Anyone doing a garden?

[Eywadude]

Works for all plants, vegetables, and fruits; if you haven't been using, or live under a rock, handfuls of Epsom salt once a month will make your yield explode!!! 2 years ago, 22 maters from one plant, last year (Epsom salt year lol) 112 maters. I've used it on my lawn for years to replenish magnesium back into our sorry Colorado soil, but 2 years ago started using it on all plants inside house and out and the results were dramatic!

I don't know about all this Epsom salt. Most soils are not magnesium deficient, and if yours is, repeated additions will build it back up relatively fast. Too much will unbalance the Ca/Mg ratio which can cause other problems. I would get a soil test at your ag extension service and find out where you're at on pH, minerals and Ca/Mg ratio. I say this to anyone who's adding amendments and hasn't tested their soil, whether it's lime, fertilizers, volcanic rock dust, you name it. If you don't know you need it, you're shooting in the dark. Maybe you just had a good tomato year?

One of the main reasons plants and lawns suffer toward the end of the season is magnesium and nitrogen deficiency's in our area. I've used Epsom salt on my lawn, multiple times a year, for many years. The best part about it is that it doesn't built up in the soil like commercial fertilizers. Good year or not, every vine, veg, or bush I put it on explodes with blooms and grows to freakish heights.

I'm in agreement with Hajidub, epsom salt has made a difference with my tomato plants too. I use pots for mine, so I don't have to worry about soil conditions or other accumulative imbalances from year to year since the soil gets swapped out every year. Just one (of several) advantages pots have over in-ground growing. Anyway, all I know is that I use plenty of bone meal, and now I'm using the epsom salt and things seem to be doing even better for me too. However, in addition to the conversation about this, two nights ago I talked to a biologist friend of mine about why epsom salt works for tomatoes and other plants, so if you please, put your scientist's hats on for a minute here, because this is what he had to say. lol.....

He said MgSO4 is the chemical formula for epsom salt which is mainly composed of magnesium, sulfur and oxygen, with magnesium being extremely important to nearly every organism on the planet. Apparently, the reactivity of magnesium (owing to the availability of electrons in the outermost regions of an Mg atom) makes it an ideal element for a wide array of biochemical reactions. Magnesium is an extremely important plant nutrient, and in fact, at the core of chlorophyll itself is a magnesium atom. In addition to adding magnesium (or epsom salt) to the soil, the addition of calcium is very important too. Calcium is also a very reactive metal which is very important in plant metabolism.

He also mentioned an enzyme (unfortunately, he didn't mention the name of it) that plants use to split water molecules. Water splitting is where this enzyme within plants splits water into its separate components: hydrogen, and oxygen. What does this mean? Essentially, molecules of the chlorophyll pigment are excited by solar energy and donate their electrons to start a flow of energized electrons that play a key role in the process of photosynthesis. The chlorophyll’s donated electrons need to be replaced, and these electrons come from the splitting of water, which is what the enzyme helps to do. In addition, this enzyme also contains calcium which is key to this process. So essentially, calcium is required by the enzyme to aid photosynthesis, and is also a key component of plant metabolization. Not to mention, the production of chlorophyll requires a magnesium atom at its core to exist. So, being that chlorophyll has a magnesium atom at it core, this is again why magnesium plays such an important role in plant growth and production. Given that there are literally billions of chlorophyll molecules in a mature tomato plant, you can see why magnesium is so important for not only a plant to survive, but thrive. Which is why epsom salt tends to work so well because it is mostly composed of magnesium.

So without magnesium and calcium, tomato plants would not be able to create the enzyme that aids photosynthesis, chlorophyll, or plant metabolization. That's why if there is not enough calcium and/or magnesium in the soil for tomato plants they will develop blossom-end rot because the plants are not functioning properly. Furthermore, give them more of these nutrients, and it tends to not only supercharge them, but also keeps them healthier and happier as well. If you haven't tried epsom salt on your tomatoes or other plants, give it a try. Anyway, hopefully all that made sense to you guys. Cheers.

