The Gardening Thread

[Tin Man]

Put haricot vert beans in a big planter on my south facing. It will get morning sun and dappled sunlight afterwards.

 

[GVF]

Got my garden planted this week. Pretty much every I bought as plants. I always seem to jack up vegetable seeding.

Tomatoes, carrots and oregano on the left. Corn next to them, will be doing beans once the corn gets up. Big middle space will be potatoes, got them soaking, along with an aisle of sunflowers. Last box is peppers and okra.

Also threw in two blueberry bushes. I my limited experience they are extremely temperamental so I am not expecting anything for about 3 seasons.

I'm actually trying potatoes this year. Only tried twice before over hte years. But, I got a couple of those small raised beds so I'm using one for htat to see how I do. Those are in and planted, aong with carrot, onion, and radish in the other. Had another make shift rasied bed in a 14x22 picking basket with small slots in it that I put leaf lettuc and just set out. Hasn't germinated one piece of lettuce yet. Been about 10 days or so. Set it out since lettuce likes cool weather. Maybe need to set it back in greenhouse to see if it sprouts. I won't plant anything else here like tomatoes and swuash and beans and stuff till early May. My thyme, rosemary, and curly parsley survives here for me as perennials.

I had 3 blueberries in GA that would go nuts for their size. They were really growing. In 2 year, moved them with me twice. They grew to thigh high and bushed out in no time down there and were loaded for their size. Got them re-planted up here in TN, seemed to survive well. Had a guy take out some trees and he drop one right on them. Got 5 going now I put in two years ago.

 

[LouderVol]

I'm actually trying potatoes this year. Only tried twice before over hte years. But, I got a couple of those small raised beds so I'm using one for htat to see how I do. Those are in and planted, aong with carrot, onion, and radish in the other. Had another make shift rasied bed in a 14x22 picking basket with small slots in it that I put leaf lettuc and just set out. Hasn't germinated one piece of lettuce yet. Been about 10 days or so. Set it out since lettuce likes cool weather. Maybe need to set it back in greenhouse to see if it sprouts. I won't plant anything else here like tomatoes and swuash and beans and stuff till early May. My thyme, rosemary, and curly parsley survives here for me as perennials.

I had 3 blueberries in GA that would go nuts for their size. They were really growing. In 2 year, moved them with me twice. They grew to thigh high and bushed out in no time down there and were loaded for their size. Got them re-planted up here in TN, seemed to survive well. Had a guy take out some trees and he drop one right on them. Got 5 going now I put in two years ago.

glad to hear they do well in GA, that is where I am. always had issue with my dad in TN. but it was chattanooga and soil was churt not dirt.

first time doing potatoes. I am worried handling them properly; but as is often the case I have some volunteer ones growing in my mulch pile. I will ignore them and not disturb them, and they will probably do better than the ones I plant on purpose.

 

[GVF]

glad to hear they do well in GA, that is where I am. always had issue with my dad in TN. but it was chattanooga and soil was churt not dirt.

first time doing potatoes. I am worried handling them properly; but as is often the case I have some volunteer ones growing in my mulch pile. I will ignore them and not disturb them, and they will probably do better than the ones I plant on purpose.

My dad put in 8-10 blueberries back when he retired up here in upper Middle TN. To my knowledge never pruned them. I can't reach the tops from a ladder when picking.

Variety has everything to do with. In Ga, well anywhere in the warm south, make sure it's a rabbit eye/southern high bush variety. Should be you're only choices at local centers. Plant a mix of Tift Blue, Climax, and maybe it was Premier. Gives full season harvest range from early to mid to late. All southern highbush/rabbit eye. Sizes will range from 8-10 foot unpruned at maturity.

Climax - Developed at UGA. But, does not like spring frosts. Good hot season variety. Early variety.
Tifblue - Also a GA development. But, more cold hardy. Late Variety
Premier - So Car State development. Mid season variety. Small er of the 3 at 8 foot mature unpruned.
My dad was an agronomist at UGA. This was always his mix of blueberries for the south's climate.

I would also recommend adding Pink Lemonade Blueberry (Rabbit eye, late season). Crazy non-typical blueberry flavor, ripens red/pink, with a sweet citrus like flavor. One of my favorites and addictive. And all blueberries are inexpensive investments. Just don't go for northern high or low bush varieties down here in the south. Need southern highbush/rabbit eye.

