copperboxes
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Post by copperboxes on Jul 24, 2016 19:24:52 GMT -5
We got kind of got caught in a tsunami of summer produce this year.
DH and I finally put up a fence to keep the deer out back in the spring, they usually decimate my crops in June when they have their babies. So between no deer munching plants, no hail storms over our house in spring, and the fact that I planted more than normal... seems "duh" in retrospect, but holy cow we're getting a lot. DH is giving away grocery sacks of produce every couple days.
It's mostly squash (5 kinds), cucumbers, okra, tomatoes, onions, tomatillos and basil right now. Melons are coming next, a couple varieties are coming in real strong now that the temperatures top out over 100 degrees. The Iraqi watermelons look like big dragon eggs hidden among the leaves, because they have whitish green skin.
The duds this year are my popcorn and beans. The popcorn grew great, but the bugs got almost all of it just before harvest. Kind of sad, kind of impressed, that the popcorn was the singular bug problem crop this year, since I grow heirloom stuff and don't use any sprays. This area has really fierce and dense bug populations, is all I'll say. The bean varieties still have beautiful green vines and lush foliage, but as soon as the temperatures kept going over 90 degrees back in early June, they stopped producing flowers and pods. I think they're waiting for the heat to die down before starting to flower again. Kind of surprised me, because they're from fairly hot areas, but I guess not this hot during summers. I'll probably do another bean with Cherokee or Ozark in the name again next year, since they seem extremely hardy for producing all summer long here, and maybe a Thai or Carribean or African type as a test variety.
Mostly I think I'm going to have to learn more about food preservation, since DH wants to expand the garden even more next year (He's saying it should be 4x as big as currently. I think there's going to be a lot of waste if it gets that big, unless I set up a produce stand by the road or something). I froze a lot of produce this year, but our freezer isn't big, which is why DH is giving away most of the vegetables and will probably have to give away some melons. I've bought some beginning canning stuff today to learn how to can tomatoes as they keep coming in, and maybe next year I'll get or make a food dehydrator, since I think next year will be a bigger year for trying out peppers for DH and garlic for me. I'll see about making pepper and garlic powders. We'll see how it goes anyway. I've never canned before, but it seems logical enough, just gotta be careful to read all the tips and follow the directions. *knocks on wood* I'm starting with tomatoes because from what I can tell they're acidic and thus probably one of the easiest and safest to start with.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jul 24, 2016 20:04:06 GMT -5
Does anyone here grow dill? I bought some plants earlier and they died off quickly. Then I just got a replacement one Saturday, but I just went to go check on my plants and all the stalks are bent/falling over and not standing upright! This is kinda what happened last time. Any idea how to keep it alive? I kinda just put a loose string around them now keeping them at least most of the way upright in case that bend keeps the top of the plant from getting water or something. Dill is like my favorite herb and I really want to have some in my garden!
Thanks for any advice.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Jul 24, 2016 21:30:56 GMT -5
I've never grown dill but plenty of cilantro basil and oregano. They seem to do best when I have them closer to the house so they only get morning sun. Even with that I'm watering them twice a day. Lately, the cilantro is not looking as good, but I've been eating bunches of herbs all summer. I've got them in pots approx 12 inch in size. I don't have much luck growing them in the ground.
I've got more cherry tomatoes and jalapeños than we can eat.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jul 24, 2016 21:42:12 GMT -5
I haven't had much of an issue with my basil which is right next to the dill. My patio faces north so it doesn't get a ton of sun, but it might be on the side that gets the afternoon sun so I'll move it and see if that helps. I have basil on both sides that are good.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 24, 2016 21:42:33 GMT -5
I've never grown dill but plenty of cilantro basil and oregano. They seem to do best when I have them closer to the house so they only get morning sun. Even with that I'm watering them twice a day. Lately, the cilantro is not looking as good, but I've been eating bunches of herbs all summer. I've got them in pots approx 12 inch in size. I don't have much luck growing them in the ground. I've got more cherry tomatoes and jalapeños than we can eat. The dill plants will develop their seeds at the top of the plant. When they are dry, you can pull the dill seeds off with you fingers and scatter them next spring. If you have seed heads already, you may just get a second round of seeds. Often if the seeds fall on the ground they will over winter in some areas (like where I live) and sprout next spring. The volunteer very well. Dill is a host plant for black swallowtail butterflies-the reason why I grow it..
