Zones 8-9 Spr/Sum 2011 Veggie Gardening is UNDERWAY- Pt lI

We're going to try to get our onions in the ground today.

This message was edited Feb 15, 2011 10:51 AM

TRock and David,
Sounds like I'm finally on track with my tomato planting schedule! Thank you both, so much, for taking me by the hand and guiding me along these last couple years. I was doing everything right with the seeds/seedlings/containers, and mix. I just never could get the hang of the planting TIMING!

Now, I'm feeling much more confident of when to do what -- and it's finally paying off!

Hugs!

Linda ^^_^^

I really hope we don't have an Easter freeze. Easter is at the end of April thats really late. I really wonder what the weather holds in store, after the last couple of weeks it will be interesting to see what happens.
Linda-You have a DTM of 130 days for Black Krims? That seems really long.

In 2008, the first Black Krim I bit into was exactly 150 days from seed to eat. I prayed I wouldn't come home and find that a bird, squirrel, my neighbor, or my DH had decided it was time to eat that tomato!

Best tomato I ever ate in my life. It might have been filled with anticipation, too!

I love Black Krims also. I calculate DTM from the date of plant out.
I'm just starting my tomatoes now, peppers and eggplant are plugging along. Last year I started tomatoes a week earlier and had to slow them down. In Tx one never knows, I really don't want my thermometer to read 12* again and that was only a few days ago. At least its sunny now.

1lisac,
I'm pushing the growing window this time. Will plant tomatoes out this weekend and next, and stagger until March 19th. That's my cutoff date for the long-season indeterminates.

Took this last night...

Actually GG your plant out time is about now, according to my Texas Regional Map.
Mine is in a month to 6 weeks, according to the same map. After these last two Arctic Blasts I don't know what to think.
Lisa

Don't ya'll just love the Texas weather!...lol...Ya never know from day to day..sheeze..

Ya'll, check this out. Could be veeeeeeeeeeery exciting...

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1158830/

Here is a pic of my maters I transplanted this past Saturday. They went out doors yesterday. The sun shined on them yesterday afternoon for about 3-4 hours. Same again today.

Here is a list of varieties.

Black Krim
Black Zebra
Brandy Sweet Plumb
Chappy X/L Red
Henderson's "Pink Ponderosa"
Indian Stripe
JD's Special
Mule Team
Muriel
Pamella
Purple Haze
Purple Russian
Rambling Red Stripe
Phoenix
San Marzano
San Marzano Gigante 3
Southern Night
Top Gun
Violet Jasper

Pic in next post. Before I selected the pic I previewed this post so as not to lose my text. Can't select a pic from preview.

Here ya go.

Yesterday, I filled 19 tee-pees (Kozy Coats) and planted tomatoes in three of them. This weekend I will plant some of the larger transplants into the rest of the Kozy Coats and off we go.

Great idea on the cottage cheese containers! I'll have to start saving those for next year.

I ordered two packs (6) of Kozy Coats yesterday, but, today it seems I might not even get to use them. Something's attacking my Pruden's Purple tomatoes and moving through my stock. I've removed the affected plants to quarantine, and the rest seem to be ok, for now.

But, I was preparing to fill orders for seedlings this Friday...I'll have to do a "money back guarantee" if any of the seemingly healthy ones come down with this same thing..

I wouldn't let them go to new homes yet. IMHO They could infect other plants in their new homes if what they have is contagious. I haven't looked at the pictures yet tho.

Thanks, 1Lisac. Hadn't consIdered that...

OK, I am in (technically) zone 8 as the min temps rarely go below 10°. Today we woke up to snow though most of January had sunny days. I don't put out any tropical plants, like tomatoes or peppers this early and I have no coldframe or greenhouse. Hopefully I will have a coldframe before the following winter. Still I have Chinese cabbage, and broccoli planted out and lettuce and peas sown in the square foot garden. I have been focusing on cleanup from fall as I did not get it finished due to Nov 20th snow then.

This is what it looks like right now outside my window....

