Hey fellow Floridians...

[nancyruhl]

Fiishergurl, your are right. We are in Florida January and February and stay at a condo on the ocean near Flagler Ave in NSB. Great location with lots of restaurants and shops within an easy walk. We go by Oak Hill when we go wildlife watching at Canaveral. We tried to eat at a restaurant there this year, but it was closed.

Your tomatoes look great. I think I picked my last today and the flavor has suffered with the cooler wet weather we have been having. Had a good year, though, but the last two seasons have been late with very cool wet weather. Good on the air conditioning bill and the lawns. It has been a very green summer and the Great Lakes are rebounding. Can't complain about that, eh.

Seems that my hubby and I have Florida on the mind, because it comes up in our conversations daily lately. Wait until it gets really cold which began in early November last year.

It's 73 degrees in NSB right now.

[Fiishergurl]

Nancy if you want I will start a dwarf Cherokee tiger large red sucker for you in a pot. With some luck it will have tomatoes on it when you get here and should be easier to transport and keep on your balcony than an indeterminate would be.

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

This is pathetic. .. lol. My husband transplanted my two Cherokee Tiger Black Dwarfs for me today into 12 inch pots while I was at work. Then he sent me a picture.... see below. These are 3 months old and got the same amendments and same treatment as the Cherokee Tiger Large Red Dwarfs (second picture below). If the CT Blacks dont show noticeble growth witjin two weeks they will be replaced by CT Large Red Dwarf suckers.

uploadfromtaptalk1412718004117.jpg
3 month old, 1 inch tall Cherokee Tiger Black Dwarfs in 12" pots.

uploadfromtaptalk1412718086830.jpg
3 month old Cherokee Tiger Large Red Dwarf

Crazy!
Ginny

[nancyruhl]

Thanks, Ginny, for your kind offer. I do have a very nice Matina plant that I hope to nurse along in the window until Florida (89) days. If I don't succeed this year, maybe we can talk next year. Again, thanks for the offer.

I didn't notice Cherokee Tiger Black before you mentioned it. Too bad they lack vigor. The variety in dwarfs is getting pretty amazing, though.

[Barb_FL]

Ginny - are those Cherokee Tiger's as small as they look? must be runt of the litter. The comparison with CT LRD is amazing with the CTLRD looking so healthy.

A few weeks ago, a tiny piece of my sun gold plant broke off. (I had stacked 2 supports and one fell when it hit a tree branch). Anyway, it was tiny - 2" with no additional node. (nothing like your sucker from a previous picture). I rooted in water, and then planted (still tiny). It has taken off and has surpassed most of my seedlings. Needs to be transplanted.

My other cuttings - mostly from by big old plants are all doing better than my seedlings;

Question RE: the Artisan plants, (I am growing PBB, Blush, Pink Tiger), Are the plants kind of scraggly or is it just mine? Even though they were in bigger containers (2nd transplant), they are really scraggly. I transplanted them again into basically same size containers but added worm castings and azomite hoping they will perk up. I started my seeds on 8/1 and went on vacation on 8/30 for a week - so they were in the shade for possibly a critical part of their growing,

What do you all do about your garden when going on vacation?

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by nancyruhl

Thanks, Ginny, for your kind offer. I do have a very nice Matina plant that I hope to nurse along in the window until Florida (89) days. If I don't succeed this year, maybe we can talk next year. Again, thanks for the offer.

I didn't notice Cherokee Tiger Black before you mentioned it. Too bad they lack vigor. The variety in dwarfs is getting pretty amazing, though.

Hi Nancy,

Ok, but if you change your mind let me know.. :-)

Also, I wouldn't judge Cherokee Tiger Black on my experience. I started them at the worst possible time in Florida (July) and left them out in the rain one time when we went to visit my parents. So they didn't really get a fair shot. It's just that the CT Red weathered the bad environment better. Plus mine might be micro dwarfs... I had read somewhere that some of the CT Blacks would be smaller than normal. I'm curious to see what happens now that they are transplanted.

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Ginny - are those Cherokee Tiger's as small as they look? must be runt of the litter. The comparison with CT LRD is amazing with the CTLRD looking so healthy.

A few weeks ago, a tiny piece of my sun gold plant broke off. (I had stacked 2 supports and one fell when it hit a tree branch). Anyway, it was tiny - 2" with no additional node. (nothing like your sucker from a previous picture). I rooted in water, and then planted (still tiny). It has taken off and has surpassed most of my seedlings. Needs to be transplanted.

My other cuttings - mostly from by big old plants are all doing better than my seedlings;

Question RE: the Artisan plants, (I am growing PBB, Blush, Pink Tiger), Are the plants kind of scraggly or is it just mine? Even though they were in bigger containers (2nd transplant), they are really scraggly. I transplanted them again into basically same size containers but added worm castings and azomite hoping they will perk up. I started my seeds on 8/1 and went on vacation on 8/30 for a week - so they were in the shade for possibly a critical part of their growing,

What do you all do about your garden when going on vacation?

