Pest Patrol

I have a problem with aphids indoors, ever year. They simply adore brugs, and will quickly jump to the tomatoes and peppers and set up shop there. I haven't found any way of eradicating them, but I do manage to control them with a pretty simple solution of dish soap, alcohol and water. Smaller plants get baths in the kitchen sink or the bath tub, the larger 5-6 footers get spot treatments. I spray the soapy water all over the leaves, letting them stand for about 10 minutes, then shower them off, using my fingers to remove bugs from the stems. I also try to keep my brugs fairly defoliated over the winter, to eliminate some of the aphid habitat. But now that the light levels are finally picking up, the brugs are starting to wake up, and I don't want to keep stripping the leaves off. I've even got a flower open on a noid white, and buds forming on a peach Candida, which I know I should be picking off, but this time of year, I'll take what I can get in the way of flowers.

Ain't she purty? And she smells as good as she looks.

Once everything goes outside, the aphids sees to melt away. I will blast the plants with the hose a few times when they first go outside, but after that, Mother Nature sends in her garden helpers, and the problem seems to just go away. I don't use chemicals in my garden (unless you classify beer as a chemical), so that may be beneficial to the insects that help control aphids and other pests, such as ladybugs. I have used beer as bait for the slugs who like to eat my hostas, but in the last few years I haven't bothered, because they don't seem to be doing as much damage anymore. I'm not sure why that is.

Potato beetles are another problem particular to my brugs. I guess because they are in the Solanaceae family, they are very attractive to a potato beetle. It's odd, because I've never caught the beetle on potatoes or tomatoes, only my brugs. They don't do to much damage, because I'm pretty quick to spot them and their bright orange eggs. They are dispatched immediately in the same soapy water that the Lily beetle takes its swan dive in.

And that is another garden pest that I really can't stand. Those things are pretty as adults, but absolutely gross as larvae. They literally cover themselves in their own excrement, therefore have very few (if any) predators. I don't have a lot of lillies, but the ones I do get attacked every year. I wear plastic surgical gloves for their removal. Adults get tossed into a soapy bucket of water, along with the larvae, which are scraped off with sticks. Even with gloves on, I can't bring myself to touch them.

There are many other pests in the garden. This is just a short list for tonight. And I will admit, I am selective about what I consider a pest. I've found the beautiful green and white striped yellow dotted caterpillars of the Black SwallowTails devouring my dills. I decided I don't like dill that much, and if I need it, I can always buy some or grow some more. So I let them be.
I like to think I make Karma smile sometimes!!

Starting Datura Seeds

I started some Datura the other day, and thought I should post about it. Datura's are very easy to grow, are related to Brugmansia, and very beautiful as well. They don't require as much care, don't mind poorer, dryer conditions, and are pretty much problem free. They are also very poisonous, and every year, someone tells me that I shouldn't grow them. My advice to them? Don't bloody eat them!!! They have been used by Shaman for ceremonial purposes, and once in a while, a story about dumb teenagers will surface, and then people want to blame the plant, or the grower. I think perhaps it is just natural selection at work! We have many poisonous plants and substances all over the place, some much worse than Datura. Don't put them in your mouth, and wash your hands well after working with them. That goes for brugs, as well.

I found these trays on recycling day, and they are perfect for starting Datura. I should be able to keep them growing and avoid having to repot/transplant until they go in the garden. Soaking the seeds overnight in warm water before planting will gives me much quicker and better germination. I plant the seeds about 1/4 inch deep in the soil, and keep the tray in a nice warm spot till I see their little green heads popping up. Then I keep the tray in a bright sunny location and give them a quarter turn every day to help them grow straight. I don't use lights on them, because I don't have enough to go around, and they seem to do alright with the amount of sunlight they get.

This is a double purple, about to open.

