Applestar’s 2022 Garden

[applestar]

@Gary350 I asked webmaster to look into your questions

[applestar]

It’s raining and cool here today — 68°F going up to 73°F … but don’t worry, the heat mass is expanding out to us in the next couple if days and we’ll be in the 90’s

I’m reviewing the pics I took yesterday to monitor the plants and reviewing/planning for how to prune them (except tomatoes which I think I’m pretty familiar with now) —

• Most immediate will be the eggplants — and you can see which of the suckers will be designated the main scaffold limbs — I’m still thinking 4 (or 3), but I might go with 3 or even just 2 for the one in the VG.SIP. I might mark them with color tape do I won’t get confused later. I’ll follow the 2 fruits per sucker or 1 fruit per sucker depending on density and plant vigor.

• Cucumber and summer squash are to have all suckers and blossoms removed until after 5 leaf nodes.

• Most of the other cucurbits — watermelon, moschata squash, and Korean melon are supposed to have main vine growth point pinched off after 5 true leaves.

• Interestingly, edamame is also supposed to have main stem growth point pinched off after 5 true leaves.

[imafan26]

The pinching is to make the plants more compact and bushy. and ultimately more productive. I see that. I don't really do this, but I do see the benefit.

I have I think 3 or four eggplant now. They are already producing more than I can use. Normally, I only have one long green and one long purple. I just have extra seedlings, some of them were volunteer probably from the birds. I don't prune them because I am already getting 8 eggplant every two weeks. Eggplant are like zucchini are in some places on the mainland. After awhile, you can' t even give them away. I may do the removal of the blossoms on the cukes. I usually don't have suckers. I may be able to get the cucumbers to produce larger leaves and I really don't like fruit so low to the ground.

[applestar]

@imafan, I updated the Specific Pruning Techniques/Methods thread with an eggplant pruning method

What stage of growth is your eggplant in? I hope some of the posted details are relevant for you.

I think you might be able to do several renewal pruning for each plant (possibly staggering the timing among multiple plants), not just the once that I may or may not have the growing season to do, and I’ll hurry up and summarize/review my understanding of that method if you need it, so let me know.

[imafan26]

I have eggplants in multiple stages. Some are seedlings. the older ones are between 1-2 years old. The two year old one is going to be replaced. Production drops a lot after the first 2-3 years, so it is normal for me to replace rather than renew them. The one year old one need cutting back but since it is in a pot and not in the ground, it naturally grows more compactly. I can use some of the pruning techniques shown in the video to do that and it was helpful. The one that is one year old is about 2 ft tall and 2-3 ft wide. That one is a long skinny purple eggplant. The older one is Poamoho dark. It has survived in that pot. I think there maybe a problem with that pot, the plant cannot hold on to fertilizer so I have to fertilize it frequently or the leaves get smaller and that had been happening for the last two eggplant that were in the same pot. I will get a different pot and new soil for the next eggplant. I don't think the location is a problem.

If I grew the eggplant in the ground they would be 4-5 ft tall and almost as wide. It is why I don't grow them in the ground. I usually get more eggplant than I need from one or two plants. I do take off the lowest branches from the plants. I don't want the leaves or low hanging fruit touching the ground. As it is, the eggplant is frequently eaten by snails before I get to it.

[applestar]

It’s always so intriguing that your gardening practices necessarily are so different (5 months of possible frost~freeze here, so inevitable).

The “renewal” pruning for eggplants involves dramatically cutting back and thinning branches, as well as root pruning by severing roots around the plant with garden shovel to encourage denser new feeder roots. I think you might find some similarity to bonsai pruning? — I’ll try to at least outline the basics in the other thread very soon.

—

My own eggplants have just reached the first scaffold selection and staking stage.

• The 2 Money Maker plants in the Spiral Garden have been staked to 4 and 3 scaffolds.

• The 3 Shoya Long eggplants still need to grow some more, and

• I’m encouraging them to grow faster by modifying the tent so they will be fully surrounded while the Money Maker are now exposed on the South side. — I think they will be needing more air circulation and light anyhow (but we’re expecting another 58°F low on Wed…. )

• VG.SIP Money Maker was staked and given more growing space by staking and training the 3 Beaverlodge Slicer tomato plants away from it.
  
