23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
The leaves are probably falling from too much water and the flowers may also. But the flowers/pods will also fall because of high and low temps, amongst other things. that's whay with more months of extreme heat coming, mulch is the way to go. Mulch will also help extend your season some when the temps start to drop. I'm all about the mulch-- the benefits far exceeds the drawbacks.
Kevin
Thank you all for your replies, and suggestions on curing sweet potatoes.
I thought I would share what I typed up and handed out to the people I gave slips to. I've collected tips from various sources (y'all included), and am not taking ANY credit for this (except for copying and pasting into a document). Just sharing the wealth. :)
"Curing Sweet Potatoes
Although large amounts of soil clinging to roots during storage is not desirable, sweet potatoes are easily damaged during the washing process when freshly dug. Allow roots to dry and cure before removing excess soil.
Cure** sweet potatoes by holding them for about 10 days at 80-85°F and high relative humidity (85-90 percent). In the absence of better facilities, they can be cured near a furnace to provide warmth. If the temperature near your furnace is between 65-75°F, the curing period should last 2-3 weeks. To maintain the required high humidity (85-90 percent relative humidity), stack storage crates or boxes and cover them with paper or heavy cloth. Packing in perforated plastic bags will also keep humidity high, yet the perforations will allow excess moisture to escape.
Once the sweet potatoes are cured, move them to a dark location where a temperature of about 55-60°F can be maintained during storage. Sweet potatoes are subject to chilling injury, so keep them out of the refrigerator. Good results can be obtained by wrapping cured sweet potatoes in newspaper and storing them in a cool closet.
Exposure to low storage temperatures for several days will cause the sweet potatoes to develop a hard center and reduce their eating quality.
When the roots are stored at high temperatures for a long time, they begin to sprout, shrivel and become dry, stringy and pithy.
**Curing ideas
• If humidity can’t be achieved, place on a closet shelf with a space heater below and left the door open a crack and monitored the temperature. Kept it about 85 degrees for 10 days or so.
• Cure by, "letting them bask in the sun for a day, and then removing them to a shady area that remains above 80 degrees for 7-10 days." from Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith
• Cure the sweet potato for 10 days in a room that remains around 80 degrees, or for 20 days in a room that remains around 70 degrees. If you live in an area with cool fall temperatures requiring use of the furnace, place the sweet potatoes near the furnace for the curing days. In the south where fall temperatures are still in the 70's and 80's during the day, a sunny porch during the daytime can be used to cure the sweet potatoes, but you will have to bring them indoors when the night time temperatures drop or the sweet potato won't cure properly and will rot before winter ends.
• Place a space heater and a humidifier (not necessary, and if not monitored, the humidity may encourage sprouting), and the newly harvested sweet potatoes, and shut the door as much as possible.
• Some people suggest dampening a piece of burlap or some old towels to drape over crates containing the sweet potatoes, and place in a warm location for 10 days. Rewet cloth occasionally, and rotate sweet potatoes, being careful not to damage the skin of potato."
This post was edited by commgardener11 on Mon, Jul 15, 13 at 21:40
That looks like very much like Alternaria leaf blight.
(See http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/departments/Plant_Pathology_Crop_Physiology/Plant_Disease_Clinic/Disease_Image_Gallery/Herbs_Vegetables/Cucumbers/Cucumber+Diseases.htm )
If it is Alternaria as I suspect, it will defoliate the plant but not attack the fruit. But defoliation will likely cause the cukes to get sun scald. If its just on a few leaves, try cutting them off and apply either 70% Neem oil or Copper Fungicide (I use Liqui Cop) on a 7-10 day basis to the rest of the plant and any nearby plants as a control. (Both are OMRI listed organic fungicides) It looks like it is just beginning to appear and hasn't spread to the whole plant so you can save it and nearby plants not yet showing the disease if you treat it fast and consistently.
Alternaria quickly wiped out much of my garden foliage last year after we had quite a bit of rain in June followed by the very rare Derecho here in Northern VA and subsequent record setting heat over 95 degrees for 28 days straight. If you go after it quickly, you should not have the terrible effects I had to deal with. The heat caused me to have a very bad asthma attack so I couldn't spend anytime in the garden so as to treat the Alternaria before it wiped out much of the garden.
Good Luck!
Thanks Melissa. I think you have nailed it. I will get the copper fungicide and spray all the plants. (I haven't used any sprays so far. I guess its time to use those now). Also I will cut off all the infected leaves. dipping the pruner in bleach solution after every cut. Hopefully that will contain the spread of the disease.
Sorry to hear that you couldn't treat the garden in time and lost some of your garden :( 95+ For 28 days! We complain when we get couple of days of 95+ (3 days of 90+ is heat wave for us :) )
I would opt option 3
Why rake I the manure ? It is the best soil amender and conditioner. Of course it depend op the native soil underneath. But all the aged manure can help.
Another consideration would be direct sun. I think in zone one the more direct sun, the better for gardening.
Good luck !
Look like aphids to me. As heavy as this infestation is, I would pick off the worst leaves and dispose of them. Then use a strong jet of water to knock the rest of them off. You may have to do it a couple of times, but it nearly always works.
I tried your method of steaming my corn on the cob to freeze and look forward to the taste this winter. Also if you are concerned about taking up too much space in the freezer and prefer to cut the corn off the cob to freeze, try cutting it off before blanching. Not only do you have space to blanch more corn at one time but you are not tempted to handle the hot corn. Suggestion given to me by long time Iowa corn farmers who really know their corn.
Strange. That can only happen if someone was chewing on the roots. Chemical residues or imbalance would effect plants around it, and probably wouldn't cause it to wilt badly overnight. Dehydration and insect damage would also show up in the plants next to it. Brown spots may not be related.
I suppose some kind of disease is a possibility, but if so, you'll very quickly see it on adjacent plants, and it wouldn't choose targets randomly in a row.
I did dig up one of the wilted plants and tried to preserve as much of the root system as I could.
The grass clippings wouldn't be the cause as my lawn has not been treated.
In the past two mornings, I have not had any more peppers wilt. So I'm leaning towards too much water as a cause.- even though we are very dry here. I had watered two mornings in a row and when I dug up the pepper it was not dry but dark, black, and crumbly. Seemed about ideal for growing here in Iowa. I've grown peppers for many years and have never seen this - even in rainy years. But that sounds like the best explanation.
Its supposed resistance to svb lies iin its vigor. This little pumpkin is a very vigorous growing plant under suitable conditions and is able to fend off the svb damage in some cases. On the other hand it is a C. pepo with hollow vines. Of course under a major assault from svb even the hard vine plants may succomb.
uscjusto - I replied to this question on another thread. If you have the SWEET burpee burpless hybrid, it is indeed gynoecious [having only female flowers] and needs a pollinator, another vine that produces male flowers. Seeds for this should be included in the seed packet, marked as such.
Your plant probably did produce one or two male flowers, which is how your single fruit got pollinated. This isn't unusual.
I start seeds twice during the summer. I set out the first ones after potatoes, for eating in fall, and will start a second run soon for growing under cover through the winter. The seedlings grow fast and strong outdoors, nothing like the slow growth you see when starting onions indoors in late winter.
My guess would be multiple nutrient deficiencies, particularly that of phosphorus. Have you added any fertilizes or amendments to this soil apart from the bulk compost? Commercial compost can vary widely in quality, and if the stuff originated from woody materials, it could be low in nutrients. Try applying a balanced fertilizer with micronutrients, either organic or synthetic. Synthetic will work faster.