Hows your tomatoes?!?

[jcgoldie]

Last edited Thu Jun 27, 2019, 10:06 AM - Edit history (2)

Well in the past few we've had terrible el nino drought years and this year it won't stop raining long enough to take out the hay or get all the corn planted here in Illinois. I'm worried by fall prices will be through the roof and we may see $7 corn. It seems like these extremes of precipitation are becoming the norm not the exception in our climate changing world unfortunately. But all that can't be controlled. One way that I always judge a summer independent of all that big stuff is how's my tomatoes. Its something so many people love to do all it takes is a few extra feet of yard.

I plant about a 1/2 acre couple hundred for my wife to sell at the market come late July. Usually by late June the early birds in southern Illinois are bringing some down there. No-one's got anything in these parts I suspect because even if they got em in the dirt in early May as I did, they spent 3 weeks just sitting there in mud puddles and not growing. Now I have a few hundred greenies but they are barely bigger than ping pong balls and I don't expect to have any ripe by the 4th. Plants however are big and green and lush about 4' on average and I've managed to fight off the fungi for the most part despite the soggy weather. Water bill looks good I've only watered once!

Just curious how others are doing. My dad used to quote his own grandpa ..."The only two things money can't buy son are true love and home grown tomatoes."

[Siwsan]

1. Horrible. Absolutely horrible, because of the rain

I put the garden in a week late, because of the weather, and the truth is, the tomatoes have barely progressed, at all. I have a few blossoms but I'm resigning myself to a failed crop. I do have a nice pepper, on one of those plants, and the peppers look healthy, as do the Summer Squash (although they are far behind, in growth).

We've had a few days of relatively dry weather, and it is supposed to be sunny and in the high 80's, today. But, more rain is in the forecast.

I'm stocking up on canned corn, stewed and diced tomatoes, at Aldi's, and will probably buy some tomatoes from our local Farmer's Market, so I can have a close to home grown supply, in the freezer, for Winter soups and stews. I'm also going to stock up on dried beans and lentils.

[jcgoldie]

2. Where are you exactly?

Sounds like we've had similar weather.

[Siwsan]

3. Mid-Michigan (Flint)

I was in western Maryland, over the weekend. We saw some fields with corn that looked like it was thriving but was not quite a foot tall. And we saw lots and lots of fields, through Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, that still had significant standing water.

[jcgoldie]

4. Here in southern Illinois a lot of corn hasnt been planted :(

[Siwsan]

5. Same here, in Michigan

I've cleared an entire shelf, in the pantry, so I can get a good stock of canned goods purchased, before the prices start to spike.

[jcgoldie]

7. Good idea

Unfortunately I don't have enough shelves to store feed for 30+ dairy goats through the winter.

[redstateblues]

6. Middle TN

On schedule for a good crop first week of July. I have cherry tomatoes already

[jcgoldie]

8. Nice :)

[mopinko]

9. stunted is the word i would use. it's the clouds.

plants i got in the ground are better than those that are just in flats, but neither have done much but shiver.

peppers are even worse.

it's dawning on me that if i dont have a good year round greenhouse, and soon, i am screwn.

[jcgoldie]

10. If you find a solid greenhouse thats affordable I want one too

Ive thought about making one pole barn style and covering it in corrugated plastic but no $ for that yet.

Heres something a little crazy I take my potted plants mostly palm and banana trees in the basement overwinter because I dont have enough south facing windows and no greenhouse yet. I had a bunch of peppers, poblanos serranos and guajillos in small clay pots that I had started in peat pods at the start of the year and never found room in the garden. So I drug them in under the LEDS wondering how long they would produce into winter. Well I thought it was pretty much a failure because evidently the lights werent strong enough to keep them flowering and I got almost zero peppers BUT they were still alive looking emaciated and grey come spring so I carted them back outside... wham they went crazy. Sprouted new leaves everywhere and they already have huge peppers ready for the grill salsas whatever while the ones I started this year are barely 8" tall. I told my wife they are zombie peppers they dont even know they should have been dead a year ago!

[mopinko]

14. i had hopes of building a mini-barn.

but that aint happenin now. was gonna use as much reclaim as possible.

a scratch greenhouse out of reclaimed materials would be fun. windows are easy to come by.

prefab out there for $20-30k would do me fine.
not a fan of polycarb, tho. dont trust it to last.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. My Romas seem to be coming in pretty good...I have a bumper crop of flowers budding...

and quite a few (not kicking the tires amount) tomatoes coming on...it's been like others have said, raining every other day or so...rain rain rain rain! In STLMO...

This rain is self feeding itself too...so much moisture in the ground and such a late flooding season too (rivers (Mississippi, Missouri, Meramec rivers all up for record length of time too)...

Farmers must be having fits as ground is too wet...

[jcgoldie]

12. im just across the river outside Alton

I do know about river flooding even went downtown to sandbag some.

[Kali]

13. only have 4 plants, but they are coming along.

2 Mexican Midgets, have lots of little green fruits that should start turning red soon. 2 heirloom Italian plums, nice big plants a few flowers one or two tiny fruits. Probably getting too hot to set fruit on them now. they will do better after it starts raining.

also have a couple jalapenos that are just sitting there not doing much. that is about it other than decorative plants. gardening is kind of hard here, spring was cold/late, gophers are obnoxious and then it gets hot and dry. had some apricots for a change though. peach tree is almost dead, should rip it out but I have had it so long I can't kill it on purpose.

[DashOneBravo]

15. Girlfriend saisd

We will be having fried green tomatoes soon. Hers are doing well