Rovers Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 My tomats and zuchini are awful. The zuchini gets flowers and they die and fall off. No fruit at all yet. My tomato plants usually get near 7 foot tall, this year, maybe three foot, not much fruit. No matter how much I water, the plants wilted. maybe just too freakin hot this year. On the upside, my tropical hot pepper plants like the haberneros are going nutso. HUGH plants, tons of peppers. These plants are at least twice as large as I have ever grown. My Calico pepper plants ( something similar to Chilean rainbow peppers) are ridiculously large. One plant has as much fruit as 3 did in years past. All of my herb plants are trying to flower. Basil, cilantro, parsley and arugala. Apparently the heat has caused them to flower early. I'll have to do another planting or be out of herbs in a few weeks. How does your garden grow this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Mine is a tough one to gauge. I had to plant in pots because we were moving, so my results aren't typical. My new house does not and will not have hardly any sun until I cut down an old tree. So my plants are getting only about 3 hours of sun a day. I planted 6 tomato plants, and 5 of them are bearing fruit. A couple of them have been solid, while the others are limited. I've harvested about 8 tomatos already, but they are smaller than normal, probably due to the pots and lack of sun. Peppers are doing ok. Cucumbers are a bust this year, I think mainly because of the pots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 Have you had a near record breaking heat index this year? That is what I think is up with my garden. TropicaL plants like my hot peppers are loving it, everything else is wilting. No cloud cover, brutal heat, blazingly hot sun all season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 did'nt do a garden this year again. the local farmers markets are loaded tho and I drive past a cornfield on my way to work that has to be 7 feet tall already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteteacher2001 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Around here, South Central Illinois, I am doing well with all the smaller tomatoes, ie sugar snack and grapes. Sweet Banana peppers are doing well as are my green peppers. I haven't had a bigger tomato turn yet but have quite a few on the vine as well as on my heirloom vines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puddy Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 I planted 4 roma plants and they are pretty pitiful. My jalapenos and habeneros are doing great. Cucumbers are climing the trellis nicely and flowering. Too early to call on the bell peppers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 Have you had a near record breaking heat index this year? That is what I think is up with my garden. TropicaL plants like my hot peppers are loving it, everything else is wilting. No cloud cover, brutal heat, blazingly hot sun all season. Been pretty steamy here, but I think my lack of sun may be helping this year and not hindering. If your tomato plants are yellowing up and spotting you may have been watering too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Been pretty steamy here, but I think my lack of sun may be helping this year and not hindering. If your tomato plants are yellowing up and spotting you may have been watering too much. You might be right. When I see the plants wilting, like nearly every day, I watered them some more. Let them wilt, or give 'em more water? I don't know. It's been brutally hot here. We've gotten entire weeks that went over 95 degrees, with some 100+ days mixed in too. Looks like I'll be getting most of my veggies from the farm stands this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 I did things very different this year. I barely watered my tomato plants. I'm talking once every 2 weeks and let rain do the rest. They're pretty hearty, and I can't explain it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 One thing that did very well was my first crop of arugula. I've had arugula salads in restaurants, but the plants I have planted from seeds a neighbor gave me are incredibly tastey, much more so than the stuff I have gotten at the market. It is in the mustard family, it started in the middle east and the Romans used it. It is a peppery earthy sort of flavor. I like strong tastes, and this stuff makes a very flavorful salad. I understand the Romans used the seeds to flavor OO back in the day. Mine is starting to flower now, but I still have something to look forward to, harvesting the flowers and seeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I have a great crop coming up. My tomatos are big and starting to turn. I already ate 2 eggplant and have 2 more almost ready. My problem this year as opposed to years past is animals. I had a groundhog completely wipe out my cucumber and string bean plants. Love my tomatos the most though and they are doing well. i am eating a bunch of cherry tomatos already and the beefsteaks are on the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Great crop of tomatoes this year. I didn't water them as much and they seem to be loving the heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenzal rhomb Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 One thing that did very well was my first crop of arugula. I've had arugula salads in restaurants, but the plants I have planted from seeds a neighbor gave me are incredibly tastey, much more so than the stuff I have gotten at the market. It is in the mustard family, it started in the middle east and the Romans used it. It is a peppery earthy sort of flavor. I like strong tastes, and this stuff makes a very flavorful salad. I understand the Romans used the seeds to flavor OO back in the day. Mine is starting to flower now, but I still have something to look forward to, harvesting the flowers and seeds. Im in Northampton PA - 15 miles north of Allentown - so Im in the same climate as you. Same problem - my tomatoes were thriving and just recently took a turn down. We get seven days of relentless heat and then four inches of rain in an hour. My plants get full sun all day too. However my zucchini is doing well as are my bell peppers. Egg plants are starting to grow weak