Gorgeous bounty!

I am ridiculously proud of myself because I have managed to grow
tomatoes and cucumbers in my Topsy Turvey planters. I have wanted to
try those silly planters since I first saw them a few years ago. This
year, I tried them out. I have seven or eight green tomatoes and
three or four cucumbers on the vines this morning. We have rabbits
in our neighborhood. I don't know how to keep them out of ground
plants, so the hanging planters looked like a good idea.

My pear trees and blueberry bushes are producing lots of fruit. We
got a handful of ripe blueberries yesterday. The bushes are full of
green blueberries. The pear trees are full of baby pears.

We have finally come out of a years-long drought. I am amazed to see
how much more fruit is growing this summer.

Tara

On Jun 9, 11:09*am, Tara > wrote:
> Gorgeous bounty!
>
> I am ridiculously proud of myself because I have managed to grow
> tomatoes and cucumbers in my Topsy Turvey planters. * I have wanted to
> try those silly planters since I first saw them a few years ago. This
> year, I tried them out. * I have seven or eight green tomatoes and
> three or four cucumbers on the vines this morning. * We have rabbits
> in our neighborhood. * I don't know how to keep them out of ground
> plants, so the hanging planters looked like a good idea. * * *
>
> My pear trees and blueberry bushes are producing lots of fruit. * We
> got a handful of ripe blueberries yesterday. * The bushes are full of
> green blueberries. * The pear trees are full of baby pears. * *
>
> We have finally come out of a years-long drought. * I am amazed to see
> how much more fruit is growing this summer.
>
> Tara

Sounds so good!! We had three blueberry bushes...they just didn't
do a thing...and we tried everything. I guess it just isn't the
right soil here on our red clay ridge we live on. And blueberries
are the best thing you can eat!!

In article >,
Tara > wrote:

> Gorgeous bounty!
>
> I am ridiculously proud of myself because I have managed to grow
> tomatoes and cucumbers in my Topsy Turvey planters. I have wanted to
> try those silly planters since I first saw them a few years ago. This
> year, I tried them out. I have seven or eight green tomatoes and
> three or four cucumbers on the vines this morning. We have rabbits
> in our neighborhood. I don't know how to keep them out of ground
> plants, so the hanging planters looked like a good idea.
>
> My pear trees and blueberry bushes are producing lots of fruit. We
> got a handful of ripe blueberries yesterday. The bushes are full of
> green blueberries. The pear trees are full of baby pears.
>
> We have finally come out of a years-long drought. I am amazed to see
> how much more fruit is growing this summer.
>
> Tara

Congrats. :-)
I've wanted to try those tomato planters too.
How much sun do yours get?
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. --Alex Levine

Billy wrote:

> Sounds so good!! We had three blueberry bushes...they just didn't do a
> thing...and we tried everything. I guess it just isn't the right soil here
> on our red clay ridge we live on. And blueberries are the best thing you
> can eat!!

One of my coworkers planted three blueberry bushes. Last year between the
three bushes he got a total of *one* berry. But he said it was the best
blueberry he'd ever eaten.

Bob

On Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:09:16 -0400, Tara >
wrote:

>Gorgeous bounty!
>
>I am ridiculously proud of myself because I have managed to grow
>tomatoes and cucumbers in my Topsy Turvey planters. I have wanted to
>try those silly planters since I first saw them a few years ago. This
>year, I tried them out. I have seven or eight green tomatoes and
>three or four cucumbers on the vines this morning. We have rabbits
>in our neighborhood. I don't know how to keep them out of ground
>plants, so the hanging planters looked like a good idea.
>
>My pear trees and blueberry bushes are producing lots of fruit. We
>got a handful of ripe blueberries yesterday. The bushes are full of
>green blueberries. The pear trees are full of baby pears.
>
>We have finally come out of a years-long drought. I am amazed to see
>how much more fruit is growing this summer.
>
>Tara

Thanks for the report, I'm happy to hear about the Topsy Turvey
planters. Rabbits are all over the place here also so I think I'll
give the planters a try this year.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw

www.kokoscornerblog.com
updated 06/06/10
Photo Gallery www.kokoscorner.photoshop.com

On Jun 9, 11:24*pm, Omelet > wrote:
> In article >,
>
>
>
>
>
> *Tara > wrote:
> > Gorgeous bounty!
>
> > I am ridiculously proud of myself because I have managed to grow
> > tomatoes and cucumbers in my Topsy Turvey planters. * I have wanted to
> > try those silly planters since I first saw them a few years ago. This
> > year, I tried them out. * I have seven or eight green tomatoes and
> > three or four cucumbers on the vines this morning. * We have rabbits
> > in our neighborhood. * I don't know how to keep them out of ground
> > plants, so the hanging planters looked like a good idea. * * *
>
> > My pear trees and blueberry bushes are producing lots of fruit. * We
> > got a handful of ripe blueberries yesterday. * The bushes are full of
> > green blueberries. * The pear trees are full of baby pears. * *
>
> > We have finally come out of a years-long drought. * I am amazed to see
> > how much more fruit is growing this summer.
>
> > Tara
>
> Congrats. :-)
> I've wanted to try those tomato planters too.
> How much sun do yours get?
> --
> Peace! Om
>
> Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
> *Only Irish *coffee provides in a single glass all four *essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar *and fat. *--Alex Levine- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Our local Ace Hardware had "tomato towers" this year - rectangular
planters on legs - fairly good-sized - I like that idea because
tomatoes would be out of reach of the critters and easy to
maintain....they were that outdoor-type Rubbermaid-style plastic and
you could put casters on the legs. But I didn't try it. Or haven't
tried it yet, anyway.

