I had over 60 plants out last year when that UNFORECASTED freeze hit on April 3rd. It was a big PITA to deal with. So, I am a bit shy going forward this year.

You are probably safe from here on out, as you are a little South of me. Did BFBS survive the onslaught?

I purchased something this week that should really increase the productivity of myself, and my garden and really help with my foliar disease issues, which we all experience, especially here in the South.

Stay tuned for a video, which will show what that is!

... Did BFBS survive the onslaught?

=========================

Interestingly , yes !

The frost killed its growing tips and more. I dug it up and potted., brought it inside. Now it has new side growths. One of them is almost 3" tall already. In the meantime I started more seeds. they are germinating .. Now I am working on my lone Hillbilly. All is not lost. hehe

For the rest that freeze took them I have backups.

NC, what is it the stuff that increases productivity, disease resistance ?.

sey

Time to update...

Below video is three weeks after sowing. Checking the roots.

Two weeks after plant out...

Sey, here is my secret weapon for this season...

Pruning to three stems and stringing them up...

NC --- fantastic setup! Great job!

I prune mine to 2 stalks, because of limited space. I'll post pics next week when ambulatory (hospitalization last week keeps me from doing nothing much, except trying to recover).

Tony

14... Thank you. Each season I try to improve upon something. The fungicide / insecticide blower is really going to prolong my season I believe. Trying to spray 65 plants with a backpack sprayer just takes too much time and I eventually find the intervals between spraying gets too long to fight off disease. This thing can spray 40 feet which means I don't have to be intermingled between the fungicide soaked plants, getting the spray all over me too. It also uses less spray than a conventional backpack sprayer.

I hope you recover quickly.

These are the tomato clips that I bought two years ago for $1.99 for 100 pieces. They are now $9.29!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XEH17U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Very impressive NC, and excellent atomizer demo video. Thanks for the tip ... Maybe I'll finally save up for a proton pack after this!

Proton Pack

Cheers

PC

That's funny... great movie too!

It is hard to see in the video, but the mist coming out of the nozzle is much more than it looks. And is controllable by a little knob on the end of the nozzle.

I was scouting today, and found a few aphids on some of the plants, so I will do a tank mix of fungicide and insecticide tomorrow.

Funny, I go for 8 years gardening here and never had a single aphid, and now last year I had them quite a bit and now again. They won't like my new Proton Pack!

*laughing* Your proton pack is incredible. The only thing I'd worry about is breathing the fine mist in since it is way finer than anything I've every sprayed on tomatoes. Do you think this could be a problem, or wear anything to protect yourself from breathing the aerosols in or just blast far away never into wind?

I wouldn't want to be an aphid on one of your plants tomorrow! Give 'em hell, that must be so much fun to use.

Cheers

PC

NC, great video demo, Glad to see you back in the action.

Wow ! That atomizer blower almost knocked down few plants . But it must be very effective to cover both sides of all the leaves.

Growing 65 plants ? Hmm ! I thought you mentioned NOT growing more than 50. Hmm. I said the same thing but by the last count I have 60. hehe.

I am also doing some stringing. But my structure is very primitive. The poles are small tree trunks ( cut from the back woods) and top horizontal runners are galvanized steel wire ( under tension ), used in electric fencing. These are the things available at no cost to me. Except, I bought 100 clips for $10 and some twine. The clips are real dandy. @ 10 cent a piece , wont break my wallet, lol.

BTW: BFBS , after surviving the freeze, now setting fruits .but they wont be the earliest ones. I have been eating ripe tomatoes off my SFT.

Sey

PC, I do pay attention to the wind and make sure I blow as to not get caught in the drift. I also tend to spray either early morning or at sunset, to prevent burn. And this is when the wind is usually very low.

Sey, yeah, 50 was my goal! I did do better than last year where i had over 70 plants. So many varieties and so little time and space. I did notice your natural set up using the tree branches. I like your primitive look better, but galvanized steel and pressure treated lumber will last longer. But for someone who is in their first year at a new plot, you have done wonders!

Yeah, we had a storm here the day prior to me blowing in that video, and some of my plants were leaning over to start with. They are all twined up now and won't go anywhere now. That's another advantage of twining them up some string... even very strong wind has very little effect on them, as opposed to cages.

Too bad the BFBS got zapped so hard, as it would probably be close to flushing by now. At least it made it so you can still trial it out.

Just curious on what type of insecticide you will be using??? Found aphids on mine also and trying to just pick off....not going so well... But did see 2 ladybugs moving around on plants so that is good...

I used Malithion. Usually have to apply more than once, as the eggs will hatch and produce another round of them.

