23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Yes, excellent article. It does speak to chemical residue in non-"O" seed and fraudulent "O" seed that is in reality non-"O".

Hopefully the USDA and other "O" governing bodies perform the same level of follow up as this German report.

Case closed. I found USDA "O" seed in bulk at a local heath food store, which is right across the street from a nursery that I frequent. The prices are reasonable, and the brand is Handy Pantry.

transplanting can slow down squash, but I grow several every year and always transplant. Even my giant pumpkins get transplanted after it is 2 feet tall and wide. Transplant carefully and you should have no problem. It looks to me like maybe too cold and too wet. ? Where are you located? I am on the coast of British Columbia and this (last week of May or first week of June) is when I set my plants to ground from the green house.
Don't fertilize until they show growth. If you can put a cover over them that will help to warm them up but DON"T burn them!. You need root growth in June. Taking off the first few flowers will let leaves and roots develop. Leaves and roots are what feed the fruit.

Sounds to me like these guys just need to get their roots established. I transplant squash routinely with success, but squash that are transplanted out of a rootbound pot will take longer to get established. The existing roots aren't pointed radially outward. The plants look reasonably healthy, but are those flowers??? Get rid of them. The plants needs to be concentrating on greenery. If you get a fruit set right now on one of those plants, it isn't going to grow any more. I also agree that you should hold off on the fertilizers until they are established.

For staking tall tomatoes - 10ft long, 1/2" iron rebar works best for me. Driven 2' into the ground leaves you with 8' to work with. Lasts forever. Use visegrips and 5# hammer to drive into ground. Home improvement stores have them. I bought all of mine (30) almost 30 years ago when they were a bit cheaper.
Happy Staking!

I use tall wood stakes for my tomatoes. They are hard to find. My friend uses tree limbs. Things have gotten to expensive for me to buy. I have to be creative with what God has given me intead.

Definite yes to chard -- mine grows all summer, even last summer when it was ridiculously hot and dry. Qualified yes to beets and carrots. The ones I planted in May and June last year grew well, but I had a difficult time getting either to germinate in July and August when it was really hot.

Other ideas -- how about green beans, soy beans, melons, squash, sweet potatoes? They all like the heat.

Kathy

Wow, great suggestions, thanks.. Sweet potatoes sound great and the carrots and chard would make great use of the garden space too! I tried to germinate Swiss chard seeds about 3 wks ago (last year's seeds) to no avail, but I think they may have been in the sunlight in the sunroom over the winter.

I could probably plant 4 melon/squash plants per bed if I wanted to - I'll have to think about that because I decided not to do melons thios year (because of the space).

Thanks again y'all and happy gardening!

Lettuce gets that white bitter sap in summer and fall. Doesn't that bother anyone else?

I believe that's what the OP is trying to avoid.

I've had this before on occassion with seedlings and it can be on any kind of plant. I just always assumed it was a kind of damping off/rot issue, staying too wet perhaps.

I just toss it including the soil around it, and try again fresh but try to not let the soil stay soggy if I can help it. Of course mother nature doesn't always cooperate.

Damping off fungus imo. Usually from overwatering and/or fungus gnats. Usually it's accompanied with indoor starts. I've read that cinnamon, hydrogen peroxide, and chamomile tea are good remedies.

You may want to just start fresh with a direct sow though, keep soil moist but water lightly, and THEN if you see them shriveling again try one of the remedies above..

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Sun, Jun 2, 13 at 16:20

Really impossible to tell, but my first thought was that I'd be happy with only the minimal damage I see.

I'm not overly concerned, more curious than anything. I have seen no evidence of slugs. The only possible culprits I've seen are grasshoppers and potato bugs and the occasional earwig.

Yes, my asparagus is flowering. I've only seen one or two adult beetles (which are now dead) but I've got lots of larvae. Plus, I don't really want to spray unless it's absolutely necessary. So I'm just going to cut my ferns, dispose of them, and stay on the lookout for adult beetles when the ferns regrow.

Rodney

kaolin clay (surround)
Why not see if this works ?

They should be okay. Remove some one or two at a time, eat them, and let the others get bigger.

Thank you Annew21 and Noki for the feedback.

Caelian

Around here, the soil freezes to a depth of around six feet (average) but asparagus still grows fine. On the other hand, we have reliable snow cover all winter long, while you probably don't.

mary - I lost a lot of plants this winter. Some of the asparagus, mint, etc.

I think too many days above freezing with it being very dry did them in.

Where did you go to harvest? Minnesota River bottom land.

How are you going to cook them up? So far, had some sliced and sauteed in butter. Also had some sliced, dipped in flour, and then sauteed in butter. Another meal had sauteed fresh asparagus, morels, and wild ramps on a rice pilaf. Also had a mushroom and swiss burger using a pile of sliced Morels sauteed in butter. Dehydrated a bunch for future use.

But what are those and where can I find them? They are edible Morel mushrooms. If you do not know what they are then please educate yourself regarding wild mushrooms before harvesting anything so you do not pick and eat poisonous types that can kill you.

Found in open deciduous woods around here. I do not know the range of their habitat, but they like our crappy Minnesota weather, especially this year - best harvest in many years.

Happy Hunting!

Thanks soilent!

Everyone always say - don't harvest wild mushrooms, get expert opinion, etc.

How does one educate themself? How do you access an expert?

Is there any kind of lab kit you could use to test a found mushroom?

I totally love mushrooms, and have seen some wild ones I was pretty sure were a gourmand treat - but I bypassed in favor of safety. I'd like to get that education - but how?

And - I'd like a mini lab to test, just in case!

Dave, in cooler zones people put down black plastic on the planting beds, cut a slit in it, and plant the vegs that way. Warms up the beds and keeps the weed out.

Yes I know but in these pics it looks as if it is running up behind the plant, as if the plant is down in a box. It may be just the angle of the photo but that is why I asked.

Dave

There is nothing wrong with the plant. It has to do with cold and erratic temps. When the weather regulates the color will return to normal. If you ever noticed geraniums that have been put out too early they do this too. But when the weather regulates they quickly go back to normal. Don't sweat it.

Hi again topsie - if you want to make classic sorrel soup you definitely need R acetosella, R acetosa or R scutatus, ie Sorrels, not docks. Sorrels are much more tender and have the requisite acidic tang. For a fish sauce you can just place the leaves in a pan over heat and they will effectively 'melt' into a tangy sauce.

With cooler temps and alot of rain, my sorrel sprang back with a lot of new growth.

I had thought you only ate in spring, but does anyone think this new growth would be good to make the classic french soup?

I sow broccoli raab densely and harvest it young--most people prepare and consume the entire young plant--very small florets, leaves and stems. It's quite tasty. It sounds like you were looking to grow regular heading broccoli, but you've got broccoli raab instead.

sounds like harvest time!

I bought broc raab once at the supermarket in stead of kale to try. Cooked it up and was repulsed by the sever bitter flavor....and I thought, never again, back to kale.

I had bought 2 bunches, so had to use the 2nd one in a subsequent meal. Not so very bad I thought, but wasn't going to buy again.

Found myself craving it like crazy! It is now a favorite, and I've been growing for 2 years.

kale is dead to me!