than others. For example I find Early Wonder suffers somewhat less from EB than Clear Pink Early even though they are both bush determinate varieties.
Larry

[elight]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

elight,
Given that we both garden in Orlando, I will be curious to how your varieties perform for you. I am on what seems an endless search for varieties that work well here. Also I am curious as to what you are using as a growing medium and whether you are growing in containers, raised beds or native soil. I grow in a combination of raised beds and containers.
Varieties that seem to be working ok for me at the moment are: Granadero, Champion II indeterminate, Fourth of July, Clear Pink Early, Early Wonder, Sun Gold, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Girl Girl's Weird Thing and Indian Stripe. However, that doesn't mean they all will be working well in a month. In fact I'm sure that some will have not continued to perform well.
I have come to believe that in general taller intermediates perform better in general for me not shorter bush varieties (especially dwarfs). Short plants, even the ones that do a good job of setting fruit being close to the soil tend to be overcome by Early Blight, however a towering vine such as Champion II or Granadero, while they have Early Blight lower on the plant, they see to outgrow the EB and much of the plant at above a point are largely blight free and perform well. Also some varieties and plants seem to be better at resisting EB than others. For example I find Early Wonder suffers somewhat less from EB than Clear Pink Early even though they are both bush determinate varieties.
Larry

Zone9b, what part of Orlando are you in? I'm in Dr. Phillips. In the two years I've lived here, I've found that the microclimates can certainly change a lot from place to place.

This is my third season here, and I am definitely on the hunt for new varieties for the spring (although it seems likely that different varieties would be better in the spring vs. the fall here). I'll attach some photos of what I'm currently growing...

In order, they are...

Fireworks. Good early growth, tons of blossoms but most dropped. Fighting disease now. The raised beds use Mel's 1-1-1 mix.

Green Giant, Kellogg's Breakfast, Fred's Wild Dwarf (I think) and something else. Great growth all around, but not a single fruit set yet. Very strange - same growing media and same watering and fertilizer as everything else.

Sunsugar. This one got a really late start - I started it the same time as the one in the EarthTainer, but planted it out a week or two later on a whim. Just setting its first fruit now.

Big Beef and Cherokee Purple. The EarthTainers and buckets use Raybo's 3-2-1 mix with Farfard potting mix (in the blue bag).

Cosmonaut Volkov and Sunsugar.

Yukon Quest. Basically no non-diseased leaves left.

Bundaberg Rumball.

[Zone9b]

elight,
I live and garden in the North area of Conway. I generally stay away from large tomatoes with greater than 80 days til maturity. It seems if they are out there that long something is going to get to them before I do. I am going to add to that avoiding dwarf varieties. Just too close to the soil and with all the soil diseases around here they just get consumed. I hope to find a couple of exceptions that I can grow. Of the tomatoes you discuss the only one that I have grown is Big Beef. I grew it successfully a couple of years back. Given that it is highly disease resistant and preformed fairly well for me, I may grow it again. This fall I have two very large indeterminates that appear to be doing well - Champion II and Granadero. I hope I find a couple of varieties this fall that I can continue to grow in the future.
I think you are correct in believing that the spring gardening season is better than the fall season here. After the winter, assuming that it is cold enough, some of the pathogens seem to be beaten down a bit.
I'm curious what the variety is of the tomato in your last picture? It looks good, with quite a lot of fruit set and the plant does not appear to be blighted in any way.
Larry