23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I had three zucchini plants that did the same thing this spring. In the case of my plants, I'm pretty sure what happened was that we had some brief cold temperatures early in the season that nipped the growing tip, so the plant grew two stems below the damage. I would think this could happen because of mechanical damage, too, although mine was definitely weather related.
None of my double-stemmed plants produced well. I don't remember if I even got a single squash from any of them. If you still have time, I'd replant. If not, I guess you could try cutting one stem back - after my experience it seems like it would be no great loss.
But maybe others have had better luck?
This is the recommendations for Santa Clara County, which is mostly Zone 9
Here is a link that might be useful: Planting Calendar
Those Burpless Cucumbers are a fabulous variety. My favorite cucumbers that I grow each year and have for years. But no pollination problems here as I always grow other varieties of cukes also.
If you want to try an all female variety of cucumbers that does not require any pollination to set, try Camilla. Developed for greenhouse growing but grow perfectly fine outside in the garden.
The problem is that people didn't know they were getting an all-female variety. I'm looking in the official Burpee catalog they sent out this year and the description for Sweet Burpless Hybrid reads:
"55 days. Sweet, mild-tasting, 10" fruits on high-yeilding, disease-resistant plants."
Burpee is not describing this variety correctly. There are now 4 people in the past few days having issues with this variety of cucumber.
Rodney
I started broccoli seeds on June 17th and July 3rd. I raise full season varieties because...they are better quality for the most part.
In my zone...similar to yours, it will push things to get a crop and some side heads if sown now unless you have an early variety.
I chose the Italian early variety. It is supposed to be 48 days so we will see. Lately, our falls have been warmer than usual so I am rolling the dice and seeing what I get. Even if it is too late, I am learning things. Maybe this way I can nail down a time for my area. It is confusing and I didn't have a spot then. I am learning that some things are just trial and error.
Since the potato plants completely died and shriveled up and disappeared I decided to dig in today and see if anything had survived. OMG I'm so excited. I got about 7 lbs, which isn't that much I guess, but considering it didn't seem to go so well, I'm happy.
Ive never had this problem but found this online. It does advise crop rotation. Or you could grow them in pots next year and use a fungicide spray to prevent it from coming back. Not sure if you want to still consume the veg though. I dont think i would.
Crop rotation is necessary, not just for disease control, but for nutrient usage, too. Plant your chard in a different place and use a lot of compost in the fall, which will add nutrients. You could also plant a chard here and a chard there, between other plants.
I cut down a lot of trees so I could have a sunny garden, but I live in the woods with hundreds of acres of forest. Sometimes you have to weigh the pros and cons and go from there.
Oh gosh...I am with you. I just came in from garden maintenance and am rather discouraged myself. Had to pull all the cucumber plants - too much disease. Got a fair harvest but not great.
Killed a dozen horn worms on the tomato plants which are struggling with blight. Planted those from seed - first time - lots of effort there.
Squash plants just won't thrive this year - and then there's the SVB and squash bugs to contend with.
All the pepper plants (about 15) are toast because of the constant rain - a small amount of fruit but that's all. Small and sad looking plants.
So...a bit disheartening but what can you do when the weather is so rainy and cloudy? Last few days have been sunny but the humidity is brutal. 91% at 8 am this morning.
And to add insult to injury, I inhaled a bug whilst in the garden this morning...down the hatch it went...yuck. (That was to make you laugh).
Try not to let it get you down, it can always be worse (like Upstate South Carolina worse).
ONE: The dark spots are called BER(Blossom End Rot). It is not a disease but a physiological disorder, relating to the uptake of calcium. Practically there is nothing anybody can do about it other than trying to be consistent in watering and maintaining soil moisture. The good news, perhaps, is that this situation will not last all season long and should end soon.
TWO: when to pick ? Easiest answer is that when they have nice ripened color. But Then there is danger of birds eating them, cracking etc. So I have read (here on GW) that you can pick tomatoes any time after color break and let them sit on the counter top in your kitchen(NO direct sun) until they become nice n red/yellow ,...
Check the growing calendar for your Hardiness Zone here
http://veggieharvest.com/calendars/zone-8.html
Hope it helps
This post was edited by JCTsai on Sat, Jul 20, 13 at 12:17
Thanks, folks!
I don't use fertilizer, but lately I have found that if you water bush beans every day they well will produce over many, many weeks.