Monday marked the first day of hardening off my
second round of seedlings--beans, cucumbers, melons, two more sweet peppers, and one more tomato.
With the exception of my last tomato plant (I can't remember if it's Pearson or Viva Italia), everything was grown in the
newspaper pots I made.
I don't think I'll need to worry about the roots having trouble getting through the newspaper walls. HA! I must point out though, that these pots are one sheet thinner than the instructions say to use...
The plums are coming in nicely... From what I can tell, it doesn't look like we'll have as large a harvest as
last year.
We also had some pretty windy rain earlier this week which knocked some fruits off. The LO loves gathering them for me which gives Momma time to get some uninterrupted work done. Yess!
There's one cluster of branches that are infested with aphids (yuck!), but it's a lot better than the whole tree being covered like last year. I'll spray with water and release ladybugs since that worked well last time.
This is my neighbor's nectarine tree, which partly hangs over our patio. I suspect this is peach leaf curl, and is the second season it's occurred. There were
no blossoms on the tree this year. I'm frustrated that it's not being cared for. I mean, come on. The tree is obviously sick. I rarely ever see my neighbors, let alone talk to them, so I can't exactly bring it to their attention, even though it
is right outside their back door.
Well, let's bring the mood back up, shall we? My first
Whirlybird Nasturtium bloomed this week. I used to think I wouldn't grow it unless I could eat it, which to me meant no flowers. Now that I know I can have them and eat them too, I'm just giddy!
One of my Pearson tomatoes has it's first blossoms also...
Enjoy your weekend!
Neglected fruit trees make me so sad...
ReplyDeleteHe he, your title truly summed up the post! The newspaper pots seem to work well. I love how the roots are growing out of them. One they are placed in the damp soil, they should break down rapidly.
ReplyDeleteIs that your first tomato blossom of the season!! So full of promise.
Oh gosh, you just had to mention the fruit getting knocked off the tree....We got tornadoes and hail tomorrow... :-( Anyway, you've given me an idea on the tomatoes. I've got lots of early girl seeds left, and think i'll start some from seed around June 1st for a second crop....
ReplyDeleteWe actually have a 'peach leaf curl resistant' variety of peach growing here. Even that tree this year is showing curl on one branch. Didn't see any last year. I think all of this wet weather is making it a particularly bad season. The problem is, once it shows on the leaves, you can't effectively spray to prevent it. You really need to treat the problem in the dormant period before bud break. Oh well, maybe next year they can do something for the tree.
ReplyDeleteYour Nasturtium is gorgeous, ours aren't blooming yet. Neither are our tomatoes! I can't believe you have flower buds already, awesome!
Lisa and Robb~ Thank you so much for stopping by. Nice to have another local reader!
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GM~ Yea... I've been lacking on creativity here lately--not that the title was creative, but it took some time for my tired brain to think of it LOL!
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EG~ And here I was complaining of the weekly rain! You're expecting some nasty weather--crossing my fingers for minimal damage. This last tomato plant was part of a group I was going to give to a friend, but she moved to a new house and isn't ready. It's just as well since only 1 survived. I like the idea of two harvests too...
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CVM~ That's very interesting about the PLC. Since nothing can be done now, it gives me time to think of a way to treat the tree w/o the neighbors knowing. Moohahahaha! Just kidding.
I think I have blooms on the tomatoes because I started too early. I have a feeling I won't have as high a yield per plant as the tomato seedling waiting to be potted.
I need to spray my fruit trees with something next year. I'm afraid there's some kind of blight on the apricot. Off to the nursery I go again. The tomatoes will be interesting to compare, eh? I like the newspaper pots a lot.
ReplyDeleteYup! That's peach leaf curl. Looks like a bad case too. They'd need to spray it while it's dormant but just before the leaves bud out (late winter early spring). They can't do anything about it now other then pick up all the leaf litter so the fungus that causes it doesn't get into the soil.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise... wonderful little pots ya got there! Your Nasturtium looks good enough to eat and I can't believe you have blooms on your toms already (is jealous!) I just put the tomatoes in the garden today.