Whatcha Up To???

[ErnieCopp]

I likd Cherokee Purple too and have a plant of those, but not ripe yet. The Black Krim was my favorite last year but plants not setting hardly any of the blossolms.

I pruned the Blackberries this morning so next years canes can have all the room. I used my long handled pruner to cut and lift out the canes so that was better but can only cut canes up to almost 1/2 inch. Will cut the stumps with loppers tomorrow.

Ernie

 

[Rahab222]

Ernie - is this the time of year I should prune my blackberries or after they've stopped setting berries? When I do, do I just cut the canes that produced back 4 feet or take them out completely? I do have a couple of new plants that have come up, which I assume are my first year canes and will produce next year? Do I cut these new canes back or just let them continue to grow?

I'm wanting to get some blackberry cuttings from my brother's friend who let me pick blackberries. His are still producing strong, as of last Saturday. If this is the time of year he's going to be pruning, I guess I need to ask my brother to check on this pretty soon.

Do you have pictures of your blackberries? Are yours vines or free-standing plants?

Thanks!

 

[ErnieCopp]

Sandy,
I have not grown Blackberries before, and these were coming in under the wood fence from my neighbor's, so i just encouraged them but did not like them tight against the fence, so I set a trellis out about four feet and transplanted them last year, and have killed off the ones close to the fence. So that took care of the pruning last year. Today i cut out all the old canes that bore fruit, to give the new ones more room and light. These are not like the brambles i have seen growing wild. Some of the upright canes are 3/4" in diameter and if not cut back get as tall as 8'.

So now that i have the old ones out of the way, I will tie the new ones to the Trellis and cut off the leader at the top of the trellis and train laterals sideways along both wires. I am also going to cut off all branches below the bottom wire, as berries too close to the ground are hard to see and pick.

I would ask the man that has the blackberry patch if he will allow you to dig up some sprouts this winter when they are dormant. From what i have seen here, there are far too many sprouts come up, and he may be glad to give you some of those. Once you get a few plants of your own growing, the easiest and surest way to propagate is with tip layering, bending a loop in the middle of the cane down into the ground or into a container of potting soil, in the Spring or summer, and after they have taken root where they are buried, you cut the cane that goes back to the mother plant. Cuttings do not always sprout but tip layering is very successful.

I hate the large fishhook thorns on my plants, but am learning to be carefull and getting scratched less now. I understand that thornless BB are not very productive.

Ernie

 

[Rahab222]

Ernie; Thanks for the information! Yes, my blackberry bushes are thornless but they don't have the HUGE berries I picked in the guys blackberry patch. His were as big as my thumb! I will check with him on the sprouts and see if he'll help me out. I am FLOORED by the price of blackberries, both at the grocery stores and from the PickUrOwn farms. I am definitely going to get me some of these going. I didn't want to do the ones with thorns because my garden dog, Lily, runs the fence line looking for squirrels while I work in the garden. I may check and see if my neighbor will work with me and let me plant these along her chain link fence in exchange for some berries or jam. I gave her a Ruby Red grapefruit tree when her Dad passed away in Feb. I've been fertilizing it for her so it will produce. She's thrilled to have 4 grapefruit showing, so she should have some fruit off of it this coming winter. I've also been giving her tomatoes. What I need is more space - for a blackberry patch. She has a small dog inside the house, so this may be a workable solution.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Sandy,
I learned something else about growing berries on a chainlink fence. It depends on whether you are on the North or South side of it. I planted raspberries along my South fence, and most of the berries grew on the wrong side of the fence. That is an easement, and i have to go quite ways to get back there, so i moved those in to a trellis this Spring. I can also see that it would be very difficult to prune the canes with them growing and weaving in and out of the fence, so think of those two problems carefully before moving ahead on that.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

You bring up an excellent point regarding the maintenance aspect, Ernie. A chain link fence would certainly make pruning/harvesting more difficult.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Finished harvesting the potatoes, sorry to say I didn't get a 'lunker' but it was still a decent crop for planting them as late as I did. I reform the row & will plant something tomorrow (don't know what yet, probably field peas). Pick up & disposed of all the potato plant trash.

Watered all the pots, flower beds & trees.

