24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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bardamu_gw

Just wanted to add that I've read all those mom and pop shop worm websites and they all repeat each other about temperature, but are all rather vague if they are honest. It's a general rule from some unmentioned scientific study testing the limits of the worms, but in my experience these worms are more resilient than are described. I'm no expert, just have had them for two years. If your livelihood depends on their health, do some rigorous research and your own study. If you are just trying to get nice compost, try it yourself.

I live in zone 6, I have compost piles of leaves, yard waste, and kitchen wastes that are about 3 feet high and three feet wide during the winter, and the 'red wiggler' adults last winter were outdoors in compost. They survived. I bought them off eBay and was told these are red wigglers.

Besides if they die completely or you feel the count is low, you can buy thousands for ten bucks or so.

I've tried keeping them inside, it's not really worth it because they just sit there waiting for real work to do, and they reproduce like crazy, and you have to check on them to make sure they are not too dry, etc. Better to give them real compost and lots of room, that's when they become useful with no maintenance, in my opinion. Good luck.

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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

Sounds good in theory but in practice probably won't work too well. Worms have their own needs and you'll have to be able to access where they are too feed them. Plus if you don't keep them contained in some way they will just migrate around as the soil moisture and soil temp fluctuates. If you want to raise worms then it'd be best to give them their own worm bin(s), either outdoor or indoor bins.

Red wigglers and their eggs can survive freezing temps but it's obviously not ideal. Here's some info I found earlier this year when I was searching about freezing temps and eggs from the Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture:

"Effects of freezing. Eisenia can survive having their bodies partially encased in frozen bedding and will only die when they are no longer able to consume food . Moreover, tests at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) have confirmed that their cocoons survive extended periods of deep freezing and remain viable."

And if you amend your soil with organic matter routinely then worms should find it all on their own. I always have a ton of worms (figuratively) in my beds after I mix in shredded leaves.

Rodney

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caryltoo Z7/SE PA

I'd leave it on the vine simply because of the DTM. My watermelons are still tiny and I planted out around the same time as you.

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christacharlene(6)

Thanks. I am going to leave it on for now. My watermelons are various sizes at this point. Here is a picture that I took on July 7th, it is quite a bit larger now than it was when this photo was taken. If I had to guess I would say it probably currently weighs around 15 pounds.

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kandhi(z7VA)

I pulled the plants out as they were not doing any good. Can I use the soil t for other planting or have to trash it? Do you think the soil has bacteria still in it and might infect any plants planted in that soil?

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Is this container soil you are talking about "trashing"? I assume so since it would be hard to trash in ground garden soil. :)

Keep in mind that bacteria and fungus normally reside in all soil. They are only an issue for the plants given the right weather conditions so normally most container soils can be re-used with no issues. You can just dump the container out on a plastic tarp or such mix it all up well, mix in some fresh soil mix and fertilizer for nutrients, and refill the container.

Dave

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tigrikt (Central NJ)(6B)

I like Californian recommendations on PM as they dealing with it all the time

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Ohiofem(6a Ohio)

Please do not poison raccoons. Golden Malrin is an extremely potent poison that causes a painful death. It is for killing flies. Any other creature (bird, insect or mammal) that eats a poisoned raccoon will die the same way. It's best to trap them or even better to contact a professional or your local wildlife office. It is illegal throughout the U.S. to poison any wildlife other than rodents. Read this:Poisoning raccoons

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karl_tn

I used to put a fence round my garden but just to keep my dog out. I have rabbits that don't bother my garden. The deer in the past didn't bother it either. I do have fruit trees and did see one eating some apples. I don't mind sharing and will let it eat as much as it wants. Hunting season for me starts in sept. :) as far as calling local wildlife around here for a coon they would probley laugh at you. I like my traps, but do what works best for you. I told the wife if I see the rabbits in my garden there Gona end up I'm my freezer

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grandad_2003(9A/sunset 28)

IMO First time gardening & garden plots are the most difficult. Many folks have "thrown in the towel" after their first year of gardening. Second year is generally a bit better but can also be somewhat difficult. Your word "experiment" is right on. But the experiments are never ending. The results and subsequent information gained from gardening experimentation helps to develop your gardening methodology.

iMO weeds are the number 1 problem. Tackle this and things become a lot more controllable... The suggestions above are great....hoeing, hand weeding, black plastic, leaf/straw mulch are all great for weed control. I find all methods to be appropriate and each may work better for a specific vegetable. E.g. In our deep south (hot) climate, I find black plastic is great for squash, watermelon, strawberries, & cantaloupe; but not so great for tomatoes, eggplant or bell pepper....which seem to prefer leaf (in my case) mulch.

I use an electric fence for critter control. But, I realize that this may not be suitable for everyone.

I hope you don't give up....& decide to keep your "experiments" going in the years to come.

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glib(5.5)

Granddad and me are two of the most enthusiastic electric fence pushers. An electrified, strong fence extending underground is a gardener best friend. The best I had was chainlink, only four feet tall, with a hot wire right above it. The deer could easily jump it, but I had the good sense of baiting the wire with peanut butter. I even saw a deer touching it, it jumped several feet in the air and the whole herd was off to the races.