Thank you !!! Much appreciated! Your blower is awesome!!!

Still in the hardening off process. Hopefully they don't drop after transplant and will fruit.

Primo Red

woops sorry i didnt see the " MY " in the title thought it was GP

Need some help. About half of the tomato plants are yellowing getting crinkly and with brown spots on the top (new growth). Sprayed with Copper and Seranade last week. Also Neem Oil regularly 7 days apart.

Found tiny, tiny clear eggs stuck to stems, stalks and leaves underneath.

Usually the bottom leaves get attacked here, this is a first for me where the crowns are getting it.

Appreciate your help.

Thanks, Tony

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still healthy

under attack

The clear eggs are most likely still bug eggs, the parent always in about cluster.

https://www.google.com/search?q=stink+bug+eggs&client=ms-android-verizon&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiFxKvY7OrTAhXm64MKHRQ9Ds0Q_AUICSgB&biw=360&bih=560&dpr=3

The leaves I'm not sure, need a closer pic, but I'm not an expert

Hi Kevin --- just pulled some leaves and found reddish ones with their parents! Mostly though, there are these incredibly tiny ones that appear as white dots on most of the plants when taking pics.

Hate to use synthetic bug spays, but might have to buy this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NRPD94/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

or this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Ortho-Malathion-Concentrate-Insect-32-Ounce/dp/B00AZSOV9I/ref=sr_1_2?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1494612498&sr=1-2&keywords=Malathion

Hope to hear more advise how to proceed (just sprayed them with Neem Oil this morning, since when I did yesterday it started raining right away).

Tony

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tiny whitish eggs

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reddish with proud parents....

Tony,

The second pic looks like possibly a chemical burn to me. I see know concentric rings or angular spots nor spores. How many days after your spraying them did you see the brown leaves? Did you spray because you saw the brown leaves or vice versa?

The first pic looks fine to me.

NC -- sprayed after brown spots appeared.

Here is close up of mama and babies....

Those are aphids... Kill them off now before it gets real warm and they blow up on you. Spray for them multiple time in short succession so you kill the newborns before they have offspring.

If this is your first time spraying chemicals on those plants, and you saw the spots prior to the spraying, then my theory is shot. But, it sure looks like environmental damage to me.

Do aphids have wings?

Do aphids have wings?

------------------------------------

Janice, to my knowledge aphids don't fly. White flies do. .

I use Neem to spray them. Use a strong jet spray to knock them off and kill. Even plain water with some liquid soap might work. But I use Neem.

I have not seen them on tomatoes. But have seen them on eggplants and peppers. .

sey

"As an aphid grows up, it sheds its skin (moults) and moves-up one instar. Newborn aphids are first-instar nymphs. These progress to second, third and fourth instar nymphs. By their third instar, those which are destined to become winged aphids (alates) have wingbuds and are known as alatiform nymphs. The forewing buds usually overlap the hindwing buds in the fourth-instar alatiform nymph, but not in the third."

Thanks for the description. I will need to study the various forms of the aphids to be able to recognize them. I have an army of spiders and dragonflies working hard for me out there that may be keeping most of the bad guys under control.

I seem to be winning the stink bug battle this year. Due to less crowding among plants, I am able to get at them. I have a very effective method for catching and killing them without touching them. I place a scoop/small shovel below and behind them, and then surprise them front the front. Without fail, they back up, fall off the tomato and into the scoop. I dump them on the ground and then hit them with the bottom of my organic shoes. Has worked 100% of the time.

Tony, almost any spray will work as long as aphids are listed on the label. I don't really use a lot of Neem, because it is so sunny and hot here all the time, and it has been my experience that it can burn the leaves easier than other sprays.

Janice, sounds like you have a good strategy for the stink bugs. So far, we don't have them too bad here.

NC --- thanks for the help. I think you were correct on chemical burn, since only the tender tops were affected on about half of the tomatoes (neighbors who are 100 feet away had sprayed weed killer). Cut off only one top (totally gone) and the rest have fully recovered. Spayed Safer Soap on the 12th -- all are now healthy and green. Will repeat Safer Soap tomorrow.

Tony

Just in case bought this:

Glad things are turning around... The crinkled leaves, the yellowing and the brown areas were all symptoms that I have personally seen on chemically burnt plants. Give them two weeks and you will probably not be able to tell it ever happened.

NC -- all are looking great now. No more burn (removed the few bad leaves) and no buggies (2nd spay of Safer Soap this morning showed none this evening)!

