Weather & Conditions
Another very humid partly cloudy morning with a low of 76°F and a heat advisory by 10 a.m. High 93°F but feeling a lot warmer with the humidity. I stayed till about 10 a.m.
Finally Done Planting
I planted the last 6 tomatoes and they were 2 Big Beef, 2 False Big Beef, and 2 Rio Grande. I decided to use the larger False Big Beef in the Pickle Patch where one Big Beef regular died. I still have a couple of tomatoes, but they are clearly the 2nd stringers as Jersey Devil I can tell is stunted as it is already blocky in the growing container. I guess I am not that enthused about these anymore as they are not the real Jersey tomatoes that I thought I bought. Esty strikes again.
Since it is hot like yesterday, I am so glad I premeasured the 6 containers of my amendment mix. This saved me a little time. Planting only took me about 30 minutes to plant all 6. When I took out the one that collapsed, I could see it had only several threads holding the plant together. I believe it is the work of cutworms as it is exactly at the soil level. The rest of the plant looks fine — roots and leaves.
Toilet Paper Ring
The toilet paper ring I learned about on a recent YouTube video showing what his grandma did. I find it funny since I am a grandma, but I guess he meant my grandmas, as they lived during the Depression. I decided that since I was planting a lot of smaller tomato plants today, they all received the toilet paper roll ring of protection from cutworms.
I had to tweak it a little, as I could not slip it over the root ball and 4 inches was too long for my plants. My adjustment was simple: cut the tubes in half and then cut down the side to easily slip it on the plant and make sure it is pushed down into the top of the root ball and is poking out above the soil. The roll stays closed by pressing soil against the overlap.
You are probably wondering how I have so many empty rolls, and if you guessed that I use them in my Amish compost then you get a gold star. Here is what it looks like before and after.
Tidying Up RRR
Now that I am finally finished planting the fall tomatoes, I wanted to tidy up the RRR from the dead April tomatoes. I wanted to make sure they were gone, as they could be the culprit of spreading disease like early blight to my June transplants. So out with the old — and I mean out. Diseased plants never go into the compost unless you want trouble later on.
Even though Rudy has landscape fabric, that doesn’t mean it stays weed‑free. The weeds were tall, and today I spent time mowing them down. On my “To Do List,” I plan to get the weeds out of the planting holes and plant a trap crop, like curly mustard, for the new tomato plants. This is one reason why Rudy has at least four layers of fabric, and when he is actively gardening he sprays weed killer.
When I thought he wasn’t coming back, I already had plans to rip up the fabric and start my box method, which I have to say is working well now that I know what to do. I lay several thicknesses of boxes down first so over time it gets a good seal, and then I come back and currently use grass on top of the boxes.
Now it seems like most of the weeds are in the old planting holes or in the spaces where the borage and calendula died. Again, this is all on my “To Do List,” and little by little I am making a dent in how I want my gardens to be more natural — like the Amish.
I Spied
My garlic pepper spray did not work as there were whole leaves gone and some remnants of leaves on the ground. I tend to think it is Peter Rabbit munching on them — what else can it be? I didn’t have any ground red pepper to sprinkle on the leaves, so I am trying cinnamon and diatomaceous (DE) earth in hopes to stall Pete for one day.
This time I sprayed heavily around the plant and I decided to use the bits of cayenne pepper and garlic in and around the plants. I don’t know if any of these plants will make it. I also replanted as I thought I didn’t have good germination — maybe I didn’t see the plants as they were quickly eaten by Pete.
I Decided
I decided it was getting too hot, and all I had time to do was water all the tomato plants since they needed it after being transplanted. Once I finished at mine, I went to the Learning Plot, checked the mounds, and watered them since they were dry. I now have two zucchinis coming on and a few more cucumbers. The pumpkin transplants are taking off, and the watermelons are not far behind.
I picked a few Bradley tomatoes. I planted these because they were developed at the University of Arkansas — my alma mater — and should grow better in the southern states. So far I do not see any advantage, but then my trip impacted my trials.
Tomorrow is going to be an easy day as my grandson is coming with me. So tomorrow’s agenda: water, box, and harvest.