I am also growing triple yellow, triple purple and the plain white D. inoxia. They are all quite pretty, and attract lots of attention. I treat them as an annual, and grow them from seeds every year. You can dig them up in the fall, but they don't do very well inside for me. Not enough light for them, and the air is probably just to dry inside. They grow so quickly from seed, it's not really worth the bother, for me anyway. The D. inoxia will easily reach four to five feet high and wide in one summer, the others are slightly smaller in my garden.

For more information on Brugs and Dats, check out the links. There is an excellent book with stunningly beautiful photographs by Ulrike and Hans-George Preissel, 'Brugmansia and Datura - Angel's Trumpets and Thorn Apples'. A must for any enthusiast, and guaranteed to make you drool!! I highly recommend it.

Saving Seeds

I'm gonna jump off track here and skip ahead to saving seeds. I was going through my seed inventory, and realized that I have just over 50 varieties of tomatoes now. To some that may seem like a lot, and to others, a piddling amount. Almost half are from the plants that I grew last year and saved seed from, so I decided that was my next topic.

Saving seeds is very simple, but if you really want to be sure that you have a pure strain, and that no cross pollination has occurred, then you have to start the process before the flower on the tomato plants are even open. Cross pollination occurs when one variety is pollinated by another. Most of our varieties are the results of natural crosses, usually done by insects, which have over time become 'stable'. Hybrids are the result of man-made crosses. The offspring of such a cross is an F1 (first generation), and that is what you are buying when you buy a hybrid. You can save the seeds from an F1, which would be F2 (second generation), but you won't get the same plant as the original F1, which is not to say you may not get a nice tomato out of it. And experimenting can be fun. It can get pretty technical, and there's a lot of interesting information out there about tomato breeding, stabilizing hybrid offspring, trying to grow the parents back out, etc, but that's not where I was going with this.

There are a couple ways to ensure the tomato seeds will be pure. Bagging blossoms, maintaining isolation distances, or if you're not interested in saving seeds, but want certain varieties, then make sure you buy from a reputable seller. There are also many traders out there, who take it pretty seriously, and folks who only want to ensure these varieties keep growing, who will give away seeds for the price of a stamp! They are serious about this endeavor, and will most likely have done the work to ensure pure seeds.

Bagging blossoms is your best bet whether you are growing a small or large variety of OP's. You simply cover the flowers before they open, using a light weight material such as cut up nylon from stockings, or tulle. It basically provides a physical barrier to prevent any insects or wind blown pollen coming in contact with the flowers. Giving the flowers a gentle shake is a good idea. Tomatoes are self pollinating, having perfect flowers, which means they contain both the male and female part of the flower. They do need pollen in order to form fruit, but they provide it themselves. Once they have start to form the fruit, remove the bag and identify those particular ones with string or warn, so that you remember to harvest the seeds from those tomatoes. As a home gardener, you don't need a huge amount of saved seed, so a few tomatoes should provide you with enough seed.

So now we'll assume you have the tomatoes that you want to save the seeds from in hand. You chopped them in half and squished out the seeds. They are covered in a gelatinous goo, and you will need to ferment them in order to remove it, which also help in removing any pathogens or bacteria. I use a small kitchen glass, add the seeds and a bit of water, give it a stir and put it on my kitchen windowsill. It only take a day or two, stirred once or twice a day, and they should be done. You don't want to leave them too long, or they may end up sprouting in the water and then they are no good at all. Most of the seed will have sunk to the bottom of the glass. Strain them in a tea strainer, or similar, giving them a really good rinse. Then simply dump them out on a paper towel, fold it up and leave it out to dry. Make sure you label the paper towel, because you will forget what variety they are in a week or two, if you have more than one type on the go. Once they are completely dry, pack them away in a cool dark place. Voila, you have seeds for next year.

Just another little meander down the path...

How to make it snow…

February 27, 2008 at 9:16 pm (gardening, notes and thoughts, stuff) · Edit

It’s a very basic principle, works the same way as ‘how to make it rain’ - which is of course: hang out your laundry!