Also helpful tip to get good growth. Blueberries are fond of acidic soil. Plant with a good mix blended with your soil. Mulch with pine straw/pine bark/pine nuggets. The acidity that leaches from a pine based mulch will be a real friend to blueberries. I know one guy that told me his young plants almost doubled in a season after switching to pine based mulch in year 2. Prob good mulch tip for most berry plants. I just raked my mulch back to the edges of my 5 plants and filled in with mini nuggets a few weeks ago after two years. Looking forward to the claim. Also added it to my blackberry and raspberry plantings. Prime Ark Ponca is bush style blackberry and absolute sweetest blackberry I ever ate. And big too. Not a brambler. Actually grows out of a central bush trunk. Still trying to perfect the pruning. I just cut my Triple Crown blackberry and raspberries to the ground instead of remembering how to prune for dual harvest. Might need to decide to prune the triple crown differently.

Edit: Yep. Just did some reading up. Pruned the triple crown to the ground. Should have pruned it as a floricane/prinocane. It may just put out vegetative growth this year ??

Edit Edit - That U of Ark blackberry of mine is Sweet Ark Ponca, not Prime Ark. The Ponca is a florocane producer (berries on previous year growth, which is why I'm not sure if I pruned correctly for a harvest this year, which would have been grand because the plant is thriving). If you want first year harvest, you have to have a Prime (U of Ark) or primocane. They will produce on current growth, as well as put out non bearing growth for next year. Prime Ark freedom is a good primeocane/florocane. As well as Triple Crown. Both thornless. I like that Ponca, because the cane production is fairly tight radius from center. It doesn't sprawl everywhere.

 

[LouderVol]

My dad put in 8-10 blueberries back when he retired up here in upper Middle TN. To my knowledge never pruned them. I can't reach the tops from a ladder when picking.

Variety has everything to do with. In Ga, well anywhere in the warm south, make sure it's a rabbit eye/southern high bush variety. Should be you're only choices at local centers. Plant a mix of Tift Blue, Climax, and maybe it was Premier. Gives full season harvest range from early to mid to late. All southern highbush/rabbit eye. Sizes will range from 8-10 foot unpruned at maturity.

Climax - Developed at UGA. But, does not like spring frosts. Good hot season variety. Early variety.
Tifblue - Also a GA development. But, more cold hardy. Late Variety
Premier - So Car State development. Mid season variety. Small er of the 3 at 8 foot mature unpruned.
My dad was an agronomist at UGA. This was always his mix of blueberries for the south's climate.

I would also recommend adding Pink Lemonade Blueberry (Rabbit eye, late season). Crazy non-typical blueberry flavor, ripens red/pink, with a sweet citrus like flavor. One of my favorites and addictive. And all blueberries are inexpensive investments. Just don't go for northern high or low bush varieties down here in the south. Need southern highbush/rabbit eye.

Also helpful tip to get good growth. Blueberries are fond of acidic soil. Plant with a good mix blended with your soil. Mulch with pine straw/pine bark/pine nuggets. The acidity that leaches from a pine based mulch will be a real friend to blueberries. I know one guy that told me his young plants almost doubled in a season after switching to pine based mulch in year 2. Prob good mulch tip for most berry plants. I just raked my mulch back to the edges of my 5 plants and filled in with mini nuggets a few weeks ago after two years. Looking forward to the claim. Also added it to my blackberry and raspberry plantings. Prime Ark Ponca is bush style blackberry and absolute sweetest blackberry I ever ate. And big too. Not a brambler. Actually grows out of a central bush trunk. Still trying to perfect the pruning. I just cut my Triple Crown blackberry and raspberries to the ground instead of remembering how to prune for dual harvest. Might need to decide to prune the triple crown differently.

Edit: Yep. Just did some reading up. Pruned the triple crown to the ground. Should have pruned it as a floricane/prinocane. It may just put out vegetative growth this year ??

I got some wild blackberries in my yard that go nuts. well they are wild for me, previous owner might have put them in. pretty big seeds compared to most domesticated types I am used to as well.

