23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

yes they were tasty, just that some who drug out on paranoia around here nicknamed me and pnbrown, no there is not one single evidentary case of anyone getting sick let alone worse, from using a leach field as an annual vege patch, flowers if they want, going to grow pumpkins, melons and tomatos on it as well this coming season.

the doomsayers are probably stirring their cauldron cursing people like me

anyhow all enjoy while we can, got some more kipflers ready to harvest.

len

surprised myself last night i went and ferreted up some more kipflers some red pontiacs as well, appears what i thought were sebagos were pontiacs they had no colour about then and looked to smooth, but anyway no matter any new fresh home grown 'tater will do.

anyhow got a couple or so large kipflers from 2 plants, not bad at all, went down like a treat.

len

Flea beetles LOVE eggplant leaves. However, the damage is only critical at the seedling stage. Thus , after the plant is established, FB cannot harm it seriously.

I have had FB problem for years and have discovered a simple solution: NYLON TULLE. Just throw some fine mesh NT on the plant. FB will not be able to it(make holes in) it. Chemicals/sprays MAY discourage FB butcannot destroy them. THEY HAVE WING, THEY CAN FLY. !!

My mother-in-law used to go down the row with her flour sifter, worked on cole crops and eggplant too Back in that day, there were no pesticides much to work with, they had to find their own ways to deal with pests.

Hi uscjusto

First off, your plant look just fine.

I think, it can use more water(in triple digit), as I said before. I inch of water per week is probably not enough. Then one inch over how big an area ?

I would fertilize it with PHOSPHOROUS rich (poor in Nitrogen) fertilizer, the so-called BLOOM BOOSTER type. After all, you want fruits not foliage.
P.S.
Another reason, your cuke is not producing is because of heat. Do you see some blossom drops? But, if your soil has good drainage, water them more often.

The long, Asian type cukes do seem to produce fewer but larger fruits. That said, the advice here should help you get more production than one at a time.

black plastic mulch, with 1 inch drill holes for the transplants?

I don't think you should rely on mulch to control Bermuda grass. It may prevent above-ground greenery, but runners will penetrate it readily and travel long horizontal distances undetected.

You should maybe solarize a huge area, then put your bed in the middle of the solarized area. That way there is a buffer zone between your bed and the bermuda grass. Then aggressively pull up runners in the buffer area.

You could also put in a concrete slab, then put your raised bed on top of the slab (need some holes in the side near the bottom for drainage). That would be a permanent solution, as long as you don't let runners find their way into the drainage holes. The slab should extend several feet on either side of the raised bed to make this less likely.

Just brainstorming. I haven't had problems with bermuda grass where I live. I don't think it can survive the summer without irrigation.

--McKenzie

IF you need TWO plants it means that one is male and the other female.

No it doesn't. Just like tomato plants the tomatillo plants don't have separate sexes.

Having two increases the number of blooms at the same time and the amount of available pollen 200 fold so adequate pollination for a good crop is also increased. Same holds true for squash plants for example.

if you want to hand pollinate 1 plant or raise your own bees fine. Otherwise multiple plants is the way to go.

Dave

The first time I tried, I just got one plant and very few fruit. Then I gave up for a couple of years!
Last year a volunteer came up, and I had bunches!
This year I planted 2 and am getting so so amounts, but I still have almost 3 months of time before it starts getting cold!
Good luck! Nancy

Your plant is not very healthy and vigorous, that is why.
It can be told from the size of stems and leaves. IMO, either the plants are getting ready to retire OR something is lacking.

What could b lacking?

Loam and manure sound good, providing the manure is well composted, but adding sand to clay is a recipe for cement. I'm getting good results with the Square Foot Garden mix - peat, vermiculite and compost in equal parts, but when I first started my raised bed, I just added Amend to the native soil. Mine was clay, too, but probably not as hard as Phoenix clay. One positive aspect of clay is that it contains lots of minerals.

Here is a link that might be useful: My raised bed garden

I don't know about adding sand to Arizona clay, but I've been adding sand to New Jersey, Oregon and Washington clay for about 40 years now, and it works great. You have to add quite a bit of sand for it to really work. Like 1/4 to 1/3 by volume. Google "soil triangle".

The real problem here is that ddot15 is giving us almost no information. Have you had a soil test done? Do your neighbors grow good vegetables? Is your soil still extremely dense, even with the sand? Do weeds grow in your soil mix?

You are growing in an 18 inch deep container, right? Soil with some sand mixed in is not going to drain well in that situation. That's why they make potting mix. It's very coarse, so it drains even in a container. Your plant roots need oxygen. They can't get it if they are in saturated soil. You can break up your soil mix by adding perlite or pumice or gravel to it. Sand isn't good enough; its particle size is too small for container mix.

Are the sides of your containers shaded from the sun? If the soil gets too hot, the roots will die.

Soaked my Dwarf Gray Sugar and Oregon Sugar for a little over 24 hours, was going to plant yesterday but had to do grocery shopping, laundry and Dwarf weren't germinating yet in the baggie. Going to plant today in full sun empty spot between my pole beans and tomatoes, see how they do. I want August to be warm enough for tomatoes and peppers (and my 2nd crop of summer squash just seeded a couple of days ago) but not too hot for the peas!

I should have done spring peas but we went on vacation in April and I thought it was going to get too warm too soon for peas (and it did get hot the end of May but bet they would have loved all the rain in June!). My dad started snow peas at Memorial Day, they got washed out and he replanted though I told him they were a cool-weather crop, now he's got pods! Big "I told you so" from Dad! But his peas are in shade - I'll have to see how some do next year in spot where my Little Leaf and de Bourbonne cukes are now - shaded until 10AM .

My peas are up.

Those shown in the picture, above, have been picked at the right time.

Straight 8 !??!! No way Jose'...
They look like Boston pickling. (Two on the left)

I live in Southern California too and I am having the same problem. But I am growing them in containers and letting the vine on a trellis. I just figure the roots are unhappy.

LOL!

County Fair - first time this year. I liked them very much but I did get Target Leaf Spot on all my plants because of the incessant rain.

I have since pulled all my plants (County Fair, Ashley, Muncher) but did manage to get quite a few pickles put up and a few batches of Tzadziki and fresh salads made.

Ed,
Yes, I used PVC. The structure looks like it's about to fall apart, but it has been looking like that for two years now. However we are moving this fall and I'll have to tear it down. I thought about melons but they take up so much space for the yield.

pnbrown,
Thanks. I was reading up on sweet potatoes and read that long days favor vegetative growth. That doesn't portend well for my crop since we get frost while the days are still longer than nights. If that turns out to be true, it could be a major impediment to growing them here.

You've got a at least a couple different varieties, looks like.

FWIW, if you try them again another season, the Korean Purple (purple skin, white flesh - yellowish when cooked) has proved to be by far the best producer here, along with of course the reliable ole Beureguard. However I much prefer a white-fleshed SP over the latter.