23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Too bad about the dam, but I'll guess you're right about its probable fate.

Looks like a wait-til-next-year situation, unfortunately. If the forecasters are to be believed, it'll rain from now on forever.

This post was edited by ltilton on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 13:47

Well it's been 2 days. At least there isn't any water flowing from that side of the pond now. There are a few puddles in the garden, but it's not under water anymore. The soil is still sopping wet muck of course. Yesterday the tomato plants looked happy. Today a few of them are drooping a little. I hope they pull through.

Because this was creek water, I'm a little worried about the safety of the tomatoes, assuming the plants survive. We're all on septic systems here. I guess I'll throw away any fruits that were under water. I was doing some reading, and it seems like those above the water should be OK, especially if cooked instead of eaten raw.

The pic and the short video attached below are from Wednesday. In the pic, none of the water you see is the pond, that's all supposed to be lawn. The pond is off to the left side.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flooded Garden

I don't think there are various kinds of pollination, good, bad etc.
My guess (just guess) is that the seed had been crossed. So it has traces of two kinds of squash in it. If it is HYBRID, it has not been fully established. I can see that the two squashes on the vine even have different shapes and the one you've picked has yet another shape.

But the bottom line is getting fruit that taste good. I would not care what shape or color it is.

The one with the round end is good.

The other may be incompletely pollinated, but whatever the reason it was starting to rot on the yellow end.

Wow, that's really nice Rodney!!!

I went out and clipped the bulbils off a couple that were near the tops, and while I was at it I pulled back some soil to see how one of my bigger ones was doing... it doesn't look HALF as big as your last picture.

I can't recall the characteristics of the two kinds I have, but maybe they will never get that big. (Or maybe over time, as I keep amending the soil and selecting bigger bulbs - maybe they will grow bigger after all)

That local farmers market idea sounds like the plan though, if I decide to try my hand at some others, like Hardneck.....

Jerry

uscjusto- The white garlic you find in the supermarket is rather bland. It's amazing how much more flavor and aroma homegrown garlic has. Obviously different varieties have different flavors, some mellow out when you cook them and some keep their punch. As you found out, there are a ton of different garlic varieties.

Jerry- Thanks. It appears that my garlic is a week or two ahead of yours as the leaves of my softnecks are beginning to yellow already whereas yours still look dark green. About a week and a half ago I checked the size of my bulbs and they were maybe half the size they are now. Your garlic just needs time to size up.

I grow Inchelium Red (never had it grow scapes though) and it produces bulbs around the same size as Transylvanian. I poked around in the soil to check and sure enough, they are the same size. So just do as you said, amend the soil and select the biggest bulbs to replant and you'll have nice big bulbs of flavorful garlic.

Rodney

Can't give you any growing tips, but here's something interesting I learned: the prepared wasabi that you buy in the tubes at the grocery store isn't even real wasabi, it's horseradish that is coloured to look like wasabi.

Donna, thank you for the reply. Your are right, horseradish are cheaper than the wasabi so many restaurants use it.

Caelian

In Aug. 1997 I dug up some raspberries and planted them. The person that was supposed to house-sit while I was going on vacation had a last minute impediment and could not come. The rasps went unwatered for two weeks, but it rained, and they all made it. They are very tough. I would keep the pots in shade to minimize stress.

Not sure if I'm understanding your post. Are you saying that where you want to plant these raspberries is in heavy clay that you cannot dig in at the present time? I would think you would have more success if you dig that stuff up and get rid of it, put some decent soil in its place if you want the raspberries to do well.

They are very resilient plants, I agree. I had to rejuvenate the bed once when it was overtaken by quackgrass. Dug up the whole bed and got rid of most of it and took out the weeds...it was a vast improvement.

Like ltilton and edweather, if it looks good inside, it's getting eaten!

Kevin

Most (better than 8 out of 10) of those affected pepper on that link are not BER. victims.

Yeah I guess you could say that since 8 out of 10 of the pics aren't even of peppers.

But the pics that are of peppers was the point and they are pics of BER on peppers. Bacteria? Sure. That's how BER works - a damaged portion of the fruit is created by the mal-distribution of calcium in the fruit and bacteria invade the damaged area causing the discoloration and rot. That doesn't mean it isn't BER.

Just as all varieties of tomatoes are subject to BER given the right conditions, so are all varieties of peppers.

There is ample credible info available about BER. Unfortunately there is also a ton of highly INaccurate, anecdotal info about it available. One has to evaluate the credibility of the source of the info when it comes to understanding its symptoms, its causes, and its controls.

The only reason I say the BER or sunscalded fruit isn't salvageable is that many find the taste affected, off, bitter, etc. if it tastes fine to you by all means use it.

Dave

Is there something premade and nice looking that I can easily put up?

