23,822 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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gardensteph(9 Northern Calif.)

So how were your plants this evening, bucketgirl? After really warm fall, it was 24 degrees at my house this morning, everything frozen solid. Thought i would hsve only mush left after work.But, looks like most of it is ok. We had our first salad of four seasons lettuce and tyee spinach. Only the pea tendrils seem set back. To be safe, i draped plastic dropcloth over my container garden and put a warming lamp in. I hope last night was enough to finally kill the cabbage worms eating my kale.

    Bookmark     December 5, 2013 at 11:09PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

This is the unseasonably cold in the West Coast, in early December. Here in Saeattle, WA area we are hitting 14F tonight. The thing is that it has been in the freezing range(under 32F) for the last 48 hours and it will continue for at least another 48 hours. Probably brassica and alliums will sail through. But I suspect a lot of perennial shrubs and flowers might be wiped out. This is far beyond USDA hardiness zones 7b, 8, 9. Feels more like zone 6.

    Bookmark     December 7, 2013 at 2:35AM
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

I imagine that what you buy in the store is leaves. In which case the leaf stalk (petiole) won't grow roots.

    Bookmark     November 30, 2013 at 2:40PM
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stuffradio

You shouldn't have to turn it over if you want Kale. This Kale plant i have is going into its third year next year. It went to seed once already, but it's still growing a bunch of new Kale on different stems! I just abuse this Kale by picking whenever I want, or cutting back, whatever. It is a strong plant. I am growing Lacinato Kale.

    Bookmark     December 6, 2013 at 1:33PM
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ceth_k(11)

The female flower is not yet open. I don't see anything unusual here.

    Bookmark     December 6, 2013 at 1:44AM
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Maxim1122

I had this problem before, the flower will start turning all brown, and eventually drop off the plant...

    Bookmark     December 6, 2013 at 6:47AM
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geosankie(5a NEPA)

If the upper side of the leaf has yellow spots then I suspect Downey Mildew. Lots of info on the internet on the subject.

    Bookmark     December 5, 2013 at 11:59AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Spinach is subject to all the same fungal and bacterial diseases as most other garden vegetables. Yours looks like Septoria or Cladosporium Leaf Spot to me because of the brown spots with white centers. Septoria is the most common.

But it can be difficult to distinguish from other fungal diseases. See the link below and scroll down to the Leaf Spot section and Google pics of Septoria to compare.

Treatment is a preventative use of fungicides.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Spinach Diseases

    Bookmark     December 5, 2013 at 12:10PM
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sweetquietplace(6 WNC Mtn.)

Good idea. Thanks. If I can get a hold of a few of these potatoes I'll see how they do in the mountains. I've got some Mama Amarillos tucked in the ground and mulched over heavily with the hopes that they'll hold 'til spring.

    Bookmark     December 3, 2013 at 9:24PM
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planatus(6)

You might want to email Tom Wagner at TomWagnerSeeds.com. I don't see Amey currently offered, but he really liked it in the past and may know where to get some seed potatoes.

    Bookmark     December 5, 2013 at 7:48AM
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rdback(Z6 VA)

Dave, you started out strong with Cherry Bomb, but faded fast after that lol. Looks like an Annuum, which eliminates the rest of them.

Without more info, I would guess Cherry Bomb (heat) or Large Red Cherry (no heat).

Questions to help narrow it down would be:

What's it taste like?
Is it hot?
Are the walls thick?
Are seeds centralized or are they distributed down ribs?

More pics, including interior, would help.

jm2c

Rick

    Bookmark     December 4, 2013 at 4:32PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

I agree. You have to provide more info on TASTE and HEAT level. A long shot of the plant and flowers can be helpful too.

There are peppers, with similar looking, both in sweet and hot class. Foe example there is a cherry that is hot and one that is not. You can keep guessing.

This post was edited by seysonn on Thu, Dec 5, 13 at 7:33

    Bookmark     December 4, 2013 at 9:41PM
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

McKenzie- went to the niners game today and BAKED! Probably at least 75* and no breeze! We got on the bus at 4:30 and it was still t-shirt weather! Nancy

    Bookmark     December 1, 2013 at 11:28PM
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

BIG time cold snap for us this week, into the high 20s (I know, I know, but this is CA!)
BUT after the thaw, went out to the garden to read the paper, and as long as a breeze didn't come up, it was wonderful!
I came home from the dentist and couldn't find my hubby, then heard him whistling in the garden...hanging out reading! Soaking it up! Nancy

    Bookmark     December 4, 2013 at 8:59PM
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hobbiest

I suspected on more than one occasion, it is RKN that is going to town on my beans. The plant starts to wilt, I water. The plant wilts more...I water more. Plant dies. Nothing left but a stem in the ground. I hate RKN.
My normal regimen of watering was every 6 or 7 days if anyone is wondering. I wasn`t overdoing it.

    Bookmark     December 3, 2013 at 8:29PM
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sunnibel7 Md 7(7)

Actually, I've been thinking of trying beneficial nematodes for my onion maggot problem. I know there are different strains for different pests, and I haven't yet come across one that says it works against pest nematodes. Do you know which strain that is, Dave (or anyone)? Actually, I'm also wondering why different companies give wildly different application rates for them.

    Bookmark     December 4, 2013 at 9:57AM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

You have a lot to learn.

If you net your squash, you are not going to get any squash.. Unless the mesh is so big that the bees can go through them.'
Same goes for cucumbers.

It is ok to net peppers and tomatoes, eggplants , but not cucurbits while flowering.

