The 2014 Get Dirt Under Your Fingernails Thread

[BigBoxaJunk]

Thanks for the info folks!
What about late planting of those frost tolerant items like broccoli, peas and spinach? How late can you temp fate and sneak in a late harvest risking a hard freeze? What about other fall veggies? Onions?

I planted spinach in early September one year, then covered that raised bed with clear plastic when it got really cold. I harvested spinach all throughout the winter.

Also, I planted onions from seed, in July I think, last year. They were green bunching onions. They were still small at the end of the season, so I covered them with leaves over the winter. This spring I uncovered them and they grew fast. I had green onions to eat in late April.

 

[mom45]

I went out and took a few pictures while picking cucumbers, zucchini and cherry tomatoes in the garden. Also took a picture of a floral arrangement I made today from my flower beds, and thought I would share.

Tomatoes...I fasten the cages on either side of a fence panel to keep them staked up.



Tomatoes on one side and cucumbers on the other where they can vine up the fence panel.



Zucchini on one side and butternut squash on the other (again where they can vine up the fence panel).

 

[88GT]

Blah. Looks like one of the tomato plants succumbed to blossom rot...or something. I pulled and tossed it. All the rest seem to be doing okay though. Fingers crossed. Should be just another week before I start canning.

I think the onions are about ready for pulling. And the peppers are beyond productive. So are the eggplant. Everything else is going along just fine.

 

[mom45]

Blah. Looks like one of the tomato plants succumbed to blossom rot...or something. I pulled and tossed it. All the rest seem to be doing okay though. Fingers crossed. Should be just another week before I start canning.

I think the onions are about ready for pulling. And the peppers are beyond productive. So are the eggplant. Everything else is going along just fine.

A lot of people in our part of the state seem to be having their tomato plants die off. Mine are doing pretty well so far. I just hope we get some tomatoes. It's been so cool that the one larger tomato that did turn red had no flavor at all. My Brandywine are normally delicious!

 

[bwframe]

I've never planted saved seeds the same year. Will that work for this year's saved spinach seed from the spring planting?

 

[88GT]

I've never planted saved seeds the same year. Will that work for this year's saved spinach seed from the spring planting?

Give it a shot. Only reason I can see for it not working would be if it requires a cold season.

 

[teddy12b]

I've got some green beans that I never found that are now huge and I'm thinking about just saving them for seeds. If it's not too late to try planting them I may just try that as well.

Our tomatoes have got some funky thing going on where the bottom of the tomato is rotting off. Not all the tomatoes are bad, but enough that we keep picking them and pitching them.

 

[mom45]

I've got some green beans that I never found that are now huge and I'm thinking about just saving them for seeds. If it's not too late to try planting them I may just try that as well.

Our tomatoes have got some funky thing going on where the bottom of the tomato is rotting off. Not all the tomatoes are bad, but enough that we keep picking them and pitching them.

Do a little reading on blossom end rot on the tomatoes. Calcium deficiency will cause the bottom to rot like that.

 

[teddy12b]

Do a little reading on blossom end rot on the tomatoes. Calcium deficiency will cause the bottom to rot like that.

I had a neighbor warn us about calcium deficiency and said to put crushed egg shells all around the base of the plants. We did that and it looks like we still got the rot.

 

[bwframe]

I had a neighbor warn us about calcium deficiency and said to put crushed egg shells all around the base of the plants. We did that and it looks like we still got the rot.

Cause
Calcium is required in relatively large concentrations for normal cell growth. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of calcium, the tissues break down, leaving the characteristic lesion at the blossom end. Blossom-end rot develops when the fruit's demand for calcium exceeds the supply in the soil. This may result from low calcium levels in the soil, drought stress, excessive soil moisture, and/or fluctuations due to rain or overwatering . These conditions reduce the uptake and movement of calcium into the plant, or rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen fertilization.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/tomato/2000082444023571.html

I think some of this goes back to our cool nights also, adding more stress. In years that I've had end rot, it pointed to a lack of moisture during peak fruit development time.

 

[scrub buck]

An older fellow i usually buy tomatoes from told me the blight is getting his this yr. This guy really has a green thumb too.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I had a neighbor warn us about calcium deficiency and said to put crushed egg shells all around the base of the plants. We did that and it looks like we still got the rot.

Another thing that causes blossom end-rot is uneven watering. If the soil isn't kept moist, then no matter how much calcium there is in the soil, it isn't available to the plant. That's one of the reasons that it often happens with potted tomato plants.

Funny thing is, I'm having an over-all very good year with my tomatoes, with very little blight. Haven't sprayed at all yet.

 

[terrehautian]

A few tomatoes fell off the vine, so I will let them ripen inside. Still have quite a bit more coming on. My wife was picking the grape ones after I came to work.

 

[88GT]

I never thought I'd say this, but I want the heat back.

 

[hooky]

I'm with you. I got a late start on some things and now they'll never catch up.

 

[bwframe]

Ruh Roh

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Ruh Roh

Did you find a discarded salt shaker nearby?

 

[88GT]

Mice are nibbling on mine too.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

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Two double rows of White Half-Runners

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Lots of little beans almost ready to pick, again.

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Put in a row of Quinoa next to the corn. First time I've grown it.

 

[terrehautian]

all picked this week. I am about to tell friends to come pick some.