23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Something has eaten some of my chard leaves so bad that there was just the veins left.

I think it might be slugs. No sign of caterpillars.

Cara
That's what I thought too, until i went out at night to look. I couldn't see anything in the daytime. If it is slugs, you will see them at night.

So we are talking about cantaloupe rather than winter melons, muskmelons, bitter melons, watermelons, etc.

BIg difference. :)

This particular variety is a grey and has no netting.

From it's detailed description:

Neither early, high-yielding nor easy to tell when ripe, this true cantaloupe without netting ripens very slowly, a golden-tan color spreading from the blossom and becoming pebbly. Cut from the vine when the blossom end is soft and the color has changed halfway up the fruit, then allow to sit until you can no longer resist its alluring perfume. Some will split and must be consumed immediately and some will be duds. Overripe, though sometimes still good.

Dave

I can tell mine are ripe because about two days before they are ready to pick the raccoons come in at night and raid them.

I think we should try to tolerate others opinions in any discussion. And also , try not to be offended by the opinions of the others that do not concur with that of ours.

IMO, Certain experimental issues about gardening are not backed by solid scientific and near scientific experiments. Sometimes by coincidences certain things happen and then people see a co relation there. I give you an example. We know about BER in tomatoes. We also know that it is somehow related to Calcium. Now, Joe, The Gardener experiences BER and starts adding calcium to the soil. Shortly after, BER stops from happening. Joe TG, concludes that, IN ORDER TO PREVENT ber YOU SHOULD ADD TOMS PILLS TO THE SOIL. But what actually, JTG experienced was likely just coincidental:, The weather changed, the soil temperature changed, the plants grew out of bigger, soil pH changed(due to the amount of water in the soil, fertilizers..) and BER stopped.

It can be the same thing with most of co planting situation.
So , if one is a pro or con when it comes to BEANS and ONIONS, he should do as he wants. As far as I am concerned, it shouldn,t make any difference. Unless, the beans shade the onions too much.

Yes, since the thread title clearly states "beans" I should have just left the observation about peas out.

The reason I put it in - five years ago - is because I believe the taboo is about perennial onion in association with Pisum. Somehow it got applied wholesale to all legumes, even though legume is a massively varied clan. Seysonn is correct, one cannot make assumtions, for example, it is possible that garlic does not exudate as freely as A.cepa v. proliferum or aggregatum. It is possible that soil temperature is a big factor, and that might be why Pisum planted in cool soil can be affected and other legumes planted in warm soil are not ( I can imagine that exudates break down much more quickly in warm soil). And/or Pisum is uniquely vulnerable.

I'm sure nobody bothered to look at my links but the research has been done which indicates a suppressing effect can happen.

Fun experiment, isn't it? Thanks for posting your updates, the progress has been fun to follow.

I too urge folks to experiment if you have the space. It can be quite fun to see the results, and you might get something you like out of the effort.

Photo shows what I got from saving and replanting seed of a hybrid beefsteak tomato. This is the third year now. IMO neither have spectacular flavor but better than the hybrid from whence they came.

I am ready to drop the beefsteak but the paste is a very useful variety to me. The pastes ripen to a wonderful "heirloom pink" color which the photo does not properly represent. Productive plants, fairly long shelf life once picked. Very meaty, very little juice, gel, or seeds (so few seeds that it takes considerable effort to save enough for next year). Makes a great bulk filler for my processing, I add my favorite heirlooms for flavor.

Regarding height of your plants, I have an indeterminate tomato plant in a container that is now over ten feet high and still growing. Never pruned the suckers. Still producing blooms and fruit at height. Was supposed to be variety "SubArctic Plenty" but doesn't quite fit the bill. 1" to 2" fruit size in clusters is similar, though. Very healthy, productive, cold and heat tolerant plant, producing many mediocre but acceptable tasting fruits by my palate. It was the first plant to produce for me up here so it has earned my respect. Being that I have no idea what the variety is, I have saved seed so I can grow it again.

Possible it is SubArctic Plenty that crossed with something else in the garden of the person from whom I received the seed. Either way it has been fun to grow and amazes family and friends who see it. Have lots of requests for plants for next year...

Have a good day,
-Tom

So I cut some of the vines that had red tomatoes and both me and my parents tried one of the tomatoes. I have to say that I'm not really a tomato person but to me they tasted good. The parents said it tasted better then store bought and it was less juicer then store bought.

