23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

So far no symptoms of any damage to either garden :)

Persnickety point: It takes a perfect storm of conditions, but it is possible for the 2,4-D in granular weed and feed products to vaporize into a "cloud" that moves to nearby areas and causes drift damage to broadleaf plants.

Corn gluten is a natural alternative to use in spring, when crabgrass is germinating. If you can find a local source, perhaps your landlord will consider a change?

Following

Njitgrad, it's not since to brag lol. We still have snow in our forecasts!

I have never known spinach to transplant well, even when the roots are very carefully handled.

Spinach does very well direct seeded.

Kevin, I do have a Sharwil...along with 15 other varieties. The only variety specific info of interest is: this is a great variety that is a "smallish" tree. When planting a small tree there are a couple of "key" issues. They are: use shadecloth to filter hot/drying sun the first year (big heat headed our way Monday). Also, avos love water. Young avos need frequent watering aimed directly at their small "target zone". Long/heavy waterings are not for youngsters. PS Do not be overly concerned or over-compensate for a bit of alkaline ph. No bigee, really. goodluck

Fireduck: thanks. Yeah. last week when we had the heat, afew leaves got crinkly and dried up. I'll be sure to rig up some shade cloth this time around. It's actually not very young--- 15 gal from the nursery and about 5 feet tall. A few tiny fruit on it also.

Odd that you mention frequent waterings. The guy at the nursery(Atkins, in Fallbrook) told me to give it a nice deep watering and leave it alone for awhile.

Yeah. I wanted a bit smallish because of WHERE it' got planted and I didn't want it to shade TOO much of my main garden plot after 10 years. I also read that the Sharwil is superior quality fruit and was a bit more hardy the the Lamb Hass(also considered). Thinking of getting a Holiday also.

Not too sure I'm buying the ph thing. I was told you want it around 6 and the tree will eventually start rooting into some DG. Right now, the ph is around 7.5. This is what fears me the most. That, and the few freezes we get here every winter. I'm actually in inland San Diego.

Thanks

Kevin

Thanks digdirt. Will try row covers. Temps are so ideal for these plants that I want them to get as much as possible natural sun light.

OK. the second picture is different.
The leaf is most probably eaten by something.
It can be slug/snail, earwig or looper ? But I think it is probably too early for looper. Fisrt the butterfly has to lay eggs and then those eggs turn into worms/larva. I could be wrong.

But if the shown leaf is your only concern, I would not worry unless and Until you see damage to new growth.
But to be safe cover your cabbage with nylon tulle.

I planted snake gourd more than 3 weeks ago and they have not germinated. I was starting to wonder too. So, couple of days ago I planted some new seeds. This time I took nail clippers, to the unsoaked dry seed and chipped off the sides of the seeds almost down to the inner seed and planted them. I will know in a few days.

The bitter gourd germinated only 5 days ago (almost 3 weeks too).

On the other hand, the smaller seeds of Waltham butternut and Cusha germinated in less than a week.

I'm bringing this thread back to the top because I wanted to give an update.

I think you guys are right. The trick is germinating them in peat moss. (Perhaps there is some sort of chemical reaction or microbial reaction that aids the process.) I took the seeds that had been in paper towels (not sprouting) and shoved them into cell packs with peat moss and put them back on the heat mat. Within a couple of weeks they were all sprouted.

Still have not tried the dog-do-do-method yet...but plan to.

Seysonn, I didn't spray or fertilize yet !! .. you still plant even if their 4 foot of snow out ?
Thanks for the advice Dave.

Seysonn, I didn't spray or fertilize yet !! .. you still plant even if their 4 foot of snow out ?
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course not. You cannot plant transplant either.
Cool crops like cool temperatures. When you start and grow them inside (LIKE in 70F) they get shocked. So with 4 ft snow on the ground I would not rush it. I start peppers and tomatoes 6 to 8 weeks ahead of time. Because it makes a difference. Cold crops not worth it to start inside, for me.
YMMV

In a 2 foot wide bed they are going to vine out into the yard around the bed no matter which place you plant them so put them in the bed next to where they can roam the most without creating problems for you.

