23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Nila, thanks for the tip on using almost open flowers. I was able to get two male flowers from a close neighbor today -- his plants were a fraction of the size of mine, and no female flowers, but lots of male flowers. Go figure.
Are your squash inedible because of cross pollination this year, or were the seeds of cross pollinated fruit?
We have never seen rain like this, the area 20 miles from us received 5.5 inches in one day. We only got around 3 that day. I don't have a rain gague at my house. My figures are just by what the local news says and the old guy down the road. Regardless my raised beds are soaked.
Well I think the worry is over. The tomato beds went from water soaked to a semi dry crust today. The beans are still not looking great yet but the beds are drying. I was really sweating it for a few days. Last night draining must have helped. At this rate we will be watering again by the weekend.
I believe that it is possible to over-hill potatoes. There's a point where hilling is beneficial and a point where it does nothing. If you do a search here for 'potato bins' you'll see evidence of this. The thought was that you could plant your potatoes in the bin and continually build up both the bin and the soil around the potatoes in the hopes of increasing your yield. But when people took their bins apart they were sorely disappointed by the results.
Rodney
If the seedlings are already in full sun then I don't see a reason why you would need to shade them. Just keep them well watered and they should be fine. Why do you feel like they need to be shaded? And what type of veggies are they?
Rodney
I can't afford a shade structure made specifically for gardening right now,
Not sure there is such a thing. Why do you feel you need to be shading the garden? Late start with what specific seedlings? Do you understand that most gardeners do not shade their gardens?
Is it that you are trying to grow early spring crops now? If so then shade isn't going to help as the soil temps are what count and they are already into summer crop only temps.
Please clarify exactly what the goal is, ok?
Dave
Don't know how close UCONN ext is to you/her, and what they charge, but state CAES lab has offices in Windsor and the main plant pathology lab in New Haven. They won't charge anything to look at it, you can call to see if pathologist is in the office today and can even get answer on the spot if you bring it in while he/she is there
Here is a link that might be useful: CAES Plant Disease page
As I mentioned above there is a simple test you can do for fusarium - slice open part of the stem lengthwise. Brown pith, sometimes gooey, inside the stem is a definitive diagnosis. Pics of the appearance of the infected pith are available online for comparison if needed.
Dave
I'm sorry. It almost sounds like the landscaper put some herbicide in the soil. As for a soil test, I got one from my local farmers market. There is a booth with advice from master gardener and they issue soil tests from the local university. You just mail in the dirt in the cardboard sample box, and you pay $10. Maybe you have something like that around you?
I can't think why having it landscaped should affect the garden parts. Is it possible to contact the landscaper and ask for input as to what specifically was done?
But it does sound as if a soil test is needed and they are available from your local county ag extension office for $10-15. You don't indicate your location or even your garden zone in your post (box provided for that info) or I would provide you a direct link to them. Not to mention having that info is important in answering any question. Your garden could easily have a build up of salts, low nitrogen, excess phosphorous, etc. and only a professional soil test will tell you that.
It is very possible that the garden problems may only be coincidentally related to the landscaping. There have been increasing reports of herbicide contaminated compost and manures. So if those additives were brought in from the outside that is a real possibility.
Plus since the landscaping was done have you been using a lawn service of any kind? If so them you need details on exactly what things they have been using in the area. Check with neighbors too as herbicide drift from as much as a 1/2 mile away can easily affect garden crops.
Hope this helps.
Dave
i grabbed some Burpee early choice hybrid that supposed to be only 66 days to maturity. Got some sprouting on the paper towel im gonna plant and see what happens. Then just direct sow the rest. i also have about 20 or so 6 gallon pails in the garage i might try and give it a go. all ive got for free so i dont have anything to lose. Next year part of the soybean field in the background is probably gonna sweet corn.
I have to say I've never been able to detect much smell from Woodruff myself. When dried it has a sweetish hay scent.
It gets mixed reviews. Some view it as a garden thug and others as a useful groundcover for shady places. BTW it is not Cleavers or Lady's Bedstraw, both in the same family but looking different in the leaves.
neptune24 - glad you got your questions and concerns answered. :)
It is very interesting and educational hearing of all the different experiences with the same plant variety around the continent - this is why I like the discussions on GW.
I should clarify: I stated previously that they will store "quite well". This is a judgment call. For me, once hardened and cured, these first year bulbs harvested in July or August regularly store into December and often January. I consider that a pretty decent storage length but that is obviously not as long as standard storage onion varieties. I am not surprised that people have varying levels of success. I think the main point is that these onions should be eaten and enjoyed fresh - there are better onions for storing.
For me the topsets harvested in September usually store well into May of the next year. I store the topset clusters whole, not separated, in the open air in a cool (40-45 degrees) dark place. The reason that I store them is so I can use them in cooking during the winter months. Some years I will plant a bunch of them in early spring.
I guess maybe the only thing I may do differently regarding storage is that I leave the tops on. They never fully dry down but the curing does harden them nicely. As any other storage vegetable I check for and chuck the soft or spoiling ones on a consistent basis.
I just like to tinker with doing different things with these onions. My regular onions are always my priority crop for fresh eating and storage. My favorite use of winter onions is as a fresh spring onion - a tradition my father started back in the early 1970s. He absolutely loved them.
I have never tried dehydrating them - I think that is a good idea and will attempt to dry a batch shortly (outside!) after the basil is done. I bet minced, flaked, and powdered would be quite good. I will try to remember to post results here.
pnbrown - I would like to take you up on your offer of topsets and will be contacting you shortly. I would like to see how similar or different your plants are from mine. If you want to trade topsets, I would be happy to do that but mine will not be mature until September.
It works! Thanks Zeedman, for your suggestion to separate clumps of small onions and replanted them at about 3" spacing. I also removed topsets as they formed. I just pulled some very usable sized onions, maybe 1 1/2" diameter.
I did mine in very early spring, but I will try it in fall too.
The flavor is great when they are used chopped and sauteed in many dishes, and as mentioned, they make an excellent broth. For that, I even use woody bits and the tops, and brown them before adding water and simmering for 30 minutes or so. I strain out all the stringy stuff and voila!
Hepatica
Hybrid is just another name for cross pollination but in a controlled and designed fashion to obtain certain characteristics. So the hybrid, if it is not full established, the seeds/plants from it might go after one of its parents. It is so obvious the hybridizer cross some of tha best plants not trashy ones.
I've gotten excellent kale, lettuce, arugula and mustard greens from the compost bin.
But when it comes to squash family, I turn them under. Squash is promiscuous, in that it normally cross pollinates when given a chance, and so you roll the dice as to whether you'll get something good or something inedible. (I've grown the most bitter cantaloupe EVER in the compost).
So the question is, with squash and melons, do you want to give garden space, time, labor and resources to something that might be great, but might not be?
Since they're already flowering, sounds like it's worth the experiment to see if what they produce tastes good. If yes, then great. If not, then rip them out and plant fall greens :)
This post was edited by elisa_Z5 on Tue, Jul 9, 13 at 12:23
I agree with rita.
Agree. Mine were finished 3 weeks ago. In your zone you probably got another week but that's it.
Dave