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I'm in Milwaukee and have some Quinault strawberries and snap peas out on my porch... they can withstand frost, right? I'm asking because research suggested they can but now that I left the peas uncovered last night they're looking a bit wilty. I planted a backup crop just in case, but I'd still hate to lose this batch. The strawberries aren't producing any flowers anymore since I transplanted them but otherwise they look okay.
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Apr 12, 2009 18:30
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kid sinister posted:They can withstand frost if they're in the ground, not if they're potted up on your porch. If they're in the ground, they at least have the dirt to insulate the roots. If they're up in a pot above ground, then the cold air can work on all parts of the plant. ...poo poo. I'll be bringing those in, then. 
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Apr 13, 2009 02:51
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It was finally warm enough to wear shorts out today (which I found out too late... I was already halfway to Lowes in pants when I realized I was sweating) and the gardening bug bit me hard. I already had some peas, spinach, and strawberries out, but now I have one of those hanging tomato planters and some petunias too. I got the flowers not only because they're pretty but also so I can watch my boyfriend freak out every time a bumblebee buzzes up to them.  Picture time!  This is my balcony. It's all messy due to all the playing in dirt I did earlier but as soon as it dries out I'm going to go sweep it.  These are my strawberries, they're Quinaults. No blossoms right now, apparently since they're first year plants I might not get any fruit this year I'm still holding out hope, though. I'm going to pick up a few more strawberry plants I think, just so I'll have them for next year if I'm going to have to wait anyway. Here's my tomatoes. Heartland in the top, Early Girl in the bottom. I've never grown tomatoes so it's sort of an experiment and learning experience for me. I'm really hoping the Early Girls do okay since I had to wrestle with the roots to get them through the hole in the bottom of the planter.  And these are my pathetic little sprigs of basil. I planted this poo poo over a month ago. I honestly don't know what's going on. Maybe it's because they've been in those tiny peat pots? I put them in the pots the tomatoes came in and they've been fertilized, so hopefully they'll actually grow now. Now I just have to watch out for any late frosts and remember to cover everything up.
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Apr 18, 2009 20:58
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I had a dream last night that we had another hard frost overnight and the news mentioned it at like 5 AM and I leaped out of bed and ran to my porch only to find my tomato plant had turned all yellow and then snapped off at the base. Honestly, I can't stand getting frosts as late as mid-April, I don't know how you guys are dealing with frosts this late. Winter used to be my favorite season when I was a kid but now I just want to go south where it gets warmer earlier.
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May 17, 2009 15:29
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Tequila Mockingbird posted:Do you live down in the states? Up in Calgary we aren't supposed to plant until this weekend because frost is usually done.. but wouldn't you know it, forecast says mixed rain and snow for tomorrow now and it's looking like next weekend would've been the best time to plant. Yeah, I'm in Milwaukee. When I was in Calgary I liked it, but that's because it was during the summer while the Stampede was going on. I doubt I'd have liked it much had I gone during any other time. It seems my strawberries are putting out runners, two of them to be exact. I'll have to scrounge up some pots and dirt to put them in when they start getting roots. I found another little tomato forming today as well, I was afraid since our weather has been in the 40's at night and between 45 and 70 during the day it wouldn't set any more fruit yet. I can't wait to see how they get going once the weather turns hot, though my peas need to set /their/ fruit first. Speaking of which, when do peas get their flowers? Do they have to be a certain height or have certain conditions? I'm just wondering because I planted them some time ago and they're getting rather tall and enjoy full sunlight (I even move them across the porch as the side they're on gets shady every day) but I see no indication that they plan to produce anything other than more leaves and vines. Am I doing something wrong or do I just have to wait?
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May 18, 2009 02:54
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My strawberries are turning red  Also I think my peas might just be a lost cause. If they haven't flowered by now surely they won't have time to before June gets here and the heat kills them off. Maybe I'll just go ahead and yank them and use the pots to plant my strawberry runners and some pole beans.
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May 22, 2009 03:39
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Yeah I fed them way too much tomato food I think because I wanted them to grow well and more food is better right?  Ah well, live and learn. I might plant more this fall and they're not getting poo poo except maybe just something mixed into the soil before I plant them. Our nearby farmer's market is starting next week so I can just get fresh snap peas from them.
