Anyone doing a garden?

[toxcrusadr]

I have friends who fall over themselves to get my pesto in the winter. Luckily I know an organic farmer who plants 100 ft. of basil plants and when he quits picking in the fall it's open for gleaning.

 

[jocko_nc]

After a number of years trying to grow good tomatoes down here in NC, I have given up. I'll find some local sellers with real home tomatoes during the season. Other than that, I try to visit Ohio in time to bring back a couple of bushels of the good stuff.

Tomatoes do not grow well down here.

 

[SAE2922]

Hmmm...
Let's see. This year I have

Jalepenos (of course!!)
cilantro
basil
yellow squash
zucchini
sage
thyme
rosemary

Why does 'Simon and Garfunkel' come to mind ?!

------------------------------------

I remember growing up when my father would plant 150 pounds of seed potatoes, at least 60-75 tomato plants, 10+ each of several pepper plant varieties (bell, cheyenne, banana, jalapeño, etc.), ten 100-foot long rows of corn and several hills of cucumber and squash (crook neck, straight neck, zucchini). This was just the hot-weather (summer) harvested vegetables. Oh, I can't omit the 100-foot long row of okra.

We also had onions (both sets and bulbs), radishes and garden (leaf) lettuce that were planted a couple of months before the spring equinox.

There were row after row of green beans and peas: bush, pole, purple hulls, black-eyed.

It was a lot of work when I was a kid, but I sure miss those days, and the fresh vegetables.

 

[spartanmanor]

I remember growing up when my father would plant 150 pounds of seed potatoes, at least 60-75 tomato plants, 10+ each of several pepper plant varieties (bell, cheyenne, banana, jalapeño, etc.), ten 100-foot long rows of corn and several hills of cucumber and squash (crook neck, straight neck, zucchini). This was just the hot-weather (summer) harvested vegetables. Oh, I can't omit the 100-foot long row of okra.

We also had onions (both sets and bulbs), radishes and garden (leaf) lettuce that were planted a couple of months before the spring equinox.

There were row after row of green beans and peas: bush, pole, purple hulls, black-eyed.

It was a lot of work when I was a kid, but I sure miss those days, and the fresh vegetables.

Now that is some serious gardening. This reminds me of my grandfathers farm, my dad grew up with a very similar situation, but then again it was during the depression.

 

[mulester7]

.....anyone using this on their garden plants?....the guy at a local horticultural nursery said this stuff will make garden plants grow like crazy....he said all the ingredients are organic, as opposed to chemicals like Triple-13.....

http://www.garden-ville.com/4429794_36600.htm

 

[SAE2922]

.....anyone using this on their garden plants?....the guy at a local horticultural nursery said this stuff will make garden plants grow like crazy....he said all the ingredients are organic, as opposed to chemicals like Triple-13.....

http://www.garden-ville.com/4429794_36600.htm

mulester7,

Check out this information by the Texas Organic Research Center (TORC) dated March 2009.

Scan down the list of Acceptable Organic Soil Amendment and Fertilizer Products to the group heading Garden-Ville Products and you will see Sea Tea Fish (emulsion liquid plant fertilizer) listed as an approved plant fertilizer.

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/organic/garden/view_org_research/id/112/

If you are into organic gardening products, take a look at the The Dirt Doctor's website for some good info on organic products and plant husbandry.

 

[mulester7]

Scan down the list of Acceptable Organic Soil Amendment and Fertilizer Products to the group heading Garden-Ville Products and you will see Sea Tea Fish (emulsion liquid plant fertilizer) listed as an approved plant fertilizer.

.....good to hear, SAE, especially since I've done bought the stuff....at the local nursery that day, a guy in a baseball hat was walking outside who worked there, and I told him I wanted two 50 qt bags of Ferti-Lome ultimate potting mixture from the shed I'd just been in....he said, ok, and showed me where inside the small building/office the small bags of lime and Triple-13 were....he then asked me, "what are you growin'?"....I said tomatoes out of 5 gallon buckets....he said the lime was good, but I didn't want Triple-13 and turned toward another room....I followed him and he reached up and took a quart plastic bottle of this Sea Tea off a shelf....he said the stuff would make plants take off and grow quickly, and I'd end up with larger plants....he told me to mix two tablespoons to a gallon of water and send a soaking amount down through the dirt of the bucket once a week....my quart was right at $11 with tax....if I like what I see using this quart, the gallon in the link would be a bargain at $33 which includes shipping.....

.....anyone ever observed the root system of a mature tomato plant pulling them out of the ground at season's end?....how big is the root system?....volleyball sized?....basketball sized?....am considering more than one tomato plant in two buckets....I really wish someone could reply on this.....

 

[Bogframe]

The ones we pulled out to get the planters ready this year were about softball sized, give or take.

 

[toxcrusadr]

They don't have very deep root systems, I would think if you had something shallower and wider like a Rubbermaid bin you could fit two. One problem is just getting enough water to them. In the hot summer they're going to require a lot - twice a day at least - and if you have more than one per container you'll really have to watch the water situation.

 

[mulester7]

.....thanks, Bogframe and Tox....that really helped me know how many to start at least.....

.....just got through starting 3 tomato plants in each of three buckets, and about 5 hopeful stalks of sweet corn in a fourth bucket....will continue to search for the 6 foot metal wire fencing I'm after, to make round tomato climbing cages with about an 18 inch diameter for the buckets....in a garden, I'd probably take the diameter to 30 inches, and let 2-3 plants climb up a "wide" 5 feet....you cut a section of the fence, bend it into a circle, and make clips to hold it together....I'll take 4 penny finish nails and bent each end "in" past 90*, with heavy needle-nose pliers, while heavy regular pliers hold the other end....kinda' like a staple that's bent-in a little....you can cut cross pieces at the bottom of the cage, and stick the cage into the ground a foot....well-fed and watered tomato plants will climb about as high as there's something to grab.....

