23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Ok I bought both pole and bush kind today. Wish me luck lol :-)

Sorry i went off topic. Turned out it was Instinct not Orijen we went off of. I'll look at Pure vita. Yes green beans are in the future along with carrots and the like. Still looking for the forum that discusses food successes. Bye and thanks for the input.

I'm in Zone 5 and I consider my planting date to be Memorial weekend and the last 2 years I had a bad frost just days before. I was afraid to move everything out of the greenhouse and plant even then but I did and both times I was fine. April...NO WAY!

ekling211, that's what we are discussing about here. Last frost dates are not the same thing as hardiness zones. You may be in the same zone as some one else, but the last frost dates can be different.

I would recommend much bigger pots. Do you have an area in the yard you could plant into the ground instead?

Squash in particular needs a high nutrient soil. Peatmoss contains very little nutrients (it is used by commercial growers for its pH and ability to hold moisture), and why you would need a lot of ongoing chemical fertilizer applications (commercial growers apply 1-2 X weekly).

Chemical fertilizers work much better in peatmoss than Organic fertilizers (organic fertilizers require soil microbes to convert efficiently).

I would recommend a bag of "compost" derived soil amended into your natural soil.

Our zucchini grew about 4'-5' in diameter last year (each plant), and the summer squash was 3'-4' in diameter. The kids only watered once a week and we didn't need to add any fertilizer. They enjoyed picking and helping cook it in different ways a lot - plus they were much more willing to eat vegetables they grew than they would otherwise :)

I wouldn't use the "synthetic" soils sold at the store that are ground up mulch with chemical fertilizers. Some of them are produced using municipal waste composted with city lawn clippings and contain high heavy metal concentrations.

I had a crop of tomatoes that grew terribly one year using bad soil - because of high heavy metal caused toxicity that showed up after 2 months of growing. I used to work for a large tomato commercial grower - and was super ticked when I figured it out. Most newbies blame themselves for any growing issues and why a lot of companies can get away with selling bad product.

Plants are looking much better today after watering more.

Cool. I didn't think they were insect eggs, either, but I hadn't considered the possibility of fungal artillery.

Actually, I don't think it's a fungus or SVB. Yesterday I picked some nearby lettuce and accidentally picked a seed pod from some clover. Pretty sure the seeds from the clover are the same as I found on my tomato. I'm not sure how they got all the way to the top, but they look like the kinds of seed pods that burst open to throw the seeds everywhere. Or maybe a bird picked it and dropped it. I don't know - think that's what it is, though.

Glad my squash aren't threatened - they're just starting to pump out the flowers.

Is that just 1 plant?? I have turned a fan on low to help. I have an 8 inch pot to transplant them in if the out grow the 4 inch peat pot. I just transplanted them Friday lol. They r fast growers. My first time w peas, peppers & corn

They were planted in the bucket about 6 inches apart, they are very productive and I grow them for my small dog, they are easy for him to go in the bucket and eat them, that way he leave the other tall peas for me.:)

Silvia

OK, after a couple days of rain I went out today and pulled up the shredded leaves that were covering the beds since fall. Plenty of black beetles (I thought they were red for some reason!) burrowing around the cut off stalks! Too many to pick them out . All sizes too!
Can I spray them with something that is safe to eat them within a few days? I just picked the larger ones and the ones in the bed have a few to several days to go. Nancy

Here's a link to photos of the beetles and information about their life cycle. As you can see, there are red ones and black&white ones.

People differ in their tolerance of pesticides. You'll have to make that call yourself.

Here is a link that might be useful: Asparagus beetles

Joe, I'm not throwing muffins at the neighbors! I'm leaving the zuks on the neighbors' porches! Nancy

Right I know.. But u mentioned that you put the zuchs on their porch and run like hell.. I was curious why do you run, to avoid neighbors? It was more less a joke.. Funny..

I used to use a juiced but it waste so much.. Not only th fiber but some nutrition.. The best juiced on the market is the Norwalk.. But it cost thousands of dollars.. I was thinking about making one.. I bought a vitamix and that puppy blends up anything in juice! Can't live without it! If you are going for health beets in particular will kick your but good! Also try ad forage for dandelion,plantain, and stinging nettle.. Try will donsone amazing things to clean you out.. If your interested in juice "vegetable juices by norman walker" is a great one.. If you are really interested in health get the book "detox miracle sourcebook by Robert morse".. The latter is my health bible.. Dr robert morse cured hundreds if thousands if people from everything from leukemia to MS to spinal cord injuries.. He has a free YouTube channel "robertmorsend".. Check him out.. Oh and i agree, just buy seeds they are cheap.. You could always let your plants go to seed and save the seeds..

Good luck,
Joe

I had better luck getting celery to root when I put in water for awhile first, then transplant to soil.

In addition to everything Dave said, it is unrealistic to expect a huge change in growth in less than a week from adding fertilizer even in adult plants. For seedlings, two cotyledons are supplying everything the plant needs through the growth of the second (I believe) set of leaves. In fact, if the soil you are starting them in has fertilizer already, you risk burning the small roots. Anyway, I think underwatering is better than overwatering, though when they are small both can be lethal. No one who underwaters ever got damping off or fungus gnats, though. :)

Thanks for the information. I've started moving everything out of the peat pots, out of concern over some mildew that's been popping up.

Lovers of tomatoes and especially peppers are bound to be disappointed in Traverse City, where temperatures rarely top 80F, and nights are cool. It is not an area for those crops. But all manners of greens and root crops (except sweet potatoes), beans, squash and zucchini will do well. Approach your new garden with an open mind. The sweetness of my carrots, cabbage or turnips, compared to what you can find in stores, is unbelievable, and I am a former cabbage and root crop hater. Plus, if you plant lettuce now, and turnip in midsummer, you will get two crops from that area. And if you plant cabbage you will get the most food per square foot. You can still have pole beans on a trellis in the North side of the bed to feed you through the summer.

There is a book called Square Foot Gardening. Very informative. Happy Gardening!!

I don't know what hokie is on about, here, what is sarcasm and what is meant seriously. Translation?

He had his feelings hurt and he's mad at me :-( Sorry, but the breadcasting of sad 'ol husband's tales is a bit of a pet peeve for me.

Nita, a visit (or call) to your local extension office will help you find out how to take samples and get them sent to the state lab. Some state universities have had to severely cut back on their services but hopefully you can get some help. Lab tests can be just as important in eliminating possibilities as in clinical diagnosis.

The problem with something like this is that it could be a combination of things as has been suggested. You'd be fascinated by the interrelationships between nutrition, environment, pathogen, and other pests.

You've stated that this occurs every year. Have you observed problems with any other garden plants? Do you live in an area where nematodes are a known problem? In which state do you live?

I guess you can see that we all love a mystery!

I have one of my 3 plants that's yellowing. Funny thing is that the yellow one is the one that's flowering now

@hurrihottie: I've had the same thing happened to me last month when the totally yellowed and presumed dead runner bean of mine flowered and produce some beans. It's amazing what the plant could still do even when enduring really bad conditions.