24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

The OP was about community gardens.

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jnjfarm_gw(5a)

a 10 x 10 area planned out and using succession planting can produce a ton of food. I am an urban farmer and 1 of my plots is only 20 x20. I am in my 3rd and 4th planting on this plot now. I have sold hundreds of dollars of radishes, green onions, lettuce mixes cucumbers tomatoes peppers and have replanted with fall beets turnips lettuce mixes and more radishes. This is my smallest plot but most productive and profitable per square foot

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

For me, it's about doing it right versus doing what works. There's a lot of that going around!

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jnjfarm_gw(5a)

I use regular potting mix for seed starting and to fill grow bags. I even reuse the contents from the grow bags. mix with new mix and add fertilizer. It may not be the right way, but it works and saves money.

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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

I go to a seed exchange/bank that is all organic and all the seed is from plants grown in this county. Yes I AM lucky! Nancy

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jnjfarm_gw(5a)

The concept sounds good, but I would prefer to know exactly what the variety of the seeds are. as a market gardener I can't afford mid season surprises.

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charlieboring

Here is an update on my chokes. Here are 5 of my 11 plants. I have both globe and imperial. So far I have 15 artichokes on the 11 plants.

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Tracy West

Looks great ,Charlie! I didn't get any started this year. We moved to NC and I'm hoping they like it better here. I had good luck in AZ, although aphids were always an issue. They weren't as meaty as store bought,maybe due to soil,heat or aphids.

once you get one going, it's easy to dive for more. Mine went dormant in AZ each summer and each winter.

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farmerdill

Concur; White melons and Jubilee is considered a white melon do not turn an obvious yellow on the bottom. Thumping works butit takes a good ear and you need an unripe melon to compare the sound.

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usnea

Belated thanks! Alas, I don't have a good ear. Funnily enough I wondered if maybe these watermelons didn't get yellow on the bottom so tried looking up Jubilee specifically and all the sites said to look for yellow on the bottom, lol.

I think maybe I left the first on the vine too long; it doesn't taste that great to me, kind of woody maybe, but I'm not that big a fan of watermelons really. Others say they're really good but I can' tell if they're just being nice. I actually grew 'em more for my father. I had 2 others ready at the same time and gave 'em away. One weighed 30 pounds so I'm guessing the big one I gave to my father must have weighed 35 or so lol.

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Let me add that with regard to watering, my understanding is that overwatering can induce cracks, and it can also make the melons less sweet, as the melon juices get diluted. People seem to say that a good strategy is to withhold water a week before harvest for maximally sweet melons. I frankly don't understand that, as my melon vines are going to have lots of melons on them of all different sizes, and if I start withholding water to sweeten the big ones, it isn't helping the small ones. Anyone understand that strategy?

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ilovecucumbers Zone 6b, NE PA

Interesting thin about the Savors--they were all different sizes as you can see in my photo. But despite their variety of sizes, all were ripe--the bigger ones more aromatic, the flesh a tad softer, but even the smaller ones were intensely flavorful and pleasant-smelling. Mine never turned the shad of yellow in the video before they split, though.

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jocoyn

I need to look into surround but the pickleworms go for the flowers big time as well as for the growing tips. I do spray my flowers with spinosad but ONLY the outside of those a few days before blooming not the day before..it does seem to help but .............

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mauldintiger

So I have a new solution for my butternut types, ladies knee high hose. Lot of work,but it's working so far. Slide the hose over the squash, it's very stretchy and allows the fruit to grow normally. $.89 per pair at the grocery here in upstate SC.

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CloningHow do I clone my plants? I'm expecially interested how to clone VFTs.
Posted by Smugung Smungung(Zone 6)
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Smugung Smungung(Zone 6)

What is layering?

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stevie
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

I've never noticed that older seeds tend to produce weaker plants. Of course, I only store seeds for a few years. Maybe you start to see effects on weak/slow growth with *really* old seeds?

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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

I've seen reduced vigor and smaller and weaker seedlings with old tomato seeds. I've had the seeds for about 10 years and there is no way of knowing how old they were before I got them. Once the weak seedlings reach the first or second true leaf stage and start getting some fertilizer/nutrients they begin growing well.

Seeds just a few years old don't usually show any reduction of vigor or strength. Although the germination rates will start falling.

Rodney

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elisa_z5

Yes, definitely use the vacuum end on the bugs themselves once you've got an infestation. But early in the season, perusing the undersides of the leaves with duct tape and "sticking off" the eggs works wonders.

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Well, I'll lug my shop vac out ONCE to coat the plants with DE. But if you're just going to be plucking mature bugs, get a mini-vac and do it that way every time you go out there. If you do the former, ideally you'll never have to do the latter.

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

One of the benefits of keeping good gardening notes or a garden journal.

Dave

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elisa_z5

carolb -- good idea. I love experiments. I could plant the seeds in the compost heap again :)

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wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana

I have noticed something that is a bit strange...and then maybe not so strange. I usually have a few corn plants that are not as healthy as the rest. These make a smaller ear, yet I find these to be smaller grained and more tender than all the rest when picked at just the right time!!!

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ilovecucumbers Zone 6b, NE PA

My corn put out just one nice ear too--this year. I've had two or even three ears per stalk in previous years, IIRC.

I've had better years for corn. (I grow Vision, from Johnny's Seeds--super sweet, my husband says it's the best he's ever eaten.) The stalks were very small this year. Although I still got one nice ear per stalk, the stalks themselves seemed significantly smaller than the ones last year. Just one of those garden mysteries, perhaps?

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galinas(5B)

I wouldn't risk next year harvest with planting old bulbs. I wouldn't even plant old bulbs mixed with new bulbs - old can care fungus, that usually affects old bulbs. But if i have a spot I do not need next year, I would try to plant them to see what happened) You can even try them now - plant few and see if the green comes up(make sure soil is moist). if they come up - they will produce something, but may be not the best bulbs. Again, it is all question of space and time for trial.

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Kevin Duffy

Thanks Galinas. Yeah, I have some extra room in a plot away from my main garden, so I may give it a try.

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Don V

I picked two today and they actually had some spice finally!

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meanom

Don't know if this helps --- I was roasting cut up strawberries with a cut up habanero pepper early summer. Once, the pepper had no heat. Next time I went shopping, I bit off the end of a pepper to test it - no heat --- stopped at about 5 (Yes, I did buy all of them). About a week later, I figured I'd just add them to my smoothie. I added all. OMG, I had to dilute that smoothie a lot. Sitting there on my counter, shriveling up, the heat sure did pick up.

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doodlelou(10a, Sunset 17)

I am intrigued by the dill! I will have to try that. Thank you for the suggestion. Finding earwigs in things is always upsetting; they show up in our cabbages a lot too. The ants are "farming" the aphids and moving them around, which is why I'm attacking both of them. It's just all so gross. :P

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cyschad

I have one choke which I am waiting on to flower. It was doing well for a while then we had a hot spell and it seemed to shrink.

re earwigs I had a problem with them for a while but squirted some diatomaceous earth around the foliage on the base of the plant and haven't seen one since.

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