  — Since Beaverlodge Slicer is a determinate, I’m hoping that they will be done by the time the eggplant really needs the room to spread out.

• Two more green cone-cages were added to support the dwarf/micro tomatoes in VGA. I’m trying to use the cone-cages with (Shimofuri F7 x Aztek) F2’s that might be showing more of the trailing Shimofuri characteristics.

• First blueberry harvest along with a few red and more yellow raspberries and strawberries….
  
  — Ate the one kohlrabi by chopping into matchsticks and mixing into leftover coleslaw to add to a sandwich. It was very good so I’m hoping the rest will grow a little more and be worth harvesting. I want to try to grow some more for fall crop as well.

[applestar]

I’m seeing concerning yellowing/chlorosis of leaves on some of the crops — namely winter squash, summer squash, eggplants. (On the flip side, tomatoes look more green and vigorous than I’m used to.)

Now, I tend to under-fertilize anyway, and my gardening practices are mostly organic (nearly entirely with maybe a handful of *minor* exceptions and circumstances beyond my control from outside my garden).

Moreover, this year I’m experimenting with majority of my fertilization using homemade mixtures rather than store bought blends.

I think these problem crops are heavier feeders and maybe I’m not supplying enough nitrogen in the blend….

Another concern is that one or more of my hand blended sprays might have been too concentrated (not enough dilution) — many of these are recommended to be used 100x or 200x diluted with water. (I did review my calculation and one ingredient in my yesterday’s spray had been diluted by 300 to 500x depending on whether the “capful” was 1 tsp or almost 1Tbs….)

One possible element to this is that with coming of hot summer days, the municipal water may have been fortified with more chlorine or less outgassable chlorates (most of my organic diy recipe sources use well water or local spring water at their home gardens — I try to use rainwater when available and buckets of tap water left to dissipate chlorine overnight to 24 hrs.)

I’ll have to be patient and wait for a few days to a week to see before doing anything more — I side dressed 3 days ago and foliar sprayed yesterday.

[Gary350]

I’m seeing concerning yellowing/chlorosis of leaves on some of the crops — namely winter squash, summer squash, eggplants. (On the flip side, tomatoes look more green and vigorous than I’m used to.)

Now, I tend to under-fertilize anyway,

I am having the same problem with tomatoes they started turning pink a week ago and they are still green on the top side and the Red part is still hard as a green tomato & some of the leaves are yellow. I read online too much rain will wash away fertilizer. A certain amount of moisture is required to hold in the nitrogen and drought lets the nitrogen escape. I don't usually feed tomatoes or potatoes very much nitrogen but I think they need some. I see yellow leaves on cucumbers too. We had almost a month of no rain & very hot weather.

[applestar]

Yeah, tomato blossoms won’t set fruit and drop off when it’s too hot and humid, too…. Hope your plants manage to make it through the heatwave.


I stayed in today — not AS hot I’m sure, but hot enough and there was an air quality alert in the orange by 10am today… and I overdid it a bit yesterday and stumbled inside with a near heat-stroke….

From my usual observation window, I did notice an unusual visitor checking out the bamboo stakes I forgot to put away

…maybe ants or leaf cutter bees are nesting inside?

[imafan26]

Applestar, can you tell me why some tomatoes have such tough skins. I am finding it a problem with the eggplant too. I am not sure if it is a varietal thing or a cultural issue. The Sun King tomato looks pretty and it has firm flesh and few seeds, but the tomato skin is tough. This is the first time I planted this variety, so I don't know if this is a varietal trait. The long purple eggplant does too. Well, that one is probably because I am picking them late and they have lost their shine. Diamond eggplant does better. It stays softer longer. However, I am not picking the sun King that late. The fruit is ripe but it is firm ripe. The plant is not wilting, but I have reduced the watering to try to concentrate the flavor on the tomato. I have reduced it to the point that the chives are dying.

There is a yellow discoloration on the fruit I have never seen before. I think it is again related to the organic mix. The problems are not as severe on the tomato as they are on the cucumber. I would try to give them more kelp and sulfate of potassium. I am guessing here, but since the nutritional issues are exclusive to the organic pots, I still have not got the right combination yet.