GG, get your magnifying glass out and look closely. I noticed the very tips of the tiny leaves are seemingly affected from the tip inward. Also the leaves without spots seem to curl a bit. Anything different about the purples from the others?... diff soil, diff containers, different watering, different fertilizer, different location. Purples may be sensitive to something the others are not. It looks more like chemical or fungal damage than insects at this point. IMO, Cam

I'm lurking. When we move to summer crops, I'll be a posting fool. As soon as my house closes, we will be building the new raised beds.

I've been on the web searching for a picture of what ails me, and, so far, it doesn't seem to be a disease at all. I believe it's a plain ole case of sunburn/sunscald.

Here's a statement I found that sounds like my issue:

"I have the same on some of my plants, especially my Opalka for some reason, and what happened to me was that I hardened them off while each plant was close to the next - a bunch of cups in a bin. This caused the lower branches to be shaded by the other plants, so when I separated them, the lower leaves were not as hardened off as the upper, and they got sun burn (shiny gold/silver patches) while the upper leaves did not."

My seedlings are very close together in their trays, under the lights. Some branches are getting way close into the lights (they're getting taller faster than I can raise the shelves...), and other branches are shaded by the other plants...

We're gonna pray that it's only sunscald...

My seedlings survived us being gone for 4 days and the lights being on for 24 hours a day! LOL Apparently, our electricity went out sometime while we were gone and that threw the timer for a loop. I need to add dirt this week and divide out the ones that have 2 seedlings in the cups.

Tomorrow, we'll plant the onions and then I also need to get the potatoes out.

I've been reduced to lurking here and there for the most part as well, unfortunately.

However, I have good news to report on my garden front. I have 6 healthy yellow crookneck and zucchini plants (3 each) that are about 5" tall at least. I'll plant them out in smart pots on March 1st and protect them as needed if the temps drop.

My WS'd tomatoes are pretty much toast becasue I left them on a bench one night when we had freezing temperatures, and thus they were not adequatley protected. They should have been on the ground...oops. Interesting, one lone Costoluto Genovese plant has sprouted since then so that is good. Plus, my tomatoes under lights are thriving and need to be potted into 4" pots and fed with fish emulsion.

John,
Could you post a pic of your tomato seedlings under lights?

I've been outta pocket with my back outta whack since last Saturday, which was my PROPOSED plant out date. I rented a truck the weekend before to gather all my eBuckets, and mix, and 1/2 yard of pine bark fines for my new container mix (Tapla's 5:1:1 -- I'll let you know how it's working), and the rest of my supplies,

Then, I woke up and couldn't move this past weekend!

I'm feeling really hopeful about the new mix. I certainly will spend less $$$ to fill all the eBuckets and EBs, so that's a plus already. It is very different then I'm used to working with cause, even tho' the bark soaks up the water, the overall mix feels on the dry side to me, but I know it's moist enough for the plant! Another wonderful plus is that the buckets are soooooooooooo much lighter!

I'll post periodic progress reports when there's something to update.

To date, I have exactly ONE tomato seedling planted as of 2/20/11 - a tiny Bull's Heart I put out just to see how it would respond to the new mix. So far -- so good...

Also, I bought some Kozy Coats to have on hand just in case our weather gets squirrely and decides winter isn't over! I'm only planting 12 tomato plants.

Oh, BTW, John, heading out to pick up some 'a those tubs the farmers use to feed the horses with. They're black plastic measuring 22" deep by 24" across -- short and squatty -- just the kind of container I calculated our big indeterminate heirlooms would love to grow in, if they could pick their own container. This'll be yet another experiment, and I'll post results.

Hugs!

hi, guys! I just pulled up half my broccoli plants yesterday, cut off all the little side broccolis and then.... I go to peel the stalks. I ended up with more stalks than Ive ever had at one time. i always choose the longest stalks at the grocery so I can peel and eat. It's sweet and very crunchy. Good in a salad but I ate mine with jack cheese dip. I also discovered that most of the petiole is tender enough to be sliced into salads. Had some of those in potatoe salad. I did not try eating the leaves yet. Gave those to my neighbor to feed her lizard. It's not a lizard but it looks like one. chuckle.

