Due to some health issues and month-long travel, I totally skipped doing any kind of gardening this year. This pic makes me seriously regret it. Very nice job, @bewildered ! The only thing missing in that pic is a bit of salt, pepper, balsamic, some fresh mozza, and basil. Proper tomatoes is my #1 reason for gardening... you just can't buy them in stores any more, they've all been genetically engineered/bred to be tougher so that they survive transport and don't rot as fast. The exact properties you look for in a great tomato. Next year I'll be coming back harder than ever, so there's that to look forward to. Until then, I'll just have to live vicariously through everyone here.
Lol. You always say that. It is definitely a low acid tomato. Not overly sweet and mild tasting, no tartness to speak of. The skin was slightly thicker than other tomatoes I've grown but not unpleasant or difficult to eat. It was crazy juicy. It was good, but maybe too mellow for me. I much prefer my usual heirloom beefsteak. I THINK these are the Dr Whychee toms. I think I planted the orange ones, then these, then the stripey. The fruit set on these plants was good, and the growth habits is good. I hope the orange beefsteaks are worth it because their growth habit is horrible and I have no set fruit yet. I added a bunch more calcium to the soil. We will see. https://ohioheirloomseeds.com/
I know because you can't buy stuff like that anywhere. I have really been into cherry/grape ones lately, but you can't really put those on sandwiches well.
Pics as requested: That third pic is of morning glories I planted along the front of my former pheasant pen. There’s some cukes in there too, the idea being they’ll grow out into the space between the blueberries. We’ll see.
My community garden plot is going well - we’ve started picking cucumbers and yellow zucchini and they taste fantastic. I should have a nice crop of tomatoes also. They’re just starting to ripen and they will definitely taste far superior to store bought.
One thing I can’t figure out- much like the awesome plants in these pictures, the plants many of my neighbors have are much larger than mine. @walt , your growing season is even shorter than mine but your plants are twice the size. Do you start from seed or plants?
Mostly from seed, which, in the case of the swish and zucchini, caught up with the ones I started as plants! We started out in a drought but the past couple weeks it’s been raining every few days and sunny in between… perfect weather if you’re a plant. The one cherry tomato plant I put in has gone apeshit to the point where I just roped it to a stake with bailing twine. The downside is
Oh geez, I got distracted and posted it unfinished. The downside is, the lawn needs to be mowed frequently. I can practically hear the grass growing out there.
Here's the main garden. I'm getting more organized (I actually bought joints for the irrigation tubing this spring instead of stringing shit around in curvy, insane patterns) but it hasnt been the #1 obsession this year, so I feel like maximum potential hasn't been reached. I definitely haven't been watering as much. Also a few plants have been loved to death by duck or child. I do very limited irrigation on the timers and then empty the duck pond out with a pump partially every day or 3 into the garden. I let it mature to a lovely green color before emptying. It's basically Brawndo. The stuff plants crave!
@bewildered Do you have a giant backyard or just said "fuck it" to guests coming over? Serious question.
Our yard isn't giant but it is maximized. We have a large lot for the town but it's small compared to Bama lots. Lot is 9,147sq feet. We have an elevated deck along the entire back of the house with furniture etc that is a nice hangout spot. There's the veggie garden and ducks on one side, an open grassy lawn along the entire back, and a fire pit and garden at the other end. Edit. Let's see if I can avoid doxxing myself. Lol. I like the idea of guests but at a certain point, I just want people to leave.
Top pic is a portion of the community garden, followed by pics of my plot, then a baby watermelon in our plot. Total harvest so far is 2 golden zucchini, 4 cucumbers and two grape tomatoes. Lots more still to ripen. For the last week we’ve had torrential rain nearly every day, and I don’t think the plants are liking it. Observations and suggestions are welcome.
Everything looks lovely! What kinds of tomatoes did you plant? I bet that was the best tasting tomato ever. I think you need a nitrogen fertilizer. You have some yellowing of leaves, and it's the biggest nutrient you'll need for green growth and plant size. I use this Calcium Nitrate Solution Grade Fertilizer Water Soluble Hydroponics"Greenway Biotech Brand" 5 Pounds https://a.co/d/gJbZgfr For the calcium but it is also a heavy N fert. Are you having standing puddles? If not, it should be fine. Make sure to trim the lowest leaves on your tomatoes especially, the rain can splash pathogens from the soil onto your plants.