23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

This looks great!! Hope you have a successful season!

I am very jealous lol! Have a good season!

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

Thanks folks :)

gsweater - No rain here, its actually very hot in SoCal. These insects do not seem to harm the plant - look more like fruit flies to me LOL

Have a great day!

Not harmful or beneficial but they are either fruit flies or gnats

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

Courtney that fact that the block of bush beans would create its own shade is a great point. I appreciate your advice.

Do you grow any beans to harvest as dry?

You analysis is correct. But there might be difference in yield between pole and bush beans. THE BEAN WHIZs maybe able to answer that question.

Thanks a bunch for all your help again Dave :) I was scared and imediatley checked the plants the past couple of hours knowing what they did to my family and friends plant. At least 20 of them on 4 plants of my brother and neighbors plants.

- Mr Beno

Looks like a butterfly in the skipper family. I'd guess a duskywing, but not sure of any that have blue spots on the wings.

Do you I have to scrap all that fruit?

Have too? No, but most find that fruit with BER tastes "off". Some argue you can cut out the bad part and eat the rest but the bacteria infection in the area normally doesn't make eating it worthwhile.

Was this caused by lack of water? Or is it something else?

That is all explained in the links I posted for you above. Basically it is caused by a poor distribution of calcium throughout the plant as it develops. The transportation of calcium is totally dependent maintaining consistent soil moisture levels throughout the fruit development stages. In containers, especially small containers, that is very difficult to do. There are other contributing factors too - all discussed in the links provided.

Apply some lime around the plants, and water it in thoroughly. See the link.

Sorry but all the studies show that applying lime AFTER the problem develops does not help because lime is so slow acing. Applying it, if needed, BEFORE planting can help.

Again this is all discussed in great detail over on the correct forum - Growing Tomatoes.

Dave

The paste type tomatoes seem to be more prone to BER too, I believe.

I live in Zone 7 Central VA - what are chances of success with growing artichokes and when should they be started?

No one has mentioned the fertlizer requirements for artichokes during the growing season.
I read that you should provide nitrogen. Anyone know if that's correct?

I want to grow asparagus near my artichokes but heavy nitrogen around asparagus is bad as it encourages foliage and not spears. Dilemmas.

It's melon. Sorry

Probably a male flower. Males appear first.

Good deal Kosch. You may want to hold off on the calmag for now for those in the ground. Most "dirt" contains enough. Only add it if you see your plants needing it.

Looks like a lot of posters are swaying towards herbicide damage. Good luck with nursing it back to health.

Kevin

Regarding your specific question on suckering, the point of removing suckers on indeterminate tomatoes when you have a lot of tomato plants is to increase productivity per unit area, by forcing plants vertically upward. However, it decreases yields on a per-plant basis even for a healthy plant, not to mention stressed plants. I do not sucker any container-grown tomatoes. More suckers = more tomatoes.

Another reason to sucker is encourage air flow and decrease the risk of fungal infections, but again, this is not necessary when you're dealing with just one plant, or if you don't live in a humid climate.

This post was edited by Slimy_Okra on Mon, Jul 8, 13 at 16:16

I do not think that smell of whole garlic ,outside, in the garden , can penetrate into the house through the foundation walls, ... to the point of becoming offensive. People keep garlic in their kitchen(along with onions) all the time. The smell is released when the clove is cut or crushed.

I agree with florauk. It don't think what you have is the type of garlic you get at the store. Especially because you say it disappeared for a few years then came back. It sounds like an allium that reproduces by seed and those dormant seeds are what sprouted and grew. A picture would certainly help.

Rodney

This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Mon, Jul 8, 13 at 16:01

Right now is perfect for starting fast-maturing broccoli and cabbage in Z 6. I've had excellent results with Alcosa savoy, Pixie, Gonzales and a little pointed cabbage, Caraflex, don't see why Earliana wouldn't be fine. I start collards and kale two weeks after the cabbage and broccoli. Forget about the days to maturity, or add 21 days for starters due to shortening photoperiod, then more for inclement weather.

Thanks I will sow this week, I would anticipate that would give me seedlings ready for transplant in late August, right?