23,821 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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newgardener79

Thank you for your response, Its outdoor on my deck...how can I treat it ?

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 7:15PM
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ju1234((8 Dallas TX))

soap + oil spray, if that does not work, Neem oil + pyrethrin spray.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 8:35PM
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glib(5.5)

In my experience, asparagus seeds left to their own devices will germinate in July. Yes, you will not progress as fast, but the plants will be just as healthy. Treat as you would any seedling (water frequently).

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 5:45PM
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steiconi(12a-Big Island, HI)

sadly, I have no neighbors with cucumbers; what a pity some of you don't live nearby.

Thanks for the help!

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 4:26PM
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ltilton

I've got parthenocarpic cukes, and glad of it,they're fruiting nicely. Wish I had parthenocarpic melons. Males and females both abundant and plentiful, but the bees are over in the echinacea and won't visit. Little fuzzies all turn yellow and die off from lack of sex.

As for zukes, I've got the all-female problem. Although mine tend to turn yellow and die before flowering.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 5:01PM
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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

Pound some stakes in the ground with twine going between them to keep the asparagus from falling over. Don't cut the ferns off.

Rodney

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 10:46AM
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ltilton

Yes, prop them up. The crown needs the fern now to produce spears next year.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 1:56PM
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sunnibel7 Md 7(7)

I knew he said plastic, I only have paper plates on hand and was thinking "out loud" why those would not be a good substitution. ;) Is it hard to balance a big squash on a brick? I may be able to salvage some from next door. I rediscovered the lids to my buckets in the tunnel, so that will take care of 10 fruit.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 12:44PM
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glib(5.5)

I use 2/3 bricks per squash.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 1:54PM
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gardener_sandy

Blossom end rot (BER). Most often seen on tomatoes early in the season, just as the first ones are ripening. The Virginia Tech publication linked below gives details. Google to find pictures of BER on peppers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Blossom end rot of tomato

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 1:55AM
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

I'm not convinced it's BER.

Thanks for the better pic. That was the reason why I asked for a closeup.

It COULD be BER, but the beige portion leads me more towards what everybody else thinks.. sunscald. Happens more to large fruited annuums, like bells. Best way to deal with it is acceptance.. You're almost always going to get a fruit or 3 that get it. Another way is shade cloth -- Peppers love sun, but some shade cloth during midday will help.

If it's BER, you'll see see rotting at the tips on many, if not all, the fruit. Hard to deal with BER once it's there since most forms of Calcium take so long to break down and be usable. Bone meal(or lime, but lime raises ph) added months in advance of planting is recommended to gardeners with Ca deficiency.

Kevin

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 1:53PM
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

Do you plan to grow these outside?

If so, wrap those pots up with duct tape and get them outside and start hardening off, then transplant to a muck bigger container. The yellow spots could be from overwatering, but could also be a Magnesium deficiency. Are there MICROnutrients in that fertilizer?

Plants look great otherwise. They just need to get outside. Google hardening off if you don't know how.

Stop watering everyday from here on out. Peppers like to dry out between waterings. A good way to tell if they need water is to stick a wooden skewer a few inches deep into the soil. If soil comes out on the skewer, don't water. If no soil, water thoroughly. Let dry out completely before watering again.

Kevin

    Bookmark     July 7, 2014 at 2:21PM
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msmorningsong(SW FL 10A)

I suspect the Azomite supplied micronutrients. And do hope you pot that up in much larger container. Peppers in general are self-pollinating.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 11:55AM
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farmerdill

Depends on your definition of "heirloom" It is an open pollinated commercial variety released in 1956. To save seeds, just remove seeds from a ripe melon, wash them, and let them dry. store under cool dry conditions. Devloped in California, it is not well suited to the southeast.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 8:05AM
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Thanks. That's what I needed to know. Yes, I was using the word "heirloom" to describe something open-pollinatable. If it's not well suited to Texas, I guess my plants never got told that.

The seed-saving potential of many vegetable species is not something advertised by the seed companies. No big surprise, I guess.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 10:18AM
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Steve349

Melons are doing great and the second set is growing. Thanks. When is it time to harvest. I know its about time, the tendril on one side of the vine is brown, the other is still green. Any help on when to harvest?

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 6:48AM
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wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana

When you have just a few melons, you watch each one...I know I do. The first clue to ripeness is that the given melon has stopped growing. Also the CLOSEST tendril to the melon has turned yellow and then brown...about a 4 day process. Then check the melon [carefully turning it] on the bottom. It should be creamy/ yellow where it lay when ripe...better to wait a couple days extra than to pick early...if in doubt.

With baby type melons the bottoms may or may not turn colors so conclusively.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 7:53AM
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milehighgirl(CO USDA 5B/Sunset 2B)

If you remove your female plant then you will prevent your asparagus from getting over crowded.

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 7:47PM
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Steve349

The green ferns are making energy for next years crop.

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 6:42AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Looks like some pretty severe nutrient deficiency problems - phosphorous for sure - which is rare unless you are using some strange soil mix.

Dave

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 10:32PM
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djkj(9b)

Hi Dave, thanks for your reply. I used Kellogg Potting mix for this. Do you think I should add some bagged garden soil and some slow release fertilizer and re-plant?

    Bookmark     July 20, 2014 at 1:19AM
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ltilton

I don't think insects had anything to do with your split vines.

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 7:50PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Your plants generally look healthy in the photos and bugs are a normal part of gardening. They only become a concern when the damage they do is severe - yours isn't - of when there are lots of them. Your melon leaf in the first picture shows some signs of very early Downey Mildew (the yellow spots). Otherwise I wouldn't worry about the problems you have described.

Splits in stems aren't caused by bugs but by inconsistent soil moisture levels. Just leave them alone and they will usually scab over. The stem base damage in your last pic is due to slugs or snails and there are organic controls for them but it doesn't seem to be hurting the plant.

New gardeners too often over-react and that can lead you to doing more harm than good so developing some patience and tolerance for less than perfection goes a long way toward successful gardening. :)

Dave

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 10:30PM
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jonfrum(6)

You can start pulling them now, but I'd wait until the necks brown. If the leaves are green all the way down to the bulb, the bulbs are still growing. And they'll keep longer if the necks are fully brown and dried.

    Bookmark     July 17, 2014 at 1:36PM
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jack922(6)

When one half of the tops have fallen over, gently push the rest of them over. In a few days pull them and let dry in the sun. We have had good luck the past few years, keeping them in our spare refrigerator. Store them in a netted onion sack. Check them often, usually have them keep till mid Dec.

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 9:59PM
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ju1234((8 Dallas TX))

This looks like a Columbian squash (go by a Mexican grocery store to see one, they usually have it).

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 4:32PM
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elisa_z5

Taste it -- even if they sold you a cross pollinated plant, it may still taste good. You could try using it young (green) like you would zucchini, and once it's orange you could use it in any recipe that calls for pumpkin or winter squash. I usually taste stuff raw, and if it's passable raw, it will taste better cooked and with seasonings.

Or look up recipes for Columbian squash!

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 9:21PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Just as with fruit splitting, vine splitting is caused by inconsistent watering practices. Excessive wet periods followed by very dry and then wet again - whether it be rains or gardener-supplied. As the moisture levels move from one extreme to the other the stems swell then shrink, then swell again and crack/split.

To prevent it we have to do everything we can to stabilize the soil moisture levels.

Dave

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 5:39PM
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homegrown71

Okay. I will try to stabilize my watering. Will my plant survive?

    Bookmark     July 19, 2014 at 9:12PM
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