Fungus on tomato?

Today I noticed some little brown spots on my supersweet 100 tomato leaf. I think it might be some sort of fungus since it looked a little fuzzy...I need to research organic or homemade ways to fight fungal infection. I've strayed away from the "organic" strategy from the standpoint of fertilizer (I'll explain in another post), but I want to stick with using organic methods for fighting insects/fungus/bacteria.

If you have any suggestions, it would be much appreciated!

Final setup completed!

I am finally finished putting all the plants into their final pots. Unfortunately I had to dispose of one of the tomato plants because there just isn't any space on the balcony. I ended up making 3 5-gallon self-watering buckets for the tomatoes and putting the fourth plant into a 4/5 gallon container I had left over from walmart. My balcony is going to turn into a jungle!!  I definitely have more plants than I originally planned but I am happy. I like to have my morning cup of tea up there, just watching all the plants and checking out the little vegetables that are starting to fruit. It makes me happy to watch them grow!

I couldn't capture the whole balcony in a picture and I may try to capture it by video. Here are some pictures showing how my balcony transformed from empty balcony to a full container vegetable garden!

Empty balcony with a lone table

Some plants potted up and barricaded to prevent wind damage

Putting up wind barrier

All plants potting up, final face of container vegetable garden

It is hotter than my thermometer!

The temperature according to weather.com is 96F. But my thermometer on the balcony says otherwise. It is so hot! In between movies, BBQ and going out to dinner I've been gardening (there is so much to do!). There is so much to do! I am determined to pot all the plants I started from seeds so my balcony is going to be more crowded than I originally planned. I just can't get myself to throw away them away.

It is unbearably hot on the balcony, but the sun is good for the herbs. I thought they were happy when I had them indoors, but I realized that they are much happier outside. Clearly the thyme and rosemary are much stronger and greener now. The rosemary are actually growing upward rather than scrawling around all over the place.

I made 2 self-watering pots using 18gallon containers. I was initially wanting to put 3 plants in each container but quickly realized it is too small for 4. I put 3 of the pepper plants (Chinese giant sweet pepper) in one and 2 tomatoes (either homestead or supersweet 100) in the other. I have 5 more tomato plants left so I plan to make 4 5-gallon self-watering container and put the last in a 4/5 gallon bucket from walmart. I used to water the plants using empty juice and soda bottles. Now this is not manageable so I invested in a hose making the watering process much quicker. An great upgrade for the balcony container garden!

The wonderful hose and 3 pepper plants in 18 gallon bucket

2 tomatoes in 18 gallon bucket

I also transplanted all the basil from the seaweed experiment and one tomato seedling and put in a pot up front with the petunias. I'm not sure if the tomato will fruit but it is worth a try. Hopefully the slugs will not get the basil!

Flowers on the peas!...and tomato leaves curling

The peas are growing very quickly and they are starting to outgrow the trellis. I'm not sure if I should build a taller support because I wouldn't be able to reach that high anyway. I'm wondering if I can coax the plants to grow sideways. I also noticed some flowers yesterday, I didn't notice it earlier because they camouflage pretty well with the foliage. I'm very happy to see the flowers because I was thinking it might be too hot for the peas to produce any pods. Looks like I might be able to harvest a couple of peas!

Super Snap pea flower

The peas shooting up above the trellis

I noticed that the tomato leaves were curling up. I was a little concerned but I read here and other sites that this type of curling is the plant adjusting to changes in the environment (it has been really hot the past couple of day). I know I haven't been over-watering so I definitely think the plant is adjusting to the heat (makes sense to try to reduce surface area by curling). I also read that sometimes if the foliage grows quicker than the roots, it curls up like this to reserve energy for root growth. I feel so bad that this plant is confined to this container so the roots can't really grow so much. Hopefully it will do OK.

 On a happier note, the arugula is coming back I think! I moved it from direct sun to a space under the balcony - I think it is much happier there.

Arugula on the top, mescluns in bottom container

I just love the flowers on the ichiban eggplant. I didn't know I was such a flower person, but I guess I am!

Quick pics of little little veggies

The weather is getting more summer-like. The hot weather must be good for the plants since I found a couple of small vegetables forming (in addition to the zucchinis). Great progress on this balcony container vegetable garden! I'm getting a little preview of the harvest to come?!

Little Ichiban eggplant

Little jalapeno pepper

Little Early Girl 50

Need more space!!

I visited valley view farms, garden center and nursery yesterday to pick up a couple of flowers to attract more bees to the garden now that I have so many flowers. This place was amazing! I've been there a couple of times during the winter but never in the summer. They had amazing selection of vegetables and herbs. I tried to resist, but I found 2 eggplants (Greta and Fairy tale) and a pepper plant (thai pepper) that was calling my name so I relented. But after bringing the plants back home, I realized that I don't have much space left over on my balcony with these new plants plus the 10 seedling of tomato and peppers I have hardening off. I think I will have to grow some of the vegetables in front or back of the house! I love living in the city, but just for this I would like to have a backyard!

The new kids on the block

The other seedlings that will be competing for space on the balcony

 I also bought marigold and a plant called pink alyssum that looked really cute. I want to put it on a these flowers on the railing and bought some brackets that doesn't quite fit on the railing. I will have to go back to get the adjustable kind that I wanted to avoid since it was pricey.

