How Does Your Garden Grow??????

[socaljoe]

Looks like they are taking off. I will try to remember to get shots of mine.

I feel like I've said this a million times, but I'm so thrilled with how fast plants grow in coco coir, the roots take off like I've never seen before. If there's a downside, it's that I have to maintain a nutrient reservoir and keep the pH in range, but honestly I've got that down pretty good with my amounts to the point where I don't really feel the need to check it every time.

 

[too larry]

The farmer south of me has a few blooms on his peanuts.

 

[socaljoe]

I finally have a viable pumpkin. Every single one up to now has aborted on the vine. Luckily I caught this one this morning so I could get in there and hand pollinate just in case the bees hadn't gotten to it. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, because I'll be a bit annoyed if I only get one.

 

[too larry]

We had a strain of small sugar pumpkins when Daddy was alive. We grew it every year on an old cow feeding spot. Always made more than we could give away. The seeds got lost or crossed. It was a few years after he had died before I even thought of them.

I did three or four kinds of sugar pumpkins last year, trying to find one that would do well here. None of them did real well. And most of what I grew ended up thrown away once it had sat too long. So I figured I should spend that time and space on something else. I do hate losing them. We always gave 25-30 of them to the local Sr Cit. Ass. each year around Halloween. They were small, but the old ladies would carve them anyway.

 

[xtsho]

I'm a little disappointed with the onions this year. The red didn't get very big.

 

[Poontanger]

Pumpkins, mainly sent out runners, which produce 95% male flowers , you have to chop the end out of runners, so you get laterails, & that's were you'll get female flowers, many times ive seen plants with no fruit & 15 foot runners, the growers who have let me chop those runners in half , cry at first , but laugh all the way to there pumpkin soup
if your only getting male flowers , just try chopping half your runners & see what happens , what u got to loose ??

 

[Poontanger]

Any of you guys grown the lemon cucumber , its an heirloom, & a member of the apple cuce family , they will never go bitter & even people who don't usually eat cuce , go for em , & the yield is out of control, but a 2nd planting is always good to maintain a supply as they seem to burn out quicker than some, & powdery mildew gets em as well ,
Ive never seen the seed in any shop , but it's easy to get from a seed bank , they ripen quite a bright yellow color

 

[too larry]

Never tried it. I did do the pickle bush for the first time. It was a cute little cuke, but nothing special as far as taste.

 

[socaljoe]

I have a new experiment going on in the garden. I have some tomato seedlings that I've decided to grow hydroponically with no media in a Kratky style tote. For those unfamiliar, the idea is to fill the reservoir (tote) with nutrient solution to just where the bottom roots are. As the roots grow they will absorb water, nutrients and oxygen from the water, as the water level drops the exposed roots will absorb oxygen, having greatly reduced the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. The method requires no electricity (airpumps/airstones) and is meant to be "set it and forget it".

Here we have two totes set up with 2 plants each. Toronjiña f1 on the left, Red Brandywine on the right.



This is where the seedlings are right now.



So here we go.

 

[too larry]

I have a new experiment going on in the garden. I have some tomato seedlings that I've decided to grow hydroponically with no media in a Kratky style tote. For those unfamiliar, the idea is to fill the reservoir (tote) with nutrient solution to just where the bottom roots are. As the roots grow they will absorb water, nutrients and oxygen from the water, as the water level drops the exposed roots will absorb oxygen, having greatly reduced the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. The method requires no electricity (airpumps/airstones) and is meant to be "set it and forget it".

Here we have two totes set up with 2 plants each. Toronjiña f1 on the left, Red Brandywine on the right.

View attachment 4184165

This is where the seedlings are right now.

View attachment 4184166

So here we go.

Can't wait to see how they do.

 

[too larry]

My young Armenians.

 

[socaljoe]

Can't wait to see how they do.

Me neither. I'll be trying to keep regular updates coming.

The theory is sound and I know the system works, it's all down to me and whether I screw something up...which is always the weak point of anything I take on.

 

[too larry]

The young regular cukes. Most are showing signs of leaf disease already. One was ate up completely. Not sure what was doing the eating. I didn't spend any real time in the garden today. Just had a one man safety meeting, walked through eating cherry tomatoes and mini sweet peppers and snapped a few pictures.

 

[too larry]

Habs almost there.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

The young regular cukes. Most are showing signs of leaf disease already. One was ate up completely. Not sure what was doing the eating. I didn't spend any real time in the garden today. Just had a one man safety meeting, walked through eating cherry tomatoes and mini sweet peppers and snapped a few pictures.

View attachment 4184180 View attachment 4184183

looks like what the slugs were doing to my beans earlier

 

[too larry]

We've had a bit more sun the last few days. The Mini Sweets in the kiddie pool look like they are liking it. For weeks they have sat there and not grown at all. The last few days they are almost twice as tall.

 

[too larry]

looks like what the slugs were doing to my beans earlier

Most of the time, my sand keeps the slugs in check. I'll throw out some bait and see if any turn up dead.

 

[socaljoe]

I've been noticing some damage to leaves on my new cukes, two of which wilted and died. I attributed the dead leaves to heat and not getting watered. I was checking the plants, and sure enough I found clusters of stuff under the leaves. I can't make an identification, but I'm thinking whiteflies. All the plants got a thorough spray down with insecticidal soap, tops and bottoms. Will have to keep an eye on them.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

Most of the time, my sand keeps the slugs in check. I'll throw out some bait and see if any turn up dead.

if it's not going to rain overnight, put out a pan or plate of beer, i got a whole damn plate full 2 days in a row, about half the third day

 

[Poontanger]

Too Larry, is that pine needle you've mulched with,...…….if so & im not sure it is , but bad idea , the oil in the pine gets into the soil , & its not good for a lot of plants , ,stick to straw , or lawn clippings ,if possible, you cue looks burnt not nesecelliary eaten (imo)