First Fruit from the Garden....

[Rovers]

It's early in NY to be harvesting anything but herbs like cilantro and basil, but I am presently enjoying the very first hot pepper from my garden! This is a good news bad news story.... most of my garden has some sort of virus or fungus bothering it, and it has affected at least one nieghbor as well (next door, all tomato and pepper plants), but I did try a new variety of hot pepper this year, anyone ever heard of Portugese Hot? The plant gave up on this pepper, just not big enough to support three peppers with it's paltry, disease induced weakness, but this pepper.... awesome!

 

Great flavor, even unripened, and plenty of heat. They look like cayenne's on steroids. The best ones are about 6"s long, and maybe an inch around at the top. About the same heat as a cayenne, even unripened. My habenero plants look bad.... but these Portugese babies seem to be somewhat more disease resistant. Better than the hot cherries, in that regard too.

 

Anyone ever grow these bad boys? If so, any tips? If not, try them.... very tasty, plenty of heat. The best thing is the volume of each pepper. They run about 4X's the size of a cayenne, so it looks like a great home made hot sauce pepper. The healthiest plant has about 7 six inch peppers on it now. Man, I can't wait till they turn red!

[BiPolarBear]

I love to grow me some peppers. I haven't heard of the one you are growing. I grow serrano and jalepeno mostly. Serrano is what is usually put into salsa, but I like jalepeno. It isn't as hot so you just use more of it.

[Rovers]

I was beginning to think no one would reply in this thread!

 

Bear, I like the seranos, but Jalapenos I don't bother to grow. they are always available at the market, the quality is good, and they are cheap. I like to grow items that are either hard to find, expensive, or both.

 

Still not sure what these Portugese hots are best suited for.... but some home hot sauce is a definite.

 

My base recipe for hot sauce goes something like this:

 

In a blender or food processor, mix the peppers, a small green tomato, a chopped or diced carrot, and a half a small onion to an almost liquid viscosity. Small chunks are good to have, so check the consistancy often when blending. Add a bit of vinegar, and use whatever you like here, apple cider, red or white wine vinegar, a tablespoon of sugar, salt to taste. blend a bit more, and add water for desired liquidity. I often add some herb, like cilantro or basil, but they shorten the storage life some. Some garlic works well too, in limited amounts.

[Footballjoe]

I like to garden but not into the hot peppers. I have planted about 16 Bell pepper plants but they are not doing well. Something is eating the leaves from the bottom up. I tried slug bait and 7 dust. Any advice?

 

 

I have harvested cabbage, spinach, lettuce and squash already. We have gotten a lot of rain over the past weeks and I think that has caused my broccoli to "flower". Total loss there.

 

I will be getting cucumbers soon, I saw a few small ones yesterday. I also have a few red tomatoes but they are awful small for some reason. Overall my plants have not done well this year, especially compared to last years harvast.

 

Farmer - Football Joe signing off.

[georgemoe]

My first garden ever this year so unfortunately I don't have much to add. Planted lettuce, cukes, summer squash, zukes, bell and hot peppers, along with to two diff tomatoes.

 

Tomatoes seem to be doing well. Couple plants have 5-6 small fruit on each. Nothing red yet.

 

zukes and squash plants are huge and I have many blossoms. Cukes took longer to grow but are starting to get better. Those are just starting to flower. I also have a terrible problem with what looks like leaves being eaten. This is predominately on the cuke plants.

 

Peppers are really slow. My buddy gave me all plants that he started from seed.

 

I've been eating lettuce from the garden for about a week. Planted romaine, red crisp, and boston bib. These took the brunt of the overwatering and some of the outer leaves got rot/decay. They are better now but small compared to my buddies lettuce. His romaine heads are huge.

 

I'll be planting more lettuce this week.

[Rovers]

Bugs..... this year, in NY, it's earwigs and snails. My advice is to go into the garden at night with a flashlight. These insects and bugs generally feed at night. If the damage is only on lower leaves, it's most likely snails and slugs. There are some very effective pesticides for this, and OK to use in the garden. This stuff is usually in pellet form, but be sure no pets can get to it.

 

Earwigs and some other insects are a tougher problem. They will even eat Marigold plants. Devour them, in fact. The wetter the weather, the more earwigs. Garden pests are often varied, depending on your location. Local gardening stores are very helpful. Unfortunately, they are dissappearing fast, with the low price/no service stores like Home Depot.

 

Bummer about the broccoli, Gmoe. Cukes are usually pretty bug resistant. Get the flashlight, and take a look at the garden around midnight. For instance, earwigs are very tough lil bassads, and only an insecticide made specifically for them will work. I would suspect snails/slugs as the problem there.

