24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

My canteloupe plants were about a foot across when they were struck by a hailstorm two months ago. I was left with maybe a four inch diameter of lightly damaged leaves on each of six plants. Pretty grim looking. I planted some more in pots to have them ready to replace the originals. But the originals survived, and thrived. I ended up giving away the new seedlings. Am up to my ears in canteloupes now.

I had a bad hail storm yesterday afternoon and walked out this morning to a pretty grim, shredded garden. Picked all the cucumbers that were close to ripe in the hope that it would alleviate the stress on the plants and let them focus on growing new leaves. The watermelon, summer squash, and zucchini hadn't had any fruit yet, so hopefully they'll recover in time to produce. The tomatoes fared pretty well, lost a few outer leaves but the fruit and the inner branches are pretty much fine.
So do what you can to clean up and get the plants back up, and don't despair too much. Veggie plants are surprisingly resilient.

Not having an eggplant-specific forum is a bit of a frustration, but the search function works fine for what I need.
I'm growing Black Beauty (my "go-to" for Italian parm dishes) and Ichiban this year. I've also grown Rosa Bianca and Casper in the past. Even people who say they don't eat eggplant will eat the white ones; I don't know why. Maybe they are naturally less bitter (the eggplants, not the people)?
The world of eggplant cuisine is vast -- there are Indian/Pakistani curries -- some hot/spicy, some smooth/creamy and they could be served either hot or cold, temperature-wise. Similarly there is a plethora of Middle Eastern and North African (and even sub-Saharan African!) dishes to explore. BabaGhanoush (sp?) is easy and can be used as a veggie dip, a salad dressing or a bread spread instead of mayo. Healthy, too.
Flea beetles are a fact of life for me here in mid-Hudson Valley of New York State (Putnam County) but have not damaged crop output. Colorado potato bugs were new to me this year, but simple picking and squishing solved that problem.

Nantes are my favorite carrot also. I agree with fbx22....It might be a (lack of) quality control issue. I too also find that year to year the Nantes don't always produce the desired cylindrical shape. Last year I noted about 50% tapered. Hopefully this year will be better. I plant in September & begin harvesting in December.

qbush: It's been a long time since I gardened in Idaho so I'll tell you what I have in my notes and what I remember. I covered them with straw bales. My notes say they stored very well except for a few places where the water got through. So the next year I used straw bales and plastic. That must have worked because my notes indicate I left some in the ground each year for storage. I planted the end of July or early in August so the tops must have been fairly well developed. We got from 18 in to 3 ft. of snow. I hope this helps. I know it's not fresh info, but I remember spring harvest of some real crisp, juicy carrots. Good luck.
grandad: So the plot thickens. Wonder what it is about the breeding that would cause such undependable results. Must be about genetics...and now I'm over my head. Thanks for your comment. That's very helpful.

I grew these last year and again this year. Last year all of my vines got the powdery mildew, but were still able to produce. These are great roasted and we love the seeds. Sorry they died, I would replant rite away since you are in zone 8, sure you have plenty of time.

I planted kabocha last year and lost most of them to SVB. This year, I protected the vines and I still do not see the SVB moth come by this time. The vines are growing very strong now. The largest fruit is about 3" diameter.
I also have about 20 small vines, just with 3 sets of true leaves. I hope they can produce some before the frost time. Kabocha needs a long growing season, like 90 days or so.
Kobocha is about the only pumpkin/squash I grow and eat. The orange pumpkins are for Halloween and I did not plant them this year.


If it's from the compost, might it be from a purchased squash? I've had that happen for me & lucked out on a squash vine that can grow here w/o succumbing to mildew & borers, It produces buff-colored pear-shaped fruits & loads of big yummy male blossoms. I've saved seeds for a number of years & it comes true.

wildflower mixes are also a great way to attract bees. Although I avoid planting them in the vegetable garden since they pretty much multiply like weeds. If you have the space, try planting some close to the garden but not in it. Bees have been using wildflowers long before we introduced and imported all sorts of ornamental flowers :)

I guess I wondered about kitched compost since most of our trees are pine trees (not a ton of compost there). I spoke with my experienced gardener and he told me that he ran a grass cutting business and there is a ton of compost in the forest in front of us that I could use. Haven't checked that out yet.
On another note - @bardamu_gw you mentioned placing cardboard boxes around the raised bed. What exactly do you mean? Carboard at the bottom of the raised bed (wouldn't that interfere with the roots - since 8 inches may not be enough)? Or are you referring to something else?
I have another silly question - as you know I plan on removing the top layer of the soil, then retilling the soil. Obviously I have to manually remove the crabgrass (weeds) while doing this. I worry by doing this some pieces/seeds of the weeds may remain and spread in my raised bed - am I losing my mind? (the neighbor on our left - his bed is made out of 1 foot long weeds... he has neglected it mind you). Sorry if I sound crazy - my family keeps telling me that this is the dumpest idea - weeds, nothing will grow etc etc. I do want to prove them wrong!
Thanks!!


3 seed potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket isn't usually a problem. You can thin them out if you wish but it looks like normal growth to me. If you decide to thin make sure you don't take all the branches from the same 1 plant.
Dave


Here is a site that might help, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckeye_rot_of_tomato


Well most cuke varieties take around 60 days to mature from seed under ideal conditions. The transplanting may have set them back slightly. Just be patient. It doesn't take long at all from the time the flower is pollinated to when you harvest.
Rodney




the buds are definitely getting bigger, and in fact this morning there was a male flower looking almost ready to bloom. yay! tons of little tomatoes have appeared on my plants, too.
Congrats! The rewards for your patience. :)
Dave