Flowers and fruits oh my!

 Tomatoes are progressing nicely and wondering if it's going to truly be an indeterminate size. It's growing beyond the cage but might not be much longer before it's going to stop. Zucchini has flowers as I thought!

Sadness, they are all males

 

Can only hope that females come later. How can I tell what they are? Female flowers will be slightly bigger and have a very prominent bump behind the flower. These flowers all meet the stem neatly with only a slight bulge for the calyx (leafy bits that enclosed the flower bud).
 

 

The plant is going gangbusters in size of course, so this may be another symptom of having wonky nutrients in the soil. Tomatoes are still plugging along and so are the peppers.

Hard to see the tiny one hiding above.

 

 

 

Seems like they aren't getting bigger

Yes the pepper is looking droopy, sun was full on so both plants were sagging but I watered yesterday so not going to worry about it,

Can't say that the male flowers on the zucchini is due to overwatering so it's likely the same symptoms as the tomato. No nitrogen and yet low in the other two nutrients. I suddenly realized why they are so green and growing! The color of the soil! It's a reddish color which geologically says there is a lot of iron in the soil! Bingo! Iron gives you nice healthy strong plants that are green as can be. They are almost overloading on iron. It would cost me $60 to send a soil test to the lab to figure that out. College science for the win!

So I'll say I may have some tomatoes by August and peppers should be ready by then as well, maybe sooner. Need to likely boost the zucchini with some bone meal if I want it to catch up. Just might break down and get a bag of mulch/compost anyway. It will help keep the soil cool and moist as well as be used for amendment when these plants are done. 

I got a complement on how healthy my plants are from one of the tenants that lives in the building the garden is next to. She asked if I was the one that put the sign up for the lemon tree and told her no, it actually needs some good food. 

Which is another reason why it is likely doing well but not as well as expected. Can't be a lack of iron in the soil. I should test the soil around that as well just to see what that's doing. Oh and if you don't remember how it looks:

With a bush like this, the branches are shading the soil under it, therefore keeping moisture in the soil longer and the temperature more even.  The area under the branches is the canopy and the edge where the branches and leaves end is the drip line. That is where most of the newer roots are and where fertilizer should be applied and water focused.

Now having said that, veggies have very fine roots and spread out to gather in as much water and food as possible. When I fed the bigger tomato I put food all around and as far under the bush as possible simply because of how much root area there is. I never put it right near the stem or trunk, useless to do that not to mention difficult.  Trying not to disturb the roots very much but making sure the fertilizer gets mixed into the soil (I failed a bit on that) so when it gets watered the fertilizer is right there and able to feed immediately.

I remember wanting to plant beans but guess that's not happening. I can hardly wait until the fall to plant carrots and onions and lettuce and stuff. Going to need a lot more fertilizer and compost in order for them to do well. Low nitrogen is good for root crops but high iron is not. They need high phosphorus (bone meal) to build a good root. Sandy/clay soil is good for potatoes and root crops but again, nutrients need to be more balanced.

Ah science... soil science and plant science. And yet I never took actual botany in high school or college. I took plant ID and landscape design, hoseplanat ID, drafting, CAD (1 class is all I needed) but no actual botany because I was going for design. Some botany was covrered, basics of plant growth, how and why stuff. The rest I learned working at a nursery for almost 20 years, listening to more experienced people, doing my own research. Having a basically curious mind wanting to know why and what and how so I can be better informed and pass on correct information to people. Not that they really wanted details but customers there were looking for answers and help rather than people going to big box store for cheap plants and products that are less expensive to treat them.

Oh if you ever go to anyplace like Disneyland or Sea World or any other amusement park like that, take a little extra time to notice the landscaping. My favorite planting at Sea World was a beach scene done all in plants and sand. That's it, wonderful arrangement and somewhere I  might even have a hard copy picture of it because that's what we had at the time. You know, real cameras.

And then there's this