23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
One thing to keep in mind is that all vegetable plants must not suffer any stoppage in their growth, or they will turn bitter. Usually it's too little or too much water, lack of nutrients, or wild temperature fluctuations. Using the methods pioneered by Alan Chadwick, the so called, French Intensive method, helps a lot. See the descriptions here:
Alan Chadwick
Click on "Techniques", then on "Kale" for more on that plant also.
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick
I grow Red Russian Kale and Dino Kale and leave them all winter. The only fear is the overwintering baby slugs. You definitely want to check under the leaves to get rid of them, because it will give them a nice supply of food once we get near Spring!
My favorite cherry tomato is the Chadwick Chrerry, sold by various outlets, but I get mine from SEEDS OF CHANGE. This is a strain developed by the famous Alan Chadwick. More about tomato culture can be found at the following website:
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick
Certainly covering what threatens my garden's bok choy.
I have never quite understood the idea of a "catch crop" unless the grower returns and destroys all of the pests, as well as sacrificing the plants.
Left to themselves, something like flea beetle larva will feast on the host plant roots then mature into mobile adults. I would assume that these adults would be happy to move on from the radish, a real flea beetle favorite, to the other garden plants.
Steve
I had one plant that out did anything I have ever grown. It covered an area about 10' x 20' . the vine branched off 40 + times, I lost count because it was a tangled mess. It was like a fish net. When I pulled the leaves fo the side there was blossoms every 2 to 3 inches. I have no idea how many cukes I picked. Lots over a 6 week period. I gave the neighbor a couple of bushels to feed the chickens.
I grew straight eights and Eurekas last year and this was a volunteer.
In my opinion, seed tapes aren't worth the effort. It's not worth the time of making the seed tape and I found that it's easier and quicker to just plant the individual seeds than it is to fiddle with planting the tape.
As long as the beets aren't woody inside, then there's nothing wrong with them getting big. However, it sounds like you're wanting baby beets. So yeah, 2-3 inches should work for that purpose.
Rodney
Thanks Rodney! And I agree that planting the tape might be fiddly, but not as wiggly as my son, who wants to "help" next year. He is really in love with beets, so if I get his hands in the dirt, maybe fiddly tape is worth the learning time!
And we have been enjoying all sizes of beets this year. Both these varieties have remained very nice even when large, and maturing in warmer weather than I was told beets prefer.
Hmm, this question has been floating unanswered for a while. I'm not an artichoke expert, but maybe I can begin an answer. Yes, there are different types. Two main types are the Green Globe type and the other is the Imperial Star type. They do have distinctive, but slight differences in shape. I'm not sure about the heart size being related to type, though. It could be, or it could just be natural variation in the plants. Artichokes don't seem to have undergone the same intensive breeding as some other vegetables, or maybe they just don't lend themselves very well to standardization. When you buy artichoke seed, there is great variation in whether the seeds germinate and if they do, how they grow. And another thought is that maybe the ones with bigger hearts just had better fertility and water during growth.
So, I don't know the answer to your whole question, but there's a bit of what I do know and a couple of guesses. Cheers!
https://www2.ag.purdue.edu/hla/fruitveg/MidWest%20Trial%20Reports/2012/01-01_McGrath_Cucumber.pdf. Marketmore 76 was developed for DM resistance, but a new strain has developed which renders M 76 susceptible. At present there does not appear to be any variety with good resistance.
I have grown Diva, Johnny's two years in a row. Last year in unheated greenhouse, this year in GH and outside. I have had only minor problems with Downy Mildew, markedly less than Lemon Cucumber (outside). I have been overrun with cucumbers both years, despite having half as many planted this year as last.
Do I need to be concerned about a new strain of DM for next years crop?
KateQ
If by leaf cabbage, you mean a non-heading cabbage, in North America they are called collards. Most vendors will have several varieties to choose from. Some of the "Chinese" cabbages are sometimes refered to as leaf cabbages. Collards are exceptionally cold tolerant.
My experience matches that of Mark above. In northern California you just sow it direct without any cold treatment or sanding the shell and it generally germinates nearly 100%. A good description of the process can be found at the following link:
Alan Chadwick
Click on "Techniques", and then on "Spinach".
