23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I grow Gypsy hybrid and Orange blaze. From 25 plants I am getting about 120-150 liters of peppers a season. Only pick green ones very early in the season (just few) when I can't wait for fresh pepper in my salad and at the end of the season when it's getting cold. Every year I pant another variety of classic red bell pepper hopping that this one will be early and prolific. Every fall I promise myself not to waist garden space is red bell and just plant what I know works the best, but in spring, can't resist to try something new. No luck so far)
To mdfarmer about wireworms...
They are larva of click beetles and grow several years in the soil before they actually become a beetle and produce eggs. So manual removal helps a lot. I dig my bed 3 times a year - spring, after harvest and right before hard frost, or even after it before the next one. Every time I pick what I see. They hard to smash, so I just rip them in half - that kills them. The fact they grow several years before become to be able to reproduce means that if you didn't find one this year - you will find it next year. Just remove each one you see. Also, if after harvest you place several potatoes in the already empty soil and mark where they are, you can come once a week, dig around the marks and collect the wireworms eating you lure. Keep in mind, that you also should kill beetles when you see them, they usually do not do any harm themselves, so we tend to ignore them.
Just start over with new seeds.
Until they sprout, they must be kept continually moist. This may mean watering once or even twice per day (lightly). Once you see that a lot of them have sprouted, you can cut back watering to once a day, and after a while, you can cut back more and more.
My opinion is that most likely you didn't water enough to get the seeds to sprout. Sometimes, freshly sprouted seeds are eaten by birds, snails or slugs almost from day 1 of sprouting, but usually you will see some sign of the sprout or the culprit when that happens.
Bigger, deeper set seeds like beans are less likely to need twice-a-day watering. Small seeds, planted shallowly are more likely to need continuous moisture.
--McKenzie
Agee with McKenzie. Sounds to me like you underwatered them. It was probably too hot as well, given that some beets and peas (more tolerant of warm soil) germinated and no spinach or lettuce did.
If watering daily isn't possible, increase your seeding depth.
Johnnyseeds says that most winter squash gets sweeter with storage time, as carbohydrates break down into sugars. I understand that the process can be accelerated by keeping the squash warm for a few weeks after harvest, though that may cut down on the storage lifetime. Interestingly, the caratenoid (think vitamin A) content of butternuts also increases with storage time, so older squash are healthier as well as sweeter.
I'm in the same boat as you are. I planted artichokes for the first time this year, they got to a certain size and stalled out, and I got no 'chokes from them.
As for overwintering them, I'm going to pile on a thick layer of leaves later in the fall and then put a tarp over top of the leaves to keep them dry and to insulate them more. Hopefully it works.
Rodney
What Rodney said. Mulch and lots of it. What kills overwintering plants in general is not the deep cold of mid-winter (which is typically accompanied by deep snow cover in temperate zones) but the freeze-thaw cycles of late winter and early spring. Keep the mulch on until the soil thaws completely and nights don't drop below 20 degrees anymore.
Well, there kind of is an air pocket unless the water is filled all the way up to the top of the gravel. And actually, there should be an overflow hole that prevents this from ever happening.
The gravel does not wick water. It's purpose is to hold up the soil (or potting mix) without wicking. Think of it this way: both the water reservoir, and the air gap above it just happen to be filled with gravel.
In any event, there should be an air pocket, in my opinion. I think the roots will rot otherwise. (unless you are growing rice or something).
McKenzie
Eggplant and pepper are both perennial, so you can, in principle, keep them going over the winter. They are both highly frost intolerant. Light freeze and they're DEAD. Eggplant will shut down production entirely in temps like you're having. They like nighttime temps in the 60s or above. You may still get a few peppers.
I suspect that indoors, without much light, they wouldn't do that well. But if they survived, you could get a head start on production in the spring.
For container plants, protection from animals just needs a little chicken wire.
Dear Sir, i already read the article concerning vernalizing artichoke seeds a while ago. They mentionned two methods:
1: Seed chilling necessity
2: Plant chilling nrcessity
Concerning seeds, it is a very easy task to put the seeds in the fridge at 2 degrees celcius, or 34 degrees F for 40 days.
Concerning plants, you can put them in a cold mid shaded area from February until March, or put the plants in the freezer at 2 degrees C for a whole month, bringing them outside weekly for few hours to prevent rot.
I myself planted Green globe variety during last year spring, without vernalizing, and they produced during the next February, after having their chilling need.
Hope that helps
In the Phoenix area, I've had good luck planting in the fall. The small artichokes acclimate and are big enough to make it through any light freezes with some mulch. In spring they always provide me with tons of chokes.
I'm now in NC and I have several baby artichokes getting ready to plant out in zone 8. This will be my first time in NC for any gardening at all.
I don't know if this is what you mean but I have a number of beds with 3" pcv pipes below. I have an elbow and short piece of pipe to bring the opening above ground level. The pipe is buries 8 to 10 inches down, covered in dirt.
The pipes have holes drilled in the sides and cord threaded through. I pour water into the pipe and it wets the cord through about 8 inches on either side.
I have used it for three years with potatoes, garlic and strawberries to my satisfaction.
Hi im having a similar problem,please check the pic below and let me know what is causing it and any remedy if possible?
Here is a link that might be useful: sugar baby watermelon photo
My experience differs, Daninthedirt. But on consideration that's likely because you're in Texas and I'm way North of you. The OP's in Georgia so, yes, there's probably more light available through windows than up here. So I need to change my statement and add something about latitude.
I raise all my seedlings in a glazed porch with no artificial lighting. But it is always going to be second best in light terms to outdoors.
I think it's less a matter of latitude and more a matter of the window size and arrangement in the inside room you're using. Let's face it. If I'm on the equator and my picture-window room is badly shaded by trees outside, it's not a good place to raise plants. Of course, the yard outside directly under those trees is going to be no better.
All inside rooms are not created equal.
The thread is old so probably pointless to add to it but I do think they are aphids. You can see the cast off skins in the photo too. Black aphids look just like those, at least the ones we get here do. There is a species which particularly loves runner beans and favas. But I've never seen aphids of any description my chard.
I thought ground cherries and cape gooseberries were the same thing. I'm very curious because I have ground cherries.
-Anne