Bob

Thumbs, they're a bit iffy

Bob

The folks upstairs had a couple, but they didn't seem to hold up to the weight.

Must be a knack to it...though they worked a treat on the chilllies and peppers.

Karrie72

I use t-p's made from stakes for tomato and bean support. Even sticks from the woods have worked fine for cherry toms.
Has anyone ever tried potatoes? Small children love digging and discovering them in the soil.
The last couple of years we've been infested with Japanese beetles which devour everything!

Yorkieabroad

Yeah, Dad had an "old fashioned" compost heap, (none of the modern tumbler thingies) and the potatoes just seemed to grow wild in there from the peelings Mam tossed in.

Karrie72

Yes, we don't get a ton of potatoes and they take up so much space. There's nothing like a new potato though with some butter, parsley and salt.

GeoffM

Not tried here but in the UK we had bundles of the stuff. Had to keep giving it away, and even then just chucked a load away.

The Horticulturalist

Bob, perhaps you need to pinch out your tomato plants so that they are not so heavy and they may do better with the cages, especially if you are growing them in containers. Here's a video that explains it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxj_O72SgZU


I don't think it'such an issue here in MS due to the hot summer and long growing season, not sure anyone I know pinches them out but I think it's worth is especially if you're container gardening. It can be hard to keep up with it once the plant gets very tall.

The Horticulturalist

I was so excited about growing squash and melons the first year we were here, but they were destroyed by squash bugs very quickly

Basil grows a treat as do all the Mediterranean herbs, our garden has terrible soil so I have not grown as many edibles as I would have liked.

I did order David Austin Roses from their place in Texas a few years ago, they look fabulous for about 4 weeks in April/May and then struggle for the rest of the summer.

Bob

Cheers for that, will give it a go.

It was the folks upstairs that was growing last year, so left them to it...but we've giving it a go this year and they'll do some other stuff...I hope

Had loads of squash, courgettes, cucumbers and pumpkins last year. Lettuce and broccoli was a bit iffy.

Had more jalapeño and habaneros than anyone knew what to do with, so might try different chillies this year, we'll see.

Oh and peppers, they were supposed to be red peppers, but they never turned anything but green. There's got to be a knack to that too as there was plenty of sun last year :/

Anyway, anyone with a Ocean State, they had 50% off the Burpee brand of seeds which are pretty decent brand, so about 80c for a packet for a lot of stuff which is a great deal.

toopie28

I would love to grow tomatoes.

I'm in CA and think they would grow well here BUT my friend has been planting them for years and every year seems like a new battle for her.

One year was rats, the next rats and squirrels - now she's taken to putting mesh wire thingy all over her plants.

SO, the question is - how can one grow tomatoes WITHOUT a fortress around them - do you use something special to make sure the rodents don't eat them?

Southy_SWFC

These last few months we've been doing a house up that eventually we'll be living in so when it gets a bit warmer i'll plant whatever I grow there. So far I've got some sun flowers inside that i'll use as a temporary fence until we build a proper one.
Eventually I plan on doing tomatoes that i'll get from the farmers market, potatoes, onions, carrots and a few other things to go on salads.
Hopefully we'll get some fruit trees too plus i'm hoping to trail some grapes between trees on the edge of the property line.

Last year I only had real success with tomatoes and had plants growing up to 12 feet tall. I made a structure out of bamboo and when they got too tall for that I tied them up to the wall. That worked well enough and they even survived through the storms in fall. Fingers crossed for the same this year though they won't have a wall to be tied to this time.

AZ_Alba

Here the big crop from the garden is Oranges and Tangerines.
This year I got about 3 five gallon buckets of tangerines and 6 five gallon buckets of Oranges.

Also have grown bell peppers, jalapeños, and tomatoes.
Trouble is the dogs ate the bell peppers, although they had a shock the year i mixed them with jalapeños.

Bob

Some cousins grew theirs upside down from a hanging pot by the deck which seemed to work for them, but they only did Romano and cherry tomatoes.

dinosaur

Will be getting in peas this weekend (it's just been so cold though). Have cabbages, broccoli, leeks and pak choi started in green house. Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers are just underway in the basement under lights.

One thing I love here is sweet potatoes - would never have thought of growing them in the UK, but they go crazy here, even here up in Connecticut. Plus all the different varieties of squash are great.

Southy_SWFC

Are the special lights or just lamps?