Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2022 20:10:34 GMT -5
I believe I could make a salad out of my Aerogarden. Day 20. I had one that didn't sprout, so replanted and now it's finally growing. Ooooh! I’d love to be able to go in my kitchen or on my deck and pick salad greens. I like the grow lamp I bought for my tomato seedlings, and I’ve not used it since I transplanted the seedlings outside. I’ll need it for my little lemon tree when I bring it back inside for the winter. But even then, it’s a floor lamp and can shine light on more than one plant. I still have 2 empty grow bags, plus I can grow stuff indoors now, with the grow lamp. I guess I need to start trying to figure out what’s next. Oh, and I forgot about the frames for raised beds that Mister bought for me. I need to be trying to figure out a plan for them when the weather starts cooling down. If I knew what I was doing, I’d be growing spinach, kale, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, onions, and salad, turnip, mustard and collard greens. Those are the vegetables we buy and use the most consistently. All my growbags have little “pockets” to retrieve root vegetables from the bottom of the bags. I was “thinking ahead” when I bought them lol. But learning how and when to do all of that is kind of overwhelming, so I’m stuck at tomatoes right now.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2022 20:24:58 GMT -5
Heat index 100 to 110 the next few days, probably no rain. Even the weeds are wilted and gasping. Glad I have sprinklers set up with the flower patch and veggie patch. I only have to turn the faucet on. DH isn’t aware of it yet but he will be hand watering the pots on the porch tomorrow AM before it gets so hot your bones start to liquify. Bunch of green tomatoes of all sizes but not a single one even starting to pink up. Just getting slowly fatter out there in the sauna. Just remembered one of my six plants have chocolate colored tomatoes. Curious to see how they ripen. Heat index of 110 here yesterday and today, so I feel you! It’s been so hot and muggy here that it feels like what I imagine trying to breathe through a thin, hot, wet blanket might feel like. Summer has always been my favorite time of year, but I just can’t handle it anymore like I use to. We have sprinklers, but they are stationary. We have to hook them up to run them. Mister doesn’t know it yet either, but he is on early morning tomato watering duty until further notice. I have tomatoes from pea size to the mutant. None of the others are anywhere near as big as the mutant, but some of them are close to a reasonable size that I might expect to see at a grocery store. I’ve read that they won’t ripen in this kind of weather, which is forecast to be at least until next Wednesday, when it’s forecast to be 99 degrees. Does that mean my tomato plants will press pause on everything related to their fruits, and just focus on survival until it cools down some? That’s what I got out of everything I’ve read. What if it doesn’t cool down anytime soon? I think it’s a little early for it to be this hot. The weather has gotten so crazy, and it’s messing with me tryna grow stuff!
|
|
CCL
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:34:47 GMT -5
Posts: 7,603
|
Post by CCL on Jun 13, 2022 20:30:19 GMT -5
I've heard before that tomatoes won't set fruit when the weather gets hot. I haven't found that to be true. August is when mine really start producing tomatoes and it's often in the 90s.
|
|
CCL
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:34:47 GMT -5
Posts: 7,603
|
Post by CCL on Jun 13, 2022 20:33:58 GMT -5
I believe I could make a salad out of my Aerogarden. Day 20. I had one that didn't sprout, so replanted and now it's finally growing. [br You either don’t have a cat or this is in its own room because my cat would have decimated this. Probably wouldn’t eat the leaves but she would take the whole thing apart and bit each leaf at least once. It looks lovely- very tasty. No, I don't have a cat. I've got the Aerogarden in the dining room. My indoor herbs are on the breakfast room table, close to the kitchen, so I can snip them off when cooking.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2022 21:22:39 GMT -5
I've heard before that tomatoes won't set fruit when the weather gets hot. I haven't found that to be true. August is when mine really start producing tomatoes and it's often in the 90s. From your fingertips (lips) to God’s eyes (ears). For whatever it is worth, Google searches came up with a few articles saying both varieties I’m growing can tolerate this kind of heat. They aren’t always mentioned in lists of tomatoes that do well in this kind of climate though. But no matter what Google says, it might be different for me anyway. I did go get saucers for the other 2 today. When I checked the plants later this afternoon, just like yesterday, the 2 with saucers did not need water, the 2 without saucers did need water. So all of them have saucers now.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2022 18:12:59 GMT -5
Mister watered the tomatoes for me yesterday morning and this morning. Both days, they didn’t need water when I got home from work. I’m assuming because of the saucers under them. The temperature got up to 100 today. Thank you bookkeeper and the other posters that encouraged me to use the saucers. But what did need water when I got home today was my little lemon tree. The leaves on it were curled, cupped, whatever. So I got my handy dandy little moisture meter and it said the lemon tree needed water. It didn’t take long for it to look better after I watered it. The weather forecast is showing that Sunday will have a high temp of 89*. After that, it will be back in the upper 90’s for several days. GOOD GRIEF! I barely know how to keep ME alive and okay in this kind of heat, let alone my plants.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 7:55:12 GMT -5
Yesterday was a good day in the garden. I have a couple of baby tomatoes (Better Boy) although a friend tells me they'll get snatched by one of the critters JUST before they're ready to pick.