[applestar]

I’ve heard it said that tougher tomato skin is part of the desirable traits for shippability along with red and round. There is definitely varietal aspect. That can be said of eggplants too, although eggplant varieties tout “tender skin for longer” in seed variety descriptions sometimes.

I don’t like tougher skinned tomatoes — I don’t even like ones that many consider not so tough — but really thin skinned varieties will tend to split easily or suffer skin blemishes more easily, thus making them less marketable.

Ultimately, I tend to peel tomatoes — fully ripe ones peel easily without treatment. And as for less flavorful ones, I generally cook them — mixed cooked sauce, sautéed, open toasted hot sandwich, atop pizza, etc. or dehydrate.


Now, I think at least for eggplants, stressing them with less water would force them to mature faster. … hmm I just today watched a video of a Japanese no-till natural/organic gardener who said he normally grows eggplants without pruning, but is trying pruning to two main stem style this year because his eggplants have always tended to get seedy and tough skinned faster after plants have reached full size. He particularly emphasized that he will strictly observe the one fruit per sucker, then cut entire sucker with fruit harvest to first leafnode-sucker on that sucker branch, because he has been told this will maintain the plant vigor for longer and keep the fruits from getting too mature earlier….

…eta… yellow discoloration on tomato fruit — not related to heat stress/sun scald issues? Not due to sucking insects like stinkbugs or mites?

…btw… Watching that no-till video caused another video to pop up on the recommended list— an interview with a natural/organic gardening “master” who gently chided that nature has its own rhythms when plants are grown without the artificial stimulation of conventional chemicals, and it takes longer for seeds to grow roots first, and then to sprout above ground, and it takes as much as 4 to 5 years before the land achieves the microbe-based biological energy cycle to become independently fertile and support the naturally organic growing methods….

[imafan26]

uneven ripening

two tomatoes I picked today weighed 292 g. The tomatoes have a pointy blossom end.

It is not a pest issue. I have very few pests and the tomatoes are in net bags otherwise the birds would eat a red tomato. I bag them when they are small and green. They are a red round tomato, so it might very well be a varietal thing as they don't crack either. They are a low acid tomato. The lower leaves are starting to show signs of fungal disease on the leaves. This is not as resistant as Charger to disease and there has been more night rain lately.

As for the eggplant, the tougher skin is usually because it is picked too late. Eggplant should be picked when the skin is shiny not dull. The long purple is not very seedy, even when it is older, but even the young fruit are firm. Diamond has much softer skin, but will harden with age. It is why I like Roleks, but I can't find seed anymore. Green eggplant can stay softer longer on the bush than purple eggplant and are less seedy. The most seedy eggplant I have is petch. It is very seedy and the more seeds, the more bitter an eggplant is. Thai's actually like that eggplant because they like bitter. The taste profile for Thai and Chinese cuisine is sweet,sour,salty,sweet, and spicy. In addition savory, umami, bitter, and pungent are other notes. At least two of the main flavors are used in a recipe, but more could be incorporated.

[applestar]

@imafan — Those do remind me of stinkbug sucking damage. (If you peel the tomatoes you would find pithy or dried/lighter color hard sub-dermal flesh under the yellowish blemishes if stinkbugs had been helping themselves)

Your net bag could allow them to feed through the mesh where the fabric is pressed against the fruit. I’ve seen three different kinds of stinkbugs outside the screen window when white/daylight bulbs used for supplemental seedling lights are left on, shining out into the night. I am currently not seeing these stinkbugs in the garden during the day.

I also saw a big moth that could have been a hawkmoth, but not sure — probably birds will find the pests before I do …a cardinal family has been visiting every day — the fledglings are parked in the house foundation shrubbery (Arrowwood Verbena or Alternating-leaf Dogwood), then the parents make multiple trips throughout the garden to bring back edibles to the yammering babies

….

I HAVE BLUSHING CHERRY TOMATOES!!

