23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Just Google 'cabbage worm' for lots of pics so you'll know what to look for. They can be difficult to see until you get used o them as they are almost the exact same color of green as the leaves.
Lots of discussions here too about them and about Bt.
Dave
I am having problems with ants in my raised beds and in my patio (where I have several container plants/veg). At first, i just left them alone as they didnt seem to harm my plants. Then I saw them eating through the stems of my choi sim, and also a cauliflower seedling (they like brassicas??). At the same time, i noticed they were starting to farm aphids on my camomile, my sunflowers, and some of my herbs. And I got mad - very mad!
I tried using cinnamon, using chilli powder, using bicarbonate of soda (all solutions I googled)... no use. Not even a dent in the population. Next, I bought DE and spread them all along their paths. No difference. In the end, I harvested all the choi sim and poured jugs of boiling water on them and where they congregated (be very careful of hurting the surrounding veg though!). I am happy to say that got rid of most of them :) I do this whenever they start damaging my veg too badly now. Cheap, easy and organic!I also have a couple of ant baits around the patio. This also works well for me.
Its not possible to get rid of them completely and I can tolerate their presence fine if they dont eat and damage my plants too much.
As Dave said, most of the time, ants dont really do much harm. I hope yours are not like mine!
FYI, you can usually get fire ants to move on if you disturb their nest frequently. You can do this with a strong stick. Just stick it in and stir. But, keep yourself at a safe distance, throw the stick away and run once they come pouring out. Doing this daily will usually cause them to abandon their place in about a week.
Dave, thank you for your time and good advice. I do not have a green house. I was a windowsill gardener then now I have more than 50 chili plants of different varieties. It is a new hobby and very addictive. The climatic condition here is not favorable for growing chili.
Abnorm you are wrong, I help my friend in India we have been trying to introduce roof top gardening over there. I have a very good reason to help my friend from here. Anyway thank you for your words.
Caelian
Is it possible your pots do not have drainage holes? If they do not, when it rained, your pots filled up with water and it had no place to go. Therefore, death by drowning.
If you know better than this, I apologize. My neighbor across the street had this happen with tomato plants in a half whisky barrel this year. He's an M.D.
The other possibility that comes to mind is that your pot might be too small. I have grown bush cucs in pots successfully, but it takes a BIG pot (18" in diameter or bigger) for ONE vine.
Nothing says you are "supposed" to prune them. Pruning is strictly optional and is NOT required for any reason. In some situations it may have some advantages, in other situations it is detrimental to the plant and to fruit production.
Without knowing where you live or even your garden zone there is no way to know if your plants might benefit from pruning or not.
The Growing Tomatoes forum here is the place for this question and you will find many discussions there about it as well as a FAQ on Pruning.
Dave
If a raw leaf tases bitter to you, try blanching the leaves first in rapidly boiling water for 30 seconds and then into another pot of boiling water briefly. That's how bitter wild greens are handled in order to get rid of some of the bitter principle. ('Course, spinach greens are a lot less durable than dandelion greens!)
Just a thought. Of course, anything composted is never really wasted! :-)
I always plant Swiss chard in addition to spinach. Slower-growing but more reliably tasty for weeks beyond the time spinach has bolted.
Earlier posters correctly addressed the issue of not pruning the ferns since they are strengthening the roots for next year.
However, looks like you have at least 3 plants within a pretty small area. Asparagus needs a good, fertile soil to do well, so be sure to top-dress it with a good couple of inches of compost after frost (which is when you can/should remove the dry,yellowed ferns) and on top of that add 4-6" of chopped or shredded leaves. This also will serve the important task of keeping out weeds. A generous sprinkling of blood meal in early spring would not be amiss, either, to give it the nitrogen this hungry green plant requires.
Thanks, weedlady. There are 2 crowns in a 3' circle. I will have plenty of compost to add this fall, and will remember to add the bloodmeal in the spring. We mainly grow enough to munch on as we cruise the garden...kinda like the cherry tomatoes later in the summer.
Two crops? Yes.
Two large central heads? No
It's a first crop of the large central head, a second (third and fourth, too) of smaller side shoots.
Plants will continue to put out side shoots as long as the weather doesn't fry or freeze them too much and water, etc. is available. If you don't cut them regularly, they will flower like hers. Yes, you can "rescue" them at any time by cutting off the flowers and trimming them back. You may, or may not, feel the resulting small side shoots are worth it.
I often prefer to get the plants out of the garden after the early harvest and restart with new plants later in the year for another large head harvest followed by small side shoots into the early winter. I don't like to deal with the summertime broccoli pests and prefer the taste of cool weather broccoli anyway.
When to harvest : You can harvest them any time that fruit is over 5" long. Pickling one will not be much longer than that anyway. Basically, smaller ones are tender and tastier. But You want to get a good mileage by letting it grow bigger, but not to the point that the seeds inside start hardening and the rind getting tough and brownish. So you can experiment different sizes and find out which one tastes better.
Many seed suppliers sell them in the fall since that is planting time for them. Gurneys, Harris Seeds, Territorial Seed, even Burpee's lists them. Just Google Egyptian Onions.
Dave
Southern Seed Exchange has multiplier onions. The actually have two types... walking onions and potato onions (I think). Here is the link:
http://www.southernexposure.com/perennial-onions-multiplier-potato-onions-c-120_219.html
By your zoning, you must be near the coast. I am about 15 minutes north of Alabama beaches. Do multiplier do good for you? I have been thinking about ordering some for a 4x4 raised bed.