Yes the Artisans that I grew in the spring were so wispy and wimpy looking at first. But then they grew nicely and they were still wispy but they filled out with lots of foliage and tons of fruit and were just beautiful. I had 5 in one SWC so I kept them pruned to about 2 to three main stems each and they still had tons of fruit. I started them too late for the full season so I mostly was growing them to try to get enough ripe fruit before the season was over so I could save seeds from them (which I did). Purple Bumblebee had larger fruit and was sturdier than the others.



Left to right... green tiger, blush, and bottom is purple bumblebee. .. :-)


Purple Bumblebee



Blush, Green Tiger, Lucky Tiger, Pink Tiger and Sunrise Bumbleebee all in one SWC. Pruned to 2-3 main stems each.

As far as vacation... we are in an RV Park and we share our tomatoes with everybody so we never have trouble finding someone to water them and keep an eye on them. How good o lf a job they do is a different topic... lol.

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

Todays pictures...


Juane Flamme really starting to take off now.


Pink Berkeley Tie Dye has about 15 tomatoes on it now.... this is just one cluster and tons of blooms.


Ugly Ripe from saved seeds from a grocery store tomato that we are growing at our friends request has about 10-15 tomatoes and tons of blooms


Black Cherry which was looking so healthy is now looking scraggly. Has black around the edges of the leaves. I will post a picture to see what you all think it is.



Most of the others were transplanted about 2 weeks later and are just starting to set fruit.

Ginny

[Barb_FL]

Ginny, Your plants look great; You have a lot of tomatoes for this time of year. I bet you are way ahead of anyone else in Florida. After 2 nights around 70, our nights are warm again (74-75ish), so I don't think any tomato setting happening here)

Thanks for the info on the Artisan; my Purple BB looks the best but I covered the seed in worm castings when I sowed it and it took forever to germinate but stayed healthier. I started another BB after 9/7 and it looks really good; like a normal plant. I only found one plant of each when I was transplanting, so the others must have bit the dust.

For tomatoes, do you use all SWC? For the SWC, do you use containers or a mix of containers and buckets (like the HD orange ones)? What do you use for your container mix? and Fertilizer? Whatever it is, you are doing something right!!!!

For anyone, I only use non-soil mix, but when I dump the container, rootpouch (it doesn't seem to matter), I sometimes see thin 1 inch worms - not many, but they are not earthworms, and I have red wigglers and they are not them either. They are always really skinny; so how could they get there? It happens at least 1/2 the time. I even found them when I used only ProMix - Does anyone else get them? Are the OK?

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Ginny, Your plants look great; You have a lot of tomatoes for this time of year. I bet you are way ahead of anyone else in Florida. After 2 nights around 70, our nights are warm again (74-75ish), so I don't think any tomato setting happening here)

Thanks for the info on the Artisan; my Purple BB looks the best but I covered the seed in worm castings when I sowed it and it took forever to germinate but stayed healthier. I started another BB after 9/7 and it looks really good; like a normal plant. I only found one plant of each when I was transplanting, so the others must have bit the dust.

For tomatoes, do you use all SWC? For the SWC, do you use containers or a mix of containers and buckets (like the HD orange ones)? What do you use for your container mix? and Fertilizer? Whatever it is, you are doing something right!!!!

For anyone, I only use non-soil mix, but when I dump the container, rootpouch (it doesn't seem to matter), I sometimes see thin 1 inch worms - not many, but they are not earthworms, and I have red wigglers and they are not them either. They are always really skinny; so how could they get there? It happens at least 1/2 the time. I even found them when I used only ProMix - Does anyone else get them? Are the OK?

Hi Barb,

Thanks. The Black Cherry plants arent looking too great but everything else is doing well.

We use homemade swcs... 18 gallon tubs from home depot and also the large pots from walmart that have a reservoir. The tubs are better because the plants grow into monsters, but the pots are easier to move around and look better.

I started the seeds and as soon as they had the first two baby leaves I put them in solo cups with a mixture of mostly miracle grow potting mix but also a tiny bit of bone meal, lime and earthworm castings. I only filled the cups half way with the mixture and as the plants grew I added more posting mix around them so they were able to make more and more roots. Also, when I put them in the solo cups I used the mykos on the one or two roots I could find... lol. Maybe overkill but hey I wanted to give them the best chance possible. And I put them out during the day and brought them in at night or whenever it rained. I happened to be working from home during that six week time frame.

