Winter/Spring Gardens 2015

yep ... the indoors one are my back up plants ... they all were started at the same time (January 9th) and out on February 14th.
My outdoor ones have been covered since Feb 21st ... almost 2 weeks ... I did check them 2 days ago and in the spot were I open the covers they were all alive with new growth and also flowers.
They survived 25F and 27F days ... rain and ice ... They just need to survive 2 more days .. ouch ... let's keep finger crossed.
I Won't say nooo more ... I might jinx me ...

peppers, eggplants, cukes, squash and melons growing indoor too.

Tomato updates !
Today I remove the upper covers of my tomatoes and 98%oft hem look great.
The bottom leaves are a little yellow in some plants , but it is ok since they were in the dark for almost 2 weeks.
4 of them are under observations ... their tops look wilted and I am thinking that they got too hot today. I should have remove their covers ealier instead to go shopping!
This will be another great tomato season.
Happy gardening

Starting tomorrow we will have a nice solid week of temps in the 50's & 60's, going to get some cool season veggie seed started outside, lettuce, radish, kale, carrots, beets, maybe turnip (not sure if i should hold off on those until next autumn), we also plan on doubling the length of my garden bed some time during this warm spell, i SO can not wait for that, lol!

This message was edited Mar 6, 2015 5:05 PM

Could I get some advice from someone here? This late I have just found that most of my plants inside the house have fungus gnats- a couple of fig starts, some houseplants, etc. I have sprayed with insecticidal soap and wet the soil with it, also sprinkled ground cinnamon on the soil as someone posted sometime back. also put some yellow sticky traps in the pots. I know it is usually a wet soil problem, and also poor air circulation. It is still too cold to put them outside. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance- Jo in WA where we are finally going to see some temps in the 60's.

Can you move any of them into porous pots, if they're not already there? Sometimes I've used those cardboard pots that I think are meant to be liners but hold up well for years. Terra cotta might still be better though.

Do you have any natural air currents inside that you could take advantage of, like heating dafts?Without cooking any plants of course.

Repotting with Big Al's mostly pine nugget (I think) potting mixture? More frequent watering but far fewer problems result.

Jo,
I've got the same thing going on here, for the very first time. I used paper cups to pot up, and they stayed too wet. Now, I've got soil knats.

Tonight, I set a couple cups of apple cider vinegar on the shelf. I'll let you know if it helps.

Fortunately, they're confined to only one room. Those plants are getting ripped, tomorrow, but I have to get rid of them before I put new seedlings on that light shelf.

You can spray hydrogen peroxide on the soil to get rid of the fungus gnats. That helps with any larvae. For adults, lightly loosen the soil, turn on a fan, and allow the soil to dry out. Putting a shallow dish with ACV and a couple of drops of dish soap near the plants will help with those.

http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/controlling-fungus-gnats-organically

This message was edited Mar 9, 2015 8:52 AM

I wouldnt get rid of the plants bc of fungus gnats....I would do what Stephanie says, repot them in different soil, set them outside, or plant them. The larva was already in the soil, the wet conditions just allowed them thrive.

Thanks, Steph & Lisa!

I've had a bazillion tomato seedlings growing inside under the fluorescent lights, since January 3rd. They have been growing in five ounce paper cups which have begun breaking down. I have been repotting the seedlings into other containers, and getting rid of the tomato seedlings that are failing.

Only the bad ones are getting tossed. ..I think the remaining ones will give me a decent Harvest, even though they were supposed to go out the 2nd week of February. This crazy cold, rainy weather is the pits!

Finally this week it's warm enough outside to let the plants out. It's drizzling, but they seem to be happier anyway!

I get home last week of March, my seeds and sets shall find an outside place then. Love you guys' healthy looking plants. No plants up here unless there is a gh near, yet.. ( Manistique, Michigan)

Ya paper cups won't hold up. I've had issues with them when I've just used them for soaking seeds.

It's warming up here but I don't trust it to last. Lol

Ya paper cups won't hold up. I've had issues with them when I've just used them for soaking seeds.