These are my own cross-breeding projects — one ‘Sundews(甘露の日和) ’ and three ‘Li’l Wild Rosa(お茶目っ子「お茶目な」ローザちゃん)’

Also update views of the Spiral Garden, close up of the eggplant arc, and a glimpse inside the Sunflower HoopHouse

[imafan26]

I have seen one stinkbug in the garden all year and that was in the main garden. However, the bags are not foolproof so it is possible that something still gets through it. So far, there does not seem to be anything wrong with the fruit except the uneven ripening. The inside looks fine.

[Gary350]

I have seen one stinkbug in the garden all year and that was in the main garden. However, the bags are not foolproof so it is possible that something still gets through it. So far, there does not seem to be anything wrong with the fruit except the uneven ripening. The inside looks fine.

I saw some stink bugs in my garden about 3rd week of May but have not seen any since we started having this extremely HOT dry weather.

[applestar]

Yes, I do think insect activities are related to weather patterns.

One annual summer phenomenon I look forward to is the arrival of the fireflies/lightning bugs.

They started showing up in small numbers …up to a dozen visible around the garden … since last week, but when it didn’t rain for a while, their sighting dwindled.

Tonight, after the predicted fast moving (and unfortunately too brief) shower passed, I opened the windows to let in some fresh air, and I’m seeing dozens and dozens of fireflies all over the backyard and up in the trees beyond, and even a dozen or so in the side-yard gardens among the Spiral Garden tomatoes and Espalier Fence Row fruit trees.

…As usual, they don’t seem to venture much beyond the fence to the front yard lawn and street…

[Gary350]

Yes, I do think insect activities are related to weather patterns.

One annual summer phenomenon I look forward to is the arrival of the fireflies/lightning bugs.

They started showing up in small numbers …up to a dozen visible around the garden … since last week, but when it didn’t rain for a while, their sighting dwindled.

Tonight, after the predicted fast moving (and unfortunately too brief) shower passed, I opened the windows to let in some fresh air, and I’m seeing dozens and dozens of fireflies all over the backyard and up in the trees beyond, and even a dozen or so in the side-yard gardens among the Spiral Garden tomatoes and Espalier Fence Row fruit trees.

…As usual, they don’t seem to venture much beyond the fence to the front yard lawn and street…

We enjoy lightning bugs they were about 1 week late this year. It is fun to set on patio after dark and see 100 lightning bugs in the yard but this year the most we saw was 3 or 4 in the whole yard. Now lightning bugs are gone. Maybe they are still here but not flashing?

[applestar]

I think they need rain — I’ve noticed they are more plentiful if I water with overhead sprinkler in the evening (not something I do often, but sometimes unavoidable)

— — —

…Continuing to prune and train the eggplants’ selected scaffold stems to stakes.
… Several baby fruits are growing directly from staked scaffold stems and suckers pinched or cut back to just above the one or two leaves above the first fruit
…Reconfigured the “tent” again, with raised base skirts and no roof (to increase airflow)

— these are several views of the same Money Maker and Shoya Long eggplant arc bed —

[applestar]

I forgot to mention that, in my fussing over the eggplant arc, I just HAD to give them a little snack, so I mixed up 1/2 of a gallon milk jug of water that had been added to rinse it out after the milk was gone, 1/2 quart carton of water added to rinse out a novelty milk called “Mooala” (non-dairy “milk” made with banana) and a little more than 2 cups of roasted barley tea that had been left out of the refrigerator too long to be considered drinkable…. To this “cocktail” I added equal amount of water, then soil drenched at base of the eggplants.

I’ll probably take one of the 1/2 gallon juice jugs of “cultured” fruit scraps water and dilute by several times to give to some of the others that might enjoy a “snack” today.

[imafan26]

I have been giving the orchids rice water. But, I admit, I don't cook rice everyday and I don't always remember to save the water, so it is an occasional snack at best. I was actually one of the folk regimens along with chicken manure tea bags that people used on hono hono orchids.

[applestar]

Today’s highlights —

** Couldn’t get a pic but while working near the enthusiastically blooming Monarda Coral Reef beebalm, I suddenly heard a VERY LOUD whirring noise, and turned around/looked up just in time to see a male Ruby-throated hummingbird reverse hover away from me **

• There were first ripe fruits on Li’l Wild Rosa 「お茶目っ子・お茶目なローザちゃん」and Sundews「甘露の日和」…but I had some trepidations because I spotted a chipmunk in the garden yesterday… and my fears were realized. I lost at least one ripe fruit from each variety.

