Gardening: My Tomatoe and Pepper Progress

I am trying to figure out why my self watering sewer pipe setup is suddenly using less water despite 100 degree temps and the plants are looking wilted. Looked in the pipe and I have a ton of roots in there. No idea how they got past the weedstop cloth. Don't really want to pull any of them and examine what's going on, but probably will this weekend. Watered them from the top today to combat the wilting.

It's clogged? I've heard of that happening.
Or maybe something is got the float stuck

Pepper porn

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Nice pepper pron!

I just went out and harvested banana peppers and got them prepared to ferment. I added a jalapeno from the garden for a tiny bit of heat. The plants are pretty spotted up but still producing.

applescrap said:

It's clogged? I've heard of that happening.
Or maybe something is got the float stuck

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Roots most likely. Question is how did they get out. I followed posted internet procedures. Maybe should have read further! Lol

jsguitar said:

Nice pepper pron!



I just went out and harvested banana peppers and got them prepared to ferment. I added a jalapeno from the garden for a tiny bit of heat. The plants are pretty spotted up but still producing.

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Just looks great!

Here's a few more garden pics. One of the cucumber plants is taller than me and is starting to make some fruit. I think that spot gets good sun. I'm hoping to have the pumpkins hanging from the fencing. It's going to need some more support though.

My wife has nice melons............



Seriously though, her garden is really starting to take off.

My gardens usually suck. I think I don't take soil prep and nutrient/fertilizing seriously enough...

And our growing season is pretty short (and getting shorter with later last freezes and earlier first frosts), which doesn't help.....

Stillraining said:

My wife has nice melons............



Seriously though, her garden is really starting to take off.

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The gardens look really nice. I want to comment on the big beautiful melons, but I'm worried things will be weird between us. So I'll just say nice melons. I really need to get my squash and melons going next year. I tried growing them where sprinkler could water them but what happened was it was spraying the leaves giving it powdery mildew

jsguitar said:

Here's a few more garden pics. One of the cucumber plants is taller than me and is starting to make some fruit. I think that spot gets good sun. I'm hoping to have the pumpkins hanging from the fencing. It's going to need some more support though.

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Peppers look good no doubt. Cool to see the melons coming in. I always grew my squash and stuff on the ground I like seeing it hanging.

applescrap said:

The gardens look really nice. I want to comment on the big beautiful melons, but I'm worried things will be weird between us. So I'll just say nice melons. I really need to get my squash and melons going next year. I tried growing them where sprinkler could water them but what happened was it was spraying the leaves giving it powdery mildew

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LOL.. Comment away my friend...... Here I will get you started....

Are they smoother , rounder, perkier and not as lopsided in real life? ....Most definitely...

Stillraining said:

My wife has nice melons............



Seriously though, her garden is really starting to take off.

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Squash look great and such a nice looking garden!

jsguitar said:

Nice pepper pron!

I just went out and harvested banana peppers and got them prepared to ferment. I added a jalapeno from the garden for a tiny bit of heat. The plants are pretty spotted up but still producing.

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Care to share your recipe? I have some Hungarian wax peppers about ready for harvest. I have canned rings in the past but they come out too soft and mushy. Planning to do a basic fridge recipe of salt, vinegar and water this year.

Going through a hot spell here in PA. I harvested some cucumbers and my first big tomatoes(not cherry). This heat is taking its toll on the cucumber plants though.

Oldskewl said:

Care to share your recipe? I have some Hungarian wax peppers about ready for harvest. I have canned rings in the past but they come out too soft and mushy. Planning to do a basic fridge recipe of salt, vinegar and water this year.

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This is my first time to ferment slices like this. I did try my hand at some fermented hot sauces before that didn't turn out very well but wanted to try fermenting again. Not really a recipe but I'm basically following the salt brine ratio here :

http://www.wellpreserved.ca/naturally-pickled-fermented-jalapeno-peppers/

and added a couple of cloves of garlic and a light sprinkle of caraway seeds just to see if it's good. I also added a tablespoon of juice from Bubbies fermented pickles to get a good start. I'll let you know how they come out. I'm hoping I'll get it right this time.

The fridge\vinegar method is definitely a winner. When I did them like that before they were great and lasted a long time in the fridge. I added a bit of garlic and onion and spices to those.