.....got some Bradley Heirloom tomato plants and some Big Boys....the Bradley plants come from Bradley County, AR, below Pine Bluff, at Warren and Hermitage....best tomatoes ever, and have eaten many....but the soil in Bradley Country has a lot of clay in the soil, and I guess that might make a positive difference to what I can do out of a bucket, I don't know, we'll see.....

.....I love over-ripes the best....no soft spots anywhere at all, just deep crimson red, still on the vine....those go straight to the refrig to be eaten within 48, Sirs....yep, the resolved acid taste from over-ripes is what I seek.....

 

[pioneer54]

tomatoes.....mmmmmmm

my favourite. coming from (near) the tomato capital of canada (leamington) you'd think i'd know how to grow them....NOT. my sister inlaw grows them but every year they turn black inside. what's the secret to growing beefsteak?

 

[mulester7]

.....Guys, when the movie Jack And The Beanstalk was filmed, the director must have used this Garden-Ville Sea Tea stuff on the magic beans, no kidding....my tomato plants have been set now for only 3 1/2 days, and they've grown double in size putting out tiny new leaves like crazy.....

.....I gladly blame the Sea Tea for this....have been putting three tablespoons in a gallon of water and stiring it with a stick....I run two plastic milk-jugs with the very top cut out with a knife staying away from the handle....3 inch diameter hole, I'd guess....also use cheap plastic measuring spoon set.....

.....I poured a gallon of the mix on each of three rose bushes at the back chain-link fence....they had at least 15 smaller red roses open on each of the three plants, with the middle one having maybe 25....now, 36 hours after the pouring of three gallons, the bushes are standing straighter a bit it seems, and have about 25-30 opened reds on both of the outside two, with the middle one having around 40....it's obvious something kicked those plants.....

.....also put a gallon of the mix on a mum-looking flowering plant in the patio raised-bed bricked planter at the same time....there were about 8 yellow opened flowers big as a half-dollar before the pouring....right now, also 36 hours later, there's about 12 opened ones and around 10 tiny buds just opening small, barely displaying yellow....from what I've seen so far, this stuff works....real good....I'll post the link again....I've got about 1/3 of my quart left, and have ordered a gallon here....$12.57 for shipping seems high I know, but it's a concentrated gallon and will be heavier than a gallon of water....you will also get "over" one quart free by not buying from the local nurseries....hey, you buy enough high-priced stuff from them already, right?.....

http://www.garden-ville.com/4429794_36600.htm

 

[zenith2134]

The usual: Tomatoes, Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Mint.

 

[toxcrusadr]

The usual: Tomatoes, Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Mint.

Heh, mint. It's a menace unless you have containment. I had some mint come in with some strawberry plants once, and if I hadn't done major battle with it, your list would have gone something like this, one year to the next:

Year 1: Tomatoes, Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Mint
Year 2: Tomatoes, Rosemary, Oregano, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Mint, Mint
Year 3: Tomatoes, Oregano, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Mint, Mint, Mint
Year 4: Tomatoes, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint
Year 5: Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint
Year 6: Tomatoes, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint
Year 7: Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint, Mint

 

[mulester7]

.....Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my tomato plants....I honestly had just gentle-sprayed the leaves and they are laying down a bit still....from the back left working across we have Felix, Abraham, Judy, Ned, Priscilla, Farthington, etc.....

 

[toxcrusadr]

Those are nice. For naming them you are officially a Kook. A Kook of the highest and best order.

 

[VinylRob]

><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯ `· .¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>‏

Pesto in the winter.

My wife makes pesto from the basil just before the first frost and puts it in ice cube trays for easy, individual thawing over the long winter months.

That's an awesome idea... just learned it about four years ago from a friend and it couldn't be handier when you're cooking through the winter months or more enjoyed!

Happy Listening!

 

[Kuma]

This past weekend brought unseasonably warm weather to the Detroit area, so we visited Eastern Market and picked up the following for our container garden on the back patio (@99 cents per plant):

tomato - "Bonny Best"
cherry tomato (unknown varietal)
Japanese peas (these were actually from a packet of seeds)
basil (3 varietals, including the "Dark Opal")
parsley
arugula (a first for us)
French cooking Thyme
dill
garlic chives
sage
rosemary
Greek oregano
jalapeno
lavender

All are potted in containers with a rough 70-30 mix of Canadian peat moss and vermiculite. In the past two days, all are flourishing!

I am concerned about the needs of the peas, and looking at trellis configurations.

 

[mulester7]

Those are nice. For naming them you are officially a Kook. A Kook of the highest and best order.

.....Tox, you don't name your tomato plants???....how do you keep up with them at the zoo or a ballgame? :scratch2:.....

 

[mulester7]

.....look what we've had for three days here in central Arkansas....and, rainy and cloud cover is forecast for the next three days :tears:.....

http://www.weather.com/weather/map/USAR0412?showanimation=yes&mapregion=us_sc_9regradar_plus_usen

.....Question....I've never really noticed in a gardening effort in the ground, do the little flowers that open on a tomato plant vine HAVE to be pollinated by flying 'usually stinging' insects to produce a tomato?....not sure on this one....awfully small flower, super small, but,.....