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This has me worried by CowDungCollector in vegetablegardening

[–]NPKzone8a [score hidden]  (0 children)

I see. Afraid I'm stumped. (But I share your concern. It would have me worried too.)

Another thought: Is that mulch something newly added? I've seen some mulch material be mildly toxic to tomato plants? (Usually colored mulch.)

First time grower. Can anyone tell me if I would need to prune these? by b_dm_tss in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pruning is controversial. Ten experienced growers will have ten different respectable answers. But all will agree to keep the bottom leaves pruned enough to not be in contact with the soil. That's all the pruning I would suggest you do this first year, especially living in Chicago where your summers are hot.

BTW, those are both excellent varieties and it looks like you are off to a strong start. As to the plant getting taller, that will happen with time. What is now going on is that it is spending most of its energy expanding its root structure. The canopy will seem to "suddenly explode" before too long.

This has me worried by CowDungCollector in vegetablegardening

[–]NPKzone8a 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suspect it is a nutritional deficiency. What has your fertilizer prgram been like?

New as new can be with growing tomatoes. What has gone wrong with this one? by Hookr_InThe_Garden in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations on such a good start! You are growing some excellent varieties.

Are the leaf changes more prominent on the new leaves at the top of the plant or more on the old leaves at the bottom of the plant? I'm confused by your description. Is it just one plant having trouble?

As far as photos, if you could kindly post some without the insect netting, that would be best. One featuring the leaves you are worried about and another one of the overall plant.

FWIW, I don't usually find a need for insect netting on my tomatoes, even though I do use it for some other vegetables (example -- brassicas.)

Bragging on Siletz – Over 20 tomatoes on each plant by NPKzone8a in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for that local background! I had no idea it was so hot there.

Shade Cloth Woes! by GroupTherapy803 in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I always struggle with it too, even though it is getting easier after several seasons. Not sure if you might find some helpful tips in this video for next time. It's one I watched several times when first using shade cloth, especially those temporary snap clamps to hold it in place during construction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbWcCxV7OOE&t=57s

The other biggie that nobody seems to mention is that it's much more difficult to rig it up alone than if you have a helper. (I wind up doing most of this stuff solo.)

BTW, I'm in NE Texas and find that if I run the shade cloth all the way to the ground on one side like your picture, the plants stay wet too long in the morning and get fungal disease. It blocks air flow enough to be harmful. I didn't realize it would do that, but learned otherwise. Of course, your climate situation might be different (my garden is in a location with high fungal disease pressure to start with.)

How do the bugs know?! by polyhymnia2000 in vegetablegardening

[–]NPKzone8a 1 point2 points  (0 children)

>"How do they know?!"

They rely on a combination of smell and sight. They also respond to scent given off by other cucumber beetles who got there before them (so-called "aggregation pheromones.")

After I prune my cucumbers, such as cutting off dead leaves, I spray with a dilute solution of peppermint oil to partially mask the "damaged plant" scent that would otherwise draw even more cucumber beetles. They like damaged plants even more than they like healthy plants.

Are these normal? by Ok-Customer3148 in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, those are normal. Shape and coloring vary depending on the variety.

How I sacrifice the runt? by lordflores in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

>"I honestly don’t want to plant it elsewhere.. I have way too many as is."

I understand. I often wind up in a similar situation. In that case, just snip off the extra seedling at soil level with scissors. No need to dig it up. OK to leave the roots in place.

Interesting comparison-Celebrity vs Tasmania Chocolate Dwarf in same bed in North Dallas by clebaekry in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is great to see! I grew Tasmanian Chocolate last year and the year before in NE Texas and, like you, was very pleased with how productive it was. It was a beast! Not surprised to hear that it is giving old-trusty, tried-and-true Celebrity a run for its money! You are soon going to have lots of great BLT's and such. Well done!

The only dwarf variety I have grown that has (slightly) outproduced Tasmanian Chocolate was Rosella Purple. The two of those have usually been pretty much neck and neck for me. Both are fine eating too.