Oldskewl said:

Going through a hot spell here in PA. I harvested some cucumbers and my first big tomatoes(not cherry). This heat is taking its toll on the cucumber plants though.

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Nice harvest and I like that basket!

jsguitar said:

This is my first time to ferment slices like this. I did try my hand at some fermented hot sauces before that didn't turn out very well but wanted to try fermenting again. Not really a recipe but I'm basically following the salt brine ratio here :

http://www.wellpreserved.ca/naturally-pickled-fermented-jalapeno-peppers/

and added a couple of cloves of garlic and a light sprinkle of caraway seeds just to see if it's good. I also added a tablespoon of juice from Bubbies fermented pickles to get a good start. I'll let you know how they come out. I'm hoping I'll get it right this time.

The fridge\vinegar method is definitely a winner. When I did them like that before they were great and lasted a long time in the fridge. I added a bit of garlic and onion and spices to those.

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Interesting! Thanks!

My romas are turning red. I should be picking them this upcoming week. There's 4 yellow pear plants in there too, all to the far right... that's about 3 too many. They've been producing like crazy.

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Apple_Jacker said:

My romas are turning red. I should be picking them this upcoming week. There's 4 yellow pear plants in there too, all to the far right... that's about 3 too many. They've been producing like crazy.

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Nice patch of tomatoes.

BTW, if anybody is growing a bunch of cucurbits and gets an infestation of cucumber beetles those yellow sticky traps that you hang work pretty well to knock down the numbers. I sprayed the other day but didn't want to over do it because it's so hot I was afraid I'd burn the leaves. A few days later I still have some around. They're pretty tough critters. I only had one trap so I bought some more. The one I put out yesterday has about 15 beetles on it.

I forgot how fast cucumbers grow once they're pollinated. It's kind of amazing.

My sad roma tomato plant has a bunch of red tomatos and brown leaves. Pretty sad. Reminds me of a car accident involving a pregnant woman, where they save the baby but mom doesn't make it. I am spraying Neem oil because I think it's pests, not fungus, but I don't expect the patient to survive.

passedpawn said:

My sad roma tomato plant has a bunch of red tomatos and brown leaves. Pretty sad. Reminds me of a car accident involving a pregnant woman, where they save the baby but mom doesn't make it. I am spraying Neem oil because I think it's pests, not fungus, but I don't expect the patient to survive.

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It's a tragedy but at least the offspring will provide some happiness.

My Brandywine tomato is sad too. It has three good tomatoes that are still green and growing but half of the leaves are brown and dying. I think it will give me a little something before it gives up the ghost. I'm ok with that.

At this point, it looks like I'll have spent ~$30 and countless gallons of water to get 3 small, still-green tomatoes out of my plant. Just not looking good.

The hops seem to be growing very well in this 90+ degree heat over the last week though, as are the peppers.

Im mourning for your tomatoes and mine passed . And everyone else's. Blight this year ehh. I like the irrigation apple-jacker. How does it work? Nice and clean garden too, well weeded. Harbor how are you watering? Put some of that osmocote in there too. It is key.

Sent the kid out to pick a zucchini for dinner. I saw a smallish one a few days ago and wondered if it was big enough to pick. She brought back a really large one...

I asked if there were any more and she said there was one skinnier than that, but longer. So we went out and that one was really large too!

I already had one grated up to cook in zucchini brownies (Which were awesome BTW!)

Now I am afraid we are starting the inevitable overload of zucchini! I'm combating this problem by slicing them in 1/4" planks and roasting them on the grill with olive oil, a bit of salt, and some parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.k

Still waiting for the tomatoes to fruit out and the carrots I picked when thinning them seemed pretty small yet. Not sure when they will be due for picking. I may have to figure out how to can them or pickle them or something.

Good problem to have. That's why I make big trays of Ratatouille, just sayin. Zucchini is a key element.

Wife loves zucchini. Especially the way I made it last night. I can eat it any way it comes. I like it steamed probably best so far.

I may need to freeze some of it before winter.

Should probably check onions soon too. I think I planted too many of them.

