24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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Julia Blama

I have 2 types of melons growing in my garden. Sugar Babies and another I've forgotten what they were (lost tag) but my sugar babies have only grown just over the size of a softball and vine has browned and dried out, still connected to the fruit but haven't gotten any bigger. Are these considered trash or what can I do to help them or have better results next year? The other melons in the garden have also seemed to stop growing, although a few smaller ones have started to grow

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Julia Blama

Picture didn't post but here they are

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charlieboring

My artichokes did not survive the winter in Northern VA, so I am going to try again this next spring. I intend to start my seeds in mid January in my basement, under lights, no heat pad. Anyone have advice?

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jean001a(Portland OR 7b)

Fasciation.

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Nitsua(6b MO)

There's a jumbo gumbo in your future. Never seen anything like that before.

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molly619

It has already opened yellow blossoms! So it is no good? No part of it is now edible? Can I let it go to seed and use the seeds? When? My daughter planted it in my raised planters and didn't really now what it was supposed to look like or exactly what it was!

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fear267

When the flowers open, the "broccoli" part (flowers) gets bitter. It is still edible (as are the leaves- which are bitter too).

To eliminate the bitterness (at least for the flowers), boil it for five minutes. Then put it in ice water for a few minutes. Finally, drain well. This is called bleaching.

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Good job Charlie. You ought to tie this to your previous discussion on this last spring so folks that pull it up can know about the results too.

Dave

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Alex Hinkley

Awesome! Thank you! I have never heard of those before.

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Yeah they are weird but kind of cool too. Assuming it isn't chronically wet soil they are a sign of healthy soil.

Dave

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Well, my point about relevance was that if you really know what's in your greywater, you're certain that plants should be able to tolerate it, and that it isn't a septic hazard, conversations about how to manage gardening over what is essentially sewage flow in a septic tank drainage field doesn't really contribute a lot. If I am careful about what is in my greywater, it's hard to understand how its use could be disadvantageous for vegetable growing. As I keep saying, it's really about what is in your greywater.

Thank you Marianne. That is very interesting about regulations against using greywater. I guess I was only vaguely aware of that. That is certainly a more pertinent issue. It must be a matter of trusting the homeowner to know what is really grey and what is not, and some municipalities don't. As in, how dark a shade of grey. Now, I can imagine that stuff that comes out of dishwashers and clothes washers could, under some circumstances, when used by environmentally clueless folks, be truly environmentally hazardous waste. Now, how is it justified that rainwater collection from a rooftop is illegal in Nevada? Seems to me that if you don't collect it, it's just going to end up in the soil anyway. That regulation is about timing, rather than pollution.

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Marianne W (zone 10A)

The municipal water authority has the right to the runoff from the rain so it can go into Lake Mead and if you interfere with their right to their watershed runoff, you're in big trouble. You can't even have rain gutters on your house in Clark county and I'm sure they'd never let you keep & use your grey water. After all, it is their water.

Water regulation is serious business. Even if you own your own water rights, you still may not pond or make use of the water however you want. The local governments have every right to regulate it for health & safety reasons (imagine someone with cholera showered and then used it in the garden and kids played in it...) and because of the intense amount of water rights laws. Many municipalities specifically prohibit the use of grey water on edible crops (Pima County, for instance) and will only approve a system that waters non-edible landscaping.

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

John, you couldn't have made a less porous potting medium if you tried. I'd be very surprised if it it wasn't a bit soggy in the lower portion of the mix.

Regarding the leaf miners.....they are protected from contact pesticides like malathion and pyrethrin once the larvae are inside the leaf tissue. Your chemical application did little to nothing to solve that issue. Leaf miners are usually considered cosmetic.

Without a look-see in person, I'd be hesitant in diagnosing the problems going on, but I would guess that the MG potting soil+compost+manure is part of the issue. Good stuff for real in situ garden soil, not so much in a container.

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John

Thank you for the reply!

This is the first time I have tried to grow vegetables and it is a lot more difficult than I thought. The plant seems to be dying despite my best efforts. Whatever it is, it's spreading from the older leaves to the younger leaves. The plant was growing like crazy at first then just started dying...

For next year, what should I use for potting soil?

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najanajaking

ekgrows is absolutely right. Picking is something that takes even more time than growing, with beans definitely one of those crops. Broccoli harvesting does not take a lot time.

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Don V

wow a lot of incorrect data, kale nothing attacks? Got slugs and cabbage lopers killing it this year - despite max apps of organic stuff (neem oil, etc).

