23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Organic does not necessarily mean harmless. Almost anything can be toxic if applied in high enough doses - even water. Even though you followed directions, the fertilizer may have been too intense if it was indirect contact with the stem. Then again, it could be a coincidence. We gardeners are always learning.
Sorry about your tomatoes. I did something similar to what you did but had the opposite outcome.
I put down Espoma Tomato-Tone about 10 days ago and never watered it in because I had a hunch we were in for an extended rainy period (which we are still currently in) in NJ.
My tomatoes have gone bananas since then. All I did was measure three tablespoons and applied it in a circular fashion around the stem no less than 3 inches from the stem. See pics below from another thread.
The shorter plants are those that I started from seed three weeks after the first set of plants but they are all healthy and happy it seems. I'm no expert but if it worked for me....maybe give Tomato-Tone a try next time??
Here is a link that might be useful: my tomatoes
What if determinate leaves are angled downwards and touching the soil?
What if some branches are too thick to just pinch off? Should I use something to cut them? and how far from the stem?
In 11 years I have never grown tomatoes that outgrew cages of the size that you see in the pics right now. Looks like that's about to change. I guess that the Promix I used in combination with my new GeoPots is proving to be a winner. This is the first time I am using either of the two. Maybe I'll just stick longer bamboo sticks in the center of the containers and support the stems as they continue to grow. Or should I stack a 2nd cage on top of the first?
Since I have two of each tomato plant, I'll probably want one to grow larger tomatoes, and one to grow more tomatoes. How does the pruning technique determine this?
I'll toss the arugula in my compost bin. I started it from seed when it was still quite cool in early May. Maybe next year I'll start it indoors?
In 11 years I have never grown tomatoes that outgrew cages of the size that you see in the pics right now. Looks like that's about to change. I guess that the Promix I used in combination with my new GeoPots is proving to be a winner. This is the first time I am using either of the two. Maybe I'll just stick longer bamboo sticks in the center of the containers and support the stems as they continue to grow. Or should I stack a 2nd cage on top of the first?
I would just stack two cages on top of each other. I've grown tomatoes down here before that were over 8' tall. So having them out grow the cages are common. I use 4' cages now and just let them droop back down over the top.
tomncath, JFYI, If you have firehouse subs in your area you can buy their pickle buckets for $2 each and save a little money. My local Lowes charges $4.50 each! Plus they donate the money to charity.
elisa_Z5, You do know that sweet potatoes set roots and produce more potatoes from those roots if you let them sprawl?
drayven, Like others have said, peppers, cukes, melons, ETC. I don't have any now I disposed of them years ago after they fell apart and were unusable as cages.
The parts are still in use several places around the farm. I used them to repair fence, replace lost clips on my tractor, made hangers for storing stuff. I even used some pieces for a gas welding repair in a pinch.
I like the Christmas tree idea! I won't comment on Madonna!
I still use the heavy duty ones for the first 4-5' of growth on my maters. If I can get a pic, maybe I'll post what my caging/trellising contraption is now. All others are used up on my peppers-- great for peppers.
I even use them to cage my baby seedlings for all my brassicas et al to keep my dogs from trampling -- once they reach about a foot in height, I pull them off. I also use them to lay down over freshly sown seeds to keep the dogs from trampling there also. it's so much easier than fencing off with chicken/hog wire. Like others have mentioned, bush beans and cukes. I've even used them lying down and draping plastic over them to protect seedlings during downpours.
Kevin
I seem to have plenty of bees around here. Plenty of bumble bees, and I think someone nearby is keeping bees because I see a lot of honeybees too. I still hand pollinate my first few squash early on, until the bees find them. Later on there's so much bee activity it's not necessary for me.
I have gazillions of honey bees, Plus other bees. I think they are wild. I don't know how to tell the difference between wild and domestic honey bees.
I am pretty sure there are no beekeepers within miles of me.
There isn't a lot of commercial farming near me. The closest one that would use pesticides is about 1/2 mile away, usually corn for silage or some other type stuff for silage, it is a dairy farmers field.
I have a wheat field that joins my property but I haven't saw them spray anything and normally wheat doesn't have bug problems in my area.
I have a lot of things that attract them though, fruit trees, crimson and white clover. They love my figs, they get more than half of them.
In my experience, the worst thing cucumber beetles do is spread disease, which is what kills the plants. That's why I think you need to be aggressive in getting rid of them. I grow a variety that is supposed to be unattractive to them (Diva) and also spray with spinosad, an organic insecticide, as soon as I see them. The best control is probably row covers so they never touch your plants. I haven't figured out how to do that in a container.
