23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Are there a lot, or just a few?
I get them every year, gnats, or what have you, here and there, on my seedlings I grow under lights and on windowsills. When I see one on a leaf, I smoosh it, but I don't really worry too much about them. It happens every year and my plants do just fine when I get them in the ground outside. I think it may have something to do with wet soil inside the house. I never have houseplants (although I would like too) because it always attracts these gnats we are talking about.
Lindsey
Thanks for the replies. this is the first time this has happen to me. I don't start indoors always outdoors, but the weather here in so cal have been wierd, hot then cold then hot again n then cold. But i have read that it could be due to wet soil. Thanks again.
Terry
Aphids. I have a heck of a time with them. They are a real nuisance. I blow them off with the hose and spray the plant with soapy water. If you only have a few this won't be a problem. You can smoosh them with your finger too. If you get a big infestation of them,( and you'll know, because it will look like growths everywhere, when it's actually just lots of bugs),they just keep coming back. So don't let them get established. I have never had them on squash before, but they frequently attack other things in my garden. I deal with them every year. Sometimes I see red ones, sometimes green. They are all annoying.
Dave, you ever grow winter rye? I grow it every year and it is no where a foot tall iin Jan-feb.. Maybe 3-6 inches.. You must be talking the tropics! My winter rye ain't that tall until may-June.
Yep. Just about every year. Sounds like you need to be planting it a lot earlier. And nothing says you have to wait until it is 10-12" to till it in. Sure you lose some biomass but you still get most all the benefits and that is the purpose for growing it.
Seasonal gardening that involves cover crops is supposed to be a balanced route, optimization not maximization, of all the factors involved.
Sounds like crookedgarden has a pretty well optimized solution.
Dave
Very interesting, Dave.
I plant my winter rye as soon as my tomatoes as other warm crops come out, I don't plant to many fall crops, just to devote that time to the rye.. The rye germinates overnight at 60-80 degrees, takes a week 40-50 degrees.. I try to give it as much time to establish a nice thick carpet on my beds.. Perhaps your warmer weather/microclimate really does do that much more for the rye, lucky! When do you plant yours Dave?
Thanks,
Joe
Ps- don't optimization and maximization go hand to hand?
Mine initially sent up a few a week ago, then I harvested them because it was heading for temps. well below freezing. Had a good serving of them for a couple of meals.
Just noticed today there are a few more shoots ready to bust out, but going to have more freezes later this week.
@naturegirl_2007 i know i could of gone just basic and the was the orginal plan but i did get carried away a lil bit but im trying to used this as a learning experince if anything and working on one day opeaning up an aquaponics farm and restaurant attached
T5 or not, you want them as close to the plants as possible without burning them(my plants touch my fluorescent lights without problems).. You aren't growing with high pressure sodium or metal halide, you need fluorescent lights as close as possible to plants for decent results..
Get a strong fan or a few fans.. You spent all that money as it is, what is another 50 bucks for fans? Fans do wonders... So does light very close to the plants.. The Mylar does help as well, good job with that! I wish I had the most to spend on projects like this! I feel bad buying a $4 blueberry on sale!
It's probably suggested in one of links, too -- but what I've had good luck with is just sprinkling red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper in the pots around my plants. The only problem is that is does wash and blow away over time, so you have to resprinkle the pots every 2-3 weeks.
I put my kale out today. It was getting to leggy on the window seal. Dug parsnips and carrots for supper tonight. I have spring fever real bad. I'm in northern lower Michigan, zone 5. We are to have a week of rain and I thought it would be good for the kale. Also the garlic is up about 2-3 inches.
gmom
We got a surprise sunny evening tonight! So I prepped a few of my containers (by prep, I mean added slow release fertilizer and turned it real good. I'm reusing my mix from last year. I'm not made of money) and planted peas and carrots.
Last night I started cherry tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and broccoli in jiffy pellets
I also took the mulch off my garlic. We'll see how that goes.
In any case, as long as I get more than last year, I'll be happy.
