24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening


wish i could take credit, but i just dropped them on the ground and kept them watered. they did take a while to germinate.
i planted three packages-we all know how much seed that is-and other than a couple of oakleaf the simpson was the only germinator. it is, by the way, a remarkably tasty lettuce. we've been eating a couple of heads a day.
tomorrow hamburg parsley dating from 1993. it's hydrating in a glass of water right now. and then all the ancient seeds are done. yay!!!

The tree is not shading the garden at all. It is located in our neighbor's back yard. We had this horrid wind and whipping rain and cool temps Saturday night. I believe the wind whipped all those brown needles into our garden & entire back yard. I've heard two things. 1. The needles will kill tomato & cucumber plants. (A woman said she couldn't plant in her garden & had to find a new space because the neighbor's fir needles) 2. Then I read they are wonderful mulch. Arghhhh???? I don't even know what kind of fir tree it is. It just looks like an old, giant Christmas tree.

Can't you ask the neighbor what type of tree it is. Or at least post a pic of it as most can easily be identified. Fir trees are very different from pine trees in appearance and there are many pics of both types available on the web so you can ID it. Although most all evergreens have some degree of allelopathic effect it is in the soil around the roots, not the needles which is why pine needles make a good mulch. Never heard of either "killing tomatoes".
Otherwise all you can do is rake it all up and dispose of it.
Dave

I'm pretty sure the OP means the building/planting part is done. It looks great! The fence around it is very sharp and the mulch makes it look very tidy. How do you get inside to work? I assume there are gates somewhere? I don't see paths, so do you just walk on the mulch between the plants?

Yes, sorry I wasn't more specific, I know the work and time gardens need, I was simply making a statement, thank you to the people who actually understood my post and took the time to make a intelligent response..... And Kathy, yes there is a gate about 3 feet off the shed, and since I don't have a lot of space, I sacrifice paths and do walk on mulch, but whatever works, right? Thanks again guys.....

Ahhh, Lesson learned. Yep. Hardening off really should be described as about a TWO week process. I did the same thing myself this year with some of my peppers and I've been growing them for over 12 years...lol
Should be fine though.
It's up to you on snipping that 1st one. Are you hungry? lol Snipping it will give you a quick bite now or leaving it will give you an early treat. Snipping it will tell the plant to start putting out more foliage and flowers.. always a good thing for a healthy young plant.
Me? I'd leave it, but I have a very long season. All depends on whether you're pickling or not. If pickling, snip it. I like to have a lot to pickle at one time -- the older the plants and the more the plants allows that to happen.
Kevin

THANK YOU BOTH!
I'm really glad I asked first, because I was strongly considering just going out there and doing it.
They are not staked and supported by twine and, I suppose, each other. Now I'll just cross my fingers and hope for a delicious crop. I'll also have learned for next year.
This is my first year gardening, and I could not be having more fun. Where has this hobby been all my life?

No IME that is not normal. You will usually see slips sprouting before the potato sprouts much in the way of roots itself. Use the search to pull up all the other posts about growing sweet potato slips. Many of the recent ones have pics included.
Dave
Here's one pic I found

Hmm, well, I bought the Coleman model from johnnys and like it a lot. I weigh about 110 so I can't handle something too "beastly." I like working it down all my beds at the beginning of the season to aerate and I can find all the rocks that have come up over the winter.
A friend who also has one did bend it. Don't know if she was a lot harder on it or what but perhaps it should have stood up better.
I think the closer-tiner model is probably better for finding potatoes.

I have a couple of those Hav-a-Hart traps (rectangular cages for live trapping) that I in front of any openings in the fence, like little tunnels that are dug under the fence. I haven't had much luck just putting the traps in the garden or along the fence on the outside even if they're baited. I do much better by placing them in front of an existing tunnel under the fence for the veggie garden. For my fruit trees, I've had luck with baited traps at the base of the trees.

I have problems with groundhogs. I have witnessed them eating my spinach, lettuces, broccoli and strawberries. I trap them but it is hard to keep up since we have an overabundance of groundhogs. I have an electric fence around my garden (because of past deer problems) but normally left it off in the daytime. I've since turned it on all day and added a motion sensor sprinkler. I may need to add a lower wire to fence. Your problem sounds like groundhogs.

