Gardening

[greenthumb59]

It's so humid this morning!  You walk outside and the sweat just pops right out of you!

I killed a couple more squash bugs this morning.  My garden is honestly kind of sad this year.  We were just gone too much back in April and May.  And it has rained a lot. 

I do have a few tomatoes getting ripe, and my baby pumpkin vines have some pumpkins on them.  The pumpkins also have the squash bugs - I don't actually have any yellow or zucchini squash growing right now.  I'm working on getting some started from seed.

It's thundering a little right now.

[jerseygirl]

Remember something about spraying weeds with - vinegar? Anything else added? Salt?
I have weeds growing under my deck (6’ off ground ), area has gravel but over the years weeds are growing., not a lot but individual weeds. I want them gone but not with anything toxic.

Also hired a young guy to remove sticker bushes from around our propane tank. Also further down around the electric meter. They’re at side of house that we never use .The bushes grew to about 4’ high . Guessing he can cut down but they’ll grow back. Do you think spraying with the non toxic will get rid of these from regrowing? Propane is used by our generator and guy complained last time he wouldn’t come back unless we removed .

[Tennesseer]

Jun 9, 2024 15:03:51 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Remember something about spraying weeds with - vinegar? Anything else added? Salt?
I have weeds growing under my deck (6’ off ground ), area has gravel but over the years weeds are growing., not a lot but individual weeds. I want them gone but not with anything toxic.

Also hired a young guy to remove sticker bushes from around our propane tank. Also further down around the electric meter. They’re at side of house that we never use .The bushes grew to about 4’ high . Guessing he can cut down but they’ll grow back. Do you think spraying with the non toxic will get rid of these from regrowing? Propane is used by our generator and guy complained last time he wouldn’t come back unless we removed .

Not sure if you use like salad vinegar or not. But I have had very good results using 30 or 33% vinegar and that is it. You will find it at big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot oi n the cleaner section. Comes in like a gallon container.

[Pink Cashmere]

Jun 9, 2024 10:27:51 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Cukes and cantaloupe have sprouted. I have multiple tiny green tomatoes. Daylillies are riotous. So are the weeds. And the hot/humid season has begun.

I have about 6 San Marzano babies now, and a couple of Roma babies. Once they appear, they grow FAST. Well, so far. 

The cutting from the SM that I stuck in water last week, has roots! It didn’t have any visible roots when I looked everything over before went to work this morning, but when I went out after I got back home, they were there. YAY!

I stuck it in a container my Grandmother gave me with something or another growing in it, probably when I was a teenager. It’s clear and has Tropicana printed on it, but the shape makes it like a vase and the size was perfect for the tomato cutting. I’ve kept it all these years for whatever reason, and now I’ve actually rooted something in it.

I’ve read that the cutting should take off faster than a seedling once I put it in soil. I hope so, since I’m so late with everything this year.

[happyhoix]

Jun 9, 2024 15:03:51 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Remember something about spraying weeds with - vinegar? Anything else added? Salt?
I have weeds growing under my deck (6’ off ground ), area has gravel but over the years weeds are growing., not a lot but individual weeds. I want them gone but not with anything toxic.

Also hired a young guy to remove sticker bushes from around our propane tank. Also further down around the electric meter. They’re at side of house that we never use .The bushes grew to about 4’ high . Guessing he can cut down but they’ll grow back. Do you think spraying with the non toxic will get rid of these from regrowing? Propane is used by our generator and guy complained last time he wouldn’t come back unless we removed .

I got tired of cutting back the wild blackberry bushes every year from my bed with rug junipers in it. The blackberries grow by spreading their roots out and then popping up everywhere. Cut them every year, they came back. Every one. Then someone - I think Tenn? Mentioned Fertilome Brush Killer. I was afraid I would kill off the junipers along with the blackberries so this time, when I cut them back, I left them sticking up about six inches from the junipers around it, and using a wide throat plastic syringe to squirt the concentrated brush killer onto the stump. I left the stumps there and watched next spring and none of the plants I treated with the brush killer came back. 

I’ve got about half the bed under control but always seem to run out of winter time (the best time to clear out the blackberries because I have to wear scratch proof sleeves, thick pants, and heavy gloves (they have devious stickers) and the other three seasons down here are too hot to do heavy work with that much clothes on). More to do this fall!!

