The Impossible Garden
 

I'm posting some pictures of my fall garden from my phone that i took this morning. I was gone all summer and had to start my garden over from scratch. I'm hoping to transform it from the mess it is now to a beautiful flower and vegetable garden with eye appeal by spring. This thread will document my progress and see if I can meet my goals... :-)

Just a note... My seedlings that I started died while i was away and had someone baby sitting them. But Barb_FL shared about 25 or so seedlings she had with me. So most of the tomato plants are courtesy of Barb.... :-) Thank you again Barb!

Ginny



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This pot has petunias in front and sugar ann snap peas in back. I put some bamboo sticks in hopes the snap peas will find their way to the trellis. Last spring this pink pot had a humongous, healthy, loaded with flowers petuina plant in it. Hoping to repeat that.

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These are mandeville vines which i will repot this weekend and try to train up the trellis. I have one for each side of the pink pot pentunias and these flowers are pink as well.


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This is one of two inground plants. The soil here is actually crushed shells as this land we are on was made when the intracoastal waterway was dredged 100 years ago (the intracoastal waterway channel is pictured in the background). I started last year by digging holes 2 feet deep and putting in soil, fish that we caught , crab shells from crabs we caught and ate and lots of other good stuff. Successfully grew tomato plants last year in the two holes (and no critters dug up anything). So when hubby and i got back we went speck fishing and i saved the carcases and dug my two holes up and started the process again. So far so good. We will see if the nematodes or other diseases affect these in ground plants. The folding table is only tempory. I used it in desperation as a wind break because we have had 10-15 mph winds gusting up to 30 mph all week. Those are our kayaks pictured in the background and a crab trap... :-)


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Buttercrunch lettuce, red romaine lettuce and radishes in a shallow container.



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Cherokee purple plant. .. has about 40 blossoms on it at the moment. I buzz them several times a day... :-) Also for now there is a buttercrunch, a red romaine, and some radishes sharing the pot but soon the CP will probably be shading them out.

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Big Beef with som lettuce friends. It isnt as full leaved as the CP, GGWT, or PBTD plants. Maybe it will catch up with time.

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More Sugar Ann snap peas to hopefully grow up the trellis.


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Close up of pea plants.

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Pink Berkley Tie Dye on the right and Girl Girls Weird Thing on the Left with lettuce and Radish friends. Very happy.

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Rainbow Swiss Chard blocking out sun for the two tomato plants behind them. I have to remember to turn the SWC around tonight so the Captain Lucky and Rebel Yell will be in front getting more sun.

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This SWC is breaking all the rules... lol. Way too much going on. Back row is - you guessed it, more pea plants to climb the trellis.

Middle row is cilantro on left, then lettuce and raddish. Front row are shi-shi-to pepper plants. I have to try to relocate the 2 lettuce plants as they are getting shaded out.

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Curly Kale.


There are a lot more tomato plants growing but they all look about the same as the ones I posted.

So why did I call it the impossible garden? Because a couple of years ago when I first decided to have a garden here, all my neighbors said growing a garden here is impossible because of the salt spray, the wind, the humidity, and the soil issues. Oh and I forgot to mention the rain, rain, rain, and more rain. So i found great places like here and found all of you knowledgable people here and elsewhere that shared info and I grew the impossible garden. Those same neighbors cant wait until the tomatoes ripen again. Not only are we able to grow them right here in the impossible garden, but we grow plenty to share... :-)

Ginny

You are off to great start and I have no doubt you will meet your spring time goal.

I think everything looks great--so healthy!

Are those micro-tomatoes in the DIY self-watering planters?

[QUOTE=AdrianaG;510039]Are those micro-tomatoes in the DIY self-watering planters?[/QUOTE]
No, i dont have any micro tomatoes pictured. I have a few dwarf plants from Barb but didnt post pictures of those. I added text under the pictures so now it says what each one has in it... :-)

Ginny

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Thank you GreyGhost and Kay. Everything is healthy so far. I'm going to try starting some tomato plants each month so when something gives out I can replace it. Summertime july/august will be only cherry tomato plants probably. They can produce and ripen before the plant succumbs.

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Ginny how big would you say is the container with the GGWT and the PBTD tomatoes...?

