23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
You can plant brussels sprouts in the spring and fall in cool climates. As mentioned the fall planted ones are better. Here are the recommended planting dates for MD: MD Planting Dates
Peter - why does failure to germinate mean the mix has to be contaminated? They will germinate in garden dirt - not recommended of course but still possible - which is far more contaminated than any potting mix. Of course whether they would remain healthy is another matter.
Dave
Most people keep their potting mix very moist prior to germination (some put greenhouses over the seeds to keep the soil wet even and the whole area humid) and the seeds germinate fine. For not a single seed to germinate out of all those different plantings, IMHO there has to be fungus already in the mix. While you could grow seeds in garden soil riddled with various damping off fungus by keeping the soil very dry, no reason to use soil riddled with damping off fungus, when sterile potting mix is easy to come by.... sure, if you keep your mix too wet, fungus is going to find its way in there.... eventually.
Of course, JMO. All the same though, you don't think it is good advice to get a fresh bag of potting mix, to increase his chances of success?
What size is this insect? It could be anything from a tiny leaf hopper to a katydid, going by that image.
The first rule is to ID an unknown critter. Much of the time, with the worst of the plant pests, the damage simply isn't obvious until too late. Scale insects, aphids, and leaf hoppers, for example, aren't plant chewers but instead suck plant juices in large amounts.
You'd be surprised at the people who don't think aphids are a problem because they don't see any holes or chewing damage.
To glean good information from us, you need to give us good information: your location, behavior of the insect, size, etc.
I grow butternuts every year, and we eat a lot. So my compost pile routinely features butternut seedlings, and I've transplanted some of them to my bed. That's exactly the situation you're in The fruit I get are pretty butternutty, though maybe shaped a bit different.
The raised bed on the left was put in in 2011 (I believe). The rest of the area (minus the new little plastic raised bed in the middle) was my front lawn, which I covered in cardboard and 5" of compost January 2014. May 2014, I cut 4" holes in the cardboard, removed the grass under where I'd cut,
planted corn in the holes, and recovered with the compost. The corn did great! Granted I only planted 12 plants, but an in-ground garden is possible over existing sod.
My property is bounded on 2 sides with horse farms, both of which have token plow horses and some antique agricultural equipment... so the idea isn't as far-fetched as some I've heard! However, the sod is far more likely to be covered with broad-spectrum pale ale than herbicide... not that I encourage anyone to drink and till... but a man's gotta stay hydrated, right? Thanks all for the input. It is, as always, much appreciated!
I'm betting Rob is looking for quotes/anecdotes. Rob, do some research, then come back and ask for stories based on what you find. I'm growing asparagus for the first time this year and it's a nail-biter, I'm tellin' ya.
I can't imagine having more than 1 zuk and 1 crookneck unless there is a VERY large family! One of each was fine for our family of 4, but now that we are only 2 we give away quite a lot! Nancy
<I only asked this because a soil expert and phd agronomist expert in irrigation just advised that this idea of building up a bed of organic matter was a bad Idea and would cause more problems than help especially with even water and the water available to plants after the large volume that this composed OM basically pure compost will be able to hold relative to a more even mix of mineral content and OM and to just till in the supplemental OM rather than build up layers. >
That is correct. Planting in a bed of pure compost can be problematic about water. You can always compensate for it with more water. How much of a problem it is often depends on how decomposed all that organic matter is. The more decomposed, the more humus in nature it is, the less the problem.
The difference with lasagna beds vs. straight organic matter is the inclusion of several layers of soil. That is required for an effective and productive lasagna bed to function well.
Dave
Thank you for the information I will work with incorporating probably a pre mix soil into the layers from a local soil company as well as possibly some of the local soil depending on how deep the homeowners want me to go and how I think that will affect the overall consistency looking a few years down the road when it is all composted in.
I topped my asparagus bed the last couple of years with leaves and got asparagus beetles. Most were still edible, but just didn't look right.
I was told to spread food grade salt on the bed to control weeds. I haven't tried it yet. But no leaves for me next year! Nancy
It isn't so much breaking the rules as it saves us from having to ask about all the other things that could be causing the problems and then waiting for the answers. All info up front is a big help. :)
It does sound from reading your other post, that you went over-board with the additives. Not sure why all that is needed, especially since you added all of them last year too. Minerals are retained in soil for a long time and you can easily create a toxic buildup of them by over-applying mineral based supplements. Unless you have had a professional soil test done that recommended all those additives. Is that case?
Based on the pics I would agree that you have some sun and wind damage from insufficient hardening off, especially in the last pick. But the issue in the first pic and the top leaf in the middle pic shows interveinal chlorosis and that is a nutrient issue. It can be caused by exposure to weather extremes and by excess water (yours or Mother Nature's) AND by a severe nutrient imbalance or a skewed pH in the soil.
Greensand can be lethal if over applied - did you use only per label directions? Did you till it in well before planting? Then you doubled up on all the Mg, Zinc, Copper, Moly and especially the Manganese with the Azomite and some of your leaves appear to me to be showing symptoms of manganese toxicity and the accompanying iron binding. Google images of 'manganese toxicity in plants' to see many pics to compare to your plants. And the link below gives you great info on toxicity symptoms in plants.
https://www.hydroponics.net/learn/deficiency_by_element.asp
This is further compounded by clay soil if you have that (and it looks like clay in the pics).
So if I'm right, what to do? First, get a professional soil test done. Contact your local county ag extension office for that. Ask for an organic matter % and especially a pH and follow their recommendations. Then assuming the local source of compost is providing quality product I'd side dress all the plants with several inches of it in the hopes of binding up as much of the elemental toxicity as possible and hope the plants make it. They may adapt and compensate to some degree. Then lay off all the additives. :) Assuming your soil has an active soil food web they aren't needed anyway and repeated applications are definitely not needed.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Dave
I've tried them a few times since that post, and have been very pleased every time. I am not saying that they are as good or better than a good, summertime vine ripened cantaloupe. But what had and has me so excited about them is that they are a great WINTERTIME melon!! To be clear, I know where they are grown and am not saying they are grown in cold (ie winter). But almost all the cantaloupes I get in the grocery store in winter time are just awful. I'm sure its because they have to be grown so far (south) away at that time of year, and the long journey necessitates them being picked very green and perhaps most wintertime melons are bred more for shipping stability than taste. All that may also be true for melorange,, but they are still very, very good melons in spite of all this. Best melons I've bought this time of year.
BTW...Thanks, daninthedirt, for the heads up on the seeds! I'm not at al surprised to hear they are hybrids, but at least now I know saving seeds is futile in all probability. Thanx
The optimal size for a sprout is ½ to ¾ inch long...preferably green sprouted. If the spouts are put where they get moderate light when they are small, they develop sturdy green sprouts. This is not absolutely necessary, but is highly desirable.