 

[GVF]

I got some wild blackberries in my yard that go nuts. well they are wild for me, previous owner might have put them in. pretty big seeds compared to most domesticated types I am used to as well.

Yeah, we get hoards of wild blackberries accross the road on the edges of our fields. Prob won't get wild berries this year cause the road mowers whacked everything thing down end of summer last year. Usually have couple hundred feet of wild berries over there. They'll come back. The big bank in front of my brothers was our great aunts house when we were kids. Old 1860's house. Always loaded solid with wild blackberry. When we'd come visit in summer, we'd be all scarred up from climbing that bank picking berries. Wild blackberries usually are smaller and more tart. Those two great aunts were major old school. Wouldn't allow yard man to mow anywhere except around immediate house. Lot's of wild flower mixed in the further out yard and she had to have her bees pollinating. Big honey bee colony in a hollow tree by the drive. Tree is still there and wouldn't be surprised if there's still a sizeable active honey hive in there. One good side value of this thread is the memories of how the family that has since passed did things in such a simple, yet hard, way that seems better than what we do.

 

[GVF]

Okay all you pro summer squash gardeners. I'm going to copy in a recipe for yellow summer squash relish. Not mine, but it is a great recipe and solves a lot of conundrum over huge harvests of squash. Up front I will say for color presentation and a little flavor variance, I do mix in about 1/3 of the squash as zuchinni and add some finely chopped red bell. This is one of the best relishes you will eat if you home can and like relish. This recipe is from Taste of Home: [[Make sure to start a day early. Squah and stuff has to soak in salt mix overnight to reduce moisture]]

• 10 cups shredded yellow summer squash (about 4 pounds) [[I sub about 3 cups zuchinni for color]]
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 large red sweet pepper, chopped
• 6 tablespoons canning salt
• 4 cups sugar
• 3 cups cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon each celery seed, ground mustard and ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. In a large container, combine squash, onions, green pepper and salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Drain; rinse and drain again.
2. In a Dutch oven, combine sugar, vinegar and seasonings; bring to a boil. Add squash mixture; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. Carefully ladle hot mixture into 6 hot 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight.
4. Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 15 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Refrigerate remaining relish for up to 1 week.

​

 

[Go aeiou]

I'm not much into raised bed gardening myself. Can get expensive. Thought about doing some 12" high ones before but not the tall ones. If you want the look, but the goodness of direct to soil garden, just build up your soil a little if it needs conditioning. Trim it out with some short boards or something for hte look. Mulch it good. Leaves, straw, clean wood chip mulch. Anything that will decompose into the soil and just re-top each year. Less watering and weeding.

Agree on starting off with maters and peppers. If you like squash, get some resilient yellow and zuchini.

Plant basil and marigold with your tomatoes. Controls insects. Look up companion planting. Most of us in this thread like heirloom type tomatoes, but throwing in a dependable Better Boy will ensure you have some success because heirlooms can either over flow the counters with fruit, or make you scratch your head. But, the first bite is worth it. Try to find a local to get your plants from. I always do a couple reds each of atleast two varieties. Cherokee Purple. And and Orange/Yellow. And a cherry of some sort. I planted some Goliath red last year. Over 8' tall and a grand red for flavor. So make sure you read the growth habit of what you pick. Better Boys can be grown in a cage. Most heirlooms will need a trellis type suspension cause they get tall.

Most important if this is first time is start small so you will come back for year 2. See what you like and can handle, and expand a little the next year. We highly recommend some kind of mulching and weed suppression. An unptotected garden uses more water, and the weeding can end many a gardening adventure. And if you just want to grow for fresh eating or work towards putting veggies up for the winter. Canning and such. We have one gardener in here whose entire veggie patch is the foundation beds around the house and grows great gardens. You are limited only by your creativity

In Nashville I grow 3 or 4 plants including Cherokee Purple and Better Boy. Trying a new tomato this year, Arkansas Traveler. Sets fruit above 90 degrees which is typically a problem in Nashville in July/August.

 

[GVF]

In Nashville I grow 3 or 4 plants including Cherokee Purple and Better Boy. Trying a new tomato this year, Arkansas Traveler. Sets fruit above 90 degrees which is typically a problem in Nashville in July/August.

