It rained again last night a little. But it steamed off during the day and made it even more muggy. HIgh 85 low 74 , at least the trades are still coming in.
Harvesting peppers super chili, Hawaiian chili, carmen, habanero, Wailua pepper (Jalapeno), serrano, orange and red habanero, Czechoslovakian Black, Cubanelle, and Carmen. Yellow bell is only about the size of a large marble.
There is some problems with bacterial spot so I had to destroy some bhut jolokia and Trinidad scorpion seedlings. I have been able to control it by picking off the leaves and sulfur sprays.
I harvested exactly one Texas granex onion from my garden. I thought it was a green onion until it started bulbing. The zucchini only gave me three fruit and it looks like it is starting to decline. Cucumbers are starting to form fruit now.
Kale is still going strong. The citrus trees are putting on fruit now most are still months away from picking except the calamondin, but that fruits nearly year round anyway.
Strawberries are fruiting, as well as lychee and mango. Lettuce is getting tip burned and bolting.
Not many bugs in my garden but the herb garden has the usual problems with thrips and spittle bugs.
It hasn't rained much so the grass is drying and dying and only the weeds are thriving.
There are still a few white flies around but I am seeing more ladybugs and lady bug pupae so they should be kept under control. I cut back the hibiscus too since it is a host.
I treated the hibiscus earlier for erineum gall mites. The leaves look better now and the season for them should be peaking soon.
Glads are blooming as well as agapanthus.
Weeds are still winning and it is hard to stay outside and do any work in this heat.
I have more pepper, sage, eggplant, kale, and lemon basil seedlings to transplant.
The corn at my community garden is tasselling but it did not get enough water so I don't expect much. the plants are short and sparse.
I have a wild tomato growing in my community garden and it has a few green fruit. It is unusual since tomatoes don't grow very well there. I am amazed it is even alive. The sugar baby watermelon did not make it and after the corn is done I have to add more compost so it will hold on to water more.
I had beets and carrots in the garden before the corn and they weren't done so I planted the corn around them. It is probably why the corn is not doing as well. The soil could use more compost so it can hold on to water more and the weeds are competing with the plants for nutrients. I have to clear and amend before I plant the next round of corn again. Ants are congregating on the tassels but I don't really see aphids. I am not catching many fruit flies in my trap.
I am still getting chayote, but it still wants to climb my citrus and pear tree. instead of the fence.
My one Brussel's sprouts is still alive, this is the longest it has lived but I still haven't gotten any sprouts.
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applestar
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I love that you are growing so many different things and trying. I do that, too, and even if one or two plants is all that makes it and you get even a single harvest, it seems like a victory. 
...at the very least I feel like I've learned a little bit more about the plant and how I might try differently next time. I only give up after I feel like I've made every reasonable attempt.
I agree about the corn -- at least I think I'm agreeing -- you need to be able to pull soil up around corn and hill them. They seem to do so much better when you do that. So I try to think of companions that can handle it, or plant things AFTER hilling. (This year, I planted a row or potatoes next to the corn and hilled the corn as I pulled up soil and mulch over the growing potato stems.) sometimes I sacrifice what was growing before corn and just hill WITH the soil they are growing in, or bury them with brought in soil. And after seeing the images of flooded Midwest with corn under water, which subsequently thrived, I water corn way more than before by planting them in the lower part of the garden or where there is a swale to flood for them.
Good luck! I really enjoy reading about your garden
...at the very least I feel like I've learned a little bit more about the plant and how I might try differently next time. I only give up after I feel like I've made every reasonable attempt.
I agree about the corn -- at least I think I'm agreeing -- you need to be able to pull soil up around corn and hill them. They seem to do so much better when you do that. So I try to think of companions that can handle it, or plant things AFTER hilling. (This year, I planted a row or potatoes next to the corn and hilled the corn as I pulled up soil and mulch over the growing potato stems.) sometimes I sacrifice what was growing before corn and just hill WITH the soil they are growing in, or bury them with brought in soil. And after seeing the images of flooded Midwest with corn under water, which subsequently thrived, I water corn way more than before by planting them in the lower part of the garden or where there is a swale to flood for them.
