23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I am by no means one of the experienced voices on this forum, so please take everything with a hefty dose of salt, but this sounds similar to my situation. I rent, and the landlord wouldn't be happy with a yard dug up for an inground garden, but is ok with me planting in between the established landscaping and containers. So in between the bushes (2 large ugly things, and 1 rose bush with a good amount of room between them), I put down top soil and compost, and then dug into my new layers of soil to plant. I've grown zucchini which were perfectly happy, and vining squash (butternut, acorn, spaghetti). Last year, the spaghetti squash managed to climb one of the bushes before I caught it, and everything still seemed to happily coexist. I also let the vines go out on the bit of lawn, and put some soil over the vines in places, so that might help. I also managed to train peas up the bushes this spring, but they got knocked down in the really nasty storm a week or so ago. Hope this helps, and good luck!
Every single message is helpful. Wow, I love GardenWeb! I read in depth online, but honestly, more often than not, my questions are better answered here than in all the articles I can find on a given subject.
My bushes won't grow any larger, because I won't let them. But yes, we do have to clip a few times a season. Personally, I'd be happy to get rid of them, but they do look nice in the yard. And my pseudo-husband is wild about them.
Anything I do will be by hand. It's truly a small area.
My grateful thanks to all, and I welcome any further ideas.
Hi, this happened to me with my Sungolds. However, only the first few blossoms fell off. Now they are setting fruit by the gazillions. Hot night temps will cause blossoms to drop. It also helps if your tomato plants are in a breezy, windy location. Bees also certainly help. I have a few sunflowers growing nearby that keep the bees coming in droves. They are all over my tomato plants all day long. That's why I have gazillions and gazillions of tomatoes and will be feeding the neighborhood. Oh and they are great for breakfast sauteed in bacon grease alongside ham and eggs. yum!
To the OP,
I am in the same zone and state. My romas have baby tomatoes but the beefsteaks only have flowers. I have seen at least one bumblebee around the flowers, so I know pollination is happening. I'm just thinking that beefsteaks are a bit more finicky than romas.
Could be the same with your cherry tomatoes. You could check with your county extension office. I finally figured out to reach the office for Bergen county. They even have a walk-in office in Hackensack which is available M to F from 10 am to 2 pm for help.
The small zucchini that is rotting on the vine is probably an unfertilized one. There are bound to be a few during the course of the summer. Also check on your watering to be sure it is fairly steady - don't overwater. Zucchini seem to thrive with less water than you would think.
Here is a link that might be useful: Zucchini blossoms
Honestly I don't see any problems in the picture. An unpollinated fruit perhaps which is common and some over-crowding of that tangle of stems. If you have yellowing leaves it is most likely due all the rain or over-watering.
Note all the discussions running here right now on squash problems? 5 or 6 of them just below your post. They are all in the same situation as you - squash problems. Why not read through all those threads for even more information?
Dave
It seems like I will have to pull this plant. It didnt look any better today (pic below), and the zuk that was there turned yellow and soft. So I cut it off and also some other yellowing leaves.
Dave, should I plant zuks here or something else, I mean is there a more likelihood of disease affecting the new zuk as well compared to if I plant something else?
Currently I have the following seeds; Burpee pickler hybrid cucumber, Burpees golden zucchini, Bush blue lake 274, contender bush, burpees fordhook zucchini (this is the variety I currently have which is having all the trouble) and clemson spineless. So which seed do you recommend planting, or it doesnt matter? I am in central illinois.
Allie and potterhead, thanks both of you. I will buy some bales this weekend.
Anne, thanks for the picture. That was really helpful.
Sam.
Lynn...
Lurking is fine on this forum. Your response proves my point (sort of). Your Zone 7a is much different that a 7a in Georgia or Texas. Most folks probably don't know that Reedsport is on the Oregon Coast. In a perfect world (gardening forum) you might list your location as Zone 7a Oregon Coast.
Here on the edge of the Willamette Valley we have highs today in the mid 90's and although I am less than 75 miles from Lynn she is experiencing high temps in the mid 60's
Location Location Location
Napoli and Nantes carrots are both good.
As for those Onions, I'm sure you could at least use the greens. I'm not sure why you hate Onions so much. I bought an 80 pack of sets for about $3, planted them in March, and they started to swell one or two weeks ago. The plants are big and healthy. I don't think I fertilized them, and they are in their own row. Maybe it's because of the potatoes that they look like that.
Planting basil with tomato is a great idea! What I did was plant a row of alternated tomato and peppers plants, and then at the end of the entire row I planted about 10 basil plants. That way, I can get the companion benefits from the plants that are in the row with the tomatoes and peppers, but then there's a giant bush growing at an easily accessible spot where I can harvest fresh basil.