I'm trying Missouri Pink Love apple tomato for same reason. Good warm weather tomato, but maybe not as high heat as the Traveler. I haven't tried that one, but the reiviews on it are good. My Missouri Pinks sprouted in less than 2 weeks. Weeks ahead of any other I seeded. They'e only been up maybe a hair over a month. Think I may have seeded the cups last week of Feb. They have easily a month growth over hte other now and are already 6-7 inches and hardening off. If I trusted our spring weather, they could go in hte ground anythime. Florida 91 is a determinate hybrid that was bred for the south's summers, and is said to fruit on up into the high 90's or more, and to have good disease tolerance.

 

[zhangliao04]

My dad put in 8-10 blueberries back when he retired up here in upper Middle TN. To my knowledge never pruned them. I can't reach the tops from a ladder when picking.

Variety has everything to do with. In Ga, well anywhere in the warm south, make sure it's a rabbit eye/southern high bush variety. Should be you're only choices at local centers. Plant a mix of Tift Blue, Climax, and maybe it was Premier. Gives full season harvest range from early to mid to late. All southern highbush/rabbit eye. Sizes will range from 8-10 foot unpruned at maturity.

Climax - Developed at UGA. But, does not like spring frosts. Good hot season variety. Early variety.
Tifblue - Also a GA development. But, more cold hardy. Late Variety
Premier - So Car State development. Mid season variety. Small er of the 3 at 8 foot mature unpruned.
My dad was an agronomist at UGA. This was always his mix of blueberries for the south's climate.

I would also recommend adding Pink Lemonade Blueberry (Rabbit eye, late season). Crazy non-typical blueberry flavor, ripens red/pink, with a sweet citrus like flavor. One of my favorites and addictive. And all blueberries are inexpensive investments. Just don't go for northern high or low bush varieties down here in the south. Need southern highbush/rabbit eye.

Also helpful tip to get good growth. Blueberries are fond of acidic soil. Plant with a good mix blended with your soil. Mulch with pine straw/pine bark/pine nuggets. The acidity that leaches from a pine based mulch will be a real friend to blueberries. I know one guy that told me his young plants almost doubled in a season after switching to pine based mulch in year 2. Prob good mulch tip for most berry plants. I just raked my mulch back to the edges of my 5 plants and filled in with mini nuggets a few weeks ago after two years. Looking forward to the claim. Also added it to my blackberry and raspberry plantings. Prime Ark Ponca is bush style blackberry and absolute sweetest blackberry I ever ate. And big too. Not a brambler. Actually grows out of a central bush trunk. Still trying to perfect the pruning. I just cut my Triple Crown blackberry and raspberries to the ground instead of remembering how to prune for dual harvest. Might need to decide to prune the triple crown differently.

Edit: Yep. Just did some reading up. Pruned the triple crown to the ground. Should have pruned it as a floricane/prinocane. It may just put out vegetative growth this year ??

Edit Edit - That U of Ark blackberry of mine is Sweet Ark Ponca, not Prime Ark. The Ponca is a florocane producer (berries on previous year growth, which is why I'm not sure if I pruned correctly for a harvest this year, which would have been grand because the plant is thriving). If you want first year harvest, you have to have a Prime (U of Ark) or primocane. They will produce on current growth, as well as put out non bearing growth for next year. Prime Ark freedom is a good primeocane/florocane. As well as Triple Crown. Both thornless. I like that Ponca, because the cane production is fairly tight radius from center. It doesn't sprawl everywhere.

A little late to the party, but I second all of this. Rabbiteye all the way for the south. I have 2 premier, 2 bushnell, and 2 pink lemonade. All are doing well and hopefully I will actually get blueberries this year. Last 2 years the late frost got them but not this year thankfully.

 

[zhangliao04]

Looking for some help:

I have a Romeo cherry bush in the backyard next to a Juliet. The Juliet has bloomed and has some cherries on her and full of leaves. But, the Romeo is taking his sweet time. There are buds, but no bud break has happened even with this nice warm weather. Has anyone ever had this happen to them with a berry bush or fruit tree?

I have performed the scratch test to make sure it’s still alive and it is (checked in multiple spots along the growth from main branch to new branches).

