23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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 got tons of earwigs and ants and gave up on them! Nancy

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.

You planted them right, It's the same way I do it, It will just take awhile as the weather hasn't been that great here in PA this year so far, Next week looks good.

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

A rainfall won't help. You don't want the fertilizer to be washed away, anyway....as Dave suggests. Make your application and see if animals become a problem or not.

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.

I agree with Floral_UK.

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!

I also believe they are cucumber or squash. I have both started for my garden and that is what they look like. :)

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 .

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.

If it hasn't grown in two weeks, it never will. Cut it off or leave it there, it makes no difference. Maturing to full size versus maturing to ripeness are two different things. To ripen... maybe 6 weeks... at least. Buttercup is a C. Maxima hard-shelled winter squash. Best quality comes from leaving it on the vine as long as there is life in the vine, and maybe longer. And then storing the harvested squashes indoors for 2 months. But if you want to eat sooner, you should at least wait until the shell hardens to the point where your thumb nail won't break thru the rind, being too leathery-hard and tough. Some fruits may not ever get to that point and will last the least amount of time in storage, so eat those first. They aren't full ripe but can make pretty good eatin' anyway.

A female blossom has an small undeveloped potential squash at its base. This may swell and look like its going to grow but for some reason does not fully develop, They stop getting larger at some point and when you realize this they can be eaten like a summer squash.

I started some zucchini indoors a few years ago when we lived in Colorado. I also direct seeded some that same year. The ones that lived indoors for a month under lights did not produce significantly earlier than the others did. Maybe a day or so, but close enough I decided it was not worth the effort to start them early.

I tossed them all today especially the fact that I started them in the jiffy pellets. There was no way they were going to do well when transplanted. Just waiting for the warm weather and I'm directly sowing them. Thank you everyone!!

Like many, I collect my leaves, shred them and cold compost them for 2 years. The second year they turn into this amazing, fluffy, half soil, half mulch material that is incredible. When i run out of that, i use what an old timer taught me to do. Collect your grass clippings and lay them on a tarp in your driveway in the afternoon sun. They will dry right up and turn into a wonderful mulch. It breaks down slowly and works very well. About 50% thickness remains in the beds i put it in last year. I lifted it up and was happy to see hundreds of worms happily living bellow the grass mulch in my raised beds. I have been using dried grass clippings for several years now and have been pleased with the results.

My preference is spoiled hay. I have no probs w/ seeds sprouting from it. & it seems to help prevent diseases better than any other type of mulch I've used. I put it on very thickly - 3-4 inches @ least.

I buy a bale & leave it to weather & turn grayish. I have used it fresh too & as long as it's very thick, I've had no weed probs @ all. I make sure it's matted down, not loose & fluffy - it comes off the bale in compressed layers & I use it like that w/o breaking them up.

Here in FL, we have what's called 'coastal hay' @ the feed stores.

I split them, I'll start cukes inside early but plant squash seed outside once it's warm enough. I do it this way because I plant 3 crops of cukes during the season and pickle a lot so want an early start, plus we eat fresh cukes too. The squash grows fast but usually dies hard so I plant a 2nd crop of those to extend the harvest, both started in ground.

I did it both ways last year and the seeds directly sown rapidly outgrew the seedlings started indoors. They need a lot of watering too indoors and are quick to dry out and get damaged, and hardening off is a pain. I will never start cucurbits inside again. I imagine it takes quite a lot of skill for that jump start on the season to actually work out in a positive way to actually give a jump start and not have too much of a transplant setback.