I didn't want to do the home garden end of April post the same day as the plots post. Then yesterday we had harvest Monday. Some of these pics were taken the last day of April and some of them today.
Click on any picture to enlarge
The cold frame beds have been re-planted where there was available space.
In the left bed, I planted some leeks in the very back where the chard was, 3 peppers and some young lettuce seedlings. In the right bed 2 peppers, 4 eggplants, some dill and more onion sets were put in.The Kozy Koats were removed from the early tomato plants since they seemed to need some air from all of the rain we have been having. I think that they are much happier without them. If you click on the picture you can see that somebody took a liking to two of the eggplant the first night that they were in. The munching has seemed to stop now though.
Left pic: Snow Peas in bed next door are doing great. Right pic: The garlic bed with peas. I think that the Spring Blush Snap Peas have had 100% germination and are much much bigger then the Little Marvel English Peas in this bed.
The potatoes are coming up under their protective wire. The new growth on the celery is much darker green then the old. I think that many of the plants just got too much rain here at the house.
A couple of ground cherry plants were put in two of the patio planters and the lilacs are blooming!
Left, one of the early tomatoes before I took the cloches off. Right, the early tomatoes in the greenhouse bed. The tomato plants in the greenhouse bed are doing the best since they were protected from all of the rain.
Granny's seed mats for the carrots are doing great! These are some planted in between the tomatoes in the greenhouse bed. All of the carrots in the pots are also doing great...Thanks Granny!!
Then there is the later tomato plant dilemma!
All of the later tomatoes were doing very well until after I up-potted them. They were slowly turning bright green and some of them even had some yellow leaves on them. I gave them fish & seaweed fertilizer but they did not improve. I really think that it had something to do with the second bail of potting mix that I got since everything else including the early tomatoes were fine. Yesterday, I mixed some good dirt, compost, other potting soil and organic tomato fertilizer together in the wheelbarrow. The worst plants were thrown out and the rest were re-potted with the mixture. I am keeping them out of direct sunlight and slighty protected for a few days. Keep your fingers crossed for me please!! I have never ever had an issue with my tomato plants. It's a good thing that I had many more then I needed!
Robin, your end-of-April garden is looking beautiful and green! As impatient as I am, I still love all the plants at this "toddler" stage with oh-so-much potential. As for your later tomatoes, I'm crossing my fingers for you. Maybe my toes, too. I, too, am having major problems with my tomato seedlings (I will be posting about it tomorrow), although I think most of my tomatoes have already cross that line of no return.
ReplyDeleteMinji, oh no ...you too! Granny was also having a problem with her tomatoes! I am sure it was something in the second bale of potting mix. I just went downstairs to check on the few things that are growing and they are potted in the new soil and not looking all that great.
ReplyDeleteLook at all those tomatoes! There's nothing that doesn't love eggplant it seems, most pests prefer it over all others! I plant eggplant all around my potatoes and it keeps the Colorado beetles and flea beetles off them LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the seed mats worked for you. Mine are doing great, too.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think your tomatoes looked so bad. Not the dark green like usual, but not as yellow as my Brandywines. My Cherokee Purples were looking great until I left them out for one night. Now they are looking yellowish, too. I still think it's just because they are so cold. Every year my beans come up looking yellow, but as soon as it warms up they turn dark green.
My tomatoes look good, but some of them took so long to germinate they are just getting their first true leaves. The ones on schedule could go into the garden next week depending on the weather. Heck they could go in this week but I don't like the cold front coming through on Thursday so I'll wait.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is looking great. Now all you need is sun.
Erin, I have never had anything bother the eggplant. But these are in one of the cold frame beds and I think that I will have more pests in them since they didn't go through the real cold.
ReplyDeleteGranny, Those seed mats are the bomb! They are all germinating well with the exception of the one bed where Miss Banand decided to dig them up...and she is the good cat!! I threw the really bads tomato plants out. I don't want to start the season with plants that are not healthy. I just won't have any to sell at the flea market. It really hasn't been that cold here, not like what you have been having. I am hoping that they will be looking better by the weekend.
Daphne, it is so strange for me to have a problem with my tomato plants. My pepper plants look better then ever though.
Robin, don't give up on your tomatoes. I think they will pull through with some tlc.
ReplyDeleteI put my tomatoes out without the cozy coats. I decided it was warm enough and they needed the sun. I guess I;ll use the cozy coates/wall o water for the peppers and eggplants.
Thanks for posting a picture of your carrots. I've never seen them as seedlings and didn't know what to look for with our own. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteAnd talk about rain. Someone told me this year we've gotten more than 8 inches above the regular amount. That's a lot of rain!
The world has gone mad; you guys have got English weather, we we've got warmth and sunshine.
ReplyDeleteMy tomatoes seem to crave light more than anything else.
Still no rain here - we could do with some of yours.
ReplyDeleteWe too have problems with unreliability of composts as you say some plants seem to starve of any nutrients. The results are variable even in the same brands.
Marcia, I'm not giving up. I hope that this new soil will do the trick. I may move them inside or in to the greenhouse for the next couple of nights since it is supposed to be cooler.
ReplyDeleteJody, That's what they look like when they first come up. They will change when they get their first true leaves. This rain is crazy...more today.
IG, I think we should exchange weather for a few days!
Sue, I really think it had something to do with the soil since I didn't do anything different. The soil was the same brand
I often have heavy seedling loss on the first big tomato potting up. I think it is indeed the soil mix being not right sometimes but I know that occassionally it is me not being as careful with the plants as I should be. The survivors go on to be just fine and probably are stronger as a result of the "trial". :D
ReplyDeleteLaura, I'm just going to really keep an eye on them and make sure that they don't get stressed from the elements. It's very damp and cold today so my husband and I just brought them in to the house. The temps will be back to normal within a day or two and they will go back outside.
ReplyDeleteI lost some of my second batch of tomatoes, too. But the ones you have growing in your greenhouse look great! Only a few of mine are that big ...
ReplyDeleteDeb, I think it is so wierd that several of us have had problems with tomatoes this year. Minji, at Thyme to Garden Now also lost tomatoes. I think mine are starting to look a little better already. We brought them in the house today because we just got a cold snap with some wind and they are going to get the Royal treatment!
ReplyDelete