White Eggplant

I've learned that if the eggplant starts turning yellow then it's past ripe and will be bitter. I figured that out on the first 4. The last 2 came out tasting great. Because I have 3 plants in one container, the size of the eggplants are maybe 3 1/2 to 4 inches. Not very big so next time I'll do one plant in a container. Plenty of flowers that are producing eggplant. I have at least 6 with more forming.

This morning I started the bambino eggplant from seed.   It's supposed to be great for containers.

The tomato saga

This husky cherry red that I planted in July is doing good.






One the right is the BHN 602 and it was doing poorly. It only produced 4 tomatoes. Because the leaves were diseased I cut back all the way to the first stem where the suckers were growing. It does seem to be growing okay and the rain today helped.

This is the sweet 100 cherry tomato in the Topsy Turvey. The stems were very long and it wasn't producing fruit. The leaves were showed black dots on this so I cut this one back as well. You can see the strawberries that I'm trying.



I've been hearing from other people that their tomatoes aren't doing well either. I don't know if it is from the heat or just a bad tomato year. I hope it's just the heat and that it will do better when it cools off.

Speaking of peppers...

I have picked so many sweet banana peppers from this planter. You can barely make out the Topsy Turvey.  Only a few showing on this one because I picked them already. I did repot the single one to a larger container. We had a storm go thru last week and it kept knocking it over.  I hope the plant said "Ahh more room to spread out my roots!" 

The petite bell peppers are doing well and I usually have to pick them every couple of days.  This one was repotted in a larger container as well.  I am learning!

Hot Peppers

So I am not a hot pepper fan because the hot stuff hurts. I decided to try them as I seem to have a knack growing peppers and I'm sure I can give these away with no problem.  I do like the Topsy Turvey for hot peppers.  It works.  On this one I planted two chili red hot peppers and two jalapenos. I probably should have done 3 each.

The jalapenos already started flowering and have one pepper starting. I like the way the stems grow up along the container.

The chili reds haven't flowered yet but I'm sure it will be soon.  This container is in partial shade but I can rotate it for full sun.

Sugar Baby Watermelon

I couldn't resist.  This is a small watermelon that is supposed to get up to 8-10 lbs. which seems perfect for containers.  I think mine will be smaller than that but that's okay.  It should be in full sun but at the time I planted it, I still had squash and zucchini growing (not anymore) and didn't want any bugs traveling over. Ha ha, if a bug really wants it, it will travel but so far so good.  

I draped some vines hoping it helps to keep them off the ground.  There are four small ones and a couple the size of a pebble. As they grow I have to figure out a support so it doesn't stress the vine.  They look so cute.

4th time the charm?

So the cucumbers still evade me.  The third one died.  The cute little cukes that did grow, around five total that was about half inch to one inch long, yellowed and died.  There was one day that I did not get a chance to water. Well that must have sealed it's fate.  It was also looking like the leaves were getting scorched. It's been so hot here in Florida. I do have some netting that I may use to give it partial shade and maybe it will protect it from pesky bugs.

This time I planted in a five gallon bucket as the previous containers were too small. I hope this makes a difference.  I will add mulch to the top so it doesn't dry out as fast. 

Tomatoes

The tomato saga.  Well I keep trying and I'm not happy with the results.  The Sweet 100 cherry tomato that's in the topsy turvey is not looking good and only had 3 tomatoes so far.  The flowers are not producing.  Some stems started to yellow.  I don't know if it's a disease so I sprayed it with a mixture of neem powder, water and a few drops of dish soap.  I had to strain the neem mixture twice so it would not clog the sprayer.
I also used it on my BHN 602.  That one seriously has problems.  Four tomatoes on a plant that's taller than me.
The other tomato plant that I purchased last week started getting spots on the leaves two days.  I'm returning it tomorrow.
I'm not giving up so I purchased a Husky Cherry Red today and will plant it in a 5 gallon container.  I drilled holes on the bottom. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Finally Cucumbers

Yeah, finally have cucumbers growing.  I hope to have more growing.  I first noticed them when I had one vine that spilled over the pot and hovered near the ground.  There were three starting but then the rains came and I lost two. I moved the vine so it can vine up the trellis and then I saw the other two.

Aarrhhh!

These squash bugs are a pain in the butt.  I'm diligent with the insecticidal soap.  I check my garden every morning and there they are.  Usually I find no more than two.  The zucchini did not make it and the squash in going downhill.  

The cucumber is doing well.  I actually had three little cukes starting.  But the daily rain storm did them in.

Not giving up yet

Today was clean up the garden day.  We've had so much rain in the last few days, a lot of leaves and small branches were in the yard.  Moved all the containers and raked it up.  Then I sprayed a bug killer near the side of the cottage.  Let it dry before putting the containers back.  I saw a beetle just sitting on a cherry tomato leaf watching me work. The nerve! I'm sure it looked comical when I chased it down. He managed to get away. I'll be keeping a diligent eye out for him.

Crookneck Squash

I replanted the squash, zucchini and cucumbers from starter plants.  I have them in different parts of the garden so I hope that makes a difference.

Zucchini

Cucumber

Harvest

Cleaned up my yellow wax beans as the foliage was looking terrible. Some of the leaves were yellow with holes. I harvested what I could, even some that were not ready yet. I still have some flowers and beans on them but it's looking sparce.  They are supposed to be bush beans but mine aren't bushy. I added a few more beans to the soil and supports so the leaves and stems don't hang over the pot brushing the ground. The banana peppers are doing well.

