OVER NIGHT TOMATOES

Wind damage last year was rather bad. Broken tomato plants (altho not as bad as some dahlias nearby that were broken at soil line with no chance for plants to have developed tubers - killed).

After the wind pulverized them, the flea beetles immediately moved in on the tomatoes. One-two punch ...

I was noticing the extent of fleabeetle damage to the wild mustard, yesterday. Tomato plants don't seem to be their preferred victims. Some years, there is little flea-bitten foliage.

Steve

Our tomatoes are struggling, along with all of our other plants/trees. We are in southern Oklahoma and have been needing rain for quite a few years. My area received over 20 inches of rain in the month of May. Definitely could've used that over the course of a few months instead of all at one time, but we are not complaining. We are supposed to have at least 4 days of sunshine so hopefully my garden can dry out a little and do some catching up! We do have some crooked neck squash and zucchini squash that are apparently stubborn and have found a way to bloom under the circumstances.

ccheek said:

Our tomatoes are struggling, along with all of our other plants/trees. We are in southern Oklahoma and have been needing rain for quite a few years. My area received over 20 inches of rain in the month of May. Definitely could've used that over the course of a few months instead of all at one time, but we are not complaining. We are supposed to have at least 4 days of sunshine so hopefully my garden can dry out a little and do some catching up! We do have some crooked neck squash and zucchini squash that are apparently stubborn and have found a way to bloom under the circumstances.

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Got to love those Crookneck squash they always seem to produce, probably the most dependable summer squash I have found.

I am really sorry for all the rain you are getting in the South. I know it is terrible when you have no control of your situation like that. I am hoping that will subside soon.

I have tomatoes and they are delicious. I am loving my GA garden. This is the first one that has turned out. I did go and buy some more tomatoes today because I just don't have enough planted. Maybe it I quit eating everything in the garden, LOL. I am planting Marion, which is new to me but is supposed to be the bomb-diggity of South East tomatoes. It is a semi-determinate which has me a little confused. I know what to do with determine... cage and indeterminate.... stack, but not sure what is going on with this type.

I looked around for Marion information, @HunkieDorie23 . I knew nothing about it.

Totally Tomatoes calls it an heirloom. Bonnie Plants said it was released in 1960 by Clemson (always a good idea to check out what your land-grant university has contributed .) Tatiana (link) says it is an indeterminate but lists a determinate as a parent. (In fact, I'm older than the parent of this heirloom!!! Somebody should just shoot me ...)

Steve

I've been working on a friends mini tiller and got it running Sat. I went out to the garden to test it and used it to cultivate my bean rows. It worked a treat.
I have a walk behind 6.5 HP tiller which beats me to death when I use it, and I have a 5' tiller on the back of my tractor, which you'll not cultivate anything with!!!!
I liked her mini so much that I went to the local farm supply store and bought my own.
Back to tomatoes.
Today I used my new mini to cultivate all my garden tomatoes, peppers and okra.
Low and behold there are a ton of tomatoes set on the garden plants. It should be a good year for a garden around here.
Peppers have lots of blooms but I only saw 6 or so peppers.
Beans look good but no blooms yet.
Okra are only 2 to 3 in. tall.
Sweet pot. are starting to vine and corn is 6" or so tall.
I'll cultivate the corn tomorrow if it stays dry overnight.

THANX RICH

Is this one of the Mantis-type tillers, Rich?

Using the rear-tine tiller gets tiring. That's what I will be doing tomorrow.

The little 31cc only works good if I pull it backwards.

Steve

Mantis type, yes.
Actually this is an Earthquake 43cc with a set of wheels plus the stake.
It works great in either direction.

THANX RICH