Without a doubt many things take ten times more work. I grow 50 things and 10% take 90% of my work. Literally.

Beans but pole beans are best by far IMO. Tomatoes take a lot of trimming and staking. Summer squash tastes 10x better then winter. Peppers. Zuc's. beets. corn. asparagas, watermelon, chard, lettuce is great to in cooler weather. Peanuts - YUMMY and easy. bunching onions. Lots of fruits (perennial to!) but you said veggies. Cucs.

Of the above bugs can hit cucs/squash/zucs (and so can spotty mildew). Big draw back but worth it IMO.

I also try to take into account work to plant/maintain and harvest and prepare. Caprese is great, so are beans and squash.

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infestedshawn

rhizo, thanks for your response! I've used granulated fertilizer before for flowers. I had success with it (including some 6 foot tall wildflowers that looked like miniature trees.) I was just going to follow the directions on the back of the container. Are there any specific recommendations you have that might deviate from the directions?

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grubby_AZ Tucson Z9

You didn't show a pic so here's one you can compare against growing right now (highs in upper 90's) that was seeded just two weeks ago in a heavily OM'd old sandy bed; no fert. It broke surface on the third day and has about a 12 inch spread. That's close to normal for this climate.

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tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM

Thank you, both. If I were not to water at all, I know they would die. This year and last, I have been watering them more in an attempt to help them recover from grasshopper damage but it sounds like when that is not an issue, I can probably water less than I have been which will definitely be nice.

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drmbear

Use lots of good organic mulch - like ground up leaves - and make it thick!! My asparagus is still fairly new, but I didn't water at all, but I checked the soil moisture under the mulch, even after the longest dry spell of the summer, and it still had a moist feel to it. Asparagus is looking great.

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jazzersaxman

Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to give that a try with drying the soil. I have 6 4x4' beds so there is a lot of soil...should be an interesting project. Do you recommend any particular rehab regimen?

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weirdtrev

Garden soil does not belong in pots. The container forum is a good place to learn why not. I am sure that is not what you wanted to hear.

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Rebecca Norman

I've eaten store-bought arugula for years, but when we got some volunteer arugula growing in our garden last year, I was surprised to find that when the leaves got big and too hot to eat in large amounts, they also had a very pleasant sesame flavor as well. This was in addition to the usual slightly skunky arugula flavor. The little white flowers also had a very pleasant sweet sesame flavor.

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

I suspect that you may have let it get too mature for your taste. Rocket has a unique flavor regardless.....some people just don't like it.

I use it in salads, as a topping for sandwiches, tossed into a pot of garden soup, meaty soup, rice and sausage, etc.

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defrost49

Georgi, I have lots of sun and pretty good soil thanks to the lasagna method. We found a great source of composted horse manure, bedding and kitchen scraps that the owner turns during the winter and just charges a nominal fee to load our utility trailer in the spring. I actually don't like the manure from our neighbor because it has too much sawdust in it and somehow turns to concrete. Wishing you luck finding a great source of composted manure. But despite all my successes such as an amazing winter squash patch this year, I can't seem to grow a decent zucchini. Indoor started plants in one bed struggled. Direct sown plants in a different bed also struggled. Possibly not enough water early in the season. It's been pretty dry here. I lost 4 blueberry bushes to improper planting followed by neglect. Gardening is about learning and accepting the challenges. Right now I see a small amount of tomato hornworm damage, even spotted some poop, but I can't find the worms. I have my fingers crossed that birds are getting the worms. You might find that areas of less sunlight help you grow the best lettuce and greens. I have grown tomatoes in less than full sunlight. They've done fine just haven't produced as much as plants grown in more "perfect" conditions. And you will probably do better than another gardener who doesn't care as much.

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yolos - z 7b/8a Ga.

didn't think about the tree roots. I think the closest tree to my beds will be around 10 feet - hopefully it is far enough

Sorry, but depending on the variety, age and height of the tree, 10 feet away from the tree isn't far enough to keep roots from invading your box. After 2 years I had to dig out all the roots from 4 raised beds and now I am having to raise the beds off the ground.

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jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)

Agreed, those don't look very healthy. Here is my patch, from a few weeks ago, they were planted on May 20th.

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jrslick (North Central Kansas, Zone 5B)

Also, this thought just crossed my mind, are those ornamental sweet potato vines? The color looks like some of those types as does the leaf shape. Just wondering.

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