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick
Plant survival and edibility are two things. Small spring radishes are just good fro a few weeks for eaeting. Then they will bolt or tubers will crack and get wood. But some of the green can be edible. But it will never grow another tuber.
Last fall Iplanted some chinese winter radishes. They did not bulb because I think I planted them too late. Anyway, the overwintered an I kept a few of them to go for seed and the did. They were still live after first set of seeds and were flowering more . the I just pulled them, since I got the seeds I wanted. Now my winter radishes are growing. If I let them they will keep on going till the end of next summer.
The point is that, they wont just die off fast. They are sort of like carrots.
As a general rule of thumb, root crops do not do well with transplanting. This includes: beets, carrots, turnips, radish, Swiss chard (I know, it's grown for its leaves, but it has a deep tap root), parslely (for the same reason), etc.
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick
As Alan Chadwick taught, washing the frost off with the hose before the sun hits the plants in the morning will usually save them. Check the following website for more on this.
Click on techniques, then on your subject.
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick
My guess would be that some of the plants you bought at the nursery were in good shape, while others were root bound or otherwise defective. Nurseries are motivated to sell what they have, even if it is of terrible quality. You have to remove some of the plants from their medium (pots, trays, etc.) to check their roots. If there is any sign or bolting or being root-bound, do not buy the plant. Once a plant starts bolting, there is no stopping it. Cutting it back will do no good. The best solution is to start your own seeds, if possible. A good introduction to seed propagation can be found at the website below.
Click on "Techniques" and then choose your subject. These methods are based on those of Alan Chadwick, who brought organic gardening to the USA in the 1960's and 1970's.
Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick
i am really into wild foraging. =)
just yesterday i found some matsutake mushrooms! woo hoo, gonna make a nice stir fry with them later. went to a spot with a lot of tan oak, seems they must like this kind of wood.
of course it helps that i live in some really awesome wild land, with thousands and thousands of acres in every direction being an abundant forest, lots of rivers, and hardly no humans!
unfortunately areas like this are too rare.
some of my favorite wild edibles are mallow, very mild taste to the leaves, i find it quite pleasant in salads and on soup. sheep sorrel, i love the zing of any sorrel but this one has the best flavor, chicory, wild grapes, elderberries, and mushrooms among others.
I have tremendous respect for people who grow food and who also look to the outdoors.
I'm a lifelong southern Californian suburbs type, and container gardening is all I can do, so when I read (drooling with envy) about your harvests, wild or not, I really am impressed.
SVB has a life cycle that is actually rather short so in warmer climates one can see 2 or even 3 life cycles in a season. In your zone you may only have one.
But even then the larvae/pupa are only in the soil for a brief period and they do no damage while there. They aren't the problem. The moths are. Even if you have never had SVB in your garden the moths that emerged elsewhere can fly into your garden and lay their eggs.
Preventing the moths from access to the plants to lay eggs is the goal.
Dave
Hi guys...new to the forum and had to look up info about SVB as well....I had a bad season with them killing all my differnet Zucchini plants fairly quickly. My one major mistake I think, was getting them in the ground too early in the season-May. I live in NJ Metro (MYC Area) Zone 7.
This was the first season I tried growing them and I sure learned alot! I tried looking for frass, holes from the borer almost daily yet I was unsuccessful apparently. I even tried slicing the vines once I noticed symptoms to catch the borer but I could never find him! After speaking with a Master Gardener from Rutgers and tons of reading up on it, I think Ill try succession planting with row covers for first half and only remove for pollinating and then do the second planting after July 1st as suggested by MG. I tried all kinds of insect. soaps, DE, and even lots of yellow sticky tapes but wasnt lucky in cathing moths...just a small challenge till next year! BTW, I also hear the larva eggs in soil overwinter. This was a new raised bed with new compost soil, amendments etc so I know that wasnt the case. I read spraying Nematodes now and then in early spring along with tilling or flipping soil at same time will help kill the suckers before they emerge and kill plants.
This post was edited by NJUrbanFarmer on Tue, Oct 1, 13 at 14:59
It would be interesting to know if the beta family can be used to remediate slightly salty soils. The Dutch use salt hay first, but I wonder if beets are next.
Seems reasonable to me.