I'd been feeling somewhat guilty about not putting out the hummingbird feeders this year and I saw a ruby-throated hummingbird happily feeding on the lamb's ear. That stuff is so prolific I have to keep pulling it out when it spreads so there's plenty for the hummingbirds. I'd transplanted a small hydrangea that was overshadowed by two much larger bushes and put it on the other side of the house and it has beautiful purple blooms. I'll have to put more hydrangeas there- I have hostas but it's hard to get new ones started because the deer eat them.
And I spent $100 on bird seed. Yeah, bird seed. I just checked- I'm spending that every month, mostly for 2 25-lb. bags and then maybe a seed cake or two.
|
|
NomoreDramaQ1015
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:26:32 GMT -5
Posts: 47,296
Member is Online
|
Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jun 18, 2022 9:09:54 GMT -5
Stupid storms killed my bee balm. I came out to brown mushy leaves.
There was some new growth so I trimmed it all down to the new shoots. We'll see if it survives.
Everything else is thriving.
I got wax beans coming up in my vegetable garden I was pretty excited about that.
|
|
ken a.k.a OMK
Senior Associate
They killed Kenny, the bastards.
Joined: Dec 21, 2010 14:39:20 GMT -5
Posts: 14,115
Location: Maryland
|
Post by ken a.k.a OMK on Jun 18, 2022 9:33:27 GMT -5
Big winds last night knocked over my tomato cages. I forgot to stake them. I found bright yellow aphids on my butterfly weed. Just rub them off with my fingers.
|
|
NomoreDramaQ1015
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:26:32 GMT -5
Posts: 47,296
Member is Online
|
Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Jun 18, 2022 12:03:46 GMT -5
Sage and lime Basil are trying to die too. I dug them up and put them in a little box in the sun so the roots can dry and I'll replace the water logged soil.
|
|
azucena
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2011 13:23:14 GMT -5
Posts: 5,285
|
Post by azucena on Jun 18, 2022 12:42:53 GMT -5
Went outside to weed and trim. Lasted an hour even though it's "only" 83. So sweaty. Will have to try again this evening.
Wind knocked down butterfly bush. Will leave it a few days to see if I need to cut it back.
|
|
cooper88
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jan 21, 2022 19:24:20 GMT -5
Posts: 1,250
|
Post by cooper88 on Jun 18, 2022 13:06:38 GMT -5
I got three nice glazed pots at an estate sale for $1 each. I'm also getting my first ripe pepper and possibly tomato today.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 15:47:09 GMT -5
The mutant tomato is starting to ripen!
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 15:56:19 GMT -5
The mutant tomato is starting to ripen! good looking tomato!
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 16:08:35 GMT -5
Honestly, the mutant tomato looks kind of strange to me. Mister thinks so too, yesterday he said he’s not eating that one. I’d been thinking that myself lol. None of the others have those ridges or whatever the correct word is, and none of the others as even close to that big. That’s why I call it the mutant.
|
|
weltschmerz
Community Leader
Joined: Jul 25, 2011 13:37:39 GMT -5
Posts: 38,962
|
Post by weltschmerz on Jun 18, 2022 16:21:44 GMT -5
The ridges are due to low temperatures. There's nothing wrong with that tomato.
|
|
CCL
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:34:47 GMT -5
Posts: 7,603
|
Post by CCL on Jun 18, 2022 16:25:53 GMT -5
I agree. There's nothing wrong with that tomato. It may turn out to be they tastiest one you've ever eaten. If you grow heirloom varieties, many of them will look like that. Pink I saw this the other day about mutant tomatoes. www.ruralsprout.com/tomato-megablooms/
|
|
CCL
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:34:47 GMT -5
Posts: 7,603
|
Post by CCL on Jun 18, 2022 16:38:38 GMT -5
|
|
NoNamePerson
Distinguished Associate
Is There Anybody OUT There?