 

[GVF]

Looking for some help:

I have a Romeo cherry bush in the backyard next to a Juliet. The Juliet has bloomed and has some cherries on her and full of leaves. But, the Romeo is taking his sweet time. There are buds, but no bud break has happened even with this nice warm weather. Has anyone ever had this happen to them with a berry bush or fruit tree?

I have performed the scratch test to make sure it’s still alive and it is (checked in multiple spots along the growth from main branch to new branches).

According to gurney's where these came from, the Juliet is an early/mid spring bloomer. romeo is a late spring bloomer, so you should be fine as long as it's healthy.

I had a carmine jewel that absolutely never grew an inch. Year three it was was still a planted 3 foot twig with zero lateral branch growth. Pulled it up and replaced it this year with a Sweetheart Cherry dwarf tree. Gonna keep it pruned up to about 7'. And the Sweetheart fruits a couple years faster than most cherry trees, and it's already a 2 year old planting.

Maybe cherries are slower anyway. My new tree I ordered arrived with bud breaks already on it. It's been in the ground about 3 weeks now, and though they have come on a little they are just getting to about an inch. Very well pruned arrival. Soaked it overnight. Proper planting depth. Everything by the book. Looking healthy so far. I have a pretty mature Gala about 7-8 years old. Planted a Liberty next to it for pollination that's in year 3 and bloomed early. The gala just sat there and had nothing for ever. THen within like 2-3 days it's completely leaved out and bloomed. And still early enough to pollinate with the Liberty.

Gurney's has a flat globe super sweet cling peach I'd like to add.

 

[Tin Man]

Some of the peppers that I grew from seed this past winter have sun scald after two days in the ground. In retrospect, I didn’t stage them properly before putting them into the plot where they have been exposed to 6-7 hours of full sun. Hopefully, the plants will put out new growth, replacing the scalded leaves.

 

[GVF]

Some of the peppers that I grew from seed this past winter have sun scald after two days in the ground. In retrospect, I didn’t stage them properly before putting them into the plot where they have been exposed to 6-7 hours of full sun. Hopefully, the plants will put out new growth, replacing the scalded leaves.

I learned my lesson last year. I didn't rotate the greenhouse door open during the day. Burnt nearly all my seedlings to a crisp. This year the door stays open during daylight and I go close it at sundown. Still running the heat mats and the grow light for a few extra hours at sundown. Keeping door open also has helped with hardening off. The main on both peppers and mater has to be hardened off or they will suffer. Yours may bounch back though. Try putting some cuts of white mesh over them to cool the heat on them and let them recover. If they're not cooked too bad it might work. I check mine with a slight squeeze and bend on the main stalk. If they're remotely tender I wait. Been more diligent and patient checking for that this year than my normal impatience. The cool weather has helped chill me out. Even my store bought peppers are in the greenie hardening off. Had only two peppers some up from saved seed or bought seed. Dragon Cayenne (Though my son says we did Super Chili last year that resembles a cayenne so it may be those). It's a hybrid, so I may not know what I am getting from the seed. It's slow to take though. Only about 2 inches high right now, but it's only mid-april. Bought peppers are Mad Hatter, and some other sweet red and green bell, not California Wonder. Jalapeno and the super chili for the hots. Son has an apparent liking for pepper jelly so hoping for a bumper crop of jalapeno and I'll make him some.

For those not in the know, if you can find a local garden center that carries Mad Hatter do yourself a favor and plant 2. They will bear abundantly and when red are the best sweet peppers you will ever eat. Period. Gotta be patient. Slow to fully ripen for a small pepper. My Mennonite garden center gets the bulk of all his trays from a local grower in KY, and he always has Mad Hatter available. Only place around here to find them. Also carries Dragon Cayenne. A very nice hot hybrid of Dragon Thai and Cayenne. But, for production, I don't think you can beat just a regular ole cayenne.

