I harvested one of the garlics and well....there is no bulb. It still tastes of garlic and im using it fresh but guess i need to spend some time reading to do it right next year.

My in ground tomatoes are stocky, with big thick stems. Same varieties in balcony are wimpy. Gathering all kinds if data here!

In-ground maglia rosa and whipper snapper are going crazy. I thought this were compact plants but they are as tall as everyone else and going to start growing over eachother and shading the peppers. Ive been trimming maglias leaves to keep them short.
Lesson learned, all tomatoes need to go in the very back. No matter their alledged size. Or these will maybe just stay in containers next year.

Moth1992 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:40 pm I harvested one of the garlics and well....there is no bulb. It still tastes of garlic and im using it fresh but guess i need to spend some time reading to do it right next year.

My in ground tomatoes are stocky, with big thick stems. Same varieties in balcony are wimpy. Gathering all kinds if data here!

In-ground maglia rosa and whipper snapper are going crazy. I thought this were compact plants but they are as tall as everyone else and going to start growing over eachother and shading the peppers. Ive been trimming maglias leaves to keep them short.
Lesson learned, all tomatoes need to go in the very back. No matter their alledged size. Or these will maybe just stay in containers next year.

It isnt time yet for garlics. That is a while off. Mine havent bulbed yet either.

With harvesting garlic bulbs, the bottom leaves should be brown, with just 2 or 3 at the the top still being somewhat green.

Julianna wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 1:35 am

Moth1992 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:40 pm I harvested one of the garlics and well....there is no bulb. It still tastes of garlic and im using it fresh but guess i need to spend some time reading to do it right next year.

My in ground tomatoes are stocky, with big thick stems. Same varieties in balcony are wimpy. Gathering all kinds if data here!

In-ground maglia rosa and whipper snapper are going crazy. I thought this were compact plants but they are as tall as everyone else and going to start growing over eachother and shading the peppers. Ive been trimming maglias leaves to keep them short.
Lesson learned, all tomatoes need to go in the very back. No matter their alledged size. Or these will maybe just stay in containers next year.

It isnt time yet for garlics. That is a while off. Mine havent bulbed yet either.

Oh thanks! I know people in carmel and watsonvile who are harvesting them now. But guess we are more coastal and its colder. (WHY IS IT SO COLD ITS SUMMER FFS)

For me, 5 green leaves and the scapes intact last longer in storage. I try to grade them by expected longevity in storage and last year it worked pretty well.

Today i met another of the gardeners, was happy because he is the only other one doing tomatoes and peppers. He said last year he got a good harvest in september october, even if some people took some.

His plot is one of the "accessible ones", its narrower and tall so he has much less planting space but i love what he has done with it, planting spring stuff in between summer stuff very compactly but harvesting the lettuces now while the tomatoes are still small. I feel I can learn a lot from him.

Other than that my plot is doing ok, lots of flowers but no fruit yet. The cucs are slowly getting bigger leaves. The tomatoes are kinda wild and ignoring my attempts to keep them somewhat with 3 leaders.

No gopher attacks, they are busy with the unprotected plots.

Maglia Rosa is taking over my plot.

In my balcony she is delicate, demure and contained ( i even broke a huge branch today full of flowers while moving her, so sad)

But in the plot she is a sprawling conquering beast i cant control. She is wilder and fiercer than the full size tomatoes. She is unstoppable.

Moth1992 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 1:15 am Maglia Rosa is taking over my plot.

In my balcony she is delicate, demure and contained ( i even broke a huge branch today full of flowers while moving her, so sad)

But in the plot she is a sprawling conquering beast i cant control. She is wilder and fiercer than the full size tomatoes. She is unstoppable.

But just think about all the super tasting tomatoes The Beast will provide.

GoDawgs wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 6:20 am

Moth1992 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 1:15 am Maglia Rosa is taking over my plot.

In my balcony she is delicate, demure and contained ( i even broke a huge branch today full of flowers while moving her, so sad)

But in the plot she is a sprawling conquering beast i cant control. She is wilder and fiercer than the full size tomatoes. She is unstoppable.

But just think about all the super tasting tomatoes The Beast will provide.

She better! Im looking forward to it!

Uh oh.

What is this?

I won't try to ID it, but will offer the standard advice: whatever it is, pick off those infested leaves without delay, into a bag or bucket with a lid, and dispose them in a place far from your tomatoes and in a way that there will not be any spores blowing off them to tomatoes or alternate hosts.