 

Keep an eye out for aphids and whiteflies. They are tiny, hard to see, and can destroy a garden. Careful observation of vines during the day is the bset way to determine if they are sapping your plants. Most of the rather benign pesticides like Sevin will control these pests. If you do decide to spray, be sure to use a delivery system that allows you to hit the underside of the leaves. This is where these pests lay their eggs and larvae. This is also why dusting isn't as effective as a spray based delivery system.

 

Fungus and viral infections are very difficult to solve. Sometimes, all you can do is buy somewhat less tasty, but more viral and fungus resistant varieties as the only defense.

[yo mama]

First garden in years, for me. Kept in simple with some zuch, tomatos, and catalope. didn't give the cantalope enough room to roam, so it's doing nothing. The tomatos and zuch are going gang busters, though. Only problem there is the birds are starting to peck at them, so we're tying strips of mylar on the tops of the tomato posts. Hopefully that helps. The tomato and zuch plants are producing about twice what we can eat, so we're trading with friends in the 'hood. Loquat tree was going strong, but it's done for now. Plum tree is doing so-so, but it has a fungus that needs to be taken care of this fall. Orange and lemon trees continue to produce, year round. Herb garden is also in full swing, though it isn't very large. Still, we've got basil coming out of our ears.

Edited July 11, 2006 by yo mama

[Footballjoe]

Thanks for the advice. I have already but down snail/slug bait but may need to do it again with all the rain we have had. Ditto on the 7 dust.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

My first garden ever this year so unfortunately I don't have much to add. Planted lettuce, cukes, summer squash, zukes, bell and hot peppers, along with to two diff tomatoes.

 

Tomatoes seem to be doing well. Couple plants have 5-6 small fruit on each. Nothing red yet.

 

zukes and squash plants are huge and I have many blossoms. Cukes took longer to grow but are starting to get better. Those are just starting to flower. I also have a terrible problem with what looks like leaves being eaten. This is predominately on the cuke plants.

 

Peppers are really slow. My buddy gave me all plants that he started from seed.

 

I've been eating lettuce from the garden for about a week. Planted romaine, red crisp, and boston bib. These took the brunt of the overwatering and some of the outer leaves got rot/decay. They are better now but small compared to my buddies lettuce. His romaine heads are huge.

 

I'll be planting more lettuce this week.

 

throw the miracle grow to those peppers and tomatoes.not sure what could be eating the cukes leaves but try seven dust if you have'nt already.I saw a pretty cool thing i've never seen before the other day.A guy was growing lettuce(romaine I think),and had small buckets with the bottom cut out over his lettuce plants,I guess to keep the heads together and keep the leaves off the ground.

[Rovers]

Thanks for the advice. I have already but down snail/slug bait but may need to do it again with all the rain we have had. Ditto on the 7 dust.

 

 

Slugs and snails will migrate. if you have them, they are in the lawn. I've noticed that the pesticides for those pests does lose potency after a rain. I lay pellets every two weeks, and more often if it rains.

 

One other thing that I've recently learned the imprortance of is crop roataion. Even with fresh compost, potentially harmful diseases will impregnate into the soil that are plant specific. Also, while Miracle Grow is great, it's use will deplete the calcium in the soil. Lack of calcium will result in bottom rot, something that will cause both tomatos and peppers to rot at the bottom of the fruit. I've read it's best to avoid replanting tomatos in the same spot for 4 years. Removing old dead growth in the fall is a hugh help as well, including roots.

 

I've done a lot of net research on diseases this year. Cutting brown growth, keeping the garden Josh Gordon free and removing any affected leaves and vegitation should not be over looked. Some insect damage is OK, but should be addresed if it becomes a real leaf propogation problem.

[BiPolarBear]

I've been eating lettuce from the garden for about a week. Planted romaine, red crisp, and boston bib. These took the brunt of the overwatering and some of the outer leaves got rot/decay. They are better now but small compared to my buddies lettuce. His romaine heads are huge.

 

I'll be planting more lettuce this week.

 

The nice thing about planting lettuce is that you know what chemicals have been used to grow it and keep the bugs off. I grew cabbage in California one year. My cabbage looked like it had been blasted with a shotgun it had so many holes in it. I used some of the weaker, safer pesticides on it and it was just like a desert topping to the cabbage worms. The cabbage fields a mile away were full of huge cabbage plants without a single hole in the leaves. Makes you think about what they put on such things.

[Footballjoe]

Thanks for all the advice Rovers. We will have to nominate you the "Offical Huddler Garden Expert"

 

I enjoy gardening but do not have a lot of time for it. 2 jobs, honey-do lists and getting a child ready for college not to mention FF.

[georgemoe]

Thanks for all the responses. I used the spray Miracle Grow the other day and have been careful with my watering.

