Mr. Dog…
remember I’m in New Hanover County…
… and I’ve picked up a few “tricks” from the “Mater Man Since 1960″ — R. Thomas….
1. Maters will bloom, but will not set fruit, when it’s over 70*F at night…
2. and the Hydro guys got nice maters 12-16” off the ground with pruned plants all the time….
3. the mildew, viruses, etc are rampant down here with ‘maters…
Basically that means Maters are done here mid July…
Now… those “plants” were started in flats in February… and planted here 1st week of April…
there 2’ tall and I pruned the first flower buds and suckered them one time…
4. I really don’t know what I’m doing… a lot of touch and feel… if you know what I mean…
But I can say that this… I’m using a mineral balanced — high stable organic matter (SOM) soil mix in 10gal pots with a little Sulfur and Silicate added — tying to keep the NPK to a 2-3-5 ratio — and the vines look like they been in the weight room with not too much green… I’m wondering when they will need stakes….
RThomas… this ball is your court….you can jump in the conversation whenever… I’m done…
There are amateurs and professionals..