 

[Hajidub]

I'm in agreement with Hajidub, epsom salt has made a difference with my tomato plants too. I use pots for mine, so I don't have to worry about soil conditions or other accumulative imbalances from year to year since the soil gets swapped out every year. Just one (of several) advantages pots have over in-ground growing. Anyway, all I know is that I use plenty of bone meal, and now I'm using the epsom salt and things seem to be doing even better for me too. However, in addition to the conversation about this, two nights ago I talked to a biologist friend of mine about why epsom salt works for tomatoes and other plants, so if you please, put your scientist's hats on for a minute here, because this is what he had to say. lol.....

He said MgSO4 is the chemical formula for epsom salt which is mainly composed of magnesium, sulfur and oxygen, with magnesium being extremely important to nearly every organism on the planet. Apparently, the reactivity of magnesium (owing to the availability of electrons in the outermost regions of an Mg atom) makes it an ideal element for a wide array of biochemical reactions. Magnesium is an extremely important plant nutrient, and in fact, at the core of chlorophyll itself is a magnesium atom. In addition to adding magnesium (or epsom salt) to the soil, the addition of calcium is very important too. Calcium is also a very reactive metal which is very important in plant metabolism.

He also mentioned an enzyme (unfortunately, he didn't mention the name of it) that plants use to split water molecules. Water splitting is where this enzyme within plants splits water into its separate components: hydrogen, and oxygen. What does this mean? Essentially, molecules of the chlorophyll pigment are excited by solar energy and donate their electrons to start a flow of energized electrons that play a key role in the process of photosynthesis. The chlorophyll’s donated electrons need to be replaced, and these electrons come from the splitting of water, which is what the enzyme helps to do. In addition, this enzyme also contains calcium which is key to this process. So essentially, calcium is required by the enzyme to aid photosynthesis, and is also a key component of plant metabolization. Not to mention, the production of chlorophyll requires a magnesium atom at its core to exist. So, being that chlorophyll has a magnesium atom at it core, this is again why magnesium plays such an important role in plant growth and production. Given that there are literally billions of chlorophyll molecules in a mature tomato plant, you can see why magnesium is so important for not only a plant to survive, but thrive. Which is why epsom salt tends to work so well because it is mostly composed of magnesium.

So without magnesium and calcium, tomato plants would not be able to create the enzyme that aids photosynthesis, chlorophyll, or plant metabolization. That's why if there is not enough calcium and/or magnesium in the soil for tomato plants they will develop blossom-end rot because the plants are not functioning properly. Furthermore, give them more of these nutrients, and it tends to not only supercharge them, but also keeps them healthier and happier as well. If you haven't tried epsom salt on your tomatoes or other plants, give it a try. Anyway, hopefully all that made sense to you guys. Cheers.

Not a contest but winner of "greenest plushest lawn" on the block, thanks Epsom! Oh and my neighbors always cut their lawns to close weekly, dum-dums.

 

[whoaru99]

No, but I do have two jalapeno plants, a Tabasco pepper plant, and a German Queen tomato plant in containers.

 

[www.records]

Looks and sounds like their gardens are doing well. Full Tilt Boogie!

 

[Wildcat]

Well, MI garden is coming along - tons of small green tomatoes. Just waiting for them to ripen. Top 2 pics - Tomato's and 3rd year for Oregano (man worse than mint).

Heh, no kidding on the oregano. I planted a small patch of it and after a couple of years it had taken over an entire planter. I ended up yanking all of it this past spring, and now have just a few popping up here and there, which is just enough for us. I use a lot more basil, and parsley. So, those are doing well here. The only food I planted this year were radishes, in the same raised bed. Harvested one crop, and just planted another.

I may try the hanging tomato plants next year, to keep them off of the ground. It is impossible to grow plants in what used to be my garden--the pond next door pretty much ruined it.

