Calling Tucson/Southern Arizona Gardeners

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by tuk50

I've never grown Amish Paste, but Rutgers has done extremely well for me when we plan on canning a lot. It is a determinate and will not survive the heat, but produces a lot in one harvest.

I planted Striped Roman for canning this year. I really only planted them because I thought they were pretty. I meant to have a bunch of Amish paste for canning but the seedlings died so now I have only my four SR for canning. Luckily, they are very productive and the fruits are big, meaty and sweet. Make a great sauce. The fruits are so dry that I suspect the only Eason that I'll need to cook the sauce for any time at all that I'm going to can is that there are some other types of tomatoes thrown in. The fresh sauces that I've made with them have been thick almost instantly. It is an indeterminate and is even setting some fruit in the heat. Very wispy, crazy vining, big plant.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by jhoganaz

flyingbrass - In Scottsdale I have 40% shade cloth over most of my garden and am watering twice a day for 10 minutes, at 8:00am and 2:00pm and my garden is barely surviving. I am still getting some tomatoes, but everything is suffering. My goal is to keep the tomatoes alive until it cools off and they start to produce again.
For part of the garden I am pulling up tomatoes that are not producing and will replace them on about Oct. 15th with new plants started indoors. This will be my test as to which is the most productive.

Wow, I have shade but only water fifteen minutes every other day. My plants don't even have any leaf curl and are doing great. Have you mulched? I have about twelve inches or more of pine straw down, which compacts to maybe three inches. Some areas have a bit of rice hulls as well, or alfalfa hay. The areas with rice hulls or hay are on the outer edges where it was drying the most and that really helped. I'm using white bed sheets for shade, which still let's in quite a bit of light, more, I think, than the regular shade cloth on my other garden that only has three plants. This garden has twenty five plants and they are still setting a few fruits, growing insanely.

[jhoganaz]

Tracydr - As I mentioned in an earlier posting: I had great success this spring with "Rose RX - 3 in 1" fungicide, insecticide & miticide - with neem oil. I had a major infestation of white flies on tomato seedlings, gone with three sprayings. Also used on a new pear tree with aphids, gone with two sprayings. Purchased at Harpers Nursery. From what can read it is organic and OK to use on tomatoes.

[Tracydr]

Help, losing tomatoes to some kind of wilt. When I pull them up, there is a white mold on the roots. It's spreading quickly, starting in the hottest corner. Soil is not too wet, barely damp. Soaked the survivors with Daconil, I'll soak soil with diluted bleach where I pulled up plants. These plants died in one day!

[tuk50]

I'm having more wilt problems this year than any before. What you described is what I do... pulled two this morning and replaced with some ready to go into the garden.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by tuk50

I'm having more wilt problems this year than any before. What you described is what I do... pulled two this morning and replaced with some ready to go into the garden.

Do you see a white mold in the soil when you pull? There is a sheet of mold growing around the roots and into the soil around the plants. Very weird. I did notice that the soil in the bad area is really hot. That side gets a lot of sun, despite an overhead shade, and a concrete wall about two feet behind it is a heat sink.

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by Tracydr

Wow, I have shade but only water fifteen minutes every other day. My plants don't even have any leaf curl and are doing great. Have you mulched? I have about twelve inches or more of pine straw down, which compacts to maybe three inches. Some areas have a bit of rice hulls as well, or alfalfa hay. The areas with rice hulls or hay are on the outer edges where it was drying the most and that really helped. I'm using white bed sheets for shade, which still let's in quite a bit of light, more, I think, than the regular shade cloth on my other garden that only has three plants. This garden has twenty five plants and they are still setting a few fruits, growing insanely.

Originally Posted by Tracydr

Do you see a white mold in the soil when you pull? There is a sheet of mold growing around the roots and into the soil around the plants. Very weird. I did notice that the soil in the bad area is really hot. That side gets a lot of sun, despite an overhead shade, and a concrete wall about two feet behind it is a heat sink.

Tracydr,

I wonder if your mulch is composting in the bed - the white mold and the hot soil makes it sound like you may have an active compost cycle going there in the thick mulch which is cooking your roots. If I were you I would pull back the mulch and install shade cloth above your plants instead (or use some some fully composted material on the soil). If the mulch continues to heat up after you pull it off you may as well compost it the rest of the way and use it later to top dress your soil. If it has that kind of heat going you should be able to use it before the summer is over if you pile it up, keep it moist and turn it once in a while.

