Today Is The Day

Week 5 pictures as promised;

https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v102/acara/Hosted%20stuff/SFG%20Gardening/SFG%20Week%205/?albumview=slideshow

Highlights ..


Box is still alive & kicking, despite cutworm attack;



Cukes continue to reign supreme in the SFG box;



Found my first squash today, hiding behind this flower;


Cantalope is recovering from cutworm and fungus attack, but still managed to bloom;



Stanley's got cukes !!!

Woot, yay cukes!

I loved watching my cucumbers grow this year. I hadn't seen the process for many years, so it was really brand-new to me again. I loved how they started out as vorpal, Triassic-looking pin-cushions and slowly ballooned out from there, leaving only the tiny tips of the pins on the surface of the skin. So juicy and yummy... mmmmm.

I don't know if it's late enough in the year that you need to worry about them, but beware the cuke beetles. They are little yellow-and-black beetles and they will do their very best to kill Stanley, so be on the watch for them!

Enjoyed the highlights shown here, but truly loved the slide show. Amazing to see your garden after 5 short weeks. Glad Stanley is recovering from his recent attack by alien bug invaders. Those radishes look great. You would never know they were once transplanted.
By the way, the best use for that mint is Mojitos for Mommy and Daddy and mint sweet tea for your daughter.

Furbalsmom wrote:
By the way, the best use for that mint is Mojitos for Mommy and Daddy and mint sweet tea for your daughter.

I will drink to that!!! LOL! Now if only limes would grow in my zone!!

GK

Slideshow;
https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v102/acara/Hosted%20stuff/SFG%20Gardening/SFG%20Week%206/?albumview=slideshow


Pictures:
https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v102/acara/Hosted%20stuff/SFG%20Gardening/SFG%20Week%206/



This weeks highlights;

• Frankenstein SFG survived the freak windstorm

• Cantalope recovering (and blooming) after the earlier cutworm & fungus attacks

• Beans and peas starting to come to life with the cooler weather

• SFG cukes are blooming and setting cukes at an amazing rate

• SFG tomatoes approaching 5' height

• Stanleys got some nice cukes going

• Beauregard reports "no suspicious behavior" in gardens this week

Those beans and peas just needed a little cooler weather in order to come to life. Yeah for Stanley and bless that Beauregard for keeping the pests in line.

Week 7 update;

We've been having some wind storms in the area & I decided to use my "tensioning connections" just to be safe.

First harvest this week.

First solo canning this week.

First cantalope this week.




This weeks slideshow update

Didn't forget the weekly update ....

Photobucket is setting off a 4-alarm-fire on my anti-virus, so I'm not linking to it until they get their issues resolved

I just checked out last week's slideshow - your pickles are so pretty.

What's it like to winter garden in Florida? Are the insects and humidity just as bad as in summer? Will Stanley become a perennial? Are you bothered by pythons eating the cantaloupes? (Just kidding on that last one...I think.)

Thanks for posting so many details, updates, pics and slideshows.

It was all wonderful. I learned a lot. Sure would love to hear more about your pickle making.

Don't stop now!
Betty

Appears photobucket has their issues resolved;

Week 8 Slideshow)

• This was "cherry tomato" week & both the reds and yellows went from flowering to setting fruit, in just a matter of days. Definately nice to see 50-60% conversions fron flower to fruit vs 1:20 ratios (from the heat making the bloom drop).

• Minor aphid outbreak on the cantalope, but I caught it early and nuked 'em into oblivion.

• Transferred all the salvaged tomato cuttings due to the wind storms over the last two weeks. They definately look much better in pots than in beer bottles

• WFET's (early and late) doing well. Earlies are going into regular pots over the weekend.

• Small container tomatoes finally ripening after an insanely long period of sitting on the vine as stone-green.

• Pulled another half dozen cukes off Stanley, but I think he's just plain worn-out from all the activity.

SFG Update;

Really suspect that I'm done for the "season" once this batch of plants finishes. "Robbing Peter-to-Pay-Paul" has caught up with me and my location for the SFG box that shielded me from the scorching September sun doesn't seem to be allowing for enough direct sun.

I've noticed the vining plants running out of steam & straining to keep up for the last two weeks and I suspect the first cooler weather predicted for this weekend will be the nail in the coffin. I'm still deciding whether to force a final growth/bloom, or to just harvest whats left & simply close out the box until February. There just isn't enough full sun hours in that location to keep things going on with the type/size/scale of stuff I enjoy growing.

As far as the individual plantings in my first SFG box;

Cukes: still producing, but barely & I'm not getting the rate of development or size on the fruit that I was. They were still the best performers in my first SFG box though ... unless the hybrid tomatoes have a increadible growth spurt in the next couple of weeks (doubtful).