 

I do have some 7 dust in the garage and will also look into a spray type.

[Rovers]

Thanks for all the advice Rovers. We will have to nominate you the "Offical Huddler Garden Expert"

 

I enjoy gardening but do not have a lot of time for it. 2 jobs, honey-do lists and getting a child ready for college not to mention FF.

 

 

LOL, but I don't think so! I quit growing tomatoes for two years because of this virus/fungus problem. I did some research, and thought moving the garden would fix the problem, but it's back. Since then, I've spent hours on end researching on the net trying to make a correct diagnosis and what treatments might be available. I guess I absorbed a lot, but still can't fix this problem. I've started to use some liquid calcium mixed in with Miracle Grow for the bottom rot problem. So far, the tomatoes look OK, but all the leaves within two feet of the grond have either fallen or been clipped off. The plants are about 6 feet high.

 

If I was an expert, I could solve this probelm! This fall, I will excavate the entire garden to a depth of two feet. Then, I'll treat the ground with a small amount of chlorine and apply a fungus treatment. Then, I'll wall the insdide of the hole with plastic (not the bottom of the hole), and get sterilized soil and compost to refill it in the spring. Hopefully, combined with planting more disease resistant varieties, that will solve the problem. If not, I'll give up on tomatoes.

 

One more thing I've learned.... don't smoke around the garden. Don't let anyone else do it, either. Something called "tobacco mosaic virus" is a disease that tomato plants can catch easilly. When working around the plants, wear fresh clothes and wash your arms and hands, if you are a smoker. Touching even a very small wound on the plant can spread this disease, or even just smoke passing over it can cause the problem. Once the plant gets it, it travels into the soil, ruining the spot for gardening.

 

I was pretty surprised to read that tomatoes should not be planted in the same spot for 4 years. Just one infected plant can spoil the soil, and these diseases will remain there for some time. Previously, I had great crops from the same spot for 5 years.... then I lost eveything for 2 years in a row. Fat dumb and happy is not always a good thing!

[Footballjoe]

I was pretty surprised to read that tomatoes should not be planted in the same spot for 4 years. Just one infected plant can spoil the soil, and these diseases will remain there for some time. Previously, I had great crops from the same spot for 5 years.... then I lost eveything for 2 years in a row. Fat dumb and happy is not always a good thing!

 

 

I use to have a real nice chart that showed how to rotate your plants and what crops to plant in the same area. Certain plants help protect each other from insects and diesase. There may be something on the internet about this that may be helpful.

[whoopazz]

Rovers,

 

This is the first year I've had trouble with my pepper plants (in NC). Usually by now the jalapenos are busting with peppers. This year, brown and wilted pathetic looking plants. Its probably too late now to even bother with it. Nothing visible on them, so

[Rovers]

Rovers,

 

This is the first year I've had trouble with my pepper plants (in NC). Usually by now the jalapenos are busting with peppers. This year, brown and wilted pathetic looking plants. Its probably too late now to even bother with it. Nothing visible on them, so

 

 

Diseases are a real beitch. If you buy small plants, they may be diseased to begin with. Diseases are also spread by flying insects. Sure sounds like a fungus or virus problem to me. Same sort of symptoms I see here in NY. It actually isn't too late to do a new planting, IF you can find some seedlings that don't look weakened. I'd also avoid planting in that same soil. Try a large planter with fresh potting soil. My pepper plants that are in planters are doing MUCH better than the others. They still have some disease problems, but are clearly better off than the plants in the garden.

[whoopazz]

Diseases are a real beitch. If you buy small plants, they may be diseased to begin with. Diseases are also spread by flying insects. Sure sounds like a fungus or virus problem to me. Same sort of symptoms I see here in NY. It actually isn't too late to do a new planting, IF you can find some seedlings that don't look weakened. I'd also avoid planting in that same soil. Try a large planter with fresh potting soil. My pepper plants that are in planters are doing MUCH better than the others. They still have some disease problems, but are clearly better off than the plants in the garden.

 

Hmmm. All good thoughts. I bought small plants (at home depot no less), and have planted them in the same spot for several years. I usually can harvest well into fall down here, so maybe not all is lost. I have some large pots I could put some new ones in, but I'm leaning toward waiting til next year.

[Jimmy Neutron]

One other thing that I've recently learned the imprortance of is crop roataion. Even with fresh compost, potentially harmful diseases will impregnate into the soil that are plant specific. Also, while Miracle Grow is great, it's use will deplete the calcium in the soil. Lack of calcium will result in bottom rot, something that will cause both tomatos and peppers to rot at the bottom of the fruit. I've read it's best to avoid replanting tomatos in the same spot for 4 years. Removing old dead growth in the fall is a hugh help as well, including roots.

