23,821 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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jnjfarm_gw(5a)

what "short season constrains " do you have in zone 5b? I am in that zone and my season is from late March to early November, longer with season extension methods

    Bookmark     Yesterday at 5:21AM
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galinas(5B)

So when do you start picking your peppers - in March?) I don't think so. I start my peppers in late Feb- early March, to start picking at the end of June. I pick them till first frost in October. Keeping in mind I only have 6000 sq foot yard, that also includes house, 2 sheds, 8 dwarf trees, few berry bushes and other veggies I can't plant more then 30 peppers. And I need about 10 5-gallon buckets to be picked by the end of the season for my canning/freezing needs. This is why I start them early, and plant them out in late May with almost every plant having several peppers on it. But that comes with the cost - when I start them, they have all the room and air they need. By the end of the "in house" period, it is jungles there. If weather is not cooperative to move them out to portable greenhouse I set on the deck(only unused space in my yard) like this year - we struggle. But anyway, it worse it, as they start producing much earlier and give me more for the season. Actually, even powdery mildew doesn't set them back much. So short season in zone 5 is comparing to warmer zones, where you can start your plant a month before transplanting without worrying about PM in crowded environment and still get good crop for the season.

    Bookmark     Yesterday at 9:42AM
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EdwinR

I want to use castor oil to control voles and moles. Here it costs $7US for 3 US fluid ounces. Therefore I would like to make my own by growing the plant, which is beautiful too. Can I make it by boiling the seeds?

    Bookmark     October 3, 2014 at 6:56AM
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Kathy V

I'm shocked to see some of the comments here on castor seeds being poisonous. Growing up in the Caribbean we picked the pods and laid it out to dry just to hear it pop and see the seeds fly out. Now that I'm older and trying to adopt a much healthier lifestyle I have been using oils such as castor oil, rosemary oil to name a few for my hair. It does wonders for my hair and scalp, no itching no dandruff and promotes great hair growth as it helps with circulation . Picked some pods just this morning. Rastafarians have been using it for centuries in their hair and to oil their bodies after a shower. I also know that fresh pure castor oil can be ingested to purge and it works immediately too. Someone mentioned on this forum it's cheap. Let me tell you good pure castor oil is not cheap you can easily pay a good US$50.00 or more for a liter. I know that pharmaceutical grade is available as well and seem to be a little more affordable but I don't use it.

    Bookmark     Yesterday at 9:23AM
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void

Thanks. I didn't see what is the point. Why would the pepper plants be stronger? Those are hybrid peppers with disease resistance in the first place. So it really is just that silly? With the possibility of crooked stems?

    Bookmark     Yesterday at 12:22AM
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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

For those who don't have soilborne disease/pest problems then grafted plants have no benefit. But for those who do, growing grafted plants could be the difference between having peppers/tomatoes and getting none.

Rodney

    Bookmark     Yesterday at 7:13AM
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bopwinter

I am in New Zealand and it has been quite wet recently (Autumn now).

I grew them a few months ago and yes they did struggle to heart up, but I just picked off the leaves as I needed them in the end.

Has anyone used a polythene tunnel to keep the rain off a bit?

    Bookmark     Yesterday at 12:59AM
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

Aha - I guessed wrongly ;-) Cos is Romaine in the US, I believe.

    Bookmark     Yesterday at 4:25AM
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

And remember, August 8th is leave a zucchini on your neighbor's porch day! ;) I think I was probably drinking when I planted 2 each of zuk and crookneck! I'll probably end up with a little free squash table at the end of the driveway! Nancy

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 6:34PM
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balloonflower(5b Denver CO, HZ 5-6, Sunset 2b)

Wow--Nancy in your zone you have to wait all the way until August for that? Yikes! Right now it sounds lovely--my zukes are still seeds in packets waiting for it to quit raining!

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 9:18PM
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Tsakiroglou Fotis

Hello in Greece there is a variety of White Eggplant that matches your description.

This is it.It grows only in Santorini Island and it is the most delicious kind of eggplant you can find in the country.People cook this for centuries.

I'll try to upload some more in order to recognize it and come to a conclusion.

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 11:13AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Can I ask where you got the plant and what makes you think that vendor would be selling the ornamental (aka inedible) variety? Can't imagine why any 1/2 way reputable vendor would even be selling them much less selling them labeled as White Beauty. If you contact them surely they could easily assure you that it is the standard edible eggplant variety.

