23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Where are you? You seem to have a mix of warm and cool weather plants. Broccholi, spinach and usually chard being cool weather and the rest warm weather.
I have found with warm weather veges, if it's too cool, they simply aren't ready to grow and wait for the weather they want, then take OFF!
Also, sometimes if you buy starts that are root bound, they don't do well. Just a couple of thoughts. Nancy
I'm in NY. It's definitely been cool weather here, but I've had one of the tomatoes and two of the peppers in "Wall-O-Water" type things, and they aren't doing any better than the ones without them. And the chard hasn't grown any either, while the ones that I shoved into spaces in some crappy window boxes that I can never get to grow ANYTHING have doubled in size.
I started most of the plants myself, and tried to tease out any roots that were looking like they were starting to be rootbound, and the roots didn't look anywhere close to as rootbound as you often find in starts you buy - but needing to get the beds built & filled did put them about a week behind the other garden spots were plants are doing better. Would a week be enough time to become rootbound?
My soil in my community garden plot tested at 7.8. We still grow tomatoes, tomatillos, corn, beans, peas, and other random small plants tucked in with no problem. Add as much compost as you can and you should be fine. We're on our third year with the community plot and notice a change for the better each year with the continual composting.
I have two new strategies I'm trying this year. I did row covers last year. They worked, but were kind of a PIA.
Firstly, I'm painting the leading vines with Sevin. That way, the Sevin doesn't get everywhere. Not on the leaves, flowers, or fruit. Just on the vines that the SVBs are trying to penetrate. Just the leading vines. Not the leaf stems. I don't care if they kill a leaf. Takes about fifteen minutes every two weeks to do this, though when the vines are tangled, it gets a bit confusing. A cheap one-inch paint brush works great. I suppose a sprayer with a narrow spray head would work as well.
Secondly, I'm mounding dead leaves and mulch on the vines. The leaves stick up out of the mulch. If you bury the vines, the SVBs can't find them. If the vines root, so much the better. Of course, at the end of the season, you just dig the mulch in. Now, this is for vining squash. Might not work as well with upright squash.
So far so good. No SVB damage seen.
I did what Dan is doing last year, and 50% of the plants survived. I also slitted open plants that stopped producing, although between the borer and the slit they survived but never produced much after that. Still, it is a problem to give away all those zucchinis in late July and August.
The sprinklers are watering our alfalfa field. We have an awesome gravity fed watering system in our area - we have hand lines but many farmers use wheel lines. There is a natural lake in the mountains that feeds the system from May until October - cold clear water - 24/7 - Love it !! One of many wonderful places to live for a great quality of life if you like rural living - like we do!
If you have a smart or I phone, there's an app that will get back to you within 24 hours with a plant ID. I think it was called garden compos. They aren't 100%, but can be helpful! Nancy
There's Name that Plant Forum right here on GW which will probably get you an answer within an hour or so. I think it is probably a Radish too. But whatever it is it has bolted and is of no further use as a veggie except to eat the seed pods if you want to. So you might as well pull it up.
Yea, I usually wait for the plant to dry up before collecting seeds...
It doesn't get too cold here during winter and I've seen people plant bok choy in the fall... Insects and bolting are too problematic here late spring and summer. Have you played with planting times, growing a few plants at different times of the year?
Thank you! I will just leave a plant or 2 for seeds and pull the rest. I thought I started them both early enough. It was the beginning of March right before a big snow. They started to come up and then bolted right away! I have more success in the fall for sure.
Birds. They make the V-shaped bites like that when catching the bugs that land on the leaves. Put some cage type protection over them.\ and add some garlic to your soapy spray Normally not any real threat to the plants.
Dave
Catherinet,
I really suggest planting from seed. Forget planting from transplants, just doesnt make sense with lettuce. Lettuce is one of the easiest plants to grow, as long as the temps are not too hot.
From seed, watered well, mild temps, and it good soil, you should have no problem.
Maybe the large one was planted in amended soil or just better soil. Maybe it gets more water somehow or more light. They could be the same variety, a different variety, or one (or both) could be from seed. There are a lot of factors that affect size. And it's impossible to say which specific one it is unless they are growing next to each other under the same conditions.
I do know that rhubarb started from seed has a ton of natural variation. I've got 37 seedlings that I started earlier this year. Some have red stalks, some have green, there's one that is almost a yellow, and there are major size differences among them. They've all received the same care so nothing else but genetics can account for these differences.
Rodney
Hi.. I guess you can carefully work some in the soil since thats your first flower and there are no peanuts developing... Just be careful of the roots... I usually prep my soil first before I plant.
Since peanuts are legumes, I'm guessig they may not be heavy feeders. So do they need it? I'm not sure.... I just do it anyway..... I do know beans need it when young...
very interesting, this is a picture I posted on FB and it came on here with someone else looking for what it is. I know it is my picture because of the Longwood Gardens background paper.
Anyways, the bug has been identified as the pupal stage of an European Rhinoceros Beetle. I got answers as well as found some pictures of it on the web.
Could they be the same as the Dwarf Grey Sugar Pea?
Annette
Here is a link that might be useful: Dwarf Grey Sugar/Cabbage Pea
The only worry I would think is if the soil is both cool and soggy... beans dislike that. One day or two with summer ahead... I wouldn't worry much about it.
Like Noki said, I'd only worry about seeds rotting in soil that's too wet for too long, but beans and corn are on the larger side and wouldn't do that quickly.
Though...even as I type that, I'm reminded of the cherry tomatoes that drop on the soil in the summer, somehow last all the way through fall, winter and spring and come up as volunteers the next year. So maybe rotting seeds are more a myth than a reality....