24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
bmiracle57

two years ago I decided to grow my own potatoes. I live in Cyprus so what could go wrong. first of all I dug the ground over and over then I planted the six potatoes I had with roots on into the mound I had made. then covered them slightly. after a couple of weeks I noticed the shoots, then the flowers. i started to worry a bit when they reached about four feet high. I then put canes in to stop them from falling over, the flowers kept on blooming. after growing another two feet I decided to bag them up. would you believe it, nothing but the six spuds I originally planted. help what did I do wrong

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
Tobey Green

You can rob potatoes, I "steal" potatoes early in the season; poke around and see if there are anything under them. Even with the ran I was surprised that potatoes did pretty good this year, I just harvested several bushels and planted another 100lbs today.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
rgreen48(7a)

Some of the melon farmers around here toss a bit of straw under the fruit.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
daninthedirt(Cent TX; HZ10, Sunset z30, USDA z8a)

Well, I've started to harvest melons, and I want to thank everyone for the advice about getting them off the ground. I have not lost a single melon since then, and things are looking pretty sweet. In fact, I was getting antsy about the fact that I had melons that were looking quite ripe, but didn't seem to want to come off the vine. I went out there today and found two huge ones just sitting pretty, completely disconnected from the vine! They popped off in the last day or two, evidently.

2 Likes    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
jnjfarm_gw(5a)

I think you need to rethink as discover why you are having sour milk. I can store milk up to 2 weeks in my fridge without any problems. Are you buying too much milk at a time? Is you temperature off in fridge? Milk is pretty pricey to waste so that you can apply to garden. And how much milk is going sour? a quart, a half gallon? I would avoid using it as it will attract unwanted critters and smell bad. this thread keeps referring to baking soda doing the trick by itself.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
carolb_w_fl(zone 9/10)

FWIW, the spray recipe I recall for powdery mildew has skim milk in it, not sour. Thinking sour milk might just clog things up.

& I buy cheap evaporated & powdered milk & dilute it as a fertilizer for tomatoes & peppers, etc.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
heather38(6a E,Coast)

Curt, you are Nutso as me :) thankyou :)

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
livelydirt(Zn 4, Lively, ON)

I too have been losing carrot seedlings, as fast as they come up. I was keeping the carrot bed free of debris to give the seedlings every chance to grow well. I have ruled out animals, slugs, cutworms, earwigs etc. I now believe it is the dew worms eating them. They consume HUGE amounts of vegetation every night. The two photos give evidence. I find these food stashes in worm holes all over my gardens and grounds. The worms come out at night, need to eat, no debris, so they grab the carrot seedlings. These worms are quite strong, which you will know if you've ever gone picking them to use as bait. They can really hang on.

The green leaf is a birch leaf which had fallen to the ground. They grab the vegetation and twist it into the ground. The lower photo is of a pile of debris gathered into a hole, including the stick, which is about 1/8" in dia. These worms can stretch out to about 10" long.

I have been having some success saving my seedlings buy spreading a thin layer of grass clippings on the carrot bed. It only takes a few days and the clippings are almost totally consumed.

Notice how the earth around the hole is almost devoid of debris... it's all in the hole.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

I actually have a garden knife. An old one that I don't care if it gets lost.(I also don't lose the good kitchen knives by setting them down and forgetting them! Same with scissors, have a dollar store pair for the garden) Sometimes the twist and pull breaks them off . Nancy

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
elisa_z5

cutting can damage the plant, twisting can damage the zucchino -- I sometimes use scissors which can be more precise.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

If your tomatoes are already at the top of your cages and you have numerous flowers, you very well will want a stronger support system for them. Those whimpy cages often collapse under the weight of the plant and a huge bunch of big ole tomatoes!

You might look into something stronger. Nancy

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
Marie

Nancy, this is the stronger cages that I found. I have not seen anything more strong for sale...:(

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
pattypan(z6b CT)

when the chipmunks came the voles and moles left ( or maybe it was the other way around). maybe the voles left because i was pouring my urine down their holes. after the chipmunks dined on my tomatoes i finally shot one and tossed pieces of it around the garden perimeter. didn't see any for the rest of the season. i'll have to research the plaster of paris bait. i'm not into causing pain, but a quick death will do.
so far this year, no chipmunk damage to tomatoes. but i think a few got a zuke....