My seeded tomatoes have done well with my greenhouse temp management. My Missouri Pink Love were getting upward of 12 inches and well stalked, so they went into the ground 3 days ago along with Husky Cherry (bought). My Amish paste are getting there in the next couple days. Just making sure they are hardened well enough. Don't know if it's me or just the tomato but they seem to be thinner stalked. Dr. Wyches yellow is about ready. Atleast one of them. The 2nd one is half hte size of the other. Better Boy (bought) won't be long. Had to buy Cherokee Purple too. Those never germinated from bought seed. I repotted the Cherokee and Better Boy into my air pot seed cups (Best cups hands down for seeding. Amazon. I have the 3"). Love the root development in those things. I will hold back on those till i see the roots hitting the slots. Every year I say I'm gonna order that Coast of Maine seeding mix Exie always louded over but I never do. All my maters germinated and grew except for the cherokee. Seeded some patio's for my neice and got extra on them for me. Dwarf Oloruche orange- 3-4 footer. And Dwarf Orange hat 18" cherry. Those have doubled the last few days. Look mature but still seedlings. Okra still too small to transplant. I'd like to have everything in the ground by mid-May. Tomatoes, peppers, okra from seed. Then direct seed on hte cukes, beans, melons & squash. Strawberries look decent and got a good outcrop of small greenies.

Put in the two small raised tubs. Radishes are up. Carrots are starting to show, and a few japanese white onion are showing now. Potatoes are just through the first level of soil. Give them a week or so and will top them off with more soil.

Spring growth of the figs, raspberries, blackberries, grape all looking good and coming on, and it appears the blueberries survived the late frost snap and will bear well. Sunflowers and Nasturtium are up. Had boat loads of basil seed available as I dried 4 plants in the greenhouse ver the winter for seed, but never trayed any up. Will have to buy a flat. Curly parsley had nice healthy and alive bases from overwintering in straw and came back. Clipped them to ground level and they have thrown up some nive looking bunches. Thyme and Rosemary looking spiffy too. Sage and mint didn't make it. Left the pots on the outside table instead of storing in greenhouse like an idiot. We just need rain in a bad way. Been a abnormally dry spring up here for us so far.

Erry body has their thing, but tomato planting tips I practice when I don't wait till last minute or plant ona whim...I dig deep. If I have some small fish available I put 2-3 in, cover with a couple inches soil then the tomato. Season long feeding. Go bream fishing the morning you plan on planting. A decent size bream you only need one fish. They will decompose slowly and feed the crap out of those maters. In the past, I have gone to the bait store and bought a couple dozen large shad. If not, I use epsom salt base, then soil to separate direct salt contact, like the fish, then the plant. Unless all your tomatoes are ready to plant at same time, this is more convenient. And I mix potting soil with my soil as I fill the hole. Got atleast 4 inches of the tomato under ground. My planting space is mulched so even with the dry spring my soil was not dry. And plenty of worms when I dug. Yeah boy. Deep planting with a fish or epsom salt layered underneath and mulch, and you will have a nice crop with a lot less watering.

 

[zhangliao04]

According to gurney's where these came from, the Juliet is an early/mid spring bloomer. romeo is a late spring bloomer, so you should be fine as long as it's healthy.

I had a carmine jewel that absolutely never grew an inch. Year three it was was still a planted 3 foot twig with zero lateral branch growth. Pulled it up and replaced it this year with a Sweetheart Cherry dwarf tree. Gonna keep it pruned up to about 7'. And the Sweetheart fruits a couple years faster than most cherry trees, and it's already a 2 year old planting.

Maybe cherries are slower anyway. My new tree I ordered arrived with bud breaks already on it. It's been in the ground about 3 weeks now, and though they have come on a little they are just getting to about an inch. Very well pruned arrival. Soaked it overnight. Proper planting depth. Everything by the book. Looking healthy so far. I have a pretty mature Gala about 7-8 years old. Planted a Liberty next to it for pollination that's in year 3 and bloomed early. The gala just sat there and had nothing for ever. THen within like 2-3 days it's completely leaved out and bloomed. And still early enough to pollinate with the Liberty.

Gurney's has a flat globe super sweet cling peach I'd like to add.

I plan on letting it keep going because it’s alive so right now there is no reason to remove it. It grew pretty well last year and I hope it will this year as well. The Juliet has a hand full of cherries growing on it right now. These were bought in May 2024 so I don’t really expect them to start truly producing until next year.

Peach trees grew really well last year. The late frost we got this year destroyed the buds on both of them, but the contender had some late buds form that didn’t get bit by the frost so I have a hand full of peaches trying to grow now.

