Veggie Update 4/26/11

I thought it may be a good time to devote a post to update the status of my edibles. Sure they're not as pretty in photos as the flowers, but they serve the important purpose of feeding me and keeping me entertained. I pulled out the tomato in the Earthbox that obviously had TSWV (RIP KBX). It was declining fairly quickly and may have even died eventually. I never let my plants get to the point of death. I pull them well before their demise.  I left the other tomato, JD Special C-Tex,  in the Earthbox because it was too late to start over. It still has some ruffled leaves, but it's setting a ton of tomatoes. I haven't had too many bug problems with it.

The other tomato Earthbox is frustrating me. The Goosecreek and Brandywine OTV are in this one and it also looks like they have a virus. One is actively declining and getting yellow leaves. The other, much like JD's is ruffled,  but otherwise doing ok. Over 50% of my tomatoes in this box have been lost to armyworms or blossom end rot. I will be instituting some changes for the Fall crop, but I've decided to let nature take its course for this pair.

The traditional containers are doing well. They don't look even 1/4 as big and lush as the Earthbox tomatoes and they are suffering some afflictions as well now. Big silver lining in that cloud is they have no blossom end rot or bug problems and they are loaded with big heirloom tomatoes. Brandywine Suddith's is pictured on the right. I also have Aunt Ruby' Green, Great White, Lucky Cross,  and Calf's Heart. In the Topsy Turvy I am finishing up a nice crop of Eva's Purple Ball and Gardener's Delight.

I have one pepper. Five pepper plants, but one pepper. It's either a Jimmy Nardello or Beaver Dam pepper. I can't remember which one.

The other peppers may have the dreaded tomato/squash virus. Maybe I'll just fertilize them and see if it's a nutrient deficiency.

I bought some sweet potatoes at Home depot. It's my first time growing sweet potatoes, so I am experimenting a little. I need to plant them in nematode free soil. Yeah right, I have lots of nematodes free soil in my yard that is sitting empty. I put them in the brick raised bed. I've been growing the anti-nematode marigolds in that bed for a while so that will have to be good enough. I have no more giant pots available.

I finally got a Diva cucumber growing in my Earthbox. Hurray! Only one of the four cucumbers in the Earthbox have produce anything up till now. The Diamante cuke produced about 11 cucumbers though. I think the cucumbers are nitrogen hungry because the leaves are a pale green. I used organic fertilizer in this box and it doesn't seem to be enough. I'm not really sure how to add more in an Earthbox. I've also been getting a lot of male flowers on the Diva which according to the internet experts is a sign of stress.

Wow, I do grow a lot of plants in my tiny yard! There are several more I could mention, but I'm tired now. I really need to show you my watermelon though. I have two watermelons now, one in an Earthbox and one in the ground. This is the Earthbox one, Ice cream watermelon. Isn't it pretty? It was dangling down from the center of the arbor I built until today. It was very cool looking on that extra long stem. Some lady stopped her car and asked me about it. Today I was worried about the weight on the vine so I made a pantyhose sling for it to hang in. I worried about damaging it with that too, but I worry a lot about everything anyway.