Tomato Problems?... May 25, 2009

Pictures of what I am afraid could be Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl virus -someone tell me I am wrong!

Mortgage Lifter on left, Better boy on right

Normal tomatoes behind. Notice the difference in sizes.

Better boy exhibited signs first and was purchased from

a highschool greenhouse. Mortgage Lifter was purchased

from a personal greenhouse. The rest were grown by moi.

Campbell's 1327 with symptoms. Raised by myself.

Shorter and bushier than another tomato planted at

same time in same type SWC.

Bushmaster with same symptoms. Purchased at highschool

greenhouse along with the Better boy. Whiteflies were

in the greenhouse.

Normal plant for reference.

Rain ...May 16

Rain... what a surprise. Four and a half inches for the first half of May. I know I should be thankful but its hard when you are watching all those hours of work gasping for air under all that water. Trying a milk/water spray for the tomatoes and peppers in hopes of preventing fungal attacks from the (shock) rain.

Baby tomatoes on the vines, baby peppers peeking out, blooms on the sugar snap peas and already pulling some onions - the fun part of gardening! Used two of the mystery "hot salsa" peppers above in making chow chow today - 5 pints worth - to use up a head of cabbage and some green peppers I had bought on sale and had not cooked.

Finished filling the experimental potato bin with compost today - the leaves are already to the top on the side where I planted some Kennebec seed potatoes. Not surprisingly, the side with the grocery store Yukon Gold had tiny plants that something had already snacked on - I just covered it all with compost. Gardening is full of little surprises - in one of the tomato beds there are six or seven potato plants coming up from the compost we layered in the bottom of it. I dug several up and finally just decided to live and let live - we'll see what happens come summer.

Spring garden...May 15 2009

Thunderstorms again this evening with punishing rain - I am almost scared to go out in the morning and see the sugar snap peas - they were blooming this afternoon and I already had visions of stirfry with our green onions, spinach, etc. The eggplants seem to be recovering from the flea beetle attacks and the scarlet runners are coming up in their pots at the bottom of the arbor. Blooms on most of the tomatoes and peppers and the beans are getting larger by the day... is there anything more relaxing than going out and just visiting everything in the garden?

Flea beetles...May 9, 2009

Attack of the flea beetles on my eggplants. For someone who carried bugs out of her home and school room, I have dark murderous thoughts at the moment. Am trying garlic and hot pepper sauce diluted in water and sprayed on. Hope not to have to go to anything else. Scarlet runner beans are up - will be trained over an arbor and hopefully the hummingbirds will love them this summer.

Note from end of summer... Nothing seemed to faze the flea beetles. Tried all the organic methods I could find - from the garlic spray to DE to soapy sprays. Despite them, the eggplants produced well although their leaves continued all summer to look like someone had taken buckshot to them!

Planting frenzy...May 2, 2009

I may never be able to use my hands again, but all the planting is done - at least for now! Spent all last weekend and 9 hours today planting every freaking tomato seedling, including my husband's pet with one leaf, and everything else. So far the count still live and growing at this point includes:

37 tomatoes - heirlooms, cherries, and a few hybrids for back-up
19 pepper plants - 6 varieties
8 eggplants - 2 varieties
10 squash, zucchini and cukes
10 gazillion onions, green onions, shallots and garlic - no fear of vampires here
Carrots - 3 varieties
Sugar Snap Peas
Spinach
Bush Beans - two varieties in ground so far
Scarlet Runner beans

Still have a few broccoli plants left - heads are small but tasty, but the heat is getting to them - stirfry tonight!



Did I mention the four pots of herbs? Sage, several types of
thyme, dill, two kinds of chives, oregano, Genovese basil....

SWC How To on the cheap....April 4, 2009

After reading about the wonders of self-watering containers I decided to try a few this year for myself, but didn't want to lay out over forty dollars apiece. Using information gleaned from various sites and an idea shared on a gardening list, I made a few changes and came up with the official Newstead El Cheapo SWC.

STEP ONE. Ask at your local grocery deli for empty frosting buckets - the largest they have (We were able to score them at Costco, Food Lion and Lowe's Food). Cut a 3-4 inch hole in the top.

STEP TWO. Buy or scrounge some 3 inch diameter PVC, drill holes all around and cut into 2-3 inch sections. Use one to measure up from the bottom of the bucket and drill a large hole in the bucket at the top of the PVC support.

STEP THREE. Try your local dollar store for plastic colanders. Cut the handles off, then cut out the bottom solid circle and drill two holes, one on each side of the central hole. Attach the PVC support to the colander using the holes drilled in each.

STEP FOUR. Place the colander in the bucket, resting on the PVC support. If you are concerned about soil falling through the holes (some do, some don't), you can use screening material or landscape fabric to hold the soil. Fill the hole in the colander first then continue up the bucket with soil, moistening as you go (use a good organic potting soil mixed with some compost or mix your own from compost, potting soil, peat, soil conditioner.

STEP FIVE. Fill the bucket all the way to the top with moist potting mix. Firm gently. Make a trench around the edge and fill with 1/4 cup or so of a good organic balanced fertilizer (I used Garden Tone). Plant your plant (here a squash) in the middle of the bucket, watering in well. Cut a 3-4 inch diameter hole in the top of the bucket and place the top carefully over the plant. Fill the bottom reservoir with water and voila! A self-watering container for about $1.25 plus the soil!

The planting is ON...April 25, 2009

What a difference a week makes~ Its in the high 80s here in the piedmont of NC so the race is on. Today 16 tomatoes went in a 4x8 bed covered with red plastic mulch. Going to see if it really does increase yields by 20% as claimed. Lots of different flavors expected - planted 4 bells of two varieties, three ancho/poblanos, four Rounds of Hungary (hopefully will be canning my own pimientos this year - tired of paying 1.60 for a tiny jar!), three Jalapenos and two Corno di Toros - they look absolutely fabulous in pictures. Started in earnest making the self-watering containers from free buckets gleaned from local delis/groceries. I am so out of room in the six raised beds I am trying squash, zucchini, cukes, eggplants and a few tomatoes in them. Oh, and of course more peppers - a jalapeno and two sweet banana peppers for pickling. My youngest is home for a time and he is already excited about the fresh veggies out growing... four months in Colorado with his older brother turned him into a parttime vegetarian and fulltime healthy eater. We harvested the last of the collards today - would be a sad event if they hadn't been so delicious with a poor man's dinner- pintos (flavored with vegetable bouillon and garlic) served with the last jar of green tomato relish, mashed potatoes and collards with balsamic rice wine vinegar - and since this is the south, cornbread of course! Still, we are already looking forward to a fall crop of collards. A wonderful woman on one of my garden email lists read my love paens to collards and mailed me a wonderful packet of heirloom yellow Cabbage Collard seeds - only found in one area of NC. Can't wait to try those this year.

If you have never heard of Seed Saver Exchange, get thee over to http://www.seedsaver.org/. For 35 dollars a year you not only support their effort to preserve heirloom vegetables and animals but receive a phone book sized listing of member offerings in practically every heirloom seed out there (my only disapointment was - surprise - the few collards offerings) and several magazines a year. Well worth the expense to help support this type of preservation effort.

Looking forward to another day of planting and gardening tomorrow. The peonies are breathtaking now -for those short few weeks of spring they are such a rich delight. Hope to get some more pics up tomorrow.