'DE is a harmless pesticide which works by physical means to kill and repel pests.' The point is that DE kills all insects. It does not differentiate between pest species and beneficials. It will kill a bee or a lady bug just as efficiently as a flee beetle or an earwig. So it is best not to use it until there is a definite problem to cure. Some pests will be dealt with by their natural predators if one can just hold off from the desire to deal with a problem the moment it appears. Aphids, for example, are often cleared up by ladybugs if one just gives them a few days to get to work.

Phee, please say that you'll call Bonide! They are there to help you! Who knows, maybe they'll tell you to give your harvested veggies a vinegar bath or something to dissolve the gook. I doubt it, but you won't know until you ask.
Rest assured that you aren't the first to make this mistake and it won't be the last. They will be used to answering this question.

Agree with all the advice given.
Rule of thumb---- IDENTIFY pest FIRST, then treat with the least invasive(humans to bacteria alike) method on upwards.
Example: Aphids.......
Research Integrated Pest Management(biocontrol)
Squish
Water treatments with a jet spray every 3-4 days
Insecticidal soap treatments(same interval)
Neem oil(same interval)
If you have to go further than neem, you're doing something wrong... refer to biocontrol. Think diversity.
Now, not ALL pests can be dealt with as easily as aphids. But the same general rule applies... Identify, THEN treat.
Good luck.
Kevin

Same kind of worm and damage happened to my collards and broccoli .... you can see the chewed up mess the worm leaves from the inside of the plant... the leaf wilts but not the entire plant, look closely and you'll find the little hole... and finally the worm... I love Bt, just didn't spray it early enough.

Nash, yes 2 gal/day, a few days a week does seem excessive. Remember you are only watering the root zone of each plant with drip and not the space in between. What your target should be is to approximate a 1 - 2 inch weekly rainfall with your irrigation. When there's no rain of course. Where you fall in that range depends on temperature, soil texture, crop stage, etc, etc. To really simplify things I try to deliver about 1 gal for every square foot of root zone per week. I believe a one-inch rainfall would give you a bit more than a half- gal over every ft2. That may mean having diff numbers of emitters for diff sized plants if that's an option for you. And of course leaving the system on longer as plants reach mature size.
If you're giving a young pepper plant 2 gal/day that's really enough for the whole week. If you had more organic matter and/or mulched more, you'd need alot less. That's the way I think of it so I have a good starting point and then I can tweak it as the season goes on. As I suggested before, actually dig with a shovel down to 6 or so inches to give you an idea of how moist it is after irrigating. It takes water several hours to percolate down 6 inches if you have a decent amount of clay, so keep that it mind. Maybe you could have an emitter that doesn;t have something planted by it so you could dig without disturbing roots. Just some ideas, hope it helps.

I do pop the blossoms (or small fruit) off until mine are showing good growth after planting, generally two-three weeks minimum. Once they show me the growth in both height and bushing (and healthy color), then I can't wait! I do read that some disagree and say that you're just losing the first tomatoes, but I don't think there's a set number of fruit on an indeterminate plant. So, I don't know if it's a climate thing, a soil thing, or what, but my tomato plants average about twice the size of others in my community garden. I see so many foot tall plants with clusters of fruit on them, which only get about two-three feet tall after, compared with my 8'+. I think it keeps putting energy into the fruit instead of root growth which is what I want to force deep first thing to withstand the sun once it gets hot.





Missouri Botanical Garden has a good article about E.B. at http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/diseases/fungal-spots/early-blight-of-tomato.aspx
Not clear that it is well spelled out, but the correct approach to early blight that is not ruining the whole plant is to carefully remove all diseased foliage with scissors (don't just pull it off), taking care not to touch healthy foliage. Throw the diseased foliage in the garbage pail, well away from your garden. DO NOT COMPOST!! Wash your hands with soap before going back to your garden, and wash your scissors as well.
If you want to hit it with fungicide, go ahead, but if your plants are mostly healthy, you shouldn't need to do that. The word "blight" sounds evil, but it usually isn't really a big deal as long as it doesn't get out of control.