The fence went down to the ground and outward a foot (just under the surface) and no critter could dig under it. It was pretty amazing to have a groundhog burrow ten feet from the fence, a deer trail 8 feet from the fence, and a pristine garden.

Nowadays, too many kids around, no electric fence, I have a 8 feet deer fence on top, rabbit fence below, extending underground. The rabbit fence has needed overlapping chicken wire, because juvenile rabbits were still coming in, but so far this summer has been break free.

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gumby_ct(CT it says Z5)

Try the flashlight at night mentioned. If nothing is found check the soil below, they form a cocoon about 1in below the soil line. Search for pix of the SVB cocoon so you know what to look for.

You can also check the main stem and leaves for a single orange/reddish spec which would be an SVB egg.

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annew21(7b NC)

My method is to follow the frass up the stem and find where it ends. That's usually where the borer can be found. Use the smallest tools you can find for the "surgery" so you do the least amount of damage to the plant. If your plant was big and healthy when it was attacked, it very well may survive even if you never catch the borer.

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ccabal(7)

My chicken love the SVB grubs. When I pull up the vines, and they see me with the vines and knife in hand, THEY COME RUNNING!!!

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elisa_z5

Thanks all. I'll go out with a knife tomorrow!

ccabal -- love the image of your chickens coming running :)

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carriehelene(5 Upstate NY)

Found a couple of growing watermelon and female pumpkin flowers today. Awesome knowing what I'm looking for!

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springtogarden(6A)

Yeah :)! One of the best crops to grow. I make sure to have at least one growing from that family. Oh who am I kidding, I always have several ;)

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

In the high desert you probably need shade cloth this time of year, to cut down the sun exposure.

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drscottr(7)

I might suggest folks consider Proteknet. I used it to cover my bean towers and keep the Japanese Beetles and Mexican Bean Beetles off the plants. It comes in a wide roll, has a stretch nylon consistency, doesn't tear, and lets water and light through.I initially used bags of compost to hold down the netting but that doesn't even seem to be needed. The material is heavy and doesn't blow around at all. The stretchiness allows the bean vines to grow over the top of the tower without issues.

I got tired of hand picking 100's of Japanese beetles off the plants every day. I'm really sold on this product after using agribon and other similar products unsuccessfully before. The agribon just tear too easily and blows around.

The downside is that proteknet is expensive.

Scott

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

There are many thing that can cause what you describe so without seeing at least a picture of them I can't say if it is mag deficiency or one of the other possible causes. But if it is then the normal dilution for epsoms salts is 1 T per gallon of water and normally only a one time application is all that is required to correct it. But yes, they need to be diluted, not sprinkled on the ground, to be effective.

Dave

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digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Bad case of powdery mildew and water-drought issues/damage. The plant is likely past salvaging. I'm sorry but the fungicides only help if you catch it early. Fortunately you have time to replant.

But the main issue is likely the 5-10 mins per day watering. Overhead, if that is the only way possible, is ok but daily shallow watering never is. By doing so you created shallow rooted, totally water-dependent plants that are so stressed they can quickly succumb to pests and diseases and they are seldom very productive. Then when gone for so long they couldn't cope without those daily doses of water.

You want to develop a water regimen that is based on a weekly, never a daily activity, and for much longer periods of time. Less frequent but very deep soil moisture levels that encourage the plants roots to develop deep into the soil where the nutrients and water are is best. And plant mulching is crucial, especially in hot climates.

Hope this helps but also be sure to read through some of the wealth of information already here on successfully growing both, how to water properly, and why mulching is so important..

Dave

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krissy Canto

Well I guess I should snip the leaf off so new can grow. The pots big enough, it extends out sideways but I coulnt fit it in tge photo if Ibwanted it up close to show the flowers. I use that pot every year with good results except this year. I can try and add soil but im afraid to damage the plant. The e plant is higher then where the picture shows it extends above, but ive gotten eggplant fruit on shorter plants actually.

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krissy Canto

I snipped off tge leaf and it helped. I have two little eggplants hopegully they will grow healthy.

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farmerdill

some of the "burpless" varieties are parthenocarpic.

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Stu Zone 7a

That is probably what I have- that or all the bees I have been getting are working the neighbors gardens pretty good! I got these as seedlings unfortunately before I started growing from seeds and had just a short description on the tag- which was mostly filled with recipes- that should have been my first clue! Hadn't read anything in my research about male and female flowers growing off the same junction before though.

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Heather HR

Elisa your post made me smile. Thank you nature girl. We pulled it and nice and pretty bright red roots. Not sure where it came from. We have it no where else in the yard but did add a new bag of garden soil this year.

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zeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin

Pigweed can be introduced by manure, and the bristly seed heads can also hitch a ride on your shoes from elsewhere. It is an amaranth, and the young leaves are edible; at one point I allowed a few plants to grow in my garden each year (along with lamb's quarter) for early cooked greens. In the 3rd photo, the plant midway down the left side (before the seed head appears) is at a good harvest stage. There are foragers here who walk the edges of farm fields, harvesting the wild amaranth in large quantities.

Pigweed is not as hard to deal with as some weeds, but if allowed to go to seed, it will produce thousands, so it should be removed before the seed head appears. If the bristles are already present, dispose of them outside the garden.

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