Mine is looking great. We're definitely entering tomato season and I have 9 tomato plants loaded with green tomatoes starting to turn red (or purple or yellow). Sauce making soon!
Some of the tomato plants are over 6 feet tall! I staked a bunch of them yesterday with 6 foot stakes and they tower over me. I also found that using that plastic lanyard string (like the kind you use at camp for friendship bracelets) is a great substitute for the expensive garden string. It's like .99 a roll at Michaels and it's strong but stretchy
We're also finally getting eggplant all at once. It's been a summer of pretty purple flowers with no fruit but I guess the bees changed there mind.
I also count 10 cucumbers forming.
My squash plants are having some issues. They ALL got powdery mildew, so I had to cut them back pretty severely to remove the diseased areas. New leaves are forming pretty quickly though so I'm willing to bet we'll have at least one more big squash harvest before the end of the season.
And peppers!! Since my squirrel nemesis has disappeared (don't ask don't tell) my peppers have grown in and they're huge! I can't wait until they start to change color!
On the flower front it looks like cutting back the delphiniums after they bloom in the spring really will give me a second fall bloom and my hollyhocks and hydrangeas are looking gorgeous
Post by Faevantastic on Jul 30, 2015 9:05:28 GMT -5
Omg, I cannot keep up with the zuchinni. I get three or four a day. Finally today I just had to bring some to work to give out. Besides that we're getting cukes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes, hot peppers and my favorite hot Portugal chili peppers. This was my loot last night (sans grape tomatoes not in the pic):
I think my broccoli stunted everything in my garden. I pulled it out last Friday and now everything is growing quicker. Still nothing on my eggplant, their are a few flowers. My cucumbers are still tiny. We have been getting a few strawberries each day.
The only thing seeming to do well is the tomato plants. A lot of green tomatoes.
Post by rubber pants on Jul 30, 2015 9:45:34 GMT -5
Its been so hot here that its hard to keep with the water. We have end rot on some of our tomatoes, which is making me sad. The cukes are finally taking off and producing. The peppers are doing great! The herbs have bolted due to the heat but Ill just cut them down.
I told my H he was way over planting the raised bed, it's packed but everything is doing well. Dozens of tomatoes that we are just waiting for them to turn and lots of peppers we are also waiting on. We've been getting squash, zucchini, and cucumbers daily. Our pumpkins are looking good too!
It's so hot here right now that nothing is really able to be pollinated (I read that a lot of pollen is sterile over 90ish degrees and it's over 100 everyday now). Still getting a lot of okra and some long beans. Have a couple of watermelons I hope will be ready soon. I direct seeded more green beans, zucchini, squash, and carrots and am starting from seed and shading until it's cool enough to plant more tomatoes, sweet peppers, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi and herbs. I made these pots out òf newspaper. Hoping they hold up because buying hundreds of pots really adds up
Oh my gosh something terrible happened that only you guys will understand. I have a huge pink phlox plant that was loaded with buds and just starting to flower. It's right in my front bed next to a peach daylily. When I drove up the driveway I thought it looked funny so I checked it out. Something (I'm assuming a deer because it's tall) ate almost every flower and bud off and most of my lily!!!! I am so mad, I've never had this happen. It was probably a deer right? I was waiting all summer for it to flower
Oh yeah, we planted carrots too. Olivia is dying to pull them up! We've never done carrots before, I need to look into knowing when they are ready.
If from seed the seed packet should tell general timeframe, or you can push your finger around the top and feel how thick it is. They are SO fun for the kids to pull up.
Oh yeah, we planted carrots too. Olivia is dying to pull them up! We've never done carrots before, I need to look into knowing when they are ready.
If from seed the seed packet should tell general timeframe, or you can push your finger around the top and feel how thick it is. They are SO fun for the kids to pull up.
Thanks! They are from seed but I have no idea what H did with the packet. I'll ask him. Olivia is so excited about checking the garden every night, I love it!
It's so hot here right now that nothing is really able to be pollinated (I read that a lot of pollen is sterile over 90ish degrees and it's over 100 everyday now). Still getting a lot of okra and some long beans. Have a couple of watermelons I hope will be ready soon. I direct seeded more green beans, zucchini, squash, and carrots and am starting from seed and shading until it's cool enough to plant more tomatoes, sweet peppers, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi and herbs. I made these pots out òf newspaper. Hoping they hold up because buying hundreds of pots really adds up
I've done the newspaper pots! They work pretty well!