Spot sprayed the silk on the corn to keep the ear worms away.The corn is looking really good so far.

 

[ErnieCopp]

Blackberries after pruning. The remaining canes will have room to grow, and while i am new at growing Blackberries, I can see it is much better to prune as soon as the berries are picked, so there will be room for the Primocanes to grow, and it will be much easier to separate the old ones out. I also think it would be easier to differentiate between the old and new canes if a person waited until later in the season to prune. So, benefits either way.
I blieve this grape vine is the most amazing plant i have ever grown, including the 18 years i spent on the Nursery growing tens of thousands of trees. The only thing i contributed to this was I stuck a 10" piece of dormant grape vine in some potting soil a year ago last January. The cutting had 3 leaves on it by April, so i put it in the ground 18 inches from the fence. That ground had never been plowed or amended. The slender trunk that you see has supported and produced much more foliage than is shown. It spans 16 feet now, and i have pruned back several feet on each end, as well as several feet from the top, And at 17 months since i stuck the cutting it has a lot of grapes on it, as shown in the next picture.

 

[ErnieCopp]

This is my melon patch with Hale's Best cantaloupe in the foreground, then Persians, Nutmeg and then Watermelon farthest down.

One volunteer Nutmeg, shown in next picture was a few weeks ahead of the rest as the rest were direct sown with seed saved from last year. The volunteer has 5 good sized melons on it and will be the first to ripen.

I have baseball sized Hales, Golfball sized Persians, and one Softball sized Watermelon so far. Melons are my favorite ground crop to grow. I do not plant seed until the soil temp is 60 degrees but waited too late this year to check the temp as it was warm much earlier than last year. Hence the volunteers got the jump on the planted seed.

Ernie

 

[Rahab222]

Ernie; It's interesting that you mentioned the north side vs. the south for growing. I planted purple hull and pinto beans in one of my 4' x 4' potato boxes after I harvested. Everything came up really fast, but I noticed they are are reaching towards the north. Guess they are looking for the sun. Thanks for noting the problems with growing blackberries on a chain link fence. Guess I won't do that. I don't think I have a north side left for the garden. Everything you are showing looks beautiful. You and Sam both have really green thumbs and a great place to grow things.

I harvested my last 4' x 4' box of red potatoes today. Came across a couple of really fat grubs and an earthworm so long, I thought it was a snake at first. When I pulled one of my potato plants, there were a bunch of small, white looking larvae that were moving around the root - hundreds of them in fact. I also noted this on one of the potato plants in the first, red potato box I harvested. Any idea what these are? I should have taken a picture, but I'm way behind in the garden so I didn't take the time to go back in the house and get the camera. I can do this tomorrow if they're still there.

I had to water today - first time since the 14 inches of rain in a week. I wet everything down really well by hand and then came back with Miracle Grow. This is the first time I've used Miracle Grow this season. I just wasn't sure if the plants were getting all the nutrients they needed since I've had several leaves turning yellow; probably from all the rain. I also cut off any leaves or tomato branches that were yellow and tied up branches that were growing along the ground. I am going to spray Nitra-Cal on my 4 pepper and one tomato plant I put in the second 4' x 4' box where I grew the red potatoes. I know potatoes deplete the nitrogen, but I wanted to get these plants in the ground since my peppers haven't sprung back from their initial harvest, which was good. I also planted another pepper plant today in some space that was freed up from harvesting my purple onions. Tomorrow, I am going to put more purple hull peas and pinto beans in the third potato box that I harvested today. I also have a few other empty growing places that I hope to fill with seeds tomorrow. I haven't decided what yet, but I assume it's too late to plant green beans?