Good luck! I really enjoy reading about your garden
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sweetiepie
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Imafan, you make me so excited for the harvesting part of the season, right up to the point where I am overwhelmed with it. I wish we could split the temps, we were in the 40's for the third night in a row with high's in the 50's. Today we are suppose to be in the 60's and really dry also. My garden is taking a lot of watering. But just south of us they had 4 inches in an hour. So I don't want that either.
Applestar, I am sure you will let us all know how the potato and corn thing works out. I would love to try that. My potatoes would make a good ground cover for the corn but grow so much quicker and are taller than the corn right now. The corn is probably a week or two away from hilling yet. So I have never tried it. I have tried cucumbers, squash etc. in sunflower rows and that worked like a charm. They crawled right up those sunflowers.
Applestar, I am sure you will let us all know how the potato and corn thing works out. I would love to try that. My potatoes would make a good ground cover for the corn but grow so much quicker and are taller than the corn right now. The corn is probably a week or two away from hilling yet. So I have never tried it. I have tried cucumbers, squash etc. in sunflower rows and that worked like a charm. They crawled right up those sunflowers.
Temperatures in the 40's happens around January in the middle of the night. Usually it is about 51 with a few dips to 49, other than that the low days would be in the 60's and the normal is in the 80's.
While I can plant year round and plant in succession. If I start March 1 with my first batch of corn I can get three crops in a year. The corn in my community garden has to be maize mosaic resistant so I am planting UH number 10 which is a tropical corn. It usually gets around 5-8 ft tall. Now most of them are 4 ft tall and tasseling. This was the first time, I tried to inter plant among my lagging beets, so I did not add the compost or the extra nitrogen I usually do for the corn. I usually only water a couple of times a week and it hasn't rained as much so the soil was drying faster than usual. Well, live and learn.
At my home I don't have as many issues with leaf hoppers so I can grow Silver Queen as well as the UH varieties and that one gets 8 ft tall. Golden bantam grew but it really is not a sweet corn. Most of the temperate corn will not grow well as the days get shorter. I haven't planted any corn at home this year. My home plot is still occupied by kale. The beans got wiped out by the snails but the kale keeps on coming.
While I can plant year round and plant in succession. If I start March 1 with my first batch of corn I can get three crops in a year. The corn in my community garden has to be maize mosaic resistant so I am planting UH number 10 which is a tropical corn. It usually gets around 5-8 ft tall. Now most of them are 4 ft tall and tasseling. This was the first time, I tried to inter plant among my lagging beets, so I did not add the compost or the extra nitrogen I usually do for the corn. I usually only water a couple of times a week and it hasn't rained as much so the soil was drying faster than usual. Well, live and learn.
At my home I don't have as many issues with leaf hoppers so I can grow Silver Queen as well as the UH varieties and that one gets 8 ft tall. Golden bantam grew but it really is not a sweet corn. Most of the temperate corn will not grow well as the days get shorter. I haven't planted any corn at home this year. My home plot is still occupied by kale. The beans got wiped out by the snails but the kale keeps on coming.
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sweetiepie
- Green Thumb
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- Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2015 12:18 pm
- Location: York, ND (Zone 3b)
I am knocking on wood here. As far as I know, I have never experienced snails or slugs. The occasional cutworm. My bug problems are usually ants, aphids, or grasshoppers. Three growing seasons, that sounds tiring but really no need to preserve food then which would be nice. Preserving food is time consuming but then so is gardening for 3 seasons.
Actually, it is probably easier to grow year round since I don't have to worry about over night freezes. But, it also means that there are peak pest times but no time when pests are not a problem year round. No winter kill of pests or disease and weeds are never ending.
I plant tomatoes year round. I can grow peppers and eggplant year round but they only germinate well in the warmer months.
I plant the cool season vegetables October-May.
Some plants which would be annual for you are perennial for me like impatiens. Glads and amaryllis stay in the ground year after year and do not need to be dug up until they get too crowded.
I can grow plants that grow in zone 9 and above so some things like Rhodies (except Tropical Rhodies), lavender augustifolia (buds will not open and will not tolerate the heat of summer), French tarragon (can't handle summer heat), most fruits that have require chilliing to produce (low chill apples, peach and apricots will grow in the higher elevations. Most of the Northern trees and most of the bulbs like bearded iris and tulips that require chilling can only be forced here but won't survive.
