23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Since the potato plants completely died and shriveled up and disappeared I decided to dig in today and see if anything had survived. OMG I'm so excited. I got about 7 lbs, which isn't that much I guess, but considering it didn't seem to go so well, I'm happy.
Ive never had this problem but found this online. It does advise crop rotation. Or you could grow them in pots next year and use a fungicide spray to prevent it from coming back. Not sure if you want to still consume the veg though. I dont think i would.
Crop rotation is necessary, not just for disease control, but for nutrient usage, too. Plant your chard in a different place and use a lot of compost in the fall, which will add nutrients. You could also plant a chard here and a chard there, between other plants.
I cut down a lot of trees so I could have a sunny garden, but I live in the woods with hundreds of acres of forest. Sometimes you have to weigh the pros and cons and go from there.
Oh gosh...I am with you. I just came in from garden maintenance and am rather discouraged myself. Had to pull all the cucumber plants - too much disease. Got a fair harvest but not great.
Killed a dozen horn worms on the tomato plants which are struggling with blight. Planted those from seed - first time - lots of effort there.
Squash plants just won't thrive this year - and then there's the SVB and squash bugs to contend with.
All the pepper plants (about 15) are toast because of the constant rain - a small amount of fruit but that's all. Small and sad looking plants.
So...a bit disheartening but what can you do when the weather is so rainy and cloudy? Last few days have been sunny but the humidity is brutal. 91% at 8 am this morning.
And to add insult to injury, I inhaled a bug whilst in the garden this morning...down the hatch it went...yuck. (That was to make you laugh).
Try not to let it get you down, it can always be worse (like Upstate South Carolina worse).
ONE: The dark spots are called BER(Blossom End Rot). It is not a disease but a physiological disorder, relating to the uptake of calcium. Practically there is nothing anybody can do about it other than trying to be consistent in watering and maintaining soil moisture. The good news, perhaps, is that this situation will not last all season long and should end soon.
TWO: when to pick ? Easiest answer is that when they have nice ripened color. But Then there is danger of birds eating them, cracking etc. So I have read (here on GW) that you can pick tomatoes any time after color break and let them sit on the counter top in your kitchen(NO direct sun) until they become nice n red/yellow ,...
Check the growing calendar for your Hardiness Zone here
http://veggieharvest.com/calendars/zone-8.html
Hope it helps
This post was edited by JCTsai on Sat, Jul 20, 13 at 12:17
I live in PNW, and summers are pretty much the only time of year it doesn't rain. I don't mess around with beer bait or going after them at night. They are major here and will take out your whole garden. I use sluggo and as long as I stay on top of it, it is the only thing that works for me.
Cats can be effective. My cat will even capture moles from my neighbors' gardens & bring them home. Unfortunately, I've seen her "playing" with her imported mole & then losing it in my yard.
She will sit patiently next to the mole hills waiting for any sign of action & then start digging as soon as she does. She gets quite a few. Other than the kitty, I don't take much action, even though they do quite a bit of damage to my yard/garden. When they start doing major damage, my husband will go out at dawn & play whack-a-mole with a shovel.
Cats and dogs, too, are pretty essential in bringing voles and moles under control. In my experience here in the southern appalachians, both are worse after a snowy winter.
With one good hunting cat and two young dogs, this is the first year we've gotten a full crop of potatoes in three years because of voles. The big snows of 2010 led to a vole, mole and mouse population explosion around here.
I don't know how long the 90f days will be around , BUT for most of the fall crop it will take at lest a month to germinate and grow to small seedlings and by then hopefully, it will cool off
Most fall gardeners start those fall crops in cells, in shade during germination time, then move them to partial sun as they grow. And transplant, when it has cooled off a bit. I am doing this right now with bunching onions. The poit is that there is a window of time that this should be done. I done TOO LATE, obviously it will be just that TOO LATE.
I started broccoli seeds on June 17th and July 3rd. I raise full season varieties because...they are better quality for the most part.
In my zone...similar to yours, it will push things to get a crop and some side heads if sown now unless you have an early variety.
I chose the Italian early variety. It is supposed to be 48 days so we will see. Lately, our falls have been warmer than usual so I am rolling the dice and seeing what I get. Even if it is too late, I am learning things. Maybe this way I can nail down a time for my area. It is confusing and I didn't have a spot then. I am learning that some things are just trial and error.