mulester7
LIVE from Lake Ouachita
.....your camera shots look very good, Spartan....very nice flowers, greenery, shrubs, trees, and vegetable plants....is that your travel trailer parked in the middle shot?.....
Anyone doing a garden?
- Thread starter spartanmanor
- Start date
HatchetJack
Chillin' The Most
My Garden report - First harvest on mothers day,about a cup and a half
of alaskan snow peas. I have 7 100ft rows of corn/polebeans up about
6'' now. 1 row of peppers ,33 tomato plants,1 row okra,1 row squash
2 rows watermelons and a row of sunflowers at the cabin garden.
At home I have 16 tomato plants,2 15ft rows of cucumbers,2 rows squash
2 rows onions,2 rows bush beans and 6 pepper plants.Yes I have been busy
the past three weeks on my day off.Oh and the chickens,I have 6 baby
hens and two roosters.Looking forward to fresh eggs this fall.
of alaskan snow peas. I have 7 100ft rows of corn/polebeans up about
6'' now. 1 row of peppers ,33 tomato plants,1 row okra,1 row squash
2 rows watermelons and a row of sunflowers at the cabin garden.
At home I have 16 tomato plants,2 15ft rows of cucumbers,2 rows squash
2 rows onions,2 rows bush beans and 6 pepper plants.Yes I have been busy
the past three weeks on my day off.Oh and the chickens,I have 6 baby
hens and two roosters.Looking forward to fresh eggs this fall.
Hatchet Jack wins! I would like to see that. Must be prodigious.
spartanmanor
Lunatic Member
Thanks. Yes the trailer is mine. It is a 1946 Spartan Manor. All aircraft grade aluminum with mahogany interior.
mulester7
LIVE from Lake Ouachita
.....well, I'm gonna' step out on a limb and say that trailer means a lot to you....
mulester7
LIVE from Lake Ouachita
.....King HatchetJack
.....
spartanmanor
Lunatic Member
It is another one of my crazy hobbies. For some reason I am atracted to old stuff that needs work.
HatchetJack
Chillin' The Most
.....King HatchetJack
Hey,were in a depression here.Trying to feed 2 hungry kids and the wife.
We put up tomatoes in the deep freeze all summer and mix it with
ground venison and make chilli and vegetable soup all winter for free.
Money saved here leaves a little to buy used albums and old speakers
and such. Dont have to join a gym either with all the work needing done
around the garden.Sleep good too !!
mulester7
LIVE from Lake Ouachita
.....that's using your head, HatchetJack, for sure.....Hey,were in a depression here.Trying to feed 2 hungry kids and the wife.
We put up tomatoes in the deep freeze all summer and mix it with
ground venison and make chilli and vegetable soup all winter for free.
Money saved here leaves a little to buy used albums and old speakers
and such. Dont have to join a gym either with all the work needing done
around the garden.Sleep good too !!
.....Guys, somebody send me a rich pretty woman to sit in this swing with.....
mulester7
LIVE from Lake Ouachita
.....I hate computers for the most part....I can do a specific thing every day for months, and suddenly out of the blue, it just doesn't work at all....things were going fine downloading from my camera to My Pictures, and now, the download doesn't show up....other times downloading, my shots would appear as they were downloaded to the computer, but now, I see some other scenic shot I didn't take the whole time it's downloading....and, I can't find the shots anywhere I was trying to download....I could be through in this thread posting pictures, I don't know....
mulester7
LIVE from Lake Ouachita
.....this is long, but imo is an interesting read if you're serious about growing tomatoes....not sure if I agree with him on different points, though....and, I ended up thinking he's trying to sell four small books for 40 bucks....but, he brought pruning the plant at different stages up, but didn't go into any detail...."should" one prune tomato plants?.....
http://www.doublingtomato.com/tomato/big-tomato/big boy tomatoes.html
http://www.doublingtomato.com/tomato/big-tomato/big boy tomatoes.html
You got your tomato-sucker-removal camp, and you got your non-removal camp. I read that the suckers (extra branches that sprout at the crotch of other branches) do not produce tomatoes and should be removed. But, I've seen blossoms on them when I missed a few. So take your pick.
spartanmanor
Lunatic Member
I have always removed the suckers. My biggest problem is getting water to the plants. My hose is almost on the other side of the house from my plants. I have been meaning to install a new water supply on the garden side of the house, I just need to get busy.
