May in the lower south

I will be so glad when the rains stop.  The only damage I had from last Friday's storms that spawned the local tornado was the tulle on my beds.  But I haven't had enough non rain hours to repair yet.  I'm mostly worried about cabbage moths as my brassica beds are really looking good, especially since I got such a late start.  Got these pictures during a break this afternoon.  Maybe tomorrow.  

Kay

Oh no, that looks bad.  We had 40 - 50 mph winds and no damage to my tulle.

Well I've managed to get all the beds planted and half the beds redressed in tulle.  Lowes had some storm damaged raspberries, blackberries and blueberries marked at half price so I picked up 5 blueberries, 2 raspberries and 2 blackberries plus a green seedless grape. Had to pay full price for one of the blueberries to get a different variety for pollination. Took me 2 days but they are planted.

My April planted peas are reaching for the trellis and I'm eating lettuce and spinach from the starts.  All the seeded lettuce, bok choy, chinese cabbage, spinach, kale, collards, and radishes are growing well.   The April planted broccoli and red cabbage starts are getting big.  May is when peas are usually picked, but mine are way behind.  Although the March planted peas didn't come up until a a few days before I planted more.  If our weather patterns go back to normal, the heat may be here before I can get much harvested.

Garlic and shallots are looking good in their cement mixing tubs.  My bay laurel tree survived the winter in the garage but is looking very sad in its bucket.  Slowly putting out some new growth.  I'm taking a chance with it anyway as it is only hard to zone 9 and I'm zone 8.  

Put the tomato and pepper starts out last week just before the big storms.  They came though it fine in their buckets.  I have lots of tomato volunteers and put some in buckets.  They were so tiny. The sungold cherry skin that I found with sprouting seed in it has sprouted out half a dozen plants.  And I couldn't find any San Marzano starts so I started seeds for them.  May be late tomatoes but will supplement the starts.  Bought one hot pepper start, a yellow cayenne, but then found the dried peppers from last year and decided to see if I could get any of the super hots.  I've got 6 tiny yellow scorpians, 6 tiny Butch T scorpians, and 2 tiny Philippine peppers.  Put all outside in their cups today to start hardening off.  Will probably plant in a few days.

Tomorrow I will finished putting tulle on the beds.

Seems funny to be starting seeds inside at the same time as planting summer squash and beans outside.  Upside down year.

AND I ATE MY FIRST STRAWBERRY TODAY.  HAD TO SHARE WITH SOME BUGS, BUT I GOT THE BIGGER BITE.

Kay

Kay, that made me tired just reading it!  You've sure been busy.  But it'll quickly be worth it.

Congrats on the strawberry!

walshevak wrote: And I couldn't find any San Marzano starts so I started seeds for them.  

....

AND I ATE MY FIRST STRAWBERRY TODAY.  HAD TO SHARE WITH SOME BUGS, BUT I GOT THE BIGGER BITE. Kay

Wow you are busy! Sorry about your damage. We weren't hit, but had a half hour gully-washer that dropped an inch and a half. Everything else went around us. I was glad for just that, because we are so soggy.

Do you have trouble with Blossom End Rot on your San Marzanos? I found them so prone to BER that I quit growing them, and am now happily growing Rio Grande, which are a Roma type, but larger and much better adapted to the South.

My strawberries are in buckets. I lost the first round to the slubs (and I'm not willing to share). So I set them on top of my riding lawn mower, and so far they haven't found them. Nice to have some fresh ones.

Pollinator wrote:

walshevak wrote: And I couldn't find any San Marzano starts so I started seeds for them.  

....

AND I ATE MY FIRST STRAWBERRY TODAY.  HAD TO SHARE WITH SOME BUGS, BUT I GOT THE BIGGER BITE.  Kay

Wow you are busy!  Sorry about your damage. We weren't hit, but had a half hour gully-washer that dropped an inch and a half. Everything else went around us.  I was glad for just that, because we are so soggy.

