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glib 5.5 why plant turnips? I'm curious. Is that a way to control the grubs and rid the soil of infestation? I have four plants that got hit by what looks like powdery mildew but then the svb showed up. I thought the mildew weakened the plant to allow the svb to do its job. Please tell me about the turnip idea.


Update: soil test lab didn't call me back-on holidays. Will send sample off to university for testing instead.
In the meantime, 4 days ago, I planted 5 pea seeds in a bowl of the leaf mold, as per daninthedirt's suggestion. It was a struggle to find some of the only partially broken down stuff since the majority of the pile is well composted now which is good news for fall mulching.
No germination of pea seeds yet. I have this in the kitchen windowsill and so far no curious cats have gone into it and removed or added anything, :)
I pulled all plants from the beds and dug up & removed some of the soil and sure enough, I found uncomposted leaf mold about at root level and below. So I dug it up & removed it all. This we/end I will add lime probably and mix it well, assuming I have test results by then.
The tomatoes I grew in containers are doing beautifully and will probably get a crop of about 50 large toms and consistently getting lots of cherry tomatoes so I don't feel all is lost. I will still have to buy tomatoes, peppers & zucchini for sauce-making but that's not a significant hardship :)
Thanks for all your advice-will keep posted!

Also put up some sticky traps to catch the adult leaf miners. http://www.amazon.com/KINGLAKE%C2%AE-15x20cm-Yellow-Sticky-Aphids/dp/B00WQRC8YG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1439785097&sr=8-6&keywords=fly+trap+sticky

Personally I avoid anything that will attract unwanted insects (esp from the neighbors yard). Even beer traps for slugs I feel will attract what is not yet a problem.
I remember during the 70s/80s using those "bug lights" to attract unwanted insects from the whole neighborhood. Maybe IF everyone has and uses one but not IF you are the only light on the block.
And IF you insist on using an attractant place it away from what you are trying to protect.


Artichokes can get huge! Probably even more so in So Cal.
I should take a picture of my butternut--I know I way overplanted (2 seeds every six inches along a 20' row). It's my only winter squash because it's my favorite. There's a soaker hose in place, so I don't need to walk through, but by planting so densely the chickens don't mess with that area either! Otherwise, they'd either dig up the plants or peck at the fruit. However, this was done intentionally--the zucchini in my OP was not supposed to be that big as the chickens aren't allowed in the front yard garden & I would like to have access to it.

I definitely OVER estimated the size of plants this year. 2/3 of the tomatoes are small, the indeterminates barely got 4 ft tall and hardly filled out the 3 ft of space between them and half of the det's were runty, too. beans kept getting pruned by slugs so most of them were scrawny, and the potatoes...don;t even get me started! Not really even looking forward to digging them up, I have a feeling it's only going to p!ss me off. Hopefully elk season goes a little more according to plan, since we sure wont be eating much from the garden this winter, all I've got is about a gallon bag's worth of frozen beans! Grocery bills have been high this year at Zach's house....
Two years ago, my garden was an absolute mess...in a good way, except it was kind of hard to harvest, lol. So, last year I went back to the drawing board and re-organized everything. Last year was another good year, still a jungle, but an organized one that time. This year... pfffft! Course, the weather has been crap and I probably need to do some heavy amending this fall as well.


My DH is a pumpkin carver, and the farmer who we work with grows these warty things! They are, however hybrids, so you don't know what you're going to get when you plant the seeds! We planted our septic mound (have since found out we shouldn't do that!) and got all sorts of versions of those squash! Some were pumpkin/like, some PL, but dark green, some ghord/like, some striped! Most had some warts! All different! Just cut open that guy and save the seeds for next year! It's an adventure! I can't wait for the drought to be over to plant these again! They make a great fall table décor!
Also, we had so many from the seeds of one squash/ghord that we ended up putting them out on the road for people to pick up after giving a bunch to the neighbors! Nancy

We're only officially in year 3 of declared drought, but I have noticed an impact on my backyard garden. Mostly because they switched my municipal water supply in mid-July from Truckee River water to piped groundwater/surface water from Honey Lake, which is way worse in terms of higher pH, higher TDS, higher boron, higher arsenic, higher etc. Results? Everything took a dive right about mid July/early August. My foster garden in Reno proper, which has plants from the same seeds, the same soil and fertilizer regime, and is still on river water supply, is going gonzo.
Grrr. I've been so careful to cut my water use and reuse as much as possible, and it really doesn't matter because I can't do anything about where I get my water.

Welcome to the desert. You'll adapt. Grow things in the shade and find stuff that isn't as thirsty. No more tomatoes in the summer, it's a waste of water. That's now a spring or fall crop when the evap rate isn't as bad.
Research what crops people grow in arid parts of the world and learn to love them. It will mean changing your habits and learning new ways. Contact the Us to see what the AG departments suggest. University of Arizona has excellent resources for arid gardening and I bet your local U is working on doing the same--ask them if you can participate in crop trials or go to a class.
You can still garden. But, big tomatoes are now for March/April and summer is for basil.


I'm thinking your "yellow ladybugs" are cucumber bugs. I have both striped and spotted (saw spotted for the first time yesterday) but I've been keeping their numbers low (fingers crossed) with neem oil spray.
They transmit bacterial wilt, which may be what's going on with your plants. I was given this link when I was questioning what the pests were on my pumpkins, and I've seen a few now on my cucumber and zucchini blossoms. When I see them, I spray them with insecticidal soap (being sure to shoo away the bees first) and then apply neem oil, which I don't think kills them right off, but keeps them from "feeding".
See if this seems accurate.
-veronica
Here is a link that might be useful: Cucumber Beetle/Bug

Maybe Flash, not Crash?
Flash Hybrid Broccoli: http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/broccoli/broccoli-flash-hybrid-prod000619.html




If he were not VERY apologetic, I would quietly plant some poison ivy on his side, preferably along the fence on the far side. Where I live he would not be permitted to store non-working autos on his property. i would notify the authorities. He may be in his right but he was an *** for doing it the way he did.
rjs, we're not allowed to have non-working vehicles on our property here either.
I used to have an enormous arbor vitae hedge that divided our yards out front (he never pruned that--just complained, so I pruned both sides). Until the day he came out to tell me that if I put on a bikini I could charge money for people to watch me pruning! Gross. Arbor vitae hedge is gone & I had a 6' cedar fence put up--part of it is "good neighbor" part of it is solid to block one of the vehicles that's parked there.
Donna, yes I came home just as he was finishing his work. The hops weave in & out of the chain link so I'm sure some of it is still alive, it does look pretty bad though.
Galinas, not planning on starting a war. Probably some silent treatment and no more sharing tomatoes or eggs with him!
Marianne, while I understand he has the right to prune his side, I do question his timing & technique. The whole mess will be gone in October anyway..
rhizo, good advice. To answer your question, my husband's actually the brewer (I just grow the hops). He started at about time I planted them. He's not too into the flavored beers, but a cherry ale sounds delish. I'm trying to convince him to make me some kind of a hot pepper brew.
Thanks all for helping me make sense of this.
Beth