24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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Norway_ralph(6)

I plant my garlic in the fall and sometimes they do come up by November if the temperatures remain mild. To me this not a problem, but as i am in Norway and temp can get to 0F, i always put a layer of straw on the top of the bed to act as an insulator for over winter.
Ralph

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susanzone5(z5NY)

You don't have to mulch them. I've left garlic plants in the garden for two winters and the plants are fine. I do this because from one clove, you get 6 new bulbs...each clove in the first summer's bulb makes a whole bulb the following year. They're very hardy.

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nc_crn

"And, IMHO, if you haven't grown or tried a Jimmy Nardello pepper yet, you have really been missing out on something (although I find the thin walls to be rather disappointing)."

Considering how many people cook and make salads with sweet peppers...Jimmy Nardello and Aji Dulce types (various) are grossly underused in most countries. They're thin, but rather uniquely and richly flavored.

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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Thanks Tom,. sometimes we have different tastes and preferences, like Jalapeno, that came up.

I have stopped growing bell peppers for more than one reason.
--- Not very tasty and flavorful.
--- They are always available in the produce section, at a reasonable price.
--- Honestly, I could not grow them successfully.
Just this past season , I bough a bell plant with 4 good size tomatoes on it. @ $3.95 I though it is worth trying it. Well, what you know, they were the only peppers all season long it had.

BACK TO POINT>

I have a pepper grow list . Right now all I am lacking is ALMA PAPRIKA. I may try Jimmy Nordella, if I have space for it.

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sunnyinsandiego(USDA 9/Sunset 20)

The grasshopper lives :-) Still hanging out in my pepper plant, which I thought for sure would be spent by now but continues to pump out more jalapenos than we will ever, ever eat... Perhaps this particular grasshopper is a lucky one?!?

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sunnyinsandiego(USDA 9/Sunset 20)

The grasshopper lives :-) Still hanging out in my pepper plant, which I thought for sure would be spent by now but continues to pump out more jalapenos than we will ever, ever eat... Perhaps this particular grasshopper is a lucky one?!?

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seysonn(8a WA/HZ 1)

Would it be ok to harvest some of the bigger outer leaves to eat, while I'm waiting for the heads to form?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sure thing. you can. They might be even tastier.

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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

Same thing that happened to me in the spring. They kept getting bigger and bigger, and I was just about ready to give up on them heading. All of a sudden, heads!

Sure. You can harvest some of the outer leaves, but maybe just a couple from each plant at a time. Those large outer leaves create lots of surface area for photosynthesis.

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nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

Glib, I've got the hardware cloth and raised beds. Also new raised containers, no bunnies or squirrels (maybe turkeys, not sure!)
I grew beets a couple of years ago, got distracted, and when I went to check they had gotten all woody!
I don't can any more (might start again since I've retired), but can they be frozen? I have a Food saver and freeze most things I grow/sauce/chop/etc. Nancy

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glib(5.5)

I don't know if beets freeze. But I think that in Zone 8 they can stay in the ground uncovered, unless your rodent pressure is overwhelming.

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donnabaskets(Zone 8a, Central MS)

To some degree, it may make a difference where you live. (Just one more reason why it's helpful for you to include your zone in every post.) In my zone, Kale grows all winter long, so I would not want to cut the entire plant. I harvest the larger lower leaves and leave the smaller top leaves to continue to grow. In this manner, I harvest continually from fall to spring from the same plants. Last year, I actually used Red Russian as the background of my pansy planting of Ultima Morpho pansies. It was a beautiful bed all winter and we ate from it too.

But, if you live farther north, it might be better to harvest the entire plant.

Red Russian Kale may just be my favorite green of all, and I like nearly all of them. It's delicious. Enjoy!

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susanzone5(z5NY)

Even up north, we harvest the leaves and leave the growing tip. If the plant winters over, it will grow sweet side shoots in early spring (snap them off and eat them.)

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Canning potatoesHow do you folks do it?
Posted by hobbiest
5 Comments
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hobbiest

sweetquietplace,

How do you normally do it?

