23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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socks

Zucchini is difficult to store long, but I grate it into muffin tins and freeze, then remove the "muffins" and put into plastic bags for freezing. I use it in soups and homemade dog food, might even work for zucchini bread.

You've got a wonderful garden going.

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 9:56AM
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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Just about anything that would not require ripe fruits. That is you wouldn't want to grow melons, w/melons, eggplants.. winter squash.

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 12:10PM
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edweather(Zone 5a/b Central NY)

Have you tried Sevin?

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 9:47AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Do you know what you have there? Bean Plataspid, Megacopta cribraria, aka Kudzu bug, a new (2009) invasive species that was apparently bought into Florida or Texas from Asia and has now moved into parts of Georgia (per the most recent alert on them), NC, and AL.

Your state ag extension service alert asks that they be reported to them by you if you haven't already done so so they can be tracked and infestations contained.

Sevin has not been found to be effective on them. So far, from what I have read, nothing has been found to be effective except a parasitic wasp, hand extermination and crop destruction. Supposedly the USDA is currently testing pesticides trying to find and effective one.

There is a great deal of info available on them on the web - none of it good - linked one info sheet below for you.

Personally I would pull up the crop and destroy as many of them as possible in the process after notifying the extension office for advice.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: New Invasive Pest

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 10:25AM
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planatus(6)

This Clemson pub suggests they might be melon aphids. Do you live in cotton country?

Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson cucurbit pests

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 7:28AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

To the OP - Did you look up thrips as I suggested above? Look at the picture of them in a cuke bloom that I linked below - scroll down to the big pic in the middle of the page.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Thrips in cuke blooms

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 10:02AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Aphids can do that but you'd see the aphids. Bean rust also has a similar pattern but that is the wrong color and there is no sign of the spores either.

I'd be inclined to just call it environmental damage from sun scald and wind burn. Especially if it is just the older leaves as in the pic and not the new growth.

Dave

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 10:49PM
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Garden.Geek(6)

Thank you, Dave. I have noticed some aphids recently, but not many... Still, I sprayed them down with neem just in case. Hopefully this amends the problem. I'm going to remove all the leaves with damage so I can more easily track if its spreading. Again, thanks! :)

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 9:58AM
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lkzz(7b)

Look at the picture on this blog (of bean plants):
http://wickhamfarmscsa.blogspot.com/2012_07_01_archive.html

Looks like the damage you have. Theirs is from deer. I can't imagine a rabbit getting up that high. If it is a rabbit you will need fencing with smaller spacing (see link below).

Bury it at a 90 degree angle because rabbits will dig under a fence. If it's deer you need a higher fence - though I would think the netting would work. Quite a conundrum.

Here is a link that might be useful: 48-in x 50-ft Green Plastic/Polyresin Perimeter Fence

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 4:52PM
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annew21 (zone 7b NC)(7b NC)

I vote deer as well. You said that you never see deer, but in my experience they dine at night. You may never see them. If the ground is dry you won't see hoof prints, but if it's wet you may.

I would recommend that you attach the mesh to the fence posts (if you haven't already - I can't tell from the picture) and make sure it is tight. They are highly motivated and will find a way in if they can so you have to make it as difficult as possible. Good luck!

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 9:53AM
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christripp

Have a fair number of radishes that have large area's (such as you show) chewed out of them and then the ants seem to be coming later. I don't think they are the ones who have done the first chomp. To compensate, I just sprinkle radish seed everywhere. That way, I still have some for me and the spoils are of no consequence. The great thing about radishes, growing between rows of all crops is, they serve to distract the pests from dinning on my more valued veg. They grow fast and like weeds, so there is always enough for me and the bugs all season.

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 6:59AM
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raistlyn

Ants can definitely eat and ruin your veg. I am currently fighting ants that are eating the stems of my cauliflowers and before that, my choy sum. They seem to enjoy brassicas and have left the other veg alone.

Ive tried using DE but it didnt really help. Since i dont want to spray chemicals, im trying some ant bait now. I also poured boiling water along their paths - that worked well for a while.

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 7:09AM
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flora_uk(SW UK 8/9)

A picture would help people tell you what's going on and recommend solutions.

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 5:42AM
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silverkelt(Z5b/Southern Maine)

On top of the granite peaks we have in Maine, 2ft trees try to grow out of half inch gaps of pure granite. I don't think that shows your black thumb per say, life just tries to survive.

I do not know what is going on in your prepared bed, pics would help , a description on how you prepared it ect. We all make mistakes.. mine usually involve leaving in a state that has surplus deer =)..

Silverkelt

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 6:27AM
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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

What is the suggested fertilizer to get them going? I remember reading that Bone Meal is helpful for peppers to get a good start... ?

Assuming your soil is well amended prior to planting then any balanced, low N fertilizer works fine but only after the plants are established and you have first fruit set.

Bonemeal, while a good source of P, is very slow acting (like 6 months) so it needs to be applied well before planting. You wont\'t see any immediate benefits from it.