I got a late start - 10:00 p.m., but I made some of the best salsa I've ever put in my mouth tonight from all the tomatoes I've harvested, but haven't given away. I didn't finish until 3:00 a.m., but it made 8 pints. If you're looking for a WINNING salsa, this is it. Actually, I can't believe I made it as most things I make don't have much flavor. If you're looking for a FABULOUS salsa recipe, I'll post it in the canning section of this site. It's actually called, Annie's Salsa and I found it in the Square Foot Gardening site, but I made some modifications; as in I roasted my tomatoes in a roasting pan like Sam outlined for his spaghetti sauce, but I used the Mexican seasonings. If you've got a lot of tomatoes to use up, I HIGHLY recommend this - forget the crushed tomatoes and do this instead. My Mom had to help me because the preparation was actually pretty intense and at one point, it actually snowballed on me as everything started to come together at the end. Course, for those of you who do a lot of canning, it probably won't be difficult for you and I notice most of you have a partner to help you with this. I was wanting to put this in my Christmas baskets, but after tasting it and only having 8 pints, I may have to reserve these for the family or anyone who should step up to save my life in the future. This is going to be a really tough one to give away and Mom said to do them in half pints next time. If you've got extra tomatoes, please ship them my way.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Mulched the row where the potatoes were & the spread out the remaining mulch.

Cut the grass.

 

[45 ACP]

Frustrated.....

I left last Thursday morning for vacation and the garden looked great. We watered and picked what was ready, or close to ready, knowing we'd be gone till Sunday. Pic of last Thursday's harvest.

Then we got back home yesterday evening and figured we'd have lots more veggies to pick, which we did. Sorry no pic. We saw 2 big beautiful red tomatoes that looked great, but when we picked them the back third of the tomato (which couldnt be seen at first) had a rotten spot and were nasty. Bummer. Somewhere over the few days I was gone, the nymphs and now adult stink bugs have come again and are on one of my tomato plants. Also all of my tomato plants have developed yellow spots all over all 4 of my tomato plant leaves. What's causing this? My okra has little okra sprouts forming, but there are tiny little black bugs on the baby okra sprout. What are these?

Im kinda frustrated. When I left the garden was in great shape. When I returned it is like there's nothing but problems. I sprayed for the nymphs a couple 2-3 weeks ago and thought I had em whipped. Then they show up again. Im new to gardening. This is only my second spring garden. I know there are challenges with gardening and thats fine. I just don't know what to spray or what to treat with. Im also hesitant to put a bunch of chemicals all over the food my family will eat. Not sure what to do. Any advise would be much appreciated.

 

[w_r_ranch]

That there is a classic case of tomato mosaic virus & there is no cure. It usually starts with a light green color between the veins of newer leaves. The development of the 'mosaic' or speckled pattern that the virus is named for begins after that stage. When the tomatoes are cut open, the insides may have brown areas. Once a plant is infected, it stays that way & the virus can easily be transmitted to other plants. The only treatment is prevention. No chemical products are available to cure or protect plants. The best factor in controlling & reducing infection is to practice sanitation... remove any infected plants (including the roots) & get rid of any debris in the garden (the virus can live for many years on the debris).

I would recommend discard any plants near those affected as well (burn or put in a trash bag).

All you can do in the future is choose disease-resistant tomato varieties (bred to be resistant to one or more diseases). Look for tomato disease-resistant codes on seed or seedling packets, specified by capital letters:

V = Verticillium Wilt
F = Fusarium Wilt
N = nematodes
A = Alternaria
T = Tobacco Mosaic Virus
St = Stemphylium (Gray Leaf Spot)
SWV = Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

As far as the lil' black bugs are concerned, spray them with either malathion or liquid sevin, both have been used for decades in the home garden & completely safe if used as directed. The stink bugs are your biggest problem... The adult bugs are highly resistant to pesticides... however, they are vulnerable in their bright orange nymph stage. You will have to physically pick off the adults & kill them.

Don't be discouraged, this kind of stuff happens to all of us.

 

[w_r_ranch]

BTW, those are beautiful eggplants. I don't ever recall see ones that are segmented like that... What variety are they???

 

[45 ACP]

Good post and thanks for the information WR Ranch. I did some more reading on the disease and I guess I will pull the tomato plants today after work. I was really excited about the tomatoes this spring, but this is the second year that I have not had much luck with them. I'm already thinking about not even messing with them next year. What disease resistant variety tomato do you find works best for you Sam?

Those eggplants are "black beauty". Most that come off are smooth but we have got a handful that are segmented like that. We've only got 2 that are really big like the one in the pic above. My kids immediately called them "pumpkin eggplants" haha. One things for sure these two plants I have are producing like crazy.

 

[w_r_ranch]

Don't give up on growing tomatoes. Like I said, this kind of stuff happens to all of us.

