23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
There is a lot of misleading information. Several research articles have definitively shown that larger pieces of potato planted resulted in larger potatoes harvested. For this reason, I often plant a 1 pound potato with all eyes but 2 removed. This gives the maximum yield of large tubers. On the other hand, I have also planted potatoes 1/2 inch diameter and harvested a very good crop of potatoes given that they were planted in high fertility soil and other agricultural needs were met.
What you say fusion_power is what it says on the website potato.nl (http://www.potato.nl/files/planting.pdf)
"If a reasonably high plant density is achieved, seed size
has, under normal growing conditions, no great influ-
ence on yield......
A large seed potato has the advantage of having extra
reserves in times of drought, cold, heat or in an inferior seed-bed. Under such growing conditions, the large seed potato will be more reliable than the small one. "
Hi Liza, We've had the same result here in NZ. We used seed recovered from a gem squash we bought last year. I'm not complaining as the whole squash (including skin and seeds) are extremely tasty even when they are large. Did you get any further with your posting? Must be some sort of genetic throwback I suppose. We never had this back in Zimbabwe when growing them.
Interesting, thanks for both the clarifications. In my area it is really just the most readily available. I probably wouldn't notice or mind if the product was variable so long as it gets the job done. I have found that any potting mix is a challenge to use in a plug flat because there can be larger pieces. I am just too cheap to buy a separate "seed starting mix" that doesn't have those larger pieces. I do run my mix through a screen before I use it for the small celled plug trays though.
Cool temperatures aren't the only things that can signal dormancy. Plants are triggered into dormancy for a number of reasons, and drouth is a major one. In the tropics, day length and seasonal temperature changes are pretty minor, so I would expect other environmental factors will the be dominant trigger. Drouth, or at least a change in moisture levels, would fit the bill as a stressor.
In this case, that didn't happen. The soil was quite moist throughout its life. Of course, it is hardly clear that ginger does, actually, go dormant in the tropical winter. Is that, in fact, the case?
Although evidently not very popular, the Ginger Forum may be thr right place, after all, to post this question. There has been some discussion there about dormancy, over the years.
Broccolini and Broccoli raab are two different plants, though they are harvested the same way. Cut a good portion of the stem, down to where it is getting tough. You'll be eating the entire thing, stem, leaves, and flowers. The plant will grow sideshoots that you'll harvest the same way.
BTW, I MUCH prefer Gailan to either. Also grow and harvest same way.
Yep. Total sunscald. Rest of the pepper should be fine if not left on the plant TOO long. Quite common with large fruited varieties such as bells and usually caused by excessively bright days(summer). SHade cloth or old bed sheets work wonders during the midday hours.
Kevin
Triple post. Please see links of previous posts.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0121150828049.html?1
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0117073027909.html?2
More description would help, but it sounds like blight, which is a bacterial disease. Take a look at the pictures on the following site:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/vegetables/edible-bean-disease-and-disorder-identification/
A venturi needs velocity to work as an ingestion system. To effciently turn whatever pressure you have into velocity, you need a gradual decrease in the cross-sectional area of your supply line; otherwise, the energy of your flow will be turned into heat rather than kinetic energy (velocity.) Try to use a large supply line with several steps of decreasing diameter to get the most suction from your venturi.
Neem Oil is a commonly used garden product, organically approved for use on food crops. Type 'Neem' in the forum search here for all sorts of discussions about it.
It is primarily a pesticide but to work it has to come into direct contact with the pest. It also has some limited fungicide benefits as it coats the leaves. It has some negative side effects if over-used so follow the label directions for time and frequency of application as well as dilution.
Whether it will work on your beans or not all depends on what the cause of the problem is. If it is one of the common bean pests you have to spray the pests directly, if one of the common fungus diseases of beans it may slow the disease but won't cure it and to prevent it you have to apply it from the very beginning, if it is Bacterial Spot of Speck Neem won't help.
So your first step is to research the actual cause - lots of pics of 'common bean pest' and 'common bean diseases' available on the web for comparison.
Dave
speaking of common thread...
if you have been in CA lately...or for that matter, much of the American west...
and someone posted a question re: poor performance of garden plants across the board...
what's the first thing that comes to mind? I mean, after you have covered a colander in tin foil and adjusted it to wear as a hat.
Does the word "parched" possibly come into play? or more extreme lack of water?
Hi, Vanisle_BC
My experience is same as planatus'. Rutabaga and turnip are different species. Turnip "bulbs" - roots - grow in the ground. They are smaller and milder in flavour than rutabagas, which grow their fat root above ground. I think the confusion (at least in my household) arises from 2 facts: 1) Where I grew up rutabaga were more common and were usually loosely called turnip; and 2) My wife is mistaken in her recollection (i.e. wrong :))
We eat quite a lot of Rutabaga, although I don't grow them. They are so cheap and need the ground for so long that they are not worth it on a small plot. They are called Swedes here, short for Swedish Turnips. They look very different from Turnips being much larger and orange fleshed. The skin is purpley, yellowy, brown. They also taste quite different. Less peppery than Turnips imo. I love Swede but am not fussed by Turnip.
If I were you, I would look into how you could go about submitting a tissue sample to your closest land grant universities plant pathology diagnosis lab. I also suspect viral, or herbicide injury, but most likely viral (nothing close to most common viruses seen though)
Does anyone know about how long the window is to pick corn and how long it stays fresh?
Corn needs to field dry to 13-14% moisture unless you dry it more with drying equipment. If dry and protected from vermin, it will keep a good while. If you can't use or sell it the first year, you have over planted.
Why do you think a food bank would want ears of field corn? Even sweet corn has a very short window.
Have you considered offering local food banks access to the 5 acres for a community garden? That way the land gets used but they incur the costs, do all the work, and reap the benefits.
Dave