Re: Just planning, thinking, waiting.

Megan 1/17/2011, 9:11 pm

Woot! Gives me hope. And just yesterday I piled up a bunch of leaves on that area. Maybe it will survive the ice storm..... (And, yes, I know exactly where Reston is. My in-laws live near there.)

CarolynPhillips 1/17/2011, 9:21 pm

correcting a name I mentioned in an earlier post---I said Carolyn Miles and should of said Carolyn Male. I had just talked to a Corey Miles and Carolyn Male. Toung twister.
Carolyn Male wrote a book on Heirloom tomatoes.

miinva 1/17/2011, 11:21 pm

CarolynPhillips wrote:oh the dreaded hornworm---the evil in the garden===the weakness in my stomach.
I can handle mice, spiders, earthworms, bees, jellow jackets, squash bugs, etc......but it takes every ounce in my being to pluck a hornworm off a tomato plant. double ughhhhugghh then i drop a brick on its jelly filled body.

But they turn into beautiful Sphynx Moths!

Just planning, thinking, waiting. - Page 2 White-lined_sphinx_moth_link2

I'm going to grow a couple of sacrificial tomatoes to relocate them to.

CindiLou 1/17/2011, 11:45 pm

Not sure I want to have that ugly thing around but might be interesting to do with the grandkids. I will think about planting a sacrificial plant lol...

miinva 1/18/2011, 12:22 am

My son was very anti-hornworm until he saw the ones with the parasitic wasp eggs on them and I explained what was happening. He didn't think much of that, and he thought even less of it when I showed him what they turn into (which I didn't know, or think to check into, before I saw it mentioned on GardenWeb!). It really made me think about the garden as a microcosm, as opposed to thinking of it as a battleground Smile

nancy 1/18/2011, 9:59 am

The parastic wasp also attacks monarch caterpillars, so it is not welcome in my garden (I have one entire 4x4 as a butterfly bed). Which means I also must try to eliminate the tomato hornworm. If the wasps find no offerings, I'm hoping they try elsewhere. Plus the fact that they really decimated my tomatoes last year. Very interesting critters to watch (and they do make a gorgeous moth) but my monarchs are too important to me.

CarolynPhillips 1/18/2011, 10:25 am

There is no such thing as ONE sacrificial plant for the hornworms. I don't think they will understand to stay off the prized tomato plants and stay on the unwanted tomato plant after they devire it over night. The hornworm might be a touchy subject. I been dreaming of a screened in Garden. I have been planning it already on graph paper. The most expensive part of it is the screen. Screen Walls, Screen Roof. No trees to worry about roof clutter and it will help tone down this southern summer heat too.

Meanwhile= there is a web site that has prized heirloom tomato seeds for those hornworms to eat.

http://www.victoryseeds.com/aboutus.html

CarolynPhillips 1/18/2011, 11:26 am

I'm sorry. I think too much.
I just had a vision that I thought was funny.
When I pluck these icky hornworms off my tomato plants---I can
get in my truck and drive them 10 miles down the road and drop them out
like their stray unwanted doggies. What a Face

elliephant 1/18/2011, 12:29 pm

miinva wrote:
CarolynPhillips wrote:oh the dreaded hornworm---the evil in the garden===the weakness in my stomach.
I can handle mice, spiders, earthworms, bees, jellow jackets, squash bugs, etc......but it takes every ounce in my being to pluck a hornworm off a tomato plant. double ughhhhugghh then i drop a brick on its jelly filled body.

But they turn into beautiful Sphynx Moths!

I'm going to grow a couple of sacrificial tomatoes to relocate them to.

Not if I kill them first! Evil or Very Mad

CarolynPhillips 1/18/2011, 3:36 pm

added to my tomato list

Arkansas Traveler
Homestead
Rutgers
Atkinsons
Marglobe
Mortgage Lifter
Better Boy- excellent acidy tomato flavor
Big Beef
Brandywine
Brandywine Sudduth Strain--better than brandywine
Brandymaster Yellow
Brandymaster Pink
Brandymaster Red
Caspian Pink- suppose to taste better than brandywine
Cherokee Purple
Indian Stripe- taste like cherokee purple but different color and size
Super Sioux- hot weather producer
Delicious
Beefmaster
Beefsteak
Big Zac
German Johnson
Giant Tree
Italian Tree
Better Bush
Pineapple
Sweet Million Cherry
Tommy Toe Cherry
Red Currant tiny cherry
Celebrity

**Furbalsmom** 1/18/2011, 5:43 pm

Carolyn, you make me tired Laughing

and then jealous.

I just hope to get my three 4X4's and maybe a 2X10 or 2X12 set up before too long. I really don't want to plant much in my old style SFG using amended soil. It is too much work. The soil is not compacted or anything, but the weeds just drive me crazy.