[tuk50]

Tracy, what Elizabeth said makes a lot of sense to me. The plants I have pulled don't have white stuff on roots, in fact the roots all look very normal and healthy, but the stalks sometimes have brown streaks when I cut them and the leaves just slowly droop over a period of days. I do think the layer of white stuff is probably fungi composting your mulch ... I've never encountered that before, in my mulch layer, but it seems to really make sense.

[desertlzbn]

That seems exactly like what my plants had. erggggg! Most of my plants are dead, I planted some fall seeds

[desertlzbn]

Hey all you Southern Arizona Gardeners,
I thought I would revise this thread to see how your gardens are doing now.
I am gearing up for planting out my seedlings in a couple of weeks.
I am only going to plant tomatoes in one bed. I am amending my beds with LOTS of composted dairy cow manure that I picked up for free. I am actually going to go try to get more this weekend.
I am also going to add some sulfur and bone meal, and Ironite.
I have started some cucumber seeds by accident in my greenhouse, so I am going to move my earthtainer in there and plant them now.
I am hoping you all are gearing up for your spring plantings, as I think it is going to be an early season this year. It is already getting warm, and I think it is going to be really hot really soon.
Have fun out there!

[tuk50]

The whole family worked in the garden one day last week and we cleared all out and spread about 2 tons of compost (mostly horse and straw), about a wheelbarrow of chicken poop from the chicken coup and all the household eggshells and veggie scraps, that had been composting all summer. We are fairly excited, as we found worms all over the garden ... two years ago when we started in this location there were 0. After spreading everything out I sprayed kelp and molasses and will let sit till spring. My onions are about 3in tall in a pot and the garlic is about a foot tall planted along the edge of the garden nov 1st. Will plant tomatoes and peppers the first of feb. Last year we got a hard freeze on april 10 the latest I remember.
I just ordered my sweettater plants for delivery on april 15. Trying Vardeman and Nancy Hall this year along with Beauregard and Japanese Red Yam, which I grow my own sets and plant every year.

[desertlzbn]

I just set up some sweet potatoes to root this week.

[flyingbrass]

I started tomato seeds inside on Jan. 2. The plants are up and happy under a shop light set on top of my piano (one of the few places the cats don't molest). Pepper seeds next to them haven't sprouted yet, which doesn't surprise me. I meant to give the peppers a head start. Oh well.

I'm aiming to plant tomatoes late February. I live in a cold spot. If the Phoenix forecast says 38 degree low, most likely my yard will freeze.

I don't have as much homemade compost on hand as I would like, but I plan to use it mostly for the tomatoes. I want to add some bone meal. Any suggestions where to buy it here in AZ for a reasonable price? Lowes wants $6.50 for a 3 lb. bag of the Miracle Grow stuff.

I didn't do much this fall for a garden, mostly a 4x8 bed semi-square foot style. I also planted some peas and cauliflower, but that horrible long-lasting late heat seems to have permanently stunted them. A friend nearby is in a similar position with everything planted near the same time.

This is the second year I've grown Swiss Chard. It is wonderful stuff. It tastes better to me than spinach, and is less hassle to harvest. Keeps on growing after you harvest the older leaves.

[tuk50]

desertlzbn, I had good luck last year putting my sweet taters in the garden on top of 2in of sand and covering with about a foot of loose composted 50/50 straw and Christmas tree mulch. First time I tried it and will start some more the first of Feb. I'm a lot colder here than you and flyingbrass, and wasn't sure if it would work, but it did great and produced about 45 6in sets with three long beauregards.

[tuk50]

flyingbrass, I agree about swiss chard. Suprised more people don't grow it here in the soutwest. We harvest it all summer and all winter with only 1 spring planting and 1 fall planting. And my family likes it better than spinach also. I don't know how large your garden is, but though messy, you can make your own bone meal or chunks. My 11yo grandson loves this. We have an old piece of railroad track and a 4lb short handled sledge hammer. We have elk, deer, pork, beef, chicken and javalina bones scattered in the garden.
word of caution: use eye protection with this and a vinyl apron .. it also works well for the biochar also.