23,821 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I successfully use thin 4' bamboo sticks and plastic wire tie. I just lightly insert two sticks in the ground crossing right under the branch you want to support, tie crossing with wire tie and let branch rest on the crossing. It is very mobile, you can do it where you most need it.

It's my understanding that the Bean beetles migrate northward every year so the pediobius wasps have to be used each year. Essentially you're setting up a new ecosystem every year where enough bean beetle larvae survive to act as wasp hosts for several yearly generations.

I had the same experience last year with Big Daddy - Copra and Ringmaster weren't much different. I decided for me - I was not far enough north geographically for those long-day onions to bulb-up. I think I was right. None of the long-day onions we planted stored well for us.
This year we wanted to try Highlander because there are not that many intermediate-day onion options - and Highlander was touted as an early maturing onion. It was a good decision because the onion grew very well here and bulbed-up nicely. You can see the difference between Highlander and the other long-day onion bulbs if you compare them in the photos? The other long-day onions apparently didn't have sun and temperature necessary to complete their growth - the bulbs are narrow and elongated - the necks are thick because we had to pull them to protect them from freezing temps - and like I said - they did not store long!


Your vines aren't vigorous enough to support big melons. You may not need weekly fertilizer but you need enough to grow big vines. They also need enough water. It sounds like your soil may not be good for melons. You might need a large raised bed of fertile soil. Agree that a hole in clay soil isn't best. If the clay drains slowly melons won't do well.
To grow big melons your vines need to look like this.



My melons look just as runty as yours! I, too, have clay soil and my melon management was similar. I have two moon & stars melons that have remained the size of my fist for over a month.
...I'm thinking that I might give up on melons unless I can provide it with better soil.

How long do limas keep in the fridge if you keep them in the shell? I've been blanching and freezing green beans for days on end, wonder if I should do the same with the pound of limas I got (off about a dozen plants - I don't know if that's good or bad yield).



1/4 inch & white, living in coffee grounds & worm compost sounds like potworms. Google potworm image to see. If I remember correctly, putting a slice of milk-soaked bread will attract them & then you can discard the bread. I don't think they're harmful to the plants, though.

I suspect it's partly rotate crops, also be certain to remove all crop debris at end of season.
More from UC -
Here is a link that might be useful: bean weevil

Thanks for the info... I actually wasn't here to remove old crop debris last year, which may be part of the problem.. I removed the debris early spring... I grew beans this year where I grew squash last year....
I know all beans are toxic to a certain extent... I noticed these bugs like the supposedly less toxic beans more than the more toxic beans... Same species of beans (lima) but different cultivars...
I also have one isolated white seeded hyacinth bean plant that I'm growing this year and it's having a hell of a time growing seed.. I got one good seed out of the 20 pods that it has grown so far this year... I grew the purple type last year and there were NO weevil problems and perfect seed...

Yes - to reiterate what lacyvail said - these brassicas are tough once established but at this time of year they should have been transplanted and growing in their places for several weeks already. We just had our first picking of curly kale tonight and we'll be eating it until next March/April. The plants are two feet tall already. The seed came from these people. They are a a UK firm but when I googled there were plenty of US suppliers.
Here is a link that might be useful: Winterbor

I understand and normally I would start earlier. However, our summers get way too hot and it makes it a bit tricky. For example, last year it was 90 one day and 60 the very next day. There was no slow cool down and it stayed in the 60s for the rest of the time until it cooled down more. I planted my broccoli when everyone told me to last year according to my zone, and it all bolted. I can grow them indoors but they get too big and there is nowhere to store them. So I am experimenting this year. I might only have young leaves to eat and that's ok with me. I am just trying to get it down an area that is 6a but really could be 4a and 7a at different times in the season. It is such a weird place to grow in! I think it is because it's sort of a mountain area and we used to have 80s all summer and strong cool winters with lots of snow. I appreciate your guys help! You have all inspired me and gave me some new varieties that I would never had thought of :). I really love this forum!

Different traits can show up in individual plants.. I grew a hybrid squash from the neighbors two years ago... Some plants had a classic pumpkin shape and others had a shape like the one in your picture... Four color morphs appeared, dark green, light green, solid, and stripped... They all tasted the same but I'm sure that it can be an issue also..

I'm only suggesting this because you said you don't plan to plant in these beds for years. If it were me I'd cut the weeds close to the ground (leaving the cut weeds to lay on top of the soil if they aren't full of seeds), cover the ground with a few layers of cardboard, then cover the cardboard with a thick layer of woodchips. Keep the layer of chips sufficient and you'll have minimal weed issues.
Rodney

I am usually a leader of the cardboard wood chips party, but she has a real chance of exterminating the seed bank. I suggest, like Loribee, black plastic for a couple of summers, with frequent openings, light hoeing, and deep watering, then closing again. In fact, clear plastic is probably best, as some seeds are light sensitive. Open, hoe, water, and close maybe three times during the warm season, then you can cover with wood chips.

I second the wiping them down with a light bleach solution. And handle them very gently--an invisible bruise will turn to rot later on. I too have kept them almost a year. Store them in a cool but dry place. Cellar is not a good choice if it's at all damp. A cool room, extra bedroom perhaps, is a good place to store them, not touching on top of newspaper.
Oh, and when you pick them, leave at least an inch of stem.
This post was edited by laceyvail on Sat, Aug 30, 14 at 6:25




I'm experimenting with growing tomatoes in different sized modified 5 gal buckets. Some are full 5 gals without the water reservoir, some are 5 gal less the reservoir. The ones on the right are Big Beef Hybrid, the ones on the left are Early Girl Hybrid. I've also set up 2 large containers with 2 each of the same to compare. They are all watered with a simple gravity/siphon system I cobbled together to simplify watering.
Here is a link that might be useful:
Yes I have!