[Pink Cashmere]

I finally planted some green beans today. Since they are bush beans, I guess it doesn’t really matter that I’ve missed part of the growing season. As soon as I was done, I realized I may have planted too many, too close together, but since I didn’t want to go back and try to find all the beans, I’ll just wait until they sprout and figure out what to remove then.

One of my grow bags is already growing green stuff on the outside of it. YUCK!

[jerseygirl]

So I sprayed weeds with vinegar today.
Do I spray daily?
About when should weeds die? Turn brown? Just wither away?

[CCL]

The are usually brown by the next day. I leave them a couple more days, hoping they'll be completely dead down to the root. Don't usually need to spray those same weeds, but new ones are always popping up.

[Pink Cashmere]

So my very first tomato that grew, had blossom end rot. I saw it this morning and removed it when I came home from work this afternoon.

The grow bags I am using this time, seem to hold a lot more water than I expected. I thought I would need to water a few things this morning, but my handy dandy moisture meter told me no. I’m glad I used it instead of just watering anyway. Especially after I saw that one tomato and knew the issue was probably due to a watering problem. I stuck my finger in the soil (which I’d really rather not do lol) to be sure, and that confirmed that the moisture meter was correct and I did not need to water them.

From reading some more today, it seems that every tomato plant I have, except one, is more likely to get BER than other varieties. Ugh! So now I know that I really need to figure out watering all over again. Sighhhh

[CCL]

Your tomatoes likely need more calcium. Try adding some lime to their soil.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Jun 12, 2024 13:31:09 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

So I sprayed weeds with vinegar today.
Do I spray daily?
About when should weeds die? Turn brown? Just wither away?

i really need to do this. 

[Pink Cashmere]

Jun 13, 2024 17:00:05 GMT -5 CCL said:

Your tomatoes likely need more calcium. Try adding some lime to their soil.

They are all in fresh potting soil, mixed with compost. The first year I tried growing tomatoes, it was with Miracle Grow soil, and no compost, and I didn’t have BER.

I am not doubting you, I am just saying/asking if it’s really likely to be a calcium deficiency with fresh soil that hasn’t been depleted of nutrients. 

That particular plant is in a 20 gallon grow bag. Right after I planted it, we had several days with a lot of rain each day. Then I started watering it, without checking to see if it really needed water. And now I think that the grow bag and volume of soil retains more water than the smaller grow bags I used the first time, and maybe too much water caused the problem. I’ve read that inconsistent and or overwatering can cause BER, and is more likely to be the real cause of BER, because it negatively affects the plant's ability to make use of whatever calcium IS in the soil.

I obviously still don’t know what I’m doing lol. But after explaining further, do you think maybe it was a watering issue, and not so much a calcium deficiency in the soil? 

I do appreciate you trying to help and advise!

[CCL]

Without seeing your grow bags in person, I can't say if it's a watering problem. I just know my tomatoes don't seem to care if the are overwatered, although they are in the ground or in large planters with drainage holes.

The 2 times I had blossom end rot, I cut off all the tomatoes and added lime to my soil and within a week they were healthy again.

When you water, does the soil still feel wet on the surface after a day or 2?

[Pink Cashmere]

Jun 13, 2024 17:33:03 GMT -5 CCL said:

Without seeing your grow bags in person, I can't say if it's a watering problem. I just know my tomatoes don't seem to care if the are overwatered, although they are in the ground or in large planters with drainage holes.

The 2 times I had blossom end rot, I cut off all the tomatoes and added lime to my soil and within a week they were healthy again.

When you water, does the soil still feel wet on the surface after a day or 2?

I only realized a couple days ago that even though the surface in the 20 gallon grow bags “looks” dry, just below the surface is still moist, and it was more moist/wet, further down. That is when I realized they were holding more water than I thought. 

That one grow bag already has green stuff on the outside of it, on the bottom, and it’s not been in use for a whole month yet. Which is another thing that led me to believe it was not drying out as fast as I’d ASSumed it would, and why I figured it was a watering issue when I saw the tomato had BER yesterday. 

Keep in mind, I finally learned a few years ago, that one of the reasons I have a black thumb, is because I tend to kill my plants with “love”, by overwatering.  I thought grow bags would help with my tendency to overwater, but now I think that these grow bags and the amount of soil in them might make it not be so simple lol.

