"Sky" > wrote in message
...
> Dan Abel wrote:
>>
>> In article >,
>> Sky > wrote:
>>
>> > How many RFCers grow seasonal gardens for fresh produce? What do you
>> > try to grow? Any special tricks or hints (for whatevers)?
>> >
>> > I'm trying to grow tomatoes this year again, but alas have not had much
>> > luck.
snip
> Zone 5. Sorry I forgot to mention that. I'm a half-hazard (haphazered?
> NWOTD <g>) as a gardener. I transplant the whatever-seedlings
> willy-nilly all over the place here and there and watch them grow - or
> not grow! At least I know to provide water when it's dry ;>
>
> Glad to know the problems with my tomato aren't related to "brown thumb
> syndrome." <G>. Next year, I'll look for some of those "Early Girls"
> and try those out.
snip
> I just wish the tomatoes would come in. I've had a yen for freshly
> sliced tomatoes right off the vine from the garden with a dollop of mayo
> on top sprinkled with some paprika! And then, perhaps some pesto with a
> zing of cayenne. Store-bought stuff just isn't the same. Farmers'
> markets come close, but to me it's not the same as from my back yard (or
> side or front yards too <g>).
>
> Sky, the serious gardner <------ NOT!
>
If you're in Zone 5, you've experienced wide swings in temperatures this
spring and early summer Late June and all of July were blazing hot.
Tomatoes do not set blossoms when the nights are cool or the days are too
hot. I'm too lazy to get up to get the exact temps for you, but it's
something like day temps over 85F and night temps below -- oh, heck, I just
can't remember. I'm in Zone 5 and in order to combat this problem with
temps that we have every year, I grow really big plants from seed so that
when I put them in the ground they are ready to set a first crop before the
temps get too high. Then my tomatoes experience a lull and begin setting a
second crop as the sun shifts and the backyard gets cooler in the afternoon.
I suggest that you buy individual tomato plants that come in gallon or
larger pots for better success. My one cherry tomato plant this year is 7
feet wide and over 12 feet tall. My regular tomato plants -- Park's
Whopper -- are planted in wire tomato cages made of concrete reinforcing
wire. The cages are 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide and the cages are set down
shoulder to shoulder.. The plants grow to the top and come back down again.
I also grow cucumbers (Sweet Success) in these cages. I've tried growing
cucumbers on straight fencing of the concrete reinforcing wire, but the
cucumbers seem to prefer the security of the cage. I also have my
cantaloupe growing in these cages. The trick is to turn the baby melon to
the outside of the cage before it develops and then make a sling of panty
hose to support it. The green, yellow and Roma beans are just about done --
mostly because the acorn squash and zucchini have overrun the bean plants.
That's o.k. as I have blanched and frozen enough beans to last us all
winter. My corn (Illini X-tra Sweet) is between 11 and 12 feet high and all
stalks have two ears coming on. I wish that I had started some broccoli
plants for fall planting. The spring planting of broccoli is just done. I
had forgotten how sweet fresh, home-grown broccoli could be -- absolutely
wonderful. I have Japanese eggplant in pots on the deck in the hummingbird
corner. They are lovely plants and produce so willingly in a pot. I've got
tons of jalapeno and Anaheim peppers. I'll chop and freeze a lot of them
for winter use. Parsley will be picked and frozen for winter tomorrow. The
basil was made into a slurry and frozen over the weekend. Other pot herbs
are thyme and rosemary and they come indoors for the winter. I don't grow
cilantro as it bolts too quickly here and therefore not worth the effort.
Even though it was a small garden this year, it has given us enough to put
away, eat fresh and share with neighbors. Produce development will slow
from now on as the sun has shifted enough so that the neighbor's trees block
a lot of sunlight from the garden.
Janet