Do you have trouble with Blossom End Rot on your San Marzanos?  I found them so prone to BER that I quit growing them, and am now happily growing Rio Grande, which are a Roma type, but larger and much better adapted to the South.

My strawberries are in buckets. I lost the first round to the slubs (and I'm not willing to share). So I set them on top of my riding lawn mower, and so far they haven't found them. Nice to have some fresh ones.

Don't know if it is helping, but I don't have much problem with BER.  I put powdered milk and epsom salts in the planting hole of every tomato plant.  

Kay

walshevak wrote:

Pollinator wrote:

walshevak wrote: And I couldn't find any San Marzano starts so I started seeds for them.  

....

AND I ATE MY FIRST STRAWBERRY TODAY.  HAD TO SHARE WITH SOME BUGS, BUT I GOT THE BIGGER BITE.  Kay

Wow you are busy!  Sorry about your damage. We weren't hit, but had a half hour gully-washer that dropped an inch and a half. Everything else went around us.  I was glad for just that, because we are so soggy.

Do you have trouble with Blossom End Rot on your San Marzanos?  I found them so prone to BER that I quit growing them, and am now happily growing Rio Grande, which are a Roma type, but larger and much better adapted to the South.

My strawberries are in buckets. I lost the first round to the slubs (and I'm not willing to share). So I set them on top of my riding lawn mower, and so far they haven't found them. Nice to have some fresh ones.

Don't know if it is helping, but I don't have much problem with BER.  I put powdered milk and epsom salts in the planting hole of every tomato plant.  

Kay

Kay,  I put some powdered milk and epsom salts in some of my tomato plant holes last year.  I tried so many different things, I'm not sure what may have helped.  In any case, I did not have any problems with mildew, blight, BER etc.  How much of each substance do you put in each hole?

Here's a thread that I saw last year. The Search Box is helpful for finding subjects previously discussed.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t12249-blossom-end-rot?highlight=Blossom+end+rot

My Roma had BER. I added 1/4 cup of Epson salts and 1/4 of non-fat powdered milk dissolved in 2 cups of water to the plant (I think I did it twice about a month apart) and the BER stopped. I read somewhere that the paste tomatoes are the most susceptible to BER.

sanderson wrote:Here's a thread that I saw last year.  The Search Box is helpful for finding subjects previously discussed.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t12249-blossom-end-rot?highlight=Blossom+end+rot

My Roma had BER.  I added 1/4 cup of Epson salts and 1/4 of non-fat powdered milk dissolved in 2 cups of water to the plant (I think I did it twice about a month apart) and the BER stopped.  I read somewhere that the paste tomatoes are the most susceptible to BER.

Thanks for your response sanderson.  You are awesome!  

One last question though... you mentioned putting the stuff in the planting hole.  Is the forumula you just mentioned only an emergency response to be watered on the affected plant?

WM, Is the question for Kay or for me? I poured the solution all around the square after the plant started showing BER.

sanderson wrote:WM,  Is the question for Kay or for me?  I poured the solution all around the square after the plant started showing BER.

Sorry sanderson... I did not see that it was Kay who wrote about the substances in the hole.  However, I did appreciate your mentioning about pouring your formula around square of affected plant.

I used the same 1/4 cup amounts of powder in the planting holes.  I will admit that some tomatoes that I planted later got forgotten with the treatment, so when I remembered I also made a liquid and poured it on.   Don't know if it worked or if BER would not have been a problem anyway, but a little prevention beats waiting to see.

Kay

walshevak wrote:I used the same 1/4 cup amounts of powder in the planting holes.  I will admit that some tomatoes that I planted later got forgotten with the treatment, so when I remembered I also made a liquid and poured it on.   Don't know if it worked or if BER would not have been a problem anyway, but a little prevention beats waiting to see.

