What's Going On With Your Veggie Garden: Part 4

Still harvesting string beans and cukes and peppers. Supposed to be in the 100's for the next week or so so we'll see what happens


-Vaughn

rjogden
thanks so much. I love the larger eggplants better.
The smaller ones are just too small and I harvest 2-3 at the time ... too little to do nothing.
Flee beetles are really not a problem for me as far as production ... but I wish my fruits was just like yours: "perfect".
Keep up the great job !

I have just bought more eggplant seeds from Baker Creek since they are having a 15% sale this week.

Most of my plants are just ramping up except the summer squashes; first cuke yesterday and more on the way. I do have a second wave of squash and cukes I'm trying to get established.

Astonishingly, I got peppers this spring and lots of them -- I *never* get them until late fall! (Except for one variety which I will post another thread about.) They aren't ripening, though -- after they hang there for too long (say 3 or 4 weeks once they are a good size) they just start getting rotten spots. I had this happen last year, too. No sign of any bug damage or physical damage. No mold, no BER. If it's a fungal disease, it isn't one I can find and it doesn't affect the younger peppers. Weird. I just eat them green, but some nice ripe peppers would be a treat.

We have lots of peppers and eggplants this year also. Now if the temps would drop so that the tomatoes would continue to set.

NicoleC,
I guess bells don't ripen to red off the vine like tomatoes do? I had that same thing going on last time with my bells.

Bakercreek also has a wide varity of Thai eggplant. Kermit is a hybrid. Thai Light Round Green is BC O/P equivalent. Some of them I grow just because the fruit is so unusual looking.

Told yah! Those Momos are amazing. Give them a decent growing season and they won't disappoint you.

WARNING: MOMOTAROS ARE MEATY AND THEY ARE SWEET!

You have been warned....

Rich, the Sioux I grew along with the Momos last season in the drought? Outperformed the Momos in all that heat - even when I refused to go out and water. I finally had to rip the plants to shut em down!

I had some flea beetles my first season. But, they only damaged the leaves - little holes..

They also leave small indents in some fruits like tomatoes.

Thanks Rich, I'm going to have to start growing some eggplant, yours are enticing looking. How do you prepare them? Stir fry?

MaryMcP ~ not sure how -Rich prepares his but I slice and stir fry with seasoning and onions or other vegies of choice.

When the eggplant is larger, I prefer to peel the rind as it becomes quite tough. I do like the small eggplants in a warm climate because the rind is more tender.

The small ones are also edible when raw but raw can be an acquired taste.

Thanks Kristi, I just ordered some and focused on small types.....Fengyuan Purple, Edirne Purple Striped and Malaysian Dark Red Eggplant, Also grabbed some extra dwarf pak choy that looks enticing. Yummmm.

I'll have to look into those types. I am currently growing White Fingers & Ophelia.

Have we determined what those rotting spots are caused by?

I'm thinking BER...I mixed some Dolomite lime and water and poured down into my eBucket reservoir, and on the top and watered in really well. It seems to have helped, but, hey, the BER camps will have all sorts of ideas about what happened.

All I know is, the rotting spots came to a screeching halt!

We plant 700 or so bell peppers every year. They must be on the plant to turn color. A lot will rot before getting completely red. Corn borers like peppers. The moth lays a egg under the stem. When the larvae hatches, he bores a hole & goes inside. You won't know it until you cut the pepper or a rotten spot appears. A lot less of that since farmers are using the BT corn seed.

I've not seen any evidence of a borer or other insect. The pepper just develops a soft, rot spot....

I feel certain my issue is not BER . It doesn't have the "edges" the BER gets or the black spots, and it only affects the oldest fruit. I also don't have any other plants with rotting problems, and my soil test last fall said I had high levels of calcium. I haven't noticed any symptoms timing with soil moisture levels either.

I don't think it's bacterial soft rot either -- it doesn't get that squishy. Oh, and no bugs on the inside.

It looks just like if the pepper had started to rot normally after being picked.

This message was edited Jun 28, 2012 11:45 AM

I'm still here. Training on a new mode for dialysis a couple of weeks ago, then adjusting to new procedures at home. Free time spent canning roasted tomato sauce, fig preserves, and peach jam. Highs in the 100's are doing in the tomatoes, but okra is kicking into gear.

Hi David, glad you're back. Free time spent canning roasted tomato sauce sounds like a good use of free time to me!

Oh now I had to go search Momotaro as it is a variety I never heard of before. I found information about them on the Territorial Seed site. Seems they were not only seeling seeds but plants of these earlier in the year.

We have a great selection of tomato p[lants available at a big local nursery but I know they did not have these. I hope I remember to try them next year as they sound great!

watered everything well this evening so hopefully the plants won't mind the forcasted 106* tomorrow. Got my first ripe Romas and a few grape tomatoes!!


-Vaughn

Good to have you back David...

Linda, I have had those spots on bell peppers. Mine usually start with a sunspot and deteriorate from there.

The first "Moneymaker" tomato is beginning to color. A few days later than last year. I hope a squirrel doesn't get to it before I do!

Picked some "Monica" tomatoes. Although most of the crop was lost to BER, there still seems to be plenty left.

Bee, can you cover the tomato with some netting - or something? I use 'bridal veil' type netting.

MaryMcP - It would be impossible to completely cover the tomato plants - it's a tomato jungle out there!

newyorkrita
Momotaro is also called "Tough Boy" in the USA

Drthor,
Could you post a link to that info? I'd like to read up on the "Tough Boy" variety. Thanks!

Linda, Stephanie, Re: peppers, I've put up shade with old sheets. They still get morning sun and filtered evening (through the okra).
Not the most aesthetic looking, but If the neighbors can't see, it might be worth a try. It's stopped the sun scald. I get the garden sheets from Good Will cheap.

drthor, thank you I didn't know that. Now I will have to goole Tough Boy and see what I can find.

They would be in the neighbors yard if we tired that, & our neighbor is ¼ mile away.
A little thing called wind!
Picked our first green beans today looking real good.

Speaking of tomatoes, even the tomato breeders admit modern tomatoes aren't that great tasting, and now they know why:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/science/flavor-is-the-price-of-tomatoes-scarlet-hue-geneticists-say.html?ref=science

I usually plant my peppers behind the okra or tomatoes so that they get shade.

Ya'll are being so helpful today (as all other days)!

I've got a flat of eggplants and (more) bell peppers that need to be transplanted two weeks ago. RB #1 has the remnants of 5 tomato vines that are coming out, plus 15 sweet bell peppers that are finally taking off. I soaked okra seedlings last Friday night and put them into some IHORT plugs two nights ago. They jumped right on outta those plugs, so they have to go in somewhere too.

Now that I know I can plant all this together, I can plant the okras where the tomatoes were, and put the eggplants to the north of the bells.

Thanks, ya'll!

Hurray, I found two ready to pick cucumbers on my Salad Bush plants this afternoon so I picked them. First cucumber of the year. Probably will eat them tomorrow. These Salad Bush are in a container. My in ground cucumbers still have very small fruits. Some of them have no flowers or fruit as yet.

Thanks y'all, I think my peppers were getting sunburn as well so moved them where they'll get partial afternoon shade. They are mostly staying green except for the white ones and the purple ones.