Planting basil with tomato is a great idea! What I did was plant a row of alternated tomato and peppers plants, and then at the end of the entire row I planted about 10 basil plants. That way, I can get the companion benefits from the plants that are in the row with the tomatoes and peppers, but then there's a giant bush growing at an easily accessible spot where I can harvest fresh basil.
Oh and to answer your question I have been feeding them miracle grow once a week.
That's what I suspected and that is where all the salt damage is coming from.
No garden vegetable requires weekly feeding unless it is grown in a container and then only in a well diluted form.
And no garden vegetable with the exception of leafy greens like lettuce/chard/spinach requires such high dose nitrogen feeding, much less on a weekly basis.
MG and fertilizers like it are ok when used properly. When used excessively the massive amounts of salts they contain build up on the leaves and in the soil. The symptoms on the plants are excessively dark green leaves, burned crispy leaf edges and bleached inter-veinal patches in the leaf tissue.
As the leaf tissue is destroyed then bacteria and fungi move in on the destroyed leaf tissues and that is what the yellow patches in the cuke leaf pic might be. Look on the underside of that leaf. If there are black patches of mold or white fuzzy/furry growths then disease is starting. If not then they are just salt damaged patches that haven't faded to white yet.
Since these plants are apparently in ground, reduce your MG use to no more often than monthly and preferably no more than every 6 weeks and focus on applying it to the soil and root area, not the leaves.
Hope this helps.
Dave.
Cilantro...fixing to go to seed. Don't know why cilantro likes cold weather when all the rest of the ingredients for salsa are hot weather plants! Pick the lower leaves, maybe freeze them until you have the rest of the ingredients. It may reseed and grow again, or it may wait to grow until cool weather this fall.
Generally speaking, I let mini melons and cantaloupes set on as many fruits as they want to, but with larger watermelons, 2 is best and 3 on very vigorous plants. In northern areas I might want to keep even mini melon fruits pruned down a bit.
Thanks for the input. This year I started them earlier and honeydew & cantaloupe have formed. I will limit it to 2-3 per plant. I had a difficult time identifying the tendril drying so I hope this year is easier.
As for cucumbers, the one in the middle of this pic is super skinny in the middle. Does that mean it's lacking potassium? I noticed the leaves but thought it was nitrogen deficiency. Lots to learn...
Fruit are dumb-bell shaped - This is caused by an acute deficiency of potassium in the fruit. Before the fruit is affected leaves will show potassium deficiency symptoms as chlorosis on the edges and then necrosis.
Make sure that adequate potassium is available to the plant.
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/opp4556
Soil temp is as important as ambient temps, so if you can regulate that soil temp by mulching, peppers and toms can still keep pumping them out. My plants are doing fine with the 3-4 inches of mulch and some shading from 1-4pm. Of course, we don't get the real high temps for weeks at a time until later in the season.
Kevin
Like Kevin said, keep in mind that day time air temp is far from the only contributing factor to Blossom Drop or to the lack of it either. It hasn't been 95-100 for the full 24 hour period.
Just count your blessings and keep your fingers crossed but don't jump to any conclusions.
And the regional reported air temps or even the temp recorded on a thermometer hanging somewhere nearby isn't necessarily accurate as far as the plant is concerned unless the thermometer is hung in the middle of the plant. :-)
Dave
My take on this:
Miracle gro is just a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen, which is good for growing leafy stuff, like your lawn. In the vegie garden, I have found that it's great for lettuce and spinach, since the aim with those is to grow greenery.
My guess with your mom is that she amended the soil with potting soil that contained time release fertilizer. Vegies grow great in great soil. Also, they're well fertilized with all that pre-mixed in fertilizer.
Folks around here often use the compost from the sewage plant. It grows incredible vegies. But, of course, it raises the cost of gardening.
I just pulled mine because of Squash Vine Borers BUT I have planted a new crop because the zone I am in (7b, Upstate South Carolina) has a long enough season to do so. I will admit, this was not a good year for squash for me - last year was much more prolific even though SVB's finally did the plants in.
You are right about too close...these plants can get quite large and do need good air circulation.They do get thick bottom stems and if you are concerned that they are too shallowly rooted you can cover the bottom stems with some more dirt to anchor them better. The buried stems should root.
Here is a link that might be useful: Powdery Mildew Control (Organic)
Thanks I did end up pulling them up and I am just going to be planting one of each to get me through the rest of the season, because of space. Next year though, I'll expand and make sure to start them farther apart.