Look at the size of these tomatoes...

[square1]

:very disappointed: Hey! Those are pics of actual tomatoes! :/very disappointed: Remind me to not bother opening the thread when you post melon pics

 

[Egon]

I love Tomatoes & Cucumbers.

The garden is a two foot strip along side the driveway. Tomatoe is Brandyvine.

Breakfast preparation:


Garden:

 

[TBDonnelly]

Man, those are pretty cucumber plants! Mine are not doing well at all. Usually they produce like rabbits, but we're just barely getting enough to eat. The plants are turning yellow and dying for some reason. I replanted the cukes, hoping maybe they would produce something by this Fall. The tomatoes have done really well this year though.

When I hear yellow and dying makes me think fungus. We have high humidity here in Michigan which promotes fungus growth.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

When I hear yellow and dying makes me think fungus. We have high humidity here in Michigan which promotes fungus growth.

Yeah, that makes sense. Humidity is not normally a problem here, but this year we have had a lot of rain...my farmer friend says he lost 35 acres of Alfalfa because of the rain. I love the Heritage tomatoes, but I don't have much luck growing them here. I plant a variety called "Super Fantastic" which are very disease resistant and will almost always give me a crop.

 

[TBDonnelly]

The TSC cattle panels for tomato cages is a good idea. Do you have a photo of one? I have thought of doing this myself.

I found a picture from a few seasons ago.

 

[lakngulf]

I just use the whole cattle panels and let the plants weave up thru them. Have to help some of the limbs along the way

 

[sixdogs]

Those are great ideas with the cattle panels. I have thought of doing 4-sided tomato baskets for a long time and have wondered if just the panel would work. Looks like both ways work but I think I'll go with the baskets.

 

[TBDonnelly]

Yeah, that makes sense. Humidity is not normally a problem here, but this year we have had a lot of rain...my farmer friend says he lost 35 acres of Alfalfa because of the rain. I love the Heritage tomatoes, but I don't have much luck growing them here. I plant a variety called "Super Fantastic" which are very disease resistant and will almost always give me a crop.

I Planted a few super fantastic this year. So far they look really good. I don't have much luck with heritage tomatoes either, very susceptible to the fungus. I deal with a fungus that has affected my cukes and tomatoes for many years. The best I hope for is managing the fungus till the crop comes in. Remove the infected plants. They become microscopic spore producers left unchecked. Don't compost the infected plants, fungal spores can survive the composting process. This year I sprayed all the tomato cages with bleach water and replaced all the wood tomato stakes with new. So far, better year controlling the fungus than previous years.

 

[lakngulf]

I Planted a few super fantastic this year. So far they look really good. I don't have much luck with heritage tomatoes either, very susceptible to the fungus. I deal with a fungus that has affected my cukes and tomatoes for many years. The best I hope for is managing the fungus till the crop comes in. Remove the infected plants. They become microscopic spore producers left unchecked. Don't compost the infected plants, fungal spores can survive the composting process. This year I sprayed all the tomato cages with bleach water and replaced all the wood tomato stakes with new. So far, better year controlling the fungus than previous years.

We fight tomato enemies down our way as well. Best I can determine my issue is Southern Bacterial Wilt. The plants take off, look green and lush, put on about tennis ball size fruit, and then just wilt away. Normally one stem branch at a time. Rotation is supposedly the only cure, but I don't have the space at home to rotate, so I grow most of my tomatoes at my Mom's house.

 

[TBDonnelly]

We fight tomato enemies down our way as well. Best I can determine my issue is Southern Bacterial Wilt. The plants take off, look green and lush, put on about tennis ball size fruit, and then just wilt away. Normally one stem branch at a time. Rotation is supposedly the only cure, but I don't have the space at home to rotate, so I grow most of my tomatoes at my Mom's house.

I'm fearing my cukes are picking up the wilt. I believe I saw a couple cucumber beetles(see picture) flying around the cucumber vines. Look at the picture of the cucumber vines(center top) and you'll see a droopy stem. No cure I know of, just keep removing the diseased stems and leaves. In years past, near the end of the cucumber production I've dusted the vines with bug killer to hopefully kill of any remaining cucumber beetles. The beetles themselves don't directly cause the wilt, they are carriers and transfer it from diseased plants to healthy plants.