• I left a bucket trap baited with a dab of Nutella — I’m limited in traps to use here because the Cardinal family visits every day… (I may have to consider using a protective barrier of some sort for now, but this needs to be resolved before all the tomatoes in the Spiral Garden starts ripening.)

• Fiddled some more with the eggplants and culled one of the baby fruits. I think the pruning/styling is looking pretty good

• Was too lazy to lift the insect mesh tunnel off of the Spiral Garden sweet pepper arc, but reached under and pruned suckers as well as set up a temporary stake for a couple of plants that had started to fall over

• Harvested some more kohlrabi in the Haybale Row greens bed, and weeded the insect mesh protected bed

• Checked on the PawPaw trees in the Front Yard Fence Row and found at least 4+ baby green fruits including this oddball So excited since this will be first year to harvest if they continue to develop and ripen

• In Vegetable Gardenbed D (VGD), 2 of the 3 Suyo Long cucumber plants seem to have established and are taking off, so I built a support structure. Intending to finish it with some wire fencing and strings + possibly a windbreak to block potential herbicide drift from neighbors lawn service (TBD)

[applestar]

Only a little harvest pic — I had to rush this morning because I had my 2nd COVID booster jab appointment today.

• I’d intended to harvest these blueberries for the Fourth, but didn’t have the chance on Monday.

• Picked this Money Maker as a small fruit since there are 3 other babies waiting their turn.

• I realize now that the chipmunk must have been raiding the yellow raspberries before I could harvest them — I got out there early to get these, and bagged several branches with green fruit trusses to hopefully reserve them for US!

• One more Sundews-2「甘露の日和」F5 ripened today.

[applestar]

67°F with nice soaking rain this morning. The garden really needed this.

Last several days, even when I thoroughly watered the garden paths to muddiness, next day, the plants seemed like they could use more water.

I wasn’t expecting to be able to work in the garden today — yep my jab shoulder is somewhat swollen and it hurts to raise my arm above shoulder level — so this is working out well, and I’ll just take it easy.

Here are photos of VGA AND VGC with the tomatoes labeled:

Vegetable Gardenbed A with grow out of my cross-breeding projects (Dwarf Arctic Rose x Utyonok) F3 segregates and (Shimofuri(霜降り)F7 x Aztek) F2 segregates —

Vegetable Gardenbed C with mostly larger fruited medium height varieties —

*Ampeltomate Himbeerfarbig*

[applestar]

I was trying to find out what “Ampeltomate” means. When I looked up the variety Himbeerfarbig, most references had that word in front of it.

I was getting nowhere, so asked around, and was told it means “tomato in a hanging basket” …which explains the very short and willowy plant this one is growing up to be.

According to the translator app, “himbeerfarbig” means “raspberry colored” in German.

[applestar]

Today’s progress and preview of Molten Sun(太陽のトロ)F6/F7 — so intrigued by the shape of the fruits on this segregate, which seems to have doubled down on becoming an ELONGATED grape cherry variety.

[applestar]

• VGD — Worked on stringing support for the cucumbers in VGD.

• VG.SIP — The Beaverlodge Slicer tomatoes are terminating and will colorbreak soon.

• VGB — Also removed the vented low tunnel for the Himekansen and Jubilee watermelons, as well as Dae Jang Geum Korean chamoe melons, since their 2ndary vines (children vines; suckers from the main vine) have grown sufficiently to need directing and supporting after having pinched the tip growth a few days ago on 7/3.
  — they were in danger of fungal issues too.

• SG — Removed the vented poly surrounding the eggplant arc. Shoya Long plants are even darker (and striking) than Money Maker.
  
  This year’s success with the eggplants is exciting since I’ve never been able to grow eggplants very well (except in an Earthtainer style SIP positioned in protected max sun location).

• Money Maker, like Millionaire, is a (previous generation) Japanese market gardening variety. I haven’t seen the seeds offered at consumer level outlets so far, but there are more recent hybrid varieties like Money Maker No. 2 eggplant (actually this one was listed by a couple of vendors, then immediately went out of stock or not available) Not sure this is same as “Senryo” Eggplant No.2

• I’m seeing female flowerbuds on the zucchini in the Sunflower Hoophouse.

