23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
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
these plants are in container and water once a day in morning. some of the containers have two plants in one pot. One died and the other seems to be ok as of now
I also notice a cucuzza plant ( in ground) that the stem starts to dry out( brown color) today too.
Amaize is relatively new, not widely available. Reading the description on Burpee's website doesn't say if its SU, SE or SH2, which I'd want to know before I grow it. Considering its described as having a pop or crunch when you bite into it, and several people have commented on poor germination, I'd guess its SH2 (supersweet or an augmented variant).
I've grown Bodacious before and was happy with the results.
This year my varieties are Sugar Baby (just started picking this week), Painted Hill, Ruby Queen and Bodacious.
What is amazing to me is that George Crookham is named as the major developer, yet it is not listed among Crookham's varieties. It is a Burpee exclusive. There is a lot of hype about it, but no commercial vendors which arouses suspicion in my feeble mind. Crookham seed has several outstanding whites that have done well for me. Argent, Frosty, Silver Duchess ( my favorite),
The folks over on the Harvest Forum (the forum for food preservation) might be able to help.
Rodney
Here is a link that might be useful: Harvest Forum
Just finished harvesting the last Ambrosia bicolor, se, corn plot #3. All 3 plots were delicious and productive. Some earworms in this last batch but that's expected in the late season. Biggest pests were squirrels during the day, and opossums at night. Had to fence in and net this last batch or all would have been lost. I find that planting corn any later than July 1st here results in small ears and less per stalk, most likely due to the shortening day length.
If the plants look good, why fertilize? Doesn't make sense to me. If the leaves are starting to yellow or if they have had poor growth then I could understand. Just let the plants do their thing and the fruits should ripen up for you.
And the fertilizer you have is basically micronutrients. At this point I doubt they'd be of any benefit to the plants and with an N-P-K of 0.1-0-0 they wouldn't force new growth (not that you want to force new growth).
Rodney
Thanks, Rodney. Between my post and yours, I found this:
Foliar feeding can be done during early growth of the plant, during or after blooming, when is plant is under stress, or just prior to plant maturity to increase brix. Information on increasing brix can be found here. Foliar feeding can be done as often as every three or four days, but even applying once will be advantageous.
The article makes the point that foliar feeding doesn't replace nutrients from the soil, but enhances them.
You're right--I don't want to force new growth. I'm just hoping to encourage ripening.
nfriday- As I said in my OP, I don't think we have SVB here in CA.
Sunni and Rodney, all of my beds are raised and lined with hardware cloth (gophers). I didn't see any gopher action, but I'll look around for others. I've never seen evidence of moles in the last 30 years here, but maybe voles? I have a lot of garden cats, but I'll look around! Nancy
I wouldn't leave the roots to rot. Sounds like an invitation for trouble.
I chop/mow them up and leave them. With some rotation I don't have much trouble at all.