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
alerek69

One SURE way to keep chimp monks from plants as r Zucchini ,tomatoes peppers etc is to put coils of double edged barbed wire around each plant. 3 or 4 coils spaced from ground level and then 2 inches apart. Barbed wire is cheap and can be used over again year after year. This also keeps away groundhogs. Barbed wire can be purchased at Tractor Supply stores.

For added protection buy a few mouse traps and spread them around. The critters are smart and don't like getting pricked. They will move on to someone else's garden!

If all else fails a 4.5mm quality air gun takes them out with one shot.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
sleevendog (5a NY)(5a NY)

I like digdirts idea of taking some healthy cuttings and giving another go at a second rotation of tomatoes. So worth a try i think.

Very different growing conditions than mine but i did have 6 extra weeks last fall and could have pushed it a couple more with a bit of cover. I put my garden to bed for the winter way too early. I'll try some thing this year different than any other year with not much to lose but a few seeds/seedlings.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
nancyjane_gardener(Zone 8ish North of San Francisco in the "real" wine country)

But with that kid of heat, sustained, would they flower/fruit? I thought they didn't like 95* and above? I don't know. I'm in No CA where we get some 90-100 from time to time. Usually in the 80s.

Dang! we've had a week of mid to high 90s with humidity from a tropical storm! I don't know how you southerners can handle it ALL summer! Bleah! Nancy

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM

If you are hungry, then they are fine to harvest now. Enjoy.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
sleevendog (5a NY)(5a NY)

That is a beauty. Like mentioned, harvest some now. Leave some for later. Unless you are in a warm climate with warm/hot soil.

They will keep and store best if kept cool. My soil is cool at carrot depth. I don't start harvesting until mid August thru early November. They keep well through the NewYear in a crisper drawer in a downstairs fridge. (for me anyway)

Some varieties are better 'keepers' than others.

I also plant probably too thick so i just pick early the ones that have a thick top and i can feel the carrot top under the soil. I harvest the big guys and that leaves room for the others to continue growing.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
marketgardener

Here is a closer photo of an individual leaf that has been affected. I hope it's not Alternaria because I do have both eggplant and tomatoes closeby... I suppose a preliminary spray of copper would be smart for those crops if it is indeed Alternaria?

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
jimmy56_gw (zone 6 PA)

You can check this site out but I really don't see anything there that looks like your picture, http://www.potatodiseases.org/foliardiseases.html

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

Looks like a scab over area from either unknown pest damage or some sort of injury - like hail. Appear to be surface damage only.

Dave

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

It's a Sunflower.

2 Likes    Bookmark     Thanked by Anthony
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
Anthony

Thanks!

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
digdirt2(6b-7a No.Cent. AR HZ8 Sun-35)

It isn't yellow crookneck, maybe yellow straight neck and yep, way past harvesting time and size and inconsistent soil moisture levels.

Dave

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
FADiver (7B, eastern Virginia)

Actually, you're right... I remember now I planted two straight and two crookneck. I will blame this on the weather over the last few weeks... It was very hot and dry, but I was out of town so couldn't do much about it. But, it's rained quite a bit lately so things should get back to normal. I think I'll pick the orange ones and add them to the compost. I tried to cut into one yesterday and it's amazing how tough it was, compared to a squash that received adequate rainfall.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
Dennis Bouscal

I have 2 boxes(4 x 16) of 4 yr old Martha and Jersey. Some have died some are doing great. I am about to order replacements so I reading more about Mellenium . My problem since yr 2 has been the beetle. I was not prepared for their first appearance in yr 2 so they pretty much had teir way with me. Not so bad this year as I stayed on top of them, still, they were bad. Any suggestions for vombatting these beggars. I have both type, the Common were and worst, only a dozen or so Spotted. Has anyone found an effective way to get rid of these buggers, other than hand picking.

    Bookmark    
Thank you for reporting this comment. Undo
LoneJack Zn 6a, KC

I have used Pyrethrin if they get out of control but only after the harvest season has finished. If they show up while I am still harvesting I flick them into a bucket-o-water.

    Bookmark