Ohiofem, Actually, if they kill the seedlings, they don't even get going good. I would call the sudden appearance yesterday the first emergence which was so much later than usual that it caught me a bit off guard...just trying to warn the folks about them on seedlings.
My broccoli and cabbage got true leaves fairly quickly, but my brussels sprouts did seem to stay small a lot longer. I germinated the BS inside, then kept the containers outside on a sheltered porch until they were ready to transplant. Here I thought maybe not growing them inside under lights was keeping them small, but it sounds like they just grow a lot more slowly than other brassicas.
When I transplanted them outside ~3 weeks after sowing, they were pretty tiny, with only 1 set of true leaves. Now a month later, they are closing in on a foot tall and looking great. Our cooler-than-usual summer must be agreeing with them.
Kathy
Eh, don't rub it in. (But well put.) You go where the jobs are. Yes, I really miss that locale. I grew up there. Now, I can grow heaps of okra, eggplant, and hot peppers here with ease, my cherry tomatoes are 8-feet tall, and I've got TWO growing seasons. But I really miss the berries (I would kill to grow blueberries ...) and the lack of SVBs. While the winters here are wonderful, deep summer is an, er, challenge.
Going back in a few weeks on my yearly visit! Now, when I go back there in summer, the sky is always clear and beautiful. Why do I remember it otherwise? Oh yeah, there are the other nine months of the year!
Well said. Zone classification is just indicative poor correlation. It is more like the length of growing season in months. It does not reveal any relevance to temperature pattern.
EXAMPLE: I am where it is 7b to 8. Last night low was 48F, tonight and tomorrow nights will be the same. Our last frost date was around mid April I think. That was two months ago. Somewhere down south at zones 7b and 8 they are harvesting okra but I am worried about my squash seedlings..hehe
Is there a way I can still save my plants? I got some garden soil and have miracle grow. Can I Either water the plants with miracle grow or dig in garden soil. I lost some of the cucumbers and all the watermelons today. I did take 4 of the cucumbers and repotted them in huge containers a couple of days ago and watered them with the miracle grow and they seem to be looking better today. They are lemon cucumbers (I love them so much). We live on such a limited budget (less than $800 a month between the two of us due to disabilities for both of us) that adding expensive compost is not cost effective for us. I sure would like to see at least a few of them make it. Now I did put my potatoes directly in the ground and they seemed to be doing great. I also put the following directly in the ground as well: Several varieties of tomatoes, zucchini, crook neck, raspberries and a couple of cauliflower as well. Before I did that I mixed about 40% of miracle grow garden soil with it. I sure wished I didn't look stupid doing this. But I want to thank all that has tried to help me
I have a suggestion: For cucumbers, melons ... dig a circle around each (about 16" in diameter, 2 to 3 inches deep, and about 3" wide ). be careful not to hit any roots. Then get manure compost and fill that doughnut shape hole. You can sprinkle and mix a little bit of all purpose time release fertilizer too. Cover it wit 1/2" soil, water it. Depending on the strength of manure, that should take care of that plant for 3 to 4 weeks.
REMEMBER: Soil is just a medium. It can be anything as long as it provides: balanced moisture retention and drainage. Then you add nutrients to that medium . That is all plants care about. Obviously inorganic soil (debris from the rocks, stones ... ) are plentiful. Then you have to adjust its pH and add nutrients to it. Topsoil is mostly inorganic soil with some organic matter accumulated over time. So , adding compost to any soil can make it garden soil.
Thanks for the quick answer!
Here are some new pictures.
http://mygardenyote.blogspot.com/2013/06/zucchini-plants-2.html
Well, as a fellow Iowan, I can tell you I haven't even direct seeded my cucs yet.
I probably will either this coming weekend or the next, but I don't ever plant them until mid June at the very earliest. (Zucchini as well by the way)
I have tried and tried to get them out in May or early June, and they always do terrible. But, I have found if you wait until it is HOT, and just direct seed them, they do so much better. They just rocket out of the ground and make up for "lost" time, and also seem to miss out on most of the beetle blight.
It's been cold here on my side of Iowa, we had nights in the 40's not to long ago. Cucs like it hot. Try putting them in much later. Another Iowa gardener suggested it to me years ago when I was frustrated, and I tried it once and never went back.
A bee hanging out on a leaf for a couple hours?? I think jean may have it. If I got nailed with an airless paint sprayer, I'd probably want to take a breather also.
:)
Kevin
A bee covered in pollen...
Hope it doesn't have allergies (ha, ha).
Possibly a Cuckoo Bee
Here is a link that might be useful: Cuckoo bees