[QUOTE=Zenbaas;510067]Ginny how big would you say is the container with the GGWT and the PBTD tomatoes...?[/QUOTE]
Hi Zenbaas,

That is an 18 gallon container from Home Depot. I bought it for 7.87 when it was on sale, and you know the saying... you get what you pay for. I didnt want to spend more at the time because i wasnt sure if we would be able to grow much in our conditions. I will be gradually switching to EB's as my SWCs are falling apart in the Florida sun. As long as I don't lift them to move them they seem to be hanging in there but i have lost 3 of them to leaks (wouldnt hold water in the reservoir) after moving them.

I have used them for 2 years.... 6 growing seasons here... spring, summer and fall.

Ginny

Thanks Ginny..! Your garden looks great.

I the bought some 30 gallon containers for some SWC but was worried they might not be big enough. Glad to hear they should be OK.

So you live close to the sea I'm assuming because of your salty air comment...?

Your garden looks fabulous - you have such a green thumb. Really impressed with the lettuce growing in the heat.

Hi Zenbaas,

I think you can grow ginormous plants with lots of tomatoes with that size. The sturdier ones hold up better from what i hear. I bought really cheap ones (my mistake).

If you look at the third picture in my original post you can see the salt water is up to our backyard. We live on the intracoastal in the Mosquito Lagoon area.

Ginny

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[QUOTE=Barb_FL;510078]Your garden looks fabulous - you have such a green thumb. Really impressed with the lettuce growing in the heat.[/QUOTE]
Thank you Barb!

Thanks to you I will have lots of tomatoes again this fall... :-) Should have anyways.

Ginny

[QUOTE=Fiishergurl;510079]Hi Zenbaas,

I think you can grow ginormous plants with lots of tomatoes with that size. The sturdier ones hold up better from what i hear. I bought really cheap ones (my mistake).

If you look at the third picture in my original post you can see the salt water is up to our backyard. We live on the intracoastal in the Mosquito Lagoon area.

Ginny

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I see...! The reason I was asking is because if you can grow such lovely tomatoes so close to the salty water then there is hope for other. My folks stay right against the ocean and the salt water spray tends to kill almost anything and everything except for certain "cactus" type plants. I will see If I can get them to try growing some tomatoes in SWCs. :)

Hi Zenbaas,

From what I can tell the salt doesnt bother them at all. Its the wind, rain and humidity that cause a problem. If i dont buzz my blossoms with an electric toothbrush every day, i get very few larger tomatoes developing due to the humidity. Also, we were in a different location the first year that was literally on the sea wall and my plants were about 15 feet from the water and they were fine. I will post pictures of that later. Our vehicles get a coating of salt also and they are farther away from the water than the plants so I know there is salt flying around.

Ginny

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Barb,

I wonder if my lettuce will be bitter from the heat. I'm going to taste some when I get home tonight.

Can I grow cucumbers this time of year?

Ginny

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[QUOTE=Fiishergurl;510092]Barb,

I wonder if my lettuce will be bitter from the heat. I'm going to taste some when I get home tonight.

Can I grow cucumbers this time of year?

Ginny

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Ginny, just gorgeous. You are such a talented gardener. Your peas gave me ideas.
Lettuce isn't bitter usually until it starts to bolt. i bet yours will be OK. I sure hope it cools off soon so you can grow them, ever try melons?

Ginny, your lettuce will be fine; as Marsha said, it gets bitter when it bolts and yours is definitely not bolting.

It is a great time to grow cucumbers. I picked 5 cukes yesterday and 2 this AM. My Beit Alpha and Parkseed Garden are next to each other and both producing. Bees are pollinating it. I planted a Lemon Cucumber plant and it doesn't even have a flower.

If I may, lettuce bolts due to long day length not heat alone.
People think it is heat because it gets hotter at about the same time as the days get longer.:)
You can actually stop it from bolting by covering it to stop the amount of sun exposure.

This also hold true for some plants that go to seed in the fall.
It isn't the cooler weather but the short day length and longer nights.
By interrupting the long darkness by turning on a light it will stop the plant from putting out seeds.
Three that I know of right off hand are cannabis, poinsettia and jade plants.

