23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Depends on water pressure, the "seepage rate" (don't know the real term, should be on the label, I think it's expressed in gallons per foot per hour or some unit like that), soil and weather conditions. I generally just turn them on and let them run until I have a nicely saturated zone at least a foot out from the plants -- mine is a clay-loam for the most part, water may go more down than out in a sandy soil.
If you use the search to pull up all the previous discussions on using soaker hose you'll find that a common recommendation to determine time needed is to simply bury an empty can - coke can, vegetable can, something about 6" tall.
Bury it along the line of the hose in about the middle of the hose run so the open lip top sits at soil level and the hose runs over it. Time how long it takes to fill the can and that tells you how long you need to run it to get the water down to root level.
It isn't a perfect method because it can't account for your soil type so it won't tell you how often you need to run it. That part you determine with your hand stuck deep in the ground. But it will tell you how long to run the hose.
With soaker hose keep in mind that 50' maximum run is recommended for effectiveness and that the plants at the end of the run get less than the plants at the beginning of the run.
Dave
Thanks for the info Itilton.
It is starting to get really hot and around here broccoli is a early spring crop. I was busy with the end of the semester and got them out late. If they do head how they will immediately bolt (what they did last year when it got extremely hot very early) would they make it and produce in the fall if I cut off any late heads that they put on (and they bolt). Probably not but just hoping!
Thanks!
They're going to head(at least some) before they bolt. The trick is to cut the heads right before the florets look like they're starting to separate. Right when they start to head, keep a daily eye on them and do this with any side shoots because they have a tendency to separate even quicker.
Regarding the cauli-- I've often had to wait for a heat spell to kick them into heading. I'd just let them keep going though even if they DON'T head in the summer. It'd be a nice little experiment. They just may kick back in and since they are a biennial, who knows?
Mulch heavily and keep soil moist and, at least, your broccoli will get you some form of harvest.
Good luck.
Kevin
I agree with Cindy...leaf hopper behavior. I had two "in the act" do that to me on a cuke plant. I knocked them into a bucket of soapy water.
Here is a link that might be useful: Leafhopper Garden Pest
I feel for you. It looks like they've suffered some pretty bad root rot and (possibly) collar rot. I'd pull one or two up to see exactly where they rotted. If it's only the roots, they may come back. If its the stem, I would cut them above the rot line and attempt to re-root the plant buried up to the first or second leaf node in some warm & moist potting soil out of direct sunlight. Gallon pots would work for that purpose. That would be quite time consuming but it's worth a try.
When you say their feet were in water for a week, do you mean the soil was wet, or that there was actually standing water?
This post was edited by Slimy_Okra on Sun, Jun 23, 13 at 19:26
Thanks for the input. I'll take a closer look at them today. There was actual ponded water in my garden for a few days but it was off to the left side of the picture, where the tomato plants are. The rest of the garden was waterlogged for close to 2 weeks. When it finally dried out, the soil became like a rock.
I've tilled it a couple of times. It's actually pretty dry now. When I planted these eggplants, they were the best I ever had. The plants were about 1' tall with thick stems, lush leaves and the roots were breaking through the peat pots. I'll check the roots in a little while. I wonder if it would help if I moved each plant about 1' from where they stand now so they won't be sitting right in the rot plus mix some more compost in each hole. I'll try anything.
I think a garden only attracts more mosquitoes if there is more standing water in it. Moist soil doesn't do it for them. Well, actually, floodwater mosquitoes do lay eggs in moist soil, which can dry out, but the dried eggs won't hatch unless the soil is later covered in water. Those eggs can wait a year or more for that flood and then be viable. Actually, I could imagine ponds happening in lawns that would never happen in well mulched, friable garden soil. I *never* get puddles in my garden, even after heavy rains. But I do get water collecting in the various pails and receptacles I leave around my garden.
Standing , stagnant water is the place for mosquitoes to breed. Otherwise they are not attracted to your garden like bees, etc.
Another issue is: how big is your property, how is the properties in the surrounding ? Mosquitoes have wings and can fly over the fence from your neighbor's backyard too.
The bottom line not to have any standing water. Although, in the shade where it is moist can be a place for mosquitoes to breed and live.
From what I've read, Bermuda grass is the worst. Where I live it isn't usualy too bad, because it tends to die in the summer unless it is irrigated. I wouldn't till it. It sounds like anything you do to push it deeper just makes it harder to get rid of. Since it is only one bed, maybe you should just pull out all the rhizomes by hand or with the aid of a small shovel or spade. You want to clean an area larger than the box so you have a buffer zone.
