The Endzone Garden Thread

[GordonC]

The garden still looks like pickled ass but I managed to not kill the cucumbers. The tomato plants have perked back up but not the first damn tomato on them. They’re probably too out of control to prune at this point View attachment 473147

same deal on two of mine...only thing I have done and am gonna do is cut off dead leaves...nothing else...would like to bury the pots about halfway with some black fabric surrounding them and let them go and see what happens...I left all the suckers on there on those two

 

[VolNExile]

I have realized that the three (out of nine) vine tomatoes are hopelessly stunted due to Operator Error.

Back when they’d been in the ground 2-3 weeks, I started a weekly tomato rasslin routine, where I’d tie them up as needed, trim away any diseased looking foliage while still leaving enough leaves on the plant for photosynthesis, and pinch off any suckers, leaving 2, maybe 3 (or 4, or 5…) to make new fruiting stems.

Weeellllll, I got on a roll and got carried away on these 3. I started pinching from the lowest branches and moved upwards, but a bit too upwards. It dawned on me too late that I should have stopped pinching back once I reached the top, because in fact, I pinched off the growth tips.

So, exactly as would be expected, the plants pretty much stopped growing then and there and concentrated on the few fruits that were there.

Soon as they’re ripe, I’ll pull the plants and park some marigolds in there. Saddest of all (to me) is that they were all heirlooms: Mortgage Lifter, German Johnson, and Black Krim.

Sigh, live and learn…

 

[GordonC]

.

 

[GordonC]

I have realized that the three (out of nine) vine tomatoes are hopelessly stunted due to Operator Error.

Back when they’d been in the ground 2-3 weeks, I started a weekly tomato rasslin routine, where I’d tie them up as needed, trim away any diseased looking foliage while still leaving enough leaves on the plant for photosynthesis, and pinch off any suckers, leaving 2, maybe 3 (or 4, or 5…) to make new fruiting stems.

Weeellllll, I got on a roll and got carried away on these 3. I started pinching from the lowest branches and moved upwards, but a bit too upwards. It dawned on me too late that I should have stopped pinching back once I reached the top, because in fact, I pinched off the growth tips.

So, exactly as would be expected, the plants pretty much stopped growing then and there and concentrated on the few fruits that were there.

Soon as they’re ripe, I’ll pull the plants and park some marigolds in there. Saddest of all (to me) is that they were all heirlooms: Mortgage Lifter, German Johnson, and Black Krim.

Sigh, live and learn…

Anytime I transplant seedling or cuttings and especially when I trim back the branches, I spray them with water and Superthrive mixed in. It is the foulest smelling thing on the planet, but it really helps prevent stressing in plants, I think. The man from my community who introduced it to me (RIP) said to be sure to spray the inside of the leaves AND the place where you trimmed so that it is more difficult for bacteria to enter the plant.

I don't know if you're familiar with it or not, so I will post up the link:
Home

Anytime I buy a geranium, I pick one that will let me get about four solid cuttings and I trim it way back. That Superthrive is gold on geraniums.

Edit: The Amazon link would not paste correctly.

 

[Orangeslice13]

Hey look. little tomatoes. All is not lost.

 

[bigorangewildcat]

Morning pickens

 

[VolNExile]

Morning pickensView attachment 473266

Ok, imma show this picture to my Glass Gems, which haven’t even tasseled yet.

 

[VolNExile]

Mid-July garden update photos:

Tomato bed, trellised indeterminates on the right, staked determinates on the left, only two of which (San Marzanos) have been tamed. I failed to finish the task today (pesky church.)


