Friday, March 8, 2013

You're not really gardening if you're not killing a few plants.

Well, then, I'm really gardening now! 

Got the first round of tomatoes planted Wednesday February 27th, hung a light on the row cover frames, and covered them.  A few days later I went out there to check them and turn on the water.  Out of 23 plants maybe five were still alive and, from what I could see peeking under the row covers, they didn't look so hot.

It'd been in the upper twenties most every night since planting.  The weatherman said it even got to 21 in "North Spicewood" which I think is me.  I knew it was coming.  I should have waited a week to plant.  I guess I thought the row cover and one incandescent bulb in each bed would be enough.  Bummer.

Oh, well.  You rolls your dice and you takes your chances.  (Sorry ~ no photos of the carnage.)



I bought some more, and went out to replant Thursday.  When I took the covers off the bed to start removing the little dead rootballs, I noticed there was one still alive!  And it looked hardly worse for wear ~ just a little singe on one set of leaves.  I'm impressed.  Kellogg's Breakfast it was.  I did some research to see if it was from a cold climate.  It seems it is from West Virginia originally, by way of Michigan.  Hmmmmmm.  I think I need to do a 'speriment next year on cold tolerant tomatoes...

Here's the list of the ones that were toast:
Slicers:
Black Krim
Cherokee Purple
Valencia
Green Zebra
Aunt Ruby's German Green
Creole
Stupice
Tycoon
Champion
Oxheart
Celebrity
Mortgage Lifter
Arkansas Traveler
Brandywine (pink potato-leaved)
Cherries:
Sungold
Juliet
Large Red Cherry
Gardener's Delight
Black Cherry
Sun Cherry

I re-bought and re-planted most of those as well as these:
Slicers:
Garden Peach
Phoenix
Cherries:
White Cherry
Yellow Pear

I have room for a few more, so I'm on the hunt for a Snow White cherry plant as well as a few more slicers including German Johnson and Red Brandywine.  Wish me luck.

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Update 3/14/13: A few days after planting again, pillbugs and/or cutworms started mowing them down.  ARRRRGH!    In case it was cutworms, I put two bamboo skewers up against each stem of the ones still left, then shook out some Sluggo Plus for the pillbugs.  I need to get some Dipel Dust, too, for added ammo against the cutworms.  Will do that asap.

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Update again, 3/30/13: I think it was pillbugs.  I have yet to see one cutworm despite looking for them at all hours of the day and night, but have seen TONS of pillbugs.  I think pillbugs are the top pest for this spring.  Many people are dealing with them this year.  But not me anymore.  That SluggoPlus worked like a charm!  Gotta' get me more of that.

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