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justme
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Post by justme on Jul 24, 2016 21:45:36 GMT -5
I've never grown dill but plenty of cilantro basil and oregano. They seem to do best when I have them closer to the house so they only get morning sun. Even with that I'm watering them twice a day. Lately, the cilantro is not looking as good, but I've been eating bunches of herbs all summer. I've got them in pots approx 12 inch in size. I don't have much luck growing them in the ground. I've got more cherry tomatoes and jalapeños than we can eat. The dill plants will develop their seeds at the top of the plant. When they are dry, you can pull the dill seeds off with you fingers and scatter them next spring. If you have seed heads already, you may just get a second round of seeds. Often if the seeds fall on the ground they will over winter in some areas (like where I live) and sprout next spring. The volunteer very well. Yea most of what I saw online was talking about in the ground, which mine aren't. Also in Florida so I don't think they'll die on the winter? I recently bought a grow light cuz last year I had a stretch I had to bring all my plants in and the light through my patio doors wasn't enough to keep em alive cuz it faces north.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 24, 2016 21:48:47 GMT -5
The dill plants will develop their seeds at the top of the plant. When they are dry, you can pull the dill seeds off with you fingers and scatter them next spring. If you have seed heads already, you may just get a second round of seeds. Often if the seeds fall on the ground they will over winter in some areas (like where I live) and sprout next spring. The volunteer very well. Yea most of what I saw online was talking about in the ground, which mine aren't. Also in Florida so I don't think they'll die on the winter? I recently bought a grow light cuz last year I had a stretch I had to bring all my plants in and the light through my patio doors wasn't enough to keep em alive cuz it faces north. Wilting and falling over is due to lack of water. You have them in pots I believe and the pots are drying out too quickly.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 24, 2016 21:51:59 GMT -5
You also might want to move the dill plants to the east side of the house. The west side is the hottest side (considered full-sun). Hopefully they will thrive with part-sun (morning sun/east side of the house).
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justme
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Post by justme on Jul 24, 2016 21:53:05 GMT -5
Yea most of what I saw online was talking about in the ground, which mine aren't. Also in Florida so I don't think they'll die on the winter? I recently bought a grow light cuz last year I had a stretch I had to bring all my plants in and the light through my patio doors wasn't enough to keep em alive cuz it faces north. Wilting and falling over is due to lack of water. You have them in pots I believe and the pots are drying out too quickly. Ok, I'll try more water. I swear I never know if I'm drowning my plants or starving them of water.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 24, 2016 21:56:31 GMT -5
Wilting and falling over is due to lack of water. You have them in pots I believe and the pots are drying out too quickly. Ok, I'll try more water. I swear I never know if I'm drowning my plants or starving them of water. If the pots are sitting in saucers, take them out of the saucers when you water them. The water will wet all the soil and any excess will drain out of them while they sit outside their saucers.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 24, 2016 21:59:37 GMT -5
Also-because they are in pots, give them a little bit of plant food now and then. Watering the plants in pots flushes out what little nutrients are in the pot soil.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jul 24, 2016 22:04:53 GMT -5
Thanks! Any thoughts on those sticks or the food you put in water or some other type of food?
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 24, 2016 22:24:48 GMT -5
Thanks! Any thoughts on those sticks or the food you put in water or some other type of food? If it is something like this, I don't see the harm. It says it is for (indoor) houseplants but I don't see why you couldn't use it on your outdoor potted plants. But make sure you don't get ones that contain insect control and fertilizer if you want to attract butterflies. Change the spike every week as watering the pot will flush out the fertilizer from the stick pretty quick.