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May 22, 2009 05:31
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I'm actually in an apartment and have all my plants in pots on my balcony, but thanks anyway for the advice. Someday I'll have a yard with actual soil to turn and space for things like corn. I'll probably have to just buy new bags of soil, which is no big deal. I wonder, though, it'd be alright to let my strawberry runners root in that soil wouldn't it? I've got three of them coming off one of my plants and they need somewhere to go soon. I've been feeding the strawberries the same way I did the peas (Miracle grow tomato feed every two weeks) and they're absolutely thriving with plenty of berries and the three runners, so unless one of you guys knows something I don't I'll probably put them in one of the pea pots just as soon as I can convince myself to pull them up. I hate to just destroy two big pots of perfectly healthy but non-productive peas, especially since I have no rabbits or anything to eat them. Seems like such a waste.
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May 22, 2009 15:13
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Tequila Mockingbird posted:I am so, so jealous of you people with long growing seasons. I started a container garden setup this weekend. I'm growing cucumbers, lettuce mix, kohlrabi (bf's favourite) and tomatoes. I've also been issued a warning, if I come home with any more plants I'm gonna have to move out. Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one getting that warning. My boyfriend just gets this look of despair on his face every time I tell him I'm walking over to Lowes "Just to look this time! I swear!" Came home with two pepper plants and some pole bean seeds the other day. 
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May 25, 2009 05:53
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Oh my God you poor thing. Between the state of the plants and snow in loving JUNE I think I'd be bawling right now. 
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Jun 6, 2009 05:07
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LTBS posted:Anyone know what these ants are doing and if they are harming my cayenne pepper plant? From Wikipedia: quote:Some species of ants "farm" aphids, protecting them on the plants they eat, eating the honeydew that the aphids release from the terminations of their alimentary canals. This is a "mutualistic relationship". That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture, anyway.  So yeah I don't think the ants are directly hurting your plants but you might want to check them for aphids.
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Jun 7, 2009 05:34
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I have no idea then, maybe someone else will weigh in. Speaking of aphids though, I just found that the ones I thought I eliminated from my little pepper plant have returned in force.  I can't find my spray bottle so I'm going to pick one up at Wal-Mart, then the little bastards are going to take a bath in dishsoap.
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Jun 7, 2009 21:52
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My chili pepper plant is suddenly all wilty and dropping leaves. I don't know if it's because the aphids are getting the best of it or that it doesn't like the soap I've been spraying it with. Either way, I may have to go get another one.
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Jun 14, 2009 05:00
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ChuckHead posted:OK, but I only have one pepper plant. Oh NOOOO..... Hahaha, I've considered doing this but since I've the only thing that stands between my balcony and the neighbor's is a wooden fence I'm wondering if it'll be a good idea. I don't think she'll take too kindly to being swarmed by ladybugs when she goes outside to smoke. Then again, perhaps it'll keep her from filling my own apartment with her nasty rear end cigarette smell 10 times a day. I wish I could just go catch some but I haven't seen a ladybug in the wild for years. Just those stupid smelly asian beetles. In other news, I have some little tomatoes ripening. My pole beans are growing too, though I'm not sure why some of them have wrinkly leaves and others have normal looking flat ones. Hopefully I'll get some good beans off them.
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Jun 14, 2009 20:03
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Carta posted:What the hell is eating my tomato plant leaves? That is apparently a tortoise beetle. I only know this because I found a "What's that bug?" type site and started reading it top to bottom because bugs are cool. http://www.pestmanagement.ca/Questions/pest_photos_1001.htm It's bug number 1022 on that page.
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Jun 16, 2009 23:20
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I'm really excited about some new strawberries and my pole beans (apologies for the cruddy cell phone pics): Only three little berries starting to form but these are the first ones to come from the plants in my hanging basket. I already harvested my other 2 plants that I have in a pot. I'm hoping to see more flowers spring up in the next few weeks.  These are my pole beans, and they're easily twice this size now (this picture was taken on the 25th of June I think). I'm super excited because there are little flower buds popping up all over, though it might be a day or two before they bloom. I'm trying to decide whether to allow them to climb all over the railing on my balcony, but I'm worried that if I do and a storm pops up I won't be able to pull them back out of the wind. Does anyone know if it'd be okay now that they're bigger to let them take the full force of a storm?  This is my biggest tomato plant and I've already had several ripe tomatoes off it.  This plant is smaller but it was loaded with flowers, which are now starting to wilt and either snap off or drop the petals to reveal a developing new tomato. On top of that my dad found me a complete canning kit and a bunch of jars for like 5 or 6 bucks at a garage sale and he's on his way with it right now (coming to Milwaukee from Indiana to visit). I'm going to buy a counter-mounted apple peeler at some point and then I'll be ready to stock my larders with enough apple pie filling to last us this winter. :3
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Jul 3, 2009 18:40
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I got my first green beans too... tossed them in a pot of vegetable soup and served it up with some homemade bread. I'm hoping I get a lot more of them, the first ones to mature only amounted to about a handful. My pepper plant finally put out a bloom, too. Looks like the rest of the buds will follow suit shortly.
