woodeye
Fish whisperer, scholar, and gentleman
Backbone 2012 Greenthumb
Catch and Release Straight into the Grease!!
Posts: 250
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Post by woodeye on Jun 29, 2013 10:20:19 GMT -5
Good idea Splash! So everything is growing really well now. Warm weather and tons of rain has been great. I am somewhat confused why my squash plant has slowed while my Zuke plant has surpassed it. It is still growing, but has slowed down a lot. Maybe it is not getting as much sun? It is also in an area that I expanded this year, so soil may not be as good. I finally have bean plants growing up!! Should have beans already, but at least they are finally growing. Tomato plants will be as tall as me soon, way better than last year! I will try to get pics today.
So two questions today. 1st is when going all organic with zero chemicals, are there any good weed remedies? I am having trouble keeping up due to a 2.5 year old and 1 month old son. I pick em as much as I can but they are starting to win with this great growing weather.
Second question is do you have any tips for getting pepper plants to grow better? I am getting peppers on them, but the plants are not getting very big this year. Tomato plants are huge, pepper plants are not. I have noticed they got bigger this past week though, so maybe they were just slow. I will get pics up of everything real soon. Pre-pics and current pics.
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Post by SPLASH on Jul 8, 2013 13:18:47 GMT -5
Maybe I'll answer your questions when you remember to post pics? As for the pepper plants. Most of mine are smaller plants, but still producing. I've had a couple Hungarian yellow wax plants put out peppers bigger than the plant is. I started plucking blooms early when they appear on a couple plants and that helped the plant grow larger. I fertilized one week longer on peppers with blood meal after I had switched everything else to bone meal. The extra nitrogen should help the plant grow larger. I think lack of sun lately and the beginning be so cool stunted the pepper plants. They like it hot. The past couple weeks we've had temps up, but cloudy. Hang in there with the peppers, once they decide to grow, they will fast. As for organic weed control....................... Not sure if there is a product? I wouldn't use anything that kills or deters growth in my garden. Think about it............ How does a chemical know what to kill? It doesn't know the difference between what we want to grow and weeds. Read up on how microbes in the soil are key to growing a healthy garden. If nature doesn't put it in the soil, it's bad for microbes. I clean the open areas and between rows with a stirrup hoe. They have a few names. It's basically a metal stirrup at the end of the handle. It works great for weeding, loosening and aerating the soil. Up close to plants, it's hand pulling. It seems that if I never let the weeds get out of control at the beginning, it's easier to maintain. This year all the rain has made this difficult. I've only watered twice from my soaker hose. Now post those pics!
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woodeye
Fish whisperer, scholar, and gentleman
Backbone 2012 Greenthumb
Catch and Release Straight into the Grease!!
Posts: 250
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Post by woodeye on Aug 4, 2013 14:09:07 GMT -5
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Relic
Fish whisperer, scholar, and gentleman
Where's my jerky?
Posts: 410
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Post by Relic on Aug 5, 2013 6:06:40 GMT -5
Very nice Woodeye....
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woodeye
Fish whisperer, scholar, and gentleman
Backbone 2012 Greenthumb
Catch and Release Straight into the Grease!!
Posts: 250
|
Post by woodeye on Aug 5, 2013 9:52:02 GMT -5
I have only got one ripe tomato so far. There are tons on the plant. Should I thin some of the branches to let light get to the fruit or just let it be. I had the same issue last year with all the maters turning ripe late in the season. Ideas? I pulled suckers off for most of the growing, but have not in a long time. I have been gone a lot so I have neglected a little.
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