Lupara

For the performative unwoke: Every generation grows more tolerant than the last unless fascism rules.

For the performative unwoke: Every generation grows more tolerant than the last unless fascism rules.

For the performative unwoke: Every generation grows more tolerant than the last unless fascism rules.

For the performative unwoke: Every generation grows more tolerant than the last unless fascism rules.

I am now reaping the rewards of all the sweating and money we put into building the raised beds with hoop houses on top.  I think we will be adding more next year.  No pests, no serious diseases, no weeds, no back pain, and I can go through them to actually look under the plants for problems and pruning.  I am getting Okra, huge tomatoes and will be getting beets, cabbage and herbs.  The Marigolds and Calendula I added for pollinators and protection from invasives, are the largest I have ever seen.  Soaker hoses are the bomb guys!  I used a lot of broken down wood chips in the soil and a bale of ProMix with Mycorrhiza in each one.  I can dig through the soil with my fingers if need be!  I also found some amazing varieties of tomatoes.  For Cherry tomatoes I will now grow Yellow Pear and Cherry Falls.  For eating I will grow Green Zebra.  For slicing and canning, Doty Oxhart and Amish Paste plus a few others that I can't remember right now.  Next year, we're doing corn in a low raised bed to rotate with potatoes and cabbage.  Got a project to build in the spring!

I have lots of peppers this year and many are this size and a couple a little bigger.

You can get an app for your smartphone named "PlantSnapp"; take a photo of it and the app will identify the plant/flower.
Used it a couple times and it was spot on.

This is why the Federal Government, Pennsylvania and your own counties support Extension and the Master Gardener programs. 
In case of a famine situation, you need to be able to grow your own food successfully and get good healthy and abundant crops without chemicals.  Even today, everything you grow and preserve is less gas, travel, chemically laden, expensive and scarce foods that you have to deal with.
In history, during a famine, people depended on the countryside gardeners to grow the food.  London only survived through the Allotment Gardens which are still used today.  
Master Gardeners are VOLUNTEERS who use their own time and money to teach about gardening. They are not flower gardeners although they do heavily support the protection of pollinators which do make gardens grow.  They try to always do it without chemicals, and the best part is that they are FREE for you.
We knew this time was coming and have trained heavily to answer your questions without resorting to unknown methods that may have worked acceptably, sometimes, in the past.  Sometimes they were sheer poison and ended up poisoning the people or the soil.  
Give the Garden Hotline a call at 849-7361 (508) and let us get you a researched answer to your garden problem.
You can also go to the Pennsylvania Facebook Master Gardener page. It is loaded with answers.

Cut off the bottoms of milk jugs and put them over your peppers when you first plant them. Leave the lids off. This gives them a fighting chance against insects until they get bigger. I do this with my eggplants if they are small and it saves them from being destroyed by flea beetles. New transplants have enough stress without having to deal with  being gnawed on by bugs. 

