Garden Update - fungicide

My bush goliath plant that is in the topsy turvy is doing TERRIBLY. This pisses me off since it was my healthiest plant on planting day. It has one tomato and yellow wilting leaves. I'm certain that the stem/roots are rotting inside the planter. The thing does NOT drain water very well.

I got an update from seacoast local over the weekend stating that blight has been reported in Connecticut and is likely to make its way up the seacoast at some point. Blight is a fungal disease that effects different species of plants. Last year's tomato crops all over New England fell to late blight - including ours and my uncle's. With all the rain we've been having, my uncle suggested that I start fungicide on the plants soon, as he already had. It made me think that maybe my bush goliath has a fungus. So off I went to Mahoney's to see what I can get that would help prevent the blight while remaining as true as possible to my "organic" mission.

I ended up with a liquid copper fungicide spray made by Bonide. It supposedly helps control a bunch of different diseases on all kinds of plants. I sprayed all the plants this morning before I watered - both tops and undersides of the leaves. I'm particularly concerned for my heirloom plants (which have not been bio-engineered to withstand disease). One of my heirloom plants has grown as tall as my shoulders! It has a bunch of flowers and I can only hope & pray that I'm doing the right things to keep it productive through August.

All in all, my little garden is looking great. I haven't seen any signs of pests except for the occasional holes in a leaf. Judging from the amount of buds on the hot pepper plants, it looks as though we're going to have a ton of hot peppers. The strawberry plant has begun flowering again (albeit only 4 flowers). As soon as those are pollinated I'm pulling it in the house to keep the berries from the chipmunks. And my herbs are doing GREAT. I have a bunch of parsley and basil stored in the freezer already. I have a bunch of basil in a cup of water on my counter and I gave away a bunch of basil this weekend. FYI - the garlic scape pesto is WICKED strong, so I'm going to add basil to it tonight to help cut the sharpness. I'm ready to chop some chives for a baked potato this week. mmmmm

Planting Report

Disclaimer: this may be WAY more information than you ever want to know about my garden. Don’t think that I’m nuts and that I think that you are actually entertained by this (though some of you gardeners may be!). All this garden business is actually a log so I know what I did this year so I know whether or not I should repeat or amend for next year.

This was a gorgeous weekend to be out in the fresh air! First of all, let me tell you, there are no pictures of me digging holes in the ground. I’ll let you envision it all on your own: Me, sitting on top of weed barrier, on the ground, stretching, scooting and digging holes. Yup. That’s right. Hey? What do you expect me to do with a bad knee? This morning I laid out the soaker hose but I need a few pins to hold it in place. I’m hoping the soaker hose will water slowly and deeply without getting the foliage wet (which can cause fungus and disease to the plants).

I wasn’t able to get fish heads in time… so… maybe next year. This is what I put in the tomato holes (in order): 4 egg shells (crushed with spade in hole), 2 asprin, 1 handful of bone meal and 1 handful of Zoom organic fertilizer. I planted about ½ of each plant into the ground. They are all tied to a 6 foot stake using figure-8 loops.

Celebrity Tomatoes:
I had 2 pots of these. I planted one and the other pot had 2 plants in it so I separated them. One went in the ground and the other went into a bigger pot to give away. So far, so good. Just hoping the roots aren’t too damaged and will “take”.

Brandywine Tomatoes:
I had 2 pots of these as well. I planted one and the other also had 2 plants in it. I separated them as well. The one that is in the ground is doing well, but the one in the pot is wilting in the sun, but recovers overnight. I’m hoping it will permanently recover. I might have to give it a shot of fish & seaweed fertilizer to give it a boost.

Bush Goliath Tomato:
I bought a $25, 6 foot high, iron shepherd’s hook and a topsy turvy planter for this guy (who, so far, looks like my healthiest tomato plant). Once I got it planted and filled, I hung it on the hook and the hook started to sag. So I moved it closer to the deck and anchored it to the deck rails with some twine. So far so good. I’m very interested in seeing how this topsy turvy thing works out. It seems WAY too easy. Stay tuned for updates and reviews.

I couldn’t really remember what I was “supposed” to put in the pepper holes (besides a match head (for sulfur). But I do know that they are very close to requiring the same nutrients as tomatoes, so this is what I added to the pepper holes: 2 egg shells, 2 match heads, a sprinkling of bone meal and a sprinkling of fertilizer. These got planted at the same depth as they were in their pots. These are tied to 4 foot stakes using a figure-8 loop.

Cubanelle Peppers:
I planted 2 of these babies. One pot had 2 plants, but after the stress I had over the heirloom plant, I decided to plant them together in the sunniest spot of the garden (so that neither would suffer from shade. So, technically, I have 3 cubanelle plants.

Hot Banana Peppers:
2 of these are in the ground. Pretty much uneventful. They look good.

Strawberries:
Are doing FABULOUS! The berries are getting bigger by the day. I planted the runner in a small pot in the hopes that it will root and that I’ll have successfully cultivated a brand new plant! Some berries are actually showing signs of light pink.

Garlic:
I decided last week that I wanted to plant garlic, so I took 4 cloves out of my fridge and put them each in a small pot. Well, one week later and those guys are sprouted about 2 inches already! While I was at Mahoney’s, I saw garlic plants for sale and mine looked just as good (if not better) than theirs! I might transplant these into the garden and I might get a few more from Mahoney’s. I really want to make a garlic braid. I’d need at least 6 plants total to do that. I already have 4.