Finally snapped a few pics of my garden. 6 tomato plants that were 3 feet apart are totally grown together. You can see the middle plants have blight the worst, working their way up the plant. Cucumbers are doing fairly well given the heat we have had. It's my first year trellising. I fridge pickled some of those Hungarian wax peppers last night. May try the fermented version posted above as well.

Not exactly flurishing, but it looks like I'll have some ripe cherry tomatoes for a salad soon.

Oldskewl said:

Finally snapped a few pics of my garden. 6 tomato plants that were 3 feet apart are totally grown together. You can see the middle plants have blight the worst, working their way up the plant. Cucumbers are doing fairly well given the heat we have had. It's my first year trellising. I fridge pickled some of those Hungarian wax peppers last night. May try the fermented version posted above as well.

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We get tomato blight something fierce for some reason. Copper fungicide like this works well but you have to keep up with it. Also pruning the plant to keep the leaves away from the ground as well as thinning the middle out to allow for air flow helps. But I can tell you from experience it's a PITA to keep with when you have a 3 and 1 year old! Also don't compost the stuff you cut out. Throw it in the garbage.

Cayenne plants are still producing loads. I've got 5 of these. It makes such great hot sauce, I hope they never stop.

I feed calcium and magnesium in their water every weekend, and I sprinkle some bone meal on the surface once a month. Rain drags that into the soil I guess. I do the same for the habs.

Kinda hard to get a good picture since the peppers hang on the inside of the plant, with the leaves on the outside getting the sun. Take my word for it, the plant is a double Dcup.

jsguitar said:

Nice patch of tomatoes.

BTW, if anybody is growing a bunch of cucurbits and gets an infestation of cucumber beetles those yellow sticky traps that you hang work pretty well to knock down the numbers. I sprayed the other day but didn't want to over do it because it's so hot I was afraid I'd burn the leaves. A few days later I still have some around. They're pretty tough critters. I only had one trap so I bought some more. The one I put out yesterday has about 15 beetles on it.

I forgot how fast cucumbers grow once they're pollinated. It's kind of amazing.

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I'm not familiar with cucumber beetles but I have had stink bugs before on them. Cucumbers grow so crazy it seems like they can out-compete even bugs! Here in zone 7, it seems like in the late spring early summer when I plant them they always get a touch of powdery mildew but it never kills them. Cucumbers are like okra, they LOVE the heat, give them loads of water and you will be rewarded. I just got outside form picking 6 pretty large ones myself. I eat them plain at work for lunch. I will ferment some a little later in the summer.

I believe cucumbers are similar to squash, melons and pumpkins, in that they cannot pollinate themselves, the blooms only stay open for a day or 2 and as much as I hate bees, they are a necessary evil. Always thought that was kinda cool.

passedpawn said:

Cayenne plants are still producing loads. I've got 5 of these. It makes such great hot sauce, I hope they never stop.

I feed calcium and magnesium in their water every weekend, and I sprinkle some bone meal on the surface once a month. Rain drags that into the soil I guess. I do the same for the habs.

Kinda hard to get a good picture since the peppers hang on the inside of the plant, with the leaves on the outside getting the sun. Take my word for it, the plant is a double Dcup.

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I'm finally getting a load of peppers too, not quite as much as you but I finally have a slight surplus. My hab plant has about 15 on it that are just turning orange, will be picking them this weekend.

It sucks about your tomato plants. Mine are alive and well but not producing, they will be "terminated" soon. My grandpa used to say that vegetable plants not producing are "waiting for some fool to come along and water e'm". I realize now that sometimes it's better to cut my losses. I'm going to plant some potatoes and/or spinach in that spot. Mine got off to a terrible start because of the dogs getting into them. A lot of tomatoes won't produce when the temps are above 90F or so, the blooms will fall right off. There is one newer variety called Solar Fires that do much better in the heat/late season. They were developed at the University of Florida I believe. Only problem with them is they are determinites.

