23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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NHBabs(4b-5aNH)

I have read that cold temperatures can sometimes cause premature heading, but I don't put mine out early enough so that this has been an issue for me, so no personal experience.

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 7:02AM
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Peter (6b SE NY)

I covered my broccoli to be safe. Forecast says 30, which means probably even colder in my garden. They are small and adjusting slowly and I don't want them bolting on me. I didn't cover the cabbage, if for no other reason I ran out of row cover.

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 6:20PM
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zzackey(8b GA)

I wouldn't go there if you don't know if they are heirlooms. I wasted lots of time nurturing and watering volunteer tomatoes. They all turned out to be bitter cherry tomatoes.

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 4:57PM
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traveler000mkl
I think I id'ed the big plant. It does not have the smell. It seems like a seedling of the golden rain tree outside our fence. So that's that.

I will have to look at the location of the little seedlings and see I can leave them to grow there!
    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 6:16PM
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noinwi

IME, mulch does help, but not until the plants have some size. We've always had multiple indoor/outdoor cats and they are attracted to newly worked beds. I have used 2"x4" welded wire fencing to cover new plants. Cat paws can get caught(even briefly)in chicken wire and cause havoc(struggling and flopping around)and that can damage plants nearby. The fencing can be easily bent and the edges can be clipped to leave "prongs" that sink into the ground. The fencing sections can also be easily removed when the plants are larger and more resistant to nearby digging by not only cats but skunks, racoons, opossums, etc. Shredded wood mulch works well since it kind of locks together and is more difficult(but not impossible) for animals to pull back and dig through. HTH

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 12:47PM
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

I used the wire this year and I can't weed very well. I'm going to cut the wire in sections for next year so I can remove them and weed. Last year I had a lot of bamboo trimmings and criss crossed them throughout the beds with several sticking out of the ground. That seemed to work pretty well. Nancy

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 5:51PM
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Well, don't just throw it away. Brussel sprouts leaves are good eating. Taste somewhat like brussel sprouts, but a little less cabbagy. Think collards. The spring sprouts that grow out of the top are like rapini. So chuck 'em if all you want are the sprouts on the stem. But these plants have more to offer than that.

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 5:15PM Thanked by Hayley Stangland
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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

I gave up on BS after a couple of tries. My first batch I planted in July/Aug and were growing fine, but when I asked a guy at the local organic grocery (who I knew was a gardener) He mentioned that aphids swarm to them!

Apparently I hadn't been wearing my glasses while out in the garden, cause once I put them on I saw they were LOADED with aphids! Way past the spray them off with a stream of water! Nancy

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 5:39PM Thanked by Hayley Stangland
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Looks like either Early Blight or maybe Alternaria but the treatment is the same for both fungal diseases - remove all affected foliage and dispose of away from the garden and spray regularly with Daconil or the fungicide of your choice.

Dave

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 12:23PM
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traveler000mkl

This weekend I will finally have time to do this! I am going with 36" smart pot and mound, and planning to do 5-6 seedlings and thin down to 2. I got seeds for Costata romanesco and Zucchnio Rampicante and will have a high trellis for Rampicante. So excited! Hope it works out well!

What type of soil do they like the best? I was thinking of doing mel's mix, but anything more favorable for summer squashes, wise gardeners?

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 6:47AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Containers - which you are using - are normally filled with a soil-less mix blend. Mel's Mix is for beds not containers and requires frequent nutrient additions. You'll find many recommendations on the Container Gardening forum - 5-1-1 is common as is Miracle Grow Potting Mix and similar products. Do NOT use Miracle Grow garden Soil as it is not for containers.

Dave

1 Like    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 8:25AM
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farmerdill

I don't think so. Southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii ) is a soil borne disease. If you used a starting mix, it should cause no problems until you transpalnted into infected soil. At any rate, you van checked the plants at soil level. This fungus essentailly girds the plant at soil level. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/notes/oldnotes/vg9.htm Your problem is more likely Phytophthora root rot which is common in seedlings. Over watering is the major contributing factor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytophthora

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 5:15AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

You do have some adventitious roots (normal) growing in one photo (middle photo, plant on the left) that I can see. But they aren't the problem. I agree it is root rot. Your plants are far too large for those small cells and need to be transplanted to larger containers ASAP. They are root bound in those cells and that leads to over-watering, root rot, and root death.

When you transplant them set them deeply in the new containers, burying all that exposed stem. Then only water as needed and for pepper plants that means letting them dry out and the leaves begin to droop slightly between waterings.

Dave

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 8:09AM
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NHBabs(4b-5aNH)

Directions a bit more specific than Dave's:

Go to Your Houzz in upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page is a blank labeled Climate Zone for Garden Forums along with a link to find your zone.

Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.

    Bookmark     April 21, 2015 at 8:02PM
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xxnonamexx(7a)

Thansk i did it.

    Bookmark     April 23, 2015 at 6:39AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

The purpling of the underside of the leaves is normal in young plants and it disappears on its own as the plant begins to mature. It is a normal physiological response of the plant and it isn't a phos deficiency as it would be in mature plants. You'll find many discussions about it over on the Growing Tomatoes forum here.

The yellowing stems and leaves is usually a symptom of over-watering and with a homemade mix it can be difficult to avoid doing that. Leaves droop for many reasons and they will droop just as often from over-watering and the resulting root rot as they do from under-watering.

However, please do note how weak the nutrient levels in fish emulsion is compared to most other liquid fertilizers. Using it at least at 1/2 strength or even at full dilution rates isn't the issue it is with other fertilizers. Many will use it at 1/4 strength every time they water, not just once as you have done.