The Perfect Tomato
Cheryl J. Shenkle
6-10-20
That first perfect tomato for canning, lunch, sauce or just eaten right in the garden with a salt shaker, begins with the seed.  From the time it is selected to be planted, its final quality is determined by its genetics, care and the soil it is grown in.  While it is used as a vegetable by most people, it is technically a fruit/berry.
Genetics determine whether a tomato is Determinate, Semi-determinate or Indeterminate.  If you want a large crop of fruit for preserving then you want a Determinate such as Roma which will ripen its fruits almost all at the same time so you have plenty to work with. It is an annual.
An Indeterminate tomato is just the opposite, tomatoes ripen in stages over weeks so you can get some every few days for salads and sandwiches. It is a perennial.
Semi-determinate are somewhere in between with a moderate crop to begin with and stragglers coming along later. 
The size of the tomato is also determined by genetics.  The first tomato, from South America, was relatively tiny but has been selectively bred over the decades for flavor, size, shape, color, meatiness, juiciness, firmness and disease resistance.
Flavor is generally developed from genetics but can be influenced slightly by the soil in which it is raised, pollination numbers, sunshine and the moisture available.  Whether you like the smooth taste of a very sweet tomato, the balance of a sweet/tart tomato or the tanginess of a Green Zebra, there’s a taste for everyone.
Meatiness (thick walls, little juice, few seeds) is mainly genetic, and while it sometimes goes hand in hand with mealiness, (dryness and toughness) there is a fine balance for the perfectly silky or robust thickly textured sauce.  Once you find that perfect paste tomato for your Mother’s Spaghetti Sauce, then remember it and order that plant for the next year.
Some tomatoes have lots of seeds and moisture.  Those again are part of the plants genetics.  Too seedy and it can make processing difficult.  If you want juice, then you want a large tomato with thin walls and lots of space inside.
Color rarely influences the flavor of the tomato although it can be an indicator of higher Lycopene levels.  Some tomatoes have been bred to be almost iridescent, black, brilliant red, white and yellow which is usually indicative of a lower amount of acid.
Size!  Yes! That’s the first consideration for most people when looking for the perfect tomato plant.  Do you want teeny Currant tomatoes, regular Cherry tomatoes in all colors, plum tomatoes for sauces, medium sized tomatoes for general use, sandwich slicers or the behemoths we all want to get bragging rights for growing!  The larger the tomato, usually the longer the time it takes to get the first ripe tomato.  Cherry tomatoes can sometimes be had by the 4th of July.
When you’ve finally found a tomato with all of the qualities that you are seeking, pick up the plant.  It should feel heavy for its size.  Put the palm of your hand on top of the soil with the stem of the tomato between your fingers.  Turn the pot upside down and gently lift off the pot.  Do you see all soil, all roots, or a beautiful netting of both.  Are the roots white and is the soil in the bottom as moist as the top?  If so, you have a keeper.
When you get it home, keep it in a bright dappled light area till you are sure it’s been hardened off, or has been exposed to the wind and sun long enough that it won’t get burned when you set it out in the garden.  Increase the amount of light and air movement daily.  Keep plants moist and give them a very light feeding with Organic Tomato Food, not the blue stuff!  Check with your feed store to find the best quality plant food that they sell.  It won’t be the cheapest for a reason, its top quality.  It must contain Micronutrients and Mycorrhiza, or beneficial microorganisms.  Forget the all-season fertilizers because they usually peter out quickly in very hot or rainy seasons, and who determines when your season ends?
To prevent diseases and pests, plant your tomatoes in a different part of the garden every year.  Plant them at least 3 feet apart for good air circulation to keep them dry and healthy. Make a trench deep enough to cover the stem, remove all of the leaves on that part and bury it with about 8 inches of the tip showing where you want to plant to grow. It will quickly start growing straight up and the buried stem will provide tons of roots to feed it.
Put dry 10-10-10 fertilizer into the soil before planting, and give water soluble tomato fertilizer at half strength about once a week for a couple of weeks, then make it full strength.  If you had a Penn State soil test done and followed their directions, you’re all set to go!
Keep all parts of your plant well up off of the ground.  Soil contains fungus and molds that will not be kind to your tomatoes.  One of the first you will encounter is Early Blight, the most common of the tomato diseases.  The bottom leaves start yellowing and getting spotty, then fall off, and the disease moves right up the plant through the summer till fall.  You will still get tomatoes but they will not be very good or plentiful.
Mulch so that none of the garden soil splashes up onto your plants to cause an infection.  Heavy black and white newspaper, old wood chips, strewn straw and cardboard all make good mulch material.  If materials blow around, lay dead branches through the garden to weigh them down.  Mulch should be approximately 2-3 inches deep, no more.
When watering, do not get the leaves wet. Water droplets will both burn your plants in the sun and cause diseases on cool shady days or at night.
Slugs?  Lay thin boards in the garden and turn them over early in the morning to put the same holes in the hiding slugs that they do in your plant leaves.  A good sprinkling of salt works also.
Trellis, stake or string your tomatoes!  Make them heavy because with good care, the plants will get bigger than you expect.  The best support is a circle of 6 inch welded wire about 5 feet tall. Not much beats that or can go wrong.  If the tomato plant still gets too heavy, simply pound a T Post into the ground on one side and tie it fast.
Prune off all branches up to 1 foot off of the ground, and remove every other sucker from the stem.  At the end of August pinch off the top of the plant and very small fruit spurs so it will focus its hormones on ripening the tomatoes it has already developed rather than spending energy on new ones that won’t get large enough to be of any size or ripen properly.
Pick tomatoes when they are just barely ripe, Don’t wait for a perfectly ripened tomato.  Every varmint in the world loves a ripe tomato’s sugars and rich liquids just as much as you do.
Walk through your garden morning and night to learn the normal “look” of your plants.  If you see even the smallest change then keep a close eye on it.  If it gets worse, then get help.  Don’t wait till it spreads.
If you’ve done all of this, then your plants’ immune systems will be very high and they should be able to resist some disease.  However, pests and disease can still overcome them in the right circumstances.  In that case, check the back of your hand where you will have written the number of your local Penn State Extension Office.  In Jefferson or Clearfield County you may call 849-7361 Extension 508, and leave a message with your problem, phone number(s) and e-mail address, and a Certified Master Gardener will get back to you to answer your questions as soon as possible.  County offices remain closed, but the messages still go through to a Master Gardener who is waiting to assist you on your way to a great harvest!
 
Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Jefferson County
Cheryl J. Shenkle, Coordinator
186 Main Street
Brookville, PA 15825
814-849-7361  Extension 508
cjs5618@psu.edu
http://extension.psu.edu/jefferson
JeffersonMG@psu.edu
https://extension.psu.edu/trees-lawns-and-landscaping/home-gardening(Newsletter)
https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SVd6w3IB2Qd4t55T7 (Survey)

We just built three with hoop houses on top.  Be sure to add native soil, small rocks and all to provide the micronutrients to the plants.  About 1/3 of the growing medium should be plain old Pennsylvania soil.  You can sift it to some degree but only for the big stuff.
Mine is filled with old wood, charcoal, cardboard boxes, wood chips and finally on top, well broken down wood chips and a bale of ProMix for lightness.  On top I'll turn in the native soil, some coffee grounds and wood ash, and worm castings, do a Penn State Soil Test and go from there.
Also, the beds were made with rough sawn hickory from an Amish sawmill.  
 

It was a bit pricey but I wanted to make it because I liked the look and most likely will remake my whole garden  with these type of raised beds because I am lazy and do not like to bend down and plant haha
For those wondering this is good way to fill your raised gardens without using as much soil. It is called Hugelkultur Style Raised Bed. I did this and then added soil that her neighbor had dug out the bank he was clearing. I asked him for a couple buckets worth which I used about three or four wheelbarrows of it.
Then I added mushroom compost and then a big bag of potting soil mix with fertilizer.
When I plant the beds I will update with pics and also how well it or does or doesn't produce.
The only issue will be keeping the soil moist. We will see how this will work out.
Before putting the bed in place I took a mattock and removed the top layer of grass and then laid down some weed barrier cloth.
Stay tuned!
 
Edit. well it seems to have started my pics from last to first. Oh well.
 

When I harden off my plants I do it in dappled sunlight. I'd never put them in hot sun until they go into the ground. Once they are hardened off they can go into direct sun. They go from my heated greenhouse into the large unheated one. I set them under the shelves so that the direct sun doesn't hit them. It gets really hot out there so they get accustomed to temperature changes.  From there they go to an elevated platform under a tree where they get used to less water and wind. You can see the stems getting less succulent. They are semi-shaded and up away from the deer. From there they go into the ground with a dose of weak Miracle-gro.
I used to just plant in Miracle-gro potting soil but one year it was contaminated with fungus gnats. Ruined most of my seedlings. Now I plant in a soilless mix. I plant in a number of different ways. Some seeds go into flats, some in mini-greenhouses and some in pots. I like to experiment. 