Then when I transplanted them I used Miracle Grow potting mix in the SWC's (most leftover, just dug off the top layer) and added in 1/2 cup lime, 1/2 cup bonemeal, 1/4 cup earthworm castings, 1 aspirin, then coated the roots with Mykos Micchorizae (no matter how hard I try to learn to spell that word, I can't get it), and 2 cups of organic gardener and bloome tomato food as the fert strip. Then I give them 1 tablespoon of Texas Veggie Food a week (if it's a two gallon water reservoir or 1/2 tablespoon in the walmart pots since those reservoirs are smaller) until they are blooming good and set the first fruit and then I change to 2 tablespoons of TTF once a week. It really makes them grow like crazy without inhibiting the fruit set. Oh yeah, at least once a day I buzz all the stems with blossoms just ever so lightly with an electric toothbrush. I used to practically beat the blossoms to death but one day I was watching a bumblebee... and it did not stay on the flower vibrating one blossom to death for 15 seconds. So it used to take me 10-15 minutes to vibrate all the blossoms but now it takes 2 or 3.... zip zip zip, buzz by them all and I'm done.

I also sprayed the seedlings once or twice with aspirin water. I think I'm going to try the earthworm casting/aspirin tea as a foliar spray. I'm a newbie so I just go by what other people have helped me with and also what I find on the internet. The earthworm casting and aspirin part I saw on Love Apple Farms website.

I think the big thing besides the amendments is the way we (my husband helps) keep adding more potting mix around the plants from the time they are very little and allow them to have a very long stem so that by the time we transplant them into the SWC's they are about18 inches tall and have tons of roots already. So they take off really fast and the stems are huge and thick and sturdy. Better to help support the large tomatoes. THat plus the yellow sticky traps (especially in spring) to help keep the bugs from transferring diseases. If only I had a magic cure for what the rains and humidity do to the plants. Haven't figured that one out yet.

Ok, way too long winded.

Ginny

PS. My purple bumblebee plant was bigger and sturdier as well.. if I recall correctly I don't think it had the wispy leaves. Will have to double check that.

[Barb_FL]

Thanks for all the detailed info; great stuff. Will check out the mykos and bonemeal. So even when your plants are in the solo cups, you are still watering from below, is that right?

I use the TTF and the Vegetable one too. I just ordered another gallon of vegetable. I thought I would rarely use the vegetable, but ended up using it much more. Some of my plants are so old, there is nothing left of the original fertilizer.

Your HM SWC look good; After my 3 EB, I made an 18 gallon one using the lid inside as the screen; I put the net pots where the EB had it but it took me all day and swore off making them. I bought most of my EB when they had a sale or free shipping; I like them a lot but also have more HM ones too; I just use the container, cut holes in the bottom, along with the 2 3" holes for the netpots, and put the large trays (happen to be bottoms of bunny cages but could be anything). I hoist up the other side underneath with bricks. This was definitely trial and error, but I found if I leave 1" of air between the bottom and the water, the plants do much better. If you can visualize, the net pot is hanging down in the water, but nothing else is. I bought a bunch of troughs from gardeners supply and they don't have any air between the water and the reservoir; they use a cloth type strip for the wicking - very small reservoir. I am testing now with some cuttings, and other than the wicking material, I coated the entire bottom with perlite to give it air, so far so good.

[nancyruhl]

Barb_Fl, You asked about watering while away. I have the same HM SWC. I have them hooked up to an automatic watering system. You can get the tubing from HD along with the fittings, but I ordered weighted dripper assemblies for each container. I tried other methods, but the drippers always escaped the feeding tubes. They look like this:
Then I attached the hose to the spigot on a timer. My plants are watered automatically all summer. The only problem was that the barbed attachment that comes with the assembly is very small, so I switched it out so I could be the planters watered in less time. Earthbox has a system, but it is pricey.

[Fiishergurl]

Nancy that is awesome. I have so many questions about that. Where did you get them? How does the system know how much to water or does it just go by how long the time is on for. Are they reliable?

Also finally have tomatoes on the Cherokee Tiger Red (there are 4!) and on Kellogs Breakfast and Girl Girls Weird Thing



This is what GGWT is supposed to look like... :-)

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

Barb I followed every tty hing until you mentioned the troughs. Were those part of the SWC's or something different?

Ginny

[nancyruhl]

With self watering containers, they can not be overwatered, since they have an drainage hole at the top level of where you want the level to be. I think I was watering for 20 minutes at during the warmest part of the summer and while I was away. Earlier and later, I watered every other day. All part can be bought at Lowes, except the drippers and replacement connectors, which I ordered from Greenhouse Megastore. I think I ordered the 36 inch ones so they could go from the tubing on the ground and up to the watering pipe and into that a ways so it was secure.

Excellent description of self watering container construction is http://josho.com/gardening.htm
Ray has a slightly different one in the workbench section of this site.