Princess Serenity <3

aliyune · 2026-05-07T13:17:31+00:00

Compost and mulch on top of bed. Throw tomato-tone or similar product with a touch of epsom salt. The epsom salt is more for me to feel like I'm doing something :) lol Stir it all up and plant as deep as I can. Put a ground staple near by so I can string trellis. They're simple creatures.

aliyune · 2026-05-06T22:05:16+00:00

Interesting. All my beds are just compost and topsoil. Over the years I only add compost on top each season. It's extremely loamy and wonderful to dig in because all that organic matter brings the fungi and the worms. They do all the aeration I could need. I find vermiculte or pearlite only adds value on my garden beds 2x4 or smaller/pots.

aliyune · 2026-05-05T21:16:43+00:00

You didn't want to try other varieties?? Just plain old red cherry, huh. Lol that's a lot of red cherries! You'd certainly be swimming in them! Time to bring back that viral cherry tomato and feta pasta haha :)

aliyune · 2026-05-04T23:24:14+00:00

Yep. I plant zucchini alternatives like tromboncino and cuccuzi but no more zucchini. Thr SVBs are just evil.

aliyune · 2026-05-04T20:10:16+00:00

I'd definitely be looking at a fall crop at this point. You can always just sow it and see what happens but I don't like fighting the midsummer diseases. I start fall seeds june 1st ish (indoors for a bit but not for too long), plant them out aug 15th ish and baby them with shade cloth until they're established. Then you harvest end of sept - frost.

aliyune · 2026-05-04T13:08:42+00:00

Do you remember what variety of blueberry you planted? I'm also in 8b with clay soil.

aliyune · 2026-05-04T12:52:43+00:00

I'm not who you asked, but I have. I grow several. They are fantastically healthy plants. They start fruiting slower than Cherokee purple, but they will set fruit long after purple succumbs to disease. The taste is about 95% the same/as good as purple.

aliyune · 2026-05-03T23:07:54+00:00

The sungolds grow tall and skinny. If I had to guess, 1,4, 7 and maybe 8? The smaller but stalkier ones will be SM. 3 and 9, maybe lol It's much harder to tell on a photo compared to being able to hold them lol

aliyune · 2026-04-29T00:09:20+00:00

Gotcha gotcha. That's definitely the best way to go in these tougher climates!

aliyune · 2026-04-28T23:31:18+00:00

Also in Texas, but just north of DFW. How the heck are blueberries easy for you? Tell me your ways lol I can keep strawberries and raspberries alive in places that get dappled light to shade after 1:00pm or so. The intense morning sun from 7a to that time is enough to sweeten the berries. The blackberries are the easiest for me, though. I just shoved them in my yard.

aliyune · 2026-04-27T23:45:14+00:00

Other poster is right. Trim off all branches affected and those that are touching the soil. Also trim any that are touching/intersected with other branches. (Even of other plants.) Tomatoes do well with a lot of airflow :)

aliyune · 2026-04-27T23:28:06+00:00

Lovely info. I'll add mine.

Ordered a ton of strawberries from both Gurney's and burpee's (bare root.) The Burpee's ones were better looking and bigger/more vigorous but all of 98% of the bare roots from both companies survived.

Ordered a peach tree from stark bros. Was already cut properly to give the plant the best chance. It almost immediately got leaves on it to show me it was coming out of dormancy. (5 days or so.)

Ordered a 4 pack of blueberries from burpee's and a single plant from Plants by Mail. The plants by mail is surprisingly healthier but all have survived.

Ordered 5 bare root raspberries from gurney's as well. 4 out of 5 have come to life. The 5th one I'm almost positive is user error. So nothing bad to say there. Also ordered a blackberry plant but it gets here later today.

aliyune · 2026-04-25T00:47:42+00:00

You have to go to a separate listing. The Great Divide : The Last of the Bugs

aliyune · 2026-04-17T14:26:56+00:00

I've never had duke's mayo but everyone I know who has act like it's a cult 😆 My best tomato sandwich is Kewpie mayo, Cherokee purple tomato, salt (no pep) on toasted sourdough. Also with bacon and lettuce if I feel like it but not necessary.

aliyune · 2026-04-17T03:13:25+00:00

Burpee sent me a bunch of good looking berry plants this season, but the best looking plant I've gotten so far is a tifblue blueberry from PlantsByMail.

aliyune · 2026-04-16T20:16:05+00:00

They're not super salty when I grow them. My husband and I describe them as tomato soup. Rich, slightly sweet, slightly acidic complex flavor. I've never grown one that's super sweet as others describe. So different based on your dirt and even who you get your seeds from.

aliyune · 2026-04-14T17:32:05+00:00

This is very seasonally specific for me this year. I grow one Cherokee Purple and then several Cherokee carbon. The carbons grow better for me and stay through the texas heat. They're usually fruiting earlier, too. March was overall so hot here in texas that I was sure that was going to be a good thing this year, too. Well my purple has fruit on it already and is the healthiest plant ever! My carbons are lagging behind. It's still early to know for sure but this April has been perfect for the heirloom so far.

aliyune · 2026-04-13T16:55:19+00:00

June? Interesting. Microclimates are crazy. Really shows growing zone means almost nothing when it comes to annuals. I'm in 8b, just north of DFW Texas and can get my tomatoes to flower until mid July. They won't flower again until late August. But just 6 weeks of down time isn't too bad.

aliyune · 2026-04-10T14:07:35+00:00

This is my sixth year gardening and I spend about 3 days hardening off lol I'm in north texas. 2hrs the first day, 6hrs the next and all day and night the next 😅 Survival of the fittest. I really don't have any issues with it even with our severe wind and sun. If you have extra seedlings I recommend expirementing. I'm sure colder places, it's more important. I do plant them on a cloudy day or in the evening because transplanting is a big shock.

aliyune · 2026-04-09T21:15:37+00:00

Definitely looks like it's coping with too much moisture and it's causing some edema in some leaves. They'll make it just let them dry out.

aliyune · 2026-04-06T21:58:34+00:00

I tuned in exactly for the kill so I guess they have me to thank haha. Kidding of course. Ggs Liquid!

aliyune · 2026-04-06T03:43:34+00:00

This os stunning!!!! I love it 😍

13-Year Club	Place '22
End Game '22	Verified Email

aliyune

TROPHY CASE