OK so I've seen a lot of tips on getting rid of these forsaken beetles but only a few about using Ortho bug be gone max. I wondered if anyone had any success with it, also if they tried the garden version of it. I looked at their website and read up on them but I'm still hesitant to use them being that I want to stay organic. Thanx for the input.
The active ingredient in BBGM is Bifenthrin, a pyrethroid. It kills on contact and ingestion. It is highly toxic to bees and is not to be applied to any blooming plants, which attract bees. Most of the plants that attract cucumber beetles have flowers that attract bees and won't set fruit without bees.
Thus it shouldn't be used.
Oh, grrr... I feel like a bit of an idiot. Thanks, FruitNut - I'm pretty sure you're right. I looked around a bit more after you answered, and it looks like these may be something called "grape pearls" that can appear on grape plants in the spring.
Thanks!
Here is a link that might be useful: Iowa State U : Grape Pearls
Rhizo,
I was pretty confused about this because I didn't see any bugs on the plant. Now that I know what it is, though, I can move it out of isolation soon. :) I also plan to let the garden dept at WM next time I'm there. I now believe the remaining grape vines were looking so rough because she was covering them in crap.. Yikes!
Thanks!
I wouldn't worry about it perfectly square, rains going to wash the soil, plants are going to sprawl out the garden, it's never going to be perfect.. There are plenty ways to get a rough square, your eyes being one of them, a tape measure being another..
What I would think about is maximum planting space for the area.. Instead of a 20 foot square with 10 rows(1 foot beds)!and 10 walk pathes(1foot), etc.. Have five beds 3 feet across, with 4 one foot walk paths.. Instead of having 200 foot gardening bed,and 200 foot walk pathes.. You would have 300 feet of garden beds, and only 80 feet on walk space, versus 200 foot garden and 200 foot walk space.. You are getting 100 more square foot, which is 20-30 tomato plants, or 50 pepper plants, 100 cabbages,etc...
I would focus on yield, aesthetics would come naturally..
Joe
Also lookup for free compost from the city, it's not uncommon to find city's dumping compost for free pickup, they have to dispose of the plant wasted somehow.. That's where I get my compost from, very good stuff, and its free! Much better then buying the bags, man you'll be paying.. Worst comes to worst, your local nursery,etc would have compost/soil in bulk.. One-two inches would be fine.. Although I put down half a foot of compost for my beds, if I have the compost! As Dave mentioned, You can never have enough compost!
PS- the best compost is the compost you make yourself, start throwing your leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps in a corner of your yard... It's not going to get you no 400 square foot bed(unless you are serious and have lots of plant matter/manure), but it will get you in the right direction..
Best of luck,
Joe
Dropping down to 12 hours a day will be fine for your tomatoes.
I use a phillips screw driver, heated in a candle flame for a minute to punch hole in plastic cups (I punch 4 holes). Those are a pretty soft plastic and much pressure on them will crumple them and really disturb the soil/roots.
When I pot up smallish transplants to bigger containers, I water lightly (using a squirt top water bottle) from the top for a while. The soil will stay to wet for to long if you soak it before the roots have a chance to develop more.
I would water from the top, with containers of that dimension. You need to get oxygenated water throughout the volume of medium.
May I ask what size cell packs you're transplanting from? I ask because the shallower depth of a cell pack is more ideal for herbaceous transplants than tall. No big deal. Next time, if you do go with the cups again, consider purchasing colored ones. Roots need to be in the dark for optimum branching.
Well, good luck with the wheat crop ;).
Aw, thanks for asking about my garden :). My established plants and beans are very excited about the truckloads of compost and wood chip mulch my crew have been spreading.
My squashes are complaining that i started them too early. the temps are ok, but they are not getting enough sun and consequently are being eaten by aphids :(.
I planted kale seeds in January and it did not bolt till the second summer. I planted some in October and it DID bolt the next spring. About half of my cabbages made heads, and half bolted, so I am still confused.
You may be witnessing genetic variation within the strain. This is the kind of thing that will save us if we can't buy seeds at some point.