23,822 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Newbie -- all newbies are a bit stupid and we were all newbies once! ;-) Are you planning a garden for next year? I would suggest if you would like to have better results you could try a raised bed on top of your rocky soil and ask a lot of questions as you go along with your growing efforts. If you need to keep growing in containers, the container forum is usually pretty helpful and some people there grow amazingly well in containers.
The plastic around the base of your plant would be fine if it were in the ground, although I don't use it at all. In a small pot, it would not offer a good result. Might make the soil too hot and traps moisture which can lead to disease.
Ken, I stopped growing cukes too, and tried them again this year and had a great year. I tried a new seed from FEDCO - Ministro - and it worked out really well. I have a glut of cucumbers all ripening around the same time right now. I didn't really see a cucumber beetle this year either, which surprised me. I imagine I got lucky and they will find me next year though. lol

Thankyou for the advice, I'm going to do a raised bed where the stoney ground is and have a try at lasagne gardening in another part of the garden. I only got my garden in June, already learnt a few things from my mistakes. There is so much to learn though so thankyou for your help


That's strange stuff. I guess before I put that on my plants, I might like to think about what that tree died from. For example, fungal blight detritus is not something I'd want to spread around on my veggies.
You might want to let it "age" for a year or two, maybe in a real compost pile.

Bean rust.
Here is a link that might be useful: https://extension.umass.edu/vegetable/diseases/bean-rust

I don't think anyone has suggested earwigs. They usually eat decaying matter, but will eat young plant leaves. I think I solved my green bean leaf eating problem.
Earwigs! I was told to use the damp rolled up newspaper method to irradicate earwigs (on a different site and different problem. I personally used 7 dust. (no patience)

Hey Kevin, it's only after 10AM and it's so hot I feel sick. You must be boiling out there. How do your toms do in heat like this? Guess what I'm doing-after I use up a gallon of spring water I fill it with tap water and have quite a collection now. It's for if we get told we can't water our plants. I'm going to keep doing this until I have about half a garage full of gallons.

In part, yes, it is just that it is a determinate variety. Unlike indeterminates, once the terminal (top) bloom sets fruit the plant slowly begins to die.
But you may also have some sort of disease process going. Without seeing the plant or at least a picture of it we can only guess.
You might want to post a photo if possible over on the Tomato growing forum here.
Dave

Here's a pic.. sorry I thought I posted this on the tomato forum. I actually saw some new baby tomatoes so I want to leave him if not contagious. They all have a bit of the early blight but it is only the lower leaves and I have been spraying seemingly successfully. Maybe give some miracle gro?
The tomatoes are all crammed in between marigold plants that have pretty much taken over the garden. I had no idea they could get so big, and thankfully very beautiful!



Hello Mav72 in your post of Sun, Jun 22, 14 at 16:07--- did you finally harvest peanuts? I am experiencing the same thing as PdOxGard and his pictures are just like taken from my own plants. I water them manually as I have not installed irrigation lines. Could that be washing out or hurting the flowers that cause them to wilt? Besides my plants are not getting tall but just running here and there... Having a hard time hilling them... Will appreciate any encouraging comments.......

Steve349, I've never seen those bumps before but I want to hear what it is so I hope someone else chimes in.
James416, your problem is entirely different. Next time please post in a new thread so that people know to respond to your issue and not Steve's. The damage you have pictured is classic leaf miner damage, not too much you can do about it but you can google the pest and come up with more information about it, at least.

catherinet: These are plants from the Spring, correct?
If so, do what I suggested. You have nothing to lose except a bit of time and water. Like nhbabs said, Packman does a pretty good job at side shoots. You probably noticed that when it was flowering. That's the key to the side shoots --- check them daily... if you see any separation at all, it's time to harvest. If you don't, within a few days, the stalk will get woody and they'll start to flower.
Kevin

Thanks for all the advice guys! Unfortunately, 2008 was not my great year (it was 2003) - which is why I keep thinking it's nutrient rather than weather / site, however, Platanus is right about there not being enough warmth this year for my warm site stuff (so, naturally, this is the year I plant okra and sweet potatoes...). I might have picked the wrong year to ask this question, but the issue appears to be the same as in previous, warmer years.
I have great sun, have had plenty (more than plenty this year) of rain and have a growing season that is a little longer than the place I used to try and grow okra, Massachusetts (now that was a challenge!). I notice that my soil pH is a little lower than the optimal that was reported by the link jean001a provided (thank you for that!) and so I might pursue that.
Thanks for all the great advice. I'll follow it and see what I can get. :)

Soil-borne wilt is a persistent problem in my area, especially for okra & eggplant. It seems that cooler temperatures are the problem, the wilt generally starts after a few cool nights... I believe the cool temperatures weaken the plant's immune system, and the wilt quickly takes advantage of the weakened state.
I never found a variety that was fully immune to the wilt, but I did find one that is highly resistant. In Cornucopia, A Sourcebook of Edible Plants, "Pentagreen" is listed as a cool-tolerant okra. I tried it based upon that recommendation, and it has done consistently well. A few plants succumb, but most will bear until frost. In warm years, there is almost no wilt at all. The short plants branch heavily if given space, so the harvest really picks up late in the season... which allows me to freeze a few batches for the winter.


Primary difference are in starch , moisture, and sugars. By the way the term Irish potato is used to differentiate them from sweet potatoes for those areas that grow both. Both French fries and chips are prettier and lighter when the high starch type potatoes are used. A chip made from a high sugar potato tends to be brown in color. Both Irish Cobblers and Kennebecs are in the middle and usually referred to a s general purpose potatoes. Kennebec is larger and has much shallower eyes than the Irish Cobbler.
Here is a link that might be useful: Irish potato characteristics

Don't be afraid of the Irish Cobblers. If you are boiling them, of course leave the delicate skins on and keep a close eye. If they are over cooked they will tend to fall to pieces and thus have too much moisture. If cooked correctly they have a wonderful almost nutty undertone. Amazing.
I am from PEI which of course is potato country and just from my own personal experience I would say that Irish cobblers are pretty much exclusively eaten as a "new" or "early" potato. That may be why people have had experiences with a "dirty" taste in later months. There are plenty of tasty spuds for long storage. Enjoy those cobblers in their prime :)


Ill have to take a picture. I don't think it is blight as the plant is very healthy looking. Ill post tonight.
It is also possible that your seeds were crossed with a white or striped eggplant. There are quite a few striped eggplants in the Black Beauty class and the market is not very diligent in providing pure OP seeds.