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[Leslie <cayadopi AT yahoo.com>]

Potatoes - RONNIGERS  on line order - (I had no trouble with my order.  They 
even called right before my requested ship date, since it was still too cold 
in 
their location, and suggested I delay, I agreed, and picked another week - 
and 
they arrived right on time).  They have A LOT of varieties.  Everything 
received 
was really good quality.


Bees - the hardest thing for me to get used to is all kinds of bees buzzing 
right around me - the pretty much ignore me, and the big black ones will fly 
right up to me and then lower themselves into a flower right next to my 
hand...

Corn - I'm in a windy area also - but last year was windier than this year 
and I 
had a much better crop.  Both times 4 rows, same E-W row direction.  One of 
my 
friends that grows corn suggested I plant mine 9" apart (further than 
recommended) - he states he gets much bigger ears this way.

Onions - I wish I knew what I planted this year - I cheated and used sets - 
sweet, red & yellow.  Sweet and Red pretty much completely done now.  3-4" 
across the globes.  Planted in March 25th, harvested July 25th (just a few 
left 
of the sweet & red).  Yellows are still growing.  I also started yellow from 
seed, and just transplanted it into the garden about 2 weeks ago.  Those will 
be 
ready before fall also, if anything like last year.  They did better/bigger 
with 
more water compared to last year, and both times just manure for fertilizer.

Sweet Potatoes - hmmmmmmmmmmm. maybe mine are hiding..... :-)  I've only 
poked 
my figner thru finger depth though.  I feel the tap root, but nothing 
swollen......

Beans -
Red Mexican - Vermont Bean Co (online)

Black - oops not Coco, Turtle.  I got the turtles from RH Shumway in late 
2008, 
planted them last year, and this year I planted from seeds saved from those.  
But I did order Black 

Coco's from Vermon Bean .... but that isn't what I planted this year.

I didn't like the Low's Red Champs b-t-w - they look "ill", both the plant 
and 
most of the beans.
Other beans from Vermont planted this year Peregion (fine) Ying-Yang (fine) 
Asparagus (some are fine, but some of the beans are kind of curly looking 
instead of smooth, but first year I'm not sure what would be normal - I might 
not be picking them soon enough).

Actually I'm pretty sure that all of the seed I have order from Shumway has 
been 
good seed, healthy plants, good sprouting rates, btw.  They just don't have 
all 
the different heirlooms.


Tomatoes- last year I had for a short period of time that blossom end 
thing........ but that went away rather quickly.  It was only on the end of 
the 
Romas.  I think I have actually seen a few tomatoes with the black on the 
inside, but nothing on the outside.... back in FL, which would have been a 
plant bought at the store - so who knows what it was.


 
Thanks for the garden info..
Comments interspersed..


Leslie wrote:
> 
>    This year, I planted 12 diffferent potato varieties.    

Where did you get your potatoes?



> WINTER SQUASH  Last year the spaghetti squash was planted 150 feet away 
> from 
>the zucchini and blue hubbard in the other garden.  I have very happy very 
>busy 
>bees.)
> 
>    I planted some varieties I've never heard of, in addition to acorn, 
>butternut, blue and warted hubbard.  I planted Georgia Candy Roaster, and 
>Pink 
>Banana - these squash are huge ! and prolific.  They have grown right over 
>and 
>thru the garden fence and are still putting out new "babies" (I just 
>discovered 
>the vines can have a diameter of 80 feet, so that explains why I couldn't 
>contain them in the garden).  Last count there were 14 large ones (about 3' 
>in 
>diameter, but shaped like a torpedo).    
>
WOW!
It is good to have busy bees.  Since my neighbor got bees, I can see a 
difference in pollination here, in a lot of crops..





> 
> CORN
>    99%  failure this year.  Apparently I am still not getting corn enough 
>fertilizer; the stalks are short, the ears are down by the ground, and 
>didn't 
>get pollinated correctly.  Found a local who grows corn and he's going to 
>help 
>next year.
>  

I am also failing at getting a lot of corn.  Lodging is my problem-or maybe 
it 
is a symptom...windy location?  not enough sun to make thick stalks? I dunno.


> ONIONS
>    Grow great here, just toss the seed in the ground (3 seeds per inch) in 
>November according to the professional onion grower down the road from me.  
>My 
>sweet onions are nearly all harvested now.  I remembered the professional 
>farmer 
>lost a lot of onions to too much rain a couple years ago (flooding), and 
>since 
>we're under a flash flood watch, I pulled up all the onions that have broken 
>over - time to pull anyway, and I'm hoping the onion patch doesn't get too 
>much 
>more rain as the soil here holds water fairly well 4" below the surface.
>  

I can't seem to grow big onions...timing just isn't right...


