Garden Advice

[Deepwater6]

I planted 6'Roma and Big Boy tomato starters in my garden this year. Although I have struggled with dry temps and little rain, the plants are looking very healthy. I water and weed them regularly. The problem I'm having is huge splits on the tomatoes. Usually on the tops but some deep cuts form on the sides or the bottom. The tomatoes are turning red and are very tasty but there is so much waste this year cutting all these bad spots away. can anybody tell me what I may may be doing wrong or how I can avoid this next year?

 

Also I have 6 Bell pepper plants. They are also doing very good, biggest I've ever grown in fact. The problem with them is they are not yeilding very much. The plants have many flowers, but not many peppers are coming from the plants. Just got some heavy rain so maybe that will change.

 

The garden yeilded some good squash and cucumber, but couldn't hold up and succumbed to the heat early. How did you other dirt worshipers do this year?

[JMJones0424]

Tomatoes

Your tomato problem is a common one, and is most likely due to highly fluctuating soil moisture levels. The tomato splits, especially when it is nearly ripe, because the plant suddenly becomes flushed with water and the inside of the fruit swells faster than the skin can compensate. Prevent this by mulching around the tomato plants to prevent excess evaporation from bare soil and by watering regularly and deeply. Depending on temperatures, this may mean watering every other day, or if it's +100^oF every day, you might need to water daily. Be careful though, as tomatoes also don't like to be water logged. Drip tape or a similar slow irrigation method may make this easier for you to accomplish.

 

Pruning of your tomato plants as they grow, especially with indeterminates like the Big Boy, is a skill that you will develop over time. Ideally, you want to remove most of the suckers, but you also want to shade the fruit as they develop, which will also help to prevent splitting.

 

Peppers

While I'm nearly 100% positive on my tomato answer, this one is a little more difficult. I've only rarely had problems with peppers. You say you've got plenty of flowers (should be one at every leaf node as the plant grows), but what happens to those flowers? Do they drop or is there a little fruit that develops and then that drops? Failure to set could be caused by insufficient soil moisture or low light. Do the plants show extensive pest infestation or other symptoms?

 

Squash

I don't usually have problems with keeping bush squash like yellow squash and zucchini through my summers (30-60 days of +100^oF). If your tomatoes are still fruiting, I would bet that it isn't too hot for the squash. My guess would be insufficient watering.

 

Cucumber

I grow tremendous amounts of cucumbers through the summer on trellises made from old chain-link fence sections. The only time I've ever had problems is when I let them dry out.

 

I think we're starting to notice a trend here. I suspect your problems are due to too infrequent watering. I don't know the size or configuration of your garden, but for a cheap, easy, and efficient watering solution, may I suggest some type of drip tape. You can get systems for huge market gardens, or your local hardware store should sell 25' or 50' drip tapes along side the hoses (may be called "flat soaker hose"). The nice thing about this type of irrigation is that you can water under your mulch, further minimizing evaporative loss. Cheap, unpowered watering timers can also make daily watering easier.

 

Don't forget to try a few different varieties every year, especially if you're having recurring problems. Check with local gardeners to see what varieties work well for them in your climate. And... mulch mulch mulch!

 

My garden is doing great this year. I was a little gun shy from last year's drought, so I only planted about half an acre. The other half got seeded with white clover, sunflowers, and a local wild flower mix. The bees are out in full force in the mornings and evenings. Temperatures have been surprisingly moderate and rain has come frequently enough that my pasture is still green in the middle of August, a first for me. Unfortunately, I may never see the wooded area fully recuperate, but I've planted many understory trees around the oaks that survived and a few pecans near the tank that should be producing in about ten years. I've still got a huge amount of wood to split and turn into biochar, so my pizza oven/retort kiln will be busy well in to this winter.

Edited August 19, 2012 by JMJones0424

[labelwench]

I would hazard a guess that temperature may be a contributing factor in both problems. Peppers have a fairly narrow range of temperature preference, 60-80F, night/day. Night time temperatures above or below this range can result in bud drop. I'm rather certain that you know that peppers require pollinating? I used to give the plants a tap a couple of times a day or tickle the underside of the flowers gently with a Q-tip to transfer pollen as I grew my plants in the house hence no natural pollinators.

 

A few of my tomatoes had a single, shallow split this year as a result of being on the vine too long while I was absent and my house-sitter erring on the side of caution by over-watering during the onset of hot weather. Some varieties are more prone to cracking or splitting, usually older or more thin skinned types. I'm guessing that you grow your tomatoes outdoors? I grow mine in containers so that I can move them and have more control of the growing conditions. For outdoor growing, one could try mulching around the roots to retain soil moisture and keep the roots cool which might also help prevent splitting by a more even uptake of water by the plant.

 

I planted my lettuce late this year as a result of my temporary absence. Started on June 16th, I can't keep up with my Mesclun (mixed lettuce greens) and I pricked out 10 seedlings of different varieties and planted them in another raised bed and they are heading out nicely. My carrots are doing well and I have been eating them for a while now. I individually plant the seeds one inch apart so as not to have to thin them and then pick every other carrot as they begin to impinge upon each other. I use old freezers as raised beds and keep my carrots covered with row cover to keep temperatures even and retain soil moisture. Works like a charm! :rolleyes:

[Deepwater6]

Thanks for the tips guys. Yes JM I agree a drip hose would be what I need. After having little rain here in June and July I focused on saving the tomato plants and some other trees planted on the property and left the squash and cucumber up to nature. A more even slowly distributed course is what I will use next year. When you say mulch do you me black mulch, grass clippings, or anything to keep the weeds down and the moisture in? Also do you water in the morning or at night?

 

Under the Rose, That's a good idea using freezers as raised beds. I have (4) 6x10 raised areas enclosed with 2x6's. They are separated just enough to get the tractor through them. Mulching seems to be the common answer here between you and JM. I used a product called "Preen" this year that will not allow anything else to grow if it hasn't already started so it keeps weeds down. Next year I will take the advice of you two and try mulch with drip hose. thanks guys

[JMJones0424]

There are numerous different things you can use for mulch. I prefer to use organic materials for mulch as they break down over time and add organic material to your beds. You've got about 240 square feet of beds and at 4" of mulch, that'll be about 80 cubic feet of mulch. Rather than purchasing expensive, dyed "black mulch", you may want to look around for free or nearly free sources, such as waste hay from a horse barn (horses are generally fed better quality hay than other animals, so their waste hay is less likely to be infested with weed seeds), straw, old hay bales that can't be used for feed, wood chips from the city/county or tree trimming services, pine straw, bagged leaves, etc. Stay away from things like sawdust or fine grass clippings because they will tend to mat up and form a barrier to water and oxygen transfer as they break down. Some cover crops, such as white dutch clover, can even be interplanted as a living mulch, though you'll need to allow for increased nutrient and water demands.

 

Mulching not only stabilizes soil moisture levels and prevents weed germination, but it also insulates the soil. This can be a great thing for people in the south like me, but in colder areas, you may need to remove the mulch in early spring to let the soil warm up more quickly before planting. I don't know your climate, so the best advice I can give would be to contact your local extension agency or local gardener's clubs or co-ops for tips and for sources of cheap/free organic mulch.

 

Usual advice is to avoid regularly watering in the evening as the foliage stays wet longer and increases the chance of fungal issues. For this reason I usually water in the mornings, but if you're using drip irrigation I don't think it would matter.