23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Farmerdill, what a bright red lettuce and it's looking very healthy too. I would rather have a dense, crunchy lettuce too, but, I read a book called 'Eating on the Wild Side' last year that reviewed all the research being done on the nutritional content of vegetables and fruits and the author suggests that nutritionally speaking, a red loose leaf lettuce is about as good as you can get as far as lettuce goes. So I've been eating more of that mixed in with the other lettuces I prefer.
One of the lettuces I am trying is Sierra. It is only about four inches in diameter now so it will be a few weeks before it ends up in a salad.
Here is some of what Specialty Produce has to say about Sierra health benefits.
Red Batavia lettuces include Pasquier, Polonaise, Rouge Grenobloise, Rustica and Sierra. Sierra lettuce benefits from both its Batavian heritage and its anthocyanin content. The level of anthocyanins in any food plant increase its red coloring, its nutritional value and its perceived value as studies prove that persons respond more favorably to red colored fruits and vegetables.
...................Because of Sierra lettuce's substantial levels of anthocyanins, it contains health boosting antioxidants. Anthocyanins have some of the strongest physiological effects of any plant compounds. Anthocyanins' health benefits include anti-flammatory and anti cancer properties as well as diabetes preventative qualities.
Here is a link that might be useful: Sierra Lettuce description at Specialty Produce
Find them and squish them. Bt K variant may kill them but probably not before they nip the plant. Diatomaceous Earth supposedly controls them but is ineffective when wet and will kill beneficial insects, and you'll probably still lose the seedlings. Beneficial nematodes will work, but they're expensive and take time.
I gave you a 100% cure(since I started using them)to prevent them from nipping your seedlings. No toothpicks? Use twigs. Use nails.
Kevin
Could you post pictures of the plants? There are many possible causes, most of them far more likely than any possible virus disease. But to be able to ID we'd need photos and much more information or a detailed description of the symptoms.
No point in ripping them out until you know what the real cause is and the symptoms you describe so far could be nothing more than too much water.
Dave
Japanese Hops is considered invasive.
Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/huja1.htm
Use the needles as mulch, or leave them where they fall! People pay big bucks for "pine straw".
They compost nicely, but a bit slowly, by themselves if you keep them moist. Mixing them with grass clippings is one way to speed up the needles and keep the grass from going stinky.
Lots of advantages and the only disadvantage is they are very slow to decompose as mentioned already. No problem when used as mulch. In the compost bin you want to add lots of nitrogen (greens) to speed them up or you can find your pile sitting dormant for a year.
Dave.
Hi everyone - I just wanted to follow up and show you how my tomatoes are doing these days. They recovered from the intense wilt and I think it was a combination of inconsistent watering/inconsistent moisture in the soil and the dreaded Santa Anas. I have a shade cloth setup now to use when necessary (we shall see what happens in September/October yikes).
Also, it turns out it is a San Marzano not a cherry - I had mixed up the tags. LOL. Oh, and I had posted about BER with this plant - probably also caused by inconsistent moisture - and that's also cleared up. I have a new method of watering using a 32oz yogurt container with pinholes in the bottom which I set on the soil several inches from the base of the plants and fill up so that it slowly moistens the soil. I've also stopped pruning it so hard and am letting it branch out, though trying to keep it vertical. Now I am waiting for the first ripe fruit.
Just wanted to give an update and say thanks to all of you for your help! I am learning so much. And so much still to learn. ;)
Thanks for your response and time to answer. Your thought is my thought, except they won't allow any herbicides on the plot, which I suppose only means I need to weed the grass more vigorously. The plot was mowed about a month ago and in the last week many sprouts of new asparagus are coming up that haven't been there in decades. Pretty impressive plant it is. I'm marking them all with stakes and will mulch and fertilize around them. Later, I will add grass clippings. Any further thoughts you might have would be most welcome. Thanks again.
This is a reply to a really old link but others may benefit... I would dig up the whole bed in the fall and replant it. Do this when the 'ferns' start to turn a bit brown. There will also likely be lots of extra crowns to transplant to other locations, as there will not be room in the current bed to put them. At that time, remove the sod, and dig out the soil to asparagus planting depth, and sift it to remove as many roots as possible. Then plant the asparagus as recommended for your area, but mulch with lots of leaves (or other organic material like old hay or straw - not herbicide applied grass clippings - as some herbicides could harm the asparagus). Put on six inches or even more. It will compact overwinter and asparagus comes up through heavy mulch while grass does not. Next year you should have more asparagus that ever. Keep vigilant and weed out every blade of grass. I use POAST - a grass herbicide myself! But I replant too.
My cat has been pooping in my beds for years. At first I totally freaked out (still do when the meany pants digs up fresh planted seeds) but I'm mostly over it. I remove it when I see it. She pees in there too, fit I. Font of me as I'm yelling and shooing her.
Anyway, I read they like the clear spaces of the garden, so I've been adding my grass clippings to the bar spots. So far it's working, hopefully long enough for the crops to fill in and keep her out.
I have an electric fence around my garden. One trick I use is to put a spark plug on one of the metal posts and attach a wire to the fence so that the spark plug sparks every time the fence clicks on. The spark makes a very audible pop. I don't know if it is the flash of light or the popping sound, but the deer avoid it like the plague. Raccoons ignore it so I put up a wire 6 inches off the ground to deter the masked bandits.
It must be the Game Cam!
I turned it off Sat. to take the card out to download the pics to my PC.
I got busy with other things and forgot to put the card back in and turn it back on.
Sunday morning I went out to turn it back on and check the garden. I found tracks all the way down a row of peas. The tops were nibbled on a lot of the plants.
When I checked this morning the tracks stopped at the edge. I guess they can hear the camera or the lights spook them.
No Dave, it doesn't have a flash, but it does have a little red LED light comes on when it is activated. It may make a noise, but I can't hear it.
I just went out to plant more tomatoes, looked at my beans and what do you know, the first leaves ARE heart-shaped!
Can I change my vote? ;-)
I understand the conflicting desires - my DD started some tomato plants from Burpee seed that was mislabeled I had left over from last year, her science fair partner took some plants but we still have 7 of them - 3 in 1 small yogurt cup that need to be separated since they were started on Mother's Day. Only ones left inside under lights - tried giving a couple to my parents who like "regular, red, beefsteak tomatoes" (which these are) and they wouldn't take them b/c they were small and not hardened off. I guess I'm going to have to find room for them somewhere...
We've just been having our first garden salads as well! Red freckled romaine, kale, arugula, snow peas and still getting the occasional few asparagus to chop up and add. Good stuff!. We've been living off strawberries as well. They have a great flavor but are a bit sour if not picked when just about to be too late. How about yours? Is there anything I could have added to my soil to help this?
I've also just planted some leaf lettuce in a shady area of the lawn in hopes of keeping it going longer. When the lettuce was dissapointing last year we switched to red Russian kale and it was delicious!
i use basil and mint too.
hyssop grows about 24 inches tall, has purple spike like flowers that smell like licorice.
good luck to you too!
Gorgeous! Love the mix of edibles and flowers. It all looks to good to eat ;-D