In this case, start by getting your pots and starting trays out of the shed, drag out the greenhouse shelves and covers, and just to be really sure, go buy some potting soil and maybe some more seeds. This will work especially well if it is a gorgeous sunny day out, and smells like spring. Nothing like it to bring on another cold snap and a bit of snow!

I’ve got plans to build some low tunnels over my raised beds early this spring, in order to jump start the gardening season. The idea is that they will work as a mini greenhouse, right over the beds. I’m hopeful that I may get growing as much as a month to six weeks early this year, although that is probably pushing it. But perhaps with some cold hardy veggies, I can play outside, while the tomato seedlings are still sunning indoors. I guess we’ll have to see what the spring brings, weather wise, and the summer. I’ve heard rumblings of La Nina, and what she may have to offer us, so all in all, low tunnels are probably a good investment.

I also invested a whole whopping $0.66 in a pack of broccoli seed, and cauliflower seed (part of my ‘how to make it cold and snowy’ campaign). I only mention it because I had absolutely no intention of growing anything but a ton of tomatoes, some carrots, peas, beans, swiss chard, leeks, beets, radishes, onions, lettuce, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, corn, along with various herbs, annuals, and of course babying my brugs. Oh, did I mention tomatoes? A ton? Okay, so that may be a slight exaggeration, I don’t have the room to grow a ton of tomatoes. But I think last count may have been somewhere along the lines of 40 + varieties, which means at least 80 plus plants in my garden, along with all the extras I grow to sell and to give to neighbors and friends. Which always leaves plenty extra for me to harass complete strangers who are unsuspectingly walking down the street introduce new people I meet into the joy of growing tomatoes, and the reasoning behind heirlooms/OP’s.

I think the most fun I have gardening is planning my garden in the winter, and starting the seeds in early spring. Don’t ask me to post a pic of my garden in late July. Unless my darling husband (in case he reads this) decides to pull out all the corn again cause it looks like grass weeds the jungle, it is pretty messy by then. Because I have moved on. Have I every mentioned my astrological sign? I am a Taurus, but Gemini ascending, which translates into ‘I have the attention span of a gnat’. Seriously though, by mid July, garden fatigue, the heat, and the bugs have usually squelched my enthusiasm for my garden. I bounce back by mid to late August, just in time to start harvesting and canning (when it’s +33C??), dehydrating and freezing, and enjoying it again.

A camping vacation comes in handy right around the time garden fatigue has set in, and I don’t spend a moment worrying cause at that point I could care less because I have a fantastic house sitter/gardener/cat feeder, who lives right across the street. She comes complete with younger sisters and a brother, so excellent fall-back house sitters. And I get to spend a week with my family in the woods, swimming and fishing and hiking and stargazing, and I am so happy that I don’t have to answer the phone, or check my email, or listen to bad news on the radio, or fight traffic, and there’s nothing like sitting around a blazing fire at night, with someone you truly enjoy as a person, with whom you share a wicked sense of humor, and the kids are tucked away in their sleeping bags, and you shoot the breeze till the fire starts dying out, and it’s time to for you to tuck in too. That is the ‘ultimate vacation’.

So that’s what’s what for tonight.

Troubleshooting

Promised more tomato talk, so I'll start with some of thing that can go wrong with the new little seedlings. A lot of these tips apply to other veggies/plants too, not just tomatoes. This is just a partial list. I will try to add other when I think of them.


1.Dampening Off

This is one of the biggest problems, and probably one of the easiest ones to avoid. The seedlings appear to wilt, and the stems weaken. It is caused by fungi that is present in the soil which attacks the seeds before they germinate or shortly there after. The fungus thrives in the same conditions that the seeds need for germination, but excess moisture will exacerbate the problem. Many growers will advise using a soil-less mix, to avoid it. I've never done so, and never had a problem. Good air circulation is helpful, even if you need to set up a fan in front of the seedlings. There are products on the market specifically to kill off the fungi that cause dampening off, and I've heard positive results from people using chamomile tea when they water the seedlings. I think the best idea is to try to avoid the problem in the first place. Over-watering and poor air circulation seem to be the biggest trigger for this problem.