Same holds for a 4' long bed - it makes no difference where you plant them - a bed that small won't contain them either way. Even a 4'x4' bed or a 4'x6' bed couldn't contain them. So plant them anyplace in the bed but prepared for all the roaming vines outside it.

Dave

Its fine if they grow outside the bed... I have wide aisles so thats not a problem.

I think at the end of the day I am going to have to start experimenting with vertical trellising these melons... my kids really have been asking for several season for them. Maybe I'll try trellising them in one corner and see if I can keep up. Thanks folks...

There is simply no point in starting spinach inside. Sow it outside as soon as you can work the soil--me, I sow it in mid February. Getting leaves to add to salads now.

Ok, All of you predicted right...Yes I was OVERTHINKING :(
I couldn't update in between as I was extensively trying hard to save my Tomatoes. These tomatoes are damn sensitive, aren't they?? Anyways none survived.

About Spinach, only two seedlings survived & growing well. I dosed an Organic Liquid NPK(8-8-8) & seems to be response is too Good. I saw boost in Leaves' size. Meanwhile also sow some seeds two days ago & yipeee...Germinated today & I'm blessed with another pairs of Babies...Love them :)

As ltilton rightly said they are quick to germinate & grow.

Mary & laceyvail, thanks for your advise. Now I'm exposing seedlings to sunlight from day one & also keeping soil moist enough.

@Slimy_Okra- Seed instructions packet mentioned its best to sow in Summer. Unfortunately Like many other regions here the climate is also victim of Global Warming & temperature raised badly, its never been that hot till this year.
Initially I made mistake of not keeping less height of soil bed; I could have top it up bit more so that seedlings got enough sunlight without stretching.

Update-

This post was edited by naturehobbyist on Thu, May 8, 14 at 10:53

Properly built soil horizons can do amazing things with filtration. Those weird looking spots of "ditches" with plants and weedy looking stuff in parking lot areas or in front of shopping complexes are natural filtering buffers. They are built to exact specifications to get the most effective filtration out of the smallest possible area (land is assumed expensive). Parking lots and buildings shed water. This water can be pretty nasty, as one would expect.

A septic system is following the same process only it's using just the soil horizon creations without adding plants as filtering buffers.

It's generally not a good idea...especially in areas where the soil stays shaded/wet-from-rain...to tamper with how these filtration horizons work.

Here's a picture, for reference, of a natural soil horizon. The slow filtration down to the hard pans which channel water to larger bodies (be it a stream/river or underground source) help filter a lot of stuff. Just imagine this underground and going for a much longer distance. They get less varied and more compacted as the horizons go down very deep, but that very slow movement is part of what helps the filtration and death of some pathogens.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3422/3384244078_7eae6bed1c_o.jpg

This is in Panama, btw.

I am having to change my plans for this very reason... but I plan on growing some crops vertically and on raised bed tables⦠about 3ft above the ground⦠I have a nice size sun porch that will become a garden of sorts alsoâ¦I may not be able to grow the deeply rooted stock⦠but I'll grow what i can⦠my uncle had a garden in this very yard for decades⦠those were the sweetest blackberries, cantaloupe, and watermelon when a was a kid...

I'd buy transplants for the peppers and tomatoes for best results. Direct seeding either of them is low- success at best.

It is still too early for okra for sure in your zone and probably a little too early for melons and beans too although can't be sure without knowing your soil temp.

Dave

Shouldn't be too early for beans, Melons should be planted about the 3rd week of May, I would just buy the pepper and tomatoe plants as it is too late to start by seed.

That is the problem with onion sets. Only plant real tiny ones.
Onions , being biennial, flower second year. That is why spring planting from plants is better. B,c it is going to be their first year.

Glad I visited this thread today. I planted red onion sets for fun, just to see if they would develop in a container. They were only $.25/lb, and eighteen only cost me five cents. But, they are sending up flower stalks on several plants. May let some flower, in order to acquire seed stock for future planting. Oh well, nothing ventured...