24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Yes, by saying poison I should have said the "active" bait. The system I used is actually advance not advantage. The active ingredient for treatment is Diflubenzuron & considered a Toxic level 3 by the EPA. I would not want it in my edible garden, I also wouldn't use pressure treated would for raised bed edible garden. But that's just me. Hopefully with monitoring this will eventually drive the colony out & keep future infestations from happening. Here are 2 links for more info.
http://www.doityourselftermitecontrol.com/termitebaiting.htm
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/infoservices/pesticidefactsheets/toxic/diflubenzuron.php

It doesn't become rainfast. You apply it to the pest problems as a last resort, any insect that comes into contact with it may be affected. It will wash off in rain, but it also degrades in sunlight.
What is the name of the product you're using...perhaps it has added ingredients that make it last longer.

When one doesn't first fully understand the use, methods, durability, how it kills and what it kills, its water resistance, its rate and frequency of application and all the other factors associated with the use of a pesticide should they be using them?
Just because a pesticide is labeled 'organic' does not mean it has no negative side effects or that its use can't be abused.
For starters: Pyrethrins Fact Sheet
Dave


PHI is the length of time after application that harvesting is PROHIBITED. If the label says 3 days, you may harvest on the fourth day.
I don't mean this in any way but kindly, mjacobbe, but I worry that if you are not educated in the meaning of some of the label terminology, that you might not be able to make sense of the entire label.
Is there anyway we can help you with interpretation? Labels can be very complicated documents and not having a full understanding of the contents in their entirety can be dangerous.

Yeah, Romanescos are an extremely vigorous and rigid squash. I've broken them trying to manage their growth. Depending on how long the vines, they will branch and can produce on those branches. I can't say for certain yours will produce, but if they've branched, then it's possible. It may even toss out a branch at the nearest internode back from the break and continue on like nothing happened.

The white tail deer have begun eating my kennebec potato leaves. This is the first time I have ever had non-sweet potatoes leaves eaten. They started with buds and are coming back every night until now the plants are only a foot tall. My question is, will I still get potatoes or will production stop when the leaves are gone? I'm in the Maryland and the plants were not mature.

It is nice that so many people are now in favor of compost in place. Traditional composting is good for exercise, like going out in midwinter to turn a pile, and bad for nitrogen content. It is also negative for earthworms and fungal flora, which are deprived of the food they need, and which are the two best friends a gardener has.

I do sheet composting I would say...adding rotted horse manure with a lot of hay in it...leaf mulch,...and the crop residues chopped up in situ.
I even till these things in and have added other texture improving material to my silty clay soil to improve friability [looseness and workability].


Yeah, but they are food-grade. But mostly it's because I'm 65 with a lot of painful arthritis throughout my body and having them raised will allow me to continue gardening. I'm fortunate to be able to afford them, and they will keep my spirits up. I've been gardening for 40 years and I can't imagine not being able to.

Your plants look like they have some serious nutritional deficiencies to me IMO. Not sure which exactly offhand, maybe someone else will, but I suggest some balanced soluble fertilizer ASAP as a quick fix... work on that soil in the future.
Also watering every other day is probably too much water and can contribute to the problem.

Cuke plant looks like it has a severe case of powdery mildew and maybe even spider mites - can't tell for sure about them from the pics. But given all the interveinal chlorosis they were nutrient deprived before the PM developed. That plant is likely not salvageable at this stage.
The yellowing on the tomato plants combined with their retarded development and the leaf roll indicates over-watering along with nutrient deprivation. Neither is of a size to begin bearing fruit.
So what, how much, and how often have you fed them?
Dave

I just trimmed up three of my summer squash plants and they seem to be doing fine, plenty of new growth. If I am not mistaken, it actually looks like a spurt of new growth, actually.
Several of mine were so large that I just cut the leaf at the tip of the stem. I have read that they should be pruned back to the main trunk/branch, but I could not get in that far. I do not know if I did any damage to it by doing it that way, but after several days they all appear to be just fine.
For what it is worth, my zucchini plant covers an area that is at least a 6 x 6 square foot area on the ground, so you may have a lot more growth coming.

If there is enough room, you can also gently push the leaves away from the non squash plants that need more room and hold the leaves in place with a few long sticks. I'm moving sticks around often to "steer" leaves into areas where they won't interfere with neighboring plants.






Here is one of mine. I have another one on the plant growing which is a little bit more symmetrical.



I have gardened in CA and you have my sympathy re: gophers. I think you can use weed cloth if you know what you are doing. for asp, IMHO, wood chips are the best muclh, as they prevent weeds but they let spears through.
Thanks glib, I wasn't thinking about the gus getting through the weed cloth! I don't have them in rows, so the weed cloth wouldn't work. Maybe I'll go with some newspaper (not too thick as to crust up, but thick enough to help against new weed seed) and some wood chips. Our main problem is that we are right next to horse fields with some nasty weeds that blow in during the winters! Once those get established it's hell to get them out! Nancy