Re: New to gardening...

[MLEBLANCA]

Welcome to you. Here are some remarks:

1. I planted watermelon in a container this year. The vine started growing >against a chain link fence. Mind you - ...... Anyone have a

thought on some type of support I can give to the fruit. Pantyhose. Find the largest size you can! Use the panty part , tie knots in the legs and cut off the rest of the leg and feet.. You can then improvise a sling, fastening it to the fence to hold up the developing fruit. Even if not successful, it should provide quite a conversation piece.

>2. Tomatoes. I planted about 30 beefsteaks in containers

Wow, 30 tomato plants-you must be planning on feeding the whole city of NY!

. The pot sizes

ranged from 2 gallon to 15 gallon. I am worried that the 2 gallon containers >arent big enough and that I overstuffed the larger containers (two in a 10 >gallon).

I don't grow beefsteak or container tomatoes, so I cant help much with this They will need watering quite often, however. Can you transfer some of the

2 gallons in the ground?

Also, I am considering using stakes that have varnish or paint on >them (they are just sitting there in my garage). Is that safe?

Should be fine.

>3. Roses. I have a sick rose bush. Yellow leaves with black spots. Obviously >fungus right? As I stared at it yesterday, a small bee landed on one of the >leaves and cut a half inch semi-circle in it. Right before my very eyes. I >thought I was seeing things. I dont know the variety of the rose bush. Your >thoughts?

Black spot is not a great problem here, but when it does occur, the solution is cleanliness. Remove the infected leaves from the plant, and from under neath the plant. Destroy/throw in garbage, do not compost. Mulch under the plant to keep spores from splashing up onto leaves. Water only the roots, avoid getting water on the leaves, especially at night. Others in NY can probably help with a spray if needed. I don't spray. The bee is the Leaf cutter bee. Really a neat little creature. She will take the circle of leaf to her nest, where she will curl it into a tube with many other pieces. She will deposit her egg in this tube nest. They are not harmful to your roses or other plants, and should just be left to her business.

good luck with your garden, Fito, you have joined with some very cool people on this newsgroup. Stay around! Emilie Nor Calif.

>In the 2 months I have lurked here I have gained such valuable insight on >gardening. I thank all of you - even those who ask questions for without >them we would have no answers. This is my first year gardening. For the >stress relief and relaxation it provides, I should have started long ago. > >Fito >

[Dave Allyn]

My mother-in-law planted some tom's (don't remember the varitiy, I think early girls or similar) 4 to a pot in about a 5 gallon pot. they got to about 3 feet tall and stopped growing. the tom's are still green, but about 3 inches accross. she put four stakes in the pot, and ran string around them as a kinda trellice, and they are doing great. not as large as a ground-planted, but for just her and her husband, it works fine.

She also did this with bell peppers. they are considerably smaller than ground-planted, but she will still get a half-dozen peppers off one plant. she used two gallon containers for them, and only one plant each.

good luck! follow the (unofficial) rules of this forum: LET US KNOW HOW IT TURNS OUT!! :)

email: daveallyn at bwsys dot net please respond in this NG so others can share your wisdom as well!

[J. Lane]

Hey Fito, Welcome to the group. You could can or freeze some of those tomatoes. I wouldn't move them now but water them often and if you think the plants are bearing enough fruit(about 15-20 per plant) pinch off the new flowers so that the plant can put it's energy toward the fruit. Re the watermelon. I might consider getting a net and cutting it to fit around the melons and tie the net to the fence. Don't net them until they are about half the size they should be before harvest. Probably about the size of a grapefruit Good luck,

[Fito]

A net huh? I was considering pantyhose but if I can get the right material a net may be the way to go. Ill look into it.

Fito

[Fito]

Good point about the bee. I didnt think of that. As for the roses, I will mulch and clean up the infected leaves. I wonder if this is why the bush only gave me one flower this year.

Fito