Blueberries looking good. Raspberries looking good.

Which donut peach tree (flat globe) are you looking at? Saturn or Galaxy? I really want to try one or the other, but I’m running out of space in the yard (I don’t have much).

 

[GVF]

I plan on letting it keep going because it’s alive so right now there is no reason to remove it. It grew pretty well last year and I hope it will this year as well. The Juliet has a hand full of cherries growing on it right now. These were bought in May 2024 so I don’t really expect them to start truly producing until next year.

Peach trees grew really well last year. The late frost we got this year destroyed the buds on both of them, but the contender had some late buds form that didn’t get bit by the frost so I have a hand full of peaches trying to grow now.

Blueberries looking good. Raspberries looking good.

Which donut peach tree (flat globe) are you looking at? Saturn or Galaxy? I really want to try one or the other, but I’m running out of space in the yard (I don’t have much).

My guess is it'll be ok. You already checked it for dead wood. And you got plenty of buds. I'd say it's just being a late spring Romeo and it's not time yet to be in full spring bloom. It'll probably take off in may.

I had to replace my peach this year. Other one did good, but the damage the buck did to year before last during the rut...it just never bounced back and got the black sticky bark from all the rubbing. I was late getting the trunk protectors on and he broke a bunch od branches off after he cleaned the bark off. Got the new apple tree too at same time but not nearly as bad and now in the second spring since then has recovered quite well. Garden center guy told me to also put stakes about waist high around the young trees in the fall and string up fishing line around the tree far enough out they can feel it before getting to tree. Like maybe 18-24" circle. Deer can't see it in the dark, and the feel of the fishing line spooks them.

Picked out a very nicely developed replacement potted contender peach (2 yo) and is doing great. I dump a gallon of water twice a week at ball for a couple months regardless of rain fall. This is a must according to the garden center. The Contender is a late blooming peach so works well here. Frost may have got some buds, but it now has has about half dozen fuzzy orbs showing and only been in ground a few weeks. I picked a slighly smaller one that had a great full form already devleoped. Watched a few videos on ptuning peaches. Looked like this one was already done like hte videos so I only clipped some brown ends. Let it get growth this year then mull it over in the fall. They say to take out the central leader on a peach pretty low, whereas you leave it on an apple. Shape it pretty open habitat. And on any fruit tree, take out all growth growing back to center, and new verticals coming off the shaped branches you left intact. They were doing all this as soon as planted and said no matter how much it hurts, just do it, and get that central leader cut out if it was not pruned properly at thee nursery.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

Mater question or two ...
I have 3 varieties going. The Roma and cherry tomatoes usually do well here in S. Louisiana, but I feel like I am in a race to get my Cherokee Purples to make fruit before it gets too hot here. All of mine are in bloom right now ... I have some blossom set spray -- should I apply that, or just leave well enough alone? I have never used that spray before.

 

[zhangliao04]

My guess is it'll be ok. You already checked it for dead wood. And you got plenty of buds. I'd say it's just being a late spring Romeo and it's not time yet to be in full spring bloom. It'll probably take off in may.

I had to replace my peach this year. Other one did good, but the damage the buck did to year before last during the rut...it just never bounced back and got the black sticky bark from all the rubbing. I was late getting the trunk protectors on and he broke a bunch od branches off after he cleaned the bark off. Got the new apple tree too at same time but not nearly as bad and now in the second spring since then has recovered quite well. Garden center guy told me to also put stakes about waist high around the young trees in the fall and string up fishing line around the tree far enough out they can feel it before getting to tree. Like maybe 18-24" circle. Deer can't see it in the dark, and the feel of the fishing line spooks them.

Picked out a very nicely developed replacement potted contender peach (2 yo) and is doing great. I dump a gallon of water twice a week at ball for a couple months regardless of rain fall. This is a must according to the garden center. The Contender is a late blooming peach so works well here. Frost may have got some buds, but it now has has about half dozen fuzzy orbs showing and only been in ground a few weeks. I picked a slighly smaller one that had a great full form already devleoped. Watched a few videos on ptuning peaches. Looked like this one was already done like hte videos so I only clipped some brown ends. Let it get growth this year then mull it over in the fall. They say to take out the central leader on a peach pretty low, whereas you leave it on an apple. Shape it pretty open habitat. And on any fruit tree, take out all growth growing back to center, and new verticals coming off the shaped branches you left intact. They were doing all this as soon as planted and said no matter how much it hurts, just do it, and get that central leader cut out if it was not pruned properly at thee nursery.

