24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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katyajini(z6 NYC)

jimmy56....its bean a while but why is straw better than wood mulch? That's just a question, not an argument!

Thank you!

K.

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jimmy56_gw (zone 6 PA)

I just feel that wood chips can rob the soil of nitrogen, Plus I feel it makes better compost for the garden which you till or plow it into the soil, And this could just be a crazy idea, but I don't think the rain will splash onto your plants as much with straw which will keep them more resistance to diseases, Of course this is just my thinking.

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Peter (6b SE NY)

That's the point of bush beans... they don't need a trellis and generally don't care about being tightly spaced. Mine sure don't. Last year they produced until frost despite declining conditions.

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

Do you mean Rocdor aka Roc d' Or? Never grown them. Are they abnormally tall vs. most bush varieties?

I normally plant bush beans close intentionally just so they can support themselves but the one time I can recall when I didn't I just put a wood stake on either side of the row and at each end and ran a string from one end of the row to the other. Holds the row of them upright and out of the paths.

But if you want some sort of actual trellis - they won't climb it and you'd have to tie them up anyway - then why wouldn't any pole bean type trellis work? Just shorten it.

Dave

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hudson___wy(3)

Highlanders getting ready to bulb in Wyoming!

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Peter (6b SE NY)

Getting ready to bulb now? The solstice was almost a month ago?

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weirdtrev

I agree that it isn't enough sun. I suspect the reason you got some yield early is because you planted by your neighbors Crepe Myrtle tree which are slow to leaf out in the spring. Before the tree was blocking the sun the plants were growing, but now they get less sun and that shows.

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eric

As I was looking at most of the pictures specifically the leaves...most of your plants are quite infested maybe with bacteria, virus as well as fungus and the lack of phosphorus/potassium on your pepper resulting to curling of the leaves.

If you prefer not to uproot everything and to rehabilitate your plants, prune those leaves with infection. Do not compost those. As much as possible dispose those that it wont stay in your garden.

Though the fungus is soil born and is now inside the system of your plants, you try baking soda diluted in water. Say 1 tablespoon per liter. Apply it in the soil.

Another thing also so your area wont be infested with fungus is to have more sunlight. Try pruning the shades if there are so you will get 6-8 hours of sunlight. I bet your area has a lot of moist. Fungus loves to grow in moist and humid areas with organic matter.

Do you have aphids or insects in your plants? Those are the vectors of virus. Your tomato looks like it has a virus. Try eliminating those vectors...water splash may do or some acetic acid solution. If you are using some inorganic fertilizers, it may have a good effect on your plants but do take note of this - plants that do take inorganic fertilizers are good in producing aromatic amino acids. This attracts insects/pests. So be careful also in using this type of fertilizers.

If you want to have a lush vegetation/leaves, use the one with high on Nitrogen. Do not overuse this one too...you will end up having more leaves and no fruits. For flowering and fruiting, use the one with higher P and K elements. Ensure calcium too to prevent some flower as well as fruit rotting.

Oh well, we are being thought that NPK is the solution...well kind of cool thing but I still believe that it is about humic substances...

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prput68

Your local garden center should be able to help you out. They should have several different blends of fertilizer. Just be sure to get one that is high in nitrogen content. I live in a rural farming community and close to a business that sells fertilizer to farmers so I have access to what I need for my garden.

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

Agree any local feed and farm or garden center can sell you good corn fertilizers. There are many made especially for growing corn since its needs are somewhat unique. Timing of applications is also crucial with corn as it is fed at seperate times as it reaches specific growth stages.

Your Montana State Ag Extension Service website has lots of information available on growing corn in Montana and gardening in general and your local county extension office probably does too so be sure to check out all those resources.

Dave

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glib(5.5)

cherry tomatoes and purslane twig salad is the best.

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Ready for harvest in late summer? By the time I see it popping up, it's big and edible. It grows fast where I am. Quite big in just a few weeks. If I were you I would harvest shoots while they are thin and tender, and not wait until they are tougher. (It's actually a lawn weed, for me.)

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taz6122(N.W. AR.6b)

Do not handle, harvest or work with the plants when they are wet.

I pick in the morning before the dew dries. Never picked a bitter cucumber.

