24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

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....

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.

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.

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

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.


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


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.

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.

I used to need multiple stakes to keep my peppers up, then started using the short cages like DigDirt. I plant big varieties one to a cage, but with some others I'll plant one on each side, and then tie the plants to the outside of the cage. If you need to add a Florida weave deal later because the plants are so big, the cages give you something to work with.

The cheap crap tomato cages work well as mentioned. Or three stakes just out of the root ball. I did that last year and attached a ring of chicken wire....had some in the shed.
I gave up peppers years ago but alway tried just two or three. Never did well but the climate is different the past couple years and i'm at it again. Slowly,lol. I put in 6. I'll shop in my shed again this weekend and decide the staking method. If anything is left after that last storm.


My Cucuzza is a climber. Now aware of a contained pot variety.
Like mentioned, too many plants close together. Start over and add some top soil or potting mix, (...not sure the best as i don't use pots. )
But do fill the pot. Start with just three seeds so you will assure the chance of good germination but thin to the one strongest once they are up. Really no much room for more than one.
I made a cute garden for the neighbor kids this spring. Just three 2ft sq raised beds. I used pro mix, some peat, compost and some worm 'goo' from my worm bin. In one bed i did snap peas, lots of them and a teepee trellis. one is salad, grew and pulled...just added another crop.. The third bed is zucchini squash. I put in five seeds and thinned to two. They wanted the moon but i wanted success and all is doing great. I did put in a few sunflowers in the middle of the peas but the birds must have found them.
-i should take a pic...

I was using the EPs as a foliar treatment for bloom set, versus to enrich the soil. Thanks to both of you, and I won't worry about another treatment.
And Dan, thanks very much for the link to Pavlis's website - really great info there - and since I didn't see any posts saying that incantations and dances helping gardens is a myth, I'll give that a whirl around midnight tonight, as tonight's the full moon where I am. How lucky is that?!

Njitgrad, those look beautiful.
I prefer the yellow/golden zucchini over the ubiquitous green...but its more a visual preference. However they do tend to sometimes get a green mixed in.... which (I think) tends to give it a bit of "visual character". Forty-Niner Hybrid and Golden Zucchini from the Burpee seed rack at Lowes or Home Depot did well for me this year. These are Burpee Golden Zucchini...


Njitgrad, it's best to pick zuke types while they are young, just a day or two after blooming is good, too big and they get seedy. Some that young may not have "set" or been properly pollinated so while sliceing them up to cook it's good idea to taste a raw slice to make sure it's not bitter from being not properly pollinated or bitter for other reasons. No need to ruin a dish due to one bad tasting squash. Most should be just fine.





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