23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Grossaroo. I try and leave the ants alone, even the ones in my garden, but they crawl up my legs and bite me so I can't help but hate that they are around. I guess I'll leave them be for now.
Besides I've got other problems.... my garden which I had thought would be avoided by furry critters (it's surrounded by picket fence on two sides and house on the other, and my dog likes to pee near the garden so I thought the smell would keep them away) seems like it's been visited during the last day or so. My pea seedlings which were doing AWESOME after some heavy rains a week ago look like they were chewed on a bit. Though possibly it was bug damage, I would think a critter would take a bigger bite, these are just some holes/gnarly looking leaves.
Could it be the ants eating the compost? I mixed in a tiny amount of compost with potting soil and compost tea on top of the sandy soil outside, and I always see ants crawling on that area. It makes me think the compost isn't ready and they are eating it. Whoopsie!
I haven't seen bore holes yet but I've seen moths twice. Tried to whack the bastards with a trowel but missed.
I had success injecting BT at the first sign of stem damage last year. My squash all produced to the end of the season, though one had a heavily damaged stem-->
Believe it or not that squash was still producing.
This year I'm also spraying weekly with neem. Supposedly it does give some systemic effect, though I doubt it's enough to kill borers once they're in the stem.
For vining squash, melons and cukes (which are, it is true, more SVB resistant than vertical squash) I been trying BURYING the main vines in mulch. That has the beneficial effect of holding in water, and also seems to prevent SVB infestation. That is, if the SVBs can't get to the vine, they can't do bad stuff to it. Just throw a load of mulch over the plants, and brush it off of the leaves.
The pesto basil is pesto perpetua or something like that right? It's actually a shrub type basil that doesn't bolt.
I bought one but haven't tried mine so I'm not sure what the flavor is like.
Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.territorialseed.com/product/Pesto_Perpetuo_Basil_Plant/Drunken_Botanist_Plant_Collection
Hi there, I posted a reply and it didn't show up. I hope it doesn't show up later lol... ok so I'm new to gardening and I have zukes and crooknecks. For me, I found that with my plants they wouldn't bloom the females until the plant itself was big or mature enough. I started my plants indoors and they've been of size now to produce fruit. I've harvested about a half-dozen zukes, but no crookneck. They seem to be fruiting a bit later and slower than the zucchini.
So from what I've seen with mine, when the plant is of mature size, the flowers on the end of fruit will begin blooming. Sometimes a female on the end of a fruit will just sit there for a few days. I guess it's just gathering up energy so if it does get pollinated, it will have the stuff it takes to grow a mature fruit. For me, the zucchini flowers were on zukes at least 3" long, and the crooknecks finally bloomed when the bulb at the base of the female flower was about the diameter of a nickel. I hand pollinate, as I don't see many bees around. I don't know about other pollinators, but since It's my first garden, it's kinda in my nature to go gung-ho about it. I'm sure if I plant next year, I'll just let them do their thing lol.
The flowers open for me in the early am, probably around 5 or 6. They stay open until about 4 or 5, and then they begin to wilt. I know many people say they're an early morning flowerer, but what I think that means is that the peak of their fertility is early. The flowers are all bright and crispy. It's obvious that they're past their prime later in the afternoon.
When you first notice your female flower, take note the date and look every day. On pumpkins, after you see the first formation of the female, 10 days or so. Good luck.
You can tell when it will open the next morning when the flower looks real yellow. You can also watch the males and the females will follow the same time frame.
Looks like rat to me. Watermelon seeds are too small of an incentive for squirrels. Get a cat or two! They are much better than dogs at deterring rodents because they are proactive. I have 3 of them and they spend 90% of their time napping in my garden: squirrels stay at bay, possums also ( except for one that they tolerate on the fence only - not on the ground-) birds do not pick my fruits or vegetables, no rats, no mice = peace of mind. With nectarines, apricots, grapes, plum, pears, tomatoes, cantaloupes, watermelon etc, in my garden, there would be rodents all over the place if it wasn't for them!
If you do not want a cat as a pet, associations are giving "barn cats" they are neutered microchipped and vaccinated, they live in barns/sheds and they do their hunter job. But you need to provide a safe place where they can go when it is too cold or too hot, water, food, vaccines, and vet care.
Mine are well fed and are spoiled pets so they don't "over hunt" and sleep on our beds. They run after pests but stop the chase as soon as the critters are out of the garden. Good balance. Squirrels are staying high in the trees ( I like squirrels as long as they don't eat my fruits) I keep a stepladder in between my tomato plants, the cat lays on the upper stair and the birds do not even think about my tomatoes: problem solved.
This is the third post in so many weeks showing angular leafspot as a likely cause of cuke decline. It's a bacterial disease that gets established in soil, after which you need resistant varieties forever.
Here is a link that might be useful: VA tech cuke ALS
Thanks, I guess I will try the Immunox and hope that the new growth stays green. I've never seen any powdery stuff on the leaves. It would just start as a small yellow holes....almost like holes were burning in the leaves and eventually the leaf would just completely dry up. What are better resistant varieties that I could plant next year? I used the straight 8 because I like the more slender cucumbers with smaller seeds. Are there any resistant varieties that are like the straight 8?
I came here looking for answers of this as well. Mine wilted and some type of inchworms were chewing leaves. They were much smaller than hookworms and almost a vibrant green color. Even after I removed them all on several plants in different pots in different properties, they all declined a slow and steady death. I assumed it was more due to it being 90+ here in Florida and a bunch of rain. Will Swiss Chard last the summer in a hot and wet environment here in Florida?
I happened to see this post on "Most Recent Posts" listed on the right. In San Antonio, TX cilantro comes up in the fall, grows very well all winter getting big and bushy, even with a few nights in the teens, and it bolts in late spring. I let it go to seed, and when I can no longer find lower leaves to use the plants are pulled and the seeds sprinkled around. None germinate until fall.
Years ago when I first started gardening I bought a pkg of cilantro seeds and sowed them in the spring. Nothing. Bought another pkg and sowed them. Nothing. Hmmm, must be bad seed. Bought another brand of seed and still none came up -- that is until fall and then I had cilantro EVERYWHERE ... LOL. How seeds know the time of year they are supposed to germinate is beyond me! There is probably a term for plants that do this.
I bought mine early in the season expecting to have a big bushy cilantro plant through the summer. To my surprise about 3 weeks later it flowered and turned into the most bitter nasty tasting stuff. Guess I'll be buying it from the market! I'm not latin or asian, so food wise we don't keep our fridge stocked with cilantro, I only use it for salsa and maybe to put in Pho when I feel like cooking something exotic. :)
Thanks for the feedback it is a melon.
The plant is still having problems, now one of the fruits has changed color from green to yellow
See attached picture
Good looking melon, Hope mine come out that good.