2018 thread of gardening like a boss

[Both Tacos 1805]

Finished up the pickles, then went out to the garden to put on extensions to my homemade large tomato cages. This will allow them to grow 8'+ to keep the production going. While trimming up some overgrowth on the cucumbers I came across one that had been hiding. Glad I got to it before it got bigger and spoiled.
Has anyone ever grown or seen purple bell peppers? I swear the tag on them said green bell peppers, but these are purple as all get out. They are pretty and kids think they are something special.
Also found 2 more black swallowtail caterpillars on the fennel. Kids will bring them inside in a couple of days to make their cocoons and then release them after they become butterflies.

[thunderlounge 7752]

I had purple bells the year before last and they were good. I don’t remember the variety off the top of my head though. 

[KYHorn 16853]

On 6/29/2018 at 12:04 PM, kevwun said:

Anyone used atrazine to kill Bahia grass in St. Augustine?  Sounds like it is my best bet on the googles.  The Bahia is going nuts in my front yard this year.  Wish I would have done something about it last year when I first noticed it.

You might have better luck with this in the lawn and landscape thread

[kevwun 15611]

Thanks, didn't see it.

[Both Tacos 1805]

It's hot as hell but garden is still producing tomatoes and cucumbers in good quantities.

[Amobie 58]

Anyone tried planting red jalapenos before?  It seems to be the only thing I can't seem to get to grow.

[miguelito 11216]

Try leaving a green one on the plant until it turns red.  Or is there some red variety I don't know about?

[Bat Guano 359]

^^^

This. I think any variety of jalapeno will turn red when it's ripe.

[Both Tacos 1805]

Canned another dozen dill pickles.

[texasdago 7552]

Hot as fire and yet my tomato plants seem to keep producing.  

 

Yes, Jalapenos turn red.  

[4th and 5 4914]

what kind of tomatoes are you growing?

[texasdago 7552]

17 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

what kind of tomatoes are you growing?

Early girl, some cherry tomatoes, some pear tomatoes (like cherries... small), San Marzano (of course)

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

Crazy how my garden has continued to produce since I installed the shade covers.  I'm still getting tomatoes daily.  Just harvested all of my sweet potatoes.  Eggplant, melons, bell pepper still producing pretty regularly, and okra is going crazy.  I planted spaghetti squash and pumpkins two weeks ago, and they're starting to take off.  Irrigation + shade cover have literally given me year-round gardening in Central Texas.  This was one harvest last Friday.  

[Both Tacos 1805]

On ‎8‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 3:31 PM, Spaulding Smails said:

Crazy how my garden has continued to produce since I installed the shade covers.  I'm still getting tomatoes daily.  Just harvested all of my sweet potatoes.  Eggplant, melons, bell pepper still producing pretty regularly, and okra is going crazy.  I planted spaghetti squash and pumpkins two weeks ago, and they're starting to take off.  Irrigation + shade cover have literally given me year-round gardening in Central Texas.  This was one harvest last Friday.  

Nice harvest. Yes, shading to keep it just a little cooler on the plants and good watering can get you through a hot summer. Good sweet potato bunch you have there. I plan on doing sweet potato next year. 

[Both Tacos 1805]

Since it was raining this weekend, decided to make more sweet and dill pickles.

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

5 hours ago, Both Tacos said:

Since it was raining this weekend, decided to make more sweet and dill pickles.

Good call on breaking it up with different varieties.  We did three different ones this year.  Two types of sour and one type of sweet.  

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

6 hours ago, Both Tacos said:

Nice harvest. Yes, shading to keep it just a little cooler on the plants and good watering can get you through a hot summer. Good sweet potato bunch you have there. I plan on doing sweet potato next year. 

This was the first year I did them, and I learned a bunch.  I waited too long to harvest them and didn't understand how deep they grow.  I harvested at about 125 days instead of 75 and ended up with a bunch of huge, rock hard taters.  Those were the keepers.  Next year, I'll harvest at 75 days and we'll get a much better yield.

[Hanrahan 1306]

I’ve tried the garden the last three years with no experience, talent or advice. Think I’ve grown three deformed carrots from seed to table. This year nothing grew. They sprouted, stunted and died. Another few decades and I’ll get it down.

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

26 minutes ago, Hanrahan said:

I’ve tried the garden the last three years with no experience, talent or advice. Think I’ve grown three deformed carrots from seed to table. This year nothing grew. They sprouted, stunted and died. Another few decades and I’ll get it down.

Soil

Water

Seeds

In my opinion, that is the order of importance.  Buy good soil.  Water frequently.  Buy good seeds (or seedlings).  It's not rocket science, but it takes consistency.  You need to be out there every other day at a minimum, making adjustments along the way.  

[Both Tacos 1805]

Yep, your soil is key. There are home test kids for soil to let you know what you may be deficient in. I hardly ever start from seed and do transplants from a nursery. I know you can't do that with carrots and maybe why I haven't tried them in my garden. However, I did just plant a row of green beans and a row of snap peas seeds for our fall garden.

[cactusflinthead 27594]

1 hour ago, Hanrahan said:

I’ve tried the garden the last three years with no experience, talent or advice. Think I’ve grown three deformed carrots from seed to table. This year nothing grew. They sprouted, stunted and died. Another few decades and I’ll get it down.

There's a few millennia of information available. 

Seedling stage is the most vulnerable. If they get too dry it's church. Or too wet. You can regrow the tops. The top half inch plugged into a well prepared bed will regrow.

Used to do this as a kid. Leafy top of the carrot set in a saucer of water. Look! The leaves are growing! There! I see roots!

Bean in a cup. The roots go down. The leaves go up.

[chesthair 231]

Lil' help....

