23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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Beeone(4 N. Wyo.)

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.

    Bookmark   February 1, 2015 at 2:32AM
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

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.

    Bookmark   February 2, 2015 at 1:04AM
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laceyvail(6A, WV)

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.

    Bookmark   January 30, 2015 at 9:22AM
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NewTXGardener (8a Dallas)

Thank you so much!

I had no idea they were different. Now I know, and I like Broccolini much better, already planted these, will plant Broccolini next, their seeds are not easy to find!

    Bookmark   February 1, 2015 at 10:54PM
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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

Looks like sunscald to me. Not a disease.

Rodney

    Bookmark   February 1, 2015 at 5:38PM
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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

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

    Bookmark   February 1, 2015 at 5:44PM
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    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 10:27PM
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Jonagold

What variety of beans are you plating?

    Bookmark   February 1, 2015 at 12:53PM
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smokey28777

Im in zone 7 , western north Carolina.

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 8:45PM
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Beeone(4 N. Wyo.)

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/

    Bookmark   February 1, 2015 at 2:45AM
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terry_neoh(5b)

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.

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 11:38PM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

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

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 10:25PM
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terry_neoh(5b)

I notice one thing that seems to be a common thread among all your problems. Organic.

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 8:24PM
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strobiculate

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?

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 9:47PM
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Edzell

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 :))

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 1:35PM
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

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.

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 2:09PM
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hokiehorticulture(z7 RIC/VA)

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)

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 7:37AM
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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

Since this thread is almost 6.5 years old I think it's a little late to submit a tissue sample.

Rodney

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 9:44AM
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donnaz5(Z5 NY)

I save my seed..so I pretty much have my varieties whittled down to what grows well and tastes good here...so I just jab a broken stick into the ground at the start and stop of every row..when it comes up I know what it is. I also have a garden journal to remind me where I planted what so I can rotate my crops, I just make a simple map with the varietal name listed..then notes on how each thing did..amount of harvest, etc..

    Bookmark   January 29, 2015 at 7:44PM
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hokiehorticulture(z7 RIC/VA)

I am in the same camp as Peter1142, I use paint stirrers from the big box stores as they will let you have 5 or so per trip. I stock up through the winter! Sharpee lasts a full season for me and they weather very nicely as you can see in the picture.

    Bookmark   January 31, 2015 at 7:21AM
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donnaz5(Z5 NY)

EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW !!! LOL
Bet you don't get many dinner guests when they find that out!!!!

    Bookmark   January 29, 2015 at 7:39PM
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JoppaRich(7b)

donna, you do realize that most organic vegetables are grown in animal poop, right? That's what manure is.

    Bookmark   January 30, 2015 at 12:39PM
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lilydude

Cut a notch along the edge of the raised bed where the roots are getting in. Drop a piece of corrugated polycarbonate or metal roofing in, so it is separating the outside soil from the raised bed. You don't need to backfill. Roots will not be able to grow horizontally into the bed. But if the roots are growing below the level of the notch, they will go under the corrugated panel.

Or you can cut a notch every year without installing a panel. That will keep the roots from getting established in the raised bed. The roots that are cut will eventually rot. If you have a tree that develops stems from the roots, this won't work.

    Bookmark   January 29, 2015 at 11:01PM
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beesneeds(zone 6)

Sorry I haven't checked back into this thread sooner Erica.

About cardboard. I don't know how it performs under beds. I've used heavy duty cardboard, like the stuff appliances or heavy shipping comes in, as walkway between beds, and that's lasted in a single layer for several months- I just laid it last summer. I've laid lighter weight, like moving box weight, under some pavers to help kill off the spot where those pavers are going to finally go in, and that's lasted about a year so far. That's been sitting so long because I haven't finished making all the pavers yet.
All this cardboard has been corrugated cardboard, so it in itself is a couple "layers" thick between facing, backing, and the corrugated layer. But I still used the stuff double layer, by essentially just having the box flattened in half. I have no idea how well thin cardboard would work, like the cardboard cases of soda cans come in is thin cardboard.

For under my raised beds, I've used several layers of newspaper. I think around 7-10 sheets thick, and overlapping by a couple inches along with going up the sides of the box by a couple inches. I also pre-killed the area with plastic for several months prior to putting in the raised beds.
For my lasagne beds, those just got built right on the grass. I used a double layer of brown paper shopping bags, again overlapping by a couple inches and extending beyond the bed by a few inches. I've done the double layers in two ways- one bed was created by cutting the bags open and laying them out, the other was created by just leaving the bags whole in their folded state and laying them out. Leaving them whole uses up a more bags, but the layering is thicker so I think it works more effectively as a weed barrier.

With both these methods, I've started from scratch, and built up the bed on top. If I were to try it with an already existing bed, I would remove the contents of the raised bed, and start from scratch refilling the bed with fresh material on top of my paper barrier for best results. I don't know if that would be possible for you or not.

    Bookmark   January 30, 2015 at 11:07AM
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Jonagold

plant cucumber seed direct in the garden after your frost date is past, Don't mess with transplants. There really is no benefit. just hassles, Allow plenty of space,

    Bookmark   January 22, 2015 at 10:51PM
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donnaz5(Z5 NY)

Almost all of your vining plants only suffer and end up getting stunted if you plant them indoors...read your seed packet or look them up..if the packet says you can direct sow outdoors, then you are better off doing that.
I know that as a new gardener you are anxious to get something green going! We all have made the same mistake..don't give up!
If you want to grow something in your aero garden...try broccoli seed and eat them as sprouts..they are delicious, and much more nutritious than full grown broccoli! You can grow just about any sprout in the aero garden and it will be fine, too.

    Bookmark   January 29, 2015 at 7:49PM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Most seeds benefit from warmer soil temperatures. So even onions family, parsley, cilantro .. will germinate much faster when soil temps are 60F++. They have developed charts ( Temps vs. days to germinate), showing the effect of soil/air temperatures. There is an optimum temperature range for different seeds.
See chart below.

For example, ONIONS seeds eventually will germinate in soil temps higher than 35F but best range is 50 - 75F. So 65F room temperature is just fine.

Seysonn
.

    Bookmark   January 26, 2015 at 2:05PM
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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

The table above is excellent because it gives a MINIMUM temp. I don't use heating pads at all and, in my experience, 65-70F house temps (for toms and eggplants) just makes germination take a little longer. Add a few days, maybe a week, onto what it would take with heating pads. I do cover my seedling trays with a plastic sheet, in order to ensure that the soil remains moist without having to apply water.

I have to assume that the minimum temperature is largely because below that, the seed will just rot before it sprouts.

I once tried a heating pad, and had a lot of trouble getting the temperature reasonably uniform across the tray (which was about 50% larger than the pad).

Is germination rate really the only reason to use heating pads? In my mind, germination time is a negotiable.

    Bookmark   January 28, 2015 at 8:39PM
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