Florida Growers Thread

[Tormato]

captnkirk,

Don't go plantin' any quadrotriticale, lest you have trouble with tribbles.

Tormato

[annecros]

Sorry to hear about the birds capt. I usually lose a few, but try to keep a water source available for the birds year around. I've heard that they are actually working the toms for the moisture, not the fruit itself so much. I know you guys have been a lot drier than we have. Also, I have heard of people hanging red, round Christmas ornaments in the plants. Fool the birds into thinking you are growing the hardest, most inedible tomatoes in the world!

flipt, I think the whitefly population is way down, if not gone. Maybe the next cool front will put us in a better place. Gardener's Delight is loaded with both fruit and bloom. First Earl's Faux and Marianna's Peace are set. Three Opalka set. It's coming!

Amazing the differences between Zones 8 and 9 and Zone 10.

[flipt]

Anne, the weather has been great and I agree the whiteflies are on the decline. For the next few months they're definitely scarce around here. I just hope I don't get any more infected plants. I found one more yesterday that looks like it's affected :-( I still have some backup plants on the patio as replacements but I'm running low...
I planted out over 5 weeks ago and was expecting to see more fruit by now - got lotsa flowers but only 4-5 plants with fruit (out of 50). I get impatient very easily while waiting on my maters!
Flip

[annecros]

Keep the faith flipt - in fact I would be really surprised if you didn't have fruit set by the next time you post. I get impatient as well, and check the bushes daily. I think that's why it seems to take forever. Then we will be tapping our toes waiting for the first ripes.

I was shocked to see bloom already on the two transplants I put into pots. One blooming the other budding, and they have only been in the pots for two weeks.

The weather really has been nice. It is supposed to be dry season, but rained all day yesterday (after I watered Sunday, of course). High around 80, low around 70 - that's why we moved here! I am hoping for a little cooler snap around Thanksgiving. Would be nice not to have to run the air, but with all the cooking going on - I'm sure it will have to come on.

Happy Thanksgiving folks!

[MargeH]

The weather here had been great, too. Some of my plants are starting to flower again, but I doubt anthing that sets now except the small plants like Sophie that I can protect will have a chance to mature. It has been a couple of years since we have had a freeze here, but it can happen, usually the end of Dec. or the beginning of Jan.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

___
Marjorie

[captnkirk]

We had a pretty good frost here last week but didnt do no damage to any plants.The heavy dew every m orning is causing cracking on some of my toms.I have lost alot of leaves on a good majority of the plants now .that might be why they are cracking so bad with the dew and no shade.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

[flipt]

Hey Anne, I'm trying to keep the faith - only two more plants with fruit tho in the past several days. But everything seems to be growing well - the Sudduth and Dr Lyle in the eb are over 6' tall.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Flip

[gardenhappy]

Hi everyone, My tomato's here in Lithia are doing great!!! I.m so exited I have about 70 plants with blooms or tomato's,i'm organic so it's been a real challenge!!! I have hot peppers comming on real good to. I'm still fight ing those green worms!!! They lived thru the cold spell,stating plants in frosting buckets from walmart next got 20 buckets so we'll see how they do.All of you have a great holiday,Anne your seeds went out monday,have fun!!! Looking forward to the tomato fest trip how many of us are going next year??
capt kirk,hope all is well and going good
does anyone else juice tomato's?? There are so healthy for you,and does anyone have a drying tomato they can recommend for down here,it sure is not ZONE 5!!!!!

[annecros]

Nice rain again overnight for us - the weather people are having trouble this Fall. They keep getting fooled.

gardenhappy, I got the seeds yesterday, and will start some of them over the weekend. Yours went out on Tuesday, so they should be hitting your mail box any day. Let me know. The peppers you sent are going to be a lot of fun, and the San Marzano and Speckled Roman (that I know you have because you sent me some) are supposed to be excellent for drying. In fact that is one of the reasons I wanted to try them. I guess we will be experimenting together!

Anybody else in Florida interested in trading, drop me a PM. I don't want to do a general offer because I am just a backyard gardener and won't give away my last 10 or so seed of anything, but I will share and trade for what I don't have. I have several varieties of 2007 heirlooms that I now have extra seed for - and want to go crazy again when the 2008 stuff becomes available.

