Aug 2016 lower south

July 26

I fought the weed and the weed won, My raised bed gardens are a square of cinderblocks lined with pond liner with a 4x4 wicking bed set on top. I Was pulling a very stubborn weed out of one bed this morning and it slipped out of my hand causing me to fall backwards into the bed behind me. I was lucky. The double bucket wicking system of pepper plants broke my fall enough that I managed to twist just enough to miss the spine, ribs and hip when I hit the cinderblocks. But I have a deep bruise that is going to require PT and drugs. Will have to get my son over tonight to water the non wicking buickets, tabletop beds and some other plants just in pots, I just wanted to plant some more squash to replace my lost battle with SVB. Guess the garden will have to take care of itself for a few days


July 27
 Feeling better than I should considering the whack I took. Thanks to Andy Illobre, PA-C at Masonboro Family Medicine, PC and New Hanover Regional Medical Center's Oleander Rehab Center. I fell at 7 Am and went straight to Dr.Andy even before the office opened at 8 am. They had me in even before he was seeing patients and by 9am I was x-rayed, examined and had picked up my pain meds from CVS next door. The referral to the rehab center was sent and NHRMC called and had a opening at 2pm. Evaluated me and did a deep heat ultrasound therapy and then I went to the warm, salt water pool where I normally do my water aerobics for some easy water walking. Came home and slept for the rest of the afternoon. Woke up about 10pm with enough pain I took another pill and then slept until 5 this morning no longer in the high pain I had been in. Going to the salt water pool this morning and hope I may not need much PT as they can't get me in again until Aug 4. Deep bruises on my back and a pinch in my hip seems to be the worst of it. Feeling very lucky.


July 29  cancellation at rehab and i was able to take the appointment.  Another deep heat ultrasound.  



Aug 1  One replacement squash plant is up managed to plant 4 more in spite of the fall, but that's all I did.  The Tatume squash that is growing in the former garlic bed is doing the best.  I just let it run in the entire bed and it put down extra roots along the vines.  Pulled one nice size yesterday and have 3 more growing.


Got a hand full of long beans twice, enough for me alone but now the vines are like crispy critters.  Plenty of water but just not thriving.  Corn in one bed tasseled out but never formed any silks or ears.  Now turning yellow and drying up.  Same bed as beans.    


Tomatoes are sad in spite of putting them new buckets of MM this year.  I want to blame disease from Bonnie starts but even the plants a friend started from heirloom seed are not doing well, in spite of lots of copper fungicide spraying, and neem.  But peppers are doing well so far.


another bean, cuke, corn bed is doing better.  Beans are not blooming but plants still look good.  Corn has tassled, formed some silks and shows promise of a few ears.  Cukes got attacked by pickle worms and had to be pulled out. Replanted and have 2" seedlings.   


Sweet potatoes planted into 2 mixing tubs have spread vines over 3 other tubs that originally had lettuce and spinach that the heat took out  I am burying the vines in the other tubs and we will see what comes of it.   


Swiss chard in 6th tub is finally looking like it will survive.  


And that the most I am doing right now, just keeping water on the gardens.  Anything else will have to wait a week or two.


Kay

So sorry about your accident and pain.  Hope you heal real fast.

Also so sorry about your troubles in your garden with the pests, diseases, heat and drying up veggies.  You sound just like me.  I have had all those diseases and more.  It must be a southern thing.  

About corn not setting silks before pollen drops.  I found out it was caused by stress.  Either not enough water or not enough nitrogen.  

About pickle worms - I don't know what happened this year but only one cucumber was attacked by pickle worm.  I don't know where all the rest went but hope they don't find me again.

About blaming Bonnie for the disease on Tomatoes.  I used to blame Bonnie every year for the diseases.  Then I started my own tomatoes from seeds and got the same diseases as before so I really can no longer blame Bonnie.

About your sweet potatoes.  I started trellising my vines.  They reached the top of an 8 foot trellis and are growing back down again.  Did you get Bonnie slips.  If so they are probably Beauregard.  Have you ever grown any bush varieties.

Oh, goodness, Kay! Glad you missed the spine...

Sending healing thoughts your way!

Kay, Thank goodness you were not hurt worse. The deep bruise is bad enough. I do hope you have a good and speedy recovery, my dear.

That is a big OUCH!!!  For me the reality is that the older I get the longer it takes to heal. Someone was watching over you. I hope you heal up really fast.

Aw Kay, so sorry about your set back and pain. The garden will go on doing it's thing with or without us it seems. Sometimes hands off can teach us some amazing lessons, too.

Take care of yourself, count your blessings and don't rush things. You'll be back in action eventually.

CC

yolos wrote:So sorry about your accident and pain.  Hope you heal real fast.

Also so sorry about your troubles in your garden with the pests, diseases, heat and drying up veggies.  You sound just like me.  I have had all those diseases and more.  It must be a southern thing.  

About corn not setting silks before pollen drops.  I found out it was caused by stress.  Either not enough water or not enough nitrogen.  

About pickle worms - I don't know what happened this year but only one cucumber was attacked by pickle worm.  I don't know where all the rest went but hope they don't find me again.

About blaming Bonnie for the disease on Tomatoes.  I used to blame Bonnie every year for the diseases.  Then I started my own tomatoes from seeds and got the same diseases as before so I really can no longer blame Bonnie.