Different angle on the mater bed, with a nice view of the determinates spilling into what used to be a row between beds:


Da beans (French filet and limas) plus some random flowers and shallots. The overcrowded conditions are about to be addressed, plus the onslaught today of bean beetles. Maters (and Italian peppers) in background; sunflowers and corn to the right. Ignore the hoops; they were done by May and just never removed:

 

[VolNExile]

The peas-and-cucumbers-and-nasturtiums-bed-the-peas-were-supposed-to-be-long-gone-by-now-and-OMG-how-did-the-nasturtiums-get-so-freakin’-big:


Corn and sunflowers, triumphantly growing; defiantly not blooming:

 

[GordonC]

The peas-and-cucumbers-and-nasturtiums-bed-the-peas-were-supposed-to-be-long-gone-by-now-and-OMG-how-did-the-nasturtiums-get-so-freakin’-big:
View attachment 473356

Corn and sunflowers, triumphantly growing; defiantly not blooming:
View attachment 473358

Nasturtiums might be my favorite annual. Sometimes here they will reseed if you just let the flowers die at end of season and not touch them.
I don't have any this year because my seeds were bad. I picked up a pack of the trailing a while back and just got them planted.

 

[VolNExile]

Nasturtiums might be my favorite annual. Sometimes here they will reseed if you just let the flowers die at end of season and not touch them.
I don't have any this year because my seeds were bad. I picked up a pack of the trailing a while back and just got them planted.

Since you’ve just now planted, there is a slight chance that they won’t strangle everything within 50 yards.

 

[GVF]

Lunch Sammich coming up courtesy of Purple Reign and Thorburns Terra Cotta


Edit: OMG! Easily two of the best tasting maters I’ve eaten. Hands down.

 

[GordonC]

Anybody have any idea what these are? They were in the packet with zucchini seeds (a few years old). In the past, I would pull them up when I saw what they were after they sprouted, but this year I decided to let two grow inside one of my zucchini grow bags. You can see the rounded leaves. It runs like a pumpkin, but I am not familiar with many types of squash and zucchini.
In the first pic it is left foreground.
???
TIA

 

[Behr]

Anybody have any idea what these are? They were in the packet with zucchini seeds (a few years old). In the past, I would pull them up when I saw what they were after they sprouted, but this year I decided to let two grow inside one of my zucchini grow bags. You can see the rounded leaves. It runs like a pumpkin, but I am not familiar with many types of squash and zucchini.
In the first pic it is left foreground.
???
TIA

View attachment 473760View attachment 473761

I don't know, but how do you like those grow bags?

 

[GordonC]

I don't know, but how do you like those grow bags?

Like pretty much everything, it's a pros and cons thing. In this case, the pros outweigh the cons. I will never buy the "hard" containers again, unless it's the barrel looking ones, which I just like the way they look.

Pros: cost (these are the cheapos from Amazon), durable (I did not plant anything last year, used them in 2020, and left them outside the entire time), easy to move around (have handles), soil stays cooler than in a normal pot or container.....Peppers and squash seem to do well in them. I have not tried herbs or tomatoes.

Cons: they lose moisture a lot more quickly than a "hard" container or planter, and it's more critical to keep an eye out for the water needs

Edit: actually took this pic today. Both plants are bush cukes. I've never grown them before and never used tomato cages for them to run up (might work, might not). The one on the right is in a resin barrel planter, and the one on the left is in a grow bag. The one on the right was planted four or five days before the one on the left.

 

[Behr]

Like pretty much everything, it's a pros and cons thing. In this case, the pros outweigh the cons. I will never buy the "hard" containers again, unless it's the barrel looking ones, which I just like the way they look.

Pros: cost (these are the cheapos from Amazon), durable (I did not plant anything last year, used them in 2020, and left them outside the entire time), easy to move around (have handles), soil stays cooler than in a normal pot or container.....Peppers and squash seem to do well in them. I have not tried herbs or tomatoes.

Cons: they lose moisture a lot more quickly than a "hard" container or planter, and it's more critical to keep an eye out for the water needs

I use the same ones. I don't have an issue with them holding moisture. I mean I'm sure they don't hold it as well as normal pots, but I just don't notice. In fact, I believe I made the comment last year about that very thing, that I was surprised at how well they did hold moisture.

I love them. Only con for me and it's not even a con, is they aren't as cool looking as a nice pot would be. But for what I use them for it doesn't matter.

 

[GordonC]

I use the same ones. I don't have an issue with them holding moisture. I mean I'm sure they don't hold it as well as normal pots, but I just don't notice. In fact, I believe I made the comment last year about that very thing, that I was surprised at how well they did hold moisture.

