I killed one of my potatoes... :(

[NwMtGardener]

So...I"m not quite sure what happened, but I was growing potatoes in these nylon weave bags (that oats come in) and I killed one of them! I think the last time I added straw, I must have covered up the whole plant and it didn't get any sun. When I realized I couldn't see any green, I dug down and found the leaves, but it never perked back up, it was all yellowy and continued to die. So today I dumped out the bag, and found 5 small golfball size red potatoes...they should be okay to eat, right? they look fine, normal small potatoes...

On another note, I'm starting to despair about my Big Boy tomatoes... They ahve been blooming for a while, but I wasn't seeing any fruit set. I decided the plastic over the greenhouse was keeping them too warm, and took it off last week. The plants themselves were looking fabulous until this week...now I'm getting some leaves that are yellowing at the "peak" of the plant. They're hanging upside down, and it's the lowest leaves toward the ground that are starting to yellow with black spots. I"m afraid they have blight?!?! I've been fertilizing them regularly with miracle grow for tomatoes, and used a good miracle grow potting soil, so it shouldn't be a deficiency, also the cukes and zucs in the top of the pots are looking AWESOME... Any suggestions on perking them back up or getting them to set fruit? Would it help to cut out every bad leaf and branch I see? I wanted to take a picture of them but can't find the camera right now...hopefully later.

 

[lesa]

You can definitely eat those potatoes- sorry about the plants fate.... I would cut those blemished leaves/branches off the tomatoes. Don't panic yet- there are a million problems tomatoes can have besides blight! Happy Gardening!

 

[thistlebloom]

Heather have you tried using the blossom set spray? I can't remember the name. I used it last year and got a huge set on tomatoes even tho' the nights were consistently in the 40's.

 

[wifezilla]

I killed some of my potatoes too. Oops! The ones I planted in the ground are ok. It was the garbage can plants I killed off.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Ohhhh, blossom set spray, never even heard of it!! I learn all kindsa great things from you guys!! I'll get some tomorrow, so excited! I have lots of cherry tomatoes coming soon, so i'm not too despairing just yet... And most of the big plants look okay, so i have hope for them. Maybe all they need is a little more pampering.

 

[digitS']

Heather, Virginia Tech says, "There is considerable evidence that night temperature is the critical factor in setting tomato fruit, the optimal range being 59 to 68F."

Ha! I think there may have been 1 morning that it has actually been 60 here so far this year!

(Now watch all the Texans head off in a northwesterly direction . . .)

Steve

 

[NwMtGardener]

Yeah Steve, its definitely been cool at night, and my night job is waiting tables at a somewhat ritzy fine dining resort on a lake, and i can tell ya, THE TEXANS AND CALIFORNIANS ARE ALREADY HERE!!! Haha, oh well they tip me just like everyone else

Anway, back to my garden...the cherry tomatoes are setting like crazy?? Apparently they dont follow the temperature rules??

 

[NwMtGardener]

Look at this! The blossom set spray worked, thanks so much thistlebloom!! A number of tiny green tomatoes on my plants now.

Edit: OHHH, I forgot to tell you how good those potatoes I killed were yumyum, grilled in foil with garlic and red peppers, delicious.