23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I realize this thread is old now. But for the benefit of those who may find it later by searching, sudden severe wilt can also be caused by gophers. If it is a gopher eats all or most of the roots, the plant will wilt and die. If you pull gently on the plant, and it comes out of the ground with no roots, then it was probably a gopher. If you dig a hole where the plant used to be, you may be able to find the access tunnel the gopher was using and set a trap in it. If you act fast, there is a good chance of catching the gopher this way.
--McKenzie
mckenziek, I had this happen to an eggplant in my vegetable garden. There were 6-7 plants but overnight, one just wilted into the most pathetic thing you've ever seen. Sure enough, gopher. Husband set a trap and caught it 2 days later. Turns out we have quite an issue with them in our area, so all our fruit trees have been planted into gopher baskets. They're not 100% -- somehow they still got my Dorsett Golden apple tree -- but the most effective control there is, as far as I know.
Flora ... They said that parsley "CAN withstand HARD FROST", meaning that the very first frost is not going to kill it. I have seen my existing parsley survive hard freeze. In other words they were not killed. But if you harvest them, you are going to see any new growth. The same goes for peas in the spring. They will survive. I don't think parsley goes dormant but It stays live.
When I say it goes dormant that doesn't preclude it's being alive. My parsley, if not protected, reduces down to a few tiny unusable stems close to the ground. Our climate is very wet in winter and sometimes it just rots right out. It doesn't survive in good condition the way the brassicas do. We can harvest those in mid winter whereas the parsley has all but disappeared.
I have been using kaolin clay (brand name Surround WP)
for several years. It is nontoxic clay particles that you mix with water and spray on the plants. The water evaporates leaving a mechanical clay layer that irritates the beetles. Its not 100% effective, but it has saved my fruit trees. There is a Penn state study regarding its effectiveness on the web.
The best way to get rid of these Japanese beetles is to use any chemically remove grubs by applying insecticides, or you can remove manually from your plants and kill them.
This post was edited by ZaraMorant on Wed, Oct 30, 13 at 9:13
Have you checked out all the information about this and your other questions posted over on the Growing from Seed forum here?
That is the forum that was specifically created for the discussion of all growing from seed issues so that the gardening forums weren't inundated with seedling issues. And there is a good FAQ there all about the lights recommended to use and how to use them.
Plus GW has a Growing Under Lights forum too that discusses in great detail all the differences in the various types of lights available
Now I was thinking if I should maintain this distance or increase it so that the foot-candles reading is more closer to 750 fc? Is the 3000 fc reading too intense for the seedlings?
The 750 fc recommendation is a minimum. More is better. When "more" becomes "too much" all depends on the age/size of the seedling. Young just emerged seedlings can get burned but seedlings with true leaves thrive in more. So there is no "one for all" setting. It has to be adjusted frequently.
The ambient temps created by the lights also must be considered. Excess heat generates leggy seedlings too so it is a balancing act between enough light and too much heat.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Growing from Seed forum
That photo doesn't look like normal nitrogen deficiency to me. I think it may be a potassium or micro-nutrient deficiency. I'm just guessing without knowing more about what they're growing in.
The beans sound to me like aphids and spider mites. check the underside of the spotted leaves for small red arachnids. My bitter melons took a long time to do much of anything but the weather warmed up for the past couple of months and I have fruit bursting all over now.
There are many medicines that can make a person photo sensitive, it's quite common. Also many plant juices can do it, lime juice is terrible for sunburns. And me,I'm just sensitive. I keep a big hat and gloves at the door to the garden so I have the habit of grabbing them whenever I step outside
That is one thing. If you have been sunburned, just getting exposed to sunlight will give you a reaction, even if it is 7pm light, with no UV component (due to the shallow sun angle). Or it could be Omega 3 deficiency, my resistance to sunlight has become ten times better since I eliminated seed oils and started eating only meat that was grass fed.
To me, cool means 55-60*F (both air and soil temp). Most "cool crops" will germinate at these temps just fine as long as the soil isn't overly moist/wet. But they do germinate slower at these temps than if the temperature was around 70*F.
In the spring these temps aren't a problem because because the temperature is on an upswing and the plants have time to grow to maturity. In the fall, if you plant when it's 55-60*F, the plants might not have time to get to maturity because the temperature is going down. And it goes down quick, one week it will be in the 60's and the next it's in the 40's. Plants grow slower at lower temps.