Dave

    Bookmark   June 5, 2013 at 3:59PM
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lavender88

Hi, Sorry I'm in hockey heaven right now and forgot to check back in here.

Thanks for the updates on starting from seed sounds like next year I better give that a try.

Good to know about the fertilizer, I knew there was something about not over fertilizing them and just getting too much leaf growth.

Now I just hope for better weather than last year, it was so dry the animals kept beating me to the harvest.

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 4:31AM
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Slimy_Okra(2b)

I'd wager it's a watering issue - either too little or too much. How often do you water and how much?

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 12:54AM
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IAmSupernova(SE Texas 9A)

Well until recently twice a week. But here the past month or so, all my stuff has started wilting unless I water the beds every other day and the containers everyday. As for how much, I don't really know, I don't' measure it and don't have an irrigation system or anything. I try to do long deep waterings rather than short passes that only wet the top inch or so.

If it helps my watermelon and summer squash get the same amounts of water as the butternut, and they seem to be doing fine. All three were also transpplanted out at similar times.

    Bookmark   June 9, 2013 at 1:23AM
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Avocado101(9A Southern California)

"Do chickens eat slugs?"

Yes, they also eat earwigs, cabbage, lettuce, squash (cut opened), grasshoppers, caterpillars, lizards, any unwanted vegetables, vegetable greens, including tomato leaves, and whole lot more.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 6:20PM
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glib(5.5)

With the rainy year most everywhere in the US, after a severely dry year, things are getting back to normal. Here, the rabbits are exploding. Coyotes will explode next year.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 9:50PM
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cablestarman(NE OH 6a)

I have never thought of shade cloth for peppers. We had probably our hottest spring and summer last year and my peppers were productive - bells, jalapenos. The lettuce bolted pretty quickly and I had them thickly mulched and kept them moist. So far, this year has been cool and wet- peppers and tomatoes not growing much, lettuce is doing great.

Dave

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 11:32AM
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sunnibel7 Md 7(7)

I shaded the peppers through the highest heat- they can get extra spicy otherwise. It seemed to work, the previous year without shade yielded some peppers that were too much for us! Lettuce is a spring and fall thing here, pretty good this spring down here, too.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 8:49PM
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armyofda12mnkeys(7a, Philly, PA)

Interesting so the 'salted hay' they sell is a type of hay from the NJ Marshlands... Hence its salty smell i think. They said it hardly has any seeds hence why they recommend that.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 4:30PM
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annew21 (zone 7b NC)(7b NC)

You are in for a treat with the Petites Gris de Rennes. I grew those a couple of years ago and they were like candy. Unfortunately the squirrels thought so too. :)

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 6:56PM
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pnbrown

That is some sweet stone-free dirt.

I helped out with some wheat-harvesting one time in Kansas and the incredible deep stone-free soil is hard to believe even when looking at it, for an east-coaster.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 7:44AM
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gardenlen(s/e qld aust)

we grow through winter, so ours take longer generally around 4 months, our trick si to get good plant growth before winter comes, we have that and have mulched them up higher.

by the looks of the plants we should get a good crop, found more spuds with sprouts in the fridge to replace those seedies that didn't grow. from the 1st planting, they will grow slower now that winter is here.

but a good haul you got in such a short time.

len

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 3:59PM
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Ohiofem(6a Ohio)

I prefer not to use the powerful insecticides recommended in that article. Would neem or spinosad be effective? As a spray and soil drench? Since I started growing Diva cucumbers, I haven't had significant problems with cucumber beetles. They are supposed to be less attractive to cucumber beetles than many other varieties. But I have seen them in my yard.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 12:42PM
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ltilton

Well, yes, Dave, but if you do target the larvae at the right stage, seems to me it could work. They are ingesting something down there in the soil. otoh, if it's not effective on beetle larvae, it wouldn't work but something else might.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 1:19PM
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another_buffalo(6)

Sugar Snaps were way late to take off this year in SW MO, but there are now plenty of flowers and a couple of little peas. I will be feasting on right off the vine on those in another day or two.

    Bookmark   May 30, 2013 at 1:34PM
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vanisle_bc

My first few peas harvested June 7; still quite small but at their sweetest.

The picture is of peas planted together late February, pre-sprouted. The bright green ones are Alaska, approaching 5 ft tall. The lower, darker green plants are Maestro which only grow to about 2 ft and look to be much more productive.

The photo (sorry it's sideways but I don't know how to change it on the forum) is from June 6th, a full 104 days from sowing. Later plantings made around March 25 are at almost the same stage; maybe 2-3 days behind after just 73 days, so the early start was almost no advantage. My catalogs claim normally 60-62 days to maturity.

I also have some very low-growing Novella in a double row and I'm going to see how well they hold themselves up with no staking. So far it looks as if they'll be fine. They have amazing numbers of aggressive-looking tendrils for hanging on to each other.

    Bookmark   June 8, 2013 at 10:20AM
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