DUCKS for THEE in 2023

[ducks4you]

I am FULLY studied up and Busting with tomato growing information this year!!!
Marathon has started.
Wish me luck to finish the season!!

 

[ducks4you]

Yesterday GS came to visit to get late birthday presents, bday in March, he tuned 8yo.

Fox's late birthday Treasure Hunt!

GS, "Fox" turned 8yo last month. Parents brought him for a visit yesterday. Our gift was a cigar box full of coins, single dollar bills, and a few rolls on single dollar coins, buried in the garden (in a ziplock bag,) and inside of a black cigar box. It was labeled, "Bat's Treasure," meaning...

www.theeasygarden.com

 

[baymule]

I have no doubt that you will have a great tomato harvest!

 

[ducks4you]

DD got her tomatoes home safe and sound and they are living with the basil and,,,something else. I told her to keep the tray below full so that they would be watered from the bottom. The clear plastic tray had chicken from the store. Trash to treasure. It is amazing how many of those 3 inch and 4 inch plastic pots accumulate over the years.

 

[ducks4you]

I swear MY baby tomatoes are growing before my eyes!
I will be transplanting to the downstairs fish tanks soon. Here they are, yesterday and this morning.
I guess that they are a little bit leggy, but NOTHING like what I used to grow in the basement and no stems or leaves are purple.

Purple Leaves On Tomato Plants? (6 Causes & How To Fix It) | GreenUpSide

Phosphorus deficiency often causes purple leaves on tomato plants - more so in cold air/soil (below 60 degrees Fahrenheit). Intense light also causes purple leaves, especially on young tomato plants. Pests (like psyllids) & diseases (like tomato purple leaf disorder) can cause purple tomato leaves.

greenupside.com

I believe that I should treat tomatoes, peppers, and sweet potatoes like tropical birds and not let them get cold.
I am planning on starting grape tomato seeds today and put them on top of the upside down chick warmer.
The transplanting wasn't hard using a long handled teaspoon, the type used to stir sugar in your tall glass of tea, NOT the small or measuring teaspoon, to get down and around the roots.
None of the 8 I transplanted last week suffered any shock.
My orders from DH and DD's are to FOCUS on:
tomatoes
sweet peppers
okra

 

[ducks4you]

JUST when we thought about the early Spring, we had a freeze last night, 3AM-8AM.
I hauled out my Christmas lights (photo this PM, PROMISE!!!) and wrapped my low lying pear tree branches and the trunk and lower branches of my peach tree.
I wasn't worried about my cherry trees. There is ALWAYS too much to harvest, anyway and the big cherry tree is living next to the garden trees which afford some protection.
Apple trees haven't set flowers yet, so they're ok.
Here are a couple of shots of frost this morning. You can see a cold pony in the middle of 2nd shot if you look sharp.
Close to the house didn't get any freeze, it's still spring green.

 

[GottaGo]

JUST when we thought about the early Spring, we had a freeze last night, 3AM-8AM.
I hauled out my Christmas lights (photo this PM, PROMISE!!!) and wrapped my low lying pear tree branches and the trunk and lower branches of my peach tree.
I wasn't worried about my cherry trees. There is ALWAYS too much to harvest, anyway and the big cherry tree is living next to the garden trees which afford some protection.
Apple trees haven't set flowers yet, so they're ok.
Here are a couple of shots of frost this morning. You can see a cold pony in the middle of 2nd shot if you look sharp.
Close to the house didn't get any freeze, it's still spring green.

Car windshield frosted, hopefully everything survived the nip and frost. Most of the tomatoes are still in the house but have long outgrown their pots.

I could only hope the freeze killed off the pill bugs???

 

[baymule]

A freeze? BRRR! You have a beautiful place!

 

[ducks4you]

This morning the tomato forest is looking like this. I guess tomorrow I need to up pot.

 

[ducks4you]

I left the Christmas lights up for only one night, even though scattered frost was predicted for last night and tonight. I studied up and you only need to create heat in the first 4 foot of the tree to make a difference.
Smudgepots are nearly $400/each.
I picked up 6 packages of old time heat produced C-7 outdoor lights and stored them in my garden shed.
I made the mistake of plugging one strand in before I strung them, and I broke a bulb. They have to go on cold.
I had intended to cover the 4 outlet extension cord with the old and beat up dog igloo so that rain wouldn't short it out, but it's buried. Next year I need to get it out and staged. Dunno if I saved any pears, BUT, last time a surprise freeze came with an inch of snow and killed off blossoms. This year most of the blossoms have been pollinated. We will see...