2023 Mid-Atlantic Garden, Lawn, and Other Green Stuff Thread

[poolz1]

On 9/14/2023 at 1:53 PM, frd said:

Very true, thanks !  I researched last year that the blight spores reside in the soil , when it rains it splashes upon the bottom leaves and then works it way up the plant. 

Still happy I had decent tomatoe crop, but not like 30 years ago when I had so many I could can my own tomatoes for winter time homemade pizza sause or spaghetti sauce.     

I have always had significant issues with blight and other diseases. Wet years, dry years, didn't matter.  I did lay straw in my beds but but had to limit this because it increased the slug issue.  Last year I tried an organic fish based foliar spray and it has been a game changer....at least for me.  A weekly spray has improved the leaf color and fruit production on all our plants.  

Two straight years of a different gardening experience will keep me using it.  Until some other issue crops up! lol

[frd]

10 minutes ago, poolz1 said:

I have always had significant issues with blight and other diseases. Wet years, dry years, didn't matter.  I did lay straw in my beds but but had to limit this because it increased the slug issue.  Last year I tried an organic fish based foliar spray and it has been a game changer....at least for me.  A weekly spray has improved the leaf color and fruit production on all our plants.  

Two straight years of a different gardening experience will keep me using it.  Until some other issue crops up! lol

Can you recommend the product name ?  

Also, is your blight under control with this product ?  

I ask because it seems this is more so a fertilizer for soil microbes. 

here is a cool research link 

 

 https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/scale-your-gardens-health-fish-emulsion-fertilizer

 

 

[poolz1]

12 hours ago, frd said:

Can you recommend the product name ?  

Also, is your blight under control with this product ?  

I ask because it seems this is more so a fertilizer for soil microbes. 

here is a cool research link 

 

 https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/scale-your-gardens-health-fish-emulsion-fertilizer

 

 

This is the product I use.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSKJLBRJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

My tomatoes do have blight but it doesn't seem to want to creep up the entire plant. or, at least at a much slower rate than years past.  Typically, by september my tomatoes are done but I am still picking as of this morning.

Maybe just having healthier plants give them the ability to be more durable when it comes fungus/disease? Or, maybe the hot dry weather lately (out this way) is the answer?  Or maybe it was the low soil moisture in the early spring the past two years? Or... Ha! I'll be too old to garden by the time I get this hobby figured out!   

[mattie g]

23 hours ago, poolz1 said:

This is the product I use.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSKJLBRJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

My tomatoes do have blight but it doesn't seem to want to creep up the entire plant. or, at least at a much slower rate than years past.  Typically, by september my tomatoes are done but I am still picking as of this morning.

Maybe just having healthier plants give them the ability to be more durable when it comes fungus/disease? Or, maybe the hot dry weather lately (out this way) is the answer?  Or maybe it was the low soil moisture in the early spring the past two years? Or... Ha! I'll be too old to garden by the time I get this hobby figured out!   

It's almost impossible to keep blight from showing up on the lower leaves by this time of the year, so it does make sense for folks with more serious blight issues to take steps like sprays to keep it from progressing.

Healthier plants absolutely will remain productive despite some blight. Warm, muggy conditions will always have a negative effect if they last for too long, but keeping the plants pruned and allowing air to flow throughout the plants is a massive help. I mentioned earlier that I prune all suckers until the plants are 7-8' high (mid-summer or so) and I also get rid of lower leaves is and when they develop blight - this keeps the air flowing nicely (and I find it also helps with production in general).

[poolz1]

2 hours ago, mattie g said:

It's almost impossible to keep blight from showing up on the lower leaves by this time of the year, so it does make sense for folks with more serious blight issues to take steps like sprays to keep it from progressing.

Healthier plants absolutely will remain productive despite some blight. Warm, muggy conditions will always have a negative effect if they last for too long, but keeping the plants pruned and allowing air to flow throughout the plants is a massive help. I mentioned earlier that I prune all suckers until the plants are 7-8' high (mid-summer or so) and I also get rid of lower leaves is and when they develop blight - this keeps the air flowing nicely (and I find it also helps with production in general).

Have you ever tried replanting those suckers?  I have had pretty good success with them as long as they are in the 2-4" tall range.   

[mattie g]

14 minutes ago, poolz1 said:

Have you ever tried replanting those suckers?  I have had pretty good success with them as long as they are in the 2-4" tall range.   

I played around with it once - put one in water and then replanted. It would have probably worked had I kept at it (it was perfectly happy for a few weeks), but I have limited space and enough plants so I just left it to fend for itself...which didn't go so well.

[aldie 22]

I nursed my red maple through the dry and hot and now she's starting to turn...beautiful reds popping! I love fall colors

[Eskimo Joe]

2 hours ago, aldie 22 said:

I nursed my red maple through the dry and hot and now she's starting to turn...beautiful reds popping! I love fall colors

Ooooo pics?

[TSG]

Do we have any fall leaf color experts in here? I'm wondering if the rain from Ophelia can save us from going straight to brown in the drought stricken areas or if this is just a little too late.

[mattie g]

Made eight pints of smoked salsa yesterday. Used ~13 lbs of cored and seeded frozen tomatoes, 10 jalapenos, one head of garlic, and another ~3 lbs of fresh tomatoes from the garden. Those ingredients were supplemented by white onions and cilantro from the store along with various spices.

Second year I've done this and it turned out excellent again!

