1. The heat this year is majorly stressing my garden. Tomatos, green beans and cukes are the worst hit. I trimmed the tom's WAY back and am hoping to hold on for a good fall harvest.
2. Freaking hornworms! :grrr:
3. Freaking leafminers! :grrr:
4. Jalapenos are going like gangbusters.
5. Black eyed peas and okra are doing well too.
6. Yard long asian beans are ugly plants but keep chugging along. They are fun to grow but not my favorite to eat.
7. I should have listened to the advise in the tomato support thread. The short, cone shaped cages are virtually worthless when your plants are 7' tall. New concrete mesh cages will be built next year.
8. I have been thinking this year was a bust. When I compare it to last years harvest, I'm way up in quantity in the same space. So I must be doing something right.
9. I still feel like a total newbie with this garden stuff.
10. I've been swamped with life and I miss posting here. There is too much good info I'm missing out on.
edit: should have posted this in the Vegetable Gardening forum.
jmoore, looks like you have company with the heat stress issue. Same here in New Orleans. Very hot this summer and we've been hit with heavy daily rainfalls for the past 10 days or so.
My tomato plants got so shabby looking, I opted to just pull them and put in some new ones--------however, I now have to wait till the garden dries out a bit to put in my rows. I already have 2 dozen tomato plants to put in for the fall. I went with 2x2 poles for tomato support this past spring but have a roll of 10 gauge Concrete Reinforcing Wire that measures 5' x 150' to make my cages.
I like your observation on the Asian yard long beans. They are a bit ugly, and like you, my wife doesn't really like them much, but I do. I planted some more Kentucky Wonders for her to munch on.
Here's hoping for a mild fall/winter and lots of cool weather crops doing well.
My tomato plants got so shabby looking, I opted to just pull them and put in some new ones--------however, I now have to wait till the garden dries out a bit to put in my rows. I already have 2 dozen tomato plants to put in for the fall. I went with 2x2 poles for tomato support this past spring but have a roll of 10 gauge Concrete Reinforcing Wire that measures 5' x 150' to make my cages.
I like your observation on the Asian yard long beans. They are a bit ugly, and like you, my wife doesn't really like them much, but I do. I planted some more Kentucky Wonders for her to munch on.
Here's hoping for a mild fall/winter and lots of cool weather crops doing well.
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rainbowgardener
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JM - it's a really nice observation about feeling like the garden was " a bust" but realizing the harvest was about the same as last year. Shows the value of keeping some records (which I am terrible at! 
) and how subjective our feelings can be. It's always something... for me this year has been too hot and dry, last year was too cool and wet. It probably all averages out somewhat.
) and how subjective our feelings can be. It's always something... for me this year has been too hot and dry, last year was too cool and wet. It probably all averages out somewhat.Hi jmoore, good to see you back. Yep the heat has been a killer this year. I had a decent, but not good garden because of the early heat. I'm hoping we will soon be trending down. You and I only live about thirty miles apart, but I awoke this morning to a nice rain and it is still cool outside. It didn't look like you were getting this mornings rain on the radar. It may be your turn tomorrow. I'm really hoping for a break in the heat next week. I would be very happy to return to our normal averages for this time of year. The low 90's would seem like a cold front. Early September usually brings a rapid decline in the average high temps. I had to look the averages up on Weather Underground to find that information, but I simply had to find one little piece of hopeful news.
Ted
Ted
ted, we got a little rain out near work, which is about 1/2 way between home and your place. I'm hoping it slides east and hits the house/garden soon. I try and keep everything watered, but the heat is slamming the whole thing. Everything is wilted and sagging in the afternoon, so a good soaking would help a bunch.
Your Brandywine grew like a weed. That thing was easily 8' tall and bushy, but no fruit. Then one day it decided to make a break for it and folded itself in 1/2 over the cage, taking a Better Boy and German Queen with it. Then all the lower leaves died. The "tops" were still growing but no fruit. So the other day I took DRASTIC measures and pruned all the dead leaves off and cut the plants back to the top of the cages. I'm hoping it will encourage some new growth and I'll get something out of them when the weather breaks. They are just scraggly stems now, but still strong and thick. If not, I'll have learned something for next year about support.
Everytime I checked the Brandywine, I'd wonder how yours was doing. Sorry to hear about your garden. I think everyone is in the same boat, esp. with their tomatos. At least I'm getting plenty of jalapenos, black eyed peas and okra. I gave my father a quart jar of pickled jalapeno relish for his birthday last weekend. That was the third one I've made this year from the garden.
