2023 Garden Thread
- Thread starter mcswny
- Start date
Skip, what's climbing up your cattle fencing trellis?
Trombocino rampicante- an Italian heirloom squash that get 10-15’ long. It is generally a summer squash that when cooked stays al dente rather that mushylike zuccini. Also called zucheta or Italian climbing trombone squash
Thanks! I might try that next year
We dry them every year, some always ripen to red, but the green ones are fine also.
Nichols Garden Nursery, a wonderful source i sometimes buy from since 1980. The grandparents of current owners founded it in 1948-50 and introduced Egyptian walking onions and elephant garlic to the United States
You guys watering your tomatoes twice a day in the heat?
I watered them well this morning and the dirt in the pots is still wet but wondering if I should be giving them a late afternoon / early evening drink in this heat.
Appreciate your thoughts on this.
SF
I watered them well this morning and the dirt in the pots is still wet but wondering if I should be giving them a late afternoon / early evening drink in this heat.
Appreciate your thoughts on this.
SF
They get grumpy in the heat, especially in pots.
I think the soil temps get pretty high with the black pots on these 85⁰ days.
It's hard to overwater a pot, so cooling off the soil temps with some pm water should be ok, but the roots do not want to be waterlogged at all, so if the pot doesn't drain fast, be light with the water.
Ours get am water as needed, and can be be a bit grumpy ( droopy) in afternoon full sun, but are fine again in the morning, but our pots are quite large, like 20 gallon size.
I think the soil temps get pretty high with the black pots on these 85⁰ days.
It's hard to overwater a pot, so cooling off the soil temps with some pm water should be ok, but the roots do not want to be waterlogged at all, so if the pot doesn't drain fast, be light with the water.
Ours get am water as needed, and can be be a bit grumpy ( droopy) in afternoon full sun, but are fine again in the morning, but our pots are quite large, like 20 gallon size.
My tomatoes are not in pots, I made myself a raised bed out of scrap wood two years ago. I was watering them every night tell I read this. I saw just as you said “they get grumpy”. So I did not water them but got up in the morning and they were standing tall so I watered them and they will get the morning soaking every other morning tell the heat backs off a little. Thanks Mossback
I water before 8 am and if hot like lately- 90’s again around 7-8pm. Deep watering early a light dampening in evening. I always have seedlings started so they get watered. A few times a day because seeds and seedlings need it as do carrots and non woody herbs
So now you tell us! Why is early morning best? Not being a "morning person" this could be important information.
Tomatoes have traditionally been difficult to grow in western WA according to conventional wisdom because the weather isn't warm enough. And true to this tradition, warmer than average summers have been the best for growing tomatoes. When we built our new home in 2010 I decided to deal with this by dedicating a site on the south side of my house and constructing what I call the tomato house. It's sort of a cross between a cold frame and a greenhouse. The summers have been so warm recently that the tomato house gets too hot. Last summer my tomato plants stopped growing when they got too hot, so the tomato crop was very limited. I remodeled the tomato house this spring due to wind damage last winter, making the roof movable so I could raise it and allow hot air to escape when the weather became too hot. Too late, a couple plants have withered and stunted, so I'll only get the tomatoes that were in progress when the heat arrived. As an experiment I planted two tomato plants in my raised bed garden area this year. They got off to a slower start, but they are going gang busters now. Going forward, I think I'll remove the tomato house and count on having tomatoes on the south side of the house as "warm enough" without getting too hot.
Thoughts from the gardening experts?
Thoughts from the gardening experts?
The house is good for protection from the rain. Maybe just the roof??
Most greenhouse type structures need to cool down. They get real hot real fast