 

In the past week or two, something has hammered my jalapenos.  Every single leaf on my plants are gone (eaten), only left with stems.  my anaheim's have some pretty big bites out of the leaves but nothing to the extent of the japs.

 

I have also noticed a pretty good group of fig eater beetles flying around recently (have never had those in my yard before)...do they eat pepper plant leaves?

 

I have sprayed the plants down a couple times with a the garden safe 3-n-1 but not sure its helping.

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

We found a buyer; we're not actually leaving B/CS until next June, however, so looks like I'll do a winter garden, after all. Currently all crispy, but I'll go ahead and start prepping for cool weather crops this weekend.

Next summer, I don't think I'll have time to do much, since we'll have just moved. We're looking for land outside of Asheville, NC, though. Gonna be completely different, gardening some place that has seasons.

[cactusflinthead 27594]

On 8/16/2018 at 7:28 AM, chesthair said:

Lil' help....

 

In the past week or two, something has hammered my jalapenos.  Every single leaf on my plants are gone (eaten), only left with stems.  my anaheim's have some pretty big bites out of the leaves but nothing to the extent of the japs.

 

I have also noticed a pretty good group of fig eater beetles flying around recently (have never had those in my yard before)...do they eat pepper plant leaves?

 

I have sprayed the plants down a couple times with a the garden safe 3-n-1 but not sure its helping.

What is your  spray interval? Label says 7-14 days. All plant surfaces. Neem does move into the leaf, hort oil helps with it. It's not totally systemic. Translaminar at best. Bt is even better for lepidopteran/caterpillars. Might have to scout them a few times, night included.

[chesthair 231]

On 8/17/2018 at 6:40 PM, cactusflinthead said:

What is your  spray interval? Label says 7-14 days. All plant surfaces. Neem does move into the leaf, hort oil helps with it. It's not totally systemic. Translaminar at best. Bt is even better for lepidopteran/caterpillars. Might have to scout them a few times, night included.

7 days is what i did.  i also hit them with sevin dust and the one plant that got hammered is showing some new leafs.  

 

those green june beetles are everywhere now.  played tennis with 40-50 of them yesterday...any spray to get rid of them? 

[cactusflinthead 27594]

45 minutes ago, chesthair said:

7 days is what i did.  i also hit them with sevin dust and the one plant that got hammered is showing some new leafs.  

 

those green june beetles are everywhere now.  played tennis with 40-50 of them yesterday...any spray to get rid of them? 

. Unfortunately, this treatment usually is completed after green June beetle grub damage is noticeable on home lawns, including the presence of tunnels and small mounds of soil located on the surface of the grass. These grubs are relatively easy to control at this time with an application of a contact insecticide; however, it is important to recognize that a late-summer/early fall application can result in dead grubs on the turf surface. Ideally, curative applications should be made late in the day since grubs move to the surface during the evening. These insects die at night on the surface rather than in soil burrows. Thus, you may end up with a large number of dead, smelly grubs on the surface of your grass. In some cases, you may need to remove the decaying dead grubs

Pedo state, green June beetle.

There are also nematodes that will attack them. Those are for the grub stage. 

[swraith 336]

Had a batch of late season peppers coming ripe this weekend. Went this evening to pick several and found this guy munching away on them. Biggest caterpillar I have ever seen. Don’t know what type it is.

[swraith 336]

Based on google search guessing it is a tobacco hornworm.

[Both Tacos 1805]

Had a batch of late season peppers coming ripe this weekend. Went this evening to pick several and found this guy munching away on them. Biggest caterpillar I have ever seen. Don’t know what type it is.

It's a hornworm and you want to get rid of them immediately. They will kill a garden quickly.

[cactusflinthead 27594]

Tobacco hornworm adult

[cactusflinthead 27594]

Lizards like them. Just so happens to be at the first of the timeline 

[swraith 336]

I tried planting some broccoli and kale starts. Within days they had been eaten to the ground. Do I pull them out and plant new starts or leave these in place and see if they recover ?

[4th and 5 4914]

Cutworms. They’re assholes

[Both Tacos 1805]

I tried planting some broccoli and kale starts. Within days they had been eaten to the ground. Do I pull them out and plant new starts or leave these in place and see if they recover ?

Start with fresh plants. May not have enough time for them to recover to be productive before the first frost.
Also figure out what ate the first ones as any new planting, it will happen again. Ask me how I know this.

[4th and 5 4914]

plant them in small pots, let them grow up some so the stems are thick enough not to get cut off by cutworms, also use Sevin on the stems

[Both Tacos 1805]

Still getting good production from the garden.

[texasdago 7552]

My bell peppers are finally doing really well.  Pulled out all our tomato plants and spread a ton of arugula and lettuce seeds.  Winter salads, here we come!

[Spaulding Smails 1551]

I'm down to just eggplant and habaneros left from the spring / summer garden.  Everything else has played out, although I have some volunteer sweet potatoes popping up, so we'll let that ride for the next few weeks to see what we get. 

I missed my window of opportunity to get the fall garden going between monsoons in early October, so I'm about three weeks behind my schedule.  Finally got out there early last week and got some seeds and seedlings in the ground.  

Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, a few varieties of lettuce, collards, kale, cilantro, carrots, garlic and shallots.

[CleverNickname 1291]

I collected about a hundred acorns from my monterrey oak, bought 50 square "gallon" nursery plant pots, and a few feet of potting mix. Put 2 per pot. It will be an interesting experiment. If any take, I'll see about planting them up by la casita. 

[texasdago 7552]

Grabbed one of bell peppers last night to use in a dish... chopped it up, took a bit of a raw piece and, uh, not a regular bell pepper.  Super spicy.  Maybe because it grew next to a jalapeno and cayenne plant?  Cross pollination or something or other or maybe it was inaccurately labeled when I bought it.