Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by elight

What about a piece of landscape fabric at the bottom of the container so that nothing can come in through the drainage holes? I can't imagine that the nematodes would be able to permeate that, and I doubt they would climb up and over the side of the container.

Although I do think that I am now of the opinion that container media must be replaced every season here. My SWC media lasted 2+ seasons in other climates, but here it seems that 1 is the limit if you want to maximize production.

Some routinely change the media in their containers. I use it as long as possible. I think I will add another 5' x 16' x 12" RB this fall and it will be an opportunity to dump all my containers in the new RB and put new compost in my containers.
That will give me 7 large RBs. I have lots of snap beans and broccoli on my mind.

[Barb_FL]

Until this year, I raised everything. But I had such a problem with wind and plants getting knocked over. Some plants were on plastic such as the empty potting mix bags (they last a long time). Others were on the round 18" slabs.

The past 3 days I started working outside around 6 and accomplished a lot. Except for the few plants I have left, I've dumped the remaining EB and Root Pouches into the raised beds. Then tonight, I mixed in the Neptune's Harvest Crab Shells - good future nutrition and the chiton is suppose to be effective against nematodes. Anyway, the mix looked really good in the raised beds. I then covered them with the existing weed barrier I used in the fall. For the holes, I put plastic (used as the EB covers) under some, duct taped a few, and then just placed a brick on the rest (easiest).

I'm hoping any salts in my mix will be washed away from rain over the summer.

---
Meanwhile, my emptied EB need pressure washed. On prior years, I could easily just hose them but they are yucky.

----
The season since October had been fantastic, but I feel so much more burned out this year than any other year. Anyone else feel this way?

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Until this year, I raised everything. But I had such a problem with wind and plants getting knocked over. Some plants were on plastic such as the empty potting mix bags (they last a long time). Others were on the round 18" slabs.

The past 3 days I started working outside around 6 and accomplished a lot. Except for the few plants I have left, I've dumped the remaining EB and Root Pouches into the raised beds. Then tonight, I mixed in the Neptune's Harvest Crab Shells - good future nutrition and the chiton is suppose to be effective against nematodes. Anyway, the mix looked really good in the raised beds. I then covered them with the existing weed barrier I used in the fall. For the holes, I put plastic (used as the EB covers) under some, duct taped a few, and then just placed a brick on the rest (easiest).
I'm hoping any salts in my mix will be washed away from rain over the summer.
---
Meanwhile, my emptied EB need pressure washed. On prior years, I could easily just hose them but they are yucky.
----
The season since October had been fantastic, but I feel so much more burned out this year than any other year. Anyone else feel this way?

Barb,
The heat and humidity quickly takes it toll when working outside this time of year. I got married 11 months ago and now I have lots of help. I wonder how I used to get it all done.
Larry

[efisakov]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Barb,
The heat and humidity quickly takes it toll when working outside this time of year. I got married 11 months ago and now I have lots of help. I wonder how I used to get it all done.
Larry

Congratulations, Larry.

[Barb_FL]

Yes, Congratulations are on order. Does your wife love the veggies like you do?

[elight]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Barb,
The heat and humidity quickly takes it toll when working outside this time of year. I got married 11 months ago and now I have lots of help. I wonder how I used to get it all done.
Larry

Congrats indeed - on finding a wife who will work with you in the garden in the summer heat!

When we bought our first house a couple of years ago, we decided that I would be responsible for edibles, and my wife for ornamentals.

Anyway, I do think that the length of the fall season resulted in not really having a "break"... I planted out my spring seedlings the weekend after I pulled the fall ones. Combined with the heat of the summer, I agree it has been an exhausting year.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[maxjohnson]

Sorry I haven't been around since the season ended a while back. Had to post today as I discovered something on my two years old ylang ylang.

Just half a dozen of these fills up the garden with aroma, I can't imagine the whole tree with flowers.

[efisakov]

Max, I had to google ylang ylang. Wow, it must smell extraordinary in your garden. Enjoy.

[efisakov]

Please help. I know that it is a BER and it is more common in tomatoes growing in containers. I only grew few tomato plants in containers and have little experience in it, most my plants were in tomato beds. Some were great and some had BER.
This year I mixed peat moss with garden soil and were adding fish guts and heads, egg shells, and other fruit/veggie cuttings over the winter (composting). I have 16 tomatoes in containers. Most of the plants are doing great. Just having BER problem with plants that produce many fruits at once. What should I avoid doing in the future? I considered fish and egg shells added over the winter to be enough calcium supplement to already mixed garden soil. Some people do not recommend peat moss. Any advise, even for the future references. What should I stay away from? What is a must to do?
This few tomatoes were picked from one Not Purple Strawberry plant, two more fruits left on it with no BER symptoms yet. I gave Osmocote (spoon per plant) and Epsom salt only once about a month ago. Couple of weeks ago I dusted them with Bonide Garden Dust (has in it Pyrethrin, Sulfur, Copper). Last two winters are not cold long enough to kill bad insects. On top of everything I started my seedlings with store bought soil (never again). It was infected with some bugs almost not visible. I treated it with Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis/Mosquito Dunks.

