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Just planted some romas starts from Home Depot...they look very healthy...got some bell peppers too...any advice on either?
Carrie
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Hi Carrie:
I tried planting Roma tomatoes 2 years ago and a fungus got them. I paid around $25 for pots, dirt, starts, and cages and got about 2 tomatoes. Pretty expensive at $12.50 each. I think it was too wet here in Leilani where I was growing them. If you are closer to the coast and have drier conditions maybe yours will do OK.
I'm trying cherry tomatoes at the moment. I started them from seeds 48 days ago and they are about 14 inches high at the moment and quite healthy. I understand that cherry tomatoes are more resistant to diseases and do better here. So far so good.
I also have green beans and radishes as well and they are doing good too. One of these days I am going to give Pam's hydroponic contraption a whirl and try out some lettuce. Too many projects and too little time. Oh well..
I finally got around to planting some papaya trees. I ate a papaya that I thought was tasty so I took some of the seeds and de-pulped them and rinsed them well. I let them air dry on the kitchen counter for about 2 weeks then put them into starter pads that a gracious neighbor of mine gave to me. They sprouted after 15 days. I then put them into the ground with natural soil combined with some potting soil and they are about 4 or 5 inches high at the moment and seem to be healthy. I have 11 of them. Apparently it takes about 2 years before you get fruit. Should have planted them 2 years ago instead of the Roma tomatoes I guess. I'll let you know how they turn out in a couple years from now.
Cheerio,
Andrew
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Carrie-If you do get "fungus" on the leaves it's more than likely powdery mildew. Most of the time you can use garden sulphur either in a ready to use spray or if you get the powder form, mix it with water, somewhat like corn starch, make a slurry first and then add the rest of the water and spray, or wet the leaves and dust with the powder. Dusting is somewhat messy and you tend to waste more of the sulphur. The sulphur will also take care of mites if they become a problem.
Andrew-your papaya should fruit before two years. You just need to watch and make sure you have either a hermaphrodite or female tree. The male trees will not produce fruit. You can only tell once the tree flowers and at that time you can see what sex the flowers are. If you need to know how to tell you can email me.
dean
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Thanks Andrew and Dean - hey Dean - how can you tell about the Papaya sex? We have some young trees that are doing well...one is about 6 feet tall and already fruiting...we had to replace ours - they were about 5 years old and dying. These new trees are about a year old.
Carrie
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"Freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn baby's head..." U2
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Carrie-The male flower is really strange looking. I guess that trait isn't limited to papayas. But it's really long, up to five feet in length and will not be confused with the other two types. To tell if you have a female or hermaphrodite, you need to try to peel back the outer petals of the flower and if it peels back cleanly all the way to the stem, it is a female. If you have difficulty peeling it back and it breaks about halfway, it's a hermaphrodite. The female flower normally produces a fruit that is more rounded and the hermaphrodite is more pear-shaped but the shape is also dependent on the variety of papaya. A hermaphrodite can produce fruit on it's own but a female will need to have a male of hermaphrodite in the area. We used to recommend planting three seedlings in a planting hole and once the sex of the tree is determined, cut the other two down. The percentage of hermaphrodites used to be 2 out of 3 plants being hermaphrodite but again it depends on the variety. On certain varieties the percentages have gotten better.
Sorry for hijacking the thread
dean
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It's all good, Dean. My trees are already 3-6 feet tall so just starting to bear fruit. The flowers I see are the ones that happen at the top before they fruit. So, one of the fruits looks more like the hermaphrodite type.
Carrie
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http://www.vintageandvelvet.blogspot.com
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The romas are doing well...they are maturing nicely...gave 'em a good spray of some organic fish emulsion fertilizer [xx(] but other than the smell, I hear it's a good product.
Carrie
http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com
http://www.vintageandvelvet.blogspot.com
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quote:
Originally posted by Carolann R
Just planted some romas starts from Home Depot...they look very healthy...got some bell peppers too...any advice on either?
Carrie
http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com
http://www.vintageandvelvet.blogspot.com
"Freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn baby's head..." U2
Carrie advice for the Roma's....Crush in a blender then in one large pot, heat EVOO brown garlic and onions, and of course some Italian sausage bring to a boil and cook for two hours. Next, call my house and invite me over.
We got about 8 more this week larger then a baseball.
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I'm thinking Cherry is probably best for me as I've never grown here before, any advise on the best time to start them, and whether to buy the plants or grow seeds, etc.? Thanks!
~ Rachael
~ Rachael
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Rachael-I have some Red Robin cherry tomato starts if you're interested. Where are you located? I will be in HPP next weekend. Let me know if you are interested. You should be able to get a perpetual crop in a short time.
dean