Planting weekend!!!

Peppers & 'maters are going in the ground this weekend. At this point, they're getting too tall to be safe sitting outside without being staked. I have an idea on how to cover them at night if it seems too cold. I actually think that my mother is making me do it at the last minute so that I can't get my fish heads... grrrr...

In other garden news, I'm growing GARLIC! I have 4 little pots that I planted 1 clove in each. It's starting to sprout out of the dirt. I'm hoping to possibly transplant them into the garden bed in a few weeks. I'm not sure how this experiment will turn out, but it's exciting nonetheless.

Honestly, I really need to get this all planted because I'm decorating a wedding cake for a friend for a week from tomorrow. I feel really behind the 8-ball on that and I need to dedicate my time to getting organized and getting it done nicely.

Strawberries continue to do well. They're getting bigger. I think I may buy a bird net sometime this coming week because I don't want to chance any critters coming to steal them. Once they're stolen, what's the use of trying to cover them??

Hopefully there will be pics come Monday. Here's to a busy weekend!

Garden Update (in photos)

Here are my latest (and nearly final) soil amendment purchases made yesterday (which are all produced & bought locally). I got a call from the Lobster Tail Fish Market in North Andover today confirming that I can get my fish heads SUPER FRESH if I call the day before and they'll have them for me fresh the next morning.

Coast of Maine Lobster Compost (to work into the soil) &

Dark Harbor Blend Mulch (to cover the weed screen)


Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer
(this stuff smells like low tide!!!)

I took these pictures this morning when I woke up and tended to my "babies". They were under the table for protection from the storms yesterday and I put them out in the sun today. They've grown SO MUCH since when I first bought them.

Strawberry Plants (6 plants)
I already have a runner...mama plant wants to have babies!

Close up of the withered blooms...hopefully these are pollinated!


Tomatoes!!!
(l-r: Pink Brandywine (2), Celebrity (2), Better Bush (1) )


Peppers
(2 sweet, 2 hot cubanelle)


Herb Garden
(one lonely sprig of French Tarragon that came back from last year)


(l-r: Tarragon, Parsley, Basil)

And last but not least, Jinks, the foreman. Just look at the scrutiny in his eyes:

Garden Update

All this beautiful weather has me itching to get these plants in the ground. They're really starting to sprout up in their little peat pots - so much so that I'm worried that they've outgrown the pots. I'm not crazy enough to re-pot them and let them acclimate for another few weeks and THEN put them in the ground.

I bought clear plastic to put over the bed to help heat up the soil... I haven't done that yet. I don't know if I will. I should take out a thermometer and go find out how warm/cold the soil is. I guess optimum soil temperature for transplanting is between 65 - 85 degrees. I did, however, decide that I'm going to use weed screen to help reduce the amount of weeding I'll have to do. I bought a roll of that and some landscape pins to hold it down. I went to the garden center to buy compost (to add to each hole), mulch (to cover the weed screen), and fish/seaweed fertilizer during lunch today. Hopefully, now, all my financial investing is be done - well, except for the fish heads - which I'm kinda being wishy-washy about calling the fish market and asking them about them. I literally spent over $175 on stuff to start this garden. Hopefully I can get some free fish heads.

I dug out all the old herbs from the herb garden container (except the tarragon, which is growing quite nicely) and added some organic container soil to it. I'll probably plant the basil and parsley tomorrow night after work. I hope Mahoney's has garlic chives in stock. I really want to try growing those again. They were SOOOO yummy. This year, I'm more concerned about the usefulness of my herbs rather than the exotic-ness, beauty and variety that turned into a big forest last year. Who knows? I'm looking forward to tomato/potato salad, and will splurge on some fresh mozzarella to have with my heirlooms and basil...

Where the heck are the bees? I need bees to pollinate my strawberry plants!! They're blooming and I need bees!!! Maybe I should put the pot up on the deck rail for better access... Ah well, I guess strawberry plants "come back" every year, so if they don't produce fruit this (their first) year, then I'll have to be patient *sigh* take care of them over the winter, and wait for next year.

I don't know where my camera is...but when I find it, I'll take more pics of the garden in progress!

101 Things in 1001 Days - on my way to #11

While making myself more greatly aware of horticulture and the environment, I'm also being turned on to sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture refers to agricultural production that can be maintained without harming the environment. The best way to support such endeavors is to buy local - support family farms. That's where my #11 (shop at a farmers' market) comes in.

Karen G. has introduced me to the idea of buying "shares" of a local farm's annual crop through a CSA. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between a farm and a community of responsible consumers. By paying for your produce upfront in the winter and springtime, you become “shareholder” of the farm’s yearly harvest. And each week during the growing season (approximately 20 weeks), you receive a portion of your share. This sounds like a great idea, and I think I'm going to sign up this week through Farmer Dave's of Dracut, which has a weekly distribution in Tewksbury.

Check out this video to see how the CSA in Tewksbury works. If you can't see the full screen, click here.



A small share that feeds 1-2 people costs approximately $17.50 per week. That's not bad for veggies that were harvested the same day! However, the total cost has to be paid in full by June 1st. I wish I had learned about this sooner, and I could have done a payment plan, but it's all good. I DO want to support local farmers, particularly ones that use mainly organic methods. AND, I could quite possibly see more of Karen on distribution days!

Speaking of Karen, she bought me a coloring book to assist me with #21. Now I have to go get some crayolas!