I am not a fan of the supper earlies. Of those that I have tried, only Silver Knight, Quickie and Sunglo have been accetable. Yukon Chief was developed for Alaska. It is super early but I have not tried it. I have tried some Canadian varieties ( Polar Vee). Grew ok, but not very tasty. Orchid Baby is also quite early but gets mixed reviews. Have not tried it. Most of the OP's have a relative long season. Golden Bantam is the most popular OP at about 80 days. Country Gentleman and Stowell's Evergreen run about 90 days.
If you really want an early OP, Yukon Chief and Orchid Baby are probably your best bet.
Silver Knight

Thanks to all for the great replies. I think next year I'll try one of the two early OP varieties I mentioned. I will also research the traditional hybrids, based on plantatus's and farmerdill's responses.

Just to clarify, I have a long growing season. I intend to keep growing golden bantam. I just want to have some corn ready before the golden bantam comes ripe, so I am looking for something that is quick and/or cold hardy as a seedling.

--McKenzie

This is an interesting thread. I topped my Emerald plants a few weeks ago and they put out a good number of side shoots (though 1 plant has not made any). I noticed that the shoots that came out very low on the plant were being shaded by the large old leaves that were left on the plants after topping. So I cut the old leaves off this week in the hopes of letting those low shoots get more light. I did it with great fear and trembling as I too thought I might be hurting the plants. Glad to hear that you all have had such good results with this technique.

Have any of you ever topped the plants very early in the season to get maximum shoots early on? I just wonder if that would result in a larger crop overall.

I'm glad someone revived this thread.

After reading this on Aug 13, I thought I would give it a try, I trimmed them that day. I didn't top.

I'm picking 2 gallons a day of CS from a fifty foot row, It seems to work!

Who say's you can't teach an old dog new tricks!

The thing is that even if you were able to turn the things around and perfectec you pumpkin vine, I don't this they will produce any pumpkins this year.
You are in Zone 6 and the gardening season is down the hill. Probably you will get a frost in 6 to 8 weeks. Even if your pumpkins sat fruits a week ago, they will have no chance to get anywhere. From the picture, I can tell that you started your plants, way too late to begin with.

But on the other hand , it is good to know what has happened and what can be done better the next season.

Nancy hit it. That small planter is no good. They need depth for the roots and space to run.

The advice from seysonn is good. Definitely not classic proceedure, but it will probably maximize your yields. I would prepare some manure tea and apply that every three or four days. Just get some good composted cow manure, add water, steep until good and brown, then water with this tea. This was a technique used by the famous organic gardener, Alan Chadwick, at the University of California in Santa Cruz. See the link below for more information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

I too agree to leave them alone. If I'm reading the conversion chart correctly, the temps are between 64 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. A bit on the chilly side for a chilli! Also 5 hours of sunlight is considerably less than what they need. If they are fed and watered, you will still get some fruits, but nothing close to what the plants are capable of. it is also likely they will not be as hot as they could be either. Fish and seaweed emulsion will also work well as a supplement to the nutrients in the soil.

Yes, some amount of shade can help, as can a heavy layer of mulch to help shade and insulate the ground. We're still in the high 80s-low 90s here, though nights are cooling off, and my transplants are in the new high tunnel under a layer of floating row cover. That seems to take the edge off the heat enough that they don't experience wilting from heat stress every day. Don't know if your outside is hotter than inside the tunnel, though. :)

I agree with sunnibel. I plant brassicas as early as late August and I'm about 20 miles inland from San Diego... where our summer doesn't really start until about then. high 90's and 100's are not out of the norm for the 1st couple months of growth, but shade and mulch(especially) help regulate the soil temps. Once they get a 2-3 week hold in the soil, shade is removed completely.

Snow peas I start in late October/Nov.

Kevin

Several people have suggested hoeing and weeding by hand as the best options. In a 4' x 8' bed this shouldn't be difficult. I sense a resistence on your part, but I would strongly suggest you consider gardening organically as your best all-round option. It is not difficult at all, and you will have much healthier crops to harvest. A good introduction can be found at the website below. Click on "Techniques" on the navigation bar. Thanks for considering this option.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

I'll second the Japanese short handled weeding tools. Try searching for kana hoe. I have a Korean one and a Japanese one. I wouldn't be without them.

The Cape Cod weeder looks to be similar. I don't have the tool yet but some have reported it is a better product.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cape Cod weeder

All to do is to it one. If it taste woody and dry then you picked them too late but if it is normal then it is NORMAL. !
To me they look fine. The tops are still green and alive.

The long skinny varieties that are sold in supermarkets are some of the least flavorful that you can grow. My favorite is the Red Cored Chantenay, but there are many others that are quite good. Let us know how they taste. The photograph that you have posted looks like very healthy and delicious carrots. Contrary to what some people believe, young carrots are not always tastier than more mature ones. The flavor and sugars develop with maturity. See the following website for much more on carrot culture. Click on "Techniques", then on "Carrots".

Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick