23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
http://www.veggiegardener.com/preventing-powdery-mildew-on-cucumbers-squash-melons/
Milk, baking soda and a drop of detergent (wetting agent).
It seems your test is only for P, K, Ca, Mg, pH and OM%. While this does reveal some potential issues it is a very incomplete test. What is revealed here of course is that you are quite low on Potassium and several good recommendations have been given for that. Your Ca and Mg and pH are quite adequate so you don't need to bother with limes.Keep in mind Greensand (if you use it) contains alot of Iron and Magnesium, and you're already more than sufficient in Magnesium. You may also be high in Iron for all we know. That's something you need to be aware of, many soil amendments contain additional minerals that may not be good. For example, I won't use chicken manure in my garden because I already have high levels of Phosphorous and Potassium.
I particularly like to know the Sulfur level because it is an important mineral for plant health and I also use a couple of soil additives that contain Sulfur (gypsum and ammonium sulfate), And since my Sulfur levels are reasonably low, I don't worry that I might be getting too high in Sulfur, for the time being anyway.
If it were me I'd want to know the Sulfur content, and all those others honestly. What if your Zinc levels are way low? They're probably not but I'd be curious.
The exchange capacities look pretty good from my limited understanding, excepting K which we understand.
I use a test that covers all the minerals listed in your report, and a few more. It costs $35 which I don't consider cheap but I value the information. It includes amendment recommendations per 1000 square feet. I did this for the last two years but will likely only do it every 2nd or 3rd year going forward.
What type of worm system do you have? Mine is just a tote with holes drilled in, so I rarely get liquid seeping out. Not an expert, but I believe that its very concentrated, so you do have to be careful with spraying or using unless well diluted. It's usually a sign of too wet conditions within (which I also will admit that mine is right now, as I just fed them a bunch of frostbit watermelon discovered hiding in the back of the freezer that didn't get turned into sorbet).
I use my castings by top dressing them on my container plants (mostly herbs). I have also been using them mixed into the mix when potting up my seedlings. Haven't had enough left to make tea from yet, but will probably do that later in summer and sub that for a fish/sea feeding on the herbs, but I'm not personally a fan of spraying.
It is quite a fun list. I'm on my second year with a pair of blueberries myself, but just had to replace one that didn't make it overwinter. What types of containers are you using for all the veg? And, I'll work on getting over jealousy of the tropicals like avocado!
I always remove the mulch and scratch it in the top layer of soil as others have mentioned, and I think it says on the bag. I also do container gardening, but still strive to create an active food web in my mix (and yes, worms do find their way into containers). The reason I remove the mulch is my garden is small so I don't mind and my mulch layer is about 4-6 inches deep so it would take some time for the ferts and things to get down to the roots which is where I want it. I also want to avoid them washing away, because like I mentioned I am container gardening. Secondly, the organic granular fert I use has a bunch of beneficial microbes that I am looking to get into the mix immediately and I really don't want it in my mulch. These microbes break down the fert so it can be accessible to the plants and by doing this it also speeds up composting, basically meaning my mulch will break much faster than I really wanted. I use it for moisture retention. The soil amendment part is just a bi-product for me too. I am sure if I had a large plot on regular dirt I would just broadcast too.
I am in zone 7a and I tried overwintering my globe artichokes in the winter of 2013 by cutting them down, covering with leaves and then covering with a pot. The winter was harsh and it did not work. This year I planted both globe and imperial and am going to try again. My artichokes are in a raised bed and before the first freeze, I am going to cut them to 8 inches high, mound dirt around then with 1 inch on top; cover with shredded leaves and then cover with a plastic sheet. But I am not very concerned if that does not work because I believe I will get artichokes this year as an annual.
I was able to dig around and find one of the potatoes without damaging it. It had a few sprouts out of it about an inch long each. I guess I just buried them too deep. I'll let them go and wait for the sprouts to show through then cover them with straw.
If that is going to be a serious problem for you then there are many other liquid organic alternatives to fish emulsion available. But it needs to be kept at root level for it to be of any benefit to the plants. Assuming you have mulch on the plants you can pull it back water and then replace the mulch.
Dave
Nitsua is correct....it's also called a May Beetle. I've got them in fairly large populations here, but rarely see much damage. The adults prefer to munch on tree foliage while the grubs feed on the roots of certain grains and turf. I, personally, don't worry about them too much.
We'll need to see pictures of the iridescent green beetles for an ID. It seems too early for the dreaded JBs.
I'm not sure that you really need to do anything. Firstly are you certain they have mites and are not just old tatty leaves? Note that they are touching the ground where they get splashes, fungal spores and physical attrition. Personally, I would do nothing and just remove the lower leaves.
Thank you both!! Thanks for the advice, balloonflower. I was planning to plant brussel sprouts in that spot, which wouldn't need to go in until mid-late summer, so I may just let this grow a little while out of curiosity, then pull up if they turn up to be nothing special or it's time to plant the brussel sprouts. I'm just glad to know that it isn't likely a weed, as I don't want them spreading!
Your daily production of urea is about 5 grams, or 1/5 of an ounce. I am guessing 2-3 days worth per collard plant is all you need in good garden soil. It is particularly efficient for collards, which prefer continuous fertilization through the growing season. It is less efficient for tomatoes, which need a big shot early in the season. As a bonus, it repels deer, something synthetic urea will not do.
Hi nitrogen in organic growing is often not only unnecessary but actually detrimental to plants and soil. The idea is not simply to add a huge amount of N to directly feed the plants but instead to feed the soil which in turn feeds the plants. Specifically, creating a living microbial environment, elevating the "cation exchange capacity" allows the soil to convert fertilizer into plant food .
Hi Ron - the issues I find with drip systems if buried is that the emitters are easily plugged/blocked by the soil and so quit working. So I'd sure work out a way to keep them on top of the soil as they are intended to be for best results. Otherwise you can end up with minimal if any water to the plants or only a couple getting all the water.
Just lay the line aside when hilling the soil and then put it back in place.
As for height when covering - minimal. Once the leaves develop low on the stem there will be no stolens formed at that level to make potatoes so you don't want to wait until the plants are more than 6-8" tall. So bury the bare stem as soon as it rises above the soil. The easiest approach I have found over the years is just to bury the whole plant except for the top few leaves as it grows. It pops right back up through the hilled soil and keep on growing.
Dave
Sure. Many gardeners let their cucumbers just sprawl on the ground. They don't require trellising. Trellising is just a way to save space with them and keep them from ground contact so be sure to pick well as those laying on the ground can rot quickly or be attacked by munching pests.
Dave
I live in an apartment complex so its when the sun is in the western part of the sky I will have to try either moving the plants to by the front door so they get better sunlight or try and find another way to get them to produce. It is humid here right now so I'm affraid that might be having an issue with them growing properly.
I don't think humidity is really an issue. But some peppers, habs, I think, actually like a lot of humidity. Veracruz and Chihauhua are the Mexican capitals of jalapeno, and they are humid and arid, respectively.
Hi, it looks to me like it has either been cross polinated with another member of the melon family, or it wasn't sure if it wanted to grow a fruit or a leaf. As in roses, which aren't related. Sometimes they will grow thorns on the flower petals as the petals and thorns are also considered leaves. Just a thought.
Watermelons will only cross with citron and other watermelons. And if the OP's melon is the result of cross pollination, which seems unlikely, then the crossing would had to have happened to the parent plant that produced the seeds this plant was grown from.
Rodney