True tropical trees do not do much shedding of leaves. A few will go dormant like the native wili, and the ubiquitous but non-native plumeria, frangipani (native to Central and South America) Singapore plumeria will keep their leaves year round but the flower is not good for leis. For the most part, tropical trees are green all year although they may still bloom seasonally and some will brown out in summer. Sad, but true if you came to Hawaii, most of the plants you see will be aliens. The Ohia forest surrounding the H3 highway is native, but is being ravaged by alien feral pigs that dig up the roots and spread invasive weeds.
I plant tomatoes year round. I can grow peppers and eggplant year round but they only germinate well in the warmer months.
I plant the cool season vegetables October-May.
Some plants which would be annual for you are perennial for me like impatiens. Glads and amaryllis stay in the ground year after year and do not need to be dug up until they get too crowded.
I can grow plants that grow in zone 9 and above so some things like Rhodies (except Tropical Rhodies), lavender augustifolia (buds will not open and will not tolerate the heat of summer), French tarragon (can't handle summer heat), most fruits that have require chilliing to produce (low chill apples, peach and apricots will grow in the higher elevations. Most of the Northern trees and most of the bulbs like bearded iris and tulips that require chilling can only be forced here but won't survive.
True tropical trees do not do much shedding of leaves. A few will go dormant like the native wili, and the ubiquitous but non-native plumeria, frangipani (native to Central and South America) Singapore plumeria will keep their leaves year round but the flower is not good for leis. For the most part, tropical trees are green all year although they may still bloom seasonally and some will brown out in summer. Sad, but true if you came to Hawaii, most of the plants you see will be aliens. The Ohia forest surrounding the H3 highway is native, but is being ravaged by alien feral pigs that dig up the roots and spread invasive weeds.
I got some weeding done and I can actually see the ground now. I filled a green can, but if I try I can probably stuff a couple of more 5 gallon buckets of weeds in there.
What I have discovered once I cleared the jungle of weeds
I have another pineapple. This one is a Dole sugar loaf. It looks a little younger but about the same size as the Del Monte Gold. I found 2 mioga alive. I wasn't sure they would survive in the weeds.
I found a few dead pots except for weeds, but less than I expected
I repotted the strawberries.
I found 6 daikon radishes ready to pick. My beets are way over the hill
I pulled up the zucchini, there was a half of a zucchini on the plant, something ate the other half.
The cabbage butterfly has found my kale. Lots of holes in the Russian and Portuguese kale.
I have two suyo cucumbers. They should be ready by the weekend if they get enough water.
The kaffir limes are flowering and trying to fruit again.
I got killed two snails, one had eggs.
My wild tomato looks like a next next next gen sungold.
Fed the pineapple, roses, ginger, some of the peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and taro.
Picked two more beefsteak tomatoes.
The oak leaf lettuce went to seed
I did a mercy killing of the yellow bell pepper and a couple of struggling swiss chard.
Pulled a lot of nut sedge out of the garden.
Got caught on the rose thorns ouch!
I may have to cut the dragon fruit, it is trying to escape into the neighbor's yard.
Brassia are blooming.
What I have discovered once I cleared the jungle of weeds
I have another pineapple. This one is a Dole sugar loaf. It looks a little younger but about the same size as the Del Monte Gold. I found 2 mioga alive. I wasn't sure they would survive in the weeds.
I found a few dead pots except for weeds, but less than I expected
I repotted the strawberries.
I found 6 daikon radishes ready to pick. My beets are way over the hill
I pulled up the zucchini, there was a half of a zucchini on the plant, something ate the other half.
The cabbage butterfly has found my kale. Lots of holes in the Russian and Portuguese kale.
I have two suyo cucumbers. They should be ready by the weekend if they get enough water.
The kaffir limes are flowering and trying to fruit again.
I got killed two snails, one had eggs.
My wild tomato looks like a next next next gen sungold.
Fed the pineapple, roses, ginger, some of the peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and taro.
Picked two more beefsteak tomatoes.
The oak leaf lettuce went to seed
I did a mercy killing of the yellow bell pepper and a couple of struggling swiss chard.
Pulled a lot of nut sedge out of the garden.