Lastly, I strongly agree with the need for increased air circulation.

Dave

1 Like    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 11:37AM
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jean001a(Portland OR 7b)

what's in your homemade potting mix?

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 6:12PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Just leave it as is and let it recover on its own. Trying to pull and discard leaves now will do more damage than the spray did. The new growth should be fine and when you harvest then you can discard the damaged portions of the leaves.

Do you normally spray insecticides for aphids? Finger squishing and using the hose to just wash them off is just as effective and far less damaging to the plants and the beneficial insects killed by the insecticides.

For future reference there are no insecticides than can be safely applied in the afternoon or the heat of the day without damage. Very early AM is best or late evening after sunset.

Dave

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 11:28AM Thanked by Katie Gooding
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Katie Gooding(8b, Coastal SC)

It's only my second season vegetable gardening, and I'm in a whole different location than the first time I tried it. I may have been a little over zealous with the insecticide., my first time I didn't have a single pest all season. I don't plan on making the insecticide mistake again. On the plus side this morning I didn't see any more aphids...at this point I'm really regretting my over reaction to the aphids, I just had never dealt with them before, and I hope my 3 lady bugs don't leave (or die) as a result of my treatment :(

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 5:56PM
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Peter (6b SE NY)

Looks like red leaf lettuce to me... and not at all crispy.

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 3:56PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Yeah looks just like Red Sails or maybe, Vulcan Red leaf.

Dave

1 Like    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 4:19PM
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Peter (6b SE NY)

My Jet Star looked like that after missing them during watering and letting the pot completely dry out.

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 12:41PM
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avantown(5)

Thanks! They should go into the ground around Mother's Day. I got them into larger pots now. I hope they recover. I actually started them later than I usually do. I have transplanted them around that size and larger with no problem, though this batch this year does seem larger than in years past.

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 12:55PM
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jctsai8b(8B)

Purple skin purple-fleshed sweet potatoes, tastes may be not so good as white skin purple-fleshed ones( Okinawan sweet potatoes), will grow again 2015.

http://www.stokesfoods.com/nutrition.htm

Anthocyanin content in the Stokes Purple is 4 times greater than in Okinawan sweet potatoes.(Truong, 2009).(Truong, 2009)

    Bookmark     November 5, 2014 at 8:06PM
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gardenerz(8a)

Squash - This was my first year to grow Yokohama, Chirimen, Kikuza, Anna Swartz, Pink Jumbo Banana, Hessel's Sugarloaf, Australian Butter, Jarrahdale, Honeyboat Delicata, Thelma Sander's Sweet Potato, Shishigatani, & Rugosa Butternut. Squash is my fave veg so I had fun. These were all fun but none were better than, for my taste, my Fave - Kabocha. They all were good in their own way and in diff't dishes, pies, soups, etc. I also grew Homestead Sweetmeat, Blue Kuri, Waltham Butternut [For my wife], Golden Pippin and Winter Luxury. Going to try all new ones this year, BUT will remember the better ones from 2014 for the future.

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 12:42PM
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Just a note on peppers as perennials. I do it routinely, but they suffer each winter with freezing temps that I (barely) protect them from. By spring, they may look pretty ragged, but I trim the damaged foliage mercilessly, fertilize (ideally with a strong hit of N), and they seem to recover. This was a particularly rough winter, but I have lot of new green foliage on my 3-yr old TAM Jalapenos, and even a few flowers. They are built like small trees, about three feet tall after trimming, with woody trunks.

That doesn't explain why your peppers are fading, but it may be for some other reason than age. Perhaps a less tolerant variety that came out of your hybrids. Now, you don't say where you are, but I know that you can get hard freezes in the Costa Rican mountains. You do say, however, that you have year-round growing season, so maybe cold weather stresses aren't to blame.

    Bookmark     April 17, 2015 at 8:34PM
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tnb8943
Specifically, I'm near the Orosi Valley just a few kilometers south of Paraiso. Elevation is a little above 4,000 feet. The mountains south of me on the road to Panama have higher elevations and occasionally get snow and freezing temps. Not often, but maybe every few years or so. Here, on rare occasions, it might get down to the upper 40's. Since my original plants are still healthy and producing the long, smooth, serranos and cayennes, I'm going to try several versions of pruning the second generation plants. From radically cutting to only a stalk, to less radical pruning and leaving some limbs. I've got about 10 plants to work with so maybe I'll get results. BTW, I just planted seeds from my second generation and about 90% of them are coming up like weeds. I look forward to putting them in the ground in a month or so.
    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 11:22AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Yeah if they are using the actual Mel's Mix recipe to fill their beds it might not hurt since that mix is mostly peat and so acidic. But many do not use Mel's Mix and knowing the pH before adding lime is mandatory. They have no idea what issues they are creating by just blissfully adding lime "every time you fertilize". After all, if it is written in a book it must be true, right? ;-)

Dave

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 9:48AM
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planterjeff(7b Grant Park Atlanta)

That must be a very old copy or not an official sfg book. According to the newer publication (2013) , when doing square foot gardening there is to be no added fertilizer at all. All you do is add a scoop of compost with every new planting. The ph is usually a around 6.5-7 because the peat is offset by the compost. peat only makes up 33% so 1/3 not most. I heard Mel had another process in the past, but he has long moved away from the old soil mixture and all that. Now it is "Mel's mix" which is peat, vermiculite, and compost. But, anywho, point is sfg involves no ferts at all. Just compost, so that is very old/bad info based on today's process and mix.

    Bookmark     April 22, 2015 at 10:10AM
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