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Delicious bounty every night!
Catfacing
Rotting of flower ends
Nibble
Three-lobed tomato
Duck tomato
Sunburn bleach on green zebra fruits.
The lower leaves have finished their work in favor of the younger foliage and are dying back.
The Sungold plant is still lush, but without new flowers – most likely because it has been above 95 degrees for a few weeks. The flowers should settle again after the temperature has dropped below 90 for a few weeks.
Celebrity foliage dies at the end of its life because it is a “defining” variety. Hopefully I can extend the harvest of the remaining ripe fruit before the plant gives up completely.
Cucumber flowers and fruit set
Uneven watering leads to fullness at the stem end, but to an unfilled section at the end of the flower. If the lack of water persists for several days, the meat can become bitter at this end. Some varieties are more susceptible to this trait than others. Sometimes it is enough to cut this end off to use the remaining fruit.
Yellow gold runner beans are loading.
The delicate aroma of yellow crookneck pumpkin tastes as if the fruit has already been buttered. Yum!
Jujubes change color. Now eaten, they are sweet and crispy like an apple. They wait until they are completely brown and wrinkled. They are chewy and super cute like a date, hence their common name – Chinese Date.
Colorful zinnias
Intense purple artichoke flowers attract bees.
First, the certainty that they are annoying but not devastating, and usually a one-off event that can be avoided.
Tomato problems
Catfacing
Ugly patterns usually on the bottom of the fruit. Caused by incomplete pollination by damp flowers. Only cut it off if it is strong enough to enjoy the meat.
Blooming red
Dried out end of the fruit where the flower was. Caused by calcium deficiency due to the drying out of the cells at the outermost part of the plant where moisture is removed, usually when the weather suddenly gets hot and the irrigation water is not supplied quickly enough. Simply cut off the discolored area.
Nibble
Some animals took a few bites, but the tomato meat was callused, so there was no decay. Simply cut the calloused area.
Deformity
The meat develops unevenly – sometimes entertaining – due to incomplete pollination.
sunburn
If the fruits perish without a sufficient mulch, the fruit burns where the sun shines so intensely. In our climate with clear skies, bright sun and dry air, we must encourage tomato plants to develop as much foliage as possible to protect the many fruits wherever they develop.
Dried bottom leaves
The older, lower leaves dry out and shrink when they have served their purpose, and the younger leaves take over higher on the plant.
No new flowers
When the air temperature rises above about 90 degrees – certainly 95 degrees, as has been the case for a few weeks – the flowers stop hardening. They will be reset as soon as the air temperature has dropped below 85 degrees for a few weeks. This may mean a good month in midsummer when we don’t have any new flowers to plant fruit. For this reason, it is particularly advisable to promote growth in the early season in order to bloom and plant fruits that continue to ripen during this “fallow” period without flowers.
Whole plants die
“Determinant” varieties like Celebrity and Ace grow compactly, produce their fruits and then die. Nothing you do will extend their life. “Indefinite” varieties such as Sungold and Cherokee Purple continue to grow and grow until they are killed by frost or neglect.
A lot of bees and cucumbers
In addition to the abundance of tomatoes, our beans and cucumbers begin to overload us with their delicious offspring.
YAY FOR GROWING VEGETABLES!
I love checking the prices in the shop and at the farmers market for the “gourmet” versions of everything that is plentiful in my garden. There is nothing better than being so proud to serve something that would cost an incredible amount of money if I had to buy it – which I would not do, of course – not to mention the quantity and quality of goodness that ours Garden has been able to enjoy it for weeks and save all the “imperfect” products that would never be commercially available, but ensure our extremely healthy diet and enjoyment!