 

I've done a lot of net research on diseases this year. Cutting brown growth, keeping the garden Josh Gordon free and removing any affected leaves and vegitation should not be over looked. Some insect damage is OK, but should be addresed if it becomes a real leaf propogation problem.

 

Good info, here. Rovers must have learned from Adam himself.

 

I've found it is very important to rotate crops - especially tomatoes.

 

Although it is common sense, I like to tell people not to overlook planting their gardens with the sun needs of individual plats in mind. "Maters and corn can take all the sun you can give them, but many other veggies like a little shade, at least in the hottest part of the day.

[Rovers]

Good info, here. Rovers must have learned from Adam himself.

 

I've found it is very important to rotate crops - especially tomatoes.

 

Although it is common sense, I like to tell people not to overlook planting their gardens with the sun needs of individual plats in mind. "Maters and corn can take all the sun you can give them, but many other veggies like a little shade, at least in the hottest part of the day.

 

 

I have also noticed that some plants that supposedly require "full sun" aren't all that happy in that situation. Some do seem to prefer at least some shade from the full day sun. Ozone nonsense? I've no idea.

 

For years, I didn't have to do much other than plant, water and Miracle Grow. I have been finding it much more difficult to have success in the last 4 years or so. Time to pay more attention, for sure. I may go to an all planter garden next year, with the exception of the tomatoes. Fresh potting soil seems to be a hugh help.

 

This is very unusual.... my "Better Boy" tomato plant has a smallish fruit that is ripening already. This plant has about 12 tomatoes on it, but they all appear undersized for the variety. For this plant to be producing ripe fruit before the "Early Girl" that I planted is a sure sign that things are amiss. In contrast, the Beefsteaks are only now producing some flowers. Things are not good in the Rover's garden.

[Rovers]

Son of a (*&^(&%*$**^%!!!!!!! Doesn't look good. Found three rotted green tomatoes this morning. Frustrating.... all that work. Dammit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rant over.

[Footballjoe]

I was cooking yesterday and looking out the window and saw a squirrel running off with one of mt tomatoes. Had a few red ones that tasted pretty good. Sorry to hear about yours. Do not give up.

[Jimmy Neutron]

I was cooking yesterday and looking out the window and saw a squirrel running off with one of mt tomatoes. Had a few red ones that tasted pretty good. Sorry to hear about yours. Do not give up.

 

 

Time to break out the pellet gun. I defend my garden with extreme prejudice.

[Rovers]

I was cooking yesterday and looking out the window and saw a squirrel running off with one of mt tomatoes. Had a few red ones that tasted pretty good. Sorry to hear about yours. Do not give up.

 

 

Well, if it aint one thing, it's another! I have two mutts that prowl the territory. One, the shelter dog that looks like a border collie (quite candied yamszo when I got her, probably abused) is still afraid of garbage bags, anything that crinkles, and anything that even LOOKS like it might fall down, like blowing curtains! But, when it comes to squirrels, she's a natural born killer, and the fluffy tailed rodents know it. She circles and jumps at trees even when one of those rodents aren't in it. The only toys she likes are those small stuffed animals, that could pass for a squirrel. To say she's obsessed would be an understatement. Result: No rodent problems.

 

So far, it's only the "Early Girl" that has had rotten fruit. I'm several days away from the first ripe tomato from the "Better Boy". Even at that, it's undersized. The Beefsteaks are only now producing any flowers, so I don't have high hopes for this year's crop. After today's removal of yellowed and browned growth, the bottom 3 feet have no leaves left. I might give them a high dose of Miracle Grow (as opposed to the less than recommended dilution that I've been using) and see what happens.

 

PS: Candied yizmo? This language filter is entertainment on it's own.

[georgemoe]

This is very unusual.... my "Better Boy" tomato plant has a smallish fruit that is ripening already. This plant has about 12 tomatoes on it, but they all appear undersized for the variety. For this plant to be producing ripe fruit before the "Early Girl" that I planted is a sure sign that things are amiss. In contrast, the Beefsteaks are only now producing some flowers. Things are not good in the Rover's garden.

 

 

 

Son of a (*&^(&%*$**^%!!!!!!! Doesn't look good. Found three rotted green tomatoes this morning. Frustrating.... all that work. Dammit!

Rant over.

 

 

Sorry to hear about the Early Girls. I also planted Better Boy plants and had smallish fruit on two of the plants last week. Was out of town for the weekend and no real garden time today but did pick two zukes today. Bigger than expected. Wife gave one to the neighbors and they enjoyed it.

 

Rovers I will check my Better Boys tomorrow more closely but I'm thinking we are pretty much in the same situation with these. FWIW, I planted Memorial Day weekend.