July #23.1: The land of dry

Last year, I was wishing for a long, warm summer. Well, I got what I wished for. But I totally forgot to wish for regular rainfall. Or any rainfall at all. I always thought that farming and gardening in southern Europe could be fun. I was so wrong. In the whole month of July, I got about 10 minutes of rain, and that's a really creative use of the word "rain". I ran out of water multiple times; the water source for my soil-based plants dried up, and I had to haul water for my hydroponic ones. My lawn died, apples are falling down because I simply can't keep up with the demand, and every other day it's a Sophie's choice of who gets the water and who has to survive yet another day.

I am writing this post while on my annual vacation, and I already know the weather has gotten better. But only at the end of August. And it's currently raining here as well. Ironic. Let's get to today's topics. A little spoiler alert: I am deliberately leaving my watermelons out because they deserve a solo post.

the last ketchup

I know I was babbling about the weather, but it's actually kind of great for tomatoes. The air is dry most of the day, which is great for preventing fungal diseases, and the few attempts by Alternaria were held back, with some help from Polyversum.

The plants in coco coir hit the top of the trellis by the end of the first week of July. At first, I tried lowering them a bit, but the growth was so rapid that I had to add a second trellising line to string the lower stems; otherwise, many tomatoes would lie on the ground. And obviously I don't want that.

Of the novelty varieties, the Atomic Grape is probably my favorite, besides the Costoluto Fiorentino, but that's a different story. It tastes very similar to Sunviva, but with a slight tang at the end. But the "tang" at the end could be that I don't know how to tell when to pick them. There are some stripes that indicate ripeness, but they are very subtle, and it's often hit-or-miss.

Now let's talk about the elephant in the room. And I mean literally, the Costoluto Fiorentino. These two plants are by far my favorite ones this year.

They grow like crazy; they have these huge, chunky fruits and very spacious leaves. This is basically what I always imagined a model Italian tomato to be.

In a single month, they grew beyond the measuring tape I installed in June and got as high as possible. And they would go much further if I hadn't topped them.

However, it's not all sun and roses with them. I grow them in the DWC hydroponic system, and the performance is great, as you can see in the photos. I had to increase the CalMag dose several times, but it still didn't help, and I ended up with more blossom-end rot. It's fair to say the water conditions were not always the best. Sometimes the EC and pH were a little off, which is something a simple water level indicator could help with, because, to be honest, I was not checking the water level every day. And even though the calcium was present in the solution, it simply could not reach the fruit because the solution became super-concentrated.

Of these two plants, I must say I am happier with the one I grow with two lead vines rather than a single one. Sure, I get larger fruit with a single lead, but growing smaller fruit is easier for me and for the plant. And it's more painful when I spot the BER on a huge tomato that I have to cut than on a few smaller ones.

Since my garlic is already out, on a drying rack, it's time to put the last of my tomatoes in the bed. It's the Minigelbus, the same variety I grow in the greenhouse. I'm not exactly thrilled with this variety, and I will probably choose a different one next year. Still, so far, in the garlic bed, it's more manageable than in the greenhouse. I need to find a variety that's genetically dwarf, like the Micro-Tom or Red Robin, but that tastes better than the Micro-Tom.

the cucumber succession

I have to say, putting cucumbers in hydroponics is, hands down, the best thing I could have done this year. I have never ever had so many cucumbers before.

A true redemption story, for me, after last year's failure. By the middle of the month, the two oldest plants were already done fruiting. Well, technically I was already done with them, because I had some seedlings and the timing was crucial for the succession planting in these two boxes.

In fact, I had four seedlings waiting. I just could not kill them, so I quickly set up an experimental station with a pair of cucumbers in coco coir, fed from my tomato reservoir.

I have literally zero expectations for these two; I just want to assess their viability and make a crude comparison. Because I plan to grow my pickling cucumbers in hydroponics next year.

I decided on this because of the struggles I've had with them this year. They just started to wilt and die one by one for no obvious reason. And since they weren't doing very well, I decided to cut their water ration, which didn't help. I am not alone in this; my neighbors are struggling with the same issue. It could be a pathogen in the soil, but I can't see anything obvious yet. But it can also be just the irregular watering and the drought we are in. Which is something my winter squash are suffering from too.

The TerraClick spikes I installed last month are great at delivering consistent moisture. Still, it's simply not enough during a heat wave, so I have to water them deeply regularly.

However, the issue is elsewhere. The plants set some fruit, which is great, but they also dropped many female flowers due to heat and water stress. I just hope there is still enough time in August and September for some more of them.

the harvestado

When harvesting my potatoes, even though I originally planned to use the bags for zucchinis, I figured it could be a good year for a second run of potatoes.

This could give me enough potatoes for the entire fall and maybe some of the winter. Assuming they won't dry out or sprout.

Literally the same applies to onions. The social bubble of growers and farmers I follow has some experience with succession onions. Since I had no plans for the bed anyway, I stuck some onion sets in the spot.

And to complement the section, I have to mention peppers. The Cayenne peppers are already ripening. I picked one of the "changeling" purple peppers, but it's just like a green pepper, and it needs to change color. It also shows the greenhouse is half-shaded, because the soil doesn't dry out as much as the beds outside.

I have to say, this summer has been a great case study for hydroponics so far. With my DWC systems, there is virtually no loss to evaporation, and even with the plants in coco coir, the evaporation is not significant enough to cause a major water disruption. The only thing I regret is not picking larger reservoirs, because the 40L buckets for my Costoluto Fiorentino tomatoes are just not enough. I would love to get something larger, as I have some plans for next season.