New pest - Spider Mites! I gardened in Palm Beach county for 9 years, and this is my second in Broward County, and believe it or not, this is the first time I've encountered Spider Mites like this! It seems strange. flipt, maybe you or marge can help me with your experience with them. I hate to spray, but remembering some problems my Mom had with them on her daylily's in Georgia, I know they can get out of hand if they take hold. I've already sprayed once, but know I have to keep it up to get the next generation. I just used a regular old ortho garden spray. And I was just beginning to get a relived feeling over the whitefly population!

[flipt]

Hey there, Anne - well, you just brought up my second most-hated pest, the nasty spider mite! I've had them before here on my pepper plants and they eventually shut them down as I could not control them. Here's some info I had available:
Barely visible to the unaided eye, mature two-spotted spider mites bear the characteristic black spots that are their namesake. Adults are straw yellow; nymphs are merely smaller versions of adults and range from pale yellow to pale yellow-green.
Spider mites are known for their ability to reproduce quickly. Adult two-spotted spider mite females can lay hundreds of eggs in a lifetime. Eggs hatch in 2-4 days; nymphs develop in 2-4 days. Adults can live up to 21 days and respond well to hot, dry environments. - you can have 1000's in a matter of days... application required every 3 to 5 days to catch the new mites that just hatched.
A lot of products can be used to control them. 3 of the best
on the internet are:
FLORAMITE - very expensive - $300/quart.
Floramite SC is a selective miticide that provides outstanding control of a variety of mite pests on greenhouse, shadehouse, nursery, field, landscape and interiorscape grown ornamentals.

Avid $140/8 oz.
The most effective eradicant for adult red spider and two-spotted mites. Avid contains abamectin, a naturally derived compound that penetrates leaf tissue to form a reservoir of active ingredient that works long and hard. Won't mar the beauty of flowers or foliage plants. Prevents infestations when used regularly. Eradicates all generations of mites when used three times, three days apart. Works great with the pheremone, Stirrup M Rate: 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.

Stirrup M $25/8oz
This extremely effective pheremone is a sexual attractant for red spider and two-spotted mites. Added to your miticide spray it attracts spider mites to the Avid or Kelthane, ensuring no escape for the little suckers! Rate: 1/4 teaspoon per gallon.

Hope this helps and good luck,
Flip

[gardenhappy]

Just came from the garden and i belive the green worms are gone,all the cherry tomato's are in friut now!!! The big tomato's appear to be doing great i love to fall garden here!!now if that i have the good old mole crickets gone mabie i'll be able to summer garden as well!! We have not had rain that i can tell when we get up anyway,we're dry i've been watering daily.We have been anywhere from 45-60's at night to low 80's in day,squash is doing very well too as well as greenbeans and peas.I'm a happy gardener for the moment!!!!

[annecros]

Thanks flipt. The hot and dry makes sense, as they are on an ornamental that I purchased from the Home Depot about two weeks ago. Haven't found them on my veggies, so hopefully the weather will help me control them. Sounds like Avid and Stirrup are in order. I don't want the survivors around when it does get hot and dry.

I look pretty silly in the yard with my magnifying glass, barefoot and braless, looking for spider mites, I'm sure.

My biggest issue is that there are bare lots overgrown with weeds to my west and south. They mow once a quarter, but that's it. The upside is a lot of beneficials, butterflies and the like. The downside is that I really can't count on any kill zone I set up in my own yard. Overrun with aphids when we moved in, but those are easy. I do jump the fence from time to time to spray the perimeters but what the heck? Forget trying to control whitefly.

Set out more transplants today. Looking forward to winter solstice soon. That will be my biggest planting day of the year I think!

Happy gardener here too gardenhappy! It is so nice when the weather finally breaks in the Fall.

[Rena]

Anne is it too late to start some transplants for Miami? When would you suggest starting your next batch?

[annecros]

I would start them within the next couple of weeks. I am sure flipt can answer this as well as I can, probably better, but more than a couple of weeks from now will be too late for a novice.

August starts are great. Next week or two I am cutting off my seed starting, except for cherries and such that do well year around. January I start seeds for my friends in Tennessee.

My hubby and my dad spent many years in Columbus, and I was born and raised in Albany. Hello homegirl!

[Rena]

Yes, she is novice. It is so hard to give away plants to people that are. I started a new policy (don't ask don't tell) The last time I gave her plants she stopped and left them in the parking lot of Disney for the day....... She visited me in high season so I think she is a little more motivated. I also think gorging herself on Green Giants helped her to want to grow some good ones!!