Oh my gosh something terrible happened that only you guys will understand. I have a huge pink phlox plant that was loaded with buds and just starting to flower. It's right in my front bed next to a peach daylily. When I drove up the driveway I thought it looked funny so I checked it out. Something (I'm assuming a deer because it's tall) ate almost every flower and bud off and most of my lily!!!! I am so mad, I've never had this happen. It was probably a deer right? I was waiting all summer for it to flower
Oh my gosh something terrible happened that only you guys will understand. I have a huge pink phlox plant that was loaded with buds and just starting to flower. It's right in my front bed next to a peach daylily. When I drove up the driveway I thought it looked funny so I checked it out. Something (I'm assuming a deer because it's tall) ate almost every flower and bud off and most of my lily!!!! I am so mad, I've never had this happen. It was probably a deer right? I was waiting all summer for it to flower
That's so sad! I would probably cry, honestly.
Thank you for validating my feelings! My H just did not understand when I called him so sad about it. I really put a lot of time into my perennials. Stupid deer they ate my parent's neighbor's entire veggie garden too. They are really bad this year for some reason.
Thank you for validating my feelings! My H just did not understand when I called him so sad about it. I really put a lot of time into my perennials. Stupid deer they ate my parent's neighbor's entire veggie garden too. They are really bad this year for some reason.
I totally get it. I spent weeks on my perennials this year and was so happy when they flowered. If a stupid deer had undone all of that in a few minutes I would sit and cry.
Thank you for validating my feelings! My H just did not understand when I called him so sad about it. I really put a lot of time into my perennials. Stupid deer they ate my parent's neighbor's entire veggie garden too. They are really bad this year for some reason.
I felt the same way when my squirrels stole all my pecans and plums. And really helpless too. Dang animals.
The garden is going crazy! Obligatory photo dump :-)
I'm in love with my one cucumber plant
Beans!!
We are going to have a silly amount of tomatoes
Our one pepper so far
Pumpkin blossoms
Peppers squash and basil
One of my little resurrected tomato plants. Something attacked and withered the stem right at the soil line, so I had to pull it and cut all the roots off. A little rooting powder and some pampering and I popped it back into the bed. ITS ALIIIIIIIIVE!!
Some of the heirlooms. I think they look so cool!!
And the fall projects-- this will be cleared and planted with bee, bird, and butterfly perennials, along with some fruit trees and maybe some asparagus.
And on this side the stumps coming out and berries and a fruit tree are going in.
artgal84, I would weep. I was oddly emotional when the rabbits got my echinacea, but it was only recently planted with no flowers.
fusion, I don't envy your summers, but I'd love to have a longer growing season like you do. Starting tomatoes here now is the very definition of folly!
artgal84, I would weep. I was oddly emotional when the rabbits got my echinacea, but it was only recently planted with no flowers.
fusion, I don't envy your summers, but I'd love to have a longer growing season like you do. Starting tomatoes here now is the very definition of folly!
It's way different than most places, that's for sure. I did not manage my spring garden well this year because I got all the seeds started way too late and they just started producing before it got so hot. I think I need to start all nightshades from seed in January and keep them in a cold frame for protection. If next year goes well I think I'll put in a greenhouse next winter.
artgal84, I would weep. I was oddly emotional when the rabbits got my echinacea, but it was only recently planted with no flowers.
fusion, I don't envy your summers, but I'd love to have a longer growing season like you do. Starting tomatoes here now is the very definition of folly!
It's way different than most places, that's for sure. I did not manage my spring garden well this year because I got all the seeds started way too late and they just started producing before it got so hot. I think I need to start all nightshades from seed in January and keep them in a cold frame for protection. If next year goes well I think I'll put in a greenhouse next winter.
I'm planning on engineering a roof for the dog pen and wrapping it up in about mid October. Hopefully it will act like a glorified poly tunnel/rudimentary greenhouse, and I might be able to manage to winter over some of the hardier crops. I'd love it if I could get some Brussels sprouts to make it!
I might do a raised bed with veggies next summer. I know H wants to start doing that. I have a brown thumb and have said no up until now, but my success so far with the roses has encouraged me. lol
You should! It's so much fun-- and as you see from here there's no such thing as one single way to garden. We can definitely help you get started :-)
nannerl and fusion thank you! I just checked on it this morning and there are lots of new buds where they were eaten! Like if you pinched off a bud to get more. I hope the deer don't come back!
Beans, beans, beans! We had enough to share with our neighbours, my sister, my parents and our cleaning lady with lots left over for us! I sauted them with garlic last night to eat with steak. Yum!
We're about a week away from cauliflower.
Our raspberries are Dwindling but tomatoes are starting to come up and we have little tiny pumpkins starting to come up too.
Gardening is so fun - it's a little exciting to see what will be there in the morning
Speaking of being pissed at wildlife. We have rabbits targeting my yard. Arg so angry! This one still wasn't very sweet yet and now it's ruined.
Ugh! I'd be so annoyed. I think I have a design for a good, durable, cheap (less than $5 a foot), somewhat attractive rabbit fence figured out. I might be building a prototype this weekend-- if it works I'll send the plans over :-)