Yep, I got a Belle of Georgia peach and a Contender peach both in the backyard. Frost got the Belle’s buds, but I have some small fuzzy balls growing on the contender. This year was the first time I did any pruning. This will be the second full year in the ground and they took off last year so I expect another wonderful growing year. Pruned the leader and any branches growing straight up or towards the center. It does feel like your hurting it, but when you remember that you want good sized peaches and you’re also making sure there is some energy for the tree to put into root development that helps with the sorrow that comes with each snip.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

My guess is it'll be ok. You already checked it for dead wood. And you got plenty of buds. I'd say it's just being a late spring Romeo and it's not time yet to be in full spring bloom. It'll probably take off in may.

I had to replace my peach this year. Other one did good, but the damage the buck did to year before last during the rut...it just never bounced back and got the black sticky bark from all the rubbing. I was late getting the trunk protectors on and he broke a bunch od branches off after he cleaned the bark off. Got the new apple tree too at same time but not nearly as bad and now in the second spring since then has recovered quite well. Garden center guy told me to also put stakes about waist high around the young trees in the fall and string up fishing line around the tree far enough out they can feel it before getting to tree. Like maybe 18-24" circle. Deer can't see it in the dark, and the feel of the fishing line spooks them.

Picked out a very nicely developed replacement potted contender peach (2 yo) and is doing great. I dump a gallon of water twice a week at ball for a couple months regardless of rain fall. This is a must according to the garden center. The Contender is a late blooming peach so works well here. Frost may have got some buds, but it now has has about half dozen fuzzy orbs showing and only been in ground a few weeks. I picked a slighly smaller one that had a great full form already devleoped. Watched a few videos on ptuning peaches. Looked like this one was already done like hte videos so I only clipped some brown ends. Let it get growth this year then mull it over in the fall. They say to take out the central leader on a peach pretty low, whereas you leave it on an apple. Shape it pretty open habitat. And on any fruit tree, take out all growth growing back to center, and new verticals coming off the shaped branches you left intact. They were doing all this as soon as planted and said no matter how much it hurts, just do it, and get that central leader cut out if it was not pruned properly at thee nursery.

Do you ever use blossom-set spray on tomatoes? Under what circumstances might that be needed? We never had that, back in the day.

 

[GVF]

Do you ever use blossom-set spray on tomatoes? Under what circumstances might that be needed? We never had that, back in the day.

Never used and not sure what it is. I depend on whether or not I planted good and what Mother Nature does for me.

 

[GVF]

Mater question or two ...
I have 3 varieties going. The Roma and cherry tomatoes usually do well here in S. Louisiana, but I feel like I am in a race to get my Cherokee Purples to make fruit before it gets too hot here. All of mine are in bloom right now ... I have some blossom set spray -- should I apply that, or just leave well enough alone? I have never used that spray before.

I didn't see this above your reply to me. What I suggest is if you got a trellis of some sort you support your maters with, put some cross pieces at the top and stretch some shade window screen or something similar accross the top over those tomatoes that don't like the high heat. Or rig something up where you can do that. something that will still pass light and rain but set up some shade. That'll cut the temp at hte plants 10-15 degrees atleast. Something like this maybe from HD. Affordaable in 4'x7' roll.

I have steel t-posts with 2x2' verticals and horizontals strapped to them, with a durable garden mesh strung up to tie them to. (the green one on amazon works great for me. Heavy duty and perfect size. Got two rows of this for maters 3-4 feet apart and can do 12 plants. Would be simple for me to throw some cross pieces for a top frame and add this if I needed. I've thought about it, but i usually get by even in our july/august heat up here. Definitely could help you down there, especially for the cherokee purple. My wife's family hails from down around St. Martinville by the way. But they been gone for over 45 years. Still got relatives scattered there and SW Bama.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

Thanks a bunch. Will try this!