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Jul 25, 2016 7:12:17 GMT -5
I've got figs coming in now! I bid on and won a fig tree at the 4H auction this spring and it got really big and put out a bunch of little figs. I wasn't sure if they would ripen, but it looks like they are! They're pretty small, light brown with a pink center and really sweet. I'll have to see how many I get to try and use them up.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jul 25, 2016 7:55:26 GMT -5
Thanks! Any thoughts on those sticks or the food you put in water or some other type of food? If it is something like this, I don't see the harm. It says it is for (indoor) houseplants but I don't see why you couldn't use it on your outdoor potted plants. But make sure you don't get ones that contain insect control and fertilizer if you want to attract butterflies. Change the spike every week as watering the pot will flush out the fertilizer from the stick pretty quick. Be careful with the fertilizer. I started putting a little bit of the liquid fertilizer into the watering can when I watered the plants on my front porch. My begonias started putting out the most bizarre leaves - kind of like umbrellas on tall spikes. I had to put the pots on the front yard and over water them with a garden hose to flush out the excess fertilizer. After that, they started making normal begonia leaves.
The spikes should be better though - they're designed to dissolve at a certain rate so that should prevent over fertilization. I got a little fertilizer happy thinking if a little is good, more is better.
Harvested the potatoes - it's so freaking hot the plants have died back. I don't recall a summer with this many 90 degree days and, at the same time, no rain. Having to run the sprinklers to keep the flowers/shrubs from dying, but even with that, I expect to lose some, and some grass, too. Terrible year. Maybe I need a water free yard like they have in the south west - some cacti and pebbles or sand....
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 25, 2016 8:42:21 GMT -5
If it is something like this, I don't see the harm. It says it is for (indoor) houseplants but I don't see why you couldn't use it on your outdoor potted plants. But make sure you don't get ones that contain insect control and fertilizer if you want to attract butterflies. Change the spike every week as watering the pot will flush out the fertilizer from the stick pretty quick. Be careful with the fertilizer. I started putting a little bit of the liquid fertilizer into the watering can when I watered the plants on my front porch. My begonias started putting out the most bizarre leaves - kind of like umbrellas on tall spikes. I had to put the pots on the front yard and over water them with a garden hose to flush out the excess fertilizer. After that, they started making normal begonia leaves.
The spikes should be better though - they're designed to dissolve at a certain rate so that should prevent over fertilization. I got a little fertilizer happy thinking if a little is good, more is better.
Harvested the potatoes - it's so freaking hot the plants have died back. I don't recall a summer with this many 90 degree days and, at the same time, no rain. Having to run the sprinklers to keep the flowers/shrubs from dying, but even with that, I expect to lose some, and some grass, too. Terrible year. Maybe I need a water free yard like they have in the south west - some cacti and pebbles or sand....
Nuclear fallout-enhanced fertilizer mutants?
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Jul 25, 2016 22:58:55 GMT -5
Yea most of what I saw online was talking about in the ground, which mine aren't. Also in Florida so I don't think they'll die on the winter? I recently bought a grow light cuz last year I had a stretch I had to bring all my plants in and the light through my patio doors wasn't enough to keep em alive cuz it faces north. Wilting and falling over is due to lack of water. You have them in pots I believe and the pots are drying out too quickly. That's what I was thinking too, since I'm having to water my herbs twice a day now and they aren't even getting sun all day. I'm in Indiana, so I'm sure Florida and Tennessee are hotter than here.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Jul 25, 2016 23:04:20 GMT -5
I'm trying to grow some potatoes this year, not sure how it's gonna work out. Lots of leaves but so far I'm not seeing any taters.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2016 0:34:03 GMT -5
I'm trying to grow some potatoes this year, not sure how it's gonna work out. Lots of leaves but so far I'm not seeing any taters. Pssst..the taters grow in the dirt, not on the stem. you have to dig them up. But you knew that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2016 5:10:40 GMT -5
Having a hard time keeping up with water. So hot here. And dry. I have pumpkins oranging... In July! And my zuch are barely producing. Tomatoes, peppers, kohlrabi doing well though.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jul 26, 2016 10:27:29 GMT -5
Be careful with the fertilizer. I started putting a little bit of the liquid fertilizer into the watering can when I watered the plants on my front porch. My begonias started putting out the most bizarre leaves - kind of like umbrellas on tall spikes. I had to put the pots on the front yard and over water them with a garden hose to flush out the excess fertilizer. After that, they started making normal begonia leaves.
