Gardening: My Tomatoe and Pepper Progress

[estricklin]

I weeded my garden some more today, and I planted a couple more squash seeds since it looks like we will have extra space. It looks like I'm going to have okra really soon, which is good because I love okra.

The gadget I cannot take credit for, a good friend of mine who has a degree in forestry and is generally really good at things like gardening built a bunch of them one year, he then rented a trencher and buried some water lines going to his garden in order to "maximize his beer drinking time". In other words, no more holding the hose and getting ate up my mosquitos. I have the legs kind of scissored apart in the photo so that you can see they are adjustable, the threaded piece is glued on one side, so that one end of the connection can move and the other one can't. It's adjustable so that you can level it on a hill or change the direction of the spray. He made them to be connected in series as you can see. Of coarse it can just be connected to a water hose as well.

 

[applescrap]

Looks good @estricklin, you can see how much care you put into the dirt and soil as stuff seems growing well. I had the same thoughts, basically my kids sprinkler designed for gardening. I have a spot where I plant squash and the sprinkler sprays them. Every year I had powder mildew there and it kills the plants. I don't claim to know a whole lot, but I think wetting the leaves too much can be problematic. Have you had success with this in the past ? Maybe it's just the big squash leaves.

Something is diggin around in my seeded pots. I am about ready to open a can of whoop a.. on the squirrels? They are leaving the plants alone but are digging up the seeded pots. Did you see the movie Caddyshack? Im going to be like carl in a few days. I kind of wonder if it's my daughter as she has a real enjoyment for digging stuff up. Perhaps it's a bird getting in to look for worms? I dont care, i need a super soaker.

 

[estricklin]

Well here in AR, in the summer it's really hot, and that's when the squash grows it's best. Only time I have any problems with powdery mildew on squash and cucumbers, is in the spring, and they usually over come it without any help. In the summer here, the garden has to be watered every day basically or it will burn up quickly. There is a chemical called Captan that you can use to control powdery mildew, it's really cheap and basically harmless to humans. Comes in a powder, mix a bout 1 tbsp/gal.

Stray cats love to dig in potted plants, coarse it could be anything really.

 

[passedpawn]

I did find some holes in a tomato plant this week and hit it with neem oil. Tomatoes are a magnet for insects. So aromatic. Heck, they are a magnet for me.

 

[applescrap]

We do have some cats floating around? hmm

 

[Staestc]

We have had rain for days, so the benefits of my self watering planter have been hard to see. We are supposed to get another 3-5" over the next two days!! But it's not raining right now, so I went and checked the plants. I have fruit in every chili plant and blooms on both tomatoes!!
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Lol. I'm just stoked that they are doing so well!!

 

[passedpawn]

^^ Nice! I wish I planted some Jalapenos. I looked for them a couple of weeks ago and oddly there were none. I'll get the seeds going in the garage this summer when the rains come.

 

[Staestc]

What I don't have growing that I usually do are Poblanos. Probably ( definitely) too late to start from seed this year, but if I find a couple of plants I will set up a couple of double buckets like yours and see how the do. I love Poblanos!!

 

[applescrap]

Are withholding on us? Those look awesome. Share the secret

 

[BikerBrewer]

I really like those self watering garden set ups you guys have, look like they work great. I'm going to have to try that next year, been doing mine in straw bales the last few years. We've been getting a lot of rain here which helps but nothing like you guys in Texas have been getting. Here's a couple picks of my tomatoes and peppers.

 

[Staestc]

I really like those self watering garden set ups you guys have, look like they work great. I'm going to have to try that next year, been doing mine in straw bales the last few years. We've been getting a lot of rain here which helps but nothing like you guys in Texas have been getting. Here's a couple picks of my tomatoes and peppers.

I read about the hay bale growing method but have not tried it. It sounds like a pretty cool idea, and your plants are looking good!

 

[applescrap]

Man I am not joking, I am pissed about what's getting in there. I think it's a bird looking for the slow release? There's also a very suspicious-looking black cat. I'm worried he might be carrying a broken mirror and a ladder to walk under . Here's some pics stuff is starting to grow and there are fruits and buds happening. Remember how those Swiss chard looked before look at them now.

