23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Hmmm. . they're in pots now. A few small roots.
Watered well last night -- will hope for the best.

Sweet potatoes grow great in containers (See video link for growing tips)

http://youtu.be/qLjnd2K7-uU

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing and Harvesting Sweet Potatoes in Containers

Soil Temperature Maps

NGA Regional Reports Zone Maps new to me but probably is not new.

Lamb's quarters (edible, but don't let it go to seed!), nut sedge (Very Bad News), and definitely crabgrass (don't let it go to seed either!).

The "nuts" from nutsedge are edible if you're into that sort of thing.

Rodney

Here is a link that might be useful: Nutsedge: The Edible Garden Foe

I tried just planting (as onions) and also trenching and it never worked very well for me.
This is what works great for me (to transplant):
take a screw driver (my substitution for a dibbler) and stick it in the ground, then move it in a circular motion to make the hole a little wider.
Wiggle the leek as deeply into the hole as you can.
That's it. The directions say "allow the hole to be filled in by irrigation and rainfall" so, there is nothing more to be done until months later, when I mulch with hay.

Here's the timing, in zone 5b (for me): sow seeds indoors in a pot in January.
Set out (as above) in April.
Mulch in fall.
Eat fresh until hard freeze, then I mulch heavily in the garden to have some all winter (except last winter, when they all froze :( )

I use a broken-off broomstick to the same effect.

swiss_alps_tx,
I am in the DFW metroplex, and have grown Spinach quite a bit the past few years. Yeah here in Texas, Spinach is pretty much a winter crop. I planted some of mine around late Sept, and some more in Nov, and January/Feb.
They are extremely cold hardy plants, and survived this cold winter without any problems. (but they dont grow a whole lot in Dec/Jan). We've enjoyed much fresh spinach this spring. But once temps hit the upper 70s they bolt. So mine have all bolted, and are forming seeds now. I let a few dry up and save the seeds They form along the stalks. The upper parts just produce the pollen, they are not the seed producing parts. Even if they have bolted and some of the nice thick lower leaves remain, I still pick and eat them. Very much still edible.

Deeby, the retailers send back the seeds so as to get credit (not be charged) for unsold seeds - or at least, that's what I was told. Not sure if all retailers do this but do know that the Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart stores in our area send them back. Last year Lowes did receive new seeds in the Fall for a fall planting. I hope they continue this practice.

I too had wondered what the seed vendors do with the returned seeds. I seem to recall finding a web site selling old seeds. So maybe there is a market/outlet for them.

3 gallons is pretty small, the wilt could be due to the stress of being root bound. Also, are you continually picking the cukes before they ripen? You have to stay on top of cukes, if you let one or two ripen on the plant, it will sense that its job is done and shut down and die.

Well, this year, I found a new bush variety to try. I am also growing it in my earthbox. So we will see.

You're right, I would like to eat the kale - just the remaining stem is quite long and being damaged already, I'd rather tidy it up if I could. thanks!

Yes, cut it down to where the new growth starts.
You'll get lots of nice kale from those new tiny leaves.

And This Be The Other

I'd guess the Vegas odds on "true from seed" would be pretty high. Something in the neighborhood of 30:1. But how does it taste? Worth trying?

Dave

Thanks for all the good information. I have a much better idea now what my veggies need. Since I already have blood meal I guess I will use that. Now my question is how much and how often should I use it? I don't want to overdo like everyone was saying. Thanks for the help!

Now my question is how much and how often should I use it?

That depends on how you will be using it? Tilled into the whole bed, as a side dressing around individual plants, dissolved in water and diluted to water with, etc.

There should be application instructions on the container and different crops need different amounts. You mention zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers. For those three I would use as a light side dressing per label application rates. if you don't know how to do side dressing then Google it for instructions as it isn't done right up next to the plant itself.

Blood meal can burn plants so use with care.

Dave

Those are the worst so I'll toss those and repot the others. Sometimes an accident of having to many started can be a good thing. I don't have a great setup and left a heater on all day when I'd gone to work on a sunny day and that got many and probably affected the others which just took a little longer. I wondered about being root bound and regarding being feed I had just started with a seed starter soil and when transplanted put them in a hyponex potting soil. Hadn't considered feeding them again. They were so big and beautiful :-( its a learning experience I guess. I'll work on those that don't look so bad. Thank you all so much for your quick response!

hyponex potting soil

You might want to type that in the search here and read about all the problems with it.

Dave

The longer you keep the two seedlings together, no matter the size of the pot, the more their roots will entangle. What would be your aim in keeping the extra? To plant it separately? If you're going to try this, moving to larger pots would be the time to separate them, not keep them.

My own thinking is that this would weaken both plants, particularly if they're not so healthy to begin with.

I was wondering about needing to pinch to one plant per cell. If I move to large solo cups is that still necessary?

If you can still separate them without damage fine. If not, you will have to sacrifice one of them so the other can survive. But 1 plant per container.

Dave

I bought a 50ft by 108" roll of tulle last year, and am still using it this year.
The main reason I bought it was for squash. The vine borers are nasty critter, and this is the easiest manner of keeping them away. Problem is that squash and pumpkin vines get too large pretty soon. Last year I kept my summer squash plants under cover and hand pollinated in the morning. But one problem I had was the the aphids got real bad. I had a huge infestation, and I had to remove the tulle to deal with them. But overall it was a success...we had lots of squash. I've also used the tulle to protect other seedlings and small plants (brocolli, corn, spinach) , especially when I find they are being muched on, and I suspect its birds or rats doing it. I've been able to protect them by covering them up. But again aphids are a problem. They are so small they find a way in, and once they are in, they are safe from the good bugs like lady bugs, lacewings,etc...

Re: keeping out flea beetles...
I would not use tulle if flea beetles are the prime problem. In spring they come up out of the soil under any type of cover, and they can get through the holes in tulle. A very fine mesh fabric like organza could work, but row cover is cheaper. At 90 inches wide it costs 50-55 cents/foot, or 1.50 per yard, which is much less than other fabrics. Tulle looks way better, though. Like bandages vs. bridal wear.

Here is a link that might be useful: 7 springs farm row cover

They look fine. They take a few weeks to get going after transplant. Keep them watered, NEVER let them dry out. Keep them mulched and fertilized. I use grass clippings.

Here is a little update on how my onions are doing. Last time I didn't have any mulch on the dirt but know I put down grass clippings. As you can see the onions are doing much better then the last pictures. When should I give them a side dressing of blood meal?