23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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


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

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. :)


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.



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 searching for it however the sso called "okra leaf curl" is not the problem you are facing as this disease can be recognized by observing yellowing and curling leaves, can significantly decrease the volume of harvest-able okra.
The leaves are curling yet it doesn't look like its turning yellow.

I agree, just cut those suckers in half and you will get many potatoes. No need for roots to grow into the ground. Potatoes put out very few roots.....mostly potatoes. I've got a few 55 gal halfs lying around and I might do it also. I was saving them for my blueberry bushes, but they won't be needed for a year or two.

What about cutting them in half vertically (from top to bottom) instead of horizontally? I've tried the potato tower concept a couple times and found that most potatoes form in the first 6 inches above the seed potato. I concluded that wider is better than taller. You can actually fit more plants in the space with less crowding. More plants = more potatoes.


Yeah it is a point we often forget to mention - the big differences between the new T5s and the older type bulbs. Even T8s can be spaced a bit higher than T12s. And of course the number of bulbs in use can make a difference too.
Dave

In a recent discussion about the use of seaweed as a mulch or soil amendment, it was said that the amount of salt added to the soil is not harmful to plants and that is confirmed by my own experience. I don't know if this is comparable to salt water flooding but I tend to think the amount of salt you have by now would not be a serious problem, given that a certain amount can be tolerated.
Jim

Mostly sunlight. Even an experienced gardener can accidentally leave her broccoli starts on the deck in full sun too long, forget about them and scorch them. blush
For cold hardy veggies they are ok as infants in the cold but need to get used to sun and wind. For the warm weather veggies they need to get used to sun, wind and temp fluctuations. The hardest part is having them in such small pots/cells and getting them out in sun and wind and having them dry so quickly you can hardly go to work. I had someone buy tomato plants last year which were hardened off but then he left them out in intense sun/dry and they died due to lack of water since they were still in pots.

Thank you all for the great replies. I needed clarification because someone at work told me that they only needed sunlight hardening. So, rather than take advice from a non gardener, I decided to check with you all :) Thank you so much for sharing your information and experience.
I am at work with fingers crossed today. I planted (after proper hardening for nearly 2 weeks) leeks, lettuce and onions over the weekend. We had lovely weather both days, but today it is windier than it has been in several weeks and colder than I am comfortable with, with my babies out there in the cold damp ground.


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