So I am thinking that I should make sure they actually need water, instead of just watering them anyway…… and see if that helps, before I start messing with the soil, because the soil may not be the issue and messing with it unnecessarily could cause even more issues. Does that even make sense?

[CCL]

It sounds like those grow bags need some drainage.

[happyhoix]

Dang it, watered the raised beds earlier in the day because it’s crazy ass hot and not supposed to rain all week.

Then of course, a small thunder cloud passes overhead and rains buckets for about 10 minutes. That was around 3, now I can hear thunder again as we wait for another tiny thunderstorm.

Wasted the tap water.

Not sure why I really need to water, though, because when you step outside it’s as humid as a sauna. You’d think the plants could just sop it up out of the air.

I thought the climate change prediction for my area was that it would rain more, and I was good with that. I like rain. Unfortunately, my area seems to be turning into Florida weather in June - baking hot with nearly daily afternoon thunderstorms.

I’m either going to have to move or get a nice summer cabin in Canada.

[Pink Cashmere]

I took off another tomato with blossom end rot this morning. The weather forecast is constantly changing, one minute it’s going to rain, the next minute it’s going to rain in the next few hours. Or not at all. I’m not sure whether to water my plants or not. 

There are maggots or something in my green beans.  

I didn’t order the more expensive soil I bought last year, and got some Kellogg’s soil from Home Depot. I saw a brown bug in the last container I used it in, just as I was finishing up. Now I need to try to remember which tomatoes I planted with that soil to try to see if there are bugs in it too.

I remember the first year I planted tomatoes, the cheap compost I bought had bugs in it.

I know bugs will get in the plants anyway, but that doesn’t mean I want to buy stuff that already has bugs in it. 

Besides the 2 tomatoes with BER, my tomato plants seem happy. Only the first 2 I planted have fruits, the others are just now starting to flower. 

They are coming to trim the tree tomorrow. My coworkers probably think I’m nuts because sometimes I’m yelling at my phone. When I see squirrels coming off the roof on the cameras, I yell at them through the camera to go away. I know they can still get on the deck after the tree is trimmed, but they need to stay off the roof anyway. Plus, that’s their safest approach, since the dogs can’t reach them. Both dogs hate them and Newbie hunts all small critters except for birds. That’s the only thing she doesn’t chase.

[happyhoix]

Jun 17, 2024 8:45:37 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

I took off another tomato with blossom end rot this morning. The weather forecast is constantly changing, one minute it’s going to rain, the next minute it’s going to rain in the next few hours. Or not at all. I’m not sure whether to water my plants or not. 

There are maggots or something in my green beans.  

I didn’t order the more expensive soil I bought last year, and got some Kellogg’s soil from Home Depot. I saw a brown bug in the last container I used it in, just as I was finishing up. Now I need to try to remember which tomatoes I planted with that soil to try to see if there are bugs in it too.

I remember the first year I planted tomatoes, the cheap compost I bought had bugs in it.

I know bugs will get in the plants anyway, but that doesn’t mean I want to buy stuff that already has bugs in it. 

Besides the 2 tomatoes with BER, my tomato plants seem happy. Only the first 2 I planted have fruits, the others are just now starting to flower. 

They are coming to trim the tree tomorrow. My coworkers probably think I’m nuts because sometimes I’m yelling at my phone. When I see squirrels coming off the roof on the cameras, I yell at them through the camera to go away. I know they can still get on the deck after the tree is trimmed, but they need to stay off the roof anyway. Plus, that’s their safest approach, since the dogs can’t reach them. Both dogs hate them and Newbie hunts all small critters except for birds. That’s the only thing she doesn’t chase.

Are the bugs on your beans fuzzy yellow ones? I used to get them on my green beans so bad that I stopped planting green beans. Best way to deal with them was to squish them with your fingers. So disgusting.

My most magnificent tomato is the one I didn’t plant - it sprouted in my compost bin and found a crack in the side to sprout from. It’s think and full of flowers. The ones I planted are mostly puny, except for two enthusiast ones - but they aren’t as big as the accidental tomato bush.

Wonder if that tomato is from last year’s garden or if it was a composted store bought tomato?

