23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Rat traps 3. dogs 1. But rats were still munching on tomatoes at night.
So we went to second generation poison stations after conferring with a professional. The rats are supposed to feel sick and stay in their burrows and die rather than run around and die outside in the open.
There is nothing we can do about neighborhood rats but maybe we can cut down on them in the yard. time will tell.
Recently we have had good luck getting tomatoes as they reach the breaker stage- before the rats get them.
Cats are definitely the best answer. Before we got ours, the mouse population was destroying our machinery. They ruined a lawn mower, ate the electrical parts of our truck and - they got into our camper and procreated gangbusters! That damage was unbelievable. I was vacuuming up baby mice.
Once we moved out to our farm property full time, we put out a welcome sign to cats. Ours are all neutered and are indoor/outdoor. Mostly outdoor but they come in regularly for 'lap time'. They take care of squirrels, rabbits, moles etc. and are care-free for the most part. (We do feed them but only mornings.)
Dan,
Well not just the proto-squash, actually the flower itself too. The whole thing is quite edible. I regularly pick the male squash blossoms and eat them in a variety of ways.
The reason I am suspecting the cool weather is because last year, in the fall I planted some acorn squash, mostly as an experiment to see if they would be able to give me something before it got too cold, and after the SVB were gone. They started off real good, but unfortunately where I planted them ended up getting very little sun later in the fall, and when it got cooler. I noticed they started producing many female flowers while the plants were not very big. Maybe the cool weather tells them to hurry up and start producing fruit so it can reproduce.
I have all female blossoms on my bn too and it's sad, every blossom just drops off, not ONE squash on a most vigorous, and healthy vine. It's too late now, I'm sure, if even ONE flower manages to become pollenated. It's very disappointing. Last year I managed to harvest at least 4 per plant. Not amazing but better then zero:(
oops, correction, I think the blossoms are all male, no bump under the flower.
This post was edited by christripp on Fri, Aug 23, 13 at 8:29
Moringa Oleifera is a marginal die back perennial here at 1000 feet, but we are far away from the equator. We get light frosts a few times a year.
Yes Moringa S. is supposed to be a bit hardier.
How cold does it get?
I suppose you could design on a south-facing slope with thermal mass, reflecting ponds Sepp Holzer style, but maybe more effort than it is worth to grow something marginal.
There is a group in Spain, I believe, looking to breed Moringa O for a mediterranean climate.
Most popular bell is Green to red, followed by green to yellow, green to orange, purple to red, white to red. I don't know of any bell that starts yellow, altho some of the white bells like Blushing Beauty may be ivory at an early stage. I also don't know any bell that grows upright, so I also suspect you have a hot pepper. Definitely not a Golden Belle or Golden Cal Wonder.
Beside the obvious leaf wilting, they appear to be a bit under fed. Leaves should be darker green. I was going to ask about PM, but you already mentoned that. Whatever vine the leaves are attached to is definitely in trouble. Possibly SVBs. I'd inspect the stem carefully.
Thank you! I am going to search for bugs. I think I know why and when it got underfed. I will try to fix that. So far, it is just in that one area of the vine. The rest of the vine looks healthy. Should I bury that portion of the vine so it is stronger and more rooted?
Every node on the vine(wherever the leaves sprouted) has the potential to grow roots. That is way weeding is so important so that the node touches the bare ground and not siting on some grass so that it can grow root there. If you could bury the nodes then it is even better, 'cause theoretically more roots will grow this way than simply letting the nodes sit on bare ground. What all this mean is that the more roots for the plant the faster the nutrient uptake. Many gigantic pumpkins are grown this way.
Agree with Dave. My growing season goes from April thru October, so I have time for two summer crops per year, plus one crop through the winter. I assign each of my raised beds one crop family per year (beans, cucs, tomatoes, etc) and then plant two crops from the same family in it. The following spring I rotate. I rotate my winter crops on a yearly basis too. They go into the summer beds at the end of the season, but I rotate them (brassicas, roots, etc.) from year to year as well. I have had these raised beds for four years. So far, so good.
Sometimes it is just part of the character of the variety. It is not weather or pollination related. Some are lobed, some are "cat faced". This often seen in Black Krim, Brandywine.
Another possibility is that the seeds you planted came from an unintentional cross pollinated fruit.
"Are Kentucky Wonder somewhat flattened (not wide though)? Mine don't look round (cross section) like the Bush Blue Lake. Since they're Burpee seeds, I'm wondering if I got mislabeled packet (has happened with tomatoes). I just got a handful and overcooked them last night b/c I was trying to cook edamame at the same time, so I can't tell flavor. "
Yes, KY Wonder start out flattened, especially when the pods are young.
I would think that if the beans were cooked along with edamame, that they would be under cooked... or the edamame over cooked. Edamame needs to be be only lightly cooked - for about 5-7 minutes, depending upon the variety & the amount prepared.
Thanks, I am trying to pick them young so no strings. And they were in the pot in the boiling water, edamame was in steamer basket above, that's why the beans ended up overcooked (to my taste, I like things pretty underdone, except edamame LOL) after 5 minutes at a hard boil.
I believe that the problem may be the plants you are buying, and what season you are planting them in. If you buy your plants from a big mega store like Home Depot or Lowes, you run the risk of buying plants that are heavily dependent on fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides. I would recommend you grow your garden from seed, and follow a planting guide.You can check out our Facebook page for free info on planting and seed selection.
Quick bits of advice would be;
Grow from heirloom seeds
Grown in season
Grow organically
Plant companions
Even people with a black thumb should have no problem growing a beautiful garden if they stick to those few guidelines. Hope this helped, feel free to contact me at flseeds@live.com or here for more information.
Here is a link that might be useful: Facebook Page
I grew a container garden in south FL for several years. It's a fabulous climate for gardening! Just don't expect broccoli and peas in summer. See link for planting calendar.
As mentioned above, fall winter and spring are the only times worth growing many of the traditional annual veggies.
Look into tropicals! First of all, get some pineapples going! There is nothing more satisfying than growing a pineapple, tons of youtube on how to start from the tops of storebought pineapples.
Sweet potatoes!
Ginger, lemongrass, turmeric do fantastically.
Grow mangoes, coconuts, loquats, bananas, citrus!
Some exotic summer veg are malabar spinach, kang kong (ipomoea aquatica), asian winged bean, Moringa Oleifera.
Here is a link that might be useful: http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/calendar/index.html
I have volunteers every year from the black oil seed sunflowers...no hybrid likely there.
My sunflowers can get huge stalks [3 or 4 inches in diameter] when in fertile ground. 2 feet apart may not get the best show heads. The heads are not huge but have maybe 35 heads. Perhaps stripping some of the lower branches would help head size...and maybe not.
Does rain interfere with bees and pollination?
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Obviously, when it is rainy, the bees will take day off. So don't count on them when it is rainy.
Thanks, guys :)! I will hand pollinate on those rainy days before the rain hits if I can.