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Jul 19, 2009 05:05
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My pole beans seem to have stopped producing. I'm going to have a huge crop of tomatoes though, and plenty of strawberries come next summer when the 7 plants I have really get going. I bought a book by John Seymour on homesteading the other day (I spend a stupid amount of money at Half Price Books) called The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. It's got a wealth of knowledge in it and covers a huge range of subjects. If only it'd tell me how to get my beans to put out some more blossoms.
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Jul 31, 2009 04:46
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Hey guys, is there any chance that my strawberries might have Verticillium Wilt if they're in containers? They're Bonnie strawberries I bought from Lowe's this spring and planted in pots using Miracle Gro soil. Since this is only my second container garden and my first time growing strawberries I thought it was normal for the outer leaves to be wilting and shriveling up, because new green healthy leaves always sprang up in abundance right behind them. But now my plants are starting to look exceedingly thin and when I googled it, the pictures of Verticillium Wilt look like what's happening. I'm just confused because most of the pictures I saw were of strawberries in the ground, not in pots. I was under the impression that having my stuff in containers meant that they'd be disease free. Perhaps my hopes were too high. At least my pole beans are starting to get some flowers again. I thought they'd decided to call it quits after producing just a handful of beans during the middle of July.
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Aug 1, 2009 20:25
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My strawberries definitely seem to be dying. I guess I'll replace them next year. Plenty of pole beans and tomatoes, though. I also started some seeds today so I can have plenty of leafy greens this fall.
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Aug 11, 2009 04:57
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NosmoKing posted:Fix my blossom end rot on my tomatoes!! I mixed a cup of milk into a gallon of water and gave them that, and so far it seems to have helped. It's not going to fix the ones that already rotted but it doesn't look like any more of my green tomatoes are turning brown. This could be total bullshit though, I had mixed opinions when I looked it up. Interestingly enough, I've been feeding my tomatoes with Miracle Gro tomato food the entire time (though it's not the organic stuff) and they still developed blossom-end rot. Apparently Miracle Gro is also shacked up with Monsanto, so I'm going to ditch it anyway and try to make my own compost next year. Chajara fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Aug 20, 2009 |
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Aug 20, 2009 19:43
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Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this pepper? I googled it and the only thing I can guess is maybe a bacterial infection. It was fine for the longest time, but I was waiting for it to turn red and suddenly the middle turned grey and wrinkly. I cut it open expecting mold or a big fat bug or something, but the inside looks okay. It was so pretty before. I've got a few more that are starting to grow now, I hope they don't do this too.  My cat doesn't seem to mind its unsightliness, though: 
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Aug 21, 2009 17:42
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madlilnerd posted:I don't understand why my tomatoes aren't ripening. It's been really sunny here for September, they've been fed, I'm pinching out tips so they don't put on any more flowers or foliage, and yet I'm still stuck with hoards of green tomatoes, some of which look a bit gross and sickly like they might be rotting on the plant. It's been this way for two weeks, since I got back from Hawaii. The variety of tomato is called Moneymaker and it's a really easy genus to grow. My tomatoes are mostly still green too, and they've been that way for weeks. They're slowly ripening one by one now, but the majority of them are still completely green. I'm just chalking it up to a cool summer and a good week where it was downright chilly and rainy. What sucks is that back when it was good and warm I had several tomatoes ripen, but they had blossom-end rot and I had to supplement the plant with milk and toss all the rotten tomatoes. I guess that's a lesson learned for next year.
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Sep 11, 2009 15:46
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There's definitely a chance because we had potatoes growing in the compost heap and they're the same family as the tommies.
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I ordered pickling cucumbers and San Marzano tomatoes from Seeds of Change and they got here today. I cleared off the top of my fridge and set up my grow light and got a big tray full of seeds started I'm sort of frustrated at the lack of grow light setups in places like Lowe's. All they seem to sell is separate bulbs and housing and they expect me to wire it myself since none of them have cords or plugs. Why don't these places carry adjustable light setups? My mom gave me one instead that she's had forever, it's old as dirt but it's doing its job. No leggy seedlings for me this year!
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Feb 25, 2010 04:17
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My cucumber seedlings are already a few inches tall and I had to move the tallest ones under their own light. Peas are shooting upwards, tomatoes and spinach are just emerging. I'm going to need to get some pots ready for those cucumbers pretty soon because I'm betting by the end of the week they'll have their first true leaves.
