23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
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.
I have had butternut squash vines hold up after a squash bug hatch much much better than any zuke could ever do. The vine does eventually die, but it really makes a valiant effort to live, and often you can get it to produce mature squash if you search out the growing hatchlings and kill them. A zucchini would never make it that long. So yes, it's resistant.
Ants do not do harm in the garden, as they are not vegetarians. They might even be beneficial by hunting some insects. However, they like nectars and sweet stuff. Sometimes saps coming out of an injured plan might attract them. Also, sometime some plants get this sticky thing on their stems/leaves .... ants like that too. They are not responsible if the plant dies or gets diseased.
But there is controversial thing that some say ants farm/ breed aphids(like a farmer breeds cow and pigs). Believe it or not !
Haven't seen the squash bugs around lately and I keep taking off leaves with eggs (gotta ask DH where the duct tape is!) but I must have missed some b/c I did see a bunch of what I thought were baby spiders a few days ago - turns out they were 1st instar and this leaf damage is SB damage.
Still don't know what marks on stems/fruit and that weird pile of frass(?) is (see other thread).
Iowi,
How did your galvanized water troughs work out? I'm a Seattle resident who would like to try the same but am utterly new to gardening (this is the first year I've owned a house with a substantial area in which to give it a try). We'd like to have one area with raised beds and another with galvanized tanks as beds. Not sure how to proceed with either but the tanks really have me stymied. Are small holes drilled in the bottom adequate drainage given our PNW rains? Or would it almost be better to cut out the bottoms of the tanks? Is it safe to grow food in galvanized metal? I know some zinc consumption is safe but I think the cadmium is a greater concern.
Nila, Could you elaborate on your soil instructions? Are you recommending mixing these 2 components are layering them in some manner? Would you recommend this same mixture for other types of raised beds as well?
Thanks guys! Hoping the GW community will take me under their collective wing and help grow a new gardener!
Hi Tess :)
I would be inclined to cut a giant hole in the bottom of the tank, personally. Like, remove most of the bottom, and cover the opening with landscape fabric.
If you choose to drill holes instead, make sure they are big enough. You have to at least be able to put your finger through each hole, and 2-3 inches diameter is better. Water doesn't drain well through small holes when dirt is involved, because of surface tension (not to mention clogging).
Don't layer the soil. You don't have to mix it perfectly, either. Put in a shovelful or two of one component, then a shovelful or two of another :).
Personally, I don't worry about soil compaction in my bed. Sure, the sandy mixes are very dense. But worms plus gardening means lot of soil gets moved around. And the plants are happy.
HTH :).
carolml-
Preserving garlic in olive oil is only recommended for up to 30 days unless it is frozen. That is because garlic and oil make the ideal medium for severe food born illnesses such as botulism.
If you do this, be sure to keep refrigerated and disgard after 30 days unless frozen.
To clarify on DigDirt's post - Aphids CAN and DO come from eggs - but not always. Aphids lay eggs typically in colder seasons, such as fall. When established (such as in summer) the females will give birth to females because they are viviparous. It is not true that aphids don't produce eggs - they do, which is why they become such a pest in spring and the cycle continues.
There are about a 150 different spotted, orange red beetles. See if any of the pics below look like it.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Spotted orange-red beetles pics
gardengal13:
Neem oil is a decent fungicide, but it's kinda pricy and I'm still not too sure on it's effect of beneficial insects. This was to be my 1st year of practicing what I preached to you, but the monsoonal moisture came a about 2 months too early and the next thing I knew, I saw some spores forming.
So, through my research, I read recently that potassium bicarbonate (NOT sodium bicarbonate(baking soda), which is one of the recommended homemade remedies) is pretty effective and can actually cure AFTER symptoms show. So, I went and found some at a wine making shop for $6/lb. Even if you have to buy it online, it's still quite reasonable and much cheaper than commercial fungicides and even the milk solutions that I've read about.
Only 2 treatments so far, so it's much too early for a review. But so far, so good.
Good luck.
Kevin
Fun idea, might want to try some indoor growing yourself now to fine tune your choices before you do this with students.
Fluorescent grow lights work best when you keep plants within an inch or two of the tubes. Increasing the distance will result in tall floppy plants that don't grow well. Put together a set up that lets you raise pots or adjust light height and consider the plants different heights if you decide to plant a variety of veggies. Strong light from windows can help some but usually isn't sufficient alone.
Soiless container mixes used in pots with drain holes will give good soil moisture and healthy plants. Larger containers will make it easier to maintain consistant moisture levels, especially over weekends.
Choose varieties that are naturally compact such as many of those recommended for container growing. Tiny Tim tomatoes and dwarf marigolds (not a veggie, I know) are two that could stay manageable and good looking inside. Compact buttercrunch type lettuces and herbs are also good.
I wish you well. I've enjoyed sharing the world of plants with many students. Many have no prior experience with them and most everyone loves the planting, growing, harvesting, eating, etc. And some even like weeding when we grow outdoors!
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.