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 17:03:17 GMT -5
Posts: 25,740
Location: WITNESS PROTECTION
|
Post by NoNamePerson on Jun 18, 2022 16:50:58 GMT -5
I went early this morning and picked 20 heirloom tomatoes from son's garden. I plant at least two different ones spring and fall. I love heirloom tomatoes and they run $3.99 to $4.99 lb. in store so I'm a happy camper when I can plant and harvest my own.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 17:02:19 GMT -5
that's exactly what the fancy ones at Whole Paycheck for $5.99/lb look like
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 17:04:02 GMT -5
That’s why I love it here, y’all are so smart! Between weltschmerz and the article CCL provided a link to, it makes sense why the mutant looks the way it does. Welts, I don’t know if you were reading this thread when I said why I call the plant the mutant is on, the mistreated plant. I was transplanting the seedling into its new home in a grow bag, with the intention of bringing it back inside until it was warm enough to put it outside. But as I was preparing the soil, I saw there were bugs in my compost, after I’d already started filling the grow bag. Sooooo, you know me, I wasn’t bringing that inside my house. So I left the seedling outside even though it wasn’t warm enough yet. That is how I mistreated it. And that was the very first tomato to start growing, so I didn’t know what the flowers should look like or anything, so it’s entirely possible that it was a mega bloom, like in the article. I’m not kidding when I say it grew from pea size to almost as big as my fist in ONE week. That one is a Celebrity, I have 2 of those, and 2 Better Boys, both hybrids. I figured it was safer to start with hybrids that were “bred” to have resistance to some of the diseases tomato plants are prone to, since I don’t know what I’m doing.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 17:06:15 GMT -5
that's exactly what the fancy ones at Whole Paycheck for $5.99/lb look like Please don’t give me any ideas! LOL!
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 17:15:17 GMT -5
I have yet another question. The fan I use on the deck has a misting function. I tried it a couple of times when I first bought the fan, but the “misting” function is more like a “drenching” function, so I just never used that anymore. Mister just hooked it up to the water hose to try the misting function again, and moved the fan farther away from the seating area. Maybe because it’s so darn hot, it doesn’t seem so bad right now. It’s definitely cooler than just using the fan. BUT, it’s also misting 2 of my tomato plants and I know it’s a bad idea for the leaves to be wet overnight. Mister suggests that I turn the misting part off once it starts to cool down outside, but keep the fan on (of course, if Imma be out here) and maybe the fan will help dry the leaves. What do you all think, am I asking for trouble? It is currently 94* and the forecast says it will start cooling down in about an hour.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 18:04:16 GMT -5
I had a double gardening day. We had a "work day" at church and only a small nucleus of diehards showed up. To be fair, the number of members who can come out and do yard work in 90+ heat is diminishing. We have a Memorial Garden back by our columbarium and the ladies who first designed and planted it swore they'd maintain it forever and ever, Amen. One is in Assisted Living, one has had hip replacements, one has Parkinson's.... the weeds live on. I spread a lot of mulch.
Came home, took a nap, vegetated and then went out to my own yard and used my Texas Chainsaw-type Stihl to prune off some bushes and a maple tree. I love that thing. It was replacement for a wimpy plastic thing DH and I had that died. Should have gotten one years ago. Next week I'll probably have 5 bags of yard waste in total and will drive them to a place where I can empty the bags for $1 each and they compost everything and sell it as mulch. Win-win.
|
|
saveinla
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 2:00:29 GMT -5
Posts: 5,232
|
Post by saveinla on Jun 18, 2022 18:31:55 GMT -5
The mutant tomato is starting to ripen! It looks like one of the expensive heirloom tomatoes that we pay through the nose from the farmers market.