Got caught on the rose thorns ouch!
I may have to cut the dragon fruit, it is trying to escape into the neighbor's yard.
Brassia are blooming.
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applestar
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@imafan, I'm going to pick your brains -- I hope you don't mind my asking here (I can separate this part into a different thread if you prefer)
I don't know if it would do any good, but if I were to take my pineapples out of their pots and plant them in the ground for R&R to grow without restriction over the summer, what kind of soil, sun, water, etc. conditions would you suggest?
I WAS thinking of planting them on the raised humps surrounding my little rice paddy (no rice growing in it this year (I tried but they either didn't germinate or died and so far all I'm doing is pulling up the Japanese millet which are rice plant mimics without finding any rice plant...) it's in full sun, the mini paddy holds water so there is a high humidity micro climate with plenty of moisture below the hump which will be dry near the top/surface.
I don't know if it would do any good, but if I were to take my pineapples out of their pots and plant them in the ground for R&R to grow without restriction over the summer, what kind of soil, sun, water, etc. conditions would you suggest?
I WAS thinking of planting them on the raised humps surrounding my little rice paddy (no rice growing in it this year (I tried but they either didn't germinate or died and so far all I'm doing is pulling up the Japanese millet which are rice plant mimics without finding any rice plant...) it's in full sun, the mini paddy holds water so there is a high humidity micro climate with plenty of moisture below the hump which will be dry near the top/surface.
Pineapple is a bromeliad. It doesn't need a lot of soil just to stay upright and water in the cups. Some people here grow them in 5 gallon buckets with potting soil. The pineapple fields were red clay, heavily limed because of the acidic fertilizer they used. If you use a well drained soil it should work. My uncle said that the pineapple liked a lot of potassium. He recommended K-mag or sul-po-mag. Bromeliads are not fertilized on the ground but in the cups and between the leaves. They like for the cups to have water in them. Most of the pineapple fields on Oahu were in the higher elevations like Wahiawa, Kunia, and Waialua where it naturally rained almost daily but also got a lot of sunshine. Except for where the bromeliads are anchored in the soil, the rest of the plant just needs space to spread out. Most of the stem with fine roots will creep above ground and barely in the soil.
I finally got around to weeding and pulling out the kale from the main garden bed. I have amended it with more compost and fertilizer. I will let that set a few weeks for the fertilizer to start releasing and pull any stray weeds that come up again. There is nutsedge in the garden so I know they will come up. I had some cucumbers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and mesclun planted in starter pots. I just transplanted out the cucumbers and the mesclun ( a bit overgrown). The broccoli has sprouted but only has cotyledons and the beets did not germinate all that well so I am replanting and also planting more kale and swiss chard seeds. August has been hard on the seedlings, they don't want to grow and I have snails eager to chomp down on anything that does manage to pop up. I have a couple of tomatoes, Livingston Grape and Sungold ready to plant out, but I still have to clean out the tomato pots I have. I also direct seeded some Blue lake bush beans. I did plant them in starter pots but the snails got them. I uppotted two Carolina Reapers that I got from the seed giveaway. It is so hot working in the yard that I can only spend about three hours a day doing it, by the time it is two o'clock, I am soaked in sweat and don't want to even move anymore.
I finally got around to weeding and pulling out the kale from the main garden bed. I have amended it with more compost and fertilizer. I will let that set a few weeks for the fertilizer to start releasing and pull any stray weeds that come up again. There is nutsedge in the garden so I know they will come up. I had some cucumbers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and mesclun planted in starter pots. I just transplanted out the cucumbers and the mesclun ( a bit overgrown). The broccoli has sprouted but only has cotyledons and the beets did not germinate all that well so I am replanting and also planting more kale and swiss chard seeds. August has been hard on the seedlings, they don't want to grow and I have snails eager to chomp down on anything that does manage to pop up. I have a couple of tomatoes, Livingston Grape and Sungold ready to plant out, but I still have to clean out the tomato pots I have. I also direct seeded some Blue lake bush beans. I did plant them in starter pots but the snails got them. I uppotted two Carolina Reapers that I got from the seed giveaway. It is so hot working in the yard that I can only spend about three hours a day doing it, by the time it is two o'clock, I am soaked in sweat and don't want to even move anymore.