Worth

Marsha/Barb,

I tried both lettuces (hubby did too) and you were right, they are fine. Barb, I'm thinking your backyard like you mentioned makes things hotter than normal I think you said because of the pool deck and such. While my arrangement on the water and with some of my areas getting partial shade makes our growing environments very different even though we are only an hour apart.

Worth - i didnt know that about the light. Good to know.

Marsha - I havent tried growing melons.

Ginny


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[QUOTE=Fiishergurl;510152]Marsha/Barb,

I tried both lettuces (hubby did too) and you were right, they are fine. Barb, I'm thinking your backyard like you mentioned makes things hotter than normal I think you said because of the pool deck and such. While my arrangement on the water and with some of my areas getting partial shade makes our growing environments very different even though we are only an hour apart.

Worth - i didnt know that about the light. Good to know.

Marsha - I havent tried growing melons.

Ginny


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Ginny rather than me write about a bunch of stuff here is a link that explains bitterness and bolting in lettuce.
Easy to read and not loaded with a bunch of technical babble.:lol:

Worth
[url]https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAAahUKEwi5-fyol9vIAhVKOiYKHU_TCCI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vegetablegardener.com%2Fitem%2F5044%2Fwhy-lettuce-bolts-and-what-you-can-do-about-it&v6u=https%3A%2F%2Fs-v6exp1-ds.metric.gstatic.com%2Fgen_204%3Fip%3D70.112.84.39%26ts%3D1445692252131034%26auth%3D5hi52yuaq7bj24n72il54jipcn2g4rq4%26rndm%3D0.22524361707981178&v6s=2&v6t=1983&usg=AFQjCNEjT-wpyLBkH8KUZnAceRnATb8Kaw[/url]

Salts as fertilizer info from the past.
 

[QUOTE=Fiishergurl;510089]Hi Zenbaas,

From what I can tell the salt doesnt bother them at all. Its the wind, rain and humidity that cause a problem. If i dont buzz my blossoms with an electric toothbrush every day, i get very few larger tomatoes developing due to the humidity. Also, we were in a different location the first year that was literally on the sea wall and my plants were about 15 feet from the water and they were fine. I will post pictures of that later. Our vehicles get a coating of salt also and they are farther away from the water than the plants so I know there is salt flying around.

Ginny

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See reply #21.

[url]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=27129&highlight=Agri&page=2[/url]

Kurt - I clicked the link and read the information but got confused. Is it saying salt is good or bad? Or maybe both?

Ginny

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Getting lots of blossoms and tomatoes now.. :-)

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So the heat has done a number on some of the pea plants and petunias. But the tomato plants are loving it.

Here are some updated pictures of a Cherokee Purple plant that I had posted a picture of in the original post...

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Ginny

Ginny, as usual beautiful garden and nice pictures. Such a great set of tomatoes on CP. You are doing great job with that brush.

We too use parts of fish and other crustaceans to feed our plants. Last fall and early spring this year we fertilized tomato beds with it like never before. And it payed off. Boy, it payed off. This summer our production was up by more than 80%.
It is nice to see you using it too.

Comforting to know at this moment and as a community, we have beautiful tomatoes growing somewhere.

Oh thats so good to hear. How far down did you bury it? Or did you emulsify it?

I think I am going to do two to four more holes in the ground. Currently I only have two. We have been catching lots of fush snd freezing the carcasses to either use in the crab traps or in the ground... :-)

Ginny


[QUOTE=efisakov;512664]Ginny, as usual beautiful garden and nice pictures. Such a great set of tomatoes on CP. You are doing great job with that brush.

We too use parts of fish and other crustaceans to feed our plants. Last fall and early spring this year we fertilized tomato beds with it like never before. And it payed off. Boy, it payed off. This summer our production was up by more than 80%.
It is nice to see you using it too.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Ricky Shaw;512665]Comforting to know at this moment and as a community, we have beautiful tomatoes growing somewhere.[/QUOTE]

Isnt it interesting how all our growing seasons vary. A lot of people in Florida dont have any tomatoes growing during the height of the growing season in the northern areas.

Ginny

Ginny, I made holes about 1-1.5 foot deep than made a hill above it as well. Worked just fine.

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I topped my pepper plants. First time trying that and the plants are coming back bushy and healthy as ever.

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These are shi-shi-tos.

Ginny