Gardens vegetable, flower or other?

[Puzzicato]

Could that black at the end stuff be blossom end rot? I have gotten that too when we have had drought years. this year I don't see it but previous year I have. This year lots of rain.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3117.html

That's it! How disgusting are those photos?

 

[LocktownDog]

Wow. I've hit snow flurries driving across NV in Feb., but that's unseasonal as hell.

July is the only month I haven't seen snow here. Supposed to be a high of 92 today with a nighttime temp of 48. Another slight cooldown is coming in this weekend, and I wonder if its time to get out the water walls for plant protection yet. Hopefully extend some of these veggies through September.

 

[Cricket]

I am taking some photos tonight, but we will enjoy some delicious fried green tomatoes. I am gonna miss those this winter.

 

[jamespowers]

Came home today to one of my poblano chiles completely stripped of leaves, bent over, and the sides eaten out of the two peppers growing on it.
It was either squirrels or the Benicia mascot, roof rats. No more Mr. Nice Guy. The soft pellet gun gets put away and I'm bringing out the real pellet gun.
All Rodents Must Die.

Hey, on the few tomatoes you've got that are at least attempting to ripen, do they have a big, brown, discoloration on the bottom of them? Not really rot, more like a dried up part.

Mine don't have that but I use a lot of calcium in the soil---oyster shell lime and rock flower/powder and it takes care of that.
The warm weather has finally arrived and ripened quite a few of the large tomatoes. I had enough to make a decent amount of salsa last night. Added ground beef, cheese and sour cream---tostadas.
I love my old Benjamin Pump 177 pellet gun. Too bad it needs to be worked on to fix the air problem. A sharp point 177 pellet changes and squirrel's attitude about touching your produce.

 

[jamespowers]

Is that a "fix"?

Yeah. Would you like an interesting paperweight?

 

[Land-O-LakesGal]

That's it! How disgusting are those photos?

Puzzicato I can't remember what the article recommends but try getting one of those kits to test your soil they are really easy to use and then it you PH is off or something else then you can look at what you might need to add to the soil. I did this for the first time this year and have had a much better yield. It may also be that we finally got some rain this summer. I have also heard putting down some Epsom salt when planting can help out as well.

 

[Puzzicato]

Puzzicato I can't remember what the article recommends but try getting one of those kits to test your soil they are really easy to use and then it you PH is off or something else then you can look at what you might need to add to the soil. I did this for the first time this year and have had a much better yield. It may also be that we finally got some rain this summer. I have also heard putting down some Epsom salt when planting can help out as well.

The mister is the chief garden chemist, so I am signing all responsibility for that over to him! I think it is partly the calcium and partly the erratic rainfall. They are in growbags, so they don't have the capacity to hold much water even when we have had heavy rain.

We do have a pH testing kit around somewhere, and I know our rainwater is a bit acid, which I believe inhibits the absorption of some minerals.

 

[Land-O-LakesGal]

The mister is the chief garden chemist, so I am signing all responsibility for that over to him! I think it is partly the calcium and partly the erratic rainfall. They are in growbags, so they don't have the capacity to hold much water even when we have had heavy rain.

We do have a pH testing kit around somewhere, and I know our rainwater is a bit acid, which I believe inhibits the absorption of some minerals.

I agree that inconsistent rain does seem to make a difference but like I said this is the first year I did soil testing so I can't speak for that.

 

[rumblefish]

lol
Aahh. I capeesh.

Yeah. Would you like an interesting paperweight?

Well, I expected every bit of fruit from the trees I planted to be scoffed up by the fauna this year. But this summer I had, all for the first time;

Gravenstein Apple- Very early apple that requires no indoor ripening. Crisp with lively sweet flavor. Excellent!

Stanley Plum- A prune plum that's good fresh. Good flavor not great.

Greengage or Reine Claude Plum- Tiny green flesh plum the size of a large cherry tomato. The tree I have produces fruit with a light violet (like this> )& green skin. Unbelievable flavor, perfect combination of sweet and tart with a distinct plum taste. I pick these in the afternoon if they give slightly when squeezed. The next day they are perfect. If left longer, on the counter or on the tree, they become soft and too sweet. (I'm going to go get some right now)

Polly Peach- White flesh peach with a very light colored skin. Another winner. Just started to produce this week.

All the leaves on these trees look haggard though, probably from the extremely high heat and lack of rain. I don't know what that means for next year.

 

[jamespowers]

lol
Aahh. I capeesh.





Well, I expected every bit of fruit from the trees I planted to be scoffed up by the fauna this year. But this summer I had, all for the first time;

Gravenstein Apple- Very early apple that requires no indoor ripening. Crisp with lively sweet flavor. Excellent!

Stanley Plum- A prune plum that's good fresh. Good flavor not great.

Greengage or Reine Claude Plum- Tiny green flesh plum the size of a large cherry tomato. The tree I have produces fruit with a light violet (like this> )& green skin. Unbelievable flavor, perfect combination of sweet and tart with a distinct plum taste. I pick these in the afternoon if they give slightly when squeezed. The next day they are perfect. If left longer, on the counter or on the tree, they become soft and too sweet. (I'm going to go get some right now)

Polly Peach- White flesh peach with a very light colored skin. Another winner. Just started to produce this week.