[Pink Cashmere]

Jun 17, 2024 10:27:28 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Jun 17, 2024 8:45:37 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

I took off another tomato with blossom end rot this morning. The weather forecast is constantly changing, one minute it’s going to rain, the next minute it’s going to rain in the next few hours. Or not at all. I’m not sure whether to water my plants or not. 

There are maggots or something in my green beans.  

I didn’t order the more expensive soil I bought last year, and got some Kellogg’s soil from Home Depot. I saw a brown bug in the last container I used it in, just as I was finishing up. Now I need to try to remember which tomatoes I planted with that soil to try to see if there are bugs in it too.

I remember the first year I planted tomatoes, the cheap compost I bought had bugs in it.

I know bugs will get in the plants anyway, but that doesn’t mean I want to buy stuff that already has bugs in it. 

Besides the 2 tomatoes with BER, my tomato plants seem happy. Only the first 2 I planted have fruits, the others are just now starting to flower. 

They are coming to trim the tree tomorrow. My coworkers probably think I’m nuts because sometimes I’m yelling at my phone. When I see squirrels coming off the roof on the cameras, I yell at them through the camera to go away. I know they can still get on the deck after the tree is trimmed, but they need to stay off the roof anyway. Plus, that’s their safest approach, since the dogs can’t reach them. Both dogs hate them and Newbie hunts all small critters except for birds. That’s the only thing she doesn’t chase.

Are the bugs on your beans fuzzy yellow ones? I used to get them on my green beans so bad that I stopped planting green beans. Best way to deal with them was to squish them with your fingers. So disgusting.

My most magnificent tomato is the one I didn’t plant - it sprouted in my compost bin and found a crack in the side to sprout from. It’s think and full of flowers. The ones I planted are mostly puny, except for two enthusiast ones - but they aren’t as big as the accidental tomato bush.

Wonder if that tomato is from last year’s garden or if it was a composted store bought tomato?

No, they are small and white. Mister said they look like maggots to him too, but neither of us are experts lol.

I’ve heard about plants randomly sprouting in compost bins or near where they were grown the year before. It’s thriving because it’s a survivor lol.

It finally rained, thank goodness. It rained a good bit for about 10 minutes. It’s still raining, but lightly.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

I don't think maggots get on plants. Sounds like aphids. You can crush them with your fingers and pull them off. Spray with water, alcohol and dish soap solution.

[Pink Cashmere]

Jun 17, 2024 11:02:40 GMT -5 ken a.k.a OMK said:

I don't think maggots get on plants. Sounds like aphids. You can crush them with your fingers and pull them off. Spray with water, alcohol and dish soap solution.

My bad for not being clear. They are in the soil. Only a couple of the beans have sprouted, so there aren’t really any plants. They are worm like, not much bigger than a grain of rice.

[Tennesseer]

My very rare (in fact the only one of its kind in the whole wide world) Micanthus grass day lily is in bloom. 

[greenthumb59]

I'm killing squash bugs daily. Also destroying their eggs.  DH way over fertilized the straw bales.  Every sweet pepper plant we had has died.

I admit I am not really feeling much love for the veggie garden this year. 

[Opti]

Crap. Sorry about the pepper plants. Real hot here so not sure how the lilies are going to take it. 

[greenthumb59]

Surprisingly cloudy and cooler this morning.  Just checked the garden real quick - aphids and whiteflies on the tomatoes.  My helpful DH says we have some insecticidal soap.  So I said hey, you go spray them. Be sure you get under the leaves too.  I already know he won't do it.  This happens each year to me - he wants the garden. But he won't work it once it's all planted.  That includes daily watering.  

As I said earlier, I am just not into the veggie garden this year.

[Pink Cashmere]

I check my plants every morning before I go to work, and again as soon as I get home from work. Because I am trying to be consistent with my watering, which is supposedly best to do in the morning. I look at them when I get hime from work, just to see what’s happening with them after me being away all day lol.

So now that I realize my grow bags are holding more water than I expected, I am using my little handy dandy moisture meter again. And I am learning more about how more soil in a container can help hold more moisture with the hopes of it not being water logged, and how larger plants suck up more water than smaller ones, even if the container is the same size. 

It is very helpful to me, to look at my efforts as experiments and not get too attached to the outcome. Even though that doesn’t really work when it comes to pests and critters making a mess of my efforts.