Then there is also the daylength. In the spring daylength is increasing which causes plants to grow faster. In the fall daylength is decreasing and it causes plants to grow slower which means it takes longer for the plants to mature.
It's for these reasons that you usually have to plant your fall "cool crops" in the summer.
Rodney
Yes. You are getting good information here. I would just add that as a new gardener, one of the most important things you need to know is that you must learn to think a season or more ahead at all times. In the next few weeks you'll be receiving (or you can sign up for) seed catalogs. Winter is the time to order your seeds. In late winter it's time to start seeds (indoors) for summer crops (for instance, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) and, perhaps, in your climate to direct sow seeds for early spring crops in the garden like peas and lettuce.
In early summer, it's time to start seeds (indoors) for fall crops like kale, collards, cabbage, etc. In late summer to early fall, it's time to transplant and direct sow seeds for your cooler weather crops like onions, garlic, greens, root crops, etc.
You will do well to get a book on vegetable gardening that is written with your part of the country in mind. Read it carefully and start making yourself a calendar that will give you what to do each month at a glance. Winter is an excellent time for that! Plan. Dream. Order. Get ready.
In addition to the generic open pollinated poblano There is Ancho 211, Tiberon, Ancho 101, Ancho San Martin, Caballero, Ancho Magnifico, Ancho Gigantea (OP), Ancho Grande, Ancho L, Ancho Mulato, Ancho Ranchero, Ancho Rojo, Ancho San Luis, Don Emilio etc. Plenty of varieties to choose from. The hybrids tend to have shorter maturity times, some coming in at 65 day green, 90 day ripe.
Cubanelles for me are sweet peppers, but they are more prolific and easier to grow than bells. Gypsy is also a sweet pepper, but closer in flavor to an Italian frying pepper than a bell. If you wish to that route, You should also consider Carmen
Ceth ... you pointed out to an important issue.
So, in drip irrigation, closer spacing is needes in sandy soil or soil rich in compost and organic matter as they hav a good drainage property. But I thin the 6" mentioned by dmak124 should be fine., AS LONG AS the lines ar also spaced every 6" or so.
Hello Adam, With the compost and good drainage in your soil you might find that 45 minutes is too long and once a week is not enough. When starting out or as the seasons change, it is a good idea to check your soil after watering to see how deep and how spread out the watering is. I like to let the soil rest for 30 minutes after watering before checking. This allows the soil to adequately disperse the water, otherwise known as capillary action. Then before watering again, I repeat but this time I am look for dry soil. By doing this, it gives me a good idea about what is going on below the surface. Hope that helps.
You need one foot of organic matter, or three inches of finished compost, just to get started. That works out to 1cy per 108 sqft. IMHO, burying or tilling raw organic matter is better long term, but you can do it both ways, laying down some compost where you will direct seed, and burying/laying down raw organic matter where you will plant vegetables that do well in compost piles (virtually all summer vegetables). I collect 30 leaf bags a year from curbside, just to maintain fertility, you should collect at least 100.
I use the lasagna method of layering brown (i.e old leaves run over with mower) and green (free grass clippings). You can also use straw ($8/bale around here - straw not hay which contains seeds), wood chips (some tree cutting services will dump at your house for free), shredded paper, kitchen waste as long as it's not meat, and whatever else. Check Craigslist for free manure. The important thing is she suggests a pile 24-30 inches tall (if I remember correctly) which will compost/shrink over winter. We even asked neighbors for grass clippings (as long as they don't use chemicals). My original beds are now level with the ground and are very nice soil. Take a look a lists of what you can compost to help you figure out what you can use as cheaply as possible. Good luck. BTW continue to add compost every year.
Yes I like those small bulbs -not for cooking obviously but to throw them in the salad.
Also if you let the main bulbs stay in the ground a little too long then you will get lots of these in amongst the main body (the same as in lettuces except that then it is an indication that the lettuce is starting to become bitter also any slugs have also have had longer to do their damage)
This post was edited by lucyfretwell on Mon, Sep 30, 13 at 14:51
Thank you all very much for your help. I really appreciate it! :)
Yes, it's the mulch.