I have already started a few seeds, but not much gets put outside for a while. I will do a few transplants of lettuces into my "Round Foot Gardens" (Pots with Mel's Mix) on the partialy enclosed porch as soon as they are big enough.

miinva 1/18/2011, 6:03 pm

I use Mel's Mix for my potted plants too and it works great Smile

kiwirose 1/18/2011, 7:42 pm

I have to ask Carolyn - is that list of tomatoes to try for this year or just sometime? It is ambitious but delicious I am sure Smile

CarolynPhillips 1/18/2011, 7:49 pm

Furbalsmom wrote: my "Round Foot Gardens" (Pots with Mel's Mix)

CUTE

CarolynPhillips 1/18/2011, 7:55 pm

kiwirose wrote:I have to ask Carolyn - is that list of tomatoes to try for this year or just sometime? It is ambitious but delicious I am sure

I will be growing all of those this spring. I will grow several of some of them.
I will not start the seeds until feb 10

I been working on the contest article..........my brain hurts. Most of my information is memory and notes. I will never find the source it came from originally.

CarolynPhillips 1/23/2011, 2:17 pm

I been shopping again.

Adding to my tomato list Twisted Evil

At http://www.tomatofest.com

They have more heirloom tomatoes than one person can
keep up with.

I ordered

"Large Red" which was a most popular grown tomato before the Civil War . It was listed in the 1843 Shaker Seed Catalog. Red 1 to 2 pound beefsteak.

"Mexico" brought to U.S. by a mexican family. A great county fair tomato. Balance of sweet and acid. Dark pink- fruits grow 1 to 2 pound toms.

"Big Beef OP" I love BigBeef Hybrid, but this one is a De- hybridized version of the Big Beef Hybrid.
Can't wait to try it.

Also going to grow :
Sweet Pea Currant. It has tiny tomato leaves, tiny blooms, tiny 1/4 " fruits.
Can be grown in hanging baskets and containers. Sweet tomato flavor. Wanted to grow them cause they are sooooo small. Sweet Pea size.

miinva 1/23/2011, 3:02 pm

I grew a tiny tomato called Red Currant last year and it was wonderful! Not only was it incredibly productive, the adorable little tomatoes were delicious little bursts of flavor Smile

The only thing I'll do differently this year (if any of the seeds I save germinate) is that I'll prune it back much harder. Given half a chance it will take over.

kiwirose 1/23/2011, 3:49 pm

Hmm wonder if I have room left in my plan for red currant or sweet pea currant tomatoes - they both sound intriguing!

miinva 1/23/2011, 4:09 pm

If you'd like a few red currant tomato seeds that I saved, send me a PM with your address and I'll pop them in the mail Smile

I'm sorely tempted to buy some yellow currant tomato seed and give it a try this year. My currant tomatoes were going great guns right up to the first hard frost!

kimbertangleknot 1/23/2011, 5:20 pm

I'm happy to hear that the currant tomatoes are good. I've been wanting to try them since I saw them in a catalog a few years ago. I'll definitely have to give them a try now. And since it seems like I'm going to be actually getting more space for my garden, I'll have to fill those extra spots now =)

miinva 1/23/2011, 5:25 pm

I'm happy to share a few seeds with you too, although I can't guarantee that they'll sprout. I followed dixie's advice about saving tomato seeds, though, so I have high hopes Smile

CarolynPhillips 1/23/2011, 7:14 pm

I think the Currant Sweet Pea tomato is at TerritorialSeeds, along with the Red Currant. They also have the White Currant.

miinva 1/23/2011, 9:07 pm

I think there's even yellow currant tomatoes!

CarolynPhillips 1/25/2011, 3:42 pm

happy happy happy bounce

my celeriac has germinated after waiting 20 days.
first time growing celeriac

I read it was hard to germinate and to sow extra seeds.
I read it would take 2 to 4 weeks to germinate. I sowed lots
and lots of seeds and now have lots and lots of seedlings to transplant into
individual small pots.

It will be difficult to grow also but supposedly easier than celery.

It does not like our hot summer heat.
It does not like for its shallow roots to be disturbed and must be
kept seperate from veggies that will be replaced throughout the growing season.
The best i can do is grow it where it will get afternoon and evening shade. Can also
divide the sfg bed with a 1x6 placed deep into the soil so that the roots are not disturbed until harvest time which is best after first frost.

kimbertangleknot 1/25/2011, 4:00 pm

CarolynPhillips wrote:happy happy happy

my celeriac has germinated after waiting 20 days.
first time growing celeriac

I read it was hard to germinate and to sow extra seeds.
I read it would take 2 to 4 weeks to germinate. I sowed lots
and lots of seeds and now have lots and lots of seedlings to transplant into
individual small pots.

It will be difficult to grow also but supposedly easier than celery.

It does not like our hot summer heat.
It does not like for its shallow roots to be disturbed and must be
kept seperate from veggies that will be replaced throughout the growing season.
The best i can do is grow it where it will get afternoon and evening shade. Can also
divide the sfg bed with a 1x6 placed deep into the soil so that the roots are not disturbed until harvest time which is best after first frost.

What do you plan on using it with? I know Alton Brown used it in one of his shows, but I can't remember what the heck he did with it. And glad you got it to germinate after everything you said it needed I hope it grows for you Smile

Sponsored content


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.