It's warming up here but I don't trust it to last. Lol

I was just checking my tomatoes outside and I did spot the first small green fruit.
The first one to produce this year are:
GLACIER - determinate 55 days (first year growing)
KORALIK - determinate (small red cherry)
SWEET MILLIONS - indeterminate and always one of the first tomato to produce in my garden.

Happy gardening

my gardening could be "happier", lol. ive run into my first casualties unfortunately, two tomato plants started getting brown dried up looking spots in their leaves (no yellowing, or rings could be seen inside or around the spots from what i could tell), then the leaves started curling up like a taco shell, then ultimately that entire branch starts drooping and then just drops off. Then the stem itself started feeling a bit slippery and went off color (splotchy looking is the best way i could describe it). so i decided to just scrap them and start new seed for those two varieties (in a different container, and different batch of potting mix).


This message was edited Mar 12, 2015 12:53 AM

jmc1987
sorry for your lost, but it is very normal and it happens to everybody.
I always start more seeds than I need just for this reason.
Good luck for next time

this time i am testing something that i experienced last year, mom had thrown a spoiled cherry tomato into my compost bin last year, and when i started putting the compost into my container plants, little tomatoes started coming up well before the last frost date, and those little guys were very resilient (im assuming from being outdoors, exposed to the harsh elements right from the start). So this next batch of tomato seed i started, to replace those two varieties that ive just lost have been started outdoors in a container, im going to see if i get the same results here like i did with those surprise compost seedlings last year. (which i kept, and they churned out a mean batch of cherry toms by the way)

On a brighter note, my african violet is going absolutely berserk, LOL

and as far as the other seedlings go (well, can you really call them that anymore? lol), they had to be potted up a second time, and they wont fit under my grow light anymore, hopefully they hold onto these expanded living quarters until the last frost date.

you guys still there? hoping i havent missed out on a new thread starting?

I really hope april 8th hurries and gets here (our last frost date), not sure how much longer these guys will stay in their containers and still be happy, im sure that some of them are getting really close to being pot bound.

Storms, rains and getting busier in the south- they will be back as they can...

hoops I was posting in the wrong thread !
Everything has been transplanted out in my garden ... and survived the crazy winds !
I am harvesting lettuce, radishes (the last ones) and green onions.
I think the Fennel is ready to be picked up real soon.
My artichokes this year look amazing. They have multiply and the cold weather made them grow really well !
Those artichokes are just so easy to grow !
The new Pomegranate shrubs and the Persimon tree I just planted in the fall are budding !
I love this time of the year in TX!

another great harvest, drthor

I am beginning my experiment, based on last years experiences, where mom had thrown a cherry tomato that had gone rotten into my compost bucket, and i got a ton of volunteer seedlings in the early spring, that all came up while it was still pretty darn chilly. They turned out to be more resilient than all of my indoor grown varieties (as a matter of fact the only survivors, the others i started inside got sick on me and died). So i have tried to reproduce the same situation--tomato seeds being in my growing medium while it was still cold. I put some Blue Beauty, and Pink Oxheart tomato seed in a pot outdoors in early march, and just the other week some have sprouted up. Although i do still bring the pot indoors on nights when the temperatures get close to the lower 30s, then set them back outside the next day. Im going to see if these guys will be just as tough as nails as the cherry tomatoes were last year that started their life outdoors from the get go.

yes they will be very strong.
They will produce much more and they will able to stand drought conditions.
Then ... you need to start to prepare yourself and learn what to do with all that harvest.
I thought I preserved a lot last year ... but we finished our tomatoes really fast in my house !
The best was to roast tomatoes+onions+herbs and freeze them ... OMG so good during the winter time. I must do more this year !

Happy gardening !

ive always wanted to give a shot at tomato soup, or at least a tomato sauce. Will definitely try your roasted tomato recipe too.

Here are some shots from last year of those cherry tomato plants.

The composting process produces heat that helped the cherry tomato seeds to germinate.

I have peas popping their heads up! So excited!

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