All the leaves on these trees look haggard though, probably from the extremely high heat and lack of rain. I don't know what that means for next year.

Geez, you definitely need to set out some "food" for the Fauna if you want to get anything next year.
What do you mean by haggard? Are they green and then yellow at the tip or are they drooping etc?
All of those trees should be fed with the pertinent food from spring until a bit before leaf drop (once a month for here it is from March to October) so that they have enough eergy to make it through the winter and produce a decent crop this year and the next.
I have the cousin to your greengages---the Damson. I didn't get to eat a single fruit this year---thanks to the furry tailed rats.:rage: They are about the same size but the skin is a red-yellow when ripe and the fruit is yellow. They are good to use in drink making by the way.

 

[jamespowers]

The mister is the chief garden chemist, so I am signing all responsibility for that over to him! I think it is partly the calcium and partly the erratic rainfall. They are in growbags, so they don't have the capacity to hold much water even when we have had heavy rain.

We do have a pH testing kit around somewhere, and I know our rainwater is a bit acid, which I believe inhibits the absorption of some minerals.

Try the calcium such as I mentioned. Epsom Salts also help a bit. Regular watering has its advantages. Irregular watering results in splits in the skin of tomatoes. Water every three days for sure. If it is hot then water every day. Potted plants need much more water than those in the ground as the ground has a way of creating a reserve---depending on the soil---that can last days. In your case, I would water every day if it drains quickly. You could also amend the soil a bit with heavier soil to promote water retention.
Acid soil is fine for the tomatoes. They don't mind as much as other fruits and vegetables. Super high acidity would affect them though.

 

[Puzzicato]

Thanks James! We are currently eating our crop - what has survived is delicious - so I will take all this on board for next year. This is the first time in 3 years we haven't lost everything to blight, so now we are learning a whole new set of plagues and pestilences.

 

[jamespowers]

Thanks James! We are currently eating our crop - what has survived is delicious - so I will take all this on board for next year. This is the first time in 3 years we haven't lost everything to blight, so now we are learning a whole new set of plagues and pestilences.

Yes indeed. If it isn't one thing it is another. You have to be ready for everything.

 

[rumblefish]

Geez, you definitely need to set out some "food" for the Fauna if you want to get anything next year.
What do you mean by haggard? Are they green and then yellow at the tip or are they drooping etc?

These are the trees I have planted at work. So, without the attention I give mine at home, they tend to get haggard. A few of my staff start the season really encouraged, but that slows about the first brutal days of August. For the most part they get bug-eaten. A little more fertilizer would help also, all in all I'm OK with it. I'm happy that at least they stay up on the watering.

Here's a Carey Grant hybrid tea. Just out my front window.

 

[jamespowers]

These are the trees I have planted at work. So, without the attention I give mine at home, they tend to get haggard. A few of my staff start the season really encouraged, but that slows about the first brutal days of August. For the most part they get bug-eaten. A little more fertilizer would help also, all in all I'm OK with it. I'm happy that at least they stay up on the watering.

Here's a Carey Grant hybrid tea. Just out my front window.

Nice Rose. Do you give it the alfalfa pellet treatment I mentioned?
You can also do that with the fruit trees. Two five gallon buckets of water with two or three handfuls of the pellets mixed in each. Do that every month and you should be good all year.

 

[rumblefish]

Believe or not James,,, banana skins- lots. I have close to an unlimited supply. I've read the phosphorus and the potassium make for great flowers and fruit, so I use them on the trees too. I understand the skins decomposing provide bacteria and nutrients that help for healthy growing and strong production. The roses and fruit trees must have had five or six treatments of banana skins this year. I would of added more, but who the heck wants to crawl under the trees and bushes getting sticky hands every week or so.

 

[jamespowers]

Believe or not James,,, banana skins- lots. I have close to an unlimited supply. I've read the phosphorus and the potassium make for great flowers and fruit, so I use them on the trees too. I understand the skins decomposing provide bacteria and nutrients that help for healthy growing and strong production. The roses and fruit trees must have had five or six treatments of banana skins this year. I would of added more, but who the heck wants to crawl under the trees and bushes getting sticky hands every week or so.

Banana skins?! That's a new one. I have enough around to try it I suppose.

 

[KittyT]

Sweet 100 and Brandywine. They've thrived in my self-watering containers.

My space has made them pretty hard to tame!

Picked this one yesterday. My Brandywine only produced one fruit (it weights nearly 15oz). It better be absolutely delicious!

Pole and bush beans, green garlic, herbs and nasturtiums...

 

[Land-O-LakesGal]

Sweet 100 and Brandywine. They've thrived in my self-watering containers.

My space has made them pretty hard to tame!

Picked this one yesterday. My Brandywine only produced one fruit (it weights nearly 15oz). It better be absolutely delicious!

Pole and bush beans, green garlic, herbs and nasturtiums...

Kitty T awesome job farming such a small space!

 

[KittyT]

Kitty T awesome job farming such a small space!

Thank you! This was my first time doing any vegetables and I've been very pleased with the results. Unfortunately, I'm getting ready to move to a new apartment that has no gardening space, which makes me pretty sad. I'll have to go back to a window garden