24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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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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fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX

Hawaii doesn't have more diverse climates than CA. HI doesn't even have diverse seasons. There's no place in HI that has high chilling and a warm growing season. That rules out all crops and fruits that need chilling and summer heat.

CA has blazing deserts and the biggest trees in the world growing in a cloud forest. It also has all combinations of cool, warm, and hot summers/winters except truly tropical, ie warm all year. And the elevation extremes in CA are as large as in HI.

This post was edited by fruitnut on Sun, Oct 6, 13 at 17:52

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woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a

Yep: just going up the Palm Springs Tramway, one goes from desert to alpine in a 15 minute ride. I went on it one time in April when the temps at the bottom were in the 90's and there were people cross country skiing at the top.

Kevin

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glib(5.5)

It would be interesting to know if the beta family can be used to remediate slightly salty soils. The Dutch use salt hay first, but I wonder if beets are next.

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pnbrown

Seems reasonable to me.

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CarloMartin947

One thing to keep in mind is that all vegetable plants must not suffer any stoppage in their growth, or they will turn bitter. Usually it's too little or too much water, lack of nutrients, or wild temperature fluctuations. Using the methods pioneered by Alan Chadwick, the so called, French Intensive method, helps a lot. See the descriptions here:
Alan Chadwick
Click on "Techniques", then on "Kale" for more on that plant also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

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stuffradio

I grow Red Russian Kale and Dino Kale and leave them all winter. The only fear is the overwintering baby slugs. You definitely want to check under the leaves to get rid of them, because it will give them a nice supply of food once we get near Spring!

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CarloMartin947

My favorite cherry tomato is the Chadwick Chrerry, sold by various outlets, but I get mine from SEEDS OF CHANGE. This is a strain developed by the famous Alan Chadwick. More about tomato culture can be found at the following website:

Tomato Culture Methods

Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Chadwick

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susanzone5(z5NY)

Bonfleur, pick the green tomatoes and bring them indoors. Put them on plates and they will ripen indoors. You can eat them as they ripen. I did this for weeks.

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raistlyn

Bok choy is in the cabbage family and caterpillars love those things! I put row covers on anything that remotely comes within the cabbage family! Flea beetles also like them as well as radishes. In fact some people grow radishes as a catch crop.

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digit(ID/WA)

Certainly covering what threatens my garden's bok choy.

I have never quite understood the idea of a "catch crop" unless the grower returns and destroys all of the pests, as well as sacrificing the plants.

Left to themselves, something like flea beetle larva will feast on the host plant roots then mature into mobile adults. I would assume that these adults would be happy to move on from the radish, a real flea beetle favorite, to the other garden plants.

Steve

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