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mid-summer report card for my garden

12 years ago

Well, my first season with my new garden is in serious jeopardy. My cukes are pathetic (I only picked 2 thus far) and my tomatoes are way behind schedule. Only my herbs are making out OK. Am I being too critical? See pics below.

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Comments (9)

  • 12 years ago

    It's a lovely set up, but possibly a little crowded. Some of the tomatoes look OK, but others look like they are hungry and thirsty. They don't usually start ripening for me in zone 6 until midJuly, so there's still time for them. I see a lot of wilting (lack of water? Disease?) and possibly powdery mildew on the cucumber leaves and what appears to be watermelon. Are you fertilizing and watering regularly? What is your soil like?

  • 12 years ago

    How does your weather compare to last year? That's a factor we can't control, and it can have a big influence on how our garden grows.

  • 12 years ago

    I think I see powdery mildew.

  • 12 years ago

    Didn't you guys have, like a 2 week monster hot spell? That could make them sad. My maters seemed to drop most of their flowers after a few days of 100+, but are now recovering.
    You are still ahead of me! I just have a dozen or so tiny maters and no cukes! My eggplants are whimpy! I am starting to get peppers, though.
    Good luck and don't be afraid to try again in the fall or next year! Nancy

  • 12 years ago

    What is that stuff on your squash leaves?

  • 12 years ago

    Answers to questions:

    1) I haven't been fertilizing regularly, whatever that means. I top-dressed the soil with the contents of my compost tumbler about a month after planting. Last week I added organic veggie food (granules) hoping to see improvement.

    2) Watering tomatoes...I was always told that tomatoes do not like a lot of water. I typically water my garden every 2-3 days in the evening with a shower nozzle at the base of every plant. Not a lot, just enough to soak the ground in the entire raised bed frame.

    3) I have cukes at the front of the trellis and yellow squash and zuchinni at the back. In retrospect the squash should not be there due to space issues, lesson learned. However all of my zuchinni flowers have died and I don't know why.

    4) I noticed that powdery mildew as well. What is it? Causes? Can I get rid of it?

    This is the my first stab at gardening in our new house so I don't have anything else to compare to except our previous home where every crop pretty much flourished. My tomato plants are very wimpy looking in terms of the number of branches and fruit compared to my previous garden. I picked a few ripening cherry tomatoes yesterday. They are about half the size of a normal cherry tomato. I joked to my kids and told them that they are blueberry tomatoes.

  • 12 years ago

    Your plants are producing pretty well for as spindly as they are. I think they need a deep, deep soaking, not just wetting the surface as you've been doing. The ones in the pots especially look stressed.

    You might look for a complete liquid fertilizer. By the time your plants can take up the slow-release stuff, the season will be mostly over.

    I think neem oil works best on powdery mildew, but you need to be careful with it, not to apply in the heat of a sunny day, and not if bees are present. It's also an insecticide. There are other fungicides like daconil.

  • 12 years ago

    I love your set up! But maybe they are too close tog. Spread them out more. This summer's heat has been extreme and not so much rain. I also agree more watering is necessary. I'm no expert and pretty novice, myself. Did you get some good storms this wkend and last night? That should be very beneficial to your gardens. I am thinking I have powdery mildew too, on my zukes. I'm going to consider pulling them out now as much as I hate to. I'll put something else in there. Maybe some broccoli for a fall crop.
    Why not pull some stuff out and put in some fall veggies?

  • 12 years ago

    10% milk to 90% water as a foliar spray to control powdery mildew. also vinegar and baking soda good solution.

    cucumbers are water stressed and nutrient stressed. listen to the people on this site and they will give you good pointers in the right direction to go.