I make blocks about the size of the tip of my finger from Jiffy Mix and my mineral starter.  All of the small to medium sized seeds are started in them.  As soon as they have some roots, they are put into a greenhouse mix and transferred to the larger soil blocks (again Greenhouse Medium or ProMix) where they stay for 5-7 days will their roots are even more established.  Then they are dropped into a paper pot to grow to sale size.  At that time they are transferred to my small greenhouse into a shaded area.  I do not let them out into the sun for about a week or more so they gently get used to the higher sun area and do not get scalded by any daytime humidity or water drops.  It should be shaded or dappled light.  Peppers seem to be more sensitive to light exposure than tomatoes.  Right now mine have been out in the direct blasting sunlight with no problems just waiting for new homes.  Don't rush them.
Larger seeds such as Zucchini, Pumpkins, etc, go directly into paper pots with ProMix after a good overnight soak.  
Soil Blockers are expensive and it takes some practice to even make them work right. I only got it because of the number of plants I start for the BUDS Gardeners and the Master Gardeners.
Agway has huge bales of ProMix.  DuBois Feeds also has it.  It lasts forever as long as it doesn't get wet, so if you use even 3-4 bags of potting mix a year, it's cheaper than the small bags.  Just tape the bags shut for the winter to make sure no critters or micro-organisms get into it and you're set for years! I go through bales of it every year but always have some left in an opened bag.
Always save every egg shell possible, even if you have to ask the neighbors.  Dry them when you get a bunch and then microwave them for 1 minute.  They will be HOT!  I grind them into a powder with a spice grinder and usually have a huge jar of them by spring.  I also use Diatomaceous Earth, Bone Meal and Greensand.
When we set them out for sale, they have huge root systems but they are NEVER root bound..
Come and get 'em!

Found one...have to try this one.  Sounds easy enough.
 
Slow Cooker Bread
Although this dough has no color, it is light and airy, like the soft inside of a loaf of French bread. The other surprising part is ... More
Level: Easy
Total: 3 hr (includes cooling time)
Active: 15 min
Yield: 1 loaf
Share This Recipe
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast 
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note) 

Directions
Special equipment: a 6-by-3-inch round pan; a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker
Butter a 6-by-3-inch round pan and set aside.
Combine the butter, yeast, sugar, salt and 1 cup warm water in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 cup of the flour at a time, waiting for each addition to be fully incorporated before adding more. Once all of the flour is added, knead on medium speed for 8 minutes.  
Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, transfer the pan to a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker and cover with the lid. Cook on high until the internal temperature of the bread registers 200 degrees F, about 2 hours. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let cool completely.
Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)

First attempt at bagels this afternoon. Good but I'll try other recipes soon. 1 tbs. minced leeks was a nice touch. I'll get my daughter to help shhape them next time.
https://www.artandthekitchen.com/bread-machine-bagels/
 

Made soft pretzels this afternoon with my daughter. Easy. Really easy. Versatile kitchen gadget when you start googling recipes. We'll stick with this version. 25lb. bags of flour for hotels and restaurants are showing up in the local grocery at about 50 cents a pound. Sauteed a tablespoon of minced leeks to mellow them.  Blended them into 8 ozs of cream cheese for a spread. I can see jalapenos and cheddar in the near future.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/soft-giant-pretzels/
 

This has been a staple lately. It originally was a whole wheat roll recipe but works just as well with regular flour making a loaf of bread.
In order into the machine:
1 1/4 cu water
2 tbs. oil
4 tbs. honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cu flour
1 tbs. yeast
Dough cycle until ready.  Place in pan. Cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 40 to 60 min. Our convection oven on bake takes 25 to 30 min at 350*.  Golden brown or an internal temperature of 180*
A pic appears in the Bread Recipes Topic.
 

The peat pellets were probably sterile but they have absolutely no nutrition in them, just peat.  If you used a potting soil in the paper pots then it would depend on which one you used.  Some of them have no nutrition at all and others are just a starting dose.
Peppers are very specific in what nutrients they want, they demand good drainage, and they like a warm temperature and lots of light.  I'll post an info sheet here for you just as soon as I find it.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/seedlings-turning-yellow.htm
You have some excellent tomatoes going there!  I'm jealous!  Mine just went into the soil blocks tonight by lantern light as we had no electric for a couple of hours.  I was teaching my 11 year old granddaughter to make the blocks while I planted and we had a really good time. I do have a really nice germinating table which has seen a lot of use and success with seedlings.
We do the paper pots also but we do not put a bottom in them as it can block too much oxygen and water.  Another part of that problem is that if they are sitting in a smooth bottomed container, then the excess water really can't drain away. You also have to keep them a little drier than plastic pots because the newspaper holds water and if the pots are pressed tightly together, you will get the same effect.  Don't water till you see that the plant leaves are looking a little dull.  Then don't over do it.It's better to keep indoor starts drier than when they go outside.
I would pick up each pot and give it a tiny sideways squeeze to get oxygen channels back into the soil and then set it back in some sort of a container that will actually drain.  Don't over water and you won't have this problem, and don't water paper pots from the bottom for the same reason.  Once your soil seems to be breathing and draining better, then you might want to try an extremely weak high nitrogen fertilizer on them but be sure they are draining freely first.
 

