24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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hobbiest

Yellow Jackets don`t like my ShopVac.
Switched on 6-8 hours for one day in the daytime, bye bye flyin` pests.

If it is an in ground nest, after the ShopVac does its` thing, I pour a bunch of Sevin dust on the entrance. All gone in 1 day or so.

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

Ground nests are fairly easy to deal with, provided they are not adjacent to anything flammable. Go out at night with some rubbing alcohol, a stout metal bucket/bowl/kettle, and some matches. Quickly dump the alcohol into the hole, stand back, and throw a match to light it. Once lit, quickly tamp the metal container of your choice over the hole, pressing it into the soil to seal the edges. The flames will deplete the oxygen, which along with the hot fumes, will kill the nest.

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wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana

I planted rhubarb seeds in June or July last year and left the seedlings in the ground over winter. Most of them made it through the winter. If your seedlings are tiny, they might not make it.

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lindarenee(a5 Ohio)

Thanks. I will see what happens and take a guess about how long to leave the "wall of water" protection around the plants.

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farmerdill

Concur

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glib(5.5)

snacking for whom? you or the squirrels? the best sunflower head is the one behind an electric fence.

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greendreamhome

At first I thought, "How could that be?" Then I read that sun scald on peppers happens when there is high humidity. We're normally not humid at all, but for the past few weeks the humidity has been insane, even as our temperatures rose again.

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jean001a(Portland OR 7b)

When temperatures soar, rig temporary shade for susceptible plants.

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elisa_z5

Nope. I have a family member with a 100 X 35 foot green house filled with ginger!

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the_sun

Bury some hardwood logs in that bed and grow shiitake mushrooms, or pasteurize some straw and grow oyster mushrooms.

You may find the sunless bed is the most profitable and enjoyable bed in your yard.

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

Well, for one thing....nothing wrong with snagging a tumble weed (which came from Siberia, and are called Siberian thistle BTW! ) or three and painting it white or silver and making it into an Xmas tree! DONE THAT! LOL
We have such a hard time between summer/fall plants, cause some of our summer stuff can go as late as November! It makes it difficult to start by seed, not knowing when we will be getting a killing frost (anywhere from Sept to Jan!)
I usually just buy starts for the fall/winter garden. Nancy

NOT this year, though! All summer stuff is done in and I'll be cleaning up the beds to cover up for the winter.

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the_sun

Still have carrots under a low tunnel here, and they're doing fine.

Our growing season this year featured frost on June 12th, and several days of freezes between September 10th and 13th. It has been in the mid 20's five times since then, and two of those nights were in the 20's for more than 8 hours. Lost count of how many nights were frosty.

Tough year, but carrots are tougher.

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naturegirl_2007 5B SW Michigan(5B SW Michigan)

Purple Beauty and Sweet Chocolate Peppers are dark varieties often included in mixes. Your peppers look like they are doing fine.

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grandad_2003(9A/sunset 28)

Could it be the Purple Bell in the Burpee Canival Mix? The Carnival Mix seeds are commonnly found on seed racks in the spring.

Here is a link that might be useful: Burbee Carnival Mix

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zensojourner

Are you not allowed to use organic pesticides either? Because neem, spinosad, and pyrethrums will pretty much take care of nearly anything trying to eat your garden, bugwise.

If its squash bugs row covers will do the trick, if you can be sure they won't be "borrowed" away from your plants. I think by the time they start blossoming and you have to remove them, most of the squash bugs are gone.

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pnbrown

Indeed I find DE is effective on a small scale. It also adds Ca to the soil which rarely goes amiss in the east.

Those who subscribe to the notion that malnourished plants are easily susceptible to insect attack sometimes pinpoint low S as the main issue.

Another strategy is to grow a crop in the general class but different enough that it may not suffer as much predation. Examples: cowpea is less favored by MBB than common beans; some kales and collards less favored by ICM than heading cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower; edible gourd is less susceptible to pests and some diseases than the three main squash species.

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Slimy_Okra(2b)

Maybe a Portuguese kale (which is actually a type of collard, not kale).

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pnbrown

Collard.

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calliope(6)

agree

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chaman(z7MD)

Asparagus we have in our garden are cold hardy in winter season of Maryland.They are in the garden for more than 5 years.Roots mature,in my experience , in about three years.

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

I think that's a smart idea to do a major trim, but for a different reason for me. I winter-over outside, and frost protection of a tall plant is a lot harder than for a smaller plant.

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drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a(5b/6a)

Soilent green, that is either Costoluto Genovese sel Valente or Russo Sicilian Togetta. Both really good for sauce only. Why I grow them. Both look rather alike.
I can send you seeds when you send me seeds of the beast you have. You need to name that!

