24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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xmiracles4todayx

Hi everyone, I have been thinking of concrete beds also. But have moles, so not sure how 2 rid my land of japanese beetles. How do I find the youtube I keep reading about? I love love pictures, still daydreaming here in NW Texas and have not even begun with gardening. Wanted to say hi.

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baltimoregardener54

Hello everyone. I have been trying to figure out what to do about my existing raised beds, which were made with untreated lumber and are now rotting after about 6 years. After reading about these concrete block beds, I'm considering just removing the screws from the rotting lumber and putting concrete blocks down around the the existing beds and just let the wood continue to rot away. I have two 3x8 foot beds, four 4x4 foot beds, and a 3x6 foot bed...all of them are only 6" high. The 3 block height beds pictured above are really nice looking...are they high enough to keep rabbits out? If that would let me get rid of my rabbit fencing, it might be worth the expense and back pain of rebuilding them with concrete, although I would have to get a ton of additional compost to fill the beds. The additional height would also allow to me to quit worrying about weeds, grass, etc, growing in between and sometimes into the beds...I could just spray vinegar around and/or take the weed whacker through the area. I appreciate any advice!

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Peter (6b SE NY)

I am also in 6b and my climate only bears a vague resemblance to Dave's, so it goes to show you the usefulness of zones. :)

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LoneJack Zn 6a, KC

Here in my zone 6a in Central Missouri I plant Broccoli that are about 50 DTM and I start seeds inside about March 1 and plant out about April 1-10 and then a second planting started mid March and planted out April 20 or so. In fall I start indoors in early to mid July and plant out August 10-20 or so.

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Sprinkling is best so that it doesn't sit out in the sunlight and heat, both of which degrade the spores.

I suggest that you do one manageable area at a time, water for the prescribed fifteen minutes.

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kames5

Thank you both for your advice. It is very much appreciated.

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

You sure it isn't lack of pollination instead? Same appearance just at a smaller size than with BER. Pollination issues are far more common this time of year rather than BER because the heat can make the pollen tacky.

That's not to say BER isn't possible. It is. And if that's what it is then it is just a matter of fixing the usual cause - inconsistent soil moisture.

Dave

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Jim's(6 East end of Long Island)

Thanks Dan. I feel like I spent as much time looking over an 8' vine for signs of SVB as Ponce de Leon did looking for the fountain of youth. I did find two infected plants though and promptly tore them to pieces and seal them in a bag for garbage pickup tomorrow.

The crown seems to be in excellent shape/condition. The funky stuff on the leaf posted just above doesn't seem like a good thing to me. If it continues to go down hill I will remove it within the next two days.

Appreciate everyone's input! Great community here.

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Jim's(6 East end of Long Island)

Well, whatever was hurting the plant seems to have gone away. I now have the opposite issue, the butternut is taking over the place. I have 5 or 6 growing squash on both plants and it has made getting into that area a tall task, albeit a much better problem than the OP had.

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LoneJack Zn 6a, KC

I think your timing is pretty good. Another suggestion would be to start sowing radishes now and sow more weekly until about 30 days before your expected first frost. Daikon (Asian) radishes should also be planted now with a 40-45 DTM. Can't think of too much else that would be ready by early October for you.

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defrost49

Here in colder NH, my late planting of bush beans has to make it through a light frost that always seems to occur around Sept 18. We are in a low area compared to our neighbors in this hilly town. The garden is in wide open whereas at my other house we were surrounded by trees and on a small hill. My mother-in-law only 2 miles away would get a frost before I would. My suggestion is to have some frost protection ready. I like Agribon garden fabric. I have a portable low tunnel that should be covered in Agribon to keep the plants warm. Once that night or couple of nights have passed, we usually get a couple more weeks of warm weather.

You can plant hard neck garlic before the ground freezes. Mine produces garlic scapes by the end of June and bulbs are harvested a few weeks later. I planted late bush beans and broccoli seedlings in the same space after adding soil amendments.

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farmerdill

Lack of patience. They do start out purple and ripen to red, but it does take a long time as they are not intended for ripe peppers.

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LoneJack Zn 6a, KC

I agree with farmerdilla, they start purple and eventually turn red. When purple they are not sweet at all and taste much like a green pepper. OK for cooking but not much for eating fresh.

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tigrikt (Central NJ)(6B)

Well, next summer only two plants - Cavili and Golden Glory. I am overvelmed with this year success

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Peter (6b SE NY)

Success!

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

<Does the heat suppress female flowers?>

Yes, just as any of the plant stressors do.