I consider all my Floridian friends experts in container growing. I have to learn how to grow in containers before moving.

thank you

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by efisakov

Congratulations, Larry.

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Yes, Congratulations are on order. Does your wife love the veggies like you do?

Originally Posted by elight

Congrats indeed - on finding a wife who will work with you in the garden in the summer heat!
When we bought our first house a couple of years ago, we decided that I would be responsible for edibles, and my wife for ornamentals.
Anyway, I do think that the length of the fall season resulted in not really having a "break"... I planted out my spring seedlings the weekend after I pulled the fall ones. Combined with the heat of the summer, I agree it has been an exhausting year.

Thanks for all the congratulations.
Barb, No, she can't hold a candle to me when in comes to eating vegetables.
Larry

[Zone9b]

This is what we seeded into plastic cups today. Time will tell what we get into the garden.

Tomato Variety No to Seed
BHN 589 F1 3’ high 15
Big Pink F1 3-4’ high probably not nematode resistant 6
Black Cherry OP RB or 10 gal 6
Brandywine Cherry Dark Op RB or 10 gal 8
Buck's County F1 aggressive vine, no nematode resistance 10 gal 5
Bush Early Girl F1 8
Cosmonaut Vokov Op large vine, no nematode resistance 10 gal 4
Danny F4 large vine, may be nematode resistant?? RB or 10 gal 8
Dona F1 3’ high, nematode resistant 5
Dona OP 3
Early Doll F1 determinate, probably 4’ + high, guessing like 4th of july 7
Esterina Cherry F1 RB or 10 gal 7
Fourth of July F1 4 ½’ to 5’, nematode resistant RB or 10 gal 8
Gurney's Girls Best F1 4-6’ high, not nematode resistant 6
Kiss the Sky OP 6'+ high 2
Primo Red F1 3
Primo Red F2 (saved seeds) 6
Skyway 687 F1 9
Tomande F1 large vine, nematode resistant RB or 10 gal 10

Total 126

[efisakov]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

This is what we seeded into plastic cups today. Time will tell what we get into the garden.

Tomato Variety No to Seed
BHN 589 F1 3’ high 15
Big Pink F1 3-4’ high probably not nematode resistant 6
Black Cherry OP RB or 10 gal 6
Brandywine Cherry Dark Op RB or 10 gal 8
Buck's County F1 aggressive vine, no nematode resistance 10 gal 5
Bush Early Girl F1 8
Cosmonaut Vokov Op large vine, no nematode resistance 10 gal 4
Danny F4 large vine, may be nematode resistant?? RB or 10 gal 8
Dona F1 3’ high, nematode resistant 5
Dona OP 3
Early Doll F1 determinate, probably 4’ + high, guessing like 4th of july 7
Esterina Cherry F1 RB or 10 gal 7
Fourth of July F1 4 ½’ to 5’, nematode resistant RB or 10 gal 8
Gurney's Girls Best F1 4-6’ high, not nematode resistant 6
Kiss the Sky OP 6'+ high 2
Primo Red F1 3
Primo Red F2 (saved seeds) 6
Skyway 687 F1 9
Tomande F1 large vine, nematode resistant RB or 10 gal 10

Total 126

Larry, that is a lot of plants to take care of. Are you working on crossing or stabilizing some of them?

[maxjohnson]

When do you guys in zone10b typically start your seeds in the fall?

[ginger2778]

I usually start my tomato seeds the first or second week of September. I start my Peppers two weeks earlier.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by efisakov

Larry, that is a lot of plants to take care of. Are you working on crossing or stabilizing some of them?

I would normally prefer to buy seeds but in some cases it is impossible and others too expensive.
Brandywine Cherry Dark and Danny are not sold commercially to my knowledge, so I save seeds.
In some cases a desired variety is sold by a vender which has no other seeds that I wish to buy and shipping charges are high. This is the case for me with Primo Red F1. Primo Red is a very productive variety with a very compact plant. It’s sold by few vendors, making its routine purchase expensive. However, I have a good chance of finding a replacement for Primo Red. BHN 589 may just be the variety to replace Primo Red. From 2011 High Tunnel Tomato Trials “BHN 589: This variety remains our trials program favorite due to the combination of good yield, high packout, and good flavor. If you can only grow one variety of round red, this is the one. “
I would also like to find a large vining indeterminate variety to compete with Tomande, for use in Raised Beds. The closest I have come to this is Jetsetter, First Prize, Big Beef and Park’s Whopper, but my experience is they don’t have the productivity or taste of Tomande.
Larry