White eggplant

My white eggplant is growing nicely.  More beautiful flowers are blooming. Those look yummy.

Bell Pepper

Finally have flowers on the petite bell peppers.

Another one bites the dust

Since my last post my cucumber has died.  Maybe I didn't get all the beetles. This is frustrating as I really wanted my garden to produce.  Perhaps it's where I have the containers.  I would like to have the containers off the ground and on stands. Budget says no. Bugs are eating the leaves on the wax beans and worms are curling the leaves on the eggplant. I reopened the leaves, got the worms out and sprayed with insecticidal soap.

Cleaning up the pests

The squash and zucchini didn't make it. I pulled it out and haven't decided whether to start over. I did see a cucumber beetle yesterday. Chased it down so could kill it. Still no cucumbers yet but plenty of flowers. I saw a bee having a good ole time in the flowers.

Lettuce

This is Parris Island Romaine. I started from seed in March so I hope it does well this summer. It gets afternoon sun and seems to be doing okay. Still have another packet just in case it doesn't. If that happens then it will be started in August.

Zucchini

Oh what joy I felt when I finally saw my first zucchini starting after so many male flowers dropping. I didn't think that was going to happen. Two zucchinis are starting, hard to see sorry.
I think this is being attacked by beetles too. I haven't seen any on the plant but one side collapsed and my two zucchinis turned brown in two days.

Crookneck Squash

Crookneck Squash was easy to start with seeds. If you saw my inspiration post I had to transplant these. I also added a few more seeds just in case the transplant didn't take. Well these grew very nicely and finally have flowers. Unfortunately yesterday it looked like it was dying. Wilted leaves and bent stems all over the place. I watered it and moved it to a shadier spot to recoup.

I have noticed a few beetles around. I think it may be attacking my plant. I did kill them and rechecked the leaves and stems for any hidden varmits. I hope it makes it.

Cucumber

This is a fast growing vine that likes to be watered a lot. I made a trellis from bamboo sticks. I didn't realize that the vine would outgrow it. This was started with starter plants. I'm still trying to figure out how to tell the male from the female flowers. Not enough bees around but plenty of wasps.

White Eggplant

I chose white eggplant to grow because a customer kept saying that it was the best, tastes like veal. LOL I hope so. We didn't have any in seeds so I got the starter plants. It was easy to plant and I read that it likes the heat. The blooms are so pretty. I hope to have some eggplant to eat soon.

Herbs

Time for herbs. I planted cilantro from seed because every time I purchased a starter plant it eventually died. A co-worker told me to try seeds. So far so good.

Oregano and thyme is great to add to any dish. I love the smell of thyme. These were starter plants I started in March. The first photo is a month later. I've trimmed them repeatedly but it looks like the oregano wants to take over.
Basil. What can I say, it's aromatic. Chives are a first for me. Found this starter plant on sale at the grocery store. I ran out of containers so I grabbed what I had.

Culantro is a must have in my garden. The smell when you rub the leaves brings back memories of the spanish dishes my mother made.

Lavender is a first as well. Didn't think I was going to use it but wanted something decorative. It smells wonderful.

Sweet Banana Peppers

The first photo was taken in April. I believe I planted them at the beginning of the month. I was waiting for sweet banana peppers to arrive at work because I didn't want the hot ones. Yes that's the Topey Turvey for peppers. It has 7 openings and shorter than the tomato and strawberry one. I like it. The next two pictures shows quite a few peppers growing. The last one was a left over from my purchase so it's in a separate pot. It likes to be watered everyday. The growth is amazing. I used Sea Magic seaweed fertilizer.

Sweet Potato

I fell in love with pictures of the sweet potato vines. I never grew potatoes before so I tried to get starters. I tried at Burpee but they do not ship these to Florida. So I asked several people at work and they all said stick it in the ground. I purchased one at the grocery store and I put it in a pint sized canning jar with water and put it on the kitchen windowsill. It sat for a few weeks with nothing happening. Then I noticed roots growing and leaves pressed against the glass. I planted it and it has grown so much that a larger container will be needed.

Tomatoes

These are Big Boy tomatoes and they were doing well up until last month. I believe the neighborhood cat sprayed on them one to many times and it died. So I started over with a new variety "BHN 602" in a larger container. It's supposed to be disease resistant and heat tolerant. We shall see how well it does in the Florida heat.

Beans

After repeatedly looking at the book by Pamela Crawford, "Easy Container Combos: Vegetables and Flowers", I had an image in my head for my container garden with 3 different vegetables inside. Got the container, soil and seeds. I planted crookneck squash, golden wax bush beans and romaine lettuce.

What a choice, but this is my way of learning. Seeds sprouted fast, almost too fast because I realized that my container was too small. I read that beans don't like to be repotted so I transplanted the squash and lettuce.

Bush beans are really bushy and I thought it could use some support. I had some bamboo poles and stretchy garden ties. I should not have left it up because with the recent almost daily downpours, it needed more circulation.

I do have beans sprouting, yeah!

I even planted green bush snap beans. I made sure I didn't overload the container.

Strawberries

Started strawberries using the Topsy Turvey for strawberries. It has 15 openings and there was no way I was going to buy 15 starter plants for 3.00 each. I purchased 5 starter plants that already had 3 plants in each container and divided them. Started out great in March and into April (2nd photo). Only lost 3 plants then. Now it looks like a few more are dying. It's mostly on the bottom. Recent rains knocked off the blooms. I'm tempted to take it all out and put in a pot. We shall see what happens.