Zen, yes that plants looks like it talks! Yikes! It has lips!

I keep notes and descriptions on all the varieties I have. Here they are for the two mentioned. Note though Russo is inderterminate for sure.

Rosso Sicilian -
Maturity midseason
Growth habit indet.
Leaf type regular
Fruit color red
Fruit shape hollow, ribbed
Fruit size small
Fruit type stuffer, paste
Variety type heirloom
Country Italy
(aka Russo Sicilian Togetta) Italian heirloom brought by a Sicilian man
to the U.S. in 1987; given to Ann Fuller of Mitchell, Indiana, who said
its slices look like red-petaled flowers (rosso means âÂÂredâÂÂ). Striking
crayfish red costoluta (ribbed) fruits weigh up to 6 ounces. Firm pithy
flesh is perfect for making tomato sauce or paste. Thin skin bruises
easily. Determinate. 70-90 days from transplant.
Purchased From Seed Savers Exchange

Costoluto Genovese sel Valente
Maturity midseason
Growth habit indet.
Leaf type regular
Fruit color red
Fruit shape irregular, ribbed, beefsteak
Fruit size medium
Fruit type slicer
Variety type open-pollinated, heirloom
Country Italy
VF Indeterminate. A vigorous, high producing plant with brilliant red
fruit of 8-10 ounces. Fruit are somewhat flattened and have pronounced
ribs and excellent taste. This selection has resistance to fusarium &
vert. wilts. Also makes a very good sauce. A good mid-season tomato
(75-80 days).
Purchashed from Seeds From Italy

In the first photo from the other day that tomato is probably Costoluto. Here is a photo fo two Russo's. They are in general smaller than Costoluto. Some are more ribbed than these, they vary a lot. Much more symetrical than Costoluto. I would grow both plants again. Both produce well.

Some other photos from this year's harvest, Not all Costoluto's are symetrical, see the one on the right.

This post was edited by Drew51 on Fri, Oct 10, 14 at 0:39

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soilent_green

zensojourner - They may be our plants, but it is we who are living in their world. I remember back when she was just a cute, cuddly little tomato seedling. She is so demanding now, always talking down to me...

Drew51 - Thanks for the information. Can I assume that if those two varieties are thin-skinned a person does not have to remove skins as part of the processing?

Yes I would be interested in a trade sometime this winter. I am always on the lookout for varieties that would impart a more robust flavor for my sauces. Modern hybrid types such as are in that last photo I posted are wonderful for their production and uniformity, but I find their flavor to be quite bland and insipid. Not that I am complaining about getting free stuff...

I use modern hybrids as well as my own oxheart paste types that I have been developing as bulk ingredient for processing. I add heirlooms for flavor. Seems to work. The meaty and dry/hollow oxhearts and large pastes really cut down on processing time regarding evaporation/thickening of sauces.

What I am always on the lookout for are varieties with above average concentrated flavor. I am starting to think it logical to seek out authentic Italian varieties.

As for naming that tomato variety, I never get around to thinking about that, plus for all I know it already has a name and I just do not know it. It does get old having reference names such as "Unknown Tall Indeterminate Cherry Type that Produces 1.75 Diameter Fruit that Compare Better to Beefsteaks than to Cherries, Grows Well in Containers". LOL

Just for fun, how about the name "Icarus"?

-Tom

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planatus(6)

Bad genetics in that plant -- your others look great. What variety did you grow? I have never gotten off types in hybrid BS seeds, but with an OP variety from a major seed company, I grew out one plant that turned out to be a rutabaga, and another that looks like a B sprout but has a naked stalk, no buds at all.

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ditnc(7 NC)

I don't know the answer, but wow, those plants are huge! When did you plant them? Have you had hot weather?

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weedlady(Central OH 6)

Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes thrive in the back of my yard shaded most of the day by large trees.

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Prachi(6b (NJ))

Deer will eat the Jerusalem artichokes... only reason why mine are only 5 ft tall is because the deer had been grazing on them.

My deer don't touch my garlic or onions... (in the dead of last winter only thing green was my garlic and they didn't come close to them of course they ate up the arborvite in my front yard).

I'd try hot peppers and cherry tomatoes... cherry/small fruited toms can tolerate a less than ideal amount of sun. I have small thai chillis that I planted in the wrong spot one year and they got shaded out pretty badly... the plant did fine though. (BTW these are two that I grow out in the open not in my deer protected area)

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galinas(5B)

If you able, buy new seedlings, plant them in more sunny location, but keep old ones where they are. You can compare how they do and will know for next year what to do. In my experience morning sun is the best sun plants can get, but I still plant in the areas that doesn't have it - I just give a better spot to the plants I care more about.

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AmateurBex

Thanks everyone for the sound advice!!

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