May 2013 New England

When do you folks think you'll plant out?

I couldn't stand it anymore. We're going to have 5 days of rain and for the next 10 days it isn't going below 45 degrees. I planted. My transplants always do better when I put on my slicker and go plant in the rain.

Deborah....Like you we're going to have 5 days of rain, but right now the sun is out and its 64 and just ideal for planting. I might get in a couple more things today myself.
You have to take your chances in between rain showers. The transplants and new seeds sown love the rain.

Tomato & pepper this morning (the chicken wire wasn't there before):



Came in the house for a 1/2 hour, went back out and found this:

...along with more tomato leaves gone!



I didn't realized that rabbits ate peps & toms, especially with all the lettuce surrounding them. But I'm thinking rabbit so I'm putting up a little fence, but could it be that tomato worm QB feels for? I didn't see any. What say you?

Also, will the peppers bush out? Is that what you mean by pinching, Camp...taking their heads off?

CC

Grr. You know, that just makes me mad. Esp. when the plant is already that big.

I would think slug, cutworm.

That pepper plant is going to get big & juicy & lush.

camprn wrote:That pepper plant is going to get big & juicy & lush.

YEAH!!! Thanks!

Is this the culprit? I have it in a jar waiting for ID.

Does he get a reprieve?

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:

camprn wrote:That pepper plant is going to get big & juicy & lush.

YEAH!!! Thanks!

Is this the culprit? I have it in a jar waiting for ID.

Does he get a reprieve?

CC

I highly doubt it. That plant looked like it was munched from above, to me. BUT, I wasn't a witness to the fact, so I cannot say for sure.

Camp, do you have one of those bug ID links handy please? I've been doing searches and can find one. This time I'll bookmark it!

CC

Look at the stickies in the Pests forum. It's a moth worm, I think.

camprn wrote:That pepper plant is going to get big & juicy & lush.

Cutting in from the PNW (we LOVE Quilt Bea on the PNW Forum, she's like family), Your comment caught my eye camp. This is my first year growing peppers (new greenhouse). Should I be trimming them back if nature won't do it for me?

TIA

Peppers to the right (a week ago)

I typically pinch the center terminal end to the next node when pepper plant is about 14" tall. Then I do not prune again unless there is a reason other than promoting growth.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/The_difference_between_lateral_and_terminal_buds

Oh man - I don't know about you all, but rain city for the next few days here. This is why I went to raised beds to begin with. I planted squash today in the field because it's too congested for my raised beds, and 4 inches down I hit the water table. Should've done raised mounds.

Dry spring, now the deluge...

NHGardener wrote:4 inches down I hit the water table. Should've done raised mounds.

Is that why we do raised mounds??? Hehe...I just do them because I...I don't know why...just thought that's what we were supposed to do. *shrug*

I planted cuc seeds a few days ago. I'm guessing all this rain will be good for them. Not so sure about the 45 degree nites coming up tho. I'm considering putting milk jug cloches over the peppers, maybe some black plastic over the cuc seeds.

Is anyone covering toms and such for the coming cold?

CC

Forecast is for 38 Sunday nite here so I think I'll cover my toms, hopefully, one last time. If they predict less that 40, I cover. Otherwise, they have to take care of themselves.

That also tells me to hold off til Mon or Tues to put in my potted determinates so I don't have to cover all of those also. I don't have that many extra towels and blankets to spare.

I even unwrapped my ultra early tomato experiment plants for the day. Warm and humid today. I'll clip back the plastic before evening tho. I don't want to lose the fruits and blossoms I've already got.

I want to put 3 more indeter toms out in my flower garden but its too darn wet today and too cold Sun nite. Another task awaiting Mon or Tues. I guess that means reading and watching TV for me today. I already shopped for the long weekend and got home before the big crowds that were heading to the 3 grocery store chains in our area as I was driving home.

I wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Hmm. I don't think I'd cover for 45*, only for freezing.

I did put gallon jugs over the squash plants I put out there. Went out today to plant some more and sunk 4" in mud, it was almost like quicksand - bleh. And inches more rain predicted. I would've held off till after this weekend, but they're starting to yellow as it is... I think I'll hold off the pumpkin transplants till after the weekend.

However, the raised beds are 100% planted, so yay. And I don't worry about drainage issues in them because MM is great for drainage, combined with raised beds, it's a great system for soggy soils.

Edit: Oh, I guess QB says 40*. Hmm. I see two 38* nights coming up. Hmm again.

They'll freeze in 38*?

Uh oh. Looking around on the web, I see that tomatoes can suffer stunting/production issues if it drops below a certain temperature, the one I saw was 45*. I guess this is why gardeners always tell you: don't rush your hot weather veggie plantings.......

Okay, so I am definitely going to cover with agrabon on those 2 cold nights, but I hope that's enough to keep them from being underachievers.

Also, I'm seeing "stressed at 55 or below" - which will be daytime temps tomorrow & next day. SO - I think I'll put agrabon row cover over the tomatoes and leave it there for 48 hrs. I don't have a hoop, so I guess I'll just drape it over - you think that's okay?

Plus the peppers/eggplants, I'll agrabon those too. Cukes too?

I just finished planting out seeds of zucchini & bush beans. I topped them off with unfinished compost from the bottom of the pile, so it seemed mostly finished and it was very warm. I wanted them in for the rain that we're getting here until Sunday afternoon/evening.

