23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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planatus(6)

Our soil was once rocky mountain clay and now it is clay loam, I think in part because I gave away the tiller a few years ago. We use a lot of wood chips and sawdust as pathway mulch, and they host very happy soil-enriching fungi that do better with hand cultivation. You can use a broadfork to aerate soil without tilling it, very handy to have around.

When I need to plant in wet soil, I mix organic fertilizer into compost, place it in the bottom of a planting hole, and set the seedling over it. They like it!

    Bookmark   May 15, 2014 at 8:12AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Agree. Usually it begins to get a slight yellow cast before the stalks begin to separate and that is when to harvest. So get it now.

Dave

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 9:40PM
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catherinet(5 IN)

Thanks Dave and Kevin! I'm going to grab and knife and go out now! :)

    Bookmark   May 15, 2014 at 7:24AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Agree. Birds but mice, rats, cutworms if any in the soil, and I wouldn't rule out squirrels or chipmunks either if you see them around. They can climb anything.

A pic would help as the type of damage is usually a good clue to who did it.

Dave

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 8:11PM
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

I've had snails on windowsills four storeys up but they tend not to go for tomatoes.

A picture would help, as Dave says.

    Bookmark   May 15, 2014 at 4:26AM
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AiliDeSpain(6a - Utah)

Thanks everyone, that's what I thought. :)

    Bookmark   May 15, 2014 at 12:48AM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Wayne said it best: Just keeping the plant in the original pot for two log, when it starts getting root bound, midgitized. I have one such plant, way past hardening off, that I have no room for it. Little by little, a lot of plants that you buy from nurseries will be over hardened, root bound.

    Bookmark   May 15, 2014 at 1:39AM
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jimmy56_gw (zone 6 PA)

I'm in zone 6 PA and just planted my melon seeds in the garden, I rake the soil in rolls about 6 inches high and about 16 inches wide (Raised Rows), Then cover with black plastic especially since the weather has been so messed up so far this year, I always have better luck planting my seeds in the garden instead of transplanting.

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 9:53PM
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

What kind of black mulch? If it's the wood chips, you can still hand water. Maybe lay a soaker hose or drip irrigation before laying down your mulch.
I don't use drip cause I have tons of minerals in my water and they tend to clog. I prefer to hand water (therapy) or use the soaker hose and the oven timer or my watch (or cell phone) timer. Nancy

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 9:27PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

If you mean landscape fabric then water passes through it. it has holes in it. Plus you cut holes in it to plant the plants so you water easily around the plants.

Dave

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 9:38PM
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Wild lambsquartersIs this lambsquarters?
Posted by beetree May 13, 2014
4 Comments
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beetree

Well I'm happy it's good to eat we have 6 acres of it lol

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 12:23PM
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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

Lambsquarters is a delicious & nutritious cooked green... but if you have never tried it, I would recommend only eating a small quantity at first, until you know how your digestive system will handle it.

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 5:40PM
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

Looks a tad like tarragon but only with the subliminal suggestion from galinas ;)

Looks almost like Alyssum pre-bloom.

Kevin

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 5:21PM
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

Still unconvinced by any of the ids so far. Looking forward to more pictures.

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 3:59PM
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soraystud(5)

@ djkj - Oh man, I would love to grow this, not sure how it would do in zone 5 (Mass) though!

@ shuffles - here's some suggestions
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/curry_leaves
http://www.tarladalal.com/glossary-curry-leaves-388i

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 8:10AM
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shuffles_gw

soray, thanks. From the links you attached, it looks like it takes a very few leaves per recipe. I guess I will just add three or four leaves to my next curry.

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 3:59PM
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brookw_gw

You can take a decent harvest from 3rd yr gus. Just quit once the spears start getting small--below pencil size.

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 2:04PM
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

And the conclusion?

I'm guessing you're going to leave a swath of wheat to shade them. Am I right? :)

Kevin

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 5:32PM
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wertach zone 7-B SC

Yes Kevin, you are right!

I will have to remember to do the same next spring, I love fresh peas.

I picked a mess of peas and had them for supper last night, they are sooooo good!

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 9:27AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

I sure would have been concerned about its use in my garden last year but not this year assuming it was exposed to average winter weather (no location given so can only guess about that). This assuming that product is in fact what they used.

As for the nests of chipmunks that all depends on how you feel about killing them by moving them or delaying planting and letting them mature and leave on their own. I'm a country-dwelling wildlife softie so I'd plant elsewhere and leave them alone until they mature but it is your choice of course.

Once they are gone then I'd suggest a thorough tilling of the entire bed to destroy the tunnels, seal/caulk any access points, and give some thought to fencing/enclosing the bed in some manner so that they can't return.

Dave

    Bookmark   May 12, 2014 at 7:28PM
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planatus(6)

One of the things about pyrethroid insecticides is their fast knock-down. Insects are immobilized instantly upon contact, so it is not likely that they carried the insecticide more than a few inches from where it was applied. With an active hornet nest present, I doubt that chipmunks visited the freshly treated area, either.

We start watching for yellow jacket and bald-faced hornet nests about now, and terminate those in bad locations. Boiling water poured down the entry hole at night will make them move on. On level ground, covering the entry hole with a translucent bowl will slowly extinguish a nest, too.

I've noticed that the yellow jackets often relocate in midsummer. We look for new nests in late June so as not to be taken by surprise, but we try to keep a yellow jacket nest close to (but not in) the garden. In years with a working yellow jacket nest nearby, we never see a cabbageworm on fall broccoli and cabbage.

    Bookmark   May 14, 2014 at 7:52AM
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melikeeatplants

could be cutworms...they come out at night from soil....

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 5:53PM
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galinas(5B)

I don't think bottle will help with squirrels - they will knock it out. With the rest of the bugs, as soon as they do not come from soil - it should help.

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 8:07PM
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Deeby

I decided to use sliced radishes sprinkled with sea salt for "potato chips". It makes sense to me-radish slices have crunch and saltiness so why not have a healthy and still flavorful "chip"? Just as good with a sandwich as chips IMO.

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 2:44PM
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ZachS. z5 Littleton, CO

Those actually sound like some good ideas! Now, if only my radishes hadn't gotten smashed into sad little heaps by the snow yesterday ...

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 4:42PM
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Slimy_Okra(2b)

Mindy, bok choy is one of those things that only work as a fall crop. Spring-planted, as you say, bolts and gets tough very quickly. In your zone, I'd direct-seed it outside in mid to late August.
It can be covered with a low tunnel to prolong the fall harvest period but it is not as hardy as kale or spinach. Harvest it before night temperatures drop below the mid-20s.

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 12:15PM
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ltilton

Here's some of my Mei Qing Choi, ready to pick as baby choi, which is how I like it. The one on the right seems to be a different kind, so I'll probably pick it first, today.

I don't know how long all these will stand, but it's sure been a cold spring.

    Bookmark   May 13, 2014 at 2:51PM
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