I love them. Only con for men and it's not even a con, is they aren't as cool looking as a nice pot would be. But for what I use them for it doesn't matter.

well on the moisture issue, in all fairness, because of where I have to place them on our property, mine get very hot because they are right beside a brick garage (no trees around), and this hot weather dries them out very quickly
The side where the morning sun only hits about four hours is no problem, but those with the squash and peppers get the rest of it until sunset.
Sometimes if there is cloud cover, I spray some water on the side of the garage to try to cool it a little.

 

[VolNExile]

Anybody have any idea what these are? They were in the packet with zucchini seeds (a few years old). In the past, I would pull them up when I saw what they were after they sprouted, but this year I decided to let two grow inside one of my zucchini grow bags. You can see the rounded leaves. It runs like a pumpkin, but I am not familiar with many types of squash and zucchini.
In the first pic it is left foreground.
???
TIA

View attachment 473760View attachment 473761

So…… my Seek app thinks it’s a watermelon, and that could well be! First pic from your photo in Seek; second Google for watermelon:

 

[GordonC]

So…… my Seek app thinks it’s a watermelon, and that could well be! First pic from your photo in Seek; second Google for watermelon:
View attachment 473787

View attachment 473788

Thanks much.
So this seed package came from the farmer's co-op, and maybe some seeds got mixed together before packaging. ???
Another possibility: I had them, don't remember it, and put them in the wrong package by mistake hahahaha
Edit: I think it is a type of icebox watermelon called a "sugar baby." I would remember buying some seeds by that name, I think. hahahaha

 

[VolNExile]

^^^ I wondered if it was maybe a cross between zucchini and watermelon, because they’re both in the cucurbit family, but they’re too distantly related to cross-pollinate.

Unlike @joevol33 and his cousins *cough cough*

The free Seek app, which is from a joint project by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic, is freaking awesome: plants, bugs, birds, etc etc. Available for iPhone and Android: Seek by iNaturalist · iNaturalist

I also like PictureThis app (also iPhone and Android) for plant ID and “what fresh hell is this?” (disease, etc ID.) It also has a lot of bloggy stuff that I haven’t looked at to see if it’s legit; caveat emptor (although it’s free):
PictureThis - Plant Identifier and Plant Identification App

 

[GordonC]

^^^ I wondered if it was maybe a cross between zucchini and watermelon, because they’re both in the cucurbit family, but they’re too distantly related to cross-pollinate.

Unlike @joevol33 and his cousins *cough cough*

The free Seek app, which is from a joint project by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic, is freaking awesome: plants, bugs, birds, etc etc. Available for iPhone and Android: Seek by iNaturalist · iNaturalist

I also like PictureThis app (also iPhone and Android) for plant ID and “what fresh hell is this?” (disease, etc ID.) It also has a lot of bloggy stuff that I haven’t looked at to see if it’s legit; caveat emptor (although it’s free):
PictureThis - Plant Identifier and Plant Identification App

That is pretty great right there. Thanks much.

 

[VolNExile]

Thanks much.
So this seed package came from the farmer's co-op, and maybe some seeds got mixed together before packaging. ???
Another possibility: I had them, don't remember it, and put them in the wrong package by mistake hahahaha
Edit: I think it is a type of icebox watermelon called a "sugar baby." I would remember buying some seeds by that name, I think. hahahaha

It’s so horribly easy to mix up seeds and seedlings. I’m always a bit amazed when the plant that grows from one of my seedling trays is actually what the label says it is.

Re Sugar Baby: apparently watermelon leaves like to morph. ID’ing by leaf shape may not be reliable. Sugar Baby sounds like a good ‘un though, so good luck that it is!

 

[82_VOL_83]

Exie, have you looked at a Lomi?

 

[GordonC]

Exie, have you looked at a Lomi?

 

[VolNExile]

Exie, have you looked at a Lomi?

No, we save up the kitchen waste and fling it on the compost pile out back, with the leaves, grass clippings, garden waste etc. I don’t give up counter space without a fight.

Do you use one?