Dave

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

You mean heat selectively suppresses female flowers? Interesting. I had never heard that. Probably sensible in the sense that female flowers are more pricey for the plant to produce and so, under stress, those are sacrificed. When I look hard, I can find just a few, that I am taking some pains to hand-pollinate. I guess that also means that the plant is investing it's limited vigor and energy into a smaller number of fruit. For those few female flowers that are produced, you still need male pollen, so you can churn out loads of male flowers.

Plants are pretty smart, really.

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Assuming there are no pest issues then the most common cause of peppers dropping leaves is root rot from over-watering or heavy rains. The prefer to dry out a bit between waterings and don't tolerate constantly wet roots.

Dave

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tommyr_gw

Also, are you feeding them?

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Peter (6b SE NY)

I also had good luck with the Sparx romaine. It formed really nice heads and held until late July.

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Grow Your Heirlooms

I need to try this. Thanks. I have had good luck with slo-bolt from baker creek. Also, Rogue D'Hiver is support to be a cold weather variety but it's still growing for me in 85-90 weather. Go figure.

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Could you clarify? Your title says stem split but your post talks about upper portion of the fruit itself has split. Different situations with different results.

A stem split usually poses no problems and will scab over and heal itself. It is usually caused by inconsistent soil moisture levels that cause it to swell and shrink, swell and split.

But if the fruit itself is split and damaged there really isn't much you can do - leave it for the bugs and bacteria to invade or harvest it and if ripe, cut out the damaged area and eat it. But you can't really store a damaged fruit without molds and bacteria developing and further spreading. If it isn't ripe then you might as well just compost it.

Dave

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jocoyn

I should have corrected; it is the fruit itself. ......... it is close to ripe with the stem starting to get woody but not fully ripe. We pulled it and are going to try to cook after removing the damaged part and see how it is.

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rredbbeard(SE CT USA/zone 6b)

I stumbled upon this thread, and in case anyone still follows it, I'm resurrecting it. Here's what I just posted regarding my efforts with squash in containers. In my case, it's a 30 gallon trash can, about 3/4 full. Imho, 1-- thirty gallon container for 5 plants is far better than 6 fivers.

http://www.houzz.com/discussions/3286405#15531435

Rick in CT

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tcstoehr(8b Canby, OR)

People often try to grow large, vining squashes in restricted root zone areas. I have done it myself by cultivating, watering, and fertilizing a 3x3 patch of soil and letting the vines spread out over the surrounding weedy hardpan. It doesn't work. Wilting is one problem. In the end I got nice looking squashes with miserable quality. I can't imagine pots being much better. The roots need just as much space as the vines do. If they don't get it, your squash plants simply can't produce fully ripened, high quality fruits. Maybe zucchinis, but not winter squashes.

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itsmce (zone 7a, Kansas)

I tried to post a picture, but it appears I don't have the know-how to accomplish that task.

A few answers: I think it's a clear substance...shiny. It's just in areas of the patch now. Yes, the vines are blooming and setting fruit. At least a couple melin have the sticky stuff on them. From the 2 plants, I have identified 18 different melons. I have lost a couple that split open, a couple that have wrinkled up and withered after they'd started to grow. I do believe it is a case of aphids. I was in the patch checking and picking a melon this morning and when I came out, I realized that I had many very small crawly things on my arms. I'd say infestation, it is!

I tackled the situation with horticultural oil spray, doing the best I could to hit the underside of the leaves with the spray. Do you suppose that will be enough to knock back the population?

Can aphids destroy the vine? I already lost my cantaloupe this year before I was able to harvest any because of bacterial wilt. I'm hoping that the watermelon will make it.

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drmbear

Do you have trees in the area? I've had sticky stuff falling from trees, also honeydew from aphids eating the trees. It ends up on everything else as well, though.

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brendanjacoby

I just eat them raw. I'll grab a bundle of them, roll them up, and just take bites outta them. This is what I did with a huge squash plant. I think the taste is pretty decent, the hairs don't bother me at all - although I was kinda hesitant the first time I was about to eat them - but before I consumed them I did a lot of reading and a lot articles/blogs mentioned boiling them in water. Personally I enjoy raw foods so I just ended up eating them all raw. But if I was to preserve them over winter, which is what I wanna do with some pumpkin leaves, I would let the sun dry them out, and then in a few months I would soak them, and perhaps even boil them in water so they regain there natural texture back. Of course I haven't tried this yet, but people dry out kale leaves and other greens to preserve them so the idea is the same.

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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

Well, with kale, I flash freeze them on a cookie sheet, then put them in bags and that works well. I suppose it might work on pumpkin leaves. You might want to check in the Harvest forum though. Nancy

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