    Bookmark     December 3, 2013 at 4:49AM
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ltilton

The netting in the photo looks to have mesh large enough for bees to pass through. And most pests, as well. I'm not sure what it's meant to be protecting from. That's the size netting I use to keep rabbits out, but I don't recall ever having trouble with rabbits and squash plants.

    Bookmark     December 3, 2013 at 8:55AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Im trying to make a website that allows anybody to create fully custom seed packs. I'm looking for popular seeds I should stock.i didn't say this the first time, I'm looking for seeds that are most likely to be asked for.

That is the same approach used by all seed vending sites - 100s of them - trying to anticipate what the customer will want. They have never been able to anticipate the "wants" because it varies widely from region to region, even customer to customer. So the solution seems to be to focus on only a few specific vegetables like many vendors do - focus on only hot peppers or only open pollinated tomatoes.

With 1000's of varieties of 100's of vegetables you can't be all things to all people. It just isn't possible. And since seeds are viable for many years and many gardeners only buy fresh seeds once every several years your stock could quickly become overwhelming.

Dave

    Bookmark     December 1, 2013 at 9:14PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

If you plan to mix varieties in the same packet how do you plan to distinguish them one from another? Separate glassine envelopes would be quite expensive and color coding them isn't an easy process either unless doing hundreds at a time.

Dave

    Bookmark     December 2, 2013 at 4:42PM
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elisa_z5

little minnie -- thanks for the info on the golds, and the details on your growing.
I always wish my potato yields were better, so I'm always interested in what people with great yields are doing.

My soil is naturally 5.4 PH, so I'm planning to open up a dedicated potato bed and not lime it, and rotate potatoes in and out of there.

    Bookmark     December 1, 2013 at 8:18PM
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soilent_green

runswithscissors - Thanks for your response to my question. I guess my preferred method of targeted applications will not work, but I am thinking of still trying it as an experiment in one row. A second row will have an application of ammonium sulfate. A third row will have an application of 10-10-10. Those three rows will be compared to a third row that uses just organic compost. Will be interesting to see the results. My main crop will be planted elsewhere using my usual planting methods.

I have not grown Purple Viking but based on comments here I plan on giving this variety a try. I normally plant Red Pontiac (and occasionally Red Norland), Yukon Gold, Russet Burbank, Kennebec White, and Russian Banana fingerlings. This last season I experimented with some new varieties with mixed results:

Red Gold - poor
Red Cloud - good
Carola - very good
Irish Cobbler - poor
German Butterball - good

The seed was purchased from out of state so I withhold ultimate judgment on these varieties until they have acclimated to my soil and local growing conditions. If all the varieties store well enough the entire harvest will be used for seed stock. It was fun to grow some new varieties after growing just the tried-and-true standards since the 1980s.

My Golden Yukons always produce low yields of very good quality potatoes and continue to be highly regarded by people who get them from me. Seed stock has always been cheap and readily available locally, so my solution has been to simply plant more Yukons rather than try to find a higher yielding substitute that might turn out to be a disappointment for whatever reason. That being said, I think I would be foolish not to give Augusta Gold a try. :-)

    Bookmark     December 2, 2013 at 3:26PM
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farmerdill

Usually refers to a variety/varieties like neck pumpkins, Tahitian melons. These are butternut types (C. moschata) with extra long necks. Very recently some vendors are including Cushaws (C. Mixta) many of which have crooknecks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neck Pumpkin

    Bookmark     December 2, 2013 at 12:49PM
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HotHabaneroLady(7a Central MD)

I'm wondering why it might be best for my apple trees not to flower. This is the first time I've planted them, although I have had pre-existing apple trees in other places that I've lived.

I'm loving the chance to hear from others. It's giving my more ideas for next year!

Angie

    Bookmark     December 1, 2013 at 11:34PM
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ltilton

Flowering is OK, but fruiting can cause the tree to divert its energy from growing strong healthy scaffolds and branches that will support lifelong fruiting. And the first season or so that the tree does fruit, it should be thinned so it doesn't overbear.

You might consider visiting the Fruits and Orchards forum here, where a group of very experienced growers often discuss these issues.

    Bookmark     December 2, 2013 at 12:06AM
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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

Definitely wait. March would be a good time to start the seeds inside if you have grow lights or if you have a very sunny window. April if you can't grow inside but have some cover outside (greenhouse, coldframe, etc.) but you'd have to watch the temps and you'll probably (almost guaranteed) have to bring the plants inside at night to prevent them from freezing and take them back outside during the day to get sun. You'll have to harden the plants off before planting them in your garden.

You can also try winter sowing them. It will take the guess work out of when to start seeds. Basically you plant the seeds outside when it's cold, in a closed but vented container, and the seeds will sprout when it gets warm enough.
Prepping A Gallon Jug For Winter Sowing
How to Winter Sow Seeds Outdoors
Winter Sowing Forum

Rodney

    Bookmark     December 1, 2013 at 12:38PM
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jimster(z7a MA)

Some people start corn inside but I think most do not. I would sow it directly in the ground in May.

Jim

    Bookmark     December 1, 2013 at 8:07PM
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wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana

Yes, wait.

    Bookmark     November 30, 2013 at 4:26PM
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aloha10

I generally cut mine down after the first hard freeze. However, a few times I had to let them stay up all winter due to circumstances, and I noted no difference in the following year's crop. There's not going to be much photosynthesis going on after you start getting frosts. Really looking forward to next April's first spears.

    Bookmark     November 30, 2013 at 8:19PM
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