> SWEET POTATOES
>    I'm at about day 90 for a 110 day variety........ I've wiggled a finger 
>into 
>the soil here and there but I don't really feel any sweet pototoes.  How 
>deep 
>are they?
>  

right at the surface.  Mine grow literally at the base of the plant, and 
often 
you can see the orange poking out of the hill, especially if a good rain has 
eroded some soil off the hill.

>    Red Mexicans....... wow!  very prolific and nice dried beans.    Can't 
>wait 
>to cook some up.
> 
>    Black Coco are also very prolific for dried beans.
>  
Where did you get the seed?  I'd like to try these.



> 
> TOMATOES
>    Lost the entire crop this year to that virus that many had last year.  
I'm getting lots of tomatoes this year, but I'm seeing a virus in my Roma X 
Amish paste that I have never seen before.  The  plant and fruit looks 
perfect, 
but inside, there is a black, hard, atrophied area at the seed core where 
there 
are underdeveloped seeds.  I've been slicing the tomatoes lengthwise and 
scooping out the dime sized bad area, but I would like to know what caused 
it.  
I've been saving these tomato seeds for a few years now.  They are good paste 
tomatoes, mostly a cross between Roma and Amish paste-pear shaped and larger 
than the average Roma, but I haven't seen this problem before.  Is it a bug, 
a 
climate-related disease, or a virus?  I haven't seen this occur in any of the 
other varieties.


Bev


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From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT gmail.com>
To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Mon, July 26, 2010 1:37:53 PM
Subject: Re: [Homestead] varieties of this and that




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Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:10:07 -0400
From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT gmail.com>
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Subject: Re: [Homestead] Corn and Tomatoes, was varieties of this and that
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It sounds like a virus...if you come up with a solution, I'd be all ears!
Glad I am not the only one with mutant toms!


Jeanne Driese wrote:
> Bev....I have the exact same thing on the roma type of tomato I have.  It 
> was a shock when I cut it into slices and found that icky spot.  The 
> variety was a gift from a friend who raised the plants from seed in her 
> green house in sterile soil.  It was transplanted into organic growing 
> medium and I transplanted two plants into my 22 inch diameter by 18 inch 
> deep black plastic tubs.  The tomatoes are called Healthy Kick.  The Dirt I 
> used to fill my containers was a mix of compost (organic), peat moss and 
> vermiculite.  This was the second year I planted in that mix so this spring 
> I added 2 inches of compost and after the plants were in I used an inch or 
> two of shredded mixed leaves to retain the water.
> That's my story!
> Jeanne
>
>
> From: EarthNSky
> Sent: Monday, July 26, 2010 4:27 PM
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Corn and Tomatoes, was varieties of this and that
>
>
> I don't think it is a calcium deficiency because the soil test shows
> that it is actually calcium rich.  (I do add eggshells though, btw).
> Anyway the Ca may be bound and locked up by something else, but there is
> Ca in the soil.  This is definitely not what I would describe as a
> cavity.  It is more like a blackened core, and is only on one side (when
> I cut the tomato longways).  Externally, the toms and plants are picture
> perfect, and this only is affecting 20-30 percent of all of  Roma types,
> not every tom is affected.  The defect that I am picking out is the size
> of a dime, and looks like a smashed, blackened strawberry due to the
> white immature seeds.  Adjacent flesh and seeds seem normal.  I guess
> the best description would be a flattened tumor within the core of the
> tomato.
>
>
>
>>> snip<   I'm getting lots of tomatoes this year, but I'm seeing a
>>> virus in my Roma X Amish paste that I have never seen before.  The
>>> plant and fruit looks perfect, but inside, there is a black, hard,
>>> atrophied area at the seed core where there are underdeveloped
>>> seeds.  I've been slicing the tomatoes lengthwise and scooping out
>>> the dime sized bad area, but I would like to know what caused it.
>>> I've been saving these tomato seeds for a few years now.  They are
>>> good paste tomatoes, mostly a cross between Roma and Amish paste-pear
>>> shaped and larger than the average Roma, but I haven't seen this
>>> problem before.  Is it a bug, a climate-related disease, or a virus?
>>> I haven't seen this occur in any of the other varieties.
>>>
>>>
>> Your tomato problem is possibly a calcium difficiency.  It not only
>> causes
>> blossom end rot and leaf curl but will sometimes cause what they call a
>> "cavity".  Usually not in tomatoes but I have seen it happen.  Put
>> lots of
>> crushed up egg shells in the ground that winter and the following year I
>> didn't have the problem.
>>
>>
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