2.Over-watering or Killing Your Plants With Kindness part A

This is also a big problem for many growers. It is so hard to restrain yourself sometimes, you just want these little seedling to grow! But drowning your little seedlings is a sad way to end your growing attempt. Whether they are in small trays, or larger pots, the strength of the light and the indoor temperature will determine when and how much to water. Smaller containers will dry out much quicker than the larger ones. A good rule of thumb is to let the plant tell you. If they refuse to talk, then look closely at the soil, and the plants themselves. Smaller seedlings need more care, and should not be allowed to dry out completely. Once the seedlings are larger, and have several sets of true leaves, then a bit of stressing by underwatering is not a bad thing. The soil should be almost dry, and the plants should be almost wilting. It actually mimics what the conditions in the garden will be, and can toughen them up, or so the theory goes.

Part B

Over-fertilizing.

Generally, your seedlings will not require fertilizer, at least mot for the first little while. Check your growing medium before you decide. Are you using a seed starting mix? These will usually contain enough nutrients in the soil until the plants are ready to go out in the garden full-time. If you make your own mix, did you use compost or soil? If the plants look healthy and deep green, then I would skip the fertilizing. If they appear to be turning slightly yellow tinged, or if you started them way before the recommend 6 weeks, then you may need to reach for some food. Check out the organic options, even my local Canadian Tire carries a wide variety of product now, and generally the prices are comparable to the standard 'blue water'. --Miracle Grow--You can even make your own compost teas, if you have it on hand.

3. Lack of Light

For indoor growing, this can be problematic for many. As soon as those seedling emerge, they need all the light they can get. You can buy fancy lights, but I would not bother wasting the money. A simple shop light with fluorescent bulbs does the trick for me. I also use a couple of those fluorescent stick lights, and a couple of the hand held lights suspended above the seedlings. The lights should be as close to the tops as possible. Fluorescent shouldn't burn them, but if you're using other types, then just be careful to keep on eye on them. You may need to rotate the trays around, especially if they are in a window as well as under lights. You will find the seedling stretch towards the light, so to encourage straighter upwards growth, adjusting the light source and moving the trays around is your best bet. When they get transplanted, or go into the garden, I bury the stem quite a bit anyway so a little legginess is okay. Tomatoes will form roots along the stem that is buried, giving them a stronger root system so it's not the worst thing.

That's about it for tonight. One final note, I've found some really neat looking hoop cover kits at Lee Valley. I'm mighty tempted. I'm not sure how much of a head start that would give me in the garden, but I'd guess if the weather co-operated, and I incorporated some heating ideas of my own, I might be able to push a good three to four weeks ahead of schedule. That would mean planting out in the beginning to middle of May, instead of June. And that would mean I could be starting tomatoes pretty soon. That's such a nice thought when it's -15 outside tonight. Spring is nearly here! And I'll be waiting, open armed with plenty of tomato plants behind me!

Happy New Year...Here's to the Year of the Rat (or another brief intermission)

Nothing to do with Tomatoes, but it is the Chinese New Year, so I'll use any excuse to put off doing stuff that I should be doing (actual work), to spend time doing something I enjoy instead (writing, reading, chatting on the phone or on-line, looking through seed catalogs)! I'm really starting to dislike winter, it's been long enough now. But one thing I do like about this season, is having a roaring fire to heat the living room and sitting on the couch by the warm flames. Usually Simon is next to me, snuggling on the wool blanket and curled up against my leg, and I have my trusty laptop, well, where else but on my lap. I love the sound of the flames sputtering against the frozen logs as they heat up. I love to watch the flames flickering in the fireplace. There's just something so primordial about sitting by a fire.

