Scuba_Dave

Cleaned out the big greenhouse today & moved seedlings out there
I have 7 pepper seedlings that are doing great-only maybe 5-6" tall

I have 34 TM seedlings now, a few more sprouted
I planted a few in large containers in the greenhouse
The rest I've moved to larger pots in the GH
Outside I've planted the 1st batch of peas in the upper garden

Time to start more seeds in the indoor GH: cukes, pumpkins, summer squash, zucchini, pumpkin plus more pepper & tomato seeds
I'll be planting more peas, some beans & carrots in 1 upper garden soon

I also planted a Cardinal Clematis in the front garden on a new trellis


And another tree: Japanese Stewertia -only 18" tall right now, can reach 40'
Nice bark detail as it gets older, plus foliage changes lots of colors & it flowers

Scuba_Dave

All the plants are doing great so far
About 60 Tomato plants, about a dozen of these already have tomatoes growing
8 Pepper plants all flowering & some have peppers growing
I ate the 1st peas from the garden, asparagus too
Summer squash, zucchini, cukes, Pumpkins & more plants growing

Hoping for a good year...& no more Ground hogs
But I'm ready if any show up

Scuba_Dave

Turns out there is another ground hog prowling around
I found his hidey hole & destroyed it...poured gas down it & lit it up
....sadly he was not home
Also cleared out the whole area of brush/wood that I can burn in the wood stove
Cleared out a 10'x48' area by the woods & extended the fence around it
Saw him the next day & he took off before I could get a bead on him

Pumpkins did not take off this year -too shaded now where I used to grow them
So I need more real estate for the garden
Plenty of cukes/tomatoes/summer squash & zucchini
Peppers never do all that great...maybe w/more room I can have them in one area
They always seem to get shaded out

Scuba_Dave

Started the seedlings in the indoor greenhouse on the 20th
A lot of them are coming up already...too many
I ended up with some seeds from someone that date back to 2004/2005
I planted some & they are growing
So I'm going to have more seedlings then I planned on

Last year I started the seeds & a Blizzard blew in.....same thing this year

Scuba_Dave

Upgrade to a slightly larger greenhouse for this year
Just one more shelf but I need the extra room
I also turned it to face South, more light
Also picked up (2) 12x12 LED grow lights

Scuba_Dave

Started to separate the tomato seedlings into single pots, pepper plants can wait
Last year I had 33 Tomato & 8 pepper seedlings for an early start

This year I have around 40 pepper seedlings growing
I'm getting peppers a month earlier by starting them indoors
And over 200 Tomato seedlings ....oops...
I can't move them to the big greenhouse until the end of March
I'll have to setup the old indoor greenhouse in the addition
I may also try setting up cold frames outside w/sliding glass doors I have

Scuba_Dave

Moved the 1st batch of seedlings out to the big greenhouse over the last week
I have about 80 good Tomato seedlings, ~10 peppers
Then a bunch of others that are still growing -but were shaded out in the small indoor greenhouse
With more sun they are all starting to take off
Pics from Sunday when I moved the last of the seedlings out & watered everything
I filled almost every empty tray that you can see
2nd batch of seedlings germinating inside now

Scuba_Dave

I setup a raised cold frame out in the new garden (kids old sand box)
Nothing special, just sort of tossed it together....April 13th
Planted 9 TM plants, still had freezing temps....lost 2....rest are OK
They did not grow any bigger then the ones in the greenhouse
But they are definitely more hardy then the other plants
April 30th I removed the roof to the cold frame & replaced the 2 TM plants that died
I have one TM in the greenhouse (Early Girl) that is already flowering
--I planted this one in a big container, 3 more in other containers/1 in the ground
Ive read to shake the plants to let them self pollinate, I also gently squeezed the flower together
Hoping to get some early TM as a result
Not enough wind in the greenhouse for pollination, still keeping it closed to keep it warm -so no bees

jbyrd88888

Hey, I pollinated many many tomato flowers, end of last year, in my GH! I used an electric toothbrush but, I have heard many people just 'shake' the stem lightly... same with peppers.
Cool setup.

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■□■ J-Bert's Nana Grow Log ○●○
●○● UPDATED 6-21-2015 ■□■

Scuba_Dave

Thanks, I'm going to rebuild the cold frame this fall
I have grooved wood to hold the side windows, they will then be fastened in place & sealed
I'll then build a removable roof frame for the 2 roof panels
The glass door panel against the fence will also be re-framed & sealed to the sides
So the roof & front panels will be removed once the weather warms up
I also want to build an irrigation system so I can water the plants without removing the roof panels
We had the coldest Spring in a while, big GH had freezing temps to March 27th
Prior to this year the last freeze date in the big GH was Feb 27th
Anything to get an early start up here

I have over 60 TM plants in the ground in my gardens
At least another 60 growing in the greenhouse....10 varieties all together

Kat2

Thanks for the update. I gardened just outside of DC and know how important early starts are so you can catch the most of the season. (This year must be really brutal.) Feel better. My tomatoes are frying here but at least I know my old seeds are viable. Or were this "spring"--fall? maybe not. Matters not. I'll find some to replace them--probably not in FL--if there's a Cherokee Purple or Green Zebra growing here I have yet to find one. And even the ones turning pink in the garden look like greenhouse junk and will probably taste the same. A yellow pepper's fruit appears leathery to me. Makes no darned sense at all. Must keep studying the climate and conditions--this is a very odd place to garden.

