Kpig - I have been using the Othro veggie dust. I comes in a bag and I just sprinkle all over the plants.

I just can from outside and watered my plants. They are really loaded with maters. I will do the netting during the week. Sundays are power nap days. When not golfing.

missj,

the problem with your tomatoes is that they have salmonella.

kpigout Wrote:Well here is my attempt at a raised garden. Built with some 4"x4" posts I had laying around. It is about 5' x 3'. I bought a half yard of light garden mix from Fertile Gardens for $18. I used seven 10 gallon bags, and have 3 left for other things. Planted 4 Bush Early Girl tomato plants (with 2 tums under each plant), 1 each of macho nacho jalapeno, serrano, and bell pepper plants. 1 row each of yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumbers from seed. And one row of beefsteak tomatoes from seed. If they sprout, I will thin them out and transfer to tubs or something.

Any advice on bug control, fertilizing, etc will be appreciated. i'm a garden virgin.

Y'all remember these pics? Well here is my updated garden:











Everything seems to be growing like crazy. The squash, zuchinni, and cucumber seeds I planted are really going, and I've thinned them out twice, including today. I put a few a couple weeks back in anothere small garden, and took some today to my mother-in-laws. (I hope they live)

Question...Does anybody have to cut the top of their tomato plants, or do you just let them grow?

I think you just let them grow when you're using a pansy a$$ tomato cage like you. If you use a stake, you need to constantly remove any middle sprouts on the vines. You get larger tomatoes with the latter.

georgiatiger Wrote:I think you just let them grow when you're using a pansy a$$ tomato cage like you. If you use a stake, you need to constantly remove any middle sprouts on the vines. You get larger tomatoes with the latter.

They were getting too tall jackleg, and the cages were $1.98 at Wally World today. I staked 'em last week and they grew almost 2 feet since then.

Kirk, your garden looks GREAT !! If you can find my original post (week 1 I think) you'll see where I use the rebarb (is that how you spell it?) Find some old rebarb and roll it into tomato cages like I did. That way you have lots of height to accommodate the tall plants and they are good and strong. Try looking at an old construction site maybe or I'm not sure where to get the rebarb ? This years plants are really really tall....much taller than ever before for some strange reason. The stalks are fatter too. For me, the bottoms of my plants died off or got really yellow and I pruned them back. The tops, and I swear my plants are now about 8-9' tall, are healthy and full of tomatoes. I've never seen plants do this before. I have had a tomato sandwich for dinner every night now for 2 weeks. Usually this time every summer I have tomatoes coming out the ying-yang and can share with family and friends but not this summer....at least not yet. What few I get I eat. I'm still picking them when they just start to turn so the critters don't get to them first. It normally takes a few days before they are ripe enough to eat but that's ok.

missjtiger Wrote:I swear my plants are now about 8-9' tall

:johnkerry:


Good grief, missj. Would you stop making sheet up?

missjtiger Wrote:Kirk, your garden looks GREAT !! If you can find my original post (week 1 I think) you'll see where I use the rebarb (is that how you spell it?) Find some old rebarb and roll it into tomato cages like I did. That way you have lots of height to accommodate the tall plants and they are good and strong. Try looking at an old construction site maybe or I'm not sure where to get the rebarb ? This years plants are really really tall....much taller than ever before for some strange reason. The stalks are fatter too. For me, the bottoms of my plants died off or got really yellow and I pruned them back. The tops, and I swear my plants are now about 8-9' tall, are healthy and full of tomatoes. I've never seen plants do this before. I have had a tomato sandwich for dinner every night now for 2 weeks. Usually this time every summer I have tomatoes coming out the ying-yang and can share with family and friends but not this summer....at least not yet. What few I get I eat. I'm still picking them when they just start to turn so the critters don't get to them first. It normally takes a few days before they are ripe enough to eat but that's ok.

I'll add something as they get taller. Nothing to eat off of anything I've planted yet, obviously, but I hope by September I'll be eating something. The Jalapeno plant is starting to flower, so I hope I get something there soon.

Another question. Anyone ever grow bell peppers? The top leaves on mine look kinda deformed. I wonder if I should cut them or not?

kpigout Wrote:

missjtiger Wrote:Kirk, your garden looks GREAT !! If you can find my original post (week 1 I think) you'll see where I use the rebarb (is that how you spell it?) Find some old rebarb and roll it into tomato cages like I did. That way you have lots of height to accommodate the tall plants and they are good and strong. Try looking at an old construction site maybe or I'm not sure where to get the rebarb ? This years plants are really really tall....much taller than ever before for some strange reason. The stalks are fatter too. For me, the bottoms of my plants died off or got really yellow and I pruned them back. The tops, and I swear my plants are now about 8-9' tall, are healthy and full of tomatoes. I've never seen plants do this before. I have had a tomato sandwich for dinner every night now for 2 weeks. Usually this time every summer I have tomatoes coming out the ying-yang and can share with family and friends but not this summer....at least not yet. What few I get I eat. I'm still picking them when they just start to turn so the critters don't get to them first. It normally takes a few days before they are ripe enough to eat but that's ok.

I'll add something as they get taller. Nothing to eat off of anything I've planted yet, obviously, but I hope by September I'll be eating something. The Jalapeno plant is starting to flower, so I hope I get something there soon.

Another question. Anyone ever grow bell peppers? The top leaves on mine look kinda deformed. I wonder if I should cut them or not?

Don't cut the tops off any of your veggie plants.