2022 Garden Thread

[Dan Freeman]

Forgot to post these pics. They are from Christmas Eve. (Not sure why the light makes the color look a bit distorted...combination of grow lights/real sunlight.)

 

[EatenByLimestone]

My 1st and second batches are starting to ripen a bit. Only had the single ripe one.

 

[Dan Freeman]

You should be getting them real soon, then. Do not be tempted to pick them a bit early. Wait until they are a full, deep red. Even a little early, and they have a more-sour taste than sweet. I just picked another 8. I'll snack on them later.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I wonder if my root and foliage trim set them back.

I just ran out of the Aerogarden fertilizer,so will be starting the other fertilizer I bought soon.

 

[Dan Freeman]

I wonder if my root and foliage trim set them back.

Hard to say, but usually a foliage trim in a traditional gardening setting stimulates growth. As far as the roots, well can't trim them in a traditional setting, so can't compare there.

 

[begreen]

They look great Dan. Our transplanted TTims are doing well. There wasn't any noticeable shock, but growth slowed down for about a week. Now they are back to adding height and setting more fruit. They look bigger than your plants. I may have to start trimmng them more aggressively. I got mine started late (10/22) so it will be a few more weeks before we're harvesting. The lettuce is growing strong. I'll be doing another harvest tomorrow. The replanted seeds in the iDoo have sprouted, so there will be another crop following. This time it's just lettuce and 2 basil plants.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Glad to hear the transplanted TT's are doing well. Mine were larger last year. I think it may be the potting soil. I always mixed my own potting soil the last few years. I knew exactly what was in it. This year I purchased potting soil. In addition to being overrun with the fungus gnats, I can already tell this year's plants will not produce like last year's. Last year I had 8 plants with two distinct fruit-setting periods. (The first is always more abundant than the 2nd.) I harvested over 900 tomatoes. This year, I am on my first fruit setting, and the most I see on any plant is 30ish tomatoes. I'm predicting a max of 500 tomatoes this year from 8 plants, and it may wind up being only about 400 when the story is told. The potting soil is the only change. Lighting, heat, watering, etc. are the same. Nest year, I'll go back to my home brew.

 

[begreen]

I blended 2 different potting soils and fertilized them with Tomato-tone added to each pot. We'll see how it works out. It's all an experiment for me. First-time indoor veggie growing. You have been the inspiration that got me to try it out. So far, no fungus gnats I'm glad to say. I have yellow stickies up just in case.

 

[Dan Freeman]

I'm glad I was able to get you started with the tomatoes!

 

[Dan Freeman]

Thought I would give a fungus gnat update.

I was hopeful about the Mosquito Bits, but I'm not sure they are working. As directed, I soaked 4 tablespoons in a gallon of water and watered my plants on Dec 17 and 24. The BTI in the MB's are supposed to kill the larvae before they can develop into flying adults. Since adults only live for about 8 days, I expected to see improvement within a few days with less and less flying adults each day.

This has not been the case. If anything, the flying population is the same or has slightly increased. I can't believe how fast the yellow sticky traps fill up with hundreds, of fungus gnats, and they only trap a small percentage. The trays around the plants and the floor around the plant rack have 100's of dead fungus gnats that I vacuum up each day. I also am finding 20-40 dead fungus gnats under the light on my desk in the next room twice a day. I am finding fungus gnats in just about every room in the house, now.

I have decided to water a third time this coming Saturday with MB's as they recommend watering once a week for 3 weeks, but I am not hopeful based on the life span of an adult fungus gnat and the results so far. We'll see...

If they are still this bad in about a week, I think I am going to dispose of all my indoor veggies for this season. Next season, I'll go back to mixing my own potting soil and not buy a premade mix. With the same temperatures, lighting, and watering schedule, the only change I made this year is using a commercial potting soil from Home Depot, and I think that has been the problem.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I wonder if a box fan with sticky traps or a tight screen on the exhaust side would pull them out of the air.

 

[Dan Freeman]

I picked another 8 tomatoes yesterday, but the fungus gnats continue...

So, I decided to add another method of attack on the fungus gnats in addition to the sticky traps and Mosquito Bits yesterday.

I hadn't watered the plants since watering with the mosquito bits last Saturday, and they needed watering. I made up a 4 parts water to 1 part hydrogen peroxide mixture and watered the plants until it began to run out the bottom.

Hydrogen peroxide supposedly kills the eggs and larvae on contact, but it needs to be used on a regular basis since it only lasts a while and breaks down into oxygen and water.

Going to continue with the Bits and the Peroxide as a last resort. The next treatment will be Saturday. If I don't see a marked improvement within 7 days, I am going to dump the plants (which I don't want to do) and start fresh.

 

[Dan Freeman]

Anytime we have used an electric tool or piece of equipment down in the food forest, we have had to run anywhere from 150-200 feet of extension cord from one of our sheds. Not an ideal situation. Now that we have electricity down to the food forest pond, I don't have to, but there is another 50 feet or so within the food forest from the pond outlet to the edges of the food forest and at least another 150 feet from the pond to the back of the cleared area of the field.

I have always wanted to get a small Honda 2200-watt quiet generator for when I have to run electric tools or equipment out on the property but couldn't justify the $1200 price tag. Yesterday, I read in another forum that Harbor Freight was running a 20% off end of year sale on all their generators. I was able to pick up a 2000-Watt Super Quiet Inverter Generator for $495.99 (down from $619.99).



Before Harbor Freight opened near me, I always thought of them as a cheap tool store and was wary of their products. However, I bought our electric splitter from them 2 years ago, and it has worked flawlessly. I have also purchased a few other less expensive tools that I have been satisfied with. Hopefully, this inexpensive generator (compared to Honda) will be a positive experience, too. Out of 30 reviews, it received 4.8 stars out of 5 and 97% would recommend it.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

The warm weather might be enough to move the tomatoes outside for a bit and break the gnat lifecycle?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Harbor Freight has come a long way. My overhead door business probably has 95% of its tools from HF. My guys will lose them over time, if they don’t get broken. I’d rather not have to replace expensive tools.

 

[Dan Freeman]

The warm weather might be enough to move the tomatoes outside for a bit and break the gnat lifecycle?

It's only supposed to hit mid 40's here and that's in the midafternoon. It wouldn't break the cycle. The eggs/larvae are in the soil for 2 weeks before they hatch. I'm trying to rid them at that level.

Yeah. I've talked with a neighbor who says HF has improved with their products over the years.

 

[begreen]

HF has improved over the years and has some decent products, but I am not very fond of their hand tools. Most are good for the weekend warrior that may use them once or twice a year, but they are often substandard and degrade with use. This leads to stripped screw heads, rounded bolt corners, etc. I help repair things for our local tool library and the HF compressors are junk compared to a decent Senco or Porter.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

most of the stuff I’ve purchased from HF has been wrenches, sockets, pliers, and stuff like that.

I did buy an oil less pancake compressor that failed. I replaced it with an oil lubed one that is going strong still. I don’t do much with the air compressor. I’ve never used their power tools. When I was buying those tools, HF wasn’t around, or I was buying vintage.

 

[begreen]

Yes, it was two small pancake compressors that I worked on. They are not made well. The Sencos last hundreds of hours longer and are easy to rebuild with parts readily available.

 

[Dan Freeman]

SeedsNow.com is having a $10 off and free shipping sale until midnight tonight. The reward code is CP36HK8. I have used SeedsNow before and have always found their seeds good.

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I just picked up 10 packets, like I need more seeds, but want to try a few things I haven't tried in the past. (Only $19.40 after $10 off...and free shipping)

Kale - Classic, Blue Curled Scotch (New)
Kale - Premier (New)
Squash (Summer) - Black Beauty Zucchini (Haven't grown in 3-4 years)
Cabbage - All Season (A new variety for me)
Spinach - Bloomsdale (My seeds are getting old)
Swiss Chard - Rainbow Mix (New)
Beet - Early Wonder (Grew "Detroit" this year-this is a new variety for me)
Carrot - Tendersweet (A new variety for me)
Cucumber - Space Master (A new variety for me)
Pea - Wando (A new variety for me)