Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2 - Page 53

Fiishergurl · February 9, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imthechuck

Tville is back!!!

I thought I would post on my total fall crop. I had about 190 pounds of tomatoes this season from 10 earthboxes! about 19 lbs per earthboxes

New Issues Never Seen: Bird Damage (it got pretty bad)

Root Knot Nematode Damage in 4 earthboxes??? I thought this was impossible but when I pulled out my fall crop they definitely did some damage in 4 of my older boxes.... I think I may of had some of the boxes on the ground last year but now they are all on pavers. I didnt feel like emptying the three boxes and just planted my spring crop in them

Spring Crop: My wife accidentally mislabeled everything when we switched from 2 inch to 4 inch cups. So who knows what well get. I hoping not 12 black cherrys lol, but people love those the most

Thats so awesome that you got so many tomatoes. What were your favorites?

Ginny

Imthechuck · February 9, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Thats so awesome that you got so many tomatoes. What were your favorites?

Ginny

Girls Gone Weird were my favorite!! larger tomatoes

Brandy Boys and Sweet Ozark Orange were the super producers

Barb_FL · February 9, 2016

Good Season - Chuck.

Nematodes: I am not seeing any evidence of nematodes or pot worms after pulling my plants from earthboxes and containers (root pouches). What I did on my root pouches is lightly cover crab shells on the bottom and mix a small amount of crab shells within the mix. I even did this on some of my earthboxes during the sterilizing process.

I use Neptunes Harvest Crab Shells. First couple times I bought the 4 lb bag, but then went with the 12 lb bucket. It lasts a long time. It is just crushed crab shells and smells just like it so I'm sure the real thing would work just as well.

All of my EBs are on casters or mover's dollies so Pot worms were my biggest issues. I felt like they were eating the roots of plants.

I elevate all of my tomato plants including the ones on the pool deck.

===
I am a huge believer in the sterilizing the soil. It is especially easy with the earthboxes. I removed the top layer/fertilizer strip first so I could pack with more mix. It is a HUGE LOAF. On some EB, I also mixed dolomite and crab shells during the process thinking it would have more time to break down before the plant needed it.

I also did a lot of sterilizing in just the bags and elevated on the wooden pallets.

For bags I used 42 gallon Husky 3 mil Contractor Clean Up bags in both the black and clear. For Black, HomeDepot has the best price. The Clear Bags costs twice as much and I purchased them from Amazon. As Marsha said the temperature in the clear bag easily reached 145 deep down. It was hard for the black to reach 120. I even tested one EB with doubling the black bags and didn't elevate the temperatures at all.

Imthechuck · February 10, 2016

Can you post Amazon link? Thanks

I'm assuming I just placebo filled earthbox in a contracter grade bag?

Zone9b · February 17, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Good Season - Chuck.

Nematodes: I am not seeing any evidence of nematodes or pot worms after pulling my plants from earthboxes and containers (root pouches). What I did on my root pouches is lightly cover crab shells on the bottom and mix a small amount of crab shells within the mix. I even did this on some of my earthboxes during the sterilizing process.
I use Neptunes Harvest Crab Shells. First couple times I bought the 4 lb bag, but then went with the 12 lb bucket. It lasts a long time. It is just crushed crab shells and smells just like it so I'm sure the real thing would work just as well.
All of my EBs are on casters or mover's dollies so Pot worms were my biggest issues. I felt like they were eating the roots of plants.
I elevate all of my tomato plants including the ones on the pool deck.

===
I am a huge believer in the sterilizing the soil. It is especially easy with the earthboxes. I removed the top layer/fertilizer strip first so I could pack with more mix. It is a HUGE LOAF. On some EB, I also mixed dolomite and crab shells during the process thinking it would have more time to break down before the plant needed it.
I also did a lot of sterilizing in just the bags and elevated on the wooden pallets.
For bags I used 42 gallon Husky 3 mil Contractor Clean Up bags in both the black and clear. For Black, HomeDepot has the best price. The Clear Bags costs twice as much and I purchased them from Amazon. As Marsha said the temperature in the clear bag easily reached 145 deep down. It was hard for the black to reach 120. I even tested one EB with doubling the black bags and didn't elevate the temperatures at all.

Barb,
Thanks for a lot of good information.
I know you like to grow Broccoli and I noticed in one of the big box stores yesterday that Bonnie has Lieutenant Broccoli variety plants for sale this season. Lieutenant appears to have done well in trials. I have Lieutenant plants growing in cups now. The plants have done very well and it looks like Lieutenant is going to be a good variety here in Central Florida. Date to Maturity from transplants is said to be 55 days, about the same as Premium Crop.
Larry

Barb_FL · February 17, 2016

Thanks Larry for the info. I am harvesting broccoli fairly regularly now. I went with just fertilizer trying to get more from the plants. I usually get broccoli until late May. RE: premium crop, I agree the heads stay tighter than the other varieties.

Chuck - Here is the link for the clear bags that I bought last summer:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...r_1_14&sr=8-14

There are other 3 ply clear ones listed on Amazon now (none last year) with good reviews and better pricing.

http://www.amazon.com/42-Gallon-Cont...ct_top?ie=UTF8

I think Marsha found clear ones locally.

