OldDinosaurWesH
Well-Known Member
My growing season is winding down. My plants are definitely getting mature, you can see it the leaves. Many of them have been in the ground for 100 or so days now. I'm anticipating having most of my crop harvested by the second or third week of September. Ever since day one, I have planned my fertilizer applications according to this mid-September timetable. As a consequence, my main production is slowly depleting its available Nitrogen intentionally.
My question becomes...I'm holding a few plants over for seed production. I am intent on leaving them in the ground as long as the weather holds. That could be well into October around here. Should I give these holdovers another shot of nitrogen to keep them green and growing? Normally, I would want the Nitrogen in the soil to deplete as the plants are nearing maturation.
Sorry about the poor quality photo, but this was my last plant of the season last year. Photo was taken November 16th, 2016. I wasn't holding this one for seed, but just seeing how long it would live. Last year was one of those exceptional years where we didn't get a killing frost until mid-November. As you can see, this individual is getting pretty ratty. But the silly thing was still putting on fresh blooms right up 'till I cut it down.
As an interesting sideline to the really mature plant story, I hung it whole stalk in my basement, and the blooms stayed fresh for the better part of two weeks. While they were hanging upside down, they tried to turn around and point upward toward the light. I guess there is more water & nutrients in that stem than I'd ever imagined.
Opinions, speculation?
Wes H.
Second photo taken approximately two weeks after first photo.
My question becomes...I'm holding a few plants over for seed production. I am intent on leaving them in the ground as long as the weather holds. That could be well into October around here. Should I give these holdovers another shot of nitrogen to keep them green and growing? Normally, I would want the Nitrogen in the soil to deplete as the plants are nearing maturation.
Sorry about the poor quality photo, but this was my last plant of the season last year. Photo was taken November 16th, 2016. I wasn't holding this one for seed, but just seeing how long it would live. Last year was one of those exceptional years where we didn't get a killing frost until mid-November. As you can see, this individual is getting pretty ratty. But the silly thing was still putting on fresh blooms right up 'till I cut it down.
As an interesting sideline to the really mature plant story, I hung it whole stalk in my basement, and the blooms stayed fresh for the better part of two weeks. While they were hanging upside down, they tried to turn around and point upward toward the light. I guess there is more water & nutrients in that stem than I'd ever imagined.
Opinions, speculation?
Wes H.
Second photo taken approximately two weeks after first photo.
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