23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Thanks for all the great advice. I had never heard of SVB until joining garden web. I did surgery on a declining pie pumpkin this morning. I pulled out two white squishy bugs and fed them to the chickens.
I just planted a second round of squash in a different bed but don't want the tender new plants to be eaten from within before fruiting. I checked for eggs this morning and did not find any. I have been using neem oil to combat aphids on my brussels sprouts. Does anyone know if neem oil helps combat SVB or squash beetles?
I had fun frying them buggers when I got home yesterday!
When I put the torch on the plants the adults came out in numbers and got fried also!
I got a lot of them, but I'm sure some escaped!
Hishigata, I read somewhere that neem helps. I plan to get some on the way home.
Probably your pH tester came with some kind of rough guidelines for different vegetables, fruits etc !
But in a home garden we cannot and it is not feasible to provide a perfect pH for each vegetable we grow. But fortunately most veggies thrive in a range of pH. Probably that range is 5.7 to 7.2. From what I have gathered, again, most plants prefer slightly acid soil( say 6.8). However, thre are a group of garden plants that prefer slightly sweet(alkaline) soil (say 7.2)
But with regard to your measurement (pH =5), I think that if far too acid for just about any garden veggie.. And another thing is that soil pH cannot be changed overnight . It will take months for lime to become effective. There are some fast acting sweeteners. Also, deficiency in things like phosphorus and magnesium can contribute to soil acidity. Therefore, in my opinion, applying those elements can raise soil pH.
I have grown this and other varieties, and don't know how they would do from early summer planting. I grow them twice, once in spring from seeds started indoors 6 weeks before last frost, and again in early August. The spring plants are good, but the fall plants are phenomenal! In summer, sometimes I sow a nurse crop of buckwheat and rip out holes for planting the fennel, which benefits from a bit of shade and shelter on hot days.
Many thanks for the info. I went out at 6 this morning and found three female blossoms open. I proceeded to hand pollinate and actually found a bee deep down in one. So earlier to check will be my habit from now on. Again thank you for taking the time to help me !!!!
Most of these critters come out at night to chew on your cucumbers. Most likely it's slugs and/or snails. If it was the beetle, he would bore a hole through the stem and eat your cukes from the inside out. I would recommend using diatomaceous earth. It's relatively cheap and has worked well for me. Just sprinkle around your plants. It also improves your soil composition in the process and adds a lot to trace minerals to the ground.
Just some thoughts and observations, not entirely sure of the science, tho....
I've noticed much earlier snow melt on the east side of fields bordered by trees both to the east and west. As I see it, both receive equal sun, but due to warmer air temps during the afternoon sun times there is greater warming and melting of the snow in the areas that are sunny in the afternoon.
I've also noticed frozen soil longer in the spring on the west edge of a high sided, incompletely filled raised bed that I attribute to similar causes.
Perhaps your soil temps on the east side are higher even during warmer weather because of a similar effect and give faster growth. Might try sticking a soil (or meat) thermometer into the soil to check temps in the different areas.
I wonder if this also dries out the soil on the east side faster. This could increase growth during wet times and cold times (again partly from warmer soil.) Once summer heat or dry conditions come, it might not be an advantage, though.
Great thanks. I didn't know that not picking them frequently slows down their production. I have been snipping off yellow/damaged leaves, mostly from the hardening process. This shouldn't hurt growth in any way right? I've been cutting each leaf right by its branch, leaving the branch sticking out from the stem.
You sound just like him. Lol i live in a very small town in the middle of no where. The nearest walmart is 30 some miles away. Dollar general is thru most happen spot in town. I live on 29 acres surrounded by hills and we have a creek and pond. We have horses in a nice pasture. I don't want to move. He says he will make more but the cost of living is slot higher out there from what i understand.
Cb-garden
Don't be afraid of messing up. Gardening is supposed to be fun- we all make mistakes (and come here to laugh about them). If you obsess on perfection, you won't achieve it and you won't be happy.
Probably the worst that will happen is something won't grow. The next worst is you will be so successful (zucchini) that you will have wheelbarrowfuls of produce.
Oh yeah, bust up old roofs and stone walls for mulch.
Yes, the description says that they're from recycled walls and roofs.
Then later on it says they're "quarried" by a family owned business.... hmm...