----
Tomato Update: I have some tomatoes on my Lucid Gem Plant and Pink Passion Dwarf. Both plants are really healthy looking.

Lucid Gem was one of the new varieties from Wild Boar Farms offered in the fall. Assuming everything goes well, I should have seeds available to share for the fall season.

Pink Passion does not look like Rugose leaf which is fine with me.

--------
How is everyone's season going?

Barb_FL · February 23, 2016

Just wanted to report that I noticed 5 pineapples growing already. I love the pineapple plants; no bugs, no watering, no fertilizer, no mess. It is the perfect plant.

Here's a couple of pictures:

First is Pink Passion (I love this Dwarf Plant), fruit from PP - not clear,

Fruit from Lucid Gem,

Jazz (from Fall - I only kept a couple of plants).

kayrobbins · February 23, 2016

I have never been successful trying to make a pineapple plant from the tops. I tried a few times and gave up.

The Painted Pink tomato will be totally green for awhile and then you should see the purple start to form on the shoulder. It took that plant longer to produce ripe tomatoes than any other one but once it started it pumped them out.

I planted Painted Pink and Indigo Cherry Drop in swcs today even though it is suppose to get down to 34 in a few days. I have them on a cart and can bring them in the garage if it does. I have such beautiful lettuces right and broke down and bought some cherry tomatoes at Publix today. I know I will be disappointed. I can't wait for blooms and buzzing!

Barb_FL · February 23, 2016

Kay - For pineapple, you unscrew the top, then pick off leaves from bottom until the base is nice and clean. The less fruit you have on the stalk, the better but sometimes, a little stays on with the unscrew. I usually hold the top with an old dish cloth.

Then just stick in the ground or a pot and pat down firmly so it is tight. Water, then forget about it. Check in a week or two by slightly tugging a little at it. It should resist; it is making roots. I've only had 2 not take and you know because the middle kind of rots out.

The first time you get actual pineapples, may be up to 3 years and they may be small (but still unbelievably sweet). The plant will have at least 1 shooter stalk which will produce bigger pineapples in much less time. If the plant has > 1 shooter, take all off except one and make new plants. The shooter attached to the mom plant will produce a big pineapple. The shooters will produce fruits much quicker than the tops.

After a couple of years, you will have so many pineapples, that it won't matter if they are taking 2-3 years because they are always recycling through.

2014 I had 8 pineapples, 6 were store bought size.
2015 I had about 15, but only a few were store bought size. I'm thinking b/c 2015 spring was incredibly dry and hot.

I think b/c I'm seeing fruit already, these pineapples should be really large.

kayrobbins · February 23, 2016

Thanks for the good explanation. I can tell where I went wrong. I just sliced the top off when I was preparing the pineapple and stuck it in the pot with lots of fruit and all the leaves still on it. I will give it another try.

jpop · February 23, 2016

Beautiful Barb. Have another cold front this week, not sure what the temps are going to be in your area.

ginger2778 · February 23, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayrobbins

Thanks for the good explanation. I can tell where I went wrong. I just sliced the top off when I was preparing the pineapple and stuck it in the pot with lots of fruit and all the leaves still on it. I will give it another try.

Kay, I sliced the top off with about 1" of fruit still on, then threw it on the compost heap. It uprighted itself and started growing. I said, " no, you're supposed to be compost", pulled it up and threw it down on the pile, and IT DID IT AGAIN! I said, " if you want to grow so bad, I'm gonna let you" 18 months later there was a nice sized pineapple, and now its about 11 years, and 9 pineapples later... I have done it with several tops, cutting it with 1" of fruit, and just barely burying the fruit, they all took. I have 4 starting to make their beautiful bromeliad now.

Here's my pineapple patch.

ginger2778 · February 23, 2016

Here's one forming.

Barb_FL · February 23, 2016

Marsha - Well that's even easier; I've only done the way I described and the way I described in water which doesn't work as well.

JPOP - Thanks for the staking info in your photo thread. Just so I understand it; 1 stake per plant, and then just tie the main stem to the stake as it grows.

After seeing your gorgeous pics, I'm concerned that my seedlings are too small for this time of year.

We are suppose to get really heavy storms tomorrow with damaging wind.

jpop · February 23, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

JPOP - Thanks for the staking info in your photo thread. Just so I understand it; 1 stake per plant, and then just tie the main stem to the stake as it grows.

After seeing your gorgeous pics, I'm concerned that my seedlings are too small for this time of year.

We are suppose to get really heavy storms tomorrow with damaging wind.

Correct 1 per plant which translates 2-3 per earthbox depending on plant count. The stem(s) need to be secured close to the stake so they do not twist in the wind. Has been blowing 25-30 here lately, currently blowing 20 mph.

February 10, 2016	#784
Imthechuck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: SouthFlorida Zone 10 Posts: 120	Can you post Amazon link? Thanks I'm assuming I just placebo filled earthbox in a contracter grade bag? Last edited by Imthechuck; February 10, 2016 at 05:39 AM.