I had regular sized tomato plants in three ginormous pots on my deck a
few years ago, but they got stem rot, and I got rid of the pots....

N.

On Wed, 9 Jun 2010 21:45:18 -0700, Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> Billy wrote:
>
>> Sounds so good!! We had three blueberry bushes...they just didn't do a
>> thing...and we tried everything. I guess it just isn't the right soil here
>> on our red clay ridge we live on. And blueberries are the best thing you
>> can eat!!
>
> One of my coworkers planted three blueberry bushes. Last year between the
> three bushes he got a total of *one* berry. But he said it was the best
> blueberry he'd ever eaten.
>
> Bob

<snort>

your pal,
blake

On Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:24:13 -0500, Omelet >
wrote:


>
>Congrats. :-)
>I've wanted to try those tomato planters too.
>How much sun do yours get?

They are in the sun most of the day.

Tara

On 6/10/2010 10:31 AM, Nancy2 wrote:
> On Jun 9, 11:24 pm, > wrote:
>> In >,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > wrote:
>>> Gorgeous bounty!
>>
>>> I am ridiculously proud of myself because I have managed to grow
>>> tomatoes and cucumbers in my Topsy Turvey planters. I have wanted to
>>> try those silly planters since I first saw them a few years ago. This
>>> year, I tried them out. I have seven or eight green tomatoes and
>>> three or four cucumbers on the vines this morning. We have rabbits
>>> in our neighborhood. I don't know how to keep them out of ground
>>> plants, so the hanging planters looked like a good idea.
>>
>>> My pear trees and blueberry bushes are producing lots of fruit. We
>>> got a handful of ripe blueberries yesterday. The bushes are full of
>>> green blueberries. The pear trees are full of baby pears.
>>
>>> We have finally come out of a years-long drought. I am amazed to see
>>> how much more fruit is growing this summer.
>>
>>> Tara
>>
>> Congrats. :-)
>> I've wanted to try those tomato planters too.
>> How much sun do yours get?
>> --
>> Peace! Om
>>
>> Web Albums:<http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
>> Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. --Alex Levine- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
> Our local Ace Hardware had "tomato towers" this year - rectangular
> planters on legs - fairly good-sized - I like that idea because
> tomatoes would be out of reach of the critters and easy to
> maintain....they were that outdoor-type Rubbermaid-style plastic and
> you could put casters on the legs. But I didn't try it. Or haven't
> tried it yet, anyway.
>
> I had regular sized tomato plants in three ginormous pots on my deck a
> few years ago, but they got stem rot, and I got rid of the pots....
>
> N.

Our problem is tree rats, aka gray squirrels. Between the squirrels and
the !@#$ cardinals most of our tomatoes and peaches are getting either
eaten whole or pecked holes in them by the redbirds. I'm keeping the
birdbath full and that seems to help but not enough.

Mr. Bill wrote:

> Sounds so good!! We had three blueberry bushes...they just didn't
> do a thing...and we tried everything. I guess it just isn't the
> right soil here on our red clay ridge we live on. And blueberries
> are the best thing you can eat!!
>

When I first planted my blueberry bushes they didn't do very well. My
neighbour suggested digging some peat moss into the soil around them and
using an acidic fertilizer. That did wonders. I watched those little
suckers grow from little green balls, to yellow to light blue. Then,
just as they ripened, the birds got them all. I now have a wire mesh
covering them and hope to get a small crop this year.

Last weekend I picked up a couple black currant bushes. I have less than
found memories of picking currants in my parent's garden, but I also
remember how good my mother's black currant jam was.

It is hard to find black currants around here, and they are very
expensive. A local berry farm had them and made all their pickers pick
one pint of currants, which the pickers hated doing because it took so
long to fill the basket and they got so little money for it.

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:31:41 -0700 (PDT), Nancy2
> wrote:


>Our local Ace Hardware had "tomato towers" this year - rectangular
>planters on legs - fairly good-sized - I like that idea because
>tomatoes would be out of reach of the critters and easy to
>maintain....they were that outdoor-type Rubbermaid-style plastic and
>you could put casters on the legs. But I didn't try it. Or haven't
>tried it yet, anyway.
>
>I had regular sized tomato plants in three ginormous pots on my deck a
>few years ago, but they got stem rot, and I got rid of the pots....
>

Here are some do-it-yourself upside down planters. I like the idea
of enlarging the draining holes of a hanging pot..

http://www.instructables.com/id/Inve...omato-Planter/

Tara

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:50:43 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

> When I first planted my blueberry bushes they didn't do very well. My
> neighbour suggested digging some peat moss into the soil around them and
> using an acidic fertilizer. That did wonders.