Are you sure the water is getting to the roots? I would suggest that you give them a thorough watering rather than dribbling water on them. Those starter thingys that you germinated in are generally filled with peat moss that is very hard to wet once it has dried out. Peppers don't like wet feet but then again they don't like drying out either. Peat moss has a very low pH too. It is around 4.4. That would cause yellowing as well. I'd cut those bags open and at least give the plants some access to the soil in the pots. Even if it is a soilless mix it would better than what is probably in the bags. 
Peppers grow slowly and the roots don't penetrate those starter bags for a long time. The tomato roots grow much more quickly so perhaps that is why they are doing better. 

Since lots of people will be home for the next couple of weeks, stay busy with starting your seeds!  Some of them take a lot longer to germinate and get to the proper size to set out into the garden.  Get your garden cleaned up if you didn't do it properly last fall.  Sanitize and sharpen your garden tools, stakes, buckets, etc.  Order an organizer appropriate for your seeds and label them correctly for storage for next year with year, germinating date, inside/outside.  Get your garden journal going.  Build some new beds and test the ones you have with a Penn State Soil Test Kit locally available at Agway for $9.  Be sure all amendments are labeled and sealed properly.  There's lots to do and this is your opportunity.  Being outdoors is healthy for everyone.  Build your immune system by getting out into the sunshine!
The Penn State Garden Hot Line is still working, so take the time to call about any growing problems.  It's provided by the federal, state and county government, so it's free to gardeners!  Just find the number for your county Extension and the call will be forwarded to the Master Gardener Hot line.  You will get a call back, possibly the same day.

Yes, we will definitely have them at the BUDS Gardeners Plant Bazaar.  Usually we do have Leeks, but last year they got missed in the process.  Also, there will be a different variety of plants available in Brookville at the Master Gardener Plant Sale on a different date but some of them will be the same.  I grow thousands of seedlings and donate them all to be sold.  Many of our members in both groups also raise seedlings for those events, and sometimes we are overwhelmed with what all comes in.
We also raise special orders and all are for a donation to local educational or community activities.
The "standard" for starting tomatoes has usually been St. Patrick's Day, but with our changing frost dates, that date has changed slightly also.  Peppers sometimes vary according to the variety, but they are warm weather lovers.  Be sure to prepare a way to protect then from any cold spells.  Also, peppers are perennials, so if you have room for 1-2 plants, you may find that they grow well over the winter and can provide a huge crop the second year outdoors in place of 6-8 new ones.
With everybody and their brother now selling seeds with no completely accurate information for the nooks and crannies of the growing zones, then you have to go by your own growing experience and those around you.  I have to do some rescheduling of my own too.
I'm moving my raised beds to where we raised the turkeys last year because the trees have grown and there's less sun.
Now after all the nonsense of global warming, now they're on to the Grand Solar Minimum and WE'RE ALL GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH from the cold!!!!  The climate shifts constantly.  There is no way to accurately predict when specific temperatures will occur, but there are clues which come from experienced gardeners and groups such as the Farmer's Almanac, which is also "general" information.
We've had a killing frost as late as June 21, and as early as late August, but they weren't normal.  THen there are years when you can set out plants early in May and there will be no frost till October. There will always be anomalies such as these.  Generally you set out a garden with cool crops first, the warm crops later, and some crops not till well into June.  This is from the experience of most gardeners.
Plants are genetically set to fruit in a specific number of days, so sometimes setting them out early isn't a good answer because those days have to be warmer degrees and cool days can damage their harvest even if they look like they are growing well.
There's always the small affordable greenhouse from Harbor Freight which is durable and sufficient for any small gardener to heat with a small electric heater which I do every year.  For one month the electric bill is higher but well worth what I can pass along to others.
For growing advice and questions call 849-7361 which is the Penn State Jefferson County Master Gardeners which exists solely to teach researched gardening practices.  It's a service funded by Pennsylvania and the United States Department of Agriculture, so use it all you want!  We're there to answer your questions..