23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I tried over and over this year to grow fall lettuce, every time the heat burned it up. Finally, very late, some of it sprouted and started to grow. I watched with interest to see if it would reach harvestable size before the freeze got it.
Sure enough, I come out one day, and it's all been nipped down to the nub by the rachets.
Every year.

Rabbits decimated my spring Broccoli crop (my first attempt). I planted some fall Broccoli and so far so good but I know that can't last. I finally bit the bullet and bought a floating row cover for pest control as well as frost protection. Now that it came in today I just KNOW those buggers are gonna' clean me out tonight before I can get it attached to hoops and anchored down tomorrow. If they get my fall broccoli we may be having rabbit stew alot this winter lol. Grrrrr.
My nieces live in the city and love rabbits (I do too in actuality, I prefer to use non-lethal barriers and shoot them only as a last resort), they have 7 of them as pets, all adorable. They would be absolutely HORRIFIED to learn that folks out here shoot them as pests and that they can be bred for rabbit meat. Shooting one has certainly crossed my mind a time or two. My sister doesn't even want me to mention in front of her kids that I get my garden manure from a rabbit farm. Apparently that's too traumatic.......Sheesh.

That looks like fusarium mold, which has been a problem for many people in the east this year, probably because of all the rain. There have been several threads about it in the Allium forum.
I would not plant those cloves. Clean bulbs from a coop or health food store would be better, regardless of type.
I had a lot of suspicious bulbs in my hardnecks, so I dried them before the disease progressed. The softnecks were not as badly affected and are still looking perfect in storage.

ahhh overwatering.. that would make sense... I'll stop.. I was watering it more often than I should have because it started to flower. I'll stop. Thanks for the suggestion. I really need to buy some fish emulsion but I have some miracle gro that my dad gave me (I was too polite at the time to say I won't use it, my dad and I garden very differently).
I was debating on what other forum to try... indoor plant or container .. I'll repost on container.
Thanks Dave!

If the purpose of over wintering is to keep them alive, I would not fertilize them too much, I would not water them too much.
I will give them 1/3 strength fertilizers, mybe once a month.
I will also snip any bud and flower. They need light more than anything else. Keep them in cooler spot. UNLESS you want to have an indoor winter garden.

Once again the reputation and good name of slugs around the world has been saved by photographic evidence. Rabbits are famous for damaging our greens and blaming it on defensless slugs. Unlike snails we have not protective shell and are thin skinned. But I still recommend beer be left out for the slugs. If the rabbit does take a drink of it, he/she might forget about the greens. Don't believe what you have heard, that slugs are drunks. We are working on a 12 step program for slugs with no feet. It is tough!

The last thing I need around here, Charlie, is a bunch of noisy, drunken, carousing slugs in my yard! It's tough enough getting a decent night's sleep without listening to Slug Tavern racket. The neon lights alone would drive me batty. 12-step programs don't work around these parts. No, no beer for the slugs, I can't risk it. They get served Sluggo. Shuts them up real good....


You really need to include your location info in the box provided. The "none" doesn't help us in any way. So thanks Rodney for the info and the link to previous discussion.
I agree with Jean's diagnosis. But regardless, based on the photo it is a minor issue and nothing to be concerned about. Far more important an issue is if the plant will ever produce anything given all the transplantings it has had.
Sometimes things in the garden just don't work out.
Dave


Might be wise and cost effective to just do two low row covers on either side of your path.
I used a roll of 1inch diameter black plastic water line pipe. Cut to the length you want and easily removed when not needed. I have the fabric remay, rolls of clear plastic, and a heavy gage deer-x. Might give you more options throughout the season. This simple system has been giving me much needed protection for years. When i need it, wherever i need it. My salad beds have this cover with the deer-x all season now, due to a rabbit explosion. I can easily add frost protection over that. Or two lengths in an x pattern with remay over an early planted squash mound.
Short article here...
Here is a link that might be useful: row covers explained


Rabbits: They love beans. They also ate some of my onions tops.
I don't think slug/snails will bother with onions. And, the eating pattern should tell you something. ARE THE LEAVES PATIALLY EATEN ? Then suspect slugs/snails and earwig.
The latter group start mostly with the lower leaves.


It's not as strong as parsnip but when you taste it carrot definitely doesn't come to mind ,it is wierd I know .
It doesn't smell like parsnip but definitely taste like it . It's got to the point where we actually roast them now and eat the like we would parsnip . :)

The Greenhouses and Garden Structures forum.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouses and Garden Structures


Similar discussion here:
Here is a link that might be useful: Greenhouse heating from boiler flue

Just a note on hugel. Today I dug nine holes for new trees which I will plant this week. The previous trees were killed by deer (I fenced the spots individually now), but I had planted them with some care, with each hole lined by four 20-40 lbs logs. The first surprise was how much crumblier the soil was, as the original site has hard, very poor clay. Second, there were earthworms were none existed, and the logs (I had to take them all out) were quite covered in fungus with fungus visible in the surrounding soil too. But I also saw that the logs attract rodents, they just love to set up residence under a log. Nevertheless, surprised at how much improvement hugel can induce in poor soil in only six months.

Thank you very much to all who have contributed their experiences and advice. I apologize, but I do not get on here that often.
I've decided to do a combination of raised and in-ground to see what works best. I think I need to experience it myself, as everyone's input varied so much. :) But all of the advice will give me a great starting point and things to consider for both types of beds.
I'm experimenting with the lasagna method right now on the existing rose bed. The previous owner had rose bushes and many were dead, and the bed was overgrown with weeds.
So we will see how things go! :)

Madroneb, Thank you for the article. I may have to look into it further in the future. The last I had seen was the 2010 closing of the farm but did not keep up on if it had been re-opened or not (trying to keep abreast of all of that is tiring).
Vieja, I will look into Roswell Seed too. I am actually in Santa Fe county, DH even works in Santa Fe (although we are about an hour out) and that is why I was really interested in their seeds because the climates are rather similar (SF is just a teensy bit cooler and a little bit wetter, depending on what directions the storms are coming in from that year).

tishtossnm: I had read/heard of 'Seeds of Change' in an issue of 'Mother Earth News' I think. There is also an underground place in Iowa (where I am from before becoming a New Mexican!) & maybe in Colorado where I think they are saving seeds to retreive & grow if there is a disaster of some kind that wipes out all above ground?
Roswell Seed as well as not having an expiration date on their seed that they weigh & package there for you,has no source of the seed on the packages either. That store goes WAY back in the family & Roswell history & a neat old store to visit!

Mark,
Do you or would you still see carrot rust fly damage if you planted super early (January) and have carrots at the first markets of the year?
I do get some root damage from time to time, but it seems as if the super early and winter carrots have very little to no damage. I am going to plant carrots for next year at Christmas time this year in half of one of my high tunnels. I tried early January, but they weren't ready soon enough. I am going to try to succession plant more carrots this year. They are such a good seller and with my carrot washer and 4 carrot baggers (kids), we can harvest, wash and bag fairly fast! They sell much faster than potatoes, I may plant more carrots than potatoes this spring.
Jay


Ok thanks i did think so and I just read about it too. Hopefully next year I can try them although they will have to be covered here as we have a huge amount of white cabbage moths :( .
Perth, Western Australia ?
You are heading to summer , Right ? In that case, B.sprouts are prone to bolt. Cabbages are called COOL CROPS. They are very much like onions. In some places where they have very cool summers,brassica are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall.
In US(Zone, 7, 8), I had planted them one fall. They over wintered and the following spring they resumed growing.
But I don't know how to grow them successfully in subtropics.