23,822 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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sopea(7)

Edie,

I'd think Alabama would be gardening heaven. Long growing season and plenty of rain I imagine.

Suggest that your son make acquaintance with local gardeners and ask them for advice. I've cultivated a few friendships and learned a great deal just by stopping by someone's garden while out in the car. Common hobbies, as you know, are a great conversation starter. And it doesn't hurt when you offer to help with the weeding while chatting.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 6:52PM
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

There might be a "gardening in Alabama, or southeast" board here, check it out! Nancy

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 8:34PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Number one, not everything in the garden should have the same fertilizing schedule.

Number two: Not everything in the garden should be fed with the same fertilizer.

For example, onions, cabbages, .. leafy greens need mostly Nitrogen, some potassium very little or no Phosphorous .

Another point: Since you have a short and cooler growing season, fertilizing tomatoes at this stage is not going to do any good, as far as ripening the fruits are concerned and instead it will cause more foliage growth, more news flowers, etc.

    Bookmark     August 16, 2013 at 3:12PM
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CarloMartin947

You may want to consider an organic approach to fertilization. It has several advantages, which I will summarize: 1.) It is milder than chemical applications and so is far less likely to burn your plants or cause other damage. 2.) You can incorporate sufficient fertilizers into the soil before you plant, and not need to fertilize again until you harvest and replant again. This is because the majority of organic materials are relatively slow release. 3.) The addition of organic materials into your soil builds up humus, which super important for over all plant health.It keeps the soil loose and aeriated, retains moisture, promotes worm growth, provides trace minerals, and provides many other benefits.

A good source of information about organic gardening techniques can be found at http://www.alan-chadwick.org

Click on the tab labled techniques to learn about the culture of various plants, build highly effecient raised beds, make compost, and much more.

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 4:47PM
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t.panda

Powdery mildew. I had to pull several plants bc of this. Pull it! And don't compost it! I'm sorry your plant got sick. :(

    Bookmark     August 11, 2013 at 10:28PM
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Derek1598

You can try a fungicide but if it's fine far away enough you can encourage root growth further down the vine. Mine just made it because of roots near the first female pumpkin

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 12:50PM
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sunnibel7 Md 7(7)

Those sure look like gnaw marks from rodent teeth, not peck marks from a beak. The delicata look a little more like a bit of slug or insect damage.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 9:27AM
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ltilton

Here's it's the squirrels who do that.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 10:41AM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

@ zone 5B, Mil, WI , Mid August, no fruit set ...?

Probably your first frost is in October ?
A simple math is not in your favor. It take tomatoes just about 60 days from flower to ripe fruit. I would imagine it would take watermelons much longer than that. 100 days maybe ?

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 4:08AM
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Drewski_(5b (Milw, WI))

Rather than math not being in my favor, I'd say time isn't...I have a very complicated relationship w/ time.. :-/

As for the watermelons, it'd simply take forever and a half. My problem has always been startin those things indoors rather than direct sowing, which I prefer & love to do.

Anyway, I cut down all but three watermelon vines, 2 Crimson Sweet & 1 Sugar Baby. I knocked down the rows that once stood around em (bases of the vines), cultivated the soil in that entire area/patch, added a bag of Miracle-Gro Garden Soil, chopped & mixed that in, laid the watermelon & pumpkin vines freely on that spot, then watered like crazy.
This morning, I'll go pop open the 2nd bag on top of the base of the pumpkin mound.

Think I could/should mix a little Jobe's Vegetable & Tomato Organic Fert. into there? It's 2-5-3 (I kno I need Phosphorus like a mofo at this point too), but it's granular too.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 8:19AM
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wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana

I agree that those squash are short of optimum maturity.

I sometimes have a problem with some [not all] of my nearly mature butternuts. A worm or something can enter the squash where it rests on the ground. I put a narrow piece of board underneath them....crossways.

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 12:59PM
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planatus(6)

I think they are pretty close, and would just cure them in a warm place for a couple of weeks. In the garden, I look for a change of hue in the rind. As the faint green stripes fade, a brown color becomes more pronounced. I've only brought in a few so far, most need more time.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 8:12AM
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Slimy_Okra(2b)

According to OP's last post, they started off striped white and purple. Those ones usually turn yellow when ripe, and ripe ones are not edible.

