Philadelphia area gardening thread

[PA Wolf]

After more research I have been hand pollinating my watermelons. I'm hoping the little guys already showing will be pollinated and flourish. Fingers crossed.

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by PA Wolf

After more research I have been hand pollinating my watermelons. I'm hoping the little guys already showing will be pollinated and flourish. Fingers crossed.

Thats my motto... when in doubt, help them out... :-)

Are there male and female flowers like on a cucumber?

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

Oh by the way. Yesterday we drove though the neighborhood we are staying in Media heading to the store and we saw a squirrel crossing the road with the biggest green beefsteak tomato he could carry. It was bigger than him practically. He dropped it when we drove by. I was tempted to knock on the door and show the owner of said tomato what was happening to it. We often see the guy out tending his garden and he even has it fenced. The squirrel had eaten about a third of it off the top part. It must have been yummy!

Ginny

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[PA Wolf]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Thats my motto... when in doubt, help them out... :-)

Are there male and female flowers like on a cucumber?

Ginny

Yep, both flowers and they show just like cukes with the fruit attached to the female. Squirrels are resourceful little buggers. As I was reading I quasi-expected you to say you swerved at him 😳

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

I think you are all too busy harvesting loads of yummy veggies to share any pictures... :-)

Here ya go!

Korean peppers


Black Hungarian peppers


Mitoyo eggplant


Thai long green eggplant


Aunt Molly's ground cherry


Sandita/Mexican sour gherkin/mouse melon

[gorbelly]

And what we're all here for... THE TOMATOES!

First color break award (besides the micro-dwarfs) goes to black cherry!


Pomodoro red pear sel. Franchi


Malakhitovaya shkatulka


Big Beef F1


Cherokee purple


Black beauty

[Fiishergurl]

Wow great pictures of beautiful, healthy plants and fruit! They look amazing!! So exciting.

Ginny

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[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Wow great pictures of beautiful, healthy plants and fruit! They look amazing!! So exciting.

I'm soooo excited to taste everything.

The eggplants were looking gorgeous until just this past week, when the flea beetles exploded. I was so proud of how good they looked this year compared to last year's... then they got all bitten up. We're getting to the part of the season when the beneficials are having problems keeping up with the pests, I guess.

Still, they look much better than last year, which was my first year growing eggplants. I put them in a bad spot with too much shade, so I gave up on them, and the flea beetles turned them into doilies. All I got were a couple of tiny, stunted fruit. Flea beetles on the eggplants are just an inevitable around here unless I spray or use DE, and I won't do that until things get really bad because I don't want to hurt beneficials if I don't have to. I think next year I'll try beneficial nematodes.

[Fiishergurl]

We will definitely need a report onbjow everything tastes. I dont spray or use anything like that anymore. It just seemed like a vicious cycle. The only thing I use for pest are the yellow sticky traps. Thanks for sharing all those gorgeous pics!!

Ginny

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[PhilaGardener]

Looking great, gorbelly ! I have a terrible time with flea beetles on my eggplants too. This year has seemed better, but with this hot weather I guess things might change.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Oh by the way. Yesterday we drove though the neighborhood we are staying in Media heading to the store and we saw a squirrel crossing the road with the biggest green beefsteak tomato he could carry. It was bigger than him practically. He dropped it when we drove by. I was tempted to knock on the door and show the owner of said tomato what was happening to it. We often see the guy out tending his garden and he even has it fenced. The squirrel had eaten about a third of it off the top part. It must have been yummy!

That's too funny, Ginny. I waver between hating squirrels and having to admit I kind of admire their ability to get what they want. Until now, they've been more interested in the immature fruit on the neighbor's neglected apple tree, but they've pretty much stripped it bare at this point, so now I'm concerned that my tomatoes will no longer be safe.

Originally Posted by PhilaGardener

Looking great, gorbelly ! I have a terrible time with flea beetles on my eggplants too. This year has seemed better, but with this hot weather I guess things might change.

Thanks, PhilaGardener. I wonder whether the May Slug Apocalypse was the price I had to pay for a relatively good year with regard to flea beetles so far. Dd you have a bad slug problem in May and early June as well? It was horrible in my garden. I gave in and put down slug bait, although it was the iron phosphate kind. I was still worried it might hurt the wildlife, which really seemed to enjoy eating it, but the chipmunks and birds all seem to have survived... which I may come to regret (not really, but you know what I mean).

[Adenn1]

Originally Posted by PA Wolf

Anyone harvesting in PA? I've had a few super sweet 100s and some strawberries. Peppers soon and would've had edamame too until something ate it...ALL of it, plant and all. Happy gardening.

My son is harvesting a few Sweet 100 tomatoes and has picked seven Caribbean Red hot peppers.

[gorbelly]

Last week's peppers.



Tasted a Black Hungarian yesterday. It was delicious--great flavor, mild heat in the flesh, lots of heat in the seeds, but a fresh heat that dissipates quickly and doesn't hang around too long and make you miserable. Like a more complex jalapeño. I'm eager to make some guac with them. I've heard they taste better when they start turning red, so I'm going to wait until some start turning and sample at different color levels.



This is making me impatient for my tomatoes to start ripening. I think I need to practice mindfulness more or something.

[PA Wolf]

Some great pictures everybody! I really like seeing other people's plants and harvests. This is my first year so it's nice to see what some real pros can do ��. My BER seems to be disapating and some tomatoes (celebrity and better boy) should be ripening soon. I see all these exotic/exciting tomato varieties and will definitely try some as I get the hang of this gardening business

Gorbelly, those peppers sound delicious. I love the taste of fresh jalapeños, but didn't plant any this year. Only a couple bells and a banana (and a cowhorn that bit the dust early).

When you all first started did you buy individual plants from a local nursery? Tomato plant shipper? Buy/trade seeds? I only have a 4x8 raises bed and a few 5 gallon buckets so don't really want to buy a whole bunch of seeds.

[PhilaGardener]

Originally Posted by gorbelly

Dd you have a bad slug problem in May and early June as well? It was horrible in my garden.

Luckily that wasn't a problem for me this year. I found that raised beds help keep slug issues down, but I still depend on a lot of luck too!