2016 Garden Thread

[ness]

Looking good there Marty. Those maters are crazy!

Picked a few gooseberries last night. I'll pick more tonight and get some black raspberries too. Brought in two Cubanelles last night too. May grill those tonight. A few maters are close. I'll likely have some Sun Golds this week and maybe a Brandywine or two. That's pretty early for these parts. Gonna have a bumper crop of carrots soon too. Fweakin' wabbit is wreakin' havoc on my bush beans. He's gonna get a little hot sauce in his next mouthful Garlic and beets soon too. 

[BilletHead]

      John,

Big tomatoes soon for you? Color me jealous! Our sun gold have not done too well yet. The Doc Mrs. BilletHead works for has been gone this week and I have been watering the sun gold and red cherry plants we planted for her in big pots. Eating tomatoes as I water too. She has been watering from day one with miracle grow and the plants are as tall as our Black Krims pictured. I had to do the same thing to her giant plants and told her to stop with the miracle grow. I had to stand on a chair to tie them up to the back eve of her house. While doing this task I had to take a dip in her pool a couple of days :). Tough job but someone has to do it. We also attached a section of cattle panel to her fence and transplanted some blackberry starts under the panel. Nice big starts and they have grown and I started weaving them in and out of the panel. She will have blackberries next summer for sure. Training the berry vines is easy but now will train her how to take care of her berry patch. I know a cattle panel in her backyard? I assure you it was a classy installment and she is very happy with her mini garden to be .

   Now to bunnies, We have been fighting some too. Man where are those rodents when season is here? One had a hole dug and tunneled under one of the cucumber plants. I reached into the hole pulling out wads of clover and bunny fur bedding thinking there would be little naked bunnies with each hand full. When i got to the bottom of the hole nothing. Got there before mama rabbit laid any Easter eggs! I pitched the mess of stuff in the yard then filled and tamped the hole dung and watered it good. So far no more new excavation.

BilletHead

[tho1mas]

I was always told that if you could have ripe tomatoes by Independence Day's picnic you were doing good.

You guys are ahead of that by a bunch. Mine will have to hurry to make the deadline.

 

[MOPanfisher]

I have lots and lots of tomatoes but almost never have a ripe one by July 4th.  Although I may well have eaten a few green ones fried by then.

[ness]

 

On 6/18/2016 at 4:13 PM, MOPanfisher said:

I have lots and lots of tomatoes but almost never have a ripe one by July 4th.  Although I may well have eaten a few green ones fried by then.

I just can't bare to to eat a green one this time of year. At the end of the season when they're not gonna ripen, sure. I guess I did eat a few Sun Golds the other night.

I've thought I'd beat the 4th before only to have them languish on the vine for weeks. I guess we'll see.

 

[MOPanfisher]

My wife absolutely loves fried green tomatoes.  I used to enforce a rule about no fried green ones until we get a ripe one.  But there will be more than enough.

[Gavin]

Tomatoes are looking good. Have a couple starting to turn red. Need to keep our Aussie out more to chase away the squiirels. Peppers looking good too.

[MOPanfisher]

My daughter wanted to me to help pick out some flowers and plants to liven up he hour they just moved into.  Not being a nomal dad, I purchased a big container, (it was cheap) filled it with some potting soil I had on hand, dug up 3 of my multiple volunteer tomato plants.  Should be cherry tomatoes, all I was allowed to pretend to garden last summer,  will include a bag of miracle grow with instructions to water he container daily but not use the miracle grow every day, don't want them to take over her yard.   So good  daddy or bad daddy.  Also have several redbud sprouts I can transplant to her yard, probably won't tell her landlord, and wait  till fall for them.  BTW both she and my 2 yrs old grandson love little maters.

[Johnsfolly]

Here is the little tomato that could. I don't think that this plant has grown at all since we planted it , but has put all its energy into this tomato. Almost ripe.

Our tomatoes this year certainly don't look as massive or as good as the Billethead's or Ness' plants. My wife works with the garden. Been a lot of issues that she has dealt with this year, we're happy to have some fruits and vegetables. I spend my gardening time on plants like my Schefflera that has been in training for the last 6-7 years.

[BilletHead]

Johnsfolly,

I would trade you a couple dozen green tomatoes for that red one . Well my plants continue to grow too much! I finally took a measurement on the tallest. EIGHT FOOT from dirt to top. I mean this plant is loaded. After the storm, rain and wind last evening I was worried some of these would be trashed. Nope my system worked so far. I did start topping the plants and I took over a foot off of some of them. Blooms and little tomatoes. I cringed as I clipped each branch. After trimming the eight footer I counted 26 tomatoes that I could see easily on that one plant. I thought of Jack and the beanstalk as I looked at the pile of trimmings,

 The plants before the trimming,

 Some of the Black Krims at the bottom beginning to turn.

BilletHead