Yes there are many things but they are also quite expensive. Just browse all the fencing options on sites such as Home Depot and Lowes. It doesn't take much handyman experience to drive some stakes into the ground and zip tie some small-hole fencing or hardware cloth to it.

But instead I'd suggest you focus on the real purpose of a fence - function, keeping the garden varmints out - rather than appearance. Many times the most attractive fences are also the least effective.

Dave

So what do most people use?

I was thinking maybe picket with hardwire cloth stapled to it?

I've been googling for days..LOL

How tall to keep rabbits out?

Yes, I was thinking of bedding under higher plants like tomatoes and under the shrubbery in the front yard landscaping.

The front yard landscaping may be ideal since the bed can have wood chips for mulch that also feeds the mushroom bed. It also would not be disturbed for annual planting.

One other spot would be under the fig tree after it gains some more height and spread.

I was hoping for someone on the forums to affirm and get me off to a good start with advice.

Yes, in my experience stropharia in the sun does not work. You may have tomatoes in there now, but next year the mulch will be in the sun and the fungus will suffer. So anywhere full shade, make your bed there. The northern side of the house is fine, I keep them under some arborvitae, which is hard on my back but good for them.

Two important things, the chips have to be fresh, from a live tree, which is not a conifer. Most chips from a tree company will, in fact, be from dead trees, which are already well inoculated with something else. I know a tree guy and he knows what I want. The other thing, start it well. Lots of moisture initially, perhaps a tarp on top to retain moisture. I now do only logs, and I always start them (summer or winter) in plastic bags in the basement, after soaking. They do get a bit moldy but the fungus takes 100% of the time. Once it is established, it is robust.

rotated your pic.

everything looks fine.

This post was edited by seysonn on Fri, Jun 28, 13 at 11:02

Thanks for rotating the picture--much better! He's a keeper!

Keep the peas watered, they should be fine. I usually pull mine sometime in July, as they're pretty much done by then & I need the space to plant my fall garden.

My opinion: don't assume, don't give up. Try NEEM oil spray.
Also try bacterial sprays. Without a lab analysis its just more of a guessing game.

This post was edited by seysonn on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 20:50

That's looking a lot like downy mildew.

Look under leaves for signs of black/white moldy looking spots that may be present on some of the leaves.

Avoid overhead/spray irrigation in the future if you're doing that currently.

It's one of those things that you can't take care of easily once it's shown up...you have to be preventative and lower risk before it shows up.

can you post a pic of your leaves ?

Get them out of the pots. Cucurbits don't like to be in small containers at all.

JMO

Kevin

I planted Fordhook or Jackson Wonder... can't remember now. I have the same thing happening. A few shot up vines about 24" long. I put in a string trellis along the edge of a 4x4 raised bed and have about three 36" vines on it now. I would not bother trellising or staking. Just turn the runners back over the plant mass and let it go.

This is what I've got here. The little fencey thing is what I usually use to support my bush beans. It was already in place before these began their vining.

If your concern is the lower leaves of squash family, potato, tomato, ...then those are normal. Plants abort theirs lower leaves, and even branches, when they are no longer functional or needed.

Judging from the squash picture, it looks pretty normal. But a light doze of top dressing with an ALL PURPOSE fertilizer can help with color and vigor.

Thanks everyone. I'll give it a few more days with the blood meal then try some Epsom salts. The bed has dried out a little as well after my son "helped" water. I'll follow up with an all purpose fertilizer next time.

When I grow eggplant, I start off staking it with a 2ft piece of bamboo just so that it has support, but as it grows, the plant gets sturdier, and I find it no longer needs the bamboo. I don't cage my eggplant, but some prefer that method to keep the plant somewhat contained and supported (eggplant can get pretty big as it grows).

You can find tomato cages and stakes at your local garden supply store. Just make sure (if you go the cage route) to not get one that's too narrow. In my experience, my eggplant likes to grow a bit wider than my tomato plants.

Your plants look awfully close together. Is that four eggplant in 2 or 3 sqft? As they get bigger, they'll probably get too crowded.

This post was edited by Sromkie on Thu, Jun 27, 13 at 13:55

Got to agree you are way over-crowded there. Something has got to go. I eggplant in 2 sq. feet max. As for the holes, not an issue. Leaves get holes from lots of things - even just from whipping in the wind.

Those 3 ring tomato cage things ae a waste of time and money for tomato plants but work good for eggplants but you don't have enough room there to use them.

Lots of good articles on the web on how to grow various vegetables. Just Google "how to grow________ (name of vegetable)".

Dave

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: How to grow eggplant

I can always use slings they are easy to.make. besides it all a learning experience. Thanks for wishing me good luck.

Here's a photo of one of mine.