To everyone else posting on this subject, I appreciate your input and thank you for the time that you spent to put up additional information! :)

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jonfrum(6)

Lots of videos on Youtube showing exactly how to can veggies - I'm sure some discuss potatoes. You'll need a pressure cooker to can spuds.

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wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana

I had a drier spring in 2012 and saw 5 Japanese Beetles. This spring was wetter and I saw 24 JBs.

ps, I trapped an estimated 270,000 in 2003 and killed hundreds more that year.

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beeman_gardener(5)

Potato beetles live in the soil. So if you were diligent last year and didn't allow any to mature, then it stands to reason there won't be any this year.
We also know that they 'fly in' from surrounding areas, perhaps your neighbours were more diligent also.
Lucky you!!!!!
We tend to forget, this years actions affect next years bugs?

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98quadcabv10

Thanks for the help. I cut one open and it was still white inside. Maybe I'll have better luck next year.

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howelbama(7 NJ)

not sure if you have tasted the white one, but last year I picked a sugarbaby that I thought was ripe, but was still white. I tasted it anyway, and to my surprise, it was sweet... not quite as sweet as a full ripe red one, but it was definelty edible..

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Yes, they will rebuild their population quickly, but they don't "come back " when washed off. Aphids have an astonishing reproductive system but can't return to their host plants once removed.

That's why you have to repeat the process every few days. It's a far superior method than using sevin which very quickly kills any beneficials that might be wanting to chow down.

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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

Once again Rhizo1, people using Sevin need education.

I have a bag of Sevin in my garage. I use it all the time. Whenever somebody comes over and asks me what I use for pest control and attract beneficials, I point to the bag of Sevin and say, "Not that!"

Uscjusto, make it a point to research IPM. Plant beneficial plants to flower year round(or almost year round). That will take care of a a majority of pests, IMO. But for now, jets of water every couple days and or insecticidal soap. As mentioned already, you gotta stay with the treatments though. Eventually the populations decrease to livable amounts.

Kevin

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planatus(6)

Sweet potatoes would be beautiful. I also have seen trailing blackberries grown this way in California.

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glib(5.5)

support is only needed for winter squash. beans and sweet potatoes will support themselves, as will do summer squash and tomatoes if kept picked. tromboncino should be good there.

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ltilton

Since it's only a year in that location, it should transplant successfully. Wait until the ferns are completely brown, then cut them to the ground. Use a fork, not a spade to dig the roots, this will help remove them with less damage. Get as deep as you can.

Good luck.

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planatus(6)

I have had to move a couple of 3-year-old asparagus plants, and I dug them with the soil still packed around the roots and put them in holes in the new spot. They settled right in and produced a crop the next year.

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amysun(9 Bay Area, CA)

Ah, thanks for the clarification and information. Pests, here I come!

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florauk(8/9)

Regarding whether to eat the holey leaves. I would certainly eat the one on the right but not the one on the left. Nothing to do with the holes but the left one just looks too old to be palatable. If those holes are representative of the type of damage you're getting I personally wouldn't do anything except give the plants a good shake and maybe a blast from the hose.

I don't know what Bt costs in the States but here it is extremely expensive and almost impossible to find for sale. I don't know why. It has to be ordered from the US and the postage at least doubles the cost. I wouldn't bother going to that amount of effort unless I had a massive problem and my livelihood depended on a perfect crop. A few holes are par for the course and will do you no harm.

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Ohiofem(6a Ohio)

Just for the record, you can't buy GMO seeds unless you are a farmer buying large lots of corn, soybeans or similar agricultural crops. Most of the garden veggies we grow do not have GMO versions available to the general public.

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daisies4ever(9)

Thanks for the input everyone. Much appreciated.

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terrene(5b MA)

I raise Black Swallowtails (as well as Monarchs, and other swallowtail species) and usually have a few black caterpillars each year.

The Monarch caterpillars can have more or less black in their striping too. There is a theory that they are blacker in cooler weather - to absorb more solar heat.

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jim_1 Central Illinois(5b)

This was a self-sown dill next to the house in late July.

Jim

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