23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening


Check out the lecture on Blackberries by master horticulturist, Alan Chadwick, here:
(See the latter part of Lecture 17)
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

I transplated a couple tomatillo seedlings I bought about 4 weeks ago, planted into a large container (25L). They're growing like crazy! Every day they've grown another inch or so. Lots of blossoms, and I think a couple might have already pollinated.
I'm afraid they're already too leggy. One has shot up to over 2" in the past week, but the stalk is pretty think (unlike my tomatoes/ground cerries that are puttering away) Should I try burrying/trenching them a bit deeper now? There's about 2 feet of thin stalk I'm worried about. Or in a couple weeks I might be able to plant them straight in the ground (new garden). I don't want to distrub fruit growth if it's already started though.
Didn't know about trenching. Very good idea!

This is how we start carrots in July and August in Kansas. It may be a little overkill, but we have always been successful.
For the most part, root vegetables and plastic mulch don't work. I have seen it done successfully with transplanting beets into plastic mulch, but that is a lot of work.
Here is a link that might be useful: Starting carrots in summer

There is a valuable tutorial on growing carrots here:
The Biodynamic French Intensive Method of Alan Chadwick
Weeds are not really the horrible culprits some people make them out to be. Just remove them as they begin to compete with your carrots, and they will help create fertility in the process. Be sure to put them immediately (while they are still green) on the compost pile, and you will soon have the best fertilizer you can get.
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

Can i mix something in it to correct my mistake. My plants are small, i can correct the soil and put the plants back in it again?
You'll do more damage than good by trying to remove and replant them. You are boxed in to using liquid nutrient sources but that is fine.
You can always buy some garden lime and mix a very small amount in water, let it sit for a few hours and them water the soil with the water. But it really isn't necessary as long as you feed them. They are small because the container lacks nutrients.
If you want strictly organics then there are any number of liquid organic fertilizers available on the market to use - fish emulsions and/or fish and kep blends mixed into water - sold at any of the big box stores or nurseries and discussed here in infinite detail.
Or you can use Miracle Grow diluted to 1/2 strength and feed every 7-10 days.
Dave

Sure looks like. If you believe that spraying baking soda will get rid of it, fine, do it. It won't help IMO - nothing cures or eliminates it once established - but it can't hurt. Or you might want to do some research into the various fungicides that are proven to at least slow the disease process
Yes you can still eat the cukes.
Dave

Concur: Baking soda can be helpful for Powdery Mildew. But nothing is really effective for Downy Mildew. Copper based fungicides may slow it abit, if applied early enough.
Here is a link that might be useful: Downy Mildew

It continues to grow, incredible.
BTW as a scientist I was looking through a NASA handbook and found male human urine is safe and sterile unless there is a urinary infection. NASA needed to know how safe it would be on a space mission.
There is a Finish study which showed that urine mixed with wood ash used on tomatoes outgrew untreated and treated with commercial fertilizer and, the price is right.


Thanks!
Stuffradio, the Pac Choi is actually Fordhook Giant Chard. :)
I love the galvanized tubs as well loribee! IMO they cant be beat for the price. They should last a long, long, time.
Hopefully my lettuce doesn't bolt in the heat we are expecting this week! I have misters set up to try to keep them cool!

From Better Homes and Gardens (yeah, I know...)
The best time to control sawflies is early in their larval stage. The natural insecticide spinosad will control sawfly larvae. Conventional insecticides such as malathion are also effective. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), which is an effective natural control for true caterpillars, is ineffective on sawfly larvae.
From me (yeah, I know...)
Sawfly isn't a caterpillar, so BT won't work. It's a wasp family larva.

Oh man!! I'm so sorry!! You must live near me, I was in the Milwaukie fred meyers when it was coming down today, and the sound of the hail hitting the ceiling there was crazy. I was sure Id have garden damage, but came home and it didn't hit me here in SE Portland.

I've never heard of that variety. The growth looks ok, but something doesn't look quite right. Maybe the foliage on that variety is supposed to be a bit lightweight. I'm growing some basic russets and the foliage is very robust in comparison. Just my observation.

Hmmm...maybe our local weather? It's been the longest in 13 years without a 90F degree day, (tho today we're supposed to get there). Maybe temps are a reason? Just recently it's started to increase in size a bit more than it had been.
Not sure how to hill...am I burying foliage?

Assuming you are aware of the issues associated with using something with those high ratings then the standard Miracle Gro All Purpose Water Soluble Plant Food (green and yellow box) is the same thing as the old Peter's formula was. They have always been carbon copies of each other.
Dave

I've never heard of soil "going bad". I think it might have more to do with the weather. Did you let your tomato plants get below 60 degrees at night? Did you put a shade cloth on some of them that put a lot of weight on the plants? Did you spray some of the plants too hard with the hose? Did some get more/less water than others?
I know that personally, I had some tomato plants that I rested a shade cloth on because I was too lazy to put up stakes to hold up the shade cloth. Those tomatoes never recovered from that stress, while the ones right next to them (not touching the shade cloth) are now 1.5 feet taller than the over-stressed plants.
Veggie plants are like people - if you over-stress them early in life, they'll never recover.

Thanks, prairiemoon! Incidentally, I've been using those same cups for years, I just rinse them in a mild bleach solution and they're ready for the next season. So you really would only have to eat as much store-bought yogurt as you want cups, LOL
Love Johnny's for seeds. I've got some seeds dated 2010 that are still germinating like they're brand new!

For squash, melons, and cukes, I usually see a 4 or 5 -to- 1 ratio of male/female. I've been suspicious that the plants put out fewer female flowers when it has a fruit load on the vine, which is probably a smart strategy.





Hard to tell what's going on in the picture. Have you had hot weather where you are? A really hot day can cause the growth tips of peas to shrivel. The rest of the leaves look healthy, so that would seem to rule out other common problems like powdery mildew. Do you know what variety this is, and the variety of the ones doing better? Though on the whole peas hate hot weather, some varieties are somewhat better than others.