[applestar]

July 8 harvest included one of the last kohlrabi, a bunch of lettuce leaves, 2nd Money Maker eggplant, Wessel’s Purple PrideX from last year’s inner Spiral Garden (more about this one later — it will be interesting to speculate which variety was the pollen donor), and Moona Mints F6/F7 plus, although not pictured as harvested, more Sundews(甘露の日和)F6/F7

[applestar]

From today, going counterclockwise from Top Left —

• Worked on VGD cucumber string trellis some more. Two out of three have taken off. Third one in back corner. Planning to plant some basil (and possibly these lettuce if not too late). Several side shoots from 6th leafnode and up were ready to cut just above a leaf above first female blossom.

• Zucchini with first male blossom in the Sunflower Hoophouse. This is Green Machine, a parthenocarpic variety

• A frog hanging out in pond

• Today’s harvest

• Apples (Arkansas Black) and pears (Magness) developing

• 2nd Wessel’s Purple Pride X from 2021 Spiral Garden has different type fruit than the first one harvested earlier….

[applestar]

Yesterday was the watermelons’ and chamoes’ turn in VGB (Vegetable Gardenbed B) to get their matching support trellis. I dismantled the failed bottle shack to obtain the 2nd set of pipes as well as the wire pipe/tube/stake clamps, and used the piece of wire fence that had been used to form the low tunnel in this bed to provide a sturdy overhead trellis. (I think I will do this for the VGD cukes as well, so they can hang from the wire)

• Once the trellis was built, I could sort out the children vines (side shoots) growing from the main vines which were pinched after 5 leaves.
  
  Most of these had at least 5 leaves and could be strung up with tomato strings to the overhead wire trellis and bamboo cross beam.

• First female Suyo Long cuke blossom opened, but I didn’t see any male blossoms. Not sure if chamoe pollen can pollinate cukes, but if they can and the bumblebees and sweatbees that were working those blossoms, as well as tomato blossoms and eggplant blossoms in the VG.SIP managed to find their way to both, then we might have our first cuke soon….

• Included a wide shot of the entire Vegetable Garden area

• Also yesterday’s harvest — Triple Crown blackberries are starting to come in

• and (…wow I just drew a blank …) those h____ flowers are in full bloom in the shaded corner by the Spiral Garden. Hummingbirds will be visiting those, along with the Rose of Sharon overhead, and the Coral Reef hot pink monarda in the Spiral Garden.

[applestar]

With chamoe and watermelon, it gets tricky after this —
(click on up arrow to jump to original post)

CHAMOE —

• Pinch main vine after 5~6 leaves

• Choose 2~4 children vines per plant to grow and cut off the rest. (1st node child is usually not a good choice and should be culled)

• Pinch children vines after ~20 leaf nodes

• Remove suckers on children vines from 1st~7th leaf nodes, then allow 8th~11th node grandchildren vines to set 1 fruit, and then grow 2 more leaves, then pinch.

• For each child vine, choose only 2 grandchildren vines with 1 fruit each to grow to maturity for best results.

• Grandchildren shoots from 12th~20th leafnodes should be pinched above 1st leaf node

WATERMELON—
* Large fruited watermelons take approximately 50 days to mature after pollinating; and small fruited watermelons take approximately 35 days *

** Best watermelon fruits develop on children vines; grandchildren vine fruits are inferior **

• Pinch main vine after 5~6 leaves

• Choose 2~4 children vines to grow, and remove all suckers from the children vines up to 7th leafnode. Allow any male blossom to open.

• When first female blossom appears around 7th or 8th node, CULL. This one will tend not to develop into good fruit.

• Remove all grandchildren shoots that develop on leafnodes until SECOND FEMALE BLOSSOM (on 8th leaf node +), BUT PRESERVE MALE BLOSSOMS FOR HAND POLLINATING

• Hand pollinate this 2nd blossom on the day it opens before 9AM
  Allow all grandchildren vines to grow beyond the 2nd blossom once the fruit has set.