The roads here are like parking lots with all the folks coming to the Cape for the weekend. If I'm smart I won't venture off the property til Tuesday morning. Guess it's rain gardening for me for the next few days.

CC

quiltbea wrote:
I even unwrapped my ultra early tomato experiment plants for the day. Warm and humid today. I'll clip back the plastic before evening tho. I don't want to lose the fruits and blossoms I've already got.

I have the Victory Garden book out of the library and saw how he does early toms. He eats tomatoes by June 1st! I'm going to buy that book...it's a keeper! Thanks for the heads up on that one, QB!
You have a happy & safe holiday also.

OH, I forgot to show you guys my very first ever baby broccoli head:

Also, my first ever fenced in SFG...this is my lowest bed and the one the rabbit savagely attacked. I used most of the grids as stakes for the chicken wire. This bed contains toms, peppers, onions from sets & seed, lettuce, garlic and radishes:

CC

I lit my woodstove again.

NHG... I take 40* as a guide because in micro climates it can sometimes drop to around 32 even when 'they' tell us 38 or 40. I just want to be prepared for a nasty drop.

CapeC.....I like your anti-rabbit protection. It sure looks like it'll work. Good luck. I love rereading Bob Thomson's book every spring and summer by the month.

More rain expected here all weekend including Monday. It isn't stopping the vacationers tho. The Mem'l Day weekend influx to the lakes is happening. I like to shop early on a weekday morning starting now or the parking lots are crowded as are the checkout aisles. I may have mentioned that I live just up the road from beautiful Sebago Lake, the 2nd largest lake in our state and that means many tourists from Mem'l Day to Labor Day each year. Scattered around us are about 6 more smaller lakes. Our highway consists of only two lanes plus breakdown lanes so it gets pretty crowded. I don't begrudge them enjoying our fine wooded lake areas. Its a perfect place to spend summers being a lot cooler than south of us and with many lake and ocean beaches and super seafood restaurants. Who wouldn't love it here for the summer.

My SFG beds are doing fine with the rain but my flower beds aren't so lucky. They aren't raised and my several herbs planted in those beds plus the brassicas are getting might water-logged right now. I hope it lets up a little as I do for all of my gardener friends here on the forum. At least the Irises are loving it. They like to be kept moist anyway and they are loving this rain and the calyxes are filling out beautifully which means blossoms very soon now.

Let's hope our rains slow down a bit and a a little sunshine peeks thru this weekend.

Wow Capecoddess! that broccoli looks great!
Mine are still just leaves although they do look happy with the days of deluge and overcast that we are having!

I am only zone 3b so even with transplants and hoop coverings i am still a bit behind a lot of you i think. But, i do have a lot of things sprouting and growing and have managed to not kill a single transplant by forgetting it while i was hardening it off this year!

So far the only things i have been able to pick have been rhubarb which is plentiful and chives which are simply indomitable.

morsel wrote:Wow Capecoddess! that broccoli looks great!

I ate most of the leaves this morning in my weekly soup pot. Hoping I left enuff to keep that head growing.

Check out this freakin' lettuce my neighbor gave me - to the top left is my blender:
It filled up my whole weekly lettuce box once chopped, which means it was at least a lb. She uses earth & compost with organic fertilizer.

Today is a perfect day for canning beans. I'm doing kidney & black, 3 lbs dried of each. Half the kidneys are in the pressure canner now so I'm heading out to plant some Kentucky Wonder bean seeds hoping that the soaking they will be getting for at least the next 24 hours will be good for them. Apparently summer is hitting next week, but not sure if that means the Cape, too, or not.

What are ya'll doing on this cold drizzly weekend?

CC

CapeCoddess wrote:
What are ya'll doing on this cold drizzly weekend?

CC

that's a nice lettuce!
Today outside it is 42*F, rainy and windy so I am painting beehives, doing some housework taking a nap and then I am treating myself to the new Star Trek movie.

camprn wrote:

CapeCoddess wrote:
What are ya'll doing on this cold drizzly weekend?

CC

that's a nice lettuce!
Today outside it is 42*F, rainy and windy so I am painting beehives, doing some housework taking a nap and then I am treating myself to the new Star Trek movie.

How exciting! Please let me know how the movie is. I have to wait til it's on DVD coz I get sensory overload at the theater.

Check this out...I have a cherry tomato!!! I think it's a Sungold but it could be a Sweet 100. Will have to wait til/if it colors up before I know for sure:

AND the strawberries are a'comin':

Meanwhile, the whole SFG is in full swing. Cupboards 1, 2 & 3 in front on the right contain kale, broccoli, cabbage, collards, walking onions, chard, chives & tomatoes. I harvested the rest of the spinach today so have 2 empty newly composted sqs in there - what to plant, what to plant:


Cupboards 3, 4 & 5 w/ toms, peas, daikon and newly planted beans in the composted black MM where the spinach I finished harvesting today used to be:

Boxes 1 & 2 w/ lettuce, beets, chard, tomatoes in the front one and garlic, lettuce, carrots(?) & bush peas that look the same as climbing peas to me, in the rear one:


Half the beans are canned, half to go. What a great day on Cape Cod!!!

CC

CapeC.....Your garden is looking just beautiful....and with lots of crops to come. Congrats.