What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

My main objective is to remove bottom leaves, branches to increase air flow. Otherwise, they grow so fast!

Agree. About 2nd week in July, I give up, bested by their growth rate and the heat.

 

[TJAnonymous]

@CNJ I'd be careful about adding chlorox, or any other chemical to the witches brew you've got going in the can. You've already got a high ammonia content from adding the chicken manure, and who knows what from the fermentation of the other compost. Adding chlorine to that is a recipe for disaster. Ammonium Chloride is no good for the lungs and then where can you pour it? The high salts content will kill off your lawn.

We don't use things that will draw in more things, like the traps or the zappers. Biting flies are just part of the landscape here, come with stock and cattle. We spray to repel and do that as little as possible and still manage them.

Not to mention inadvertently making mustard gas.....

 

[TJAnonymous]

Morning. Got a half inch of rain overnight.

Not much new in the garden. My experiment with hand pollinating squash the day after the flower bloomed was a fail. Seems female squash are only viable the day they are open, which I kind of figured. Only male flowers on the cucumbers so far.

I'm so bad at pinching suckers on my brandywine tomatoes. Some how I look every day, but I always miss & end up with 2 tops. Really doesn't seem that hard yet I fail! LOL Last year I didn't prune or stake a sungold at all & that thing produced more than any plant I've ever grown. Its offspring are popping up all in the garden paths & I'm letting them grow. Going to leave them to do their thing, no pruning until I can't get around them.

Does anyone not pinch or prune tomatoes?

I am constantly pruning my indeterminate tomatoes. They go quite crazy in growth and become super bushy very quickly. If I don't prune them, they don't get proper air flow and disease follows. Plus I'm constantly fighting aphids and white flies so pruning makes dealing with them easier too.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Speaking of tomatoes, I've got a head scratcher....

Two years ago I bought one of these Better Boy patio containers. Last year I reused the container for some cherry tomatoes. They kind of took over and there were tons of tomatoes I never collected.

Fast forward to this year... I decided not to grow tomatoes in the patio container because I never switched out the soil. I figured it would be nutrient depleted so instead I threw some flower seeds in it and moved the container down by my blackberries at the end of the row.

Well I noticed some foliage growing a few weeks ago and thought it looked like tomato foliage... But I knew I hadn't planted any in that pot so I thought maybe I was wrong... Nope, it's now producing flowers. There's probably 6 or 7 very pathetic looking tomato vines growing in that pot which isn't very big... Maybe a 9 - 12 inch pot?

I'm guessing some of the cherry tomatoes seeded themselves in the pot but it's just a guess. I have no idea what is going on come out.... It's a mystery! I do need to probably remove all but the strongest and feed the poor thing. It does look rather pitiful....

 

[WthrLady]

I have surprise tomatoes come up every year somewhere. Kind of a grab bag if I let them go to see what I end up with.
FEED IT FEED IT !

 

[WthrLady]

Hey raised bed fans.
Saw these on craigslist this morning. ($25 each!!)

 

[TJAnonymous]

Hey raised bed fans.
Saw these on craigslist this morning. ($25 each!!)
View attachment 3158499

Wow! Only $25? I would think the wood alone would cost more than that! What a steal....

 

[TJAnonymous]

Hey raised bed fans.
Saw these on craigslist this morning. ($25 each!!)
View attachment 3158499

That actually gives me some ideas on a self watering container. If you use those containers with a spout as your overflow hole. Add a few drain tiles in the center and voila!

 

[WthrLady]

Wow! Only $25? I would think the wood alone would cost more than that! What a steal....

RIGHT!?

 

[TJAnonymous]

I have confirmed that the pest that is infesting my potato plants is the leaf footed bug. I saw dozens of nymphs on a plant a few days ago. Well I actually caught one yesterday and put it in some soapy water. I also saw an adult. I'm hoping these pests aren't the reason why my potatoes are withering early.... . I'll look for more of them when I get home tonight. I also need to add more dirt to my beds because just about every bed has potatoes popping through the surface!