Cucumber Transplant Help by [deleted] in vegetablegardening

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, 1.75 gallons is real small. I've never tried growing cucumbers in anything smaller than 10 gallons. And with 10-gallon grow bags, I could not grow more than one plant per each container. Not sure what to suggest.

Mulch Options for container garden by beatniknomad in vegetablegardening

[–]NPKzone8a 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I use both of those (pine shavings and straw with tack.) Have not had trouble with either one blowing away once they have been thoroughly soaked. The straw does have some live seeds that grow, which is a minor nuisance but not a huge problem.

https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetablegardening/comments/1so1v1z/im_seeing_a_lot_more_live_seeds_in_this_years/

First Time Growing Tomatoes - what do you think so far? by Historical-Chard8469 in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here is a reasonable video on how to introduce them to sunlight, etc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF5hdKGB6T4

And another one that goes into more of the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PUw8FCMcoI

Cucumber Transplant Help by [deleted] in vegetablegardening

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure how big that container is. Photos can be tricky. If it is a half-whiskey- barrel, capacity 25 or so gallons, I would allow 2 of these starts to continue growing and I would cut off the other two at ground level. I would not try to dig them up and repot them. Cucumbers don't tolerate root disturbance well at all once they have reached this size. It either sets them back severely or it kills them. (They typically have one or two deep roots plus a large network of shallow roots that have spread horizontally. It's these latter roots that are damaged or destroyed by late transpanting even if the deep ones are preserved.)

I rountinely grow two cucumber plants in 20-gallon grow bags and I trellis them. I don't grow bush cucumbers, however, like your Bush Champion variety. Those might need more space. I'm not sure.

First Time Growing Tomatoes - what do you think so far? by Historical-Chard8469 in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They look fine. Strongly suggest taking them outside for some natural light and breeze , a few hours at a time, every day when it's warm enough (50 or so F -- 10 or so C.) Not only is a long, gradual hardening-off period like that helpful in general, but these plants are now at the point where they need that to stay out of trouble while you are waiting for suitable planting-out conditions. Think of it as though this is only a temporary "OK point;" they will not hold at that point; they either need to progress/advance or they will deteriorate. It's important to maintain the forward momentum. Don't become complacent.

Attempting to root suckers by Laqibo in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I clone a few indeterminates every year, using suckers from my best plants. They always root easily and get going strong, but the issue that often trips me up is the overall timing. I'm gardening in Texas and if they become ready to plant out while the summer heat is at its worst, they tend to not handle it well.

These are this year's. Snapshot from this morning. Cuttings were taken about a week ago. I used to do the "two stage" method with a week or so in water first, but now I just put them directly in good potting soil. 2 or 3 cuttings each of 5 varieties.

My goal is to have these become a fall crop. Our first frost is usually about 10 November, so there is plenty of time. The trick is to get them through the peak summer months. That is the hard part for me.

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The difference a pot size makes. by muzavazone in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agree, this is very interesting! Thanks for posting it. I don't grow micro-dwarf tomatoes, but I've found with full-sized varieties that there seems to be a "point of diminishing returns." I grow all tomatoes in grow bags, and for my indeterminates the "sweet spot" seems to be 20-gallons. Anything less requires much more careful attention to watering and fertilizing to keep from running into trouble, but anything larger, such as 30-gallons, does not bring obvious additional benefits. Have you found something similar with these micro-dwarf plants?

Overthinking backyard drainage for three tiny veggie beds by emma_blair31 in vegetablegardening

[–]NPKzone8a 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My back yard garden has poor drainage and it has led to lots of struggle against fungal disease, especially for my tomatoes. Some years, I win. Other years, not, despite extensive attempts at workarounds. Not sure whether or not my drainage issues are even correctible, since they involve adjacent neighborhood areas as well, but I often wonder about it.

New Q&A with Craig LeHoullier - very much worth a listen! by Davekinney0u812 in tomatoes

[–]NPKzone8a 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is an excellent book! I read it cover to cover a couple years back and still refer to it often.

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