HatchetJack
Chillin' The Most
I have tried in the past pruning and plucking suckers but have concluded
that it just peed off the plant. I think they do better just left alone and
keep those big horned worms pulled off em. They also need feeding often
when the leaves start looking yellow down low.If you can find some real
composted cow manure they love that mixed in around the soil.Miracle
grow for tomatoes works well too.
About the buckets and hanging upside down jobs, I have done this in the
past and it worked well until about July/August when it hits 100 in the
shade.I would water them in the morning and come home in the evening
and they would be all wilted from the soil getting too hot and drying out
in matter of hours.I think If I ever try that again,I would use a grape/cherry
variety.I also think those big boys and the like use up most of the nutrients
in those buckets quickly.Just my 2 cents and 30 years of growing. Oh yeah,
I like to pick my fruits when they start turning orange and let them ripen
in the window light.As much as I like vine ripened,when that happens the
plant thinks its job is over and plays out and stops blooming.
that it just peed off the plant. I think they do better just left alone and
keep those big horned worms pulled off em. They also need feeding often
when the leaves start looking yellow down low.If you can find some real
composted cow manure they love that mixed in around the soil.Miracle
grow for tomatoes works well too.
About the buckets and hanging upside down jobs, I have done this in the
past and it worked well until about July/August when it hits 100 in the
shade.I would water them in the morning and come home in the evening
and they would be all wilted from the soil getting too hot and drying out
in matter of hours.I think If I ever try that again,I would use a grape/cherry
variety.I also think those big boys and the like use up most of the nutrients
in those buckets quickly.Just my 2 cents and 30 years of growing. Oh yeah,
I like to pick my fruits when they start turning orange and let them ripen
in the window light.As much as I like vine ripened,when that happens the
plant thinks its job is over and plays out and stops blooming.
Sansui Louie
Curmudgeon
Interesting, HatchetJack. You da man!
I read a big long thread on that tomato guy link above, re: organic tomato magic. One fella set up a test between two Beefeater plants -- one on the recommendations from the book, the other more or less left alone. Early on in the experiment, it looked as if the 'book' tomato plant was doing MUCH better. Later on, the other plant caught and surpassed it in actual tomato production--which is what counts.
I've putzed with tomatoes for about 10 years. I've never done much with them other than weed, water and miracle grow. I'd sure like to have some advice on getting the most out of a crop -- especially since this will be my first attempt at them up here in the northwoods.
Now...let's talk PEPPERS!!!
Who's planted them and what kinds?
I have mostly bananas and jalapenos this year. I have two cayenne plants and two habanero plants. And four big sweet yellow bells. The cayennes are ok, but they're really not my favorites for heat and flavor. I looooooove the habanero, but it doesn't love me the next day...and practically, I can buy them in bulk cheaper than I can grow them and all I do with them is dry them and grind them into seasoning...they're too damned hot to do anything else with. Which leaves me with the jalapenos and bananas. The bananas I slice and pickle into rings, or stuff fresh and eat. The jalapenos I slice and pickle or fill with a cream cheese and goodie mixture, batter and deep fry. Sometimes I'll smoke a few and then grind down into chipotle seasoning. In the past, I've grown anaheims and these little tiny and colorful hotter than hell things on a bush. What seems to grow best for me are the bananas and jalapenos, so I run with 'em.
I read a big long thread on that tomato guy link above, re: organic tomato magic. One fella set up a test between two Beefeater plants -- one on the recommendations from the book, the other more or less left alone. Early on in the experiment, it looked as if the 'book' tomato plant was doing MUCH better. Later on, the other plant caught and surpassed it in actual tomato production--which is what counts.