Kay

Thanks for your response Kay.  Yep, prevention is the way to go if it's nontoxic.

Some of these pictures were taken yesterday and matching pictures taken today after some weeding and trellis work.

The strawberry beds.  Tulle is down low to keep the birds out but leave room for insects for pollination.  Borage seeds in the planter and a volunteer tomato in the bucket





After taking yesterday's pictures, I realized some of the plants are getting ready to bloom or climb and needed to be uncovered.  In today's picture the Zucchini in front and right,  pumpkins to the rear, onions and peppers in middle. and some volunteer lemon basil here and there.






cukes reaching for trellis, mustard greens, chard and kale still under wraps








long beans on trellis, red cabbage under a tulle cover in middle and yellow squash on right.  Blooming eggplants in front of beans






acorn squash on left, peppers to rear, patty pan squash front, butternut squash on right.  What happens when you forget which square you planted the carrots in and plant onion seed.  see middle.  I moved some of the onion to the square the carrots were supposed to be in and will move some more when I take out the broccoli.






Fixed the pea trellis to right and cleared out the weeds from the kale, spinach, the bolting bok choy, and collards.






more peas, kale, spinach.  pulled the bolting bok choy








Uncovered the cantaloupe on the right.  The greens in the middle are 3 weeks ago thinings from the previous bed.



Uncovered the watermelons on left so they can start climbing.



Yesterday's picture shows the lima beans not ready to be uncovered yet.  Need to get them a trellis






Today's picture from a different angle shows the dill, purple basil, 2 hot peppers, broccoli and butternut squash on left.  It is a later planting and not ready for its trellis.




The last broccoli unless I get some side shoots.



A cement tub with shallots and radacchio



The other tub with radishes, garlic, and red lettuce.  I'm afraid the garlic is about ready to be pulled because the tops are dying, but the bulbs underneath don't seem to be ready.  In the ground since Nov.




Carrot week carrots in blue pots and volunteer parsley or cilantro in yellow pot.



Sweet peppers in silver buckets and chives blooming



spinach thinnings needed a home so they got this pot



My five new blueberry bushes 1/2 price at Lowes 1st of May due to storm damage. Back by the white pipe is a fig root that I thought had died.  Planted two pitiful roots last Aug.  The other one never even got started.




My newest grape.  1/2 price at Lowes 2 weeks ago.  A green seedless.


Starting the third summer on grapes.  Red on left purchased and a scuppernong gift on right.  Scuppernong looks like two vines, but it is only one.




2 red raspberry and 2 blackberry plants got 1/2 price due to storm damage.  The distant plant is a blackberry starting its 3rd summer.  The rabbits ate the golden and the other red that year.




Pomegranate started from seed in 2011 in little black pot.  I think it needs a new home.  Bay tree in yellow pot.  They are only hardy to zone 9.  Key limes in other pots.




Calamansi citrus started from seed last year from seed brought back from Philippines by my DIL.




and the tomatoes.  bought 5, started seed for 3.  not shown are 3 other buckets with volunteers I found in the various beds.  Gave away and discarded lots more.  There is a volunteer in the flower pot next to the spinach pot in picture above.

Kay, Thanks for sharing. Everything looks so healthy. The TTs have got to make gardening easier. ??

Looking great, Kay! You have been BUSY!!!

GG

+1, GG!  Makes me tired just looking at it.  But how you'll enjoy that harvest!!!

On your blueberries, you might put some mini pine nuggets or something down.  They're azalea cousins & like acid.

Wow, you have a lot of things going on there.  Even more exceptional is that you were out of the country for quite a while.

AtlantaMarie wrote:+1, GG!  Makes me tired just looking at it.  But how you'll enjoy that harvest!!!

On your blueberries, you might put some mini pine nuggets or something down.  They're azalea cousins & like acid.

There is a good amount of peat moss in the planting holes.  My son has pine trees and I hope to get some bags of pine straw on my next visit.

Kay