23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Elisa, afaik yellow jackets are a type of wasp ie whereas bees, although related, are a different order of insects. Bees don't predate other invertebrates. They are vegetarian and (mostly) docile. Both types of insects are important pollinators.

Here's two of my chickens among my collard greens earlier in the season. The chickens never touched those plants until months later when the chickens were much larger. And by then a few lost leaves was no big deal, especially since I'm currently drowning in a sea of collard greens and kale.

Kathy, I'm in the North Bay, don't have a problem with bitter cucumbers and water on a drip system. I grow a brand called Corinto. Get the seeds from Johnny's. They are never bitter, and my garden gets into the 100's when we have our heat waves. I have raised beds, native clay soil is about a foot down. Water every 3 days, mulch heavily.

Make sure you test eat all parts of the cucumber. I've learned to automatically cut off about an inch of the stem end before eating the rest. The stem end always seems to be bitter. I grow County Fair cucumbers.

I could understand the heat stress, they have been in a hot sun here and I got a late start planting them. I'll try that thanks. I'll follow up to let everyone know what happens.

It is because of the sun but not heat stress. Some varieties do that, just like some leaf lettuce sold in store.

I have taste tested the best of the b sprout leaves, the little topknot of foliage that comes on late, in cool weather, and it was spit-out bad.

I leave the lower leaves on until harvest time begins. As with other cabbages, they naturally shed as the plants age, and want to be pulled off.

My big seedlings started in early June will go out this week. It's a strange planting schedule, but that's how we get sweet sprouts in Oct and Nov.

Well, planatus - that's depressing to hear. Maybe you chose a bad bunch, cooked them in a way that didn't suit them or they just aren't to your taste but they are a delicious veggie in my view and, as I said, are harvested and marketed as a seasonal vegetable in their own right here. I would hate people to be put off trying them by your experience.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sprout tops - again.

Um, where are the vegetables? :) Your garden looks great.

Rodney

Love that patch of zinnias! I do see some squash and corn in there. I bet you have lots of bees and butterflies and bouquets for the kitchen table. :-)

Thanks everyone.
I grow "County Fair" cucs, which lack the bitter gene. (which is why it doesn't attract cucumber beetles). I wonder what that means in terms of it tasting bitter??

I trialed cukes this year and found 'Telegraph' put out an occasional bitter-beyond-belief cuke.

My quinoa on July 3, 2014 in North Chicago area.. I am really happy about how it is currently doing and challenged to try to keep it going!

UPDATE: The quinoa is actually going to be several different colors -- Here are a photo of one that looks like it will be purple. I also have what appears to be yellow, Lime green, bright pink, and orange.

Wrigley, I've never seen ants chew through and take down plants at the base, are you sure it isn't perhaps cut worms?
I've never had any problems from my ants in the garden (hey, they are Canadian Ants, maybe they are really polite eh?:)
But yes, if you do have real problems with them, a mix of baking soda/sugar/water in any containers will help lessen the population. They take it back to the queen, or they ingest it and ... I think they explode but I really don't want to know:(
Have to admit to never needing to try this but I've heard of too many people raving about this to doubt it's effectiveness. The "recipe" below lists yeast too, I guess there are a number of combo's but likely they all work just as well. You don't need holes in the lids, if ants can crawl up vertical kitchen cabinets to the counter tops, they can manage a jam jar lid or even a bowl set in the ground a little so it doesn't get tipped over by you, just fine. If the bowl is level with the ground, this will also trap slugs and earwigs, so double duty (they drowned). Beer used to be used for slug/earwigs but what a waste of good beer:)

Here is a link that might be useful: baking soda and sugar water

The thing I think is important to remember is that some bugs are nocturnal, like I believe the cutworms are. You might find something munching the plant bases if you go out with a flashlight after the sun goes down.

I use 10 to 1 diluted urine to water my long squash once a week, it is growing pretty well.

For fertilizing soil that has good organic matter and previous years rotted horse manure with a lot of hay in it, I like to scatter and work in some slow release fertilizer like Plant Tone in the planting hill or row and then band some faster release fertilizer around or along the plants. This lasts all season.

I'm having to harvest my potatoes a bit early because of all the rain. I've solved the non-keeping problem by canning them.

Those look delicious.

The reds grow, large and early.

While this does tend to be a normal occurrence, it can also indicate a nitrogen deficiency when the oldest leaves yellow and fall off.

Most likely it is as galinas says, but what are your watering and feeding habits?

watering them regular, keeping soil moist, but not over watered. about every week and half adding liquid food to water (which has highest number in nitrogen) i think its 12-8-4, plants are thriving, but maybe it is the whole lack of sun thing for those bottom leaves.

Hi, could be a number of things from sun scald of the leaves perhaps to vitamin deficiency... that soil looks pretty dry... I can't really say. Have you fertilized? Do you water consistently? Ants like my bean plants too, as well as my sunflowers. Don't ask me why... no aphids from what I can see.

They don't look like they're dying -- and your harvest may not be affected by these leaf issues. I've had deer eat all the leaves off my bean plants, and they still sprouted new leaves and produced beans just fine. I do see a wilted leaf in the right of your squash photo -- is that another squash plant? Now THAT one looks like it's in trouble (hopefully it's just a weed you've pulled and let lie!)

Wait -- I just looked closer. Is that squash in a pot or in the ground? If it's in a pot, it may be stressed from not enough space (if that is a pot, it looks too small for the plant.)