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Mar 2, 2010 05:57
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I added some worms to my little compost bucket on my balcony a few days ago and just checked on them. Despite the chilly nights they've dispersed throughout the bucket and are healthy and squirming. I fed them a bucket of kitchen scraps. Can't wait for my first batch of compost from these guys. I think I might have planted my tomatoes and cucumbers a little too early for Wisconsin, but to be honest I was expecting to mess up and kill the first batch and have to start a second batch later. They're thriving and I don't know what I'm going to do with them once I have to put them all in pots because I only have 3 grow bulbs and a few square feet of space on top of my fridge where the cats can't go. They can't go outside until the temps are consistently much warmer. I have been hardening off my peas and might plant some spinach outside pretty soon though. Also, I heard the cardinals and a few other birds singing their heads off this morning. Spring is here even if it's not official yet! Just waiting to see a robin now.
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Mar 12, 2010 18:33
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Just signed up on Myfolia as Chajara. Looks like a great site, though I'm debating whether or not I want to shell out 22 bucks for the special features.
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Mar 28, 2010 15:13
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enki42 posted:The planting timeline alone is pretty cool. I just signed up, but it's already saved me a couple of cases of abandoning seeds because I think they're never going to germinate. Yeah speaking of which I planted peas and spinach on a warm day and we got a frost the next night. The peas actually seem to still be coming up albeit slowly (I dug one up today to see if it was dead) but the spinach was a total bust, not a single one germinated. Guess I get to replant. 
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Mar 29, 2010 04:03
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Just checked up on the plants outside and my little spinach sprouts have their first true leaves poking up and the peas have their first flower buds.
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Apr 11, 2010 18:12
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I just went through my little 5 gallon compost bucket and took out a bunch of last year's pole bean vines that weren't breaking down fast enough. My worms seem to be healthy and happy, although I wonder why they haven't started reproducing yet. It's been relatively warm for a while and I figured I'd see their little egg cocoons or baby worms by now. In any event, I should be able to use the compost for this year's pole beans when I put them out (probably around the first of May). Should be putting out my tomatoes and cucumbers around that time too. Once they're out on the porch I'm going to set up an herb garden underneath the grow lights.
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Apr 20, 2010 17:28
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It was kinda nice yesterday so I put my cucumbers out and wound them up a trellis, figuring they had to go outside since they were getting flowers already and that there shouldn't be that many more chilly nights left. Then I come home from work at 9 PM and see the frost advisory. They're a total loss. gently caress YOU, WISCONSIN AND YOUR RANDOM WEATHER.
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Apr 28, 2010 21:19
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MarshallX posted:There was frost on the ground this morning. Here too, AGAIN. I am seriously getting sick of this poo poo, our last frost date should have been the end of April at the latest and here it is halfway into May and we still have frost. I'm running out of cucumber seeds, I need to put my tomatoes out, and my pole beans still need to be planted.
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May 10, 2010 17:20
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My pole beans have been flowering since the beginning of the month. Every single flower has wilted and dropped off thanks to this goddamn oppressive heat we've had going on. I am at least getting good tomatoes off my six San Marzano plants, though. I'm saving them in the freezer until I get enough for a batch of sauce. I've lost a few to chipmunks or squirrels but I've still got probably 15 or so in the freezer at this point, with several more on the windowsill and even more currently ripening. Has anyone else managed to actually get any beans despite the heat? One of my favorite things about summer is coming home from work and picking a handful of beans on my way into the house to snack on. I'm going to be really sad if it stays this hot and I don't get very many.
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Jul 18, 2012 21:03
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I finally found one single bean flower this morning that dropped the petals to reveal an actual little bean. It's going to hit over 90 again today.  Here's my beans, by the way. They're taking over! I also didn't think my cunning plan through with those cucumbers, as now I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to let them climb. I already have another container of them going up a metal bench since it's the only other climbable thing I have on the deck. 
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Jul 23, 2012 20:31
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Morning made.   You little beauties are late, but you're greatly appreciated.
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Jul 31, 2012 14:12
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Remember when I was bitching about not having any beans? Yeah. This is the third batch this size that I've picked, and I'm getting one every 4 or 5 days or so now.
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Aug 29, 2012 02:12
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Faerunner posted:I am jealous of your chickens. Some day... Either that or rummage and garage sales. I got my canner, a bunch of accessories, and a food mill for $5 at a garage sale.
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Aug 29, 2012 02:28
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