24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

<You might want to check your sources in regard to your info: "Third, and most relevant to your info of "the plant stops growing...gets crinkled and dry looking...shows black spots" are not the symptoms of BW". Here is one of many quotes from university agricultural researchers. "Unfortunately, the disease doesn't take much time to progress, and soon the whole plant is wilted. After wilting, the entire plant, including fruit, leaves and vines, shrivels before dying." >
I don't understand as that is almost word for word what I said only you left off the last part of my comment. "With BW the plant remains green but collapses, wilts dramatically." That is the definitive symptom - collapse of the plant, usually while still green - not that it "stops growing..gets crinkled and dry looking".

But semantics aside, BW is easy enough to diagnose with the common stem cutting test for it.
Dave

"Could sun be the big limiting factor?"
Not directly. Temperature is the most limiting factor for okra. I've seen okra at 80 degrees barely growing but sprouting half a dozen pods a week at 90 degrees. This is not to say sun exposure is unimportant, just that temperature is more likely to be the limiting factor. So long as okra has 6 or 7 hours of full sun each day, production will be reasonably good.

Have trimmed Clemson Spineless okra leaves after harvesting each pod and have had no branching at all. Plants now about 4' tall and still producing with closer leaf nodes. Any advice appreciated. Temps in mid 90's and full afternoon sun. New leaves are noticeably smaller and lighter than earlier leaves.




I wouldn't grow anything to eat there just yet. I despise rubber mulch. Rubber is nothing more than a combination of chemicals.
Today we are only scratching the surface at the many man-made things that are health hazards. To me when growing your own food YOU have control over what chemicals are used on your food - I choose to use none.
And while you say the rubber has been removed unless there has been some major diggin I am willing to bet you will indeed find pieces for many years to come.
Do you have another place (spot) you can garden? Is there a reason you chose this spot?
htmlgeek01 you are to be commended for doing a soil test - something many gardeners fail to do.
The first thing to consider in site selection is how many hours of "direct sunlight" the location gets. It should be 6-8 hours of unfiltered direct sunlight. If not find another location. Some shade can be helpful to allow time for working in the garden.
2nd would be a reliable soil test - from either a local agriculture dept or college. Begin building the soil the fall (season) before you intend to grow plants.
3rd plant and layout the garden not just in your mind but on paper. This can be a good winter project. Write down things you like to eat and start with those.
4th Do NOT start the garden too big but do build in a way to expand the garden if/when things work out. The reason many people fail at gardening is they jump in "too BIG" - find out it is more work than they can handle and the weeds take over.
Many other things to consider but just a few more are
Water - is water available? I prefer rainwater but that is another topic entirely.
Compost - do you plant to compost? If so try to build in room in or near the garden. Building a compost bins or simply using a ring made from wire fencing will be another project (maybe over winter).
Winter is a good time for garden planning. Read up on winter sowing - something to help pass the winter days.
Oh and this should prob be # 1.5 keep a garden notebook. Write in things as you think of them and review the notes in spring BEFORE planting. Write in things that went well and things that need to be improved on (each year).
To me gardening is on huge experiment - making mistakes is part of the learning curve - but making them repeatedly is just silly.
HTH
Best of health and luck to you.


This is going to sound completely crazy, but I assure you, it does work. I store my onions in the barn, they freeze solid, but when you bring one inside with enough time to defrost before you use it, it's perfect. Onions keep for me this way into April. If it's going to get very, very cold, like below 10 degrees, I bring them inside, then take them back out when things warm up slightly.
My neighbor told me some years ago that he did this with his onions. I felt that it was too crazy to believe, so ignored his advice until I found an onion one February that had been in the barn all winter. Brought it inside, and it was perfect. Been leaving them in the barn ever since.

Krissy- I often remove blossoms from plants until the plant itself is large enough to put energy into the blossom/fruit as opposed to growing leaves. In my opinion, you should remove the current fruit and eat it. Then spend some time fertilizing the plant- use miracle grow, GroPower or a well balanced organic fertilizer, per the instructions on the package. Once the plant itself is in better shape then let it flower and fruit. Currently my zucchini plant is about 3 feet across in all directions and I am finally allowing it to set fruit. Where are you located and what type of soil are you growing it in?


Well, the Scott's Turf builder herbicides are 2-4 D and Mecoprop, I believe. They act on different weeds. 2-4 D is a suspected carcinogen, but it degrades pretty rapidly. Most of it will be gone in a month or two. Maybe a bit longer for Mecoprop. If you had that stuff in your bed I suspect the whole plant would be affected, not just a few leaves. In any case, if this is your problem, it'll be gone next year. I'd be careful about keeping that stuff well away from your garden beds, though.

I dont think it should be a concern, sometimes it just needs a bit more water when the whether is hot. If soil is dry add water. The hot whether sometimes causes leaves to dry out but the plant could still be fine, and if you snip the dead leaves, new ones can grow, but those leaves dont look dead. Dont cut them off as you should keep some leaves to ptorect tge fruit from over exposure to sun. Also sometimes insects eat tge leaves. But that doesnt seem to ruin the plant


I planted beet seeds and only 3 came up so I planted lots more and not a one came up. This last planting was six weeks ago, We have had very hot weather. The seeds seem to have disappeared a I dug into the bed and found nothing. Could something be eating the seeds? LB in Oregon



"We grow our peas against the entire fence, & therefore we have wonderful peas through the winter"
Lucky you. You must be in a relatively mild winter area. For us northern folks growing peas in the winter (without a greenhouse) is a dream that will never come true. :)
Rodney




There are fast acting fertilizer organic options too. The big box stores carry them and even Scotts makes them now due to popular demand. Not that I am saying your plants need them....
They don't. And I use quality organics when I need it.