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 11:11PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Though I have never grown that particular eggplant, but judging from the picture, I DO NOT think that its is over ripen. Eggplants, unlike zuchinnies and cucumbers have a longer window of harvesting. even if the seeds get slightly hardened, they are still edible.

let us hear from the OP, how it turns out.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 4:19AM
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kevn357(6a)

First, that's not enough growing medium for cucumbers. You need a bigger pot and fill it to the top... One hot summer day will kill that plant instantly. Mildew or not, you never had a chance to get a cucumber or two.

Veggies are not herbs. They need room to grow roots and when grown in containers, they need to keep those roots from drying out in a hot Kentucky sun.... The mildew was most likely just the final blow to an unhealthy plant.

Cucumbers are not hard to grow in most climates.

To Ceth_k, cucumbers are very easy to grow in the Ohio/Kentucky area. Grafting is not even a reasonable idea here. They grow like weeds.They just need to be sprayed with copper or daconil on occasion.

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 11:50PM
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ceth_k(11)

What i meant is that cucumber is not the most hardy plant in curcubit family. Even in this single first page of forum there are two posts regarding diseases and problems of growing cucumber. A lot of people face sudden death of their cucumbers but not many face sudden death of their pumpkins.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 3:31AM
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florauk(8/9)

Over here there are many. many named cultivars selected for various traits including stringlessness. If you can only obtain something generically called 'Scarlet Runners' you may not be getting the best flavour. A bit like growing a crop of 'cabbage' or 'tomatoes' without a varietal name.

coffeehaus - thanks for the mention of Kaeferbohnen. I'd never come across that use of runners before. I have a stack of dried beans - I always keep far too many for seed. Maybe I'll try that recipe.

Millions of runner beans end up on composts heaps here, especially at the end of the season, because they are considered unusuable once past the green bean stage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Runner bean thread

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 2:31AM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

I too have planted some under the trees just as flowering beans.
They do not produce enough(like pole/bush beans) I will harvest the few there is as shelly. I started mine in April(I think), they are still going with 3 to 4 hours of sun.
Another bean that I plant for just flowering purpose, is Hyacinth Pole Beans (aka lab lab) They are hot weather lovers and no are flowering. They are pretty, (flowers , beans, foliage) smell real nice and bloom till frost.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 3:02AM
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florauk(8/9)

Is there a particular reason you feel that SFG is necessary? Do the locals have trouble gardening in the native soil? Maybe you are making life harder than it needs to be. Whereabouts in Sri Lanka are you located?

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 1:51PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Relating to what Flora said :

In my previous location, in GA, I created a garden area of about 600 sf, where it had been all covered with wild berries, thorns, small pine trees, all kinds of perennial weeds.
The native soil was red clay that would harden like a rock. It took me gradually two seasons. It was a good physical activity for me, better than joining a gym. . In the process, I did not buy even a single bag of soil, manure or anything. I hauled topsoil , leaf mold, pine straw, from the wooded areas. I found a farm and got free horse manure. I buried fall leaves, brought a lot of earthworms from other places, throw them in the garden, added lime....
I created a beautiful blend with that red clay soil and all the organic matter. I grew just about any garden plants I wanted there successfully. Again, without buying a bag of any supplement.
I have heard a lot of negative thing about clay soil. But once you amend it, it is the best thing.

But the I understand that not everybody has time and instead they have finances to do it quickly with less efforts. That is fine too.

    Bookmark     August 20, 2013 at 2:18AM
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2ajsmama

Usually best to do it the same day but some recipes can be prepped to a certain point and then refrigerated until time to can. If you have something specific in mind, best place to ask is the Harvest forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Harvest

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 9:54PM
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NilaJones(7b)

The Harvest forum ROCKS!

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 11:50PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

The spines are mostly part of the genetics of certain variety.
They serve, maybe, a purpose for the plant, like fending off certain animals or using them to breath, cool off, or absorb moisture from air(like cacti)
So the spine has nothing to do with ripeness. On the other hand, cukes should be picke UNripe and tender. So when you slice them the seed are soft and have not hardened. Also , over growned cukes may have brow/yellow streaks, tough and ticker skin.

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 12:43AM
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catherinet(5 IN)

Thanks jean and seysonn.