Before I can answer you question about disease resistant varieties, I have to ask what you want them for. Are you more interested in slicing them or making salsa? How much room do you have & how many do you want to grow?

BTW, Cornell University’s Vegetable MD Online offers one of the most comprehensive tomato disease resistance tables I've ever seen. It lists varieties, their disease-resistance (along with resistance to physiological conditions like blossom end rot, cracking, & splitting), as well as vendors that provide seeds for the variety.

 

[45 ACP]

I'm not giving up, but most likely will at least downsize on the maters next year. Right now I have (4) tomato plants. Each plant takes up roughly a 4' x 4' area. (2) are celebrities and (2) are grape tomatoes. Next year might try only 2 plants, (1) large variety and (1) grape/cherry.... who knows. That would leave quite a bit of extra room in my small garden to grow other stuff.

We dont make salsa.... never have been able to grow enough quality tomatoes, LOL! Basically we wanted some grape/cherries for the kids, and some large tomatoes for slicing.

 

[w_r_ranch]

As I use mine for spaghetti sauce & salsa, I predominately grow a saladette hybrid called 'Health Kick'. They are a 'determinate type' that produce loads of bright red, plum-shaped, 4-oz. fruits & have lots of disease resistance. They have been very consistent producers for us.

This year I also grew a hybrid called 'Porterhouse' for slicing. Thus far, I am not impressed with them. I ended up pulling 8 of the 10 out... beautiful, vigorous plants but no fruit production.

 

[45 ACP]

Well I pulled up the 4 infected tomato plants yesterday and hauled them off. My little 3 yr old girl literally cried, LOL! She's had so much fun picking those grape tomatoes. Oh well.

Then I went inside and made a drink and pickled a couple jars of jalapeno's that we have accumulated. Anybody have a trick for taking the seeds out of jap slices? Took me forever just poking the center out of the slices with my fingers. It was hell on the sinuses as well.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I always leave the seeds in (for the heat) when I can them...

I do remove the seeds with a small paring knife or apple corer when I make stuffed jalapenos & know what you going through. I try to do them under a running facet, but Mrs Ranch told me that makes it worst... when she cleans them, she saves the rinsing till she has them all done & swears it helps alleviate the coughing/nasal issues...

 

[ErnieCopp]

I can help you fellows with the seed removal by descibing the tool i devised, but did not patent, for removing seeds from loquats.

Take a short piece, six or eight inches, of copper tubing about the same size as the inside of your peppers, and sharpen the INSIDE of both ends with a round file. Do both ends so it will not matter which way you pick it up. You can do each slice separately, but if i was doing it, i would cut off both ends of the peppers, and then see if i could remove the seeds from the main body prior to slicing, as that will save you a lot of time and motion, as well as reducing your exposure to the irritant. You may need tools of different sizes if your peppers vary too much. Some seeds and connective tissue will collect in the tube, so i use a wooden spoon handle to push out the debris if it does not push out on its own.

Ernie

 

[w_r_ranch]

Framed in the form for the new concrete base for our 'burn barrel' (aka outdoor incinerator) behind the garden. This is in the general area were the raised asparagus bed will be installed. Getting ready to do real work again!!!

 

[Mr_Yan]

I bought some 8' T posts to stake some tomatoes with but won't get to it until Sunday.

I also bought a gallon of Weed-B-Gon but think I left it on the cart as I unloaded at Home Depot. My wife married the village idiot.

 

[ErnieCopp]

I bought five more tomato plants as this cool weather we have had has not pleased my tomato plants. Black Krim, my favorite, has been a good producer before, but one only has 3 tomatoes on it and the other two did so poorly i pulled them. Then a couple of others have not set fruit either. I bought big healthy plants, at least 12 inches tall, blossoms and some have tomatoes, for $1.99, but if nights do not get above 60 degrees, they may not do well, either. Also found first aphids on some cantaloupe plants today. Never had that before.

Ernie

 

[Rahab222]

I made another batch of Annie's salsa tonight. The nephew was my taste tester, so I only salvaged enough salsa to fill 12 half pints for Christmas baskets. He says he'll taste test all my goods before I put them into the canning jars