Your Brandywine grew like a weed. That thing was easily 8' tall and bushy, but no fruit. Then one day it decided to make a break for it and folded itself in 1/2 over the cage, taking a Better Boy and German Queen with it. Then all the lower leaves died. The "tops" were still growing but no fruit. So the other day I took DRASTIC measures and pruned all the dead leaves off and cut the plants back to the top of the cages. I'm hoping it will encourage some new growth and I'll get something out of them when the weather breaks. They are just scraggly stems now, but still strong and thick. If not, I'll have learned something for next year about support.
Everytime I checked the Brandywine, I'd wonder how yours was doing. Sorry to hear about your garden. I think everyone is in the same boat, esp. with their tomatos. At least I'm getting plenty of jalapenos, black eyed peas and okra. I gave my father a quart jar of pickled jalapeno relish for his birthday last weekend. That was the third one I've made this year from the garden.
I think I finally got about five or six Brandywine tomatoes. It worked out because I just wanted to see how they tasted. The early ones were not as good as the later ones. I think all my Brandywines set on the vines in about a two week period. After that, they kept blooming for awhile, but it was simply to hot to set fruit. I haven't cut mine back, but I was looking at all my plants this morning and they are putting out new shoots near the ground. Some of the new growth is two and three feet tall. I also have new growth at the tops of the plants, but its on top of about seven feet of almost dead, very woody vines. I'm think about cutting the plants way back and letting all the energy go to the new growth at the bottoms. I will just treat them as new plants.
A few varieties didn't even waste their time or effort by blooming in the spring. The Mortgage Lifter, Kelloggs Breakfast, and Cuostralee grew really tall without blooming even once. I am also planning on cutting them back and encouraging the new growth to produce this fall. I am just waiting for a break in the heat to do it.
My yard long beans produced well, but didn't seem to taste as good as they tasted last fall. I will probably look for a heat resistant type of regular beans to plant next spring. The yard longs are still alive at the bottom and would grow again if it would cool a little. I have already planted some new cucumbers on that trellis and will simply let the beans or the cucumbers decide which will survive and produce this fall.
I've had decent production from most of my veggies this spring, but not even close to normal. We had plenty to eat and the family received some, but I'm sure the neighbors are wondering if I planted a garden this year.
I've also taken some cuttings from my tomato vines and I have been propagating them for a fall planting in new beds. They do fine for awhile, produce some roots; and finally succumb to the heat. I finally moved my second or third group of cuttings inside yesterday where the heat can't get to them and will finish them under lights and a fan. I didn't want to have to harden them off, but I guess I will because they will become accustomed to the cooler air and do well, but if I stick them back outside while it is still hot; they will wilt and die within a day.
Ted
A few varieties didn't even waste their time or effort by blooming in the spring. The Mortgage Lifter, Kelloggs Breakfast, and Cuostralee grew really tall without blooming even once. I am also planning on cutting them back and encouraging the new growth to produce this fall. I am just waiting for a break in the heat to do it.
My yard long beans produced well, but didn't seem to taste as good as they tasted last fall. I will probably look for a heat resistant type of regular beans to plant next spring. The yard longs are still alive at the bottom and would grow again if it would cool a little. I have already planted some new cucumbers on that trellis and will simply let the beans or the cucumbers decide which will survive and produce this fall.
I've had decent production from most of my veggies this spring, but not even close to normal. We had plenty to eat and the family received some, but I'm sure the neighbors are wondering if I planted a garden this year.
I've also taken some cuttings from my tomato vines and I have been propagating them for a fall planting in new beds. They do fine for awhile, produce some roots; and finally succumb to the heat. I finally moved my second or third group of cuttings inside yesterday where the heat can't get to them and will finish them under lights and a fan. I didn't want to have to harden them off, but I guess I will because they will become accustomed to the cooler air and do well, but if I stick them back outside while it is still hot; they will wilt and die within a day.
Ted
It has been really hot & dry here in the North East, also. I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you all are getting in the South. I've been watering my garden almost every day because of how dry it's been.
My Tomatoes have been growing like crazy
and my green beans have done way better than I thought they would. My only dissapointment was my strawberries. Granted, this was their first year. I was hoping for a much better berry crop.
My Tomatoes have been growing like crazy
and my green beans have done way better than I thought they would. My only dissapointment was my strawberries. Granted, this was their first year. I was hoping for a much better berry crop.-
rainbowgardener
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
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I've always wanted to try strawberries, but I never thought about pairing them with crops like tomatoes! That's some good insight, Apps.
This was my first year at growing heirlooms. The ones that were harvested tasted great and were a big hit, but many succumbed to anthracnose or other rot.
Anyone else get this with their heirlooms?
This was my first year at growing heirlooms. The ones that were harvested tasted great and were a big hit, but many succumbed to anthracnose or other rot.
Anyone else get this with their heirlooms?