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Author Topic: Growing food - The Garden Thread  (Read 223469 times)

Offline bluesman

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #525 on: July 29, 2013, 10:39:04 am »
I don't know if this was already mentioned, but has anyone noticed the increased size of tomatoes this year. We've had an ever increasing amount of rainfall in the Mid-Atlantic region, which I believe to be the cause. The last several years have been somewhat dry, eventhough I watered regularly, the tomatoes were significantly smaller in years past. Just an observation.
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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #526 on: July 29, 2013, 10:51:36 am »
I don't know if this was already mentioned, but has anyone noticed the increased size of tomatoes this year. We've had an ever increasing amount of rainfall in the Mid-Atlantic region, which I believe to be the cause. The last several years have been somewhat dry, eventhough I watered regularly, the tomatoes were significantly smaller in years past. Just an observation.

Water all you want, but nothing seems to make stuff grow like a good soaking rain!

Offline euge

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #527 on: July 29, 2013, 11:03:41 am »
Rain is the best! The plants love it- something about the water being deionized...

However, too much rain or rain at the wrong time such as before harvest can cause cracking with the tomatoes.
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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #528 on: July 29, 2013, 11:13:24 am »
Rain is the best! The plants love it- something about the water being deionized...

However, too much rain or rain at the wrong time such as before harvest can cause cracking with the tomatoes.

as well as sub-optimal flavor development. I was reading about Italian tomato farms. There is a whole regimen they follow to maximize flavor development. You water during the initial growth phase, then as the plants begin to set flowers you restrict water which will cause them to set more flowers. Once the fruit begins to set you can give them more water but then, as the fruit is getting ready to ripen you restrict water again or even water with salt water to stress the plants.
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cornershot

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #529 on: July 29, 2013, 01:24:07 pm »
Rain is the best! The plants love it- something about the water being deionized...

However, too much rain or rain at the wrong time such as before harvest can cause cracking with the tomatoes.

as well as sub-optimal flavor development. I was reading about Italian tomato farms. There is a whole regimen they follow to maximize flavor development. You water during the initial growth phase, then as the plants begin to set flowers you restrict water which will cause them to set more flowers. Once the fruit begins to set you can give them more water but then, as the fruit is getting ready to ripen you restrict water again or even water with salt water to stress the plants.

I always restrict water to ripening tomatoes when possible. But salt water? It may improve the current crop but salt in the soil can't be good for future crops.

Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #530 on: July 29, 2013, 01:49:39 pm »
Rain is the best! The plants love it- something about the water being deionized...

However, too much rain or rain at the wrong time such as before harvest can cause cracking with the tomatoes.

as well as sub-optimal flavor development. I was reading about Italian tomato farms. There is a whole regimen they follow to maximize flavor development. You water during the initial growth phase, then as the plants begin to set flowers you restrict water which will cause them to set more flowers. Once the fruit begins to set you can give them more water but then, as the fruit is getting ready to ripen you restrict water again or even water with salt water to stress the plants.

I always restrict water to ripening tomatoes when possible. But salt water? It may improve the current crop but salt in the soil can't be good for future crops.

that is a concern.  I suspect you have to sow a winter crop that will either take the salt up or require so much water that the soil will be flushed.

**EDIT**

Not sure if this is where I originally heard it. But given how much NPR I listen to it's possible.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90135252
« Last Edit: July 29, 2013, 01:54:30 pm by morticaixavier »
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Offline corkybstewart

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #531 on: July 29, 2013, 01:57:00 pm »
Rain is the best! The plants love it- something about the water being deionized...
Seeds won't even germinate here with the water from our taps.  I have to buy potted veggie plants and hope for the best each year.  But I'm going to go ahead and plant my winter garden soon while we're having a good monsoon flow dumping water on us.
Life is wonderful in sunny White Signal New Mexico

Offline gmac

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #532 on: July 30, 2013, 06:13:29 pm »
Now it's hornworms.  They've defoliated most of my tomatoes.  I'm picking them off and squishing them but man they have done some damage. 

Offline pinnah

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #533 on: July 30, 2013, 08:43:00 pm »

That's a nice looking pile of garlic pinnah.

Thanks.
I am a believer that garlic can become accustomed to your site, and if you replant the same stock every year, your yields will improve.  You might try planting some of your biggest cloves this fall, and see how they improve next year.

buko basil, always a good thing.  I am a bit disappointed in the yield off the Botanical Interests assorted basil packet. ::) 



I'm going to go ahead and plant my winter garden soon while we're having a good monsoon flow dumping water on us.

I will give a hearty yodel to the awesome goodness of monsoonal flow. 8) 
It saved us this year in SW Colorado.  We were on serious fire.

Cheers. 


gmac, thanks for the reminder to look for tomato worms. They are really amazing wicked looking aren't they? 
Who knows what they turn into?

Offline erockrph

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #534 on: July 31, 2013, 06:19:16 am »
gmac, thanks for the reminder to look for tomato worms. They are really amazing wicked looking aren't they? 
Who knows what they turn into?

Hawkmoth - equally wicked looking, but pretty badass at the same time:

Eric B.

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Offline gmac

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #535 on: July 31, 2013, 08:13:09 am »

Who knows what they turn into?
They turn into green goo under my shoe.

Offline redbeerman

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #536 on: August 01, 2013, 05:40:52 am »

Who knows what they turn into?
They turn into green goo under my shoe.

 ;D
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Offline redbeerman

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #537 on: August 06, 2013, 05:46:03 am »
Kohlrabi pickles and pickled cherry peppers

CH3CH2OH - Without it, life itself would be impossible.

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Jim

Offline pinnah

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #538 on: August 06, 2013, 08:59:57 am »
owwee, I always get jealous over your pickles! Those look excellent.
 I am just starting to get cukes here, and plucked my first two tomatoes last night. 

Morticai, you might like these:  second year bulbuils off hard neck garlic. 




Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Growing food - The Garden Thread
« Reply #539 on: August 06, 2013, 09:12:56 am »
nice.

Here is the promised artichoke photo



they sure are pretty when the go by.

and some coriander. You can't quite make it out in this picture but they are sort of pearlescent before the are all the way dried.



and finally my wonderful, ever lasting perennial tree collard

"Creativity is the residue of wasted time"
-A Einstein

"errors are [...] the portals of discovery"
- J Joyce