• ONLY if the 2nd blossom fails to set, hand pollinate a 3rd blossom on same child vine. Limit to 1 fruit per child vine, and up to 4 children vines per plant.

[applestar]

I started some edamame, but they had an accident when I was trying to take them outside — they did a swan dive and face planted on the floor, snapping most of them near the base.

One of the videos I watch, the gardener is a believer is cutting the seedling stem and roots off of his seedlings after first set of true leaves grow and then soaking them in cultured natural growth promoting serum and rooting them as cuttings. So I decided to try the process on the broken edamame seedlings, and they started growing roots in water in 2 days. I’ve potted them and am seeing how they’ll do.

I also started a bunch of fall brassicas, but am going to see if the seed starting process can be less stressful if I don’t obsess about what variety and which crop I’m growing — I’ll probably able to tell what they are after they grow a bit … or not. (I did make a note of what they are and when I started them — I pre-germinated them on moistened paper towel and sowed them as they grew their tiny little root tips)

Anyway, they are all shorter growing crops that need to be spaced about 12 inches apart.

[applestar]

VGA (Vegetable Gardenbed A) has turned into a jungle!

With everything bursting in bloom and setting green fruits that are getting ready to colorbreak, I did a through supplementing with dolomitic lime, kelp meal, fish bone meal, home made bokashi, (and sluggo), plus calcium nitrate and epsom salts — all scattered along the edge of the paths and scratched in, and then watered in well.

[imafan26]

Everything grows so fast. I have that jungle look in my yard too.

[applestar]

@imafan


Some of the bigger fruited tomatoes, while still green, are starting to show their interesting characteristics—

Here are some Sergeant Peppers

[applestar]

Yay! Got the wire fence secured as overhead trellis over the frame I built over VGD (Vegetable Gardenbed B), to allow the cucumber vines to hang onto and allow the cucumber fruits to hang down from.

Here it is —

• VGD with the cucumber trellis on the left,

2022 VGD, VG.SIP, and VGB

• VG.SIP with Beaverlodge Slicer tomatoes in near color-break stage, and the Money Maker eggplant (a little small but I harvested that)

• And VGB with selected watermelons and chamoe children vines almost all finished being strung up to the trellis

[imafan26]

When I hear color break, I think of virus. I am not used to the term being used any other way. The plants look good.

[applestar]

Thanks, @imafan

…I could be using it wrong, but I’m under the impression that in tomato parlance, it means green fruits turning pale and flushing with faint color — not quite “blushing”stage when the fruit has achieved overall paler hue prior to fully ripe color….

[applestar]

— Recent harvests including kale that was cut back for the summer, first harvests of green and red shiso/perilla to encourage branching, Golden Detroit beet thinnings, culled first cuke that was curled, and first zucchini. Tomatoes are starting to size up


…In my NJ garden, Brown Marmorated Stinkbugs have always been the dominant pest stinkbugs. I had an absolute outbreak of them several years ago, when I poured over possible countermeasures, and we always find masses of them that have snuck inside to hibernate during the winter.

I think their population has become somewhat more reasonable recently however, and now ….

By some nefarious process, this year, Green Stinkbugs seem to have emerged as the dominant stinkbugs so far.

I keep running into these 3rd and 4th instar juvees in middle stage, with green patch within brown/black border, on the blackberries I’m reaching for to harvest. I’m seeing many drupes that are shriveled and unpalatable.

Green Stink Bugs in Macadamias - Topics in Subtropics - ANR Blogs

[applestar]

We’re in the heatwave now with daytime highs in the upper 90’s (today’s heat index is expected to exceed 100~105) for every day for several days.


With no rain in yesterday’s forecast until Monday, I went out as soon as it was light and thoroughly watered the key areas of the backyard gardens before the 8am water restriction.

Then we had a happy surprise popup storm that swept through in the afternoon.

I also tried thoroughly fine mist spraying all the cucurbits and solanacea with eggshell vinegar and cultured green juice diluted with water by 400x — these are supposed to promote fungal disease resistance and act as general tonic.

So I’m hoping the garden is OK for today and am hiding out inside.

[applestar]

CUCUMBERS ARE HERE !!

I finally got the chance to go out in the garden, and these are what I found