Tomatoes are self fertile, but when there’s high heat they don’t set fruit. How big is the container? I grow some of mine in containers. The tomatoes are not as big as in the ground, but they are decent.
Yes, when they are grown in containers, there is usually very little wind/air movement to induce pollination. A little bit of external help might be needed if the insects are not around.
Just shake the tomato plants for pollination. I had a good harvest with fewer plants this year, I think I spaced them out properly. This year I finally got a huge tomato, Buffalo Steak, it doesn’t look big in picture below but it’s in real life.
I do have some Black Krims in container but they are smaller than the ones in the ground.
Indigo Cherry Drops
Heirloom Marriage Cherokee Purple
Buffalo Steak on the left
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Well, I have a little garden in my front yard, and have been adding some plants to it, but honestly, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. I’m thinking about trying to grow some herbs and also some flowers. I think I’m going to try and find some flower seeds this weekend and get started. I’m also wanting to try planting some tomatoes, but I’m not sure what to do about the drought. I don’t have much problem with watering the garden, but I guess it would be better not to.
Those look great and I am jealous. We don’t have a garden this year as we are gone the month of August. I’m really missing the tomatoes the most. My favorites are sungold. And some local heirlooms whose seeds my Dad gave me from my Grandma’s garden. So tasty.
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Thanks @Htas, I grew SunGold this year in container,I must admit I didn’t give it proper care so I might have to grow it again to have a better taste of this variety, second crop here. Tomato plants are still producing up until Dec so if I start now I still have time. Yesterday I gave lots of heirloom tomatoes to my daughter since I’m going on vacation soon.
I probably will give away some of my figs to people in my Mahjong class. This year I finally know how to pick the figs at the right time, but I have too many, I can’t eat them all and I don’t like to do anything extra, no drying, no freezing, just eat them off the fruit tree is my favorite way to consume them.
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Wow, second crop. We are lucky to get a single crop. Sun Golds are usually in July, then some of the heirlooms going into maybe early September. We get lots of squash and winter produce into November. In time for Thanksgiving. And we do use it. I’ll miss the pumpkins we planted last year, then used for decorating the house.
We used to have a turkey fig tree for years. It was great. The one problem was, it’s too cold to plant outside here. So we used to bring it in the basement. One year we missed the first frost/cold week and it never recovered. The kids still love figs though so that’s a bonus we might not have had otherwise.
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You are right, the flower gardening brings in lots of joy. As the flowers are always in full bloom and flowers make your house look more lively and colourful. Here are some tips to grow flowers in the garden: Use rich organic soil. Add organic fertiliser and organic compost. Use organic pesticides, it’s better to grow organic flowers non-GMO. You can grow in a small pot, use a hanging planter or grow from seed. If you want to plant in a large garden, be sure to till the soil well and add organic fertilizer. You can grow flowers in containers. This will help you to manage the size of the plants. Also, you can make a colourful garden. You can also grow cut flowers and make your home fragrant.
Flowers do bring a lot of joy but that’s in Spring, they just are not producing lots of flowers in the summer. Right now I get to enjoy my melons. I planted 24-26 plants and I have picked 3 melons so far. This one I just cut for my husband.
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Anyone have any good ideas for keeping things alive in super hot weather? We have a sprinkler system ( and plenty of well water). I planted ten rose bushes this year along the stone wall. They seem to be doing fine but it’s supposed to pass 100 for a couple of days. Any tricks like watering at night or dousing them? They are in the shade.
My husband has been given my plants extra water, but we water at 4am to stop water evaporation. My roses look decent. Some just don’t flower period.
I think dousing does more harm that good.
Though it’s sometimes necessary for time management to water in the evening, an early morning water is better - won’t evaporate overnight and will carry the plant through the day. At least they are in the shade!!
It’s been super hot here and my sun hanging baskets are showing the heat wear and tear on them. We are leaving for a few days - I’ve started trailing this method for when we are gone.
- Move hanging baskets and any other movable sunny pots into the shade.
- I took a HUGE rubbermaid container we had. Took the lid off and flipped it under side up. I’m filling the lid and the actual container with water 2-3 inches of water in each. I set my dry plants in the lid last night. This morning they have (appears) nicely sucked up what they need and there is still some water in the lid. Tonight I’ll put my potted tomato plants in the container water.
The hope is the combo of the shade/filtered sun and the water AND maybe a local rain or two will carry them through the time we are gone. I’ll try and get a photo later!
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This is a huge Savoy Hotel rose that I just planted in March and it’s in container, but in the shadier area, second flush.
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Drip irrigation, not spraying-type irrigation nozzles/heads. And water super early in the morning. If they’re looking extra crispy in the temporary super hot weather, hand water as well to give them an extra boost until the super hot temps pass.
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Mulch heavily. It will keep the soil cooler for them and will make a tremendous difference.
One of the easiest and fastest things would be to get one compressed straw bale, open it up and fluff the straw and spread all up and down that row - to a depth of 8-10." (A compressed bale is heavy but very compact, I drive a hatchback and can fit two in there. After you cut the strings you fluff out the straw again - it will be compressed into layers that you want to break up so that they don’t inadvertently shed water - this is easy and quick to do.)
Do not water the foliage, and do not water at night; roses are very susceptible to all sorts of issues and both those practices can encourage disease.
It’s better to water slowly and very deeply than to water every day - train those roots to stay deep in the soil and not look for water in the top 6" of dirt. I have roses that I water once a week when we have 100 degree weather; I’ll give them loads of water and they have a very deep mulch. But just once a week.
You mention they’re in shade - but I imagine they’re getting some sun; unless it’s 100% early morning light, shade cloth will also help. But a loose, deep mulch will do wonders.
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+1 on a lavish application of mulch. It is saving my veggies as we enter week 2 of 90+
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It depends on where you are, I’m in California, we don’t really have Black Spot. I don’t mulch my vegetables either, but I do plant them very densely. Our garden is watered by sprinklers, with 160 roses, there’s no way we could hand water them all.
Here is a picture of my just planted cucumber plants from seeds, no mulch.
Thank you. I won’t douse then. The sprinkler runs in the very early AM. I’ll maybe give them a bit more water in the evening.
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The rose beds are in a mulched bed ( thanks to my spouse) and they had a lot of peat mulch laid in before planting.
Our field was recently cut so we have bales of hay. It’s rolled. It’s salt hay so it retains the salt naturally. I just read it’s like mulch.
@DrGoogle123 I am so jealous of your green thumb and weather.
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I am growing a new veggie this year. Trombocino squash. It is similar taste to zucchini but creamier to me. The best thing is this plant doesn’t get squash borer! It does take space as it is a climbing vine. Highly recommended!
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