I've putzed with tomatoes for about 10 years. I've never done much with them other than weed, water and miracle grow. I'd sure like to have some advice on getting the most out of a crop -- especially since this will be my first attempt at them up here in the northwoods.
Now...let's talk PEPPERS!!!
Who's planted them and what kinds?
I have mostly bananas and jalapenos this year. I have two cayenne plants and two habanero plants. And four big sweet yellow bells. The cayennes are ok, but they're really not my favorites for heat and flavor. I looooooove the habanero, but it doesn't love me the next day...and practically, I can buy them in bulk cheaper than I can grow them and all I do with them is dry them and grind them into seasoning...they're too damned hot to do anything else with. Which leaves me with the jalapenos and bananas. The bananas I slice and pickle into rings, or stuff fresh and eat. The jalapenos I slice and pickle or fill with a cream cheese and goodie mixture, batter and deep fry. Sometimes I'll smoke a few and then grind down into chipotle seasoning. In the past, I've grown anaheims and these little tiny and colorful hotter than hell things on a bush. What seems to grow best for me are the bananas and jalapenos, so I run with 'em.
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mulester7
LIVE from Lake Ouachita
.....one more thing about pruning tomatoes, Louie, and to peppers we go.....
http://www.howtodothings.com/home-and-garden/a2947-how-to-prune-tomatoes.html
http://www.howtodothings.com/home-and-garden/a2947-how-to-prune-tomatoes.html
HatchetJack
Chillin' The Most
Banana "hot and sweet" and jalapeno's are what I have growing now cause
thats what we like best. I built a raised bed this year for the peppers and
am trying a mixture of 25% composted cow manure,25% jungle growth
potting soil and 50% composted saw dust. Will have to wait a while on the
results but they are up about 10" and appear happy with some blooms
starting to form.Never had much luck with the bell variety,seems a waste
of garden space as I like the others better anyway.
Back to the tomatoes,I had the best harvest ever last year and didnt prune.
I also picked the fruits when they first started getting that orange hue.
I think thats a key to getting the most out of them.In the past,I would let
them ripen on the vine but that was a mistake.
thats what we like best. I built a raised bed this year for the peppers and
am trying a mixture of 25% composted cow manure,25% jungle growth
potting soil and 50% composted saw dust. Will have to wait a while on the
results but they are up about 10" and appear happy with some blooms
starting to form.Never had much luck with the bell variety,seems a waste
of garden space as I like the others better anyway.
Back to the tomatoes,I had the best harvest ever last year and didnt prune.
I also picked the fruits when they first started getting that orange hue.
I think thats a key to getting the most out of them.In the past,I would let
them ripen on the vine but that was a mistake.
Biggest problem around here is the drought in the summer. Last year we really had rain all year (20" extra I believe) and the crops were incredible. I can't seem to get enough water on the tomatoes in the summer. The water bill makes you want to buy maters at the market.
Peppers! We always grow some bells, jalepenos, NM style green chiles, and whatever else I come across. For awhile this guy sold all kinds at the market, 50 cents a plant, so you could pick out some weird ones. The striped Fish pepper that they use in the Caribbean with fish, Tabasco (loved to pack em in salt and make sauce), and the Peter Pepper, which looked like, uhh...life size, with a head and everything.
Peppers! We always grow some bells, jalepenos, NM style green chiles, and whatever else I come across. For awhile this guy sold all kinds at the market, 50 cents a plant, so you could pick out some weird ones. The striped Fish pepper that they use in the Caribbean with fish, Tabasco (loved to pack em in salt and make sauce), and the Peter Pepper, which looked like, uhh...life size, with a head and everything.
usedto
Lunatic Member
My daughter belongs to FFA (Future Farmers of America) and they had their awards banquet and installation of officers last week. The centerpieces for the tables were plants that we were told to bring home. Each plastic pot had two plants in it. Most of the ID tags had been lost, so we have a tomato, some sort of bean plant, and two that appear to be peppers of some sort. I had a couple of plastic 15ga. nursery pots laying around, so I filled two with dirt and stuck two plants in each one. We'll see what we get.