Something is definitely eating my green beans. I planted at least 50 seeds, in 3 different containers. Less than a quarter of them might maybe make it and produce. A lot of seeds didn’t sprout, and some of the ones that did sprout, something has fed on them and ate the first leaves. I only have about 10 that have true leaves. 

[Pink Cashmere]

I looked at my rain meter today. I emptied it before we got all of that rain Monday, and it was full to the 3” mark. I know it rained a lot off and on Monday, then stormed some more that night, but really?! Did we really get that much rain in less than 24 hours?

I have at least 2 more tomatoes now, on the same SM plant, that have BER. And I am worried now, that after all, of that rain, even more of the tomatoes growing on that plant will have the same issue. UGH!

[happyhoix]

Duke plants are taking off. I put up a trellis, hopefully they will climb it rather than spilling on the ground. I’ll try to coax the tendrils around it. Lots of small green tomatoes. I’d forgotten I planted a cherry tomato plant, that’s the one that’s doing the best.

Hot and dry, grass is already turning brown. Crazy hot weather for June.

[Pink Cashmere]

Jun 22, 2024 21:11:55 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Duke plants are taking off. I put up a trellis, hopefully they will climb it rather than spilling on the ground. I’ll try to coax the tendrils around it. Lots of small green tomatoes. I’d forgotten I planted a cherry tomato plant, that’s the one that’s doing the best.

Hot and dry, grass is already turning brown. Crazy hot weather for June.

I seem to recall reading something about Duke plants, but I don’t remember what they are. 

So far, the first 2 tomato plants I planted are thriving and have a few dozen fruits growing. I still need to cut off another tomato on the SM plant, because it has BER. 

I am really, really not excited about moving my plants off the deck tomorrow, so that the repairs to the deck can start Monday. Even though I tried something different last year, it is just truth so far, that I am much more comfortable with my plants being on the deck. Maybe, and hopefully I will be better about that one day, but I’m just being honest about me not being there yet.

Something is most definitely eating my green bean seeds and sprouts. I have 3 containers that I planted seeds in, and I am ready to just Chuck 2 out of the 3, soil and all. Most of the seeds that even tried to sprout, something has eaten all of the baby leaves off of them, so I’m over it.

[happyhoix]

Jun 22, 2024 21:56:24 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Jun 22, 2024 21:11:55 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Duke plants are taking off. I put up a trellis, hopefully they will climb it rather than spilling on the ground. I’ll try to coax the tendrils around it. Lots of small green tomatoes. I’d forgotten I planted a cherry tomato plant, that’s the one that’s doing the best.

Hot and dry, grass is already turning brown. Crazy hot weather for June.

I seem to recall reading something about Duke plants, but I don’t remember what they are. 

So far, the first 2 tomato plants I planted are thriving and have a few dozen fruits growing. I still need to cut off another tomato on the SM plant, because it has BER. 

I am really, really not excited about moving my plants off the deck tomorrow, so that the repairs to the deck can start Monday. Even though I tried something different last year, it is just truth so far, that I am much more comfortable with my plants being on the deck. Maybe, and hopefully I will be better about that one day, but I’m just being honest about me not being there yet.

Something is most definitely eating my green bean seeds and sprouts. I have 3 containers that I planted seeds in, and I am ready to just Chuck 2 out of the 3, soil and all. Most of the seeds that even tried to sprout, something has eaten all of the baby leaves off of them, so I’m over it.

Sorry ‘duke’ plants are actually a typo.  I meant to type ‘cuke’ plants - cucumbers. Sorry!! 

I also have something eating my cantaloupe leaves. I have a raised bed garden with garden fencing all around and a gate, but I still have some critter getting in and specifically eating the cantaloupe leaves. I suspect rabbits, because last year, one squeezed under the fencing and had babies in my squash plants - I’m not sure you can create something strong enough to keep all the critters out!! 

I know you’re not big on bugs and crawling things, so I’ll tell you my evolution as a gardener. I used to hate all of the crawlies myself, until I found out how great worms are in the garden. They aerate the soil, they process the dirt through their poop - plus, they’re like canaries in the coal mine - if you don’t have worms in your soil, it’s unhealthy soil. Now, when I dig out my compost box, I’m happy to see all the worms living there, and carefully pick them out in my gloved hands to transfer them from the compost box to garden, appreciating how long and fat they are. So it is possible to become accustomed to at least some of the garden’s tiny fauna.