I pretty much compost whatever I take off my plants, but I have the luxury of multiple compost piles, not a problem to bury adequately and let it completely rot. Our common leaf grief here is one type of fungal thing or another, which generally cannot persist without plant material.
If the grief is an invasive insect pest or a virus, more severe forms of disposal may apply.

Bower wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 1:47 pm I won't try to ID it, but will offer the standard advice: whatever it is, pick off those infested leaves without delay, into a bag or bucket with a lid, and dispose them in a place far from your tomatoes and in a way that there will not be any spores blowing off them to tomatoes or alternate hosts.

I pretty much compost whatever I take off my plants, but I have the luxury of multiple compost piles, not a problem to bury adequately and let it completely rot. Our common leaf grief here is one type of fungal thing or another, which generally cannot persist without plant material.
If the grief is an invasive insect pest or a virus, more severe forms of disposal may apply.

You think it might be fungal or viral? Ughhh

@Moth1992 fungal leaf diseases are very typical of tomatoes. I could make up a statistic and say at least 90% of leaf grief is fungal, maybe 9% insects, and a very small percentage are actually viral. It depends in part on where you live. There are a few bacterial things as well which we don't get so not sure where they fit in the hunnerd percent.

It looks fungal to me, but there's a lot of stuff I haven't seen up close and personal.
If it was a virus (TSWV involves spots) I believe there would be other symptoms.
You should post some pics in a thread in the pests/diseases subforum where more expert folks will see it and reply.

Without seeing the top of the leaves and the rest of the plant, I think that you have russet mites. Remove all of the infected leaves and then spray your plants to control them. I myself start with using 1T Dawan dish soap per gallon of water. Spray your plants every other day for a week. Do not spray your plants in direct sun or they will get sunburn, so only at dawn or dusk or on a cloudy day. Using DE (diatomaceous earth), kaolin clay or neem oil will help to control them too.

I did a nice very needed prune today. Hope I dont send the plants in shock. Cut all funky leaves and removed a bunch of lower leaves to increase airflow. Then sprayed everythjng with neem oil.

Meawhile, I heard certain rustling in the plot next to me. Well that brocoli is going to be underground soon...

My neighbours plot has been obliterated by the gophers. The kales and brocolis are all underground. Tunnels cross their barren plot side to side. Only the borrage has been untouched. Im concerned they will move my way soon since they are mostly done in this plot. Hopefully ive made it difficult enough they will go towards easier targets...


I harvested garlic scapes last week. The garlic leaves got rust but I assume that should not be a big deal for the bulb hopefully.

The strawberries are trying to expand but im cutting the runners.

Speaking of expanding, Maglia Rosa The Beast has clashed against the Nasturiums The Relentless. In this sprawling battle, who will prevail? Only time will tell. But that middle walkway I had made is becoming non- existant.




Whipper Snapper, Karma Purple, Kimberley and Jeaunne Flamme have lots of green tomatoes. So do some extra Fat Frog and Bonsai from my balcony I took to the plot. Not a sign of blushing. Im getting impatient. And I have no idea how to tell when fat frog will be ready.










The Beast, Black Beauty and Brown Sugar are getting huge but still no fruit. And Gallego well, its doing its own thing and ive kind of given up on it. Its been weird since it grew up as a seedling with one cotyledon. Will see what it ends up doing.

The shishitos are putting tiny peppers. No idea when to harvest.



And the cucs are putting nice orange flowers.

@Moth1992 for your Fat Frog you will have to do the "Don't Squeeze the Charmin" trick. For greenies you do it by feel. You may also notice a slight yellowing of the fruit especially at the bottom.

Yayyyyyyy my first proper garlics!! One of them is BIG. Thanks to the kind people who shared garlics on the MMMM.
(They did get rust and I dont know what that means for next years crop since its not like I have plenty of place to rotate crops.)
Also hope they cure well.

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Things are getting exciting peoples!

Picked some tomatoes that stated turning and hope they ripen well at home. There is no chance they wont be stolen by none, two, four or six legged individuals if I leave them kn the vine.




Strawberries are so tasty.

My first cucs ever are starting to peek.




I seeded some brocolies, I dont know if its too early or too late for fall planting but guess we will figure it out.

So glad to see the gopher prevention was worth it!!
Picking tomatoes at blush is very common practice and I'm sure they'll ripen just fine for you at home.
Those strawberries are gorgeous!!