24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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astralsled

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.

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

Congrats! The rewards for your patience. :)

Dave

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

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.

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aniajs(Z6 Reno NV foothills)

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.

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tomtuxman(6bNY)

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.

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Peter (6b SE NY)

Oh no I hope those Colorado Potato Beetles don't find their way over to my yard. I've already got the striped cucumber beetles which is new this year for me.

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Nitsua(6b MO)

Very nice. Remember, a small garden is better than no garden.

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grandad_2003(9A/sunset 28)

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.

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Bobbie Jay

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.

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chigardenlady(5b)

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.

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RedSun (Zone 6, NJ)

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.

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

Jim's I assume you are talking about plants from saved seed? Any cross-pollination effects only shows up in the second generation, not the first. Otherwise it is just one of the random mutations.

Dave

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carolb_w_fl(zone 9/10)

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.

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fbx22

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 :)

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tomtuxman(6bNY)

I let a few leeks bolt and produce those wonderful spherical lavender and white flower heads. I could not believe the number of honey bees congregating on them! There were even bees sleeping in the flowers very early the other morning

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donna_in_sask(2b)

Adult Harlequin Bug, a type of stink bug. They love brassicas, apparently.

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mystearica

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!!

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bardamu_gw

Mystearica, the cardboard and wood chips get placed outside the wood border to keep weeds a foot away from the raised border at all times. It pays to be thorough when weeding.

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jocoyn

Eggplants are amazing. I have not seen a plant that can tolerate as much insect devastation and produce as they can.

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chigardenlady(5b)

I have alot of damage now on peppers and eggplant, I'm pretty sure it is Japanese beetles now. But my leaf damage is way worse than yours, like halves to most of leaves.

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

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

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jimmy56_gw (zone 6 PA)

They look healthy, But 3 per bucket, the most I would go with is 2 in my opinion.

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

I agree with Nitsua - that is Buckeye Rot not BER.

Dave

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jimmy56_gw (zone 6 PA)
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nickjoseph(5 Milwaukee, WI)

They are definitely cucumbers I planted. This is discouraging. First time in years this has ever happened. I'm not gonna give up quite yet though.

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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

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

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fbx22

thanks my initial taste test even on immature seeds of the same size would also support this

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theforgottenone1013(MI zone 5b/6a)

Yeah, just bite into a flat pod and find out. Snow pea pods will be very sweet and crispy while the Alaska pea pods will be kinda fibrous.

Rodney

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