23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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slimiest_okra

IME, the tricky part about starting any peas or brassicas indoors is that they are much less frost-tolerant than direct-seeded plants. Kale, one of the hardiest crops, will get zinged by even a light frost if you start it indoors and put it outside. Hardening off against wind and sun does not entirely help. You need to harden them to cold by exposing them to several cool nights (35 to 40 degrees F) in a row. Just something to think about for next year if you decide to go with transplants.

    Bookmark   last Friday at 8:36PM
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Peter (6b SE NY)

The peas have started sprouting! Not like crazy, but I have a few sprouts peeking out. I got the trellis up today.

I put my brassicas I transplanted under cover at night. I also put out my artichokes, and have them under cover also. Got a lot going now! Garlic, Leeks, Onions, Peas, Broccoli, Cabbage, Potatoes, Beets and Lettuce all sown or transplanted.

    Bookmark   16 hours ago
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Then yes, I'd say it is far too early to be seeing growth. Down here in Arkansas mine are just now kicking back into gear this past week - both the hard necks and the soft necks.

Dave

    Bookmark   17 hours ago
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glib(5.5)

in Michigan the hard necks are three inches tall. so it should be any day now. But it depends also on how late you planted them in Fall. The earlier they were planted, the earlier they emerge.

    Bookmark   16 hours ago
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grendelsdad

OK, I'll leave them be. Sorry -- I should not have used the word "dispose" ! I was not planning to harm them -- just wondering if there was a way to move them safely. But it seems not, so I will leave them in peace and hope one day they return the favor to my lettuce. :)

    Bookmark   17 hours ago
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

<and hope one day they return the favor to my lettuce. >

Welll, that might be expecting just a bit too much. :)

Dave

    Bookmark   17 hours ago
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kswildflower

I learned a lot of gardening from those old shows. They showed so much down to earth gardening. I would love to see them again. They are so much better than the new shows.

1 Like    Bookmark   Thanked by joep13    last Friday at 7:38PM
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joep13

I hope someone out there has a bunch of old recordings that will end up on YouTube for all who have interest can benefit. I found two of my fathers old recordings. I'm going to try to post them on YouTube somehow. Stay tuned.

    Bookmark   17 hours ago
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Weeds are a fact of life in gardening. You'll have them either way. :) However wasting good, proven-to-be-productive soil would be awfully difficult for the gardener in me to do so yeah I definitely use it. As you move the soil many of the clumps of weeds should be easy to pick out and toss.

Dave

    Bookmark   21 hours ago
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Weeds are self-seeding, so if you do a decent job weeding this year, next year will probably be easier. If the seeds are getting blown in, putting in new soil isn't going to help in the long run. If you don't do decent weeding, it's going to end up filled with weeds as well. The weeds aren't a property of the soil. They've been added to it. If it works, use it.

    Bookmark   20 hours ago
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jctsai8b(8B)

you can use ctrl + or - to adjust the size

    Bookmark   20 hours ago
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Menu at the top. "View" -> Zoom. Also reading glasses (which I use routinely).

    Bookmark   20 hours ago
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Sure you can. No reason not to.

Dave

    Bookmark   21 hours ago
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gumby_ct(CT it says Z5)

You might consider a greenhouse location for a later date if you will start your own seeds.

Oh and plan room for flowers to help attract the need pollinators (either inside or outside of the fenced area.

    Bookmark   Yesterday at 9:09AM
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emmers_m(9a/Sunset 7 N Cal)

My advice would be to create a walkway all around the inner perimeter of the fence. It's hard not to think about the fence as great trellis space, and to sacrifice all that square footage, but it is much easier to keep the critters out when there is a 'DMZ' separating them from tasty nibbles than when they can see/smell/taste tasty nibbles just inside the fence.

For deer, make the fence taller than you think it needs to be.

For rabbits, make sure it's made of metal.

For groundhogs, leave the top floppy so they can't climb over it, and either bury the bottom or bend the bottom outward so they can't dig under it.

~emmers (formerly of NJ)

    Bookmark   Yesterday at 10:13AM
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gumby_ct(CT it says Z5)

I grow cukes up by tying a string (using jute twine) to the seedlings stem and running the string up to a crossbeam I have screwed to my bed frames. This holds even during the hurricane winds CT has at the end of the growing season when plants are loaded with their fruits.

It works so well I also tie up any other vines as well as tomatoes which can be heavy during Aug. & Sep. and works much better than those useless tomato cages.

I do use those cages for peppers and eggplants.

While any string or wire will work jute twine is compostable yet holds for the the growing season. Even if you don't compost the fall cleanup plants it makes cleanup easier since the plants can be quite twisted around the string. I would not use something you think can be re-used each year.

    Bookmark   Yesterday at 6:58AM
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Ohiofem(6a Ohio)

I actually use those trifold tomato cages to trellis my container cucumbers. This one works perfectly in a large container for four to six plants.

    Bookmark   Yesterday at 8:31AM
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slimiest_okra

Thanks Dave. Good to know that BiotaMax has a positive reputation. It's something like $6 for a quarter-acre, so not too bad. I have limited garden area and would like to try minimizing the occurrence of Verticillium wilt in eggplants and peppers.