I planted out 4 tomatoes today ()two 4th of July and 2 Kellogs Breakfast. I received in a trade and mine will not be ready until next week so I guess Im gonna be staggering my planting. My potatoes are growing well, about 2" high now. I have lima beans that are 4" high. Still have some broccoli, beets, carrots, lettuce and snow peas going but with this weather they will be gone quickly.just planted some more radishes. They will be ready in a month. I too, will cover if we get a frost.

Just heard on another forum that Home Depot has shop lights for $10. Ive not checked it out yet but want to get some more so I can be ready for next year. I am going to be so prepared for next year that we will never have another freeze. chuckle. You know, "carrying an unbrella prevents rain and washing your car is like doing a rain dance."

John, if you are interested in a 5 gal firespike, lets see if we can arrange a trade for something. I did not go to the Pasadena thing. Gym girl said the group thing was off so I vol. at the arboretum that day. Good growing everyone!

Aaahhhhh!! The ol' back injury, eh? Get well soon, Linda. Today, in particular, is a beautiful day and you should be out in the garden! Yeah, I will snap some photos of my plants to share and I will post them here later this evening. Oh- I like your idea of using the feeding tubs to grow tomatoes. Let us know how that works out.

Hey Cam - thanks for the low-down on the lights @ HD. I will definitley check that out!!! Anyway, I wish I could have gone to the Pasadena Garden fair (or whatever it was called) despite the DGer group not going, but I was too busy. I need to hit-up my local FM tomorrow, though, no doubt.

Oh- I am not sure what plants you would be interested in, but all I have are veggies right now. Squash, Zucchini, and a bunch of tomato plants that oughta make good prospects but still need to grow a bit. Lol, sounds like a baseball trade or something. I need to do a complete inventory of what I have.

Long range forecast looks good temperature-wise (Houston area.) And when I say long range, I mean the 10-day forecast. Temps look to be in the 70's for the most part, and we may even hit low-80's this Sunday. Next Sunday, though, the temps are forecast to be in the high 60's.

We sure haven't gotten much rain though, huh?

Any of you more experienced folks know what we can expect as far as March frosts go? Are we out of the woods? My crystal ball is broken, but it was cheap anyway, so I must rely on someone else's...

This message was edited Feb 25, 2011 11:13 AM

I bought a case of cool white shop lights at Lowe's for $12. I paired them with a regular old shop light from the Habitat for Humanities ReStore ($1/per). Each grow shelf has 4 lights...

I also bought some of the Kozy Coats that TRock shows above. Will have them at the ready just in case...

Gotta plant tomorrow! Kinda bummed cause someone came into my yard yesterday and took a whole six-pack of my bell pepper seedlings....I guess I oughtta be thankful they didn't wipe me out...

Linda

Hey, John,
We cross posted...

Two or three years ago, it froze on Easter Sunday, in April....best case scenario is to be prepared to throw something over your seedlings if we dip. In your case, you could easily construct a hoop over your raised beds, and throw some lightweight blankets on top.

Best part about Houston is that, even if we do get a freaky frost, it'll be over and done in a couple hours!

I found out about the Habitat ReStore just days ago. I should have known they would have shop lights. $1? Sweet.

Someone swiped plants from your backyard?? WT?? That's just wrong. Be on notice, Linda.

John, I would be interested in a tomato that you think is the best tomato you've tasted. I just started growing tomatoes last year and Im interested in other people's recommendations for good taste. I only want one or two plants or maybe 5 seed to try next year. I would love a start of the small multiplying onions if you have any of those. Also, do you grow pinto beans that you shell? If so, please recommend a variety for me. I have about 4 varieties of green beans but dont know which is better for shelling. I love fresh pinto beans from the garden! I have lots of veggie seeds. Do you need some? Let me know what kind and I'll share. Cam

Well, I am not a good source for tomato recommendations, truth be told, since my tomato-growing efforts have been modest in the past coupla years. I'd check the tomato forum if you haven't already, cam, for more input.

