TheRevanchist Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 5 gallon should do for a small variety of tomato. For the larger vareities, you'll need more room or they will weigh the plant over once the vines get to full size. Still too cold for me to plant seeds for tomatoes. I can't risk the freeze. Thank you for that offer, but I have some pumpkin seeds going already. Not sure what kind or how big they will get, but they do take a bit of land if the leaves get large. I'm thinking of digging up some other plants to make more room for vegetables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted January 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 We should be ready to go in about two weeks. Thanks for the input on the tomatoes, I got some in mind and I'll order some seeds today. I'm planning on starting this weekend on some trays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 If they do not take, Costco usually has quality fruit/tomatoes. The transplants they get are tasty and bountiful. Worth the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted January 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 I also see them carrying Sun Golds, so if I fail for any reason, I have a backup supplier. Then there is always Farmer's Market. I just want to grow my own and eat them right off the plant, fresh and ripe. Man, they're just so perfect for snacking. Now that I think about it, I should invest in some netting for the tomatoes and sunflower. I feel birds will go after them in the summer months. Anyways, game plan: I'm going to get the sunflowers going so they get a head start. I also will get the bitter melon going a bit later so they can take the cage and whatever support I give them, including my sunflower (I just hope it doesn't overtake the sunflowers). The winter squash will have pretty much the whole floor of the bed and outward to themselves. Marigolds, garlic or whatever may be somewhere between them. The tomatoes will just be in their containers with marigolds around them. In all cases, I should have enough (complete/semi-complete) worm tea to play around with on a weekly/bi-weekly basis. Lets see if it is really true that worm tea will make a plant thrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Sorry. I mean Costco has some good quality seedlings. The produce is just okay (I have had issues with their vegetable quality). The seedlings they get are decent varieties that come in a mixed pack. Good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted January 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) Okay, I'm annoyed. Seems like my squash seeds got lost in transit (I never noticed it in the mail and hell, I don't recall seeing any mail for almost a week) and the folks who run the joint didn't respond to my email. I'll give them a ring tomorrow. ALSO I somehow put in my parents place for my tomato seeds. Nobody there knows if it got there and if it did it got lost... like my first renewal of my CA driver license and car insurance card. Looks like I mistyped my parent's address as well... WTF? Fuck me. So I'm what... 2 weeks behind schedule? Edited January 29, 2013 by MaliciousH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted February 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 And just like that, I cooked all my seedlings and one small bud of an orchid. I'm a fucking FUCKING idiot for leaving the screen on. At least my bed is still good and have seeds in it. They just have to sprout... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Since the weather was not good for being outside, I decided to wait this year and do more transplants. So, I planted 4 varieties of tomatoes, 2 cucumber plants, 2 bell peppers, squash, corn, rosemary, and a few types of basil. For the herbs, I did a mix of soils and put them in a large planter. I put up my tomato cages and then put snail/slug killer out. Damn things won't take all my basil this year! I did plant some seeds this weekend, including seeding the lawn, but I am probably going to do some more next weekend for some fall crops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Motherfucking slugs. They wiped out all my marigolds (I think, the leaves were eaten clean) and damaged some other seedlings that sprouted. Recommend me a slug killer since I just got back from killing about 15-20 of them. SO YEAH. I don't have anything going well so far. I'll have to restart some tomatoes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Corry's Slug & Snail Pellets. Easy to apply and safe for vegetable gardens. All your garden/hardware stores carry it, because those damn things are a nuisance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Oddly it seems like Hone Depot doesn't carry it in the store, just the tape. I only know of ACE and maybe one more place that may have it. Hopefully slugicide will happen tomorrow night. Tonight beer will have to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Pour one out for your fallen homies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 That beer trick works, but not nearly as well. OSH definitely carries Correy's. So does Walmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 (edited) I had to get Sluggo instead since I know a cat pass through my yard and it seems Correy's might harm it. I may want the cat gone but I'm not going to kill it. Also the slugs got one of my sunflower seeding. Not sure if its completely done but I did get the slug while it was munching away. I might shotgun my bed with seeds at this point and hopes they get through... Edit: I manually killed five tonight. The bed was drier and the night warmer so it seemed to kept the little ones at bay. Edited March 1, 2013 by MaliciousH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted March 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2013 (edited) Umm, I think at this point I know how potato plants look like and I may have quite a few volunteers. Most of them are near where I grew them last time but there are a few strays. I swore I got them all when I harvested and even then, at most left were small little bugger. I'm going to leave them in for now but I'm pulling them if I feel that they're crowding out my other plants. Edit: Also, no slugs. I drove them off it seem. Edited March 7, 2013 by MaliciousH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Earwigs. I think they are the true culprits of all my woes. Diatomaceous earth time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 So far, I have all of my plants doing well, except the cucumbers. Not bad! The local OSH is working with the kid's school to do what they are calling a "pizza garden". It's something like 2 tomato plants, a bell pepper plant, and some basil. Half