Joel's Garden June 10, 2009 (PICS!)
Hi Everyone,
The overcast, humid days and big, happy tomato plants have put me in the mood to share again. I began this season as I typically do, with plans to fill the side yard with tomatoes and peppers. Somewhere along the way, I got sidetracked by this thing called an "Earthtainer" that led to more tomatoes, and then to simpler "self watering containers" which pleased my cheapo bone. It has also allowed me to expand the garden well beyond the side yard. First, I put a couple earthtainers beside the yard and another two beside the house. Then I built some self watering containers with various left overs and put them in the dog's yard. Last but not least, I invaded the hottub's deck. So far its worked. I have the tomatoes and got to keep my wife and dog. Of course, I'm heavily leveraged and depending on a massive crop of yummy tomatoes to pay them both back.
Stupice, Anna's Russian, Cherokee Purple, Huang Se Chieh, Brandywine, NAR (background),
Omar's Lebonese foreground, Knin and Krajina Oxheart against house, Black Krim, Persimmon, and NAR by hottub.
Coustralee, Stupice, Cherokee Purple
I also want to share the results of a few ongoing "experiments." First, my side yard is infested with Fusarium wilt. One of the remediations for this is a product called Actinovate. I've applied Actinovate to one set of plants, but left it off of two others. The results so far are very interesting.
The CP on the left is with Actinovate. The one on the right without. The "without" is about half the size. They were started from the same seed and planted out the same date. Both plants are starting to show some daytime wilting. Only time will tell whether the Actinovate really holds off the Fusarium long enough to matter.
Second, I've experimented with different numbers of holes in my homemade self watering container baskets. I drill 4" plastic nursery pots and attach them to the aeration bench with zipties. In one container I have only a couple holes besides the standard ones on the bottom of the pot. On another I have a "medium" number of holes. The rest have lots and lots of holes. The Omar's Lebonese pictured in the second photo from the top has very few holes. The Coustralee medium, the NAR clones, alot. All three containers register as WET on my moisture meter. Frankly, I think the modifications to the planting mix itself are most likely to moderate soil moisture levels. My sense is that if the top were sealed then the mix would tend to absorb water until it reached it's natural carrying capacity. Irrespective of the size of the basket, or number and size of holes. Now, in the real world with big plants pulling moisture out, perhaps reducing the holes will act as a "throttle" on water uptake thus allowing the mix to partially dry. But like I said, so far, all are growing well and all are "wet."
Finally, I've started a fertilizer experiment inspired by Raybo. In two identical SWC I planted NAR clones taken from the same parent. One SWC has Old Tomato Tone. The other has a competing organic vegetable fertilizer. It's much easier for me to find and is affordable. Like Tomato Tone it has micro nutrients. Obviously, this won't prove anything, but if the two SWC produce even approximately the same, I'm going to make the switch. As much as I like Tomato Tone, I like being able to ride my cruiser over to the local store to pick up things. I'll also let you know what the other fertilizer is. However, I'd rather keep it a secret at this point rather than run into a debate based on everyone's preconceptions and previous experience.
Should I call this Clone Wars??? I think one is pulling ahead, but it's too early in the race to know...
And finally to kill the bandwidth, some misc tomato "porn."
Knin fruit
Brandywine with LOTS of fruit on multiple trusses
Sungold in a decorative container. Soon headed to my brother's house as a gift.
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