I took the day off to do some catching-up and I will go ahead and pot-up some of my tomatoes. Big Beef (4), Purple Cherokee (2), and Supersweet 100's (4). I'll post pics later.

Here's my squash. Zucchini are in green pots and yellow crookneck are in the orange pots.

Squashes lookin' good!!! Planting mine today in the ground.

Well, once again I got NOTHING planted this weekend. I did manage to help out a friend Saturday morning, and by the time I got home, I was not feeling like the up and down from garden planting was in my best interest. I was sorta headachey and knew I'd better be still if it was elevated blood pressure.

Felt like this through Sunday evening, so total bummer.

The real kicker is that I keep doing all this "prep" stuff, and soon as I get ready to plant, I feel bad. Drove 40 miles to pick up eight bee-u-tee-ful cattle molasses tubs from a DGer. I believe (based on my observations) that they're the perfect planter for our huge, indeterminate heirloom tomatoes. Not too tall (about 18" of growing depth), and wide, 24" horizontal. My observations of the root systems pulled from the patented Earthboxes show root systems averaging from 12" deep to 18" across.

Since I have 8, I'm thinking another experiment is in the making. Retrofit half as eTubs, with a reservoir and wicking system, and half with no reservoirs -- just drainage holes drilled in the sides...I can find humongous plastic bowls to invert as reservoir covers/mix platforms for the eTub.

Also, 1/2 will get the Triple 13 fertilizer strip and 1/2 will be watered with MG Water Soluable Plant food (24-8-16).

My only pressing concern is a trellis system for these giant plants. My first season in a patented Earthbox, the tomatoes grew a full 6 feet and would kept going with some support. That continues to be the thorn in my side....I considered cattle panel wrapped around each eTub, and stick lengths of bamboo through as supports. Seems plausible...

Linda

Seed starting has started at the On house!!! You should have seen my poor husband when he came in (he's not a gardener). I don't know if the already seeded flats got to him or it was the mounds of packets I was busily writing lables for. Maybe it was driving him and my son outside to put my coldframe together? Anyway, so far I've got peas, lacinato kale, Chinese heading mustard, Chinese cabbage, collards and eggplants and swiss chard planted and on heating mats. The chollards, kale and heading mustard were up in 24 hrs. I couldn't believe it. That was on Fri. Just checked and everything but the peas anpd eggplant are up. Time to get started on the other stuff. I've been using the garden planner on Mother Earth and its so cool, keeps track of seeding dates and e-mails you a reminder for each variety, not just the generic cabbage, eggplant etc.

Ggirl, "considered cattle panel wrapped around each eTub, and stick lengths of bamboo through as supports"

9 ga.cattle panels are much too heavy to be trying to wrap around your tubs. May I recommend rewire in the lighter ga. as there are two gauge of rewire but the heavier ga. is a bit stiff to work with and the lighter ga. works well to support tomatoes. The rewire is 5' wide. When I need extra height I make two the same diameter and cut one in half so I end up with one cage about 7 1/2' tall. You can zip tie the short section on top of the 5' section. If you make them the same circumference as your tubs by drilling holes in the top of the rims of the tubs the cage can be zip tied to your tubs. This is what I did last season on my large tree pots and the setup worked perfectly. I'll look for pics or I'll set one up tomorrow and post a picture of it.

Thanks, TRock! I'll be looking for a pictorial, "How to"! I just potted up ONE more tomato seedling last evening: grand total of TWO!

Dogs,
The 24-8-16 is a 3-1-2 ratio that Tapla recommends for use in conjunction with his container mix. The mix is a 5:1:1 ratio of pine bark fines:peat:perlite, and is designed for excellent oxygenation (soil aeration) and drainage. Consequently, because of the enhanced drainage, the plant is watered with the fertilizer each time to keep the nutrients going (at least I think that's what I'm supposed to do!).

I guess I won't be doing any gardening outside just yet....

My friend told me that I should grow potatoes in my compost bin ... so I am trying ... off course I will not turn the compost !!!
Today I found out that the potatoes are sprouting already ...
Wish me luck !!