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Scuba_Dave

Squeezing the TM flower together works, I have maybe 3 dozen TM growing
Largest one in the GH is starting to change colors/ripen
I ended up with well over 200 TM planted all over my gardens...everywhere
I was out front by the driveway/electric meter & thought I had to weed by the meter
Then I realized I planted 6 TM plants by the meter
I planted another dozen along an 8' chain link fence

I gave away the last 30 TM plants to a co-worker whose boyfriend was just starting TM from seed
I gave away another dozen to other people

I put black tarps down out back in all of the veggie gardens this year
That took care of the weeds & will save me a lot of time over the years
I put one down 2 years ago in one area & it has greatly reduced the weeds
Its degraded so water goes right thru the tarp, I cut holes where I want to plant
Downside is I can't turn over the garden areas, but never really did that anyways

I'm going to work on more composting, maybe a 55g barrel in addition to the large 5x11' compost area
I cleaned out the 5x11' compost bin this year w/new raised garden & new garden area
I ended up with maybe a 1' of soil.....and learned a lesson
Do NOT put rose bush branches in the compost bin !!
Or any branch for that matter, they simply do not "rot" fast enough

I still have a pile of compost near the opening of the bin that I can use
I'll start filling it up again this fall -mostly leaves

I did have at least 2 TM plants chewed down to the ground -that's a 1st
I've never had anything chew on a TM plant....new animal ??
The peas, which seemed to be a ground hog favorite -are untouched
I'm running a network cable out to my pool cabana this year
I plan on installing a cheapo security camera just so I can see whats going thru the garden

Scuba_Dave

1st Tomato ended up w/end rot -tossed out
Still tons growing, just not ripe yet
Peas, asparagus & strawberries are ready -strawberries are everbearing
Picked the 1st Zucchini Saturday, more will be ready over the next few days
Summer squash are growing, 1st ready maybe this week
Cukes & peppers are growing

I've ordered 50 more strawberry plants & 8 Blueberry plants
Planning on building more raised gardens - TM in the raised garden are doing better then any others
I may also build a raised planter for the strawberries, some animal likes them
I've already killed one rabbit -that was the culprit that chewed up a bunch of TM plants
I have 2 feral cats that are hanging out near the garden
They seem to be keeping the chipmunks away

Scuba_Dave

Killed another Ground Hog that was in the garden
And another chipmunk...as he made off with one of my strawberries
No TM yet, Zucchini & Summer squash are coming in now

Scuba_Dave

Happiness is seeing a dead ground hog on the Main street
Also bagged another one that was in my garden

Scuba_Dave

4th ground hog dead....this one walked into a HavaHart trap
I had no Hart

Bumper crop on Zucchini =64 so far, more then the past 2 years combined
Summer squash already have the same number as all of last year

Scuba_Dave

HavaHart trap caught another varmit...a skunk
I noticed this as I was standing next to the trap & glanced down
I quickly exited the area....he ded now

Garden is doing great, planted WAY too much...
Without multiple ground hogs everything is growing
Plus I had a bumper seedling crop with all the old seeds that germinated
Closing in on 2,000 cocktail tomatoes = 3-4 different varieties
Over 100 Zucchini, 150+ reg Tomatoes -just picked the 1st 3 Black Krim *EDIT* Make that 9 Black Krim
60+ Summer squash & 60+ cucumbers, 1st pumpkins are ripe
Also have over a dozen 4-5 oz yellow tomatoes -nice size for slicing
--these are just starting to get going
Already planning on expanding again for next year
--pumpkins need growing room

Also planning on building more raised gardens for next year
I'll collect all the PT wood I have & build as many as I can
Could be the fresh dirt, the compost or the raised garden - but the raised garden did great this year
Plus I don't have to bend down as much to harvest stuff

I need to connect with my cousin who has a Dairy Farm for some cow manure

Scuba_Dave

Picked up a PT sandbox someone was getting rid of
Its about 8' square & I think 12" tall...new raised garden !!
I'll add this in the new expansion area once I set that up
It was starting to cool off already -very cool August -mid 70's, low 80's
Not that many 90 degree days this year..only 4 so far
Next 2 days are supposed to be upper 80's close to 90

Probably won't expand the garden until after everything dies
--Late Sept or into October
I'd rather do the work in the Fall VS Spring =too much to do in the Spring
I have another tarp to put down over all the weeds
That will save me time in the Spring = No weeding

Scuba_Dave

Garden is winding down, not much rain this year & Sept has been dry
Tomatoes still coming in, haven't had a freeze yet
Over 130 Zucchini this year (10 last year), 70+ Summer squash, 80+ cukes, lost count on TM
Picked up another sand box to build another raised bed - maybe 6x6'
I'm going to extend the garden again, out another 8-10' & maybe 48' in length
Basically adding on another 8-10' of width to the new area that I started this Spring:
Current area w/raised garden -had a cold frame over this:
I'll be expanding 8-12' to the left, all depends upon fencing I can find/have

merce3

looking good my friend. i'm dealing with squirrels down here. scratching up my papayas while they're still developing. i gotta grab one of those havaheart traps.

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