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[passedpawn]

Dang scrap, get some sevin on there or something. Fight fire with fire!

 

[estricklin]

Amen to that, try some pirethrin if nothing else helps. Maybe it's aphids?

 

[Staestc]

I'm thinking its a cat digging. Is the digging only in the post with seeds, or in the pots with big plants too? Supposedly fresh orange and lemon peels spread around, or citrus oil sprayed around will repel cats. I'm not seeing aphid or insect damage much in the pictures, just missing it I guess.


And your Swiss chard is bigger and better looking than the last picture, unless I looked back at the wrong picture?

 

[applescrap]

Thanks everyone! I need to spray the eggplant I think something's on it. The pots that have seeds are the main target. Although there have been a few spots in other plants. It looks like a deep narrow hole for the most part that has been dug. Wouldn't the water repel the cat? Yeah the Swiss Chard is so much bigger than when I first planted it if you compare the pictures from before and now

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[Staestc]

I have tiny tomatoes! Lol
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And cayenne and jalapeños and Habaneros, but I posted them already

 

[applescrap]

Lol, love it staestc.

just got back from 3 days camping didn't have to worry about nothing and stuff is popping up. The beans are up strong and hopefully will go nuts. Surprising after all the abuse they took. Broccoli is moving along a little too quick it seems. Put my Hobbit foot in there for perspective on the Swiss chard. they are going nuts

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[Staestc]

Lol, love it staestc.

just got back from 3 days camping didn't have to worry about nothing and stuff is popping up. The beans are up strong and hopefully will go nuts. Surprising after all the abuse they took. Broccoli is moving along a little too quick it seems. Put my Hobbit foot in there for perspective on the Swiss chard. they are going nuts

Looking very good indeed! Nice to be away and not have to worry about daily watering

 

[StonesBally]

Here's a few pics of one of my gardens after the plants have been in the ground for a few weeks. 30 heirloom tomatoes, thirty heirloom peppers, 2 kinds of ground cherries, and 3 kinds of tomatillos. There's some squash, pumpkins, watermelons, beets, and lima beans scattered in there too.

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[applescrap]

^nice gardens. I like the weed control. Does it work as well as it looks? I'm glad you joined us

 

[StonesBally]

Black mulch works great for weed control. Red mulch, not so much. It helps increase the yield for tomatoes, so I use it just for those. We eat a lot of tomatoes here. And half the peppers are paprika types or mexican types that I dry and make powder with. I have an obsession with making everything from scratch. That's what got me into brewing beer.

 

[Staestc]

Fantastic garden Stones!

 

[applescrap]

Little first fruits. Time to eat some lettuce.

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[passedpawn]

We got a lot of rain this past wkend and my habaneros and tomatoes started splitting. Tomatoes had to be tossed, but the peppers heal themselves. I don't think you can overwater from below, in these systems we're building that water from the bottom up. But it seems that if overwatered from above (rain), they fall apart.

 

[Staestc]

We got a week of rain, then a dry week, then it rained again today. I'm not seeing any issues with the plants in Walmart bags on the pipe. But that's quite a bit different from a double bucket system.

 

[applescrap]

Im sorry to hear passedpawn. Thats a bummer.

 

[Littletimmy]

Passedpawn,
The splitting of tomato fruits is often attributed to fluctuations in water content in the soil, the cycle of wet/dry, not overhead watering We have that problem every year in Texas! I use soaker hoses in all my vegetable beds to compensate. The hoses allow me to keep the soil moist in my raised beds, which have been amended to improve the drainage of our heavy clay soils. If we get rain, I consider that a bonus!! Just my 2 cents..

 

[applescrap]

Should I pick these little first fruits do they take away from the plant growing

 

[Littletimmy]

I always pick the first peppers from the plants, especially from my "hot" varieties. With our summer heat, I get better flowering and tons of late season pepper production. With tomatoes, I always leave everything on the vine, especially if they are a "determinate" variety.