I started a garden late last year out back on the rocky hillside behind my apartment. Now it is not my first garden, I have had many, but by no means am I, or would I consider myself an astute gardener.
Last year, on a whim, I dug some holes about 3� x 3� added some bagged garden soil to the dug up earth and pulled out most if not all of the rocks over 1". The seeds where heirloom survival seeds I bought on Ebay. I wanted to test them out to see what I had so I germinated some tomatoes, cucumber and zucchini. Seeds that I know grow good in my area. To my surprise, every single one of the seeds sprouted and took even though it was very late in the season, started beginning of August. I got a very large harvest of zucchini and cucumber but the tomatoes never ripened.
I was so amazed how well these seeds did in this hostile rocky environment on the side of a fairly steep hillside that I set out to do it again this year. But I would try to give the whole thing a bit more attention or, do it right this time.
Early on, in late January, I enlarged the existing holes and added several more. I added some compost and organic fertilizer to the mix and tilled it up about every other week. I planted seedling that I germinated from the same seeds as last year in the middle of April. They all took again. I even took some cuttings from one particularly vigorous tomato plant and got them to root.
The first tomatoes on that plant were looking just about ripe enough yesterday June 1st, so I picked one and sliced it up, sprinkled a little salt. It was very disappointingly mushy and mealy.
After reading some of the posts on this site I am pretty sure I am over watering the tomatoes. And the hillside gets direct sun 2/3 rds. of the day. Night time temperatures have been chilly lately. Into the 50�s but the days have been pretty warm. I am sure the ph is on the acidy side because of a large pine tree just above the garden. Lots of pine needles all around. Also last year, the zucchini got the worst powdery mildew I have ever seen on a plant. I was thinking it was because I let them go well into November since they started so late.
This year aphids or something seems to be starting to attack the cucumber and lower leafs of a tomato that is higher up the hill and in more of the shade of that pine tree. I am afraid that they will spread out to the other plants very soon if I don�t act quickly. What is the best way to control these little pests with the least amount of harm to the plants and their fruit?
Oh, my watering system is rather crude. It is like a terraced trench system. The hose is put in one spot up top the hill, on one side, water running very low until the lowest plants have enough water, then I move the hose to the other side and repeat. Two positions, about an hour total, 18 plants, every other day. I am going to reduce the tomatoes to once a week but leave the others the same unless someone thinks otherwise.
Thanks in Advance,
Carlaone