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 7:45PM
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gingertopjoan(n.e. TN rural)

TA DA!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY TO REPORT THAT I THINK I HAVE SOLVED MY JAPANESE BEATLE PROBLEM ON THE ROSE BUSHES, WITHOUT KILLING ANY BEE'S!!!!!!!!
AFTER MUCH RESEARCH OF READING ALL YOUR MOST KNOWLEDGEBLE AND INSIGHTFUL POSTS, THIS IS WHAT I DID;
4 tbsps. MURPHY OIL SOAP
2 tbsp. OIL OF WINTERGREEN
TO 1 GALLON OF WATER IN A GALLON SPRAYER.
I SPRAYED THE HECK OUT OF THE ROSE BUSHES YESTERDAY AROUND 4 PM.[ 7 KNOCK OUT ROSES VARIETY WHICH ARE JUST PLANTED LAST FALL; THEY ARE ABOUT 3' IN SIZE] SOAKED THEM.
NO SIGN...........NO SIGN OF ANY BEATLES ON ANY OF THEM TODAY. I CHECKED THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON AND NARRY A SINGLE BEATLE!!!!
I COULD NOT BE MORE PLEASED!!!
THE BUTTERFLIES AND HUMMINGBIRDS CAME AND FED AND LINGERED AS USUAL AND DIDN'T SEEM ALARMED OR DISTURBED AT ALL!!!
I FOUND SOME OIL OF NEEM TODAY AT LOWE'S AND MAY TRY THAT TOO, IF NEEDED. I STILL HAVE THE ROSES OUT FRONT TO DO, STILL, AND I AM OUT OF THE OIL OF WINTERGREEN NOW. IT IS HARD TO FIND; I ENDED UP ORDERING IT FROM WALGREEN'S TODAY.
FYI, MY LOCAL FARM CO-OP STORE IS USELESS, THEY CARRY TONS OF STUFF, BUT , IT IS ALL TOXIC TO BEE'S. I HAD TO RETURN 3 BOTTLES OF THE ^^%$ STUFF!!! AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING SAFE FOR BEE'S. THIS IS WHY OUR BEE POPULATION IS NEAR DEAD!!!! DAMN FARMERS ARE POISONING OUR ENVIRON.!!!! I JUST DON'T GET IT!!! THEY SHOULD!!! WOULDN'T YOU THINK!
I TRUELY HOPE THIS HELPS ANYONE ELSE WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM!
THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE POSTED! YOU ARE GREAT FOLKS!
BLESSINGS!

    Bookmark     August 18, 2013 at 9:39PM
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NilaJones(7b)

Another thing:

Look for the reason why bugs are attacking your plant. They often go for plants that are already weakened by something else.

Does your plants need more food? More sun? More shade? More water? Less water? To be grown at a different time of year?

Aphids, for example, will *cover* brassicas in spring and fall where I live, but leave them alone in winter and full-on summer. So I primarily grow them in winter :).

For pretty much everything except brassicas, in my garden, aphids mean the plant either wants more sun or more water. Powdery mildew, same thing. I give the plants what they need and the aphids go away. If there is a huge population, I squish and soap-spray the ones I can reach, to speed things up :).

I also save seed from the plants that do well in my garden. I now have strains of brassicas that are aphid-resistant, basil that is slug-resistant, and pole beans that are leafminer-resistant, for example.

Gardening takes years of practice and experimentation and study. There is a lot of stuff on the web now telling people that it will be effortless -- which inspires many new people to try growing some food, but also tends to lead to absurdly high expectations for beginners.

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 4:14PM
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gardener_sandy

Once their skin gets bumpy and tough, the seeds inside get too tough to enjoy. At the size of the one on the left in the picture, I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, grate them and add some grated potatoes and onions, an egg, a little flour, salt and pepper and make patties to fry. Excellent eating but a little more work than the young and tender ones.

Sandy

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 7:17AM
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jimster(z7a MA)

"Have you ever seen (or bought) crooked necks in the stores?"
No. I have never seen yellow crooknecks in the store, only smooth ones with straight necks. At a farmer's market occasionally but not in stores. Yellow crookneck is one of my favorite vegetables and is superior tasting to other yellow squash, IMO.

I like to pick crooknecks soon after they start getting bumpy. Then slice and saute in butter.

Jim

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 1:54PM
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erinf83(6)

Here my one any only butternut squash..,should I leave it or pick it?

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 9:41AM
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ltilton

You could try putting pieces of cardboard under your fruits and getting them out of the mud, where creepy-crawlies dwell.

    Bookmark     August 19, 2013 at 10:25AM
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