I used to live in blueberry country... the ground is moist by nature
because of all the lakes in the area and there are lots of pine trees,
so it stands to reason that they needed peat and acid to thrive.
>
> Last weekend I picked up a couple black currant bushes. I have less than
> found memories of picking currants in my parent's garden, but I also
> remember how good my mother's black currant jam was.

Current bushes have thorns, if I remember correctly.
>
> It is hard to find black currants around here, and they are very
> expensive. A local berry farm had them and made all their pickers pick
> one pint of currants, which the pickers hated doing because it took so
> long to fill the basket and they got so little money for it.

If black does well, plant the red and white currents too. My
grandfather had all three colors in his garden and grandma made the
most wonderful pie mixing red and white together. If I remember
correctly, current bushes are huge, so you'll need plenty of room for
those suckers.

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

Dave Smith wrote:
> Mr. Bill wrote:
>
>> Sounds so good!! We had three blueberry bushes...they just didn't
>> do a thing...and we tried everything. I guess it just isn't the
>> right soil here on our red clay ridge we live on. And blueberries
>> are the best thing you can eat!!

Bilberries are a European relative that I like even better when I can
find them. I tried growing bilberries but they did not survive the
first winter. Here in Chicago metro it's easy to find sizable blueberry
bushes in big pots to survive the winters but bilberries are only
available shipped and are small.

> When I first planted my blueberry bushes they didn't do very well. My
> neighbour suggested digging some peat moss into the soil around them and
> using an acidic fertilizer. That did wonders. I watched those little
> suckers grow from little green balls, to yellow to light blue.

Ours are doing well this year. Thanks for the advice on acid. I will
check and feed them some.

> Then,
> just as they ripened, the birds got them all. I now have a wire mesh
> covering them and hope to get a small crop this year.

Ours has berries that are getting towards full size. There's a screen
for it in the closet somewhere.

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:18:38 -0500, George Shirley
> wrote:

>On 6/10/2010 10:31 AM, Nancy2 wrote:
>> On Jun 9, 11:24 pm, > wrote:
>>> In >,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> > wrote:
>>>> Gorgeous bounty!
>>>
>>>> I am ridiculously proud of myself because I have managed to grow
>>>> tomatoes and cucumbers in my Topsy Turvey planters. I have wanted to
>>>> try those silly planters since I first saw them a few years ago. This
>>>> year, I tried them out. I have seven or eight green tomatoes and
>>>> three or four cucumbers on the vines this morning. We have rabbits
>>>> in our neighborhood. I don't know how to keep them out of ground
>>>> plants, so the hanging planters looked like a good idea.
>>>
>>>> My pear trees and blueberry bushes are producing lots of fruit. We
>>>> got a handful of ripe blueberries yesterday. The bushes are full of
>>>> green blueberries. The pear trees are full of baby pears.
>>>
>>>> We have finally come out of a years-long drought. I am amazed to see
>>>> how much more fruit is growing this summer.
>>>
>>>> Tara
>>>
>>> Congrats. :-)
>>> I've wanted to try those tomato planters too.
>>> How much sun do yours get?
>>> --
>>> Peace! Om
>>>
>>> Web Albums:<http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
>>> Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. --Alex Levine- Hide quoted text -
>>>
>>> - Show quoted text -
>>
>> Our local Ace Hardware had "tomato towers" this year - rectangular
>> planters on legs - fairly good-sized - I like that idea

Wow... imagine if the mick shoved one of those tomato planters with
legs up his ass... he'd be able to walk around... and when you
squeezed his head ketchup would squirt out his ears. LOL

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:28:54 -0400, Tara >
wrote:

> Here are some do-it-yourself upside down planters. I like the idea
> of enlarging the draining holes of a hanging pot..
>
> http://www.instructables.com/id/Inve...omato-Planter/

Thanks for posting! I'm sending that on to my gardener son-in-law.



--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:56:54 -0400, brooklyn1 wrote:

> On Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:18:38 -0500, George Shirley
> > wrote:

>>>
>>> Our local Ace Hardware had "tomato towers" this year - rectangular
>>> planters on legs - fairly good-sized - I like that idea
>
> Wow... imagine if the mick shoved one of those tomato planters with
> legs up his ass... he'd be able to walk around... and when you
> squeezed his head ketchup would squirt out his ears. LOL

....and when someone squeezes your head now, shit comes out.

blake

In article >,
Tara > wrote:

> On Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:24:13 -0500, Omelet >
> wrote:
>
>
> >
> >Congrats. :-)
> >I've wanted to try those tomato planters too.
> >How much sun do yours get?
>
> They are in the sun most of the day.
>
> Tara

Thanks!
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. --Alex Levine