NJ Gardeners...What do you have growing?

[TightenUp]

Originally Posted by nnjjohn

after such hot weather should I be keeping an eye on watering my tomato plants ( low near the soil with garden hose) ? I Just do not know if they need to be watered..certainly do not want mushy or dry tomatoes... the green looks good but I thinking perhaps a drink every other day if no rains? Tia, john

i've been away for about 10 days and wont be returning for a few more. before i left i saw the heatwave coming and put the soaker hose on every 3 days. i have a clay based soil which retains water and i have a mulch on top. i think the 3 day schedule is working just fine based on pics and reports from someone who is checking up on my garden.

the raised bed i have tomatoes in has needed water 3 days in a row. i let it get a little too dry and now after watering i'm seeing BER. last season i used a timer for every 4 days on this bed and i saw no BER and taste was awesome. i'm going back to that setup after the heatwave

[kath]

It depends on how dry your soil is, how much rain you've had recently, whether or not you mulch, etc. You can stick your finger down in the soil a few inches to see how dry it is. I record the rain gauge amounts on a calendar and if we don't have at least 1"/week, I water- how much depends on the likelihood of rain in the near future. In the past I've tried not watering at all once the plants were established and have never seen them droop. You definitely don't want to overwater. Every other day seems too much for plants in the ground- I think it'd be better to water them deeply and then leave them alone for a week. There's a good chance of heavy rain this Saturday, so I'm holding off to see what happens, but I gave mine a drink 2 days ago.

kath

[Alfredo]

Originally Posted by nnjjohn

after such hot weather should I be keeping an eye on watering my tomato plants ( low near the soil with garden hose) ? I Just do not know if they need to be watered..certainly do not want mushy or dry tomatoes... the green looks good but I thinking perhaps a drink every other day if no rains? Tia, john

Hey nnjjohn,

Like kath just mentioned, it does really depend on the growing conditions you have your tomatoes in, and even the variety of tomato you have. I use a moisture meter and my fingers to check the moisture.

~Alfredo

[nnjjohn]

Oh okay, they are looking good enough but will wet the ground knowing they aren't getting much bigger these tomatoes

[nnjjohn]

Kath, my ground was pretty dried out and my plant stems/vines are starting to drop .. I know this is typical but haven't seen the green tomatoes grow much since summer heat has set in,, the plant leaves are fine,, just think if I keep the ground wet,, the tomatoes will grow better. This will be the second time this month I watered them with a hose.

[kath]

Originally Posted by nnjjohn

Kath, my ground was pretty dried out and my plant stems/vines are starting to drop .. I know this is typical but haven't seen the green tomatoes grow much since summer heat has set in,, the plant leaves are fine,, just think if I keep the ground wet,, the tomatoes will grow better. This will be the second time this month I watered them with a hose.

If they're droopy, they probably need water- and two times in a month doesn't sound like too much as long as you haven't had much rain. Hope you see some growth and ripening soon.

kath

[nnjjohn]

Originally Posted by kath

If they're droopy, they probably need water- and two times in a month doesn't sound like too much as long as you haven't had much rain. Hope you see some growth and ripening soon.

kath

I figured to water the soil near the roots and not wetting the plants they might yet become big boys and super beefsteak I also have four rutgers I bought from a local shop ..think I have last yrs cherry plants too
.albeit I am confident ..just keep the soil from drying so the roots feed the fruits

[nnjjohn]

I see pinks!

[nnjjohn]

20130724_120617.jpg20130724_120617.jpgNot to confuse anyone but.. today , I 'm going to call these are my humble "early gay tomatoes" because I'm not sure if they are early girls/boys or whatever... and don't confuse the cucumber with anything kinky either.. my cucs are sweet and very little seeds..seem seedless whichI like and they taste good.. my big boys better not be these gay tomatoes... I doubt if I'll get a 1 lb super beef but it is still only JULY..

[cythaenopsis]

This weather hasn't been too good for my Black Krim. The plant is over 4' tall now and there are only 2 tomatoes growing at the moment (I reaped only one earlier in the season), plus about 6 flowers that have dried out anther cones and thick stems, but no sign of swelling new fruits yet. I don't know if they're going to do anything. It also suffered a bit of nasty leaf roll from the heat wave and some small bits of black spotting that had me fearing the onset of blight or a virus.






Meanwhile, the hybrid Lemon Boy has been only slightly phased by the heat and is aggressively producing fruit despite being rather short in stature.






I also have a Black Krim seedling making a late start... I'm hoping with the improved potting mix and early fertilizing that it'll do better and help make up for the anemic production of the other plant. It has shot up several inches in just a few days and already has a truss of flower buds unfurled.

[nnjjohn]

Yes , agree ..my friend in Westwood NJ said this season he has tall vines and less fruit compared to previous years.Mine are tall viney and collapsed but have a decent # per plant..small but still okay.. I picked about a dozen today..they will be coming on all at once.. your photos look sweet and I think if we have a hood August , we should do good. I think your plants are fine..I do not worry in the way of diseases when the plants are mature.

[cythaenopsis]

^ Sounds like you're at least getting a fairly decent harvest.

Here's a full length photo of my Black Krim:



The foliage isn't as lush as on the Lemon Boy, but overall the plant is healthy and pushing 4.5' tall. I'm just hoping that the 6+ flowers that appear to have set but are stalled, will kick in with definite signs of fruits in another week. Given how long it takes to bring a fruit from green berry to ripe for picking, I'm feeling like these will be the last gasp seeing how we're past the mid-point of the season.

About disease, isn't late blight a concern that can hit mature plants towards the latter half of the summer season?

[NarnianGarden]

Wow, your support system is really sturdy and in place. The plants look a lot like mine that are here on the balcony... Are there two or three stems?

[cythaenopsis]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Wow, your support system is really sturdy and in place. The plants look a lot like mine that are here on the balcony... Are there two or three stems?

Thanks. It's fairly sturdy (the bamboo poles make for great support) although not as much as a steel cage. Still, I've found it to be good enough for container growing and resistant to the winds we get with thunderstorms. There are 3 poles on the outer edge and one in the center. The green lashing tape helps keep the poles from spreading apart and also help contain the plant from wandering out too far. When it seems prudent, I lash a branch to a pole. The great thing about doing it this way is that you can easily adjust for the plant's growth (as opposed to having fixed cross members that cannot move).

There is one main production stem coming up from the soil with about 3 additional large production branches and 2 smaller ones. I did actively prune off a number of suckers along the way. I missed one near the top but decided to let it grow. I'd heard it said that you don't want more than 3 production stems for an under 10 gallon container.

How did you set up your support structure and what size containers did you use?

[NarnianGarden]

I have only two stems at the most plants, and they all bear some fruit - could be more and probably need more feeding. Have been giving them some cocktails these past days.

Only using branches from the forest and some old plastic poles with old nylon or string. So far seems to hold in place... Not sure about the container size, I have several different sizes, the largest propably 20 liters ... wonder if that's about 5 gallons.