Tomatoes: Still doing great and will probably do even better once the cukes are out of the box & there is more direct sun

Beans: Got about two dozen before they stalled, but pretty much a flop.

Peas: 2 plants, 1 pea pod total between the two...... both plants are pretty much gonners

Peppers; Orange peppers hate me .... these two plants did nothing to change my opinion on the subject. They are both just sitting there.... still staring at me.... at the 8 week point.

Cantalope; After a rough start & a great comeback, they finally started fruit ...but I'm afraid it's too little-too late. I suspect we just don't have enough hot weather left in the year for me to expect any development on the fruit.

Squash: "A" on growth, "F" on production. Completely my own fault for not knowing how to grow & not knowing they had to be trellised, before it was too late. Everytime the plant produced, the weight of the squash would crush/crimp the vine & strangle the squash before I could get it supported/braced. However, I learned something new ...so it wasn't a total loss.


We'll see what the weekend weather brings & go from there

It all looks great, Acara. What a wonderful garden!!!

As far as peppers go.... mine just sat there and sat there for the longest time. I started them in-ground in April, and they were finally really getting into the swing in October. Go figure! It's been a weird year.

What kind of squash are you growing? Even with my rampicante, they didn't HAVE to be trellised, it just helped compact the vine space a bit. Most of the vines were on the ground, in the end. Some of the vines do lay on each other, but that's their nature. The one thing I did learn was if I was trying to grow a really big (winter) squash, to put a plate or something upside down underneath of it to get it off the ground.

Limited update this week ...

Between the third windstorm in 30 days almost completely wiping me out and the first cold snap of the season ..... I dropped the camera & broke it.

I managed to find an old 5.0 Mp in the closest, but I'm not sure if it's much better than my cellphone for pics.

Anyways .... I guess there is always a silver lining ....

I got a "accidental harvest" out of the garden while I was cutting down/cutting back all the damaged plants.... Tomatoes and cukes were a litle small but the peppers were huge. I would have loved to see them make it another 2 weeks and turn yellow/red, but green peppers beats no peppers anyday.




I'll see If I can get pictures of the post-storm garden, but with the DST change it's dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home .....and the "emergency camera" doesn't seem to do really well with night photography (even with artificial light).

Acara,

Thanks for taking us through your growing experience with you. Even though we aren't near each other in growing zones, I have thoroughly enjoyed learning with you. And love the pictures and slide shows.

So sorry to hear about your camera's demise.

I sure hope you are able to replace your camera and can keep sharing with us.

Happy Gardening,
Betty

Thanks Betty ...

Even with the setbacks, I can't complain. I went into my first SFG with the intention of "cutting my teeth", so I would be ready for 2011 planting & expected to completely face-plant (pardon the pun) .... but to learn.

The harvests have been intermittent & I'm 50/50 onthe planned vs unplanned harvest , and I haven't produced any bumper crops or individual monster-produce....but the fact I'm getting anything out of my first try at SFG is just icing on the cake.

But I guess its better than nothing.

"cold"-snap did its damage, but I'm still chugging along.

Mixed pics from the yard
HERE

Highlights ...

Visitors in the yard (white Ibis);




Cherry Tomatoes setting a lot of fruit this week ....




The ultimate tease .... 100+ fruit on a plant, and one cherry tomato gets ripe .... grrrr




First fruit on the Mr. Stripey tomato;




What a difference one cold-front makes;



Still getting cukes off the SFG;

Week 11 Update;

Slideshow

With the weather change there's not alot going on in the 4x4 SFG box.

Hybrid tomatoes still chugging along without producing anything.

Cantalope vines still growing, but no bloom/fruit.

Retired;

1 cuke vine
Squash plant
1 Orange pepper
Both pea plants
1 Bush bean plant

I anticipate retiring the second cuke plant this week.

Hopefully pulling the cukes & squash opened up the box for more sun to the tomatoes and I'll get some develpment/fruit.





The non-SFG stuff s doing well & I'm going to be swimming in cherry tomatoes (yellow and red) shortly. Mr. Stripey tomato now has 4 tom's going & looking good.

All the remaining WFET's have a new home in their very own 1x8 SFG (still pending trellis mount & connection to water timer).

Week 12 Update;

Slideshow

Weather can't decide what it wants to do.

Some of the plants hit by the cold-snap are trying to make a comeback & I'm getting fruit on some of the non-SFG wind-damaged stuff.

Cherry tomatoes & some hybrids are about all I've got going atm ..... not a single heirloom tomato fruiting