[WxUSAF]

1 hour ago, TSG said:

Do we have any fall leaf color experts in here? I'm wondering if the rain from Ophelia can save us from going straight to brown in the drought stricken areas or if this is just a little too late.

I think this will be a mediocre at best year. Drought in the western half of the area, wet in the eastern half, and no sign of chilly weather. Probably late and drab colors.

[Scuddz]

22 hours ago, mattie g said:

Made eight pints of smoked salsa yesterday. Used ~13 lbs of cored and seeded frozen tomatoes, 10 jalapenos, one head of garlic, and another ~3 lbs of fresh tomatoes from the garden. Those ingredients were supplemented by white onions and cilantro from the store along with various spices.

Second year I've done this and it turned out excellent again!

We've overplanted tomatoes and peppers once again this year and they're still prolifically producing.  On our 4th batch of salsa and I need to go pick once again.  My super-hots are finally ripening (Scorpion and Ghost chilis) so time for the hot stuff to be added in.

[mattie g]

3 minutes ago, Scuddz said:

We've overplanted tomatoes and peppers once again this year and they're still prolifically producing.  On our 4th batch of salsa and I need to go pick once again.  My super-hots are finally ripening (Scorpion and Ghost chilis) so time for the hot stuff to be added in.

Sounds awesome. Better to have more than you need than less!

Same here n terms of production. We've got enough green tomatoes on the plants right now to once again keep us in fresh tomatoes through October (assuming no early frosts). I'll probably make another half batch of smoked salsa in the next couple weeks, if only to make some room in the freezers by using more of our frozen tomatoes!

[dailylurker]

I'm harvesting some huge buds sparkling with resins right now. These cold nights have brought out some beautiful purples in my OG Lime Killer plant. Happy croptober!

[aldie 22]

Delayed my aeration and seeding until yesterday...hopefully my timing is right with the rain and cooler weather 

[GramaxRefugee]

Been using an old bagger style mower to shred leaves/grass to insulate a fig tree for winter. This is about 6 or 7 bags so far.  Still a few weeks to go probably. 

Don't have much grass to mow here.

[aldie 22]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:07 AM, aldie 22 said:

Delayed my aeration and seeding until yesterday...hopefully my timing is right with the rain and cooler weather 

lots of good growth from the seeding...I haven't mowed yet since the aeration...hoping the freeze doesn't do damage. I'm planning on mowing saturday 

[MN Transplant]

Oddity this year in that my backyard with the oaks has more leaves than the front yard with the maple.  The maple usually drops before the long period of oak leaf fall.  The dogs have already dug some holes in the yard, so I'll be patching next spring.

[WxUSAF]

A damn deer rubbed on my new elm tree. It’s only on about 1/3rd or 1/2 the circumference. Any suggestions on what to do? 

[CAPE]

1 hour ago, WxUSAF said:

A damn deer rubbed on my new elm tree. It’s only on about 1/3rd or 1/2 the circumference. Any suggestions on what to do? 

Put a tree guard around it and hope it survives the existing damage. Since it is only on half or less of the tree, it might be ok.

[mattie g]

Finally cleared out the tomatoes, jalapenos, and basil last weekend. Harvested about 7 lbs of tomatoes and still had probably 15 lbs of green tomatoes on the vine when they went into the yard waste bags.

Planted my hardneck garlic after I pulled the summer plants. I usually get it in the ground a week or two earlier, but it doesn't matter all that much. I could probably even wait another couple weeks, but I like to be sure that it's all planted before the raised bed soil might heave a little.

Seed garlic was the largest cloves from this year's harvest, which was grown from local organic garlic that I bought from Wegman's last fall (pretty sure it's Music garlic). Curious to see how this second generation comes out.

[PrinceFrederickWx]

A few of our sunflowers from the summer successfully seeded; they’re still growing well. Hoping we can get a few blooms out of this generation before it gets too cold. We’ve never had sunflowers last this far into the year before!

[aldie 22]

anyone still planning to mow this year?

[North Balti Zen]

13 minutes ago, aldie 22 said:

anyone still planning to mow this year?

Seven hard freezes up my way so far, mid-20s each time. I am ready for my accumulating snow finally. Let's do this. 

[mattie g]

23 minutes ago, aldie 22 said:

anyone still planning to mow this year?

Need to clean up more leaves, so I'll probably have my last mow next weekend. Need to edge, as well, to clean up the look for the winter!

[nw baltimore wx]

28 minutes ago, aldie 22 said:

anyone still planning to mow this year?

Once more for me.

[WxUSAF]

1 minute ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Once more for me.

Same. Chop up leaves and mow it short to make our 1 slushy dusting in late January more picturesque!

[GramaxRefugee]

27 minutes ago, aldie 22 said:

anyone still planning to mow this year?

Mowed Sunday, (partly to get some bags of leaf mulch). At the time, I was pretty sure I'd have another cutting on the South facing slope at least, but after 2+" of rain I'll have to re-evaluate.

In fact, this morning the whole neighborhood was a big mess of wet leaves.

[Eskimo Joe]

1 hour ago, aldie 22 said:

anyone still planning to mow this year?

Unfortunately yes. This will be the seventh year in a row I'll need to mow in December.

[wxdude64]

4 hours ago, aldie 22 said:

anyone still planning to mow this year?

I usually mow at least once, sometimes twice in December just to pick up and shred whatever leaves I can.