The hanging tomato's are really coming along well. Strangely the top plant is a small Cherry tomato that honestly I didn't think would do that good. In the next picture you will see three of the cherry tomatoes in the right container, they were potted a day after the hanging plant was finished. Notice how much better the top plant is doing compared to the container tomatoes. They get the same level of light the only difference is that the hanging pot is watered daily and all the excess is drained so the soil is always moist but not water logged.
Growing from the bottom of the planter are Beef Steak tomatoes. I have had some good luck with these fat fruits and, as you can see from the third picture, am hoping for some edible produce soon. Notice the growth on 
the hanging beef steak compared to the ones planted upright in the container on the left. As with the cherry tomatoes these beef steaks were planted one day after the hanging ones. Again the only difference is the soaked then drained soil.
I have three containers with three tomatoes in each in a different room. Each container was planted about two weeks apart. They all have tomatoes in some stage of development on them but as of right now none are ready for consumption.
My beans did a very weird thing. I had planted a couple of containers with Contender variety bush green beans. There were three plants in each container. They grew, flowered and started producing in a very short time frame, maybe three weeks. The plants were about 16 inches high with very few leaves but probably 12 to 16 beans on each.
As the beans started to mature everyone of the plants broke over about 5 inches up on the stalk, they just snapped over. I used some coat hangers to prop them up until I could harvest, they did not re-flower. I need to try to reproduce this, I love the quick maturing but am concerned about the stability of the plant. They outgrew their ability to support themselves, a metaphor for our modern times. 
The peas are doing well, growing but no flowers yet. Dogs are enjoying the wheatgrass but I have not gotten a juicer so cannot attest to the miraculous healing powers of the nasty stuff. It is nice to watch it grow and wheat grass makes a great centerpiece for the table.
I have one carrot left, I don't think they are designed for container gardens seeing that all but the one has died.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Garden Update
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13 comments:
Nice work with the plants. I notice that you have the plants in pots sitting on top of 5-gallon buckets. What if you were to poke holes in the bottoms of the pots, and change the bucket lids to have some sort of sieve or screen on them that could still support the weight of the plant?
Then, the water would essentially do the same thing as the hanging plants...drain through but be caught by the bucket.
Another option is to put water in the buckets but set up a wicking system between the bucket and the plant. The plant would just grab as much water as it needed.
Just some ideas....
Johnzilla,
The white buckets that the plants are sitting on are part of my survival supplies, brown rice I think. The plant containers have holes in them and the excess water runs into the plastic holder but apparently it is not draining well enough.
If you are growing your beans indoors, this breakage is probably caused by a weak stem. Grown outside, the plants are exposed to the wind which causes the stem to become stronger.
You can duplicate this by running a fan on a timer several hours a day when the plants are younger. You may see this breakage later on with your tomatoes as the fruits get larger if grown indoors.
Selous Scout
when I start my outside garden plants in my greenhouse, I have a heater at night on a timer and during the day a fan blowing on low. If you visit big greenhouses you will notice fans all over. This is to keep the ait moving. It prevents the plants from getting "leggy". It makes the fragil stalks grow thicker.
iF YOU ARE PLANNING TO EAT TOMATOES OUT OF YOUR POTS, I THINK YOU HAVE THEM TOO CLOSE TOGETHER. TOMATOES NEED TO BE PLANTED IN WELL DRAINED SOIL WITH ABOUT 3' BETWEEN THE PLANTS.
tjbbpgob,
I was thinking that too but they seem to be doing good. I will pull the first pot up after the tomatoes are ripe and examine the roots. If they are root bound with little soil left then I will go to a five gallon bucket with one plant per.
anonymous,
That makes complete sense. The next bunch I grow I will put a fan on and check the difference.
mmm. I loves me the beefsteak tomatoes.
Quite impressive!!! Your brother happen to find your blog today and I thought I would check it out.
Everything OK over there? It's been a while since you posted.
Are you still alive? What happened?
Hi. I got a question regarding BEEF TOMATOES. I planted them in the pots since I live in the city. Space is an issue. Anyhow, all 4 potted plants are doing very well and are bearing fruits. However, I noticed that with BEEF TOMATOES, the bottom part tend to get those brownish spots. As the tomatoes grow and so are these spots at the bottom. Any advise you could give to get rid of this? I have been researching online and couldn't seem to get the answer. Somehow google led me to your blof. I planted beef tomatoes as well in spring 2004 and I had the same problem. Well, thanks for your time in reading this. Regards :-)
Are they crack spots where the skin is pulling apart slightly?
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