So many things can happen to tomatoes. It's good to let water touch the leaves when you water them sometimes because it helps wash off bugs, and the fecal material from them. This is where a lot of diseases come from if I understand it correctly. There are viruses too. One particular NASTY tomato killer is the "tobacco horn worm" or the "tomato horn worm". Not sure if they are the same thing but I've ever only seen one type. They can take healthy tomato plants down in days! When you see actual moldy spots on the tomatoes themselves, in my experience it's usually that bugs have been on them and the mold sets up in the tiny spots where they penetrate the skin of the fruit. It makes sense that the natural skin of the fruit protects it from mold, but if it has been compromised in a tiny spot the microorganisms can get in. Not very scientific but I've noticed that tomato plants that don't get full sun, (say it's shady in that spot in the evening), don't seem to do as well and often suffer from mold on the fruits and on the plant. Not saying any of this is what's wrong with yours of coarse, but I sure hope they turn around.

@passedpawn, Your pepper plants look great/huge. I have some of that calmag, it's good stuff. I wish I'd grown more cayennes, I love their flavor. I don't have that long of a season here so I'm not sure what I'll get by the end of it. I was reading about how pepper plants are actually perennials and can be kept alive and dormant in the winter and then revived in the spring. I'm going to try that with a hybrid jalapeno that I have in a pot.

I saw this mentioned earlier in the thread- my real dream is a lean to greenhouse on the south facing wall of the house. Maybe not this year. We have a couple of big trees to remove....but someday.

This evening's cayenne crop. I worked some of them into tonights dinner (stir fried peppers and green beans and pork).

Just for comparison, here's the cayenne plant on December 16. This was me transferring it to the bucket.

estricklin said:

I'm not familiar with cucumber beetles but I have had stink bugs before on them. Cucumbers grow so crazy it seems like they can out-compete even bugs! Here in zone 7, it seems like in the late spring early summer when I plant them they always get a touch of powdery mildew but it never kills them. Cucumbers are like okra, they LOVE the heat, give them loads of water and you will be rewarded. I just got outside form picking 6 pretty large ones myself. I eat them plain at work for lunch. I will ferment some a little later in the summer.

I believe cucumbers are similar to squash, melons and pumpkins, in that they cannot pollinate themselves, the blooms only stay open for a day or 2 and as much as I hate bees, they are a necessary evil. Always thought that was kinda cool.

Click to expand...

Striped cucumber beetles are a serious menace unfortunately. They move fast and go after the young flowers and spread a nasty wilt disease. You have to move pretty fast. Next year I'm going to have the sticky traps at the ready earlier on. I've had the spotted cucumber beetles before and they weren't this bad. They're under control now though.

I've got garden fever so it's great to see everyone's good work. I'm glad you started this thread.

Oldskewl said:

Finally snapped a few pics of my garden. 6 tomato plants that were 3 feet apart are totally grown together. You can see the middle plants have blight the worst, working their way up the plant. Cucumbers are doing fairly well given the heat we have had. It's my first year trellising. I fridge pickled some of those Hungarian wax peppers last night. May try the fermented version posted above as well.

Click to expand...

Healthy and nice green color. The peppers are producing nicely.

Hoppy2bmerry said:

Not exactly flurishing, but it looks like I'll have some ripe cherry tomatoes for a salad soon.

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Well done.

passedpawn said:

Cayenne plants are still producing loads. I've got 5 of these. It makes such great hot sauce, I hope they never stop.

I feed calcium and magnesium in their water every weekend, and I sprinkle some bone meal on the surface once a month. Rain drags that into the soil I guess. I do the same for the habs.

Kinda hard to get a good picture since the peppers hang on the inside of the plant, with the leaves on the outside getting the sun. Take my word for it, the plant is a double Dcup.

Click to expand...

Love seeing the peppers. Appreciate your fertilizing methods too. I have to go back in the thread to find the hot sauce recipe again. Since I didn't grow any I need to buy them. Don't know if I asked you how hot they were.
Haha, saw second post. Like the spoon.
Reminds me of a story I hope i haven't told you. Our first house had a nice big Garden area and we did pretty well with the jalapenos and habaneros. We were young and didn't know what to do with them. So I was telling the weird custodian at my work about them. And he kept being like bring them in bring them in I'm just going to eat them like candy. I'll show you ill eat them like candy. So I got him a big bag of habaneros, I want to say they were Orange, and a big bag of Serranos/jalapenos. And brought them to him you know to cook with. And he starts popping them like popcorn. I was like you don't have to do that, you know I've seen you eat a bunch of them and I never didn't believe you in the first place. But never-the-less he popped both bags right there boom. Ok sorry, it really struck me as iteresting