The spikes should be better though - they're designed to dissolve at a certain rate so that should prevent over fertilization. I got a little fertilizer happy thinking if a little is good, more is better.
Harvested the potatoes - it's so freaking hot the plants have died back. I don't recall a summer with this many 90 degree days and, at the same time, no rain. Having to run the sprinklers to keep the flowers/shrubs from dying, but even with that, I expect to lose some, and some grass, too. Terrible year. Maybe I need a water free yard like they have in the south west - some cacti and pebbles or sand....
Nuclear fallout-enhanced fertilizer mutants? They looked like Dr Seuss plants. Like umbrellas, but their ends curved inwards. Nothing like they were supposed to At ALL.
I'm a plant torturer.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jul 26, 2016 10:35:30 GMT -5
I'm trying to grow some potatoes this year, not sure how it's gonna work out. Lots of leaves but so far I'm not seeing any taters. I had some in my raised beds, which have a drip hose that runs every morning for about an hour, and the kennebecs produced really well. Nice big potatoes. The Desoto reds did ok, not as well as the Kennebecs. It's been so blindingly hot here, the vegetation died back earlier than usual so I went ahead and dug them, then planted back lima beans, which the Mexican bean beetles are enjoying.
I also planted some in two potato bags which I THOUGHT were getting a daily watering from a different drip line but turns out, there wasn't enough water pressure. I tried a variety of changes and then finally went with a regular sprinkler, but due to being robbed of a regular watering for half their growing period, they didn't do as well. Smaller potatoes and fewer of them. Next year I think I'll drag the potato bags into a spot that gets more shade and I'll be sure to water them religiously - potatoes like water.
It doesn't help that we've got a serious drought going and weeks of 90 degree plus temps. We've had some forest fires around here, which is unusual for us. Walking across the grass is like walking over the bristles of a broom. Can't wait for fall so we can get past this scorching summer.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Jul 26, 2016 10:53:44 GMT -5
All I've harvested so far is a good crop of lettuce and spinach (should have planted more!!), a good crop of beans, and herbs. My peas never took. I have a TON of green tomatoes of various varieties but nothing is ripening. A handful of cherry tomatoes starting to turn to ripe were stolen by my resident chipmunk, Chippie. Any recommendations for netting to keep him off of the plants? I don't want him to get caught in the net and strangle, but I don't want to share, either. As for growing conditions, we too are in the throes of a rather severe drought for these parts. Watering is highly restricted. The grass will likely go brown (oh well, carefully maintained and manicured lawns are not necessarily earth-friendly, anyway). Lucky for me, though, the weeds though are clearly the drought-tolerant variety.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Jul 26, 2016 11:16:10 GMT -5
I bought a kind of soft netting from Gardener's Supply that I used around my raised beds to keep the bunnies from eating my carrot tops last year. It did good. My carrots didn't come up this year so I didn't bother to put up the netting and the bunnies got two low hanging tomatoes. Be careful not to mow over it, though - winds around the mower blade pretty well (ask my DH). www.gardeners.com/buy/rabbit-and-pest-fence/8586794.html It works for rabbits, not sure if chipmunks can climb?
You have to plant peas in February around here, I waited until March and we had such an early and hot summer that they died back before they made very many peas. Unfortunately, because I love peas. I'll have to make sure to get out early next year.