Here is another idea, but it is probably too late. Consider building your box with a solid bottom of plywood. That will hopefully stop grass for many years. Just set the box right on top of the grass. Put drain holes in the side of the box near the bottom, and check them for rhizomes daily. I'm sure rhizomes will eventually creep in to the box and take root.
If you are willing to wait until next year, you can solarize a generous patch (larger than the veggie box) this year and do the box next year. The grass will still recover, of course, but it will take a while, and you can defend the dead zone between the box and the edge of the lawn.
Just my 2 cents.
--McKenzie
Agree with Buford. Bermuda and zoysia grass are similar to mints that have runner roots that spread. That is why it is hard to get rid of and contain it. But as BUFORD said, it is easy to pull them up. I would recommend to get rid of the top layer with roots AND then till or turn it over THEN carefully and patiently remove any remaining roots, as much as possible.
I am against CARDBOARD SHEETING. Though it might but block the grass from spreadin and coming up , it will also block the plants roots and drainage.
There are baby grasshoppers all over my yard and garden. They seem to especially enjoy the eggplant leaves, which are now full of holes and raggedy. They've also been devouring petunia blooms. The little critters are fast and hard to squish, and when they are on the thorny eggplants -- ouch! The grownups prefer to munch on the citrus tree leaves. I've never seen so many before. I will look into that Nolo bait, may be worth it for me this year.
What slimy_okra said except let me add to it. Water or soap or neem oil will take care of them but you have to be diligent. Spray them off with a water nozzle a couple times a day about 3 days apart for a week or 2. Then, soap the next week about 3 days apart for one week and once every 2 weeks thereafter if the water didn't reduce the populations sufficiently.
Funny slimy mentioned cabbage worms -- I don't see any indication either. In fact, I've noticed through the years that(compared to other brassicas) the caterpillars don't attack KALE as much.
And Yes... BT for all my Moth(caterpillar) needs. Good stuff.
Kevin
I'm in your zone - it's difficult to get lettuce to grow here during the summer. High temps cause lettuce to get bitter. I'm trying it under my tomatoes to see if some shade will help.
Last fall I planted mesclun mix and Swiss chard in September. We ate salad from the end of October through May! Best $2.00 investment I've ever made! Lol. I planted them across my 3 foot wide bed in 2 rows. Basically just 1/4 inch apart. Then I thinned them to every other plant or so. I wasn't too particular about it, just 1/2 to 1 inch. We picked them young, so they didn't need a ton of room. Pick them from the outside and they will keep producing for you.
The plant in your picture looks like Swiss chard. Mine bolted too once the weather got hot, along with the mesclun lettuces. Chard needs to be planted further apart - 4-6 inches is what I did. We cut those young and ate them in salad. If you let them get bigger you can cook them like collards. Very good!
Here is a picture at the end of the season. I pulled most of what was in this bed by the time this was taken. There was more chard and spinach in the middle. I'll be adding lots more mesclun this time around. That's it in the back.
This post was edited by lm13 on Sun, Jun 23, 13 at 17:26
I'm such a newbie at this, I even got my zone wrong. lol... I knew it was 8 (using a scale without a and b)... However, i thought it went to 7b... Nope, still 8, but 8b...
at any rate,, i do understand the difficulty in giving all permutations on one seed packet. However, getting past that, the in-row spacing seems to be too large as well... I used the 6 inches suggested, and I have a ton of space between my plants.. My next planting, I'm going for the very tight 1/2 - 1 inch and see how that works...
Of course, if i had any idea of what the mature version of what i am growing looked like then it would be a lot easier!! :-)
thanks for the replies
Thanks sunni! yep, def. Asiatic Garden Beetle,but also found 2 huge balls of Japanese beetles,like 4-6 stuck together doing whatever...around 11:00 pm on my eggplants ew, I was pretty sure I read somewhere that they come out at the sunniest time of the day...it was a surprise.
Thanks everyone for your input.
Earwigs are a problem here every year. I don't know why they are so prolific...but every year at this time there is a population explosion, then about a month later their numbers decrease.
I have decided to just deal with it, all my plants are past seedling stage so they are able to withstand some damage.
Around here in summer, mid 90s, I water seedlings every 2-3 days. After that about every 6 days for melons but that depends on your soil. Mine do much better planted in a furrow or shallow depression. Planted on top of a bed I can't keep them wet enough for good emergence or early growth.
With your warm and sunny fall weather you probably could wait until early August to plant pumpkin. I guess it depends on whether they must be ripe by Halloween or if you wanted to carry them into November.
I was just looking into three sisters gardens and that is the approach I think I am going to take, the corn could provide some shade, I don't know if pole beans will take the heat but it has worked for centuries so I will give it a go.