February 9, 2016	#783
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Good Season - Chuck. Nematodes: I am not seeing any evidence of nematodes or pot worms after pulling my plants from earthboxes and containers (root pouches). What I did on my root pouches is lightly cover crab shells on the bottom and mix a small amount of crab shells within the mix. I even did this on some of my earthboxes during the sterilizing process. I use Neptunes Harvest Crab Shells. First couple times I bought the 4 lb bag, but then went with the 12 lb bucket. It lasts a long time. It is just crushed crab shells and smells just like it so I'm sure the real thing would work just as well. All of my EBs are on casters or mover's dollies so Pot worms were my biggest issues. I felt like they were eating the roots of plants. I elevate all of my tomato plants including the ones on the pool deck. === I am a huge believer in the sterilizing the soil. It is especially easy with the earthboxes. I removed the top layer/fertilizer strip first so I could pack with more mix. It is a HUGE LOAF. On some EB, I also mixed dolomite and crab shells during the process thinking it would have more time to break down before the plant needed it. I also did a lot of sterilizing in just the bags and elevated on the wooden pallets. For bags I used 42 gallon Husky 3 mil Contractor Clean Up bags in both the black and clear. For Black, HomeDepot has the best price. The Clear Bags costs twice as much and I purchased them from Amazon. As Marsha said the temperature in the clear bag easily reached 145 deep down. It was hard for the black to reach 120. I even tested one EB with doubling the black bags and didn't elevate the temperatures at all.

February 17, 2016	#786
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Thanks Larry for the info. I am harvesting broccoli fairly regularly now. I went with just fertilizer trying to get more from the plants. I usually get broccoli until late May. RE: premium crop, I agree the heads stay tighter than the other varieties. Chuck - Here is the link for the clear bags that I bought last summer:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...r_1_14&sr=8-14 There are other 3 ply clear ones listed on Amazon now (none last year) with good reviews and better pricing. http://www.amazon.com/42-Gallon-Cont...ct_top?ie=UTF8 I think Marsha found clear ones locally. ---- Tomato Update: I have some tomatoes on my Lucid Gem Plant and Pink Passion Dwarf. Both plants are really healthy looking. Lucid Gem was one of the new varieties from Wild Boar Farms offered in the fall. Assuming everything goes well, I should have seeds available to share for the fall season. Pink Passion does not look like Rugose leaf which is fine with me. -------- How is everyone's season going?

February 23, 2016	#788
kayrobbins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 820	I have never been successful trying to make a pineapple plant from the tops. I tried a few times and gave up. The Painted Pink tomato will be totally green for awhile and then you should see the purple start to form on the shoulder. It took that plant longer to produce ripe tomatoes than any other one but once it started it pumped them out. I planted Painted Pink and Indigo Cherry Drop in swcs today even though it is suppose to get down to 34 in a few days. I have them on a cart and can bring them in the garage if it does. I have such beautiful lettuces right and broke down and bought some cherry tomatoes at Publix today. I know I will be disappointed. I can't wait for blooms and buzzing!

February 23, 2016	#789
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Kay - For pineapple, you unscrew the top, then pick off leaves from bottom until the base is nice and clean. The less fruit you have on the stalk, the better but sometimes, a little stays on with the unscrew. I usually hold the top with an old dish cloth. Then just stick in the ground or a pot and pat down firmly so it is tight. Water, then forget about it. Check in a week or two by slightly tugging a little at it. It should resist; it is making roots. I've only had 2 not take and you know because the middle kind of rots out. The first time you get actual pineapples, may be up to 3 years and they may be small (but still unbelievably sweet). The plant will have at least 1 shooter stalk which will produce bigger pineapples in much less time. If the plant has > 1 shooter, take all off except one and make new plants. The shooter attached to the mom plant will produce a big pineapple. The shooters will produce fruits much quicker than the tops. After a couple of years, you will have so many pineapples, that it won't matter if they are taking 2-3 years because they are always recycling through. 2014 I had 8 pineapples, 6 were store bought size. 2015 I had about 15, but only a few were store bought size. I'm thinking b/c 2015 spring was incredibly dry and hot. I think b/c I'm seeing fruit already, these pineapples should be really large.

February 23, 2016	#790
kayrobbins Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Jacksonville, Fl Posts: 820	Thanks for the good explanation. I can tell where I went wrong. I just sliced the top off when I was preparing the pineapple and stuck it in the pot with lots of fruit and all the leaves still on it. I will give it another try.

February 23, 2016	#791
jpop Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: SE Florida Zone 10 Posts: 319	Beautiful Barb. Have another cold front this week, not sure what the temps are going to be in your area.

February 23, 2016	#794
Barb_FL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Indialantic, Florida Posts: 2,000	Marsha - Well that's even easier; I've only done the way I described and the way I described in water which doesn't work as well. JPOP - Thanks for the staking info in your photo thread. Just so I understand it; 1 stake per plant, and then just tie the main stem to the stake as it grows. After seeing your gorgeous pics, I'm concerned that my seedlings are too small for this time of year. We are suppose to get really heavy storms tomorrow with damaging wind.