of the sales of this bundle go to the school, which is pretty cool. I ran out of room in the place I want to plant these things, so I'm thinking of doing a 4 x 4 raised bed. That way, I might prevent the basil from spreading too far, and I can still reach the plants from any side of the bed. Now, just to find the time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted April 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2013 (edited) After some thought I'm emptying one of my worm bins since I think its far gone since... have you ever seen sludge move? The surface is fucking moving from SOMETHING. I'll save some so it can seed the next bin after I fix some of the drainage holes. My other bin though seems to have matured nicely after adding in the drainage holes. I'll leave that to do its thing. Edit: Yup, that bin was a grave yard. Only a handful of worms, those who were left are hardy fucking bastards since even the BSFLs are dead. With that said, I decided against using it to seed the now cleaned bin with improved drainage holes (All of them were clogged with vermcrete). The new bedding is a go, I just need some green/coffee grounds to finalize it. Now about the former content... I'm soaking it with water to let it age overnight so it'll be somewhat useful as a fert. Edited April 7, 2013 by MaliciousH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted April 23, 2013 Report Share Posted April 23, 2013 Yesterday I spent some time at an organic farm, a small one measuring about 10 acres. They grow pluots for export to Canada (because they pay the most), but grow other smaller crops for local consumption at the farmer's markets. Anyway, I got some good info on transplanting tomatoes and how to properly care for basil. Plus, I got to see some awesome raised beds that had compost and drip irrigation throughout. I'm going to use some techniques for my garden to help it grow. So far, my tomatoes at home are about waist high (as is the corn) with golf ball sized tomatoes and a lot of flowers still coming out. This year might be the best year for tomatoes I've seen, and not just in my yard, but in the fields, too. The plants are all registering larger in size. Tomatoes here in California are going to be top notch this year. I've just bought another 2 transplants, as I'm well stoked about this. The squash plants are about 2 feet across and have flowers on them. I didn't see fruit as of this weekend, but the heat is definitely helping them grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted April 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Oh wow, the survivors of the seeds that I put in my bed finally germinated. I given up hope. Anyways, I spy two squashes and one unknown. I'm guessing the rest got eaten. Anyways, I transplanted them to a more open spot that I cleared that had two struggling (Slug/earwig ravaged) potato plants. I'm eating the tiny spuds right now. Quite tasty. Still kind of weird eating what I have grown though. Anyways, the main things that I wanted was the squashes, so I am happy. I'm suspecting that they'll go places once summer is on me and will take over the bed once the tomatoes are done. I do recall that the ones I planted last year germinating around this time of year. I harvested those squashes around November. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted April 28, 2013 Report Share Posted April 28, 2013 Funny about germination. I have flowers from seeds I threw down a couple of years ago just pop up. Weird! Also, there were some tomatoes rotting last year and I let those stay in place. One of those is growing now and is about 10 inches tall and healthy. I'm going to be so overloaded with tomatoes. I have golf ball sized ones already, and it is only the end of April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted May 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2013 I think the majority of the sprouts I have seen are from a cantaloupe that I put it my worm bin. Though I do see one that I think it is from the ones I have plants. I think I'm going to try to start another squash seed just in case. I also pruned my tomato plants that I bought and transferred. They're growing like crazy so if I didn't do it now, I think I'll be way too late. I took off enough material for another plant or two. Also they're setting fruit. So excited. So far no horn worms but I do see some holes I think may be from earwigs or slugs. Only thing I am worried about is the really bad prunes I did... I might go out and us a knife to make it clean. Anyways, I should fertilize them a bit. Best I got is a 5-1-1. I think I might need a better one. More towards the P and the K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted May 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 Not my garden but near where I live, I see someone who converted his front yard to a garden. It has tomatoes, squashes and various kind of other stuff. The space in between is covered by mulch or is filled by some sort of xeric gardening practice. Incredibly lovely and practical. I got that person's back if the city comes after him/her. Grass (Non-native) lawns is the most retarded thing to keep, especially so in California where its dry during the growing season. With that water use and with that amount of land, someone can grow food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted June 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Tomato hornworms, inchworms, oh my. Good thing I'm catching them early. If I spy any damage, I go investigate. If it is out of my reach, I just lop the whole limb off (it was in the shade anyways, so it might be taking more energy than it makes). So far... I got 8-10 off my plants, two of which was from the out of reach limb. I think most were inchworms but I think two were tomato hornworms since they had a little hump on their back where the horn would of been if they grew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRevanchist Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 My zucchini are about a foot long right now, maybe more, as they grow at a very fast rate once they flower. Tomatoes continue to roll in with little pest damage. Really, it's too hot for anything to live much. The weather for tomorrow is supposed to be 108F (that's 42.2C). Luckily, my tomatoes have partial shade in the afternoon. They seem to be thriving, as one pulled up the tomato cage I had it growing in. Luckily, I have an old metal chair that can support the plant. The yellow tomatoes seem to be my favorites this year. And, my basil is finally happy. I was struggling with it, but the plants seems to have come around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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