How's your Tomato Plants doin? How does your garden grow? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Mr.Kenny · #1 08-02-2011, 01:41 PM

With this Midwest heat; I have had to tent my plants for the last two weeks; the sun was just killin them. They stopped putting on blossoms,...until it cools down again. All the Celebrity tomatoes have a split???! and I am not over-watering; I water just enough to keep them alive. The sun just devastates the celebrity plants.
The Cherokee Purple plants don't seem to mind the sun as much and are doing much better. Cherokee purple tomatoes are ugly and fantastic tasting; the ants wont leave them alone. (They are the two big-uns) I bought them at the 'Farmer's Market' from an Amish guy; they were 3 inches tall and took off growing very fast.
Basil loves the heat;i have made many huge batches of pesto off of these few plants. I trim them way back and they just come roaring back. (I make my pesto using walnuts instead of expensive pine nuts.)

Xlimodriver · #2 08-02-2011, 02:08 PM

Tomatoes on the right side of the rain barrel, almost as tall as the ganja.

Mr.Kenny · #3 08-02-2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xlimodriver

Tomatoes on the right side of the rain barrel, almost as tall as the ganja.

Are tomatoes illegal in Canada? It looks like you are hiding them, next to the ganja.

SwampYankee · #4 08-02-2011, 02:34 PM

Mine suck again. The late blight that has run rampant the past couple years has hit me again. I'm guessing my neighbors must have some big box store bought varieties (the disease has been sourced to some large growers in OH and MI that supply the big boxes) that have infected mine since I started mine from seed.

I tried picking the leaves as soon as the leaf lesions appeared to no avail. I could have sprayed them with chlorothalonil or copper but don't use anything in my containers or garden. I really love homegrown 'maters, too.

The farmer's market has gotten a few more bucks out of me this summer than they usually do.

MTI · #5 08-02-2011, 02:36 PM

Sadly, this year our two plants yeilded only enough for 4 really good BLTs. Summer is the only time I have those sandwiches . . . so it's off to the farmer's market for the rest of the summer.

rs899 · #6 08-02-2011, 02:48 PM

I just started a few for the fall crop in Florida. We have soil nematodes to deal with ( in addition to the heat, humidity, fungus, critters, poor soil) so I am going to try them growing in compost in those topsy turvy things.

Hard to imagine that most tomatoes are grown in this state, but then again, they are just the notional type.

Stretch · #7 08-02-2011, 02:50 PM

It is one of the wettest summers for years here - can you please take away this rain so I can get my bloody car painted?

pj67coll · #8 08-02-2011, 03:04 PM

We planted four tomato plants on one of those upside down patio mini-garden things. They seemed ok to start with but now are all dead. Burned to a crisp.

- Peter.

SwampYankee · #9 08-02-2011, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rs899

I just started a few for the fall crop in Florida. We have soil nematodes to deal with ( in addition to the heat, humidity, fungus, critters, poor soil) so I am going to try them growing in compost in those topsy turvy things.

A word of warning on the Topsy Turvy, they dry out fast. My father bought one a couple years ago for $h!ts and giggles. It was as advertised but needed to be soaked 3 times a day to keep the leaves from wilting since it's a smaller volume of soil. I like the EarthBoxes because of their water reservoir (I fill them every 2-3 days) but still use a couple good sized pseudo-terra cotta plastic containers with some porous ceramic and polymer mixed into the soil to help retain the water. Even with the amendments they still need to be watered every day to prevent wilting.

jgranzier · #10 08-02-2011, 03:26 PM

Fellas
I cheated a bit , I bought nice big plants from THE HOME DEPOT . They were $8-10 each - but no fooling they got big real quick , lots and lots of tomatoes .

The pictures show them as red , but there not a deep red and I pull them off before fully ripened. The squirrels , rabbits somebody is eating them.

Very pleased with production - limited sun about 6 hours , no fertilizer just lots of organic material , leaves /grass from last winter . Turned by hand ( real exercise ) , This winter contemplating a winter wheat for a cover crop.

Mike D · #11 08-02-2011, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj67coll

We planted four tomato plants on one of those upside down patio mini-garden things. They seemed ok to start with but now are all dead. Burned to a crisp.

- Peter.

Peter, the only garden you can grow here in the summertime is a ZEN garden. Give it about a month and then begin your garden. We'll be eating fresh tomatoes when everybody else is shoveling snow. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!

pj67coll · #12 08-02-2011, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike D

Peter, the only garden you can grow here in the summertime is a ZEN garden. Give it about a month and then begin your garden. We'll be eating fresh tomatoes when everybody else is shoveling snow. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!

I know. I'm trying to figure out a plan to completely xeriscape the entire yard, front and back. I want nothing but rocks and desert stuff eventually, with a few citrus thrown in for good measure.

- Peter.

Stoneseller · #13 08-02-2011, 04:58 PM

I gave up on veggies after the stink bugs ruined all my tomatoes, peppers, & cukes last year.

My flowers are doing well!

MS Fowler · #14 08-02-2011, 05:04 PM

I am a great gardener, however, the ground hogs beat me to the harvest.
Tomatoes--Corn, one ear at a time, just as it gets close to picking-its gone. Ate all the beet and carrot greens, lettuce and swiss chard. I got the green beans, and, so far, he ( they) haven't touched the potatoes which look great.
Plan for next year involves more extreme anti GH measures. I have a fence, but its not deep enough. I've tried the bubble gum, but either my GHs are able to digest it, or I have dozens of the little varmints. Can't use the "lead poison" approach as I live within sight of a school. Maybe electric fence is the next approach.