24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

I've got some Kennebecs on a table that I did