The grass is growing nicely where the garden used to be, though.

I have been eating bacon and tomato sandwiches the last 3 days. I love these and will devour dozens off them over the next few months. Probably not the healthiest choice, but I have done stupid shit before.

I use turkey bacon. Not the same, I know, but I dislike bacon grease and the upset stomach that goes with it. It's my compromise. But for the tomatoes, I used to cut up a few nice large heirlooms daily and put some homemade Italian dressing, or plain vinegar (balsamic, or wine vinegar) on them in a bowl, and that would be my lunch.

Not bad from a 100 x 100 foot area

Jeez, where I live, that's larger than my entire lot! If I ever move away from here, though, I do want to be on some acreage so I can plant a lot of these goodies again, and in decent quantity.

 

[Hyfi]

My garden did not do so well this year. The 100 cloves of Garlic planted last Thanksgiving appeared to grow nice healthy tops, but when I dug them up I found that the cloves never matured and developed into whole heads of Garlic. They remained individual cloves with growth. I wonder if the Garlic we chose was genetically modified like most food today.

Then I planted 100 Onion Sets, which grew real nice to about 8" plants, but we had a 2 week heat wave in May which just burned them all out.

We planted 200 Peas from last years pods and only a few plants grew. We re-seeded and still nothing. By the time I purchased and planted new ones, they grew real nice and flowered, but now it is just too hot and they are fizzling out.

None of my hot pepper plants are green and have little fruit on them. Swiss Chard is OK now but we have been battling Leaf Miners.

The Romaine and Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce did pretty good, Cherry Tomatoes are coming thru. Most of my Tomato plants are also not as healthy as they should be. I am using manure and Fish Emulsion food.

I am about to give it all up or scale way back next year. It has become so costly and time consuming. I would much rather go to a different local farm market every weekend than stay a slave to my own. It would be cheaper and more enjoyable. But, I am torn about it because there is nothing like farm to table.....20 feet away.

 

[Hajidub]

My garden did not do so well this year. The 100 cloves of Garlic planted last Thanksgiving appeared to grow nice healthy tops, but when I dug them up I found that the cloves never matured and developed into whole heads of Garlic.

Just curious, how does one determine if a planted garlic clove is ready to pick? Daughter planted some last year and I was clueless on when to pick.

 

[Hyfi]

Just curious, how does one determine if a planted garlic clove is ready to pick? Daughter planted some last year and I was clueless on when to pick.

You are supposed to plant single cloves about 6 inches deep before the first frost. Theory is it grows below until warm enough to grow above ground.

What you look for for harvesting is when the first 3 lower leaves brown and shrivel. Then you pull it and dry it. Some people dry it dirty but I prefer to take the next 2 good leaves and peel it right off to the roots. Then it is clean and ready to dry for 2 weeks. Next cut the stalk off about an inch and a half above the clove and all the roots.

The last 3 years were pretty successful, this year just plain sucked and I have no garlic left from last season.

What is interesting, is what you buy in the store is 6 months to a year old. When squeezed, it is white and sticky. Fresh Garlic squeezes out clear and juicy.

And that trick they try to show you about shaking the cloves in a bowl to peel it, well it only works on year old Garlic. Fresh garlic takes time, patients and fingernails to peel for use.

 

[toxcrusadr]

I put the garlic clove on the cutting board, put the flat of a chef's knife over it, and whack it with my other hand. It breaks the clove enough to release the skin. Peel it off and proceed with chopping. Learned that from Julia Child.

 

[Hyfi]

I put the garlic clove on the cutting board, put the flat of a chef's knife over it, and whack it with my other hand. It breaks the clove enough to release the skin. Peel it off and proceed with chopping. Learned that from Julia Child.

