23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Not the question, but worth mentioning - growing in pure manure would be dangerous if it wasn't fully composted - risk of ecoli.

"Not the question, but worth mentioning - growing in pure manure would be dangerous if it wasn't fully composted - risk of ecoli.

On corn, not so likely.

I prune all suckers bellow first flower bunch. Then occasionally prune very thin, leggy ones that do not have enough sun in the middle of the bush, to make the bush reasonably dense, not overcrowded.

I see no reason to prune the cherry tomatoes.

I would not try to separate them at this point. They look pretty large, no doubt the roots are very intermingled at this point. Plus, you've got a big enough pot, IMO. I would snip off the leaves from the dirt up to the level of the pot, then fill in with more dirt. That will give them extra growing room.

Agree it is too late to separate them now. But your pot definitely needs to be filled. Normal fill is up to 1" below the top rim. In the photo it looks as if all of them need filling.

Dave

Some pesky Robbins pecked at all my seedlings last year.

From that point on, I grew seedlings indoors until they are about 12 weeks old

If you find slugs at night, leave cornmeal near their bodies. I read that they gravitate them, and it also kills them, because it's coarse. SO, if they die near your plants, expect to see (or hear) birds happily eating the slugs the next morning.

I read you're supposed to leave the meal in a cup, to dispose them yourself. I dropped a small scoop on the ground, one slug went straight for it, was dead in the morning, and eaten by birds. The only problem is ants will be attracted to the cornmeal. With wind, rain, and ants, however, it was gone in a few days.

Birds love baby strawberries on a hanging basket!

One bird made a small hole in the dirt on my basil/tomato basket.

I have SVB in my three squash plants...it was expected and why I only planted three.

My son injected the 'hole' with BT on each plant...that was a week ago...still viable and producing fruit/flowers. By now the plants would be wilted and dying.

So, at least there is something to fight back with. We will see how long it lasts.

Here is a link that might be useful: Safer Caterpillar Killer With B.T. 8 Ounce Concentrate

HOLY, that looks like a serious infestation. you should consider insectiside.

They will not correct themselves. You have blossom end rot, due to lack of calcium. Get a soil test first. Lime should be added a few months before planted and tilled in if reccomended. Uneven watering can cause it too. I just pull those fruits off and toss them on the compost pile. We get alot of rain during the summer here and it throws things off. Also I read to crush up several egg shells and put them around the tomato plants to add calcium.

All i can say is that this is defiantly a sign of disease.

Dupe post

This post was edited by jwhittin on Fri, Jul 4, 14 at 19:02

I think that would be fine, most plants love a good rain

You have potato fruit, which will contain seed. Should remind you of green tomatoes (mistaken reports of potatoes producing tomatoes are common) and demonstrates how closely related these plants are. Yale

Potato plants are messy and unkempt. It's normal. As for changingitup's photo, those are potato fruits. They are similar to tomatoes but poisonous. You could let them ripen and they would produce true potato seeds. The seeds could produce small tubers if you plant them next year, and the tubers would produce potatoes the following year. But the potatoes they produce will probably be different and less desirable than the potatoes you started with this year.

Assuming that 1. You followed label directions and 2. Your soil was not previously amended with huge amounts of N-rich materials (manure, compost, seed meals, fish emulsion, blood meal), I don't see the problem.

Healthy plants produce good yields. Stressed plants may yield a little earlier because they go into panic mode but the total yield over the season is always better from large, healthy plants with sufficient vegetative growth. You don't want TOO much of course but your 12-4-8 should not cause this. Plants need 2x to 3x as much nitrogen as phosphorus.

I'm in zone 2 as well. It's far too early to expect any fruit from nightshade-family crops. Flower buds - yes. Do you see any?

This post was edited by Slimy_Okra on Fri, Jul 4, 14 at 14:21

Hi all, thanks for all your comments. I guess it is a bit early, but it's mostly my scarlet runner beans, morning glories ( just not flowering yet and I thought maybe they were over fertilized because the ones in the nursery where I bought them are root bound in their little containers but blooming.) and tomatoes that are growing tall and strong but few blossoms. I figured I Nitrogened them out and delayed fruit/ flower production. I guess I'll just be patient! :))

Do you think plants decay fast enough, such as spent tomato plants? Or how about grass?

Tomato plants, no. They need to go to the compost pile too. Grass yes (make sure it hasn't been treated with weed killers).

Rodney's suggestion of mixed well shredded leaves and grass tilled in can work but will still likely require some rake-off in spring in zone 6 of left over leaves.

But since soil improvement is the primary goal then a planted cover crop that can be tilled in in early spring is the best option. If you make it one of the N rich green manure cover crops so much the better.

Turnip seed, radishes, any of the legume cover crops, hairy vetch, crimson clover, etc. can be inexpensively seeded over the entire bed to grow all winter, tilled in in early spring 2-4 weeks prior to planting. Provides winter protection and does wonders for the soil.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Cover Crops

I can do that! Radish seeds are easy to come by. If I use leaves I will be sure to shred them or just leave then in a compost pile. I am glad I asked because I would have just put the leaves as is on top of the soil. Learning to improve soil this year and it is all new to me :). Thank you both!

I agree chemicals is the best option. Do your research on those offered and consider wicking the chemical instead of spraying. Requires far less chemical and alows repeat applications without loading soil with chemicals. Burning everything removed sounds perfect. Maybe even dance around the fire if noone is watching.

I also have a source for fresh chicken poop. it might be hot enough to burn the sedge.

Grew them last year and picked at the same stage...mostly to avoid pests.

I let them ripen indoors. They were wonderful and made great sauce.

Where are you...mine are still green on the vine in Upstate South Carolina.

I just noticed my first Early Girl is starting to turn yellow. Northern California. Probably still a couple weeks out from picking anything, but the bright side is if there's no early frost, I'll still be eating tomatoes on Thanksgiving.

If you are in the 60's and 70's for the month, I'd say go ahead and plant. I figured Milwaukee would be hot and muggy in the summer time, but those temps would be good for all manner of cool season veggies including radishes. Plus, they are so quick that if it did get too hot for them in the 30ish days they take to grow, oh well, plant some more in September, nothing to lose really.

Too late for radishes - they like shorter days. Wait until September or next March-April