23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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.

You might want to direct your question to the container garden forum.

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.

Hmmm... OK, I will add Gypsy to the list also. Thanks!!

Edie

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

It grows wild here. I love the licorice scent. To me it's a very welcome "weed".
I wonder if the wild type is edible and if it bulbs?

A few years ago harry vetch was all the rage. I don't recall reading about it recently.

Ralph I can't say if it is too late in your part of zone 6 or not but it isn't here in my part. We just planted a mix of turnips and radish in several beds middle of the past week. Normally they will do well into mid to late January and we till them in then weather permitting.

Two of the other garden beds get planted with various deer fodder crops - winter peas, clover, chicory.etc. and all work well for green manures.

Dave

1/ that's right. 2 seeds in 2" pots. Then gently tease them apart and pot them up.
2/ they do get very big. And like a lot of water. Here it gets into the 100's and is quite dry mid season. I did use a peat based compost, and would water when I stuck my finger in the soil 1" and it was dry. And would water until it was draining from the bottom.
3/ transplant shock can be as little as the plant just seems to slow down growth to wilting disastrously. Don't worry about it too much, just keep them watered and wait, almost always they will pull through. And the younger the plant the better it will transplant.

I'm not trying to discourage on growing cukes in containers. I did get fruit, just not nearly as much as in ground cukes. And it was more effort. If I were to try it again I would try to keep the pot cooler by keeping it shaded, and maybe adding some mulch. Straw or leaf mold.

Good luck!

The olnly time I get a cucumber crop I straight seed them. Starting them in pots I am lucky if I get 1 fruit per plant.

Here's a picture of the stalk.

Top photo Bonanza- bottom photo Bay Meadows.