23,594 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
Old Time Tennessee Vining Pumpkin Squash (southern exposure) has no trouble ripening in 6b VA when planted in mid June. The fruits will store for a year in the basement, no kidding.
This year I'm trying Dickinson pumpkin, one of the bigger moschatas. I would like to hear any comments from people who have grown it.
Thanks for the tips. I just remeasured some of the corn today and noticed one of them has actually grown 2" since I started this thread. The night time temps have been mid 40's to low 50's.
Once again should I add a little bit more blood meal since the 1tsp per plant helped and did not burn the plants or should I wait a couple more weeks?
Personally I think it is still to cold to push it so I would wait a week or so. But as long as you keep it in small doses with at least weekly spacing it probably can't hurt.
The fear is that once the soil warms up more and the temps warm up into a more normal range it might shoot up too fast and be weak stemmed - been there, done that.
Next year plan on later planting, ok?
Dave
Well folks, I went and tasted each plant, and pnbrown and carol are right -- they have turned bitter since the last harvest, to varying degrees with the different varieties.
And the one with green leaves tinged red, and making a little cabbagelike head, is the least bitter. Maybe I should save seed off that one -- or just nom it :).
Ace is one variety that always gets good recommendations whenever this question comes up here.
But unless you are growing from seed yourself - and it is awfully late to do that now - then you are likely stuck with whatever transplants you can buy locally. Around here at least the selection isn't all that great - California Wonder being the most common.
But rather than bells consider one of the many sweet roasting type peppers like Marconi if you can find them.
Dave
This question was asked a few years back. Seems tricky to source. Someone on the linked thread says it is the same as Pentland Brig but I am not convinced. I've grown PB and there was no indication from the seed company that it was perennial.
You can get Daubenton over here but not sure how easy it is to find in the States. http://www.pennardplants.com/products.php?cat=401
Here is a link that might be useful: Kale question
Oh, good, Dave. I was outside doing my chores and suddenly thought, "what if what I wrote came off the wrong way? Crud!" Glad to see it didn't.
I think that's why I included experience in the mix. I know you are right, but with everything I'm learning( a whole new soil type, all the ins and outs of growing produce for the restaurant, etc.) I just haven't been able to hit my stride on the soil improvement yet. But the seasons keep rolling and I want to grow things and learn even though my conditions leave something to be desired. Maybe it is hard to explain, but learning to mulch still takes learning.
Sweetquietplace- your dead spot sounds alarming, unless you know what is causing it, maybe? The way you described it I imagine this circle of yellow, dying plants right smack in the center of your garden. Eek!
"Successful gardening requires effort on the part of the gardener. There is a well documented correlation between the amount of effort put into the garden and the success of that garden, the more the better; the less the worse."
I agree 100%. IMHO this is the number one issue new gardeners need to understand and it encompasses all the issues brought up by others here, including the OP. A gardener can have the best soil, the best varieties, the best weather, even the best of intentions, and if the garden ends up becoming a dense stand of 3 foot tall weeds and grass due to neglect and inattention, it will surely fail.
I want every new gardener to be successful but, unfortunately, lack of commitment or simply comprehending that a commitment is necessary are the primary reasons why I have seen most new gardeners fail or simply just give up after a year or two because they feel gardening is too much work for them.
Rant ON/
BTW I hear it all the time, and I find the excuse of not enough spare time available to be a big bunch of baloney. It all comes down to proper personal time management. People will tell me that they can not find the time to do proper garden maintenance but then I find out that they do have the time to sit on the couch in front of the television to watch the latest pathetic installment of some lame reality McShow or tasteless sh*tcom. Life is all about priorities, and that speaks volumes...
/Rant OFF
Have a good day.
-Tom
Last year, my potato patch lost all of its leaves from a cold snap that wasn't even freezing temperatures (33 degrees F) in late April. They came back but it took them a while to get going again.
I agree that some cover will definitely be helpful.
What varieties specifically?
Late varieties have a much longer DTM so they are normally planted at the same time in spring as any other variety. If you wait until later you risk the soil temps being too warm for them, slow growth and low production. Or if there should be an early winter onset then low production because they were planted so late.
But if you want to wait then no longer than 2-3 weeks after your last frost or the soil gets too warm.
Come fall you don't have to dig them as soon as the vines begin to die back. They can be left in the ground for weeks prior to digging if the weather cooperates.
But the bottom line is that potatoes are an early spring planted crop for specific reasons, regardless of the type.
Dave
cool idea
I agree with sunnibel7...need to speed it up. Less time for each exposure.
Seedlings need the light RIGHT on top of them. This video is good to show how seedling reach for light (which wasn't there)
Love the sound track
Keep the experiment going
Thanks all and I aggree it needs to be sped up by at least 2-3x. It was neat when I just put a regular desktop lamp with a standard 40 watt bulb and saw the seedlings go to it in the darkness of the main lights.
I think the next one I will make them dance in sync by moving the light around every hour or so lol. But next one will be with my grow light, right now it is all taken up by my other plants waiting to go out in May, so I got to wait.
But I guess in the meantime it would be fun to do some experiment light tricks to make them move with my extra seeds and even find some music to sync with the movement.
Thanks again all for watching and advice.
-Mr Beno
metal roofing installation can be used for roofing for rain water harvesting and its better to use water for other household purposes, than drinking...
I have never had any trouble with these varmints until last year, when they took everything I had except for just a few of my zucchini, acorns and butternuts. My pumpkins and patti pans were a total loss. Unfortunately, having never had any issues I wasn't prepared during or after, so I didn't remove the afflicted vines, or perform any of the other post-event actions. I am terrified of what might happen this year.
Tromboncino, butternut and Long Island are all moschata. That means woody stems and no SVB. They all die of frost in October. I see from wikipedia that there is a number of edible pumpkin types which are moschata, it may be worth for me to expand into pumpkins, since most of our squash ends up in soup anyway.
I would love to hear any suggestion to this too!
I have shrubs over 6 feet away (and trees over 12 feet away) from a raised bed. Underneath the bed, a thick layer of newspaper plus two layers of thick weed barrier from Costco. After a season, the roots still came through all layers just like your photo. I really wanted this to work because this is the only raised bed that's on flat ground...
hahah yes rhizo, I am the pest muncher! I've got all sorts of crazy ideas running through my head eh? ;)
There is a Hybridizing forum here.
Dave