About your sweet potatoes.  I started trellising my vines.  They reached the top of an 8 foot trellis and are growing back down again.  Did you get Bonnie slips.  If so they are probably Beauregard.  Have you ever grown any bush varieties.

According to the extension office this Southern area has the perfect soup of heat, humidity, poor soil (which MM gets around) bugs, and disease.  He says it is amazing we ever get anything to grow.

Corn got plenty of water and I top dressed with black hen in June.  This is the first and last time I'll bother with corn.  

As I said, I would LIKE to blame Bonnie but it is probably the perfect soup.

My sweet potatoes are Beauregard and the original plants were Bonnie starts but these plants are great grandplants.  

Kay

haven't posted pictures in a long time so here goes.  It seems like I'm having to learn how to garden all over again here in Wilmington.

picture of my tomato bucket brigade,  These get afternoon shade and are doing the best but you can still see the blight or something.  And they have not been pruned, they just didn't grow enough to need pruning.





maters


sweet potatoes
tomatoes in the sunny spots





worms in a tatume squash that didn't make it

climbing squash




squash and bean disaster but 3 nice buckets of shisito peppers




ujui


jukkl


the highlite of the garden.  the eggplants  still blooming

cukes bloomed like crazy but never set one fruit  and some nice thai basil




more tomatoes and carrots in the bed behind  The carolina reaper that I overwintered in the greenhouse




dying corn in front of dying beans and behind the only cukes that tried to set fruit.  I got 3.  There is 1 left on the vine.   a small tatume squash and a male blossom that was worm free this morning






this is the weed that won, the banana pepper that is all broken because it helped break my fall, and the spot I landed against with my back.  BTW, PT is going well and I'm only in pain if I move just the wrong way.  But still not digging around in the garden.






new plantings for late summer and early fall.  3 tomatoes, 1 zuke, and 4 squares of cukes





this kale was planted in May.  I think something is very wrong with it.  

more squash disaster




corn silks and long beans on trellis in front of the corn


Kay

I'm sure the drought has something to do with it, Kay. I know here it's been pretty bad too...

AtlantaMarie wrote:I'm sure the drought has something to do with it, Kay.  I know here it's been pretty bad too...

We have actually had more rain than usual although not as much as we need, but I have been right on top of keeping everything well watered.  Also the beds on the ground are wicking beds with a reservoir of water underneath.  I think 100 degree heat had more to do with it.  I'm just trying to keep my tomatoes and pepper alive until cooler weather and then hoping for a burst of late tomatoes.  I usually keep tomatoes going until Oct.

Did some clean up and pulling old vines and plants out this morning.

Kay

Sorry to hear about your fall. Glad your PT is going well.

As for garden stuff, I am having the same kind of issues up the road about 30 miles from you. My squash succumbed the dreaded SVB's, my cukes did great for awhile and then the attack of the pickeworms (seeing if sevin dust will take care of that). I think I got the same 2 handfuls of beans that you got. etc. etc. etc.

I have cleared out several squares and am looking to plant something for the fall.
Any suggestions on what to plant at this time?

Thanks

RT

walshevak wrote:

this is the weed that won, the banana pepper that is all broken because it helped break my fall, and the spot I landed against with my back.  BTW, PT is going well and I'm only in pain if I move just the wrong way.  But still not digging around in the garden.

Aw Kay...a fall and heat stroked plants? So not fair. Ah well...that's gardening I guess. Different every year. Since the toms in partial shade are doing the best, maybe some shade cloths like Sanderson hangs around? (btw, they don't look blighted to me...just a bit heated.) I think I need to get some shade up, too, if we go thru again what we just came thru. It was awful. Everything seems to have stopped growing even though I watered faithfully.

Onward ever onward....

...fall is a'comin. Hope you're back digging soon.
CC

sanderson wrote:RT

Right back at you...

Well, the squirrels got my undeveloped corn cobs and broke the stalk all to heck. I shucked a few cobs on the broken stalks and there was a definite lack of pollination.   Broken stalks fell over into the new cuke plants and snapped them off. Dang squirrels.

 Still got eggplants blooming  Of course I don't like eggplant.  I only grow it for my DIL.  Still got some bean growing, but no blossoms.  In the meantime the kale has grown a bit.  Maybe it will take off when cooler weather arrives.  Planted mustard in every square that I emptied.  Going to try to make the mix more disease resistant per another thread I'm following.  The shishito and the banana peppers are making enough to pickle.

The sweet potatoes are vining all over the mixing tubs and all down The tables and on to the ground.  Hope some potatoes are forming.


Finally got the last blueberry bush and the pomegranite bush planted.  The grapes are vining and hopefully will produce a handful next year.  Took 3 years for my previous grape vines to really produce enough for eating and jam.  But my sister who gave me the scuppernong cutting) has promised me all the grapes on her vines in return for some jam.  The pear trees are holding their own, but the plum is not doing as well.

Kay

walshevak wrote:Well, the squirrels got my undeveloped corn cobs and broke the stalk all to heck. I shucked a few cobs on the broken stalks and there was a definite lack of pollination.   Broken stalks fell over into the new cuke plants and snapped them off. Dang squirrels.

 Still got eggplants blooming  Of course I don't like eggplant.  

Kay

Yep.  Dang squirrels!  

And of course it is the thing you don't like that thrives! WHY?!