23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
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.
I suppose it is possible that spider mites came from the soil but it would be a very unusual occurance. Far more likely is that they were already in the house and that is a common. Especially so if other plants are already in the house growing or we bring them in on our clothes from outside.
But the damage I can see in the pics is classic for both mites and/aphids so now that you can treat for them the problem should be resolved.
Just a guess as my romaine is already bolting down here, but I would think romaine could already be planted outside in your location since it is quite cold tolerant, much more than mites are.
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!
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
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?
DO YOU KNOW YOUR HEAT ZONE NUMBER?
++++++++++++++
No I don't. I'm still trying to understand how we were Zone 4 one year and Zone 5 the next (and that was several years ago!)
So we have 2 rows of cabbage planted - greenhouse was already sold out of broccoli except for a couple of sorry-looking specimens. Hopefully I can find some this weekend, if the rain lets us get back into the garden anytime soon.
Thanks,
Edie
I've planted tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, jalepeno, strawberries, cucumbers and onion. The onion are actually doing very well and are taking off like crazy..I planted those as bulbs.
I went 3 days without watering them and ended up watering last night. The top inch or so was pretty dry. When I fertilized the other day, I sprinkled just a little around each plant and watered it in.
I think the wind could of caused this too but I will lay off watering and watch the soil more.
Thanks for the help!
e planted tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, jalepeno, strawberries, cucumbers and onion. The onion are actually doing very well and are taking off like crazy
Don't know where in KS you are located and KS basically has 2 different zones- 5b in the northern half and 6a in the south. Either way all of these crops have very different planting times. It is 10 -14 days too early for tomatoes, strawberries, and cukes unless they are under cover and it is 4-6 weeks too early for peppers and squash. Neither are spring crops,
Onions are thriving because it is well into their ideal planting time so too early planting of several of the items on your list is probably the primary problem.
The top inch or so was pretty dry.
It is the moisture level at 4-6" down that counts, not the top inch. The top inch or so can be totally dry and still have plenty of moisture for the plant - especially with clay soils as they retain water for a long time.
And, if you didn't harden off the transplants well first for at least a week before planting and then subject them to winds and full sun with no protection from either that will do them in too.
Spring planting can be difficult at best so before doing it you really need to know proper methods for hardening off, protecting the plants, proper watering techniques, and most importantly proper planting times.
I'd suggest buying some fresh tomato and pepper plants and keeping them inside or outside under shelter so you can replace the current ones. Your cucumbers can be direct seeded in 7-10 days and the squash can be direct seeded at the end of May.
Hope this helps.
Dave
I've actually curled the vine around the top of the soil in a large pot. I noticed a couple of bumps at some of the nodes that looked like it was trying to start roots. We'll see what happens. Hopefully it will root and give the plant extra energy and give me new plants.
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.