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David Gonzalez Zuñiga

Hi, a few years ago I was stuck in a problem like you, In first place I tough that my seeds was wrong but after a few test I can saw that my seeds was not the problem because the seeds were well so, a friend of mine recommended that the cucumbers plants need some type of support to keep them off damp ground, where diseases have a heyday. I highly recommend you take a look to this article and tell me what did you think. I tell you this because you use a vine variety and any that are vining type can climb the trellis. Actually I'm using a type of Hortomallas and I have very good results.

http://www.hortomallas.com/en/grow-squash-cucumbers-and-melons-vertically/

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enmnm

I located the offender. A beetle. A flat beetle, shaped more like a stinkbug, with a dark rainbow-like back, like an oil slick.

How can I prevent an infestation? After much searching, I did only see one.

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

Here is a link to many photos of the so-called "jewel" beetle family, the iridescents. You should be able to ID from the pics.

https://www.google.com/search?q=iridescent+beetles&sa=X&espv=2&biw=1637&bih=925&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0CB0QsARqFQoTCIW58ZfA2MYCFQmAkgodX20GfQ

But if you found only one then it is highly unlikely you have or will have any infestation. And what did the damage may even have already moved on. But it would be difficult for one beetle to do much damage unless we are talking about only a handful of plants?

If you feel you have to treat the plants then DE (diatemaceous earth) is relatively safe to use.

Dave

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gumby_ct(CT it says Z5)

glib said: As a matter of course I always kill any SVB larva. I only have 10 zucchini plants, and it takes time only because I get 6 or so per plant.

BINGO

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

If you don't want the city dump to host SVBs, you can always just drown them in soapy water.

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jimmy56_gw (zone 6 PA)

100 days they should be dying by now but give them a little more time you should be ok, Planted mine about the second week of April and the red potatoes are just now dying but the white still are green but their starting to change, Never tried cutting the vines I just let mine die then wait about another month to dig except for a couple to eat right away.

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ilodato(6b)

Some of my vines snapped in half while i was digging around and fresh little leaves came out of the stubs! (lots of them!) potatoes are amazing. they have been my favorite this year.

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laceyvail(6A, WV)

Two plants together in one hill. All I plant, not counting the late zuke, same variety that I will plant this week.

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tomtuxman(6bNY)

Laceyvail, I have had similar experience here in the scenic Hudson Valley of NY. Three butternuts, growing directly in the "old" compost pile, have been blooming for two full weeks -- all guys, with no gals in sight. I'm a patient person but this is ridiculous.

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ilovecucumbers Zone 6b, NE PA

I couldn't resist...

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chigardenlady(5b)

Nice.when did you plant them? The tops had died back already? Mine got planted late and are taking forever to die back. They are green and healthy and flowered already. No signs of being done anytime soon. I've heard of cutting off the vines and then letting the potatoes cure, but I always just wait for them to die back naturally. I would like to use the space for other things this year.

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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Don't eat them.

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Phanes

LOL I don't normally make it a habit of eating strange things I've never seen before. And there's a wide enough selection of foods I know about to make me happy, so I don't feel compelled to experiment with these. :)

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nygardener(z6 New York)

Savoy cabbage is worth checking out.

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Bish Chan

Kogane is a loose headed chinese cabbage. I've tried a similar variety and it was like romaine lettuce. The leaves were better for salad than cooked. The ribs were better cooked and had the sweetness of nappa cabbage when properly headed.

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

Lime alone in dust form is an old time remedy for fungus issues long before all the fungicides and such available today. I have memories of being sent out to the garden as a 10 year old to "dust" the plants and then we got to play in the sprinklers to wash off. Good times! :)

Dave

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daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Well, I was just thinking of making up some Bordeaux someday instead of buying fungicide. Copper sulfate is dirt cheap. Lime is too. So cheap you can only get it in 50# bags. Now, to me, with alkaline soil, lime in quantity is an environmentally toxic substance. I wonder if anyone sells 1# bags of lime for a dime apiece. Ebay maybe? Actually, the copper fungicide concentrates on the market are fairly inexpensive. VASTLY cheaper per unit volume than the ready-to-use stuff. In general, ready-to-use stuff (insecticide, fungicide, etc.) is a real rip-off.

Bordeaux has lime in suspension, which means you need to shake it really hard to get the stuff suspended enough that it won't clog. Yes, I guess Bordeaux would be somewhat more harmless to humans and to the environment than the diammonium copper salts that are used in most fungicides. That's not really bad stuff, but somewhat more of an irritant.

I didn't know that lime was once dusted for fungicidal properties. I know that dusting with lime and soot was done routinely back in the day, but I thought it was to discourage insect pests.

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