I've tried to find a pea variety that tolerates hot weather, but I don't think there is such a thing. U of Georgia suggests planting pinto beans instead. Yuck.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Jul 26, 2016 12:26:20 GMT -5
Oh I know potatoes grow from the roots, but I was just poking around in the dirt to see if I could find any and of course there were none. I've got them in a big half whiskey barrel kind of pot, not sure if it's big enough or not. I'll let them keep growing and see what I get.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Jul 26, 2016 12:35:43 GMT -5
I'm still trying to figure out how to get my onions to grow big and fat, too.
I had a bunch of sugar snap peas a while back and they were yummy.
I'm actually a pretty good gardener. I'm trying a few new things this year and the dirt at this house it terrible. My flower beds have pretty much always been the envy of the neighborhood. I haven't planted much here, though, too lazy lol.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jul 26, 2016 12:54:46 GMT -5
Wilting and falling over is due to lack of water. You have them in pots I believe and the pots are drying out too quickly. That's what I was thinking too, since I'm having to water my herbs twice a day now and they aren't even getting sun all day. I'm in Indiana, so I'm sure Florida and Tennessee are hotter than here. Would I be correct in assuming your herbs are potted in clay pots? If yes, there is part of your problem in having to water then twice a day. Clay posts are pretty but are poor holders of water.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jul 26, 2016 13:05:43 GMT -5
I bought a kind of soft netting from Gardener's Supply that I used around my raised beds to keep the bunnies from eating my carrot tops last year. It did good. My carrots didn't come up this year so I didn't bother to put up the netting and the bunnies got two low hanging tomatoes. Be careful not to mow over it, though - winds around the mower blade pretty well (ask my DH). www.gardeners.com/buy/rabbit-and-pest-fence/8586794.html It works for rabbits, not sure if chipmunks can climb?
You have to plant peas in February around here, I waited until March and we had such an early and hot summer that they died back before they made very many peas. Unfortunately, because I love peas. I'll have to make sure to get out early next year.
I've tried to find a pea variety that tolerates hot weather, but I don't think there is such a thing. U of Georgia suggests planting pinto beans instead. Yuck.
Oh chipmunks climb. Boy do they climb. They climb up my parents screen porch in order to launch themselves at the bird feeders three feet from the screen. Half my entertainment when I visit there is the ongoing chipmunk vs human struggle over bird seed. With the chipmunk often winning. Which is saying something for the almost two decade struggle...I don't think they live that long so the must be passing down the knowledge to the next generation.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Jul 26, 2016 13:11:29 GMT -5
That's what I was thinking too, since I'm having to water my herbs twice a day now and they aren't even getting sun all day. I'm in Indiana, so I'm sure Florida and Tennessee are hotter than here. Would I be correct in assuming your herbs are potted in clay pots? If yes, there is part of your problem in having to water then twice a day. Clay posts are pretty but are poor holders of water. No the pots are a double-walled plastic with small drainage holes in the bottom. I may have to move them to a shadier spot, but I'd like them to still get some sun. It's been pretty hot lately.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 3:38:27 GMT -5
All I've harvested so far is a good crop of lettuce and spinach (should have planted more!!), a good crop of beans, and herbs. My peas never took. I have a TON of green tomatoes of various varieties but nothing is ripening. A handful of cherry tomatoes starting to turn to ripe were stolen by my resident chipmunk, Chippie. Any recommendations for netting to keep him off of the plants? I don't want him to get caught in the net and strangle, but I don't want to share, either. As for growing conditions, we too are in the throes of a rather severe drought for these parts. Watering is highly restricted. The grass will likely go brown (oh well, carefully maintained and manicured lawns are not necessarily earth-friendly, anyway). Lucky for me, though, the weeds though are clearly the drought-tolerant variety. Likely? My grass is crunchy. I finally mowed the yard last week and the crunching was a bit disturbing. Of course, the lovely new grass seed the town threw down after repaving the streets a couple months ago and replacing the curbs turned out to be the same weedy shit they dumped in my yard 2 years ago when they replaced some gas pipes. I do grow a mean crop of weeds. Grass? No.
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