as well after a great start. Like you said - its so hot, you want to water, but then they are dying from the ground up which means too much water. I dont know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ts Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Although I can't take any credit for it (the spouse being the one around here that is in charge of the garden beyond some occasional watering) so far this has been a good summer ... small garden, mostly herbs, 10 tomato plants & 3-4 peppers ... but everything is doing well & we were able to have the 1st BLT sammiches of the summer for dinner last nite using tomatoes pulled from the vine about 10 minutes before they became sammich ingredients. BLTs are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 No complaints here besides the fact that it gets unbearable to work outside after 9am. It's been 90+ plus for all but a few days in the past month and there's no end in sight. And right now it's topping 100. Here's this morning's haul There's actually a bunch of sungolds still out there that I'll get tomorrow am. Lot's more butternut squash that's still a little too green (volunteers from the compost like they are every year). A lot of peppers just about to turn color and the rest of the white onions. Still have a hard time getting them to get big. I think we underwater them. Every time I go out there, I find another danmed cuke that got away from us and turned into a blimp. Transplanted 4 tomatoes today that will hopefully yield some late season fruit. Blueberries are just about done. I think it's too hot for the figs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 (edited) I have a great crop coming up. My tomatos are big and starting to turn. I already ate 2 eggplant and have 2 more almost ready. My problem this year as opposed to years past is animals. I had a groundhog completely wipe out my cucumber and string bean plants. Love my tomatos the most though and they are doing well. i am eating a bunch of cherry tomatos already and the beefsteaks are on the way Apparently I found something that wiped out my tomatos even worse than the groundhogs wiped out my cukes. Its called MY MOTHER. While I was at work and she was visiting my wife and daughters she went in my garden with a plastic bag and mercillesly wiped out anything that had a hint of red to it. I had about 7 big tomatos all on the bottoms of the plants and about 1-2 days away from being ready to pick. She took all 7. didnt leave a brother 1 friggin tomato. I was all set to have a shell steak with fresh tomato and my wife just shook her head. Love my mom and whats mine is hers but dang leave me 1 friggin tomato. I have a bunch more on but they are all still green I'll have some in 7-10 days I suppose Edited July 30, 2010 by whomper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Apparently I found something that wiped out my tomatos even worse than the groundhogs wiped out my cukes. Its called MY MOTHER. While I was at work and she was visiting my wife and daughters she went in my garden with a plastic bag and mercillesly wiped out anything that had a hint of red to it. I had about 7 big tomatos all on the bottoms of the plants and about 1-2 days away from being ready to pick. She took all 7. didnt leave a brother 1 friggin tomato. I was all set to have a shell steak with fresh tomato and my wife just shook her head. Love my mom and whats mine is hers but dang leave me 1 friggin tomato. I have a bunch more on but they are all still green I'll have some in 7-10 days I suppose I love my mother too but that borders on "Any time, Any place" territory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenzal rhomb Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Ive been picking tomatoes when they are greenish orange and putting them on a sunny window sill to ripen and its been working. If I leave them on the vine to ripen, they split or blite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 Ive been picking tomatoes when they are greenish orange and putting them on a sunny window sill to ripen and its been working. If I leave them on the vine to ripen, they split or blite They do ripen faster off of the vine and on a window sill. A few weeks ago I was working in the garden and I accidently knocked a decent sized tomato off of the plant. I brought it in the house and put it by the window in the sun and it went from fully green to red and ready within 4-5 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 probably the best year ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Damn squirrels wiped me out this weekend while I was out of town. Easily a dozen red and 20 greens. ANy suggestions besides a gun, there's a ton of blooms so I should get quite a few more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nogohawk Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Excellent basil crop this year - already made 2 batches of Pesto ... YUM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whomper Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Damn squirrels wiped me out this weekend while I was out of town. Easily a dozen red and 20 greens. ANy suggestions besides a gun, there's a ton of blooms so I should get quite a few more. I know it is in their nature and they are just doing it as a natural instict and to survive and all but when an animal wipes out your garden it is just so F in brutal. My brother had a groundhog wipe out over 50 % of his stuff. I had my cukes and string beans wiped out. You put all that work and time and effort into it and you just get up one day and they friggin wipe you out. There is a spray you can buy that deters them. It is used a lot on garbage cans when animals tear into those. You can get it at most garden stores and they are Garden safe (most of them , check the label) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footballjoe Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Just a bad year. Nothing else to say except if I was a Pilgrim I would have starved to death. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Damn squirrels wiped me out this weekend while I was out of town. Easily a dozen red and 20 greens. ANy suggestions besides a gun, there's a ton of blooms so I should get quite a few more. cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.