Have you tried that with Garlic 2 weeks out of the ground? Julia never used Fresh Garlic either.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Yes I have, you're right, when it's that crunchy it doesn't work quite as well. Very fresh garlic is worth the trouble though. Mine comes up all over the garden beds, wherever I grew some last year or the year before and missed digging up a scrawny head. In fall or very early spring, I dig up a couple clumps, separate them into slips (a bucket of water helps here) and replant. I have one area that's overgrown with purple and yellow coneflowers (kinda shady nowadays for vegetables, so I let it go). There's volunteer garlic there every year to use as starters.

Man that's some good eatin' when it's fresh.

 

[Texun1]

Pulling the plug on the summer garden. Time to get it ready for the fall and winter crops. Added up the poundage based on the invoices of what I sold to my 3 restaurants and it was pretty impressive this year. 875 lbs of tomatoes, 275 lbs of potatoes, 482 lbs of mixed squashes, 75 lbs green beans and 342 lbs of mixed peppers. This doesn’t count what we put up canning and placed in the freezer. Not to mention feeding the wife and I, my son, daughter and their families.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Wow. That's a lot of vegetables.

 

[Eywadude]

I wish I had the space to grow more stuff. Too much shade on my property.

 

[sfox52]

Durn groundhog got my string bean bush, I had it ringed with wire fencing but it climbed in & got em. If I didn't live in suburbia...

 

[Wildcat]

Groundhog ate down my entire small garden several years ago, and it was under a part of the deck where I could not trap it.

 

[Hajidub]

Groundhog ate down my entire small garden several years ago, and it was under a part of the deck where I could not trap it.

Need to stop playing Kenny Loggins so loud!

 

[toxcrusadr]

I posted earlier in the spring that I had the best snow peas ever. I grew them on the outside of the cylindrical tomato cages. Trouble is they were planted a little to tight and were on the INSIDE of the cages, and when I stuck the tomato plants in, they got shaded out. By the time the temps reached 90 in June and I ripped out the peas, the tomatoes looked horrible. Spindly and weak. They never did do much of anything. Shows how important it is to get them a good start before it gets hot out. They had all the sun they wanted but haven't grown.

Luckily I had 4 extra plants that I stuck in a different bed in a spot where a tree had previously shaded it so bad that nothing grew much. That tree went away last year and that bed is doing great. Those 4 plants are the best looking and with the least tomato blight I've seen for years.

I also planted some okra in that bed for the first time and it's looking great. I'll have to get some pics, you would not believe the contrast in the tomatoes.

 

[Eywadude]

Jeez, I keep forgetting to post here.

Well, this is what's left of my tomato plants. All things considered, given how cool and overcast it's been this year, and given that my plants only get 4-6 hours of direct sunlight on sunny days (you can see the amount of tree cover there is on my property in the first pic, that's only half of it), I am pretty happy. I got plenty of 1+ pound tomatoes off my plants this year with more to come. I've been eating more tomato sandwiches than you could imagine, and I ain't gettin' tired of 'em either. So tasty! The varieties I planted are Ashleigh, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Carbon, Crnkovic Yugoslavian, and Estler's Mortgage Lifter. The Carbon variety is the stunted little plant in the second picture, but it produced well and they have fantastic flavor. It gets even less direct sunlight than the other plants, but it still produced plenty of 6-10 oz. tomatoes which is pretty normal for this variety. Unfortunately, some of these tomatoes and the leaves have holes in them due to a hail storm we had here about 2 weeks ago. The last picture is of an Ashleigh tomato I picked this morning. It weighed 1 lb. 4 oz. Oh, and don't mind the peeling paint on the side of the house. Unfortunately, the stucco underneath is getting all powdery and the paint won't stick. :/ Anyway, 'maters!

 

[sfox52]

I'm wondering about trying epsom salt on my later maturing tomato plans- I have a couple in a container and one separate from my others. The mature ones are starting to fail due to blight or root rot (wettest July and August I can remember!). I guess it is worth a shot- I usually have to give up on them by the end of September in any case.