Dave

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 4:21PM
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void

What is the opinion as far as more plants tighter together, like 8" apart compared to plants spaced further apart? Would 12" apart still allow proper pollen distribution and have proper ears, and maybe a second ear? Or the tight spacing is shown to work best to get one good ear pollinated for most stalks? I guess I trying to find the right balance for quality, to make sure I get some good ears.

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 9:58AM
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earthnut(WA/usda8/ahs2)

12" apart would be fine. On a very small plot, you should shake the plants to ensure pollination anyway. Though you'd be able to get more plants, and hence more ears, at 8" apart. For me the reason to plant them further apart would be drought resistance, not second ears.

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 11:34AM
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ilodato

I am correct in my identification, correct? These eggs are behind every chard leaf. and my poor cucumber plants are being eaten before they can grow :( they ate up all the spinach as well. the chard is thriving and growing, but i worry they will eat the plants before the plants can outgrow them. 1st pic is what i think is the leaf miner. 2nd is eggs and 3rd is my cucumber plant. (pics might post in reverse order) The spinach is all eaten up too.

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 9:47AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

You are right that those might be leafminer eggs but they could also be sawfly eggs and the damage in the first pic is not leafminers but sawfly type damage. Their larve eat the entire surface of the leaf and do not reside within the leaf tissue itself like leaf miners do. Sawfly larvae are much more of a threat than leaf miners.

Sawfly controls include DE diatomaceous earth and Spinosad.

Dave

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 10:17AM
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Best Corn Flower Protection a Garden Can HaveSpider nest in corn
Posted by Wild Haired Mavens(Zone 10) last Saturday
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momkr1

What about using when thistle is growing IN my asparagus?

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 7:45AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Are you asking if the Roundup will also kill the asparagus crowns? Yes it can. Thistle is usually easy to control as long as you pull the plants before they go to seed. Wet the soil, put on gloves, and just pull the whole plant out roots and all.

Only other alternative I know of is some folks claim you can paint the top 1/3 of the thistle plants with it using a paint brush while avoiding getting any on the asparagus. Easier to just pull them IMO.

Dave

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 9:19AM
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barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

Onions falling over later in growth is normal and often is even manually done to start the maturation process prior to harvest. But you might want to check that premature plant weakness isn't caused by nematodes, thrips or a disease. Your pictured crop of onions looks good but it wouldn't hurt to pull a few to check the roots and cut vertically through the onion looking for brown core or other issues.

    Bookmark     last Friday at 5:48PM
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J M (zone 5a)

I'll take a look and see what the onions look like. I added more mulch because there was a lot of waterhemp and lambsquarter coming through

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 6:24AM
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jolj(7b/8a)

There are a lot of wild plant that are not only good, but good for you.

But some are only good in small amounts, others will kill you if eaten uncooked, other are fine cooked. Poke weed young leave have been eaten as cooked greens for 200 years that we know of, but the whole plant is poisonous & the root is deadly.

So you have to know what you are doing to eat in the wild.

Peterson guide to Poisonous plants is a good guide to what not to eat.

Feasting Free on Wild Edibles; A One-Volume Edition of Free for the Eating and More Free-For-The Eating Wild Foods. Paperback – June, 1972

I have this book & it is good.

There are many good books on what to eat raw & how & what to cook.

Dandelion is very high in C, but if you eat it at every meal for months it could make you sick!

When I taught a poison plant class for BSA group.

I would say if you do not know then it is Poisonous.

But to day I say Google it, research it for yourself, buy a book or take a class.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=wild+eating&tag=googhydr-20&index=stripbooks&hvadid=58586316323&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11648487169483109454&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_zqp4e2e9c_b

    Bookmark     last Friday at 10:42PM
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tcgardener

Check out Green Dean's website. He has some great info on edible weeds.

Eattheweeds.com

    Bookmark     last Saturday at 4:16AM
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Green Thumb

I didn't know what they were called, but yes, they will develop roots if you pull the soil up around them. Or if you transplant them in deeply, these will grow roots. Transplant deeply only if you'rei in the deep south were the soil temps are warm. If not, do like z7_Arkansas said and plant them with the stem horizontally. I've done this with leggy tomatoe plants I bought late and they turned out just great.

1 Like    Bookmark     last Monday at 10:47PM
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jolj(7b/8a)

I pick the bottom 3 or 4 leaves off my tomato plants & plant them deep to get a better root system & more tomatoes in a long hot season.

1 Like    Bookmark     last Friday at 11:08PM
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Liz Gallardo

Growing up we had huge black walnuts around our yard and we always had to mow down the blackberries and raspberries. They loved it. We didn't get much else to grow in the ground.

    Bookmark     last Tuesday at 6:08PM
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