I learned something important today. The more I learn, the less I know. Reading about tomatoes, and breeding and hybridizing, I realized how little I actually know. And I went to college for horticulture and landscaping! I took botany, and I learnt how to build a decent fence, and how to lay stone. But there really is only so much you can learn at school, and you should never stop trying to learn. I also spent four years at a university and then some, studying when I was much younger, and I'm not sure what I came away with, save my student loans. I picked up more skills and interests in between my schooling stints than I did during. I still have the love of literature, the love of baking (I worked in a bakery), the love of animals (vet clinic years ago and pets and horses), the love of writing (Thanks, Mr. Chiapetta, you rock), and I really wish someone would pay me to read and critique books. I mean, c'mon, how many people can read the entire Lord of The Rings (including the Hobbit) in a weekend? Isn't that a special talent? I think so! I should put that on my resume when I start job hunting next year.

Next post, will be about tomatoes. Promise.

Starting from Scratch...or Seed.....Part two

Anyone who knows me, knows I cannot resist a bad pun! This is my boy, Simon. He is the mellowest fellow, and I adore him even when he is being bad (like getting into my plants). How could I possibly stay mad at that face?

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program.........

Planting tomato seed is pretty much the easiest thing in the world. If you've decided to use the cell packs, then simply place one seed in the center of each cell, gently pressing it down just below the soil, and lightly cover it up. If you're using larger pots, you can plant a bunch of seeds in the pots to germinate, and prick them out and transplant once they have grown on a bit. Water very lightly to ensure the seeds are in contact with the soil, and will be able to absorb some of the moisture. Without water, the seeds won't germinate. Don't let the soil dry out until you see the seedlings but don't over-water so that the soil is sopping wet.

Some people use heat mats underneath the trays, or place them on top of the fridge for a bit of bottom heat, which will help speed up the waiting game you will now be playing. I don't specifically use bottom heat, and have never had any problems, but I'm using large greenhouse shelves, that I can close up at night with a light source, which does generate some heat and also retains some moisture. Just be sure that if you use a heat/light source, that it is safe!!! I can't stress that enough! Friends and fellow gardeners have shared many near miss stories, of creative ways they tried to use waterbed heating mats, for example, and nearly burnt their homes down in the process. You may also want to cover up the pots with plastic, or if using the greenhouse style trays that you can purchase, with the domes that come with the trays. Just remember to uncover them during the day, if they are in sunlight, because cooking your seeds will kill them, and that is exactly what will happen if they get too hot under the domes.

Light isn't necessary at this point, just warmth. The ideal temperature should be approximately 25 Celsius (75 F) Germination with tomatoes is usually fairly quick, between 5 -7 days. Once the seeds have popped up, then light does become the number one critical factor in strong and healthy seedlings. I use large shop lights with regular cheap fluorescent bulbs, and a few other lights sources to provide as much light as possible. The seedlings are in my south facing bay windows, so they get as much sun as possible during the day along with the supplemental lighting. The shop lights are hung so close to the seedlings that they almost touch. The one other crucial mistake that is often made, is to over-water the seedlings. Let them get almost to the point of drying out before watering again.

Once they've been growing for a week or two, they should have a second or third set of true leaves, which is a good time to transplant if you are using the large pots/lots of seeds method. If using the cells, then you can leave them safely for a while longer.

One final note, that I should have addressed first, is when to start your seeds. Six to eight weeks before your last frost date is the ideal time to start. If you are an impatient seed starter (as I am) then by all means, take your chances and play around. But remember that the ideal growing condition for tomato plants is outdoors, in full sun. Not very many homes can provide those conditions. And if you do seed early, you may want to try and sow some back up plants at the right time just in case.

Transplanting and trouble shooting.....next time, pardner.


Doesn't she look like she carries a six shooter in her hip pocket??

Mina aka CrazyCalico