Real life harvest for a single SUNGOLD plant (300 and going strong)
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years ago
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rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Continuous harvest possible?
Comments (10)julieann_grow, Just because you grow organically doesn't mean you should expect your plants to not do well. If your tomatoes are looking that bad, then investigate the reason. Most tomatoes produce until it gets too cold and day temperatures get to 70 or below or night temps reach 60 or lower. You shouldn't have to add transplants. What kind of squash are you growing? There are heat lovers. There is an Italian variety called "Serpent of Sicily" (also known as Cuccuzi). It is by far the most pest resistant, disease resistant, and heat resistant squash I've ever seen grow. We had temps at 108F degrees last year and it didn't stop them for a second. Most vegetable plants including peppers go dormant when temperatures reach 96F degrees. If it get's that hot on a regular basis, you need to provide shade cloth which can lower temperatures up to 15 degrees (enough to prevent them from going completely dormant). Or plant them in an area where they'll get a bit of afternoon shade for relief. Are you planting the appropriate varieties for your climate by finding varieties of vegetables that are more acclimated to your local weather conditions? These plants will survive longer, be more hardy, and produce a higher yield. Most beans commonly found in American home gardens don't have a long life span and don't like it hot. Get your beans in as soon as temps permit. They're usually good for three rounds of harvest before they're spent. If it's that hot, try bean varieties that do well with heat such as Asian yard long beans along with your regular beans. You won't be disappointed, they'll kick in after your regular beans are done and keep going until it gets cold. Make sure your growing medium/soil is in great shape. Add proper compost which is the best fertilizer you can use. You can't have too much of it and it will never burn your plants. Start off with healthy plants to begin with so they are stronger to withstand pests and disease. If you mulch with organic materials with a thickness of at least two inches, this will keep water in the soil from evaporating and keep the soil temperature lower and more stable. Succession plant things like beets, chard, corn, kohlrabi, turnips, radishes, etc. for a continuous harvest. There are many sources to find the best varieties for your area: 1) The best is to ask friends, neighbors, family, co-workers, etc if they know any local vegetable gardeners that successfully grow what you would like to see in your own garden. If they save their own seed from year to year, ask if they'll share seeds with you (many are more than happy to support other gardeners in their area). 2) Use the GardenWeb Seed Exchange Forum and be specific about your location. I am positive you'll receive a wonderful selection. 3) See if there are any garden clubs or organizations. This is a great way to befriend gardeners in your area. 4) Check with your state's Extension Service. Each county should have it's own Cooperative Extension Office which provides free publications and information for the asking. They will have valuable vegetable/gardening tables available specifically for your area determined by universities, and horticultural research scientists have collected data from growing those crops in your state. See how detailed these examples are: Vegetable Planting and Planning Calendar for Missouri (download the pdf) complete with spring and fall planting dates (underneath the spring planting dates for appropriate crops), how much to plant per person, etc. They can also tell you the average last frost date for your area and ideal planting times for specific crops and varieties in your area. Here is an excerpt:...See MoreTomato plant smells: why is sungold different?
Comments (12)I'm in agreement that Sungold and also SunSugar plants have a definite, different smell. It is so objectionable to me that I will not snack on the friuts while picking these varieties. What I did notice yesterday while eating a few SunSugar fruits was that there is even a hint of that compound, that "objectional chemical",in the fruit taste that seems to improve the flavor profile somewhat. If you really want to smell an objectionable plant that reminds me of cat urine try growing the tomato grafting rootstock Maxifort. My belief is that these smells are a result of some wild plant parental strains used to breed these varieties. I would categorize the Sungold/SunSugar plant smell as medicinal. It reminds me of a sanitizer, similar to Rocal-D. Naturegirl, we probably just have the sensativity that others lack. I know that I can also readily detect Boar Taint(Androstanone) in pork fat that many coworkers fail to detect. So we can just agree that there are definite differences in our sensory perceptions. Ironically, the vast flavor differences of different tomato varieties that many talk about on this forum are not that apparent to me....See MoreWhat's Everyone Harvesting Now?
Comments (38)We have a foolish Phoebe who persists in building her nest on the front porch every year. We have cats who sit on the porch most of the day. They pretty much ignore the Phoebe nest, which is up under the porch roof, about 8' above the porch floor, but when a baby bird falls from the nest, a cat gets it. Despite this, the Phoebe stubbornly insists on putting the nest in the same place every year. Every single time we open the front door, she flies away. I don't know how she ever sits on the eggs enough to hatch them. This has gone on for years. She is one stubborn Phoebe. Congrats on the SunGolds. Any tomato you grow yourself is going to be delicious and so worth the wait. We're still getting tomatoes from the first few early plants I bought on Feb. 1st. Our first ripe fruit from plants I raised from seed will be SunGolds but they are just barely beginning to turn, so it will be a few more days. After that, it seems likely the next ripe tomatoes will be Black Cherry, followed by a full-sized black tomato variety called Vorlon. The tomato plants purchased February 1st have done a great job of producing early fruit---we've harvested and eaten about 50 large tomatoes so far, which is the best early crop we've ever had. These plants have done so well that I didn't even get in a big hurry to put our home-grown tomato plants in the ground. There was no need to rush since the early plants were doing so well. I noticed today we have a jalapeno that is about ready to pick. It is pretty comical. It is on a Mucho Nacho plant I planted in the bed with those early purchased tomato plants in March. The plants have not necessarily grown very quickly, but did flower early and set fruit early. The one large jalapeno pepper is one-third the length of the entire plant. I saw it today and just shook my head---the plant kinda reminds me of a Charlie Brown christmas tree with its one lovely 'ornament' of a pepper that is just about big enough to pull the plant over onto its side. I'm tempted to go ahead and harvest the pepper just to relieve the plant from the burden of holding up a pepper that likely weighs more than the plant itself does....See More2016 Harvest Home
Comments (140)Wow..you already got your order? Yea Barb has great customer service. When I ordered Estonia Red from her a couple years ago, she still offered it by the bulb and she sent me an extra one in my order. Garlic is such an attractive plant that your wife should let you plant it anywhere and everywhere. Just don't plant it near your Horseradish gone wild! Speaking of HR, I noticed last night that something really likes horseradish leaves. Many of the leaves are just stems and veins. I didn't see the culprits when I looked it over so I'm thinking it may have been the Japanese Beetles that have come and gone. Hopefully it won't affect the root size too much. It usually starts to brown down about now anyway....See Morerouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years agoparty_music50
2 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a) thanked LoneJack Zn 6a, KCrouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years agorouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
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