24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

Likely too warm for them to set. Beans are subject to the same ambient air temp nd high humidity limitations for viable pollen as are all the other fruiting plants - above 95 day, above 75 nights, 50% humidity, etc. equals tacky, clumpy, non-viable pollen. Try again with a fall planting after the heat breaks.
Dave


Nah, impossible given the location and issolated plants. I think it's likely some bacteria/fungus. I noticed it's worse in the wet sheltered sections, only affecting weaker varieties, and it's the tail end of the wet season here (June). We just had 2-3 days of no rain and full sun today - they look better already.
I'll keep an eye on them. In the interests of science, ill use a diluted hydrogen peroxide spray on a couple of the worse ones when it rains and see what happens.


You are correct lacyvail! I was racking my brain why i purchased plants a few years ago...but a few things are always on that 'buy' list. Often it is a difficult to start perennial. Rosemary i always do cuttings. My local mountaintop garden center is terrific and a 2 min drive so i have a few things that are difficult that i rely on them do do the deed and dirty work.
info here Chris...
http://www.territorialseed.com/product/French_Tarragon_Plant/herb_plants

buckwheat is a summertime cover crop that I use for weed suppression for 4 week period. it doesn't like cold weather. I am in zone 5 and my winter cover crop is annual rye or cereal rye with tillage radishes or turnips mixed in. you are in zone 7 but I bet it is still to cold for buckwheat


Runners will regrow from lower buds if the tops are broken off. They twine by their stems so the best support is something straight and single like strings, poles or bamboos rather than net or trellis. Can you post a picture of the damage? Snails love young runner plants.

Beans prefer to climb on something a bit more flexible. I use a jute twine that can be compost end of season during clean-up.
But i know what you mean. If they grab hold to something stiff, like chicken wire, when young shoots, the plant continues to grow, bend, and break.
I have chicken wire on frames as cages surrounding my peas and beans that are trellised. Some shoots will reach out and hold onto the cages but i coax them off and give them the proper twine to climb.
-at least i think i know what you mean. : )

Do not assume the ants are not at fault. They may or may not be. I agree that they are attracted by the sweet nectar, but they may do some severe damage at the same time. People will insist that ants are never a problem until it happens to them. Monitor the blossoms that are visited by ants and those that are not. If the anty blossoms fail to set and the antless ones succeed, I would suspect the ants are causing an issue with their chewing. Otherwise it's a non-issue.
Danzeb, did you take that picture in your garden? What is that ant doing? What is it carrying away?

I'm bringing this thread back to the top because I wanted to give an update.
I think you guys are right. The trick is germinating them in peat moss. (Perhaps there is some sort of chemical reaction or microbial reaction that aids the process.) I took the seeds that had been in paper towels (not sprouting) and shoved them into cell packs with peat moss and put them back on the heat mat. Within a couple of weeks they were all sprouted.
Still have not tried the dog-do-do-method yet...but plan to.


I sympathize with the OP since CA conditions are different from our Midwest. Yes, with sandy soil (2 inches of compost do not change anything, you need one foot plus to start having a bit of loam) mulch is less useful, since losses are mostly from below, and I would recommend daily watering or every second day at the most. Still, at such a site I would mulch heavily, to eventually get some OM in the soil and improve water absorption. It will still help with evaporation and improve surface roots. In fact, I would rent an excavator and make low hugelkultur beds.
I know that at my previous site, which was pure sand, watering with drip every two days was normal, and this was wet Michigan. One hour after watering, the soil was dry, and the soil 5 inches from an emitter was dry regardless. The soil there, I had to excavate around the house to do a foundation job, was bone dry to 8 feet in midsummer, so these ideas that the root need to be developed do not work in very sandy soils. I can not give further advice without knowing the plants involved, the density of planting and the density of drip.



picked 2 divas off my mud room potted plant this am!
Have gotten more since I added some fertilizer and watching moisture level more closely than before.
Nothing from tasty jade since last post.
To be clear - only 1 plant of each, planted into the pots in march, kept under lights until the mudroom was warm enough.
Only get sun till about noon - and with only the 2 plants - getting about 3-4 cukes/week.
I want 3-4 cukes/day!
These were just experiments though - and waiting on the outdoor cukes....regular, straight eight, marketmore, etc.
next time - 2 of each indoors!
I just received some Diva seeds in the mail from Parks seeds. I was looking forward to getting a lot of cukes in the fall. Down here in New Orleans we don't get freezing temps until late Nov. or early Dec.. The weather begins to cool off around mid Sep. I plan on planting them end of July. I have to pollinate cukes and squash with an artist brush (I call it commiting adultery with my plants). I'll keep ya'll posted on my exper with diva.