Nate was a big help with the twine, helping me run it through our rigging.
I can't wait until stakin' tomatoes can be steak and tomatoes! Yum, yum!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Stakin' Tomatoes
Hard to believe, but the tallest of the plants is as tall as I am - boy these things sure have taken off. Yesterday was a little gusty and one of them decided to flop over - thankfully there was hardly any damage, but it was their way of telling me they'd like to get some extra support. So this morning Nater Gater and I took a trip to Lowes and picked up a 1" by 6" by 8' board and I ripped it into 1 inch by 8 foot stakes. I got out my rubber mallet and stepladder and pounded them into the ground next to my four beauties. I then stringed them up with some nylon twine.
Nate was a big help with the twine, helping me run it through our rigging.
MM
Nate was a big help with the twine, helping me run it through our rigging.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Gettin' Pretty Big!
I thought I'd show you all how big the plants have gotten - as you can see they're starting to make gains on the swing set in the background ...
Here's a closeup of the first maters. Of course there are lots and lots of buds over the other three plants ...
MM
Here's a closeup of the first maters. Of course there are lots and lots of buds over the other three plants ...
MM
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Nater and the Maters
Yes, we're all looking strong and healthy down this way - we even feel good enough to put a kid in front of the maters to give you a sense of size ...
He looks pretty cocky doesn't he?
Here's a good shot at some blossoms. I haven't counted the total, but all four plants have a few clusters each:
MM
He looks pretty cocky doesn't he?
Here's a good shot at some blossoms. I haven't counted the total, but all four plants have a few clusters each:
MM
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Still All Green
As you can see, the Mater Matic grads are green and thriving, but so far no buds ...
Not much to say, other than to tip my hat to my competitors - we may be falling behind, but we're taking notes and we may still have a surprise or two left for you all!
MM
Not much to say, other than to tip my hat to my competitors - we may be falling behind, but we're taking notes and we may still have a surprise or two left for you all!
MM
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Down, But Not Out
In case you haven't heard, it's been a little challenging of late for Team Mater-Matic. A week ago everyone on the team was gung-ho for moving outside into the bright sunshine. And that's what we did. The maters had been in their final homes for three days; the weather was sunny and beautiful - it just seemed to make sense that this show get on the road.
So out they went last Tuesday, and given last Wednesday was also beautiful, they went out again. But in checking the maters by the middle of that day, it became apparent something was wrong - all of them had leaves turning white. Yours truly was very sad and worried. What was the cause? Was it the potting soil? Was it the buckets themselves? Was there too much fertilizer in there?
Unfortunately Maters can't talk (although apparently they can sing for some folks). If they could talk they would have told me exactly what the problem was. So I checked the internet and my best guess was a combination of windburn and sunburn. Turns out greenhouse maters need to be gradually exposed to the outdoors. Should have been obvious I guess, but given how they had been growing like gangbusters, I misread growth for strength.
So as a different approach, I let them hang out on the front porch. It's eastern facing, and gets only a couple hours of direct sunlight in the morning, then indirect for the rest of the day. Then every night I'd take Nate's little red wagon and shuttle them back to the protective confines of the garage. And every morning the maters got another wagon ride back out to the front porch. Given each bucket with soil and water is over 50 pounds, I got quite a workout too.
Little by little, the maters are turning around. The whiteness on the leaves didn't advance, and all show new growth. Granted as of today I haven't seen any buds, but I hope they're not far behind. And now that the weather has been above 50 degrees at night, and topping in the lower to mid 80s during the day, the maters get to sleep outside (and my back gets a break - whew!).
So out they went last Tuesday, and given last Wednesday was also beautiful, they went out again. But in checking the maters by the middle of that day, it became apparent something was wrong - all of them had leaves turning white. Yours truly was very sad and worried. What was the cause? Was it the potting soil? Was it the buckets themselves? Was there too much fertilizer in there?
Unfortunately Maters can't talk (although apparently they can sing for some folks). If they could talk they would have told me exactly what the problem was. So I checked the internet and my best guess was a combination of windburn and sunburn. Turns out greenhouse maters need to be gradually exposed to the outdoors. Should have been obvious I guess, but given how they had been growing like gangbusters, I misread growth for strength.
So as a different approach, I let them hang out on the front porch. It's eastern facing, and gets only a couple hours of direct sunlight in the morning, then indirect for the rest of the day. Then every night I'd take Nate's little red wagon and shuttle them back to the protective confines of the garage. And every morning the maters got another wagon ride back out to the front porch. Given each bucket with soil and water is over 50 pounds, I got quite a workout too.
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| Even Gimpy's lookin' good! |
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| 'Slim' (hopefully not Slim Pickings) |
Little by little, the maters are turning around. The whiteness on the leaves didn't advance, and all show new growth. Granted as of today I haven't seen any buds, but I hope they're not far behind. And now that the weather has been above 50 degrees at night, and topping in the lower to mid 80s during the day, the maters get to sleep outside (and my back gets a break - whew!).
MM
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Pretty Maids all in a Row
Now here's a lovely site, eh? Happy Maters basking in that warm sun. They seem to have perked up quite a bit just being outdoors. I put them out this morning just as the sun was peeking over the neighbor's house. I suspect I'll easily get 8 to 9 hours of full sun in this spot today. Also, it seems the green buckets trap quite a bit of the warm stuff too. Although I don't have very accurate probe thermometer, it appears I'm getting internal bucket temps in the mid to upper 80's.
Here's a closeup from the side. Can you see the quarter? Yes, it's quite small in comparison to those maters, isn't it?
They are now officially off the grow lights!!!
MM
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