jbd@duke.UUCP (Joanne Bechta Dugan) (06/10/85)
1. About Zoysia Grass: My husband & I just installed 1300 Zoysia grass plugs in our yard, in sections where regular grass would not grow. It was VERY hard to do. The "plugs" that are sent are really pieces of sod, about 9" by 15" that have to be cut into plugs. Each piece of sod is supposed to yield 130 plugs, but if they are cut that small, they fall apart. We only managed to get about 65 plugs from each piece of sod (my hands were sore from cutting the plugs). In order to install the plugs, small holes have to be dug in the ground about a foot apart - then one plug is planted in each hole. Since we were trying to plant in rather rocky ground (thats why other grasses wouldn't grow there), the planting was difficult too. One other remark: since Zoysia is a hot season grass, it has to be planted in the hot weather. It would have been much easier to plant it before the 90 degree weather was upon us. It's only been in a few weeks, so I can't report on success yet -- maybe next year. 2. I had similar problems with cutworms when I put my tomatoes and peppers out in April. The cutworms got about half the tomatoes and 2/3 of the peppers in the first two days. When I planted replacements for the peppers, I tried using yogurt containers (clean, with the bottom cut out). I put one container around each plant, about 2 inches deep. The theory is that cutworms can"t climb over the "wall" around each plant. It worked very nicely, as I did not lose any plants in the second planting. I'm trying to replace the lost tomatoes with "suckers" removed from the surviving plants (removed when about 12 inches long, and rooted). Has anyone else tried this? 3. A question about tomatoes: there are quite a few large tomatoes on my plants. Some of them appear rather "deformed". Any idea as to the causes of deformed tomatoes? Any suggestions on how to get them to "ripen up"? There have been green tomatoes on my plants for two weeks now, but they don't seem to want to turn red. I sure am getting impatient for some "home grown" tomatoes !! Happy Growing! Joanne Bechta Dugan Duke University
notes@harpo.UUCP (06/12/85)
Early tomatoes have problems when night temperatures fall below 50 degrees F. There are some sprays for pollinating the blosoms however I have not had any experience with that. I do try to keep them warm by using wire cages and wrapping them with plastic. Sometines I will add the heat from a 150 watt PAR floodlight on each plant. It depends on the cost of electrcity and what you are willing to spend. I have some tomatoes that are fully formed and just beginning to turn red. Normally in this area the tomato season starts late July early August. I have time of day service which cuts the night rate to around .08/kwh. Irv McNair
tarnopol@ttidcb.UUCP (Lewis Tarnopol) (06/13/85)
In article <5910@duke.UUCP> jbd@duke.UUCP writes: >I'm trying to replace the lost tomatoes with "suckers" removed from the >surviving plants (removed when about 12 inches long, and rooted). Has anyone >else tried this? > > >Joanne Bechta Dugan > Duke University Dear Joanne, Yes, I have grown many tomatoes from suckers. I take the sucker (actually, I use any part of the tomatoe plant that has a leaf node) with a minimum of 4" of stem and stick it in a 50-50 mix of perlite and vermiculite, kept moist. In two weeks, the root system is developed enough to transplant. I have a 14 month old San Marzano plant, now 6 feet high and 5 feet wide (I'm letting it go wild for the fun of it) which happily supplied me with 6 other plants. I'm currently starting 2 Sweet 100's for a neighbor in the same way. I have a tomatoe book at home which states you can stick the sucker in a glass of water to start it, but for me pots filled with a solid is more convienent. Enjoy your gardening!! -- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Lewis Tarnopol Citicorp/TTI 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 (213) 450-9111, ext. 3082 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcb!tarnopol