Official Gardening/Homesteading thread: Our back yards are our grocery stores

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by lhprop1, Apr 9, 2015.

  1. ashy larry

    ashy larry from ashy to classy
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    anyone have issues with blossom end rot on your tomatoes? losing about half of my san marzanos
     
    #2101 ashy larry, Jun 25, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2020
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  2. Funshot Residue

    Funshot Residue Mammoth Stabber
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    Haha. Ours is named Chuck. He meets his maker in the next month or so. Tryin like hell to clean out the freezer.
     
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  3. One Two

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    Fight it from the roots. It’s a nutrient thing (deficiency). Apply this every other day until it clears up

     
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  4. AIP

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  5. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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  6. AIP

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    Tomato

    planted 2 weeks later than ever

    didn’t think I would have em this early
     
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  7. BayouMafia

    BayouMafia Thought Leader in Posting
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    billdozer when do you know to pick canteloupes? My first several chanterais melons are about as big as the canteloupes you see in a store, but not sure if they'll get bigger or if I should go ahead and harvest? I read on the baker creek site someone said they're ready when they crack, but I don't want them to crack.
     
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  8. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    What kind?
    Looks like a purple roma or something
     
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  9. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    I plant Ambrosia. For those, the stem going to them starts to shrivel and when I rotate them it pops right off. They also slightly change color and you can smell the cantaloupe through the rind. But mainly how the stem looks.
     
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  10. AIP

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    You know your tomato’s
     
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  11. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    I didn't know there was such a thing :lol
     
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  12. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Google tells me chanterais aren't like Ambrosia:

    The reason you rarely see them offered for sale is that, when fully ripe, they are quite delicate and usually split at the stem end. They are simply unsuitable for shipping to markets. Nevertheless, they are great for the home garden.

    As the Charentais melons approach maturity, the rind color shifts from green to pale green and it eventually develops a yellow cast. The way I tell if there is a melon ready for harvest is to stand beside the melon patch (every morning) and sniff the air. If there is a ripe melon, it fills the air with its fragrance; then the search for it begins. By checking the stem end I can find the melon that is starting to split. You don’t want to wait too long as garden pests like sweet melons, too.

    Don’t try to pull a ripe Charentais melon from its stem as it doesn’t slip from the vine as cantaloupes do. Use your clippers to cut it from the vine, give it a quick wash, and enjoy. Charentais melons are truly gourmet melons that are a rare treat for melon-lovers.
     
  13. texasraider

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    now I'm going to be forced to steal a melon from BayouMafia in the middle of the night
     
  14. AIP

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    I didn’t either, till this year
     
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  15. BayouMafia

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    :respek:

    A couple of them are in this pic I took on Wednesday.

    3A933380-3537-4A1E-9C51-8D718A00F9C6.jpeg
     
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  16. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    My cantaloupe and watermelon plants just recently spread and just started putting out flowers.
     
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  17. BayouMafia

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    yeah in north Texas you have to plant early here because July/August daily temps of 105+ and weeks without rain are brutal on everything except okra. We have more tomatoes than we can eat or give away now, but in a couple of weeks we'll have nothing.

    Most years I give up in early July and have no interest in a fall garden if it means putting in some much work in the heat of summer. But working from home this year, plus having a wetter than normal spring, means my garden is doing better than it ever has. I'm wondering if I should pull my tomatoes up when they stop fruiting and plant seedlings for the fall, or if I leave the existing plants they'll fruit again in the fall...
     
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  18. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Today's haul
    [​IMG]
    Still waiting on these sweet peppers to turn colors though
    [​IMG]
     
  19. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Sold 9 lambs today and my wife picked up two Nigerian dwarf bottle babies to replace the goats we sold.
    [​IMG]
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    [​IMG]
     
    #2119 billdozer, Jun 26, 2020
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2020
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  20. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Today's haul
    [​IMG]
     
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  21. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Made 3 different ice creams for today. Chocolate, blackberry, and cucumber mint chocolate chip. All made with eggs and honey from the farm and blackberries and cucumber and mint from the farm for the last two.
    [​IMG]
     
  22. Beachy Toast

    Beachy Toast He wants you too, Malachi.
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    How long does it take you to make ice cream?
     
  23. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    About 15 minutes to prepare it, then put it in the fridge until it's chilled, then about 15-20 minutes in the ice cream maker, then into the freezer until it's more solid. So probably about 5-6 hours until eating ready, but 20 minutes of actual work.
     
  24. Funshot Residue

    Funshot Residue Mammoth Stabber
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    Steer went to market Friday. Between 6 and 7 weight. Looking forward to some good roasts this winter.
    Blueberries are slowing down, but we picked between 1 and 1.5 pints last night. Total of 3 bushes, but one massively out produced the rest. Will remember to fence the chickens out next year!
     
  25. BayouMafia

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    Never cracked but the thing kept getting bigger so finally I picked it just to see how it turned out. Definitely should have waited as the flesh was a little harder and dryer than optimal but it was a nice dessert nonetheless. Will let the next one stay on the vine until it cracks like people have said. Should be harvesting several more in the next couple of weeks.
    F0EF1EF0-FB7C-49D4-8A4B-5901D8EEB8A3.jpeg
     
  26. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    Okra, watermelon, and cantaloupe are coming along. Getting 4-5 cucumbers a day, really too much.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  27. One Two

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    Every single time I’ve ever grown cucumber I’ve always ended up thinking “what the fuck am I going to do with all these things.”
     