Will post pics over the weekend --- all are gorgeously deep green and shooting up (saw 1st tomato formed on Limmony --- it was untouched by the chemical burn ... Prudence Purple had 1st flowers but got zapped, and dropped all flowers today).

Yesterday's highs here 95, today got to 97, tomorrow 92 --- then 68 highs over the weekend and low to mid 70's for the next 10 days. Will get to do a lot next week in nice weather!

Thanks, Tony

We are experiencing the same "heat wave" here in Charlotte. I noticed over the last four days that they have grown faster than at any other time since they were transplanted outside.

Glad to hear yours are growing out of the damage.

Talking about heat waves, we've got them too.

Highs near 90F (+/- 2 ). But still in the safe range for pollination. To help that , the humidity is also in safe range ( 65% and lower ). All in all , it is a good tomato weather but have to water more often.

My early plant outs are loaded with tomatoes. But the second plant out ( early April) are behind. There are few varieties that are duds. BFBS, doing fine with good number of tomatoes. But nothing ripe yet in beefsteak category, except SFT. I will start a thread to show my garden.

Sey

Wow! I've learned so much just from reading this thread! I buy 1-2 ft starts as I only have room for about 3-4 plants in my raised bed lol. I can't imagine having 40 or more! It's fun watching the progression of other's gardens and what they do. We've had a late wet spring so my hopes aren't high for a good harvest. Ah well.... :). Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful season!

Sarah, so glad you like the thread and enjoy seeing the progress. 62 plants is some work, but I have it down to a known process, which helps, and I get more efficient with it every season. Don't give up on your tomatoes yet, as it is still early and tomatoes are very forgiving.

Ok, so now I have to ask what do you do with all those tomatoes!? You'll be getting wheelbarrows full of them! I doubt even I could eat that many! Hahaha!

I was hoping to grow enough to can salsa this year, but thinking I'll have to buy some from the Farmers market to fill in lol.

My family eat a ton, and I always have fresh salsa all summer long. I also dry some, I can some, I freeze some, I make pizza sauce, I make spaghetti sauce...

And of course , I give a bunch away to friends and co workers.

Spaghetti sauce sounds great! Tomatoes are one thing people rarely say no to, zucchini on the other hand..... Can I be your neighbor? Hahaha! Keep us updated on your garden, I'll be reading!

I anticipate a have lot more than we can use fresh/raw. I am planning to do a lot of canning. I usually do mostly spaghetti consistency plain sauce and few whole ones from the smaller varieties ( like Juliet, Stupice, grape size ) . I add the spices when I open the jar foe use. Most stuff ( like garlic, celery, salt, ..) can raise the pH.

Sey

Our zones (mine, Sey's, ncrealestateguy) seem to differ in that the production window or span of time widens as you move north. I get a two week head start on plant out, but rising temps and humidity will arrive earlier, and rise more rapidly.

Those rising temps and humidity will curtail my production early in the season. I anticipate one wheelbarrow from my 48 plants.

The length of the season affects other strategies. Do I want to invest in prolonging the plants for a production window that is too restrictive for pollination? I see no reason to try to preserve plants for an extended season when past results have shown there is little return.

Enjoyed your video. Lots of beautiful tomatoes. Looks like you are on your way to a great harvest. I don't have any advice on the wilt. It did show up in my garden this year. It struck two plants, took them out quick, but has not spread to other plants. The two wilted plants are in the raised bed. The raised bed has the least amount , or none that I can recall, native sandy loam from my garden. I filled with compost from a nearby recovery facility. The first two years, there was no wilt. I did add a bag of new soil this year.

I will have to see what happens next near. Knowing where the wilt is, and could continue, may affect my decision to plant something else there.

Thanks Janice. I lost another squash plant today from squash vine borers. I still have plenty left though, and will reseed for the three or four that I have lost. My son and I are going out to the garden right now to harvest this year's first tomatoes... Oaxacan Jewel. A bi color yellow/red. I'll keep a close eye on the wilted plants and see what comes of it.

The Oaxacan Jewel seems to be on the early side. Please let us know how the taste test goes.

I am no fan of the SVBs.

The Oaxacan Jewel was very tasty, but I should have eaten it yesterday, as it was a little soft. I usually do not like to put too much weight on the taste testing on the first fruit of the plant, as I have often found that the first ones can sometimes be mealy and not reflect true. But it was definitely tasty, if not as sweet as I thought it is supposed to be. The next ones should be better though.

A tasty bi-color that is prolific and early sounds like a winner.

Yes indeed!. Tomatofest.com, where I purchased the seeds, say they produce 1 - 2 pound fruit. Mine are no way near that yet, so we will see.