I am sad to report a death in the garden...the arugula. I left the planter outside and I guess the sun and wind was just too strong. I'm going to see if the stronger ones will survive but I think, sadly, this batch will not make it. I will have to try again but maybe wait until it get cooler or something. I didn't want to grow it inside because it just breeds fungus gnats and I don't like the little buggers inside the house.

I've also noticed these little red bugs on the balcony that are tiny tiny. I'm not sure if they are harmful for the plants but everything so far seems to be OK  so I'm not going to worry so much about it. After googling tiny red bugs I think it could be spider mites. Hopefully they will not be harmful.

More flowers!...and baby veggies?!

For the past couple of days, I went out of state for a job interview. I realized how much I am addicted to this gardening project. Here are some things that make me sure I need to find a support group for gardening addiction:
1) I checked the weather in Baltimore pretty consistently
2) I noticed all the gardening stores and took me all my effort not to go to one
3) Was reading other gardening blogs than reviewing my job talk
4) Took a mental note that if offered the job will need to negotiate on the start date for after the harvest is complete
5) Seeked out gardening magazine at the airport (didn't buy one though) rather than the fashion/fitness magazines

After being away for 3 days, I find my garden was doing very well. In fact there are now many beautiful flowers.

Zucchini flower

Ichiban eggplant flower

Jalapeno pepper flower

Early Girl 50 flowers

I think I also see little baby vegetables!

Early girl 50, can you see the little green tomato-looking thing?

I'm not sure but sure looks like zucchini may be forming? I thought they need to be pollinated...?

The basil should be trimmed a little. They are getting quite bushy and the leaves are large and shiny.

I am also trying to harden off the tomato and pepper seedlings but it is very difficult.

Here is what the balcony looks like with it fully screened out. One is patched photo, the other is a panorama. My picture taking skills are limited and cannot get one nice picture to capture the whole balcony. This weekend I plan to make a couple of self-watering containers. I also want to get some flowers, maybe more marigold.

Patched picture

Panoramic picture

The real Sucker?!

I knew my veggie plants are growing but when you see them everyday you don't realize just how quickly they are growing. This is a picture of the tomato plant (early girl 50) 3 weeks ago.

And here is the tomato plant today!

I'm so proud  \\(^_^)//
I have been pinching the "suckers" (not too many) as it grows since the early girl is an indeterminate variety. A couple of days ago we had a thunderstorm and the plant was starting to lean sideways. After the storm, I went to tie the stem to the support bamboo pole (the metal tomato cage was all wobbly so I switched to the bamboo pole) and I couldn't tell which stem was the main stem.

I originally thought the branch with red arrow was the main stem. But after stepping back, I think this is just a big sucker (haha) and the blue arrow is in fact the main stem. I am not sure if I should cut the red arrow stem and try to root it in water or something or leave it be. Both stems have flowers on them now. I've read it is OK to keep 1-2 suckers but I feel like I should allow the plant to concentrate all its energy on the main stem (especially because it is confined to a container). Any suggestions?
One of the lettuces in the mesclun mix is starting to flower (bolt). It seems to early to do this.

Here is the package picture:

And here is my planter of mesclun:

Looks good but not quite like the package. I may need to find another location where it can get more sun but not direct sunlight....I think I might have a small salad tonight anyway! My first real harvest??

Balcony fortress

The biggest barrier to leaving the plants out on the balcony is the crazy wind that whips my poor veggie plants every which way. You can see the peas literally holding on to dear life as the wind tries to pry them off the trellis. I though I found a solution to my problem at ikea. When I went to the store they had several left, but they only had the striped ones left (I wanted the solid white).  The pink and green striped one will make my balcony look like a circus which could be fun but probably will annoy me after a while. The black/white stripe is out of the question since it reminds me of a funeral (at least funerals in Japan). There is another ikea in DC but they are out of stock so I am out of luck. I will probably have to make one using a sun shield cloth I found at Walmart. I really wanted to avoid having to make it myself! In the meantime here is my make-shift wind barrier fortress!

Temporary solution for a windy balcony

Flower buds! (Early girl 50)

I hope they will survive the weekend. The tomato and pepper seedlings that I grew from seeds are looking pretty good too - although they are not ready to be left outside for too long (I tried and they got sun/wind burned). There was a small mis-step, however. I mislabeled my seedlings so I am not sure which ones are the supersweet and which ones are the homestead tomatoes. I guess it will be a surprise if/when they start bearing fruit.

Mesclun in recycled container

Amaryllis and veggie seedlings

My parents left me a bulb - I think it is an amaryllis. I've had it for 2 years and all it did was grow long leaves. This year, it has decided to bloom. And it is BEAUTIFUL! If you look closely, the petals are glittery and shiny.

  Now for the edibles. The zucchinis are doing really well, so I transplanted one into a bigger pot. I don't want to take up too many pots with zucchinis so I'm not sure what I will do with the leftover seedlings.

The tomato, peppers and basil aren't doing as well. They just aren't growing. It is getting a little warmer here, but probably still not warm enough. I thought maybe they were crowded in the newpaper pots so I thinned them out and for the stronger looking ones I repotted them in their own little newspaper pots. I also made a foiled line container so as to maximize the light from the window and my little desk lamp. Lets see how they do.

 I recently planted mesclun greens and sugar peas. The greens are sprouting like crazy and the sugar peas are starting to show its little head. I really want to get some arugula as well. This is on my weekend shopping list (as well as some starter plants...I still hope my seedlings will grow but just as a back up.)

Mesclun green seedlings

Sugar snap peas