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 8:41PM
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

I believe that BiotaMax needs to be reapplied every week to thirty days, while RootShield suggests every 6-8 weeks. RS can also be applied in tank mixes with almost anything, including fungicides. That's extremely important for commercial applicators.

BM is not OMRI certified, RootShield is. That's also extremely important to certified commercial growers, not so much for back yard growers.

RS promotes soil borne disease protection as its primary purpose. It can be used on seeds, cuttings, in any kinds of growing medium including mist. It can be applied through fertigation and misting systems at the same time as soluble fertilizers.

I really don't think that the two products can be considered the same, so comparing the price alone doesn't make sense.

Click HERE for information about RootShield

    Bookmark   Yesterday at 6:40AM
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albert_135(Sunset 2 or 3)

Mexibelle(?) perhaps? A hybrid that looks like a common red bell pepper but develops ''hot'' when left on the bush.

    Bookmark   last Friday at 3:57PM
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Miss_Moose (Winnipeg, Canda. Zone 2)

I dunno but that's pretty neat!

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 6:26PM
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rook81styles

jnj, I have clay soil, so probably retains moisture well, but I've read that seeds and seedlings need constantly moist soil. I know a less frequent deep watering encourages stronger root growth, but I thought that was once they're well-established. I watered Friday afternoon and am out of town until Tuesday evening, so I have a friend watering either this evening and tomorrow evening, or just once tomorrow afternoon. Supposed to get some rain Tuesday morning. Sounds like you think they'd be fine without water from Friday til Tuesday.

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 5:45PM
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rook81styles

Thanks again for the input vgkg. The info I got says the plots are rented 3/15 through 10/31 and that all plots will "be cleared of any and all debris/material by October 31st." It also says parks & rec is responsible for tilling at beginning & end of the growing season. Yeah, so that along with delaying the opening a couple weeks and not having water available due to a water line break, and then the 15x15 plots actually being more like 13.5x14, it's not a perfect situation, but my options are limited living in a townhouse.

Regarding carrots, I was planning have a total of nine 3' rows stagger-planted over a period of about 2 months, and then replant the rows throughout the summer as I harvest them. I guess I'll stick with that plan and just harvest all remaining on 10/31 Regardless of size. I'll also try to give my other fall crops a bit more time to mature by 10/31.

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 6:21PM
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garybeaumont_gw(TX 9A)

Your beds look good. You might consider growing bush beans if you plant them within the next couple of weeks. They do well in your area. You could plant purple hull peas in May. They are one of the few plants that tolerate the hot Texas summer. If is probably too late to plant potatoes. The hot weather will be here in less than 60 days.

Just remember that in Texas we really have 2 short growing seasons, spring and fall. Many people plant tomatoes in very early spring and plant another crop of transplants in July for a fall crop of tomatoes.

Bell peppers are a challenge but sweet banana peppers and hot peppers are easier to grow. Bell peppers tend to make early in summer and then just sit there until the fall when they will put on another crop.

Square foot gardening tends to put plants too close together for Texas gardens. As you may know tomatoes can get over 8 feet when put in cages. In raised beds you do plant things closer together but if you are not careful you can have a grown up "jungle" Plants need to have air circulation with the humidity that we have.

    Bookmark   last Thursday at 7:22PM
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Tracy West

Eggplant,hot peppers,okra,corn,basil,armenian cucumbers,long beans,Lima beans and cowpeas will all do well for your summer heat. Amaranth,too.

The hot peppers may not fruit until it cools a little but will survive the summer and be ready to go.

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 5:17PM
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Peter (6b SE NY)

I decided to grow Kennebec this year, they are known as a good all around reliable variety. I planted them today, in a similar climate to yours (also 6b). (Potato Garden where I bought them recommends planting no earlier than 2 weeks before last frost date... the foliage can be killed by frost.) I grew potatoes last year, and they are not a particularly difficult crop to grow, relatively speaking.


http://www.potatogarden.com/2015PotatoGarden.pdf

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 4:35PM
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Ohiofem(6a Ohio)

I've found red potatoes the most productive with Russian Banana fingerlings a close second. But I like russets, and they are kind of stingy. I grow them all.

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 4:41PM
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balloonflower(5b Denver CO, HZ 5-6, Sunset 2b)

I would advise against that unless your night temps will remain over 50. Basil is a heat lover, and lower temps than 50 will lead to stunting that it may not bounce back from. And for me, basil germinates in three to five days.

For me, I'm a zone behind you and for the most part basil doesn't go in until the end of May. I do some earlier, but in an Earthbox that is in a small, enclosed (6') townhome backyard next to the brick. It creates enough microclimate for the basil to thrive, and can be brought inside if we get a cold snap.

    Bookmark   last Friday at 9:41PM
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Peter (6b SE NY)

Yeah I know it is far from ideal. I was just going to try a very small patch. Last year though I transplanted basil way too soon and it was damaged a bit but bounced back no problem.

    Bookmark   last Saturday at 4:29PM
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