|
|
weltschmerz
Community Leader
Joined: Jul 25, 2011 13:37:39 GMT -5
Posts: 38,962
|
Post by weltschmerz on Jun 18, 2022 18:52:34 GMT -5
That’s why I love it here, y’all are so smart! Between weltschmerz and the article CCL provided a link to, it makes sense why the mutant looks the way it does. Welts, I don’t know if you were reading this thread when I said why I call the plant the mutant is on, the mistreated plant. I was transplanting the seedling into its new home in a grow bag, with the intention of bringing it back inside until it was warm enough to put it outside. But as I was preparing the soil, I saw there were bugs in my compost, after I’d already started filling the grow bag. Sooooo, you know me, I wasn’t bringing that inside my house. So I left the seedling outside even though it wasn’t warm enough yet. That is how I mistreated it. And that was the very first tomato to start growing, so I didn’t know what the flowers should look like or anything, so it’s entirely possible that it was a mega bloom, like in the article. I’m not kidding when I say it grew from pea size to almost as big as my fist in ONE week. That one is a Celebrity, I have 2 of those, and 2 Better Boys, both hybrids. I figured it was safer to start with hybrids that were “bred” to have resistance to some of the diseases tomato plants are prone to, since I don’t know what I’m doing. Well, there ya go! You left it in the cold. Ergo, the ridges. Are you going to eat it now? It would be a shame not to.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 19:13:20 GMT -5
That’s why I love it here, y’all are so smart! Between weltschmerz and the article CCL provided a link to, it makes sense why the mutant looks the way it does. Welts, I don’t know if you were reading this thread when I said why I call the plant the mutant is on, the mistreated plant. I was transplanting the seedling into its new home in a grow bag, with the intention of bringing it back inside until it was warm enough to put it outside. But as I was preparing the soil, I saw there were bugs in my compost, after I’d already started filling the grow bag. Sooooo, you know me, I wasn’t bringing that inside my house. So I left the seedling outside even though it wasn’t warm enough yet. That is how I mistreated it. And that was the very first tomato to start growing, so I didn’t know what the flowers should look like or anything, so it’s entirely possible that it was a mega bloom, like in the article. I’m not kidding when I say it grew from pea size to almost as big as my fist in ONE week. That one is a Celebrity, I have 2 of those, and 2 Better Boys, both hybrids. I figured it was safer to start with hybrids that were “bred” to have resistance to some of the diseases tomato plants are prone to, since I don’t know what I’m doing. Well, there ya go! You left it in the cold. Ergo, the ridges. Are you going to eat it now? It would be a shame not to. Uhhhhh….. I prefer to let someone that really likes tomatoes try it. But if I can’t give it away, I will see what it tastes like.
|
|
CCL
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:34:47 GMT -5
Posts: 7,603
|
Gardening
Jun 18, 2022 19:13:52 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by CCL on Jun 18, 2022 19:13:52 GMT -5
I have yet another question. The fan I use on the deck has a misting function. I tried it a couple of times when I first bought the fan, but the “misting” function is more like a “drenching” function, so I just never used that anymore. Mister just hooked it up to the water hose to try the misting function again, and moved the fan farther away from the seating area. Maybe because it’s so darn hot, it doesn’t seem so bad right now. It’s definitely cooler than just using the fan. BUT, it’s also misting 2 of my tomato plants and I know it’s a bad idea for the leaves to be wet overnight. Mister suggests that I turn the misting part off once it starts to cool down outside, but keep the fan on (of course, if Imma be out here) and maybe the fan will help dry the leaves. What do you all think, am I asking for trouble? It is currently 94* and the forecast says it will start cooling down in about an hour. You could always move the tomato over a bit so it doesn't get wet. Other than that, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to my veggies. I water them whenever I think they need it and don't worry what time of day it is. YMMV.
|
|
CCL
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 19:34:47 GMT -5
Posts: 7,603
|
Gardening
Jun 18, 2022 19:16:30 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by CCL on Jun 18, 2022 19:16:30 GMT -5
Well, there ya go! You left it in the cold. Ergo, the ridges. Are you going to eat it now? It would be a shame not to. Uhhhhh….. I prefer to let someone that really likes tomatoes try it. But if I can’t give it away, I will see what it tastes like. No, you need to eat it. It will be yummy!
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 12, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 19:24:56 GMT -5
I’ve sent DD text messages of my tomato plants from the beginning, so she could show DGD1. Today she text me back saying don’t eat that one, because it’s WAYYYY too big, something MUST be wrong with it..
|
|