23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Hi guys, so I finally saw my very first baby crookneck squash, and so I was able to compare the two. The plants have some very visible differences. Here's a picture that will explain the immediate differences better than I could. The main difference for me was the way the plants grew. The Crooknecks "crawl" a bit, shooting out leaves from the crawling central stem. The zukes sort of blossom out from the ground in one spot. Also, the leaves are a different shape and texture. There are a few ppl online in different forums who had this question for a variety of reasons, and yeah I guess I do think it's silly that so many people came across such a random question but anyways I hope the pic helps someone! Thanks everyone
Be aware that different varieties of zucchini may have different looking leaves. As they grow larger they also change in shape and texture. Farmerdill's photo shows one zucchini variation with the silvery coloration.....and no, that is NOT mildew or any other fungal disease. Your photos will help in telling your zucchini and yellow squash varieties apart but may not be applicable to different cultivars.
It looks like yours are growing nicely.
I lost most of my cauliflowers this year to root maggots. My Brussels Sprouts were also affected but considerably less so. My Collards and Kale seem untouched and are growing like gangbusters with no wilting issues. So maybe your Kale and Collards will be OK. If they are wilting on mild days, you might have a problem.
I don't grow eggplant so don't know if there are short (60 DTM) varieties - maybe some of the mini (Asian) kinds? Getting late for peppers too unless you want to try them in pots and overwinter them. Again, for tomatoes look for short-season determinates.
When is your first fall frost date? Mid-late Sept? Could get some tomatoes from transplants but not many if you end up with late-season variety like Brandywine.
See the thread Rodney linked to for fall veggies to start this month. I linked a fall planting calculator from Johnny's there.
Congrats on your new adventure. I don't know where you are in North Carolina, but if you search your town or county with the words "vegetable planting guide" you will get a number of websites.
I searched "North Carolina Vegetable Planting Guide" and got this one from NC State University that looks easy to read:
Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable Planting Guide
It will be difficult to find one that makes anything more than loose, general recommendations. Vegetable varieties, for the most part, don't have regional preferences. Especially not in zone 7 which is one of the ideal gardening zones for many reasons.
Given good soil, ample sun exposure, enough but not too much water, and sufficient nutrients any of them will grow just about any where.
So focus on making the growing conditions you can provide ideal rather than the varieties.
For example, it is too late in zone 7 for planting broccoli or onions. They are early spring, cool weather crops or late fall into winter crops. It is quickly getting too warm for beans too but they will do well in a Fall garden.
Dave
Oh, thank you for propping the little guy up. I will sleep easier tonight. ( oddly I was compelled to check back again to make sure he was going to be okay ) Yeah, another plant saved by GW. You could still adjust once you see how it grows. But safe from the Humpty Dumpty problem.
Yeah, cucumbers and zucchini plants seem to be born with mildews. It's just one of those things. I have a Star of India clematis that is well known for powdery mildew, after the blooms get going, and before it's over for the year. It's so pretty and so big, I hate the moment in time when it gets going. I've found with the clematis if I catch it at the very first sign, and spray with baking soda ( a teaspoon or a table spoon..forget which), a drop of dish soap, and water ( 4 1/2 quarts is my sprayer... recipe on the internet ) I can most often stop it. Depends on how well I do at remembering, and the weather.
Powdery mildew happens with warm dry weather or with dry soil and humid conditions.
Downy mildew likes cool, wet conditions.
Both thrive with lack of ventilation.
So, not too dry, not too wet, not too warm, and not too cool. LOL Hey.. it's going to happen. Don't sweat the small stuff. I do remember last summer I used the same clematis technique on my zucchinis and they eventually came out of it and grew on with new leaves and new flowers. The older parts looked neckid, but that how it rolls sometimes. I've learned if I can find room I plant two zucchinis or two cucumbers just because of this. Generally they act up separately and one will be worse than the other, so I can yank one completely out if needed and all is well.
Honestly, this time of year zucchini is super cheap at the market. And if you have a local farmers market, all the better. It's a chance to wander around and see what folks around you are growing now, pick up something yummy. Plus meet really nice people.
I don't remember ever spraying for bugs the last 40 years in this garden, though I probably did back when I first started. I'm just about to go to war and actually use a spray for the first time this year. Leaf miners have crossed the line ( yes, it seems there was a "line" I wasn't aware of ). They are mowing down the north east corner..many hostas and my two favorite clematises. Hundreds of dollars. :(
After this last clematis ( Clematis 'Yukikomachi') finishes blooming I'll start, since then there will be no flowers in the area to attract pollinators, thus lessen my odds of causing damage to my little bee friends. Weighed dumping the plants , but I'm just not ready to go there yet.
So here my beautiful clematis this afternoon ... see ? The leaves are not clematis leaves.. I've picked those off for now. That's worth a war at least for now I've decided. But I sort of want to cry. How dare they !
Just saw this followup plaid bird - sorry for missing it. I might try baking soda next. The milk seemed to work actually pretty well, and I'm thinking of alternating the two techniques - keep that mildew guessing! ;)
Also, I just moved the zuke branch out of the bed onto a cinderblock - the stem is intense and not sure how I'm going to get it to drape - I may just keep adding surface at the same level (maybe a shelf on two cinderblocks?) It's definitely vining - but very stiff and hard to train.
There's a farmer's market a couple blocks away every Sunday - I haven't been going as much but should pop by and see what is in season....
I'm about to start planting my Brussels Sprouts in Zone 6 (direct sow).
I think beans and summer squash would be good choices if you don't have 'em going.
Otherwise in a couple weeks it might be better for planting, carrots and broccoli and peas.
Yes - you should be able to get a fall harvest for your beets. And with a light straw mulch, the beets should be able to be carried into fairly cold temps. They don't germinate well if the soil is really hot, so keep them covered with light soil/sand/compost mix and watered well. I mulch when they've been thinned a bit to keep them cool and they love it!
I planted Burpee's Detroit Supreme this year, and while I got a ton of greens, I got very little root, it barely made one side dish out of 10 feet of row, and the plants struggled, often topping over with their own weight and a few of them wilted and recovered a few times, might have been a pest of some kind, but they turned out pretty resilient for whatever their issues were.
Can someone recommend a better variety for beetroot? I want to grow another round for fall.
Thanks a lot everyone for all of the advice. After reading the posts I was kind of thinking the same thing that spring has few things that can beat out fall Glib. But I guess one thing spring does have over fall it comes right after winter and a lot of folk are bursting to get something planted. It seems sad that summer comes just before fall as a lot of people are getting tired and are busy getting another school year started and miss out on the fall treats.
I was just called away at the beginning of June for a family emergency. By the time I got back two weeks later, the weeds had attacked and conquered everywhere. The asparagus bed is full of violets.
Fortunately, when the stalks die back in November, it's possible to do some serious weed work in the bed.
Hands clapping for Dave!
If we used the phrase open-pollinated it would mean so much more. I only use the word heirloom with varieties that have a documented history of having been saved by families or communities.
Agree with both Dave and planatus. "Open pollinated" is my phrase of choice. It seems the question is always between "heirloom" or "hybrid" (or GMO; not that it's relevant to home growers). Open pollinated varieties always gets left out of the discussion for some reason (and it frustrates the heck out of me! lol).
Rodney