23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Should I thin them out? Maybe they are planted to thick and the flowers are not seen or sought out because they are hidden under so much foliage......?

And hand pollination....I guess swirling a qtip around in each flower would get the job done, no?

yes, so long as you do it in the male first. I use a small paint brush.

The yellowish plant was planted in Miracle Grow garden

There is your cause. MG Garden Soil says on the bag Not for Use in Containers. It compacts, drains poorly, and retains too much water leading to root suffocation and root rot and yellowing of the leaves. It is intended only for use mixed well into existing garden beds.

Scott's Potting soil isn't much better but it doesn't compact as quickly. Still you will likely have problems with that plant further down the line.

Container plants do best by far in soil-less potting mixes. Check all the discussions on the Container Gardening forum about the various recommended container mixes to use and the ones to avoid.

Both plants are small enough that they could still be transplanted to containers containing beneficial mixes if you wish.

Dave

I had hopped mixing the MG with peat moss and manure would have made the soil okay to use in a container. I am planning to transplant into a bed this weekend so hopefully the plant will improve after that point. I sprinkled with a nitrogen fertilizer earlier today.

Thanks for all the help.

Dave

Thanks for all of the replies!

I went out and checked and several looked like they had holes in the stems. So, I cut them open and found the yucky SVB worms. I made sure to kill the worm and then covered the stem where I opened it with dirt. Will the plant live through this?

I also checked my yellow squash and zucchini and found a few worms in those also. I hope everything does not get ruined. They have really been doing well!

Also, in the process of getting the worm out of one of the acorn squash plants, one of the smaller acorn squash fell off. It's about the size of a baseball and is not dark green yet. Will it ripen up now that it is off the vine, or should I toss it?

Thanks!

You can eat it.

"Dr. Mittleider's garden has been tested after 20 years of growing and still showed no signs of salt contamination, toxicities of the subsoil or salinity problems"

Tested by whom? A completely independent third party lab, not contracted by Dr. Mittleider?

I just came accross this method, and it seemed promising until I looked into it. Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this method just a run to waste with standard soil deep backup system? seems the method has yields similar to hydroponics systems, but uses more space.

They look a little burned from the soap but nothing too serious. If you have caterpillars, use BT.

The only bugs I ever see on my Kale are aphids. And while soap will kill them, it simply isn't necessary. Like flora suggested, sprays of water every few days is sufficient to keep populations at bay.

My guess, also, is that you sprayed with soap and left it on there during the heat and sun. Insecticidal soap is best used in the evening and rinsed off in the morning.

Kevin

If you miss the female flower by a couple hours can't you just pry it open?

I wonder why they open so briefly doesn't seem efficient.

its not the age of the flower.. its how long the pollen stays active ...

usually.. it is spent.. by the time the flower closes .. so prying it open wont help ..

that is generally speaking..a s compared to some specific gourd knowledge ... you can research it

ken

I would say your FIL is doing something you dont know. Sometimes people are like that, accept it. There is a new product out called Dunkels, google it and give it a try, Im using it and its wonderful. Price is fair.

Here is the link for Dunkels products http://www.dunkelsfertilizer.com/dunkels-tomato-turbo.html

Yes they do, if there is a good contact and the soil under it is moist.

Yes, they will root along the vine..DO NOT cover the vine with soil, you will promote disease. Cut a hole in the plastic or whatever fabric you have down and pin them down with whatever and they should root. Good LUck

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

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.

:( Well, that's depressing. We love turnips too.

What's the rate of soil drench for Neem? I have heard it has systemic effects, but is that only if used as a soil drench? I was thinking I may want to drench my collards and kale.

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.

Summer Squash, Beans,

Also Tomato, Pepper and Eggplant transplants

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.

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....