  28. billdozer

    billdozer Well-Known Member
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    We've been making pickles, cutting them up in salads, putting them on sandwiches, and then made the ice cream with some. Still have given away over 20 from the 3 plants we have.
     
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  29. One Two

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    Yep. I have never tried pickling but as a single dude even with just two plants I was crying uncle by July
     
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  30. Greybeard

    Greybeard Livin' the dream.

    Us northern latitude gardeners are behind you southerners, but we're catching up. Been picking peas for weeks, cucumbers are finger length, and tomatos are starting to turn red. Peppers are coming in, we've picked a half dozen or so. Having end rot on zucchini once they're 4-5" long, research says might be poor pollinization. We haven't had our normal bees this year.
     
  31. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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  32. Russellin4885

    Russellin4885 Well-Known Member
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    My pepper plants have tons of holes on the leaves and a lot of the peppers have a hole in them and then start to rot. Have tried spraying with soap/neem oil but that doesn't seem to be helping enough. Any other suggestions? What's doing the damage?
     
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  33. Greybeard

    Greybeard Livin' the dream.

    I pulled a pepper yesterday with a light green worm/caterpillar on it that had eaten a hole in it. 1 1/2-2" long. Zone 5, Pennsylvania fwiw...
     
  34. milquetoast

    milquetoast Firm Security
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    Anyone have avocado experience?

    Last year was the first our tree fruited and not even realizing it was, we waited too long. The avocados were huge but were inedible. Pulled some off this year probably too early and they were also too hard, even after having them ripen on the counter for like ten days.
     
  35. texasraider

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    I grew one from seed eight months ago. I’ll let you know my experience in 6-8 years


    7ECC27A4-7DE9-48DB-BFCA-EE6E45D232C3.jpeg
     
  36. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    probably horn worms if you have them in your area. They can strip an entire plant in hours. I’ve tried everything with limited success, so I just go out just before dark and check the plants and pick off and kill any of them as thats when they tend to come out.
     
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  37. One Two

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    I try to stay as mild/organic as I can in treatment but it sounds like you’re at a point where spraying with seven is going to be your best bet. Just do it at dusk when pollinators aren’t active
     
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  38. timo

    timo g'day, mate
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    slugs are bad in my area (mid atlantic) this year. they'll do what you describe
     
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  39. thunderstruck

    thunderstruck I'm a Boss

    I was going to say cut worms, maybe were talking about the same thing. They demolished my tomato plants a couple years ago.
     
  40. PJP3

    PJP3 Well-Known Member
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    googled cut worms and they look different. Horn worms are big, really green caterpillars and have a big point on one end. I know they only hit my pepper plants and peas plants. Leave the tomatoes alone. But not sure where they are regionally.
     
  41. hawkeyeOUTeast

    hawkeyeOUTeast Well-Known Member
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    That’s funny you say that, we got tobacco hornworms a week ago and they only touched the tomatoes, none of the peppers or cucumbers. Did some damage, but I think we spotted the first relatively soon after it got there (still not sure how it even got there). Then I spotted 5 more about 20 minutes later. Removed them all and haven’t had any problems since.
     
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  42. Greybeard

    Greybeard Livin' the dream.

    We planted a bunch of Paste tomatos this year and less Beefsteak. Less water, more "meat", better for canning. 20200711_193516.jpg Snap peas, round two.
    20200711_193614.jpg

    Messed up inserting files... Peppers, cherry tomatos, and one of three beds of garlic which should come out of the ground in a couple weeks...
     

    Attached Files:

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  43. AIP

    AIP Team bush
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    Beans, lots of beans

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Every 3 days I am getting 4 containers of beans
     
  44. HuskerInMiami

    HuskerInMiami Well-Known Member
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    We have lizards in our back yard occasionally, and it never really bothered me. Now they are shitting in my pool, on rafts, and on the deck.

    Google doesn’t really give me any good ideas to get rid of them. Any ideas?
     

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  45. texasraider

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    Get a cat
     
  46. HuskerInMiami

    HuskerInMiami Well-Known Member
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    Side Neighbor has about a half dozen outdoor Cats. I have noticed a few dead in the busy-ish street nearby.
     
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  47. Tiffin

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    Not sure where else I should put this. Not home grown, but drove to a clear cut just down the road that I had seen tons of blackberry blossoms in a couple months ago. Place is absolutely covered, got a couple quarts pretty easily aside from it being so overgrown. Probably only picked a 10x10 section of this spot, may have to go back again soon.


    2020-07-12 11.20.48.jpg 2020-07-12 11.21.24.jpg 2020-07-12 11.22.05.jpg
     
  48. texasraider

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    I fucking love blackberries
     
  49. Tiffin

    Tiffin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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    Well there are probably acres of them less than a mile down the road from me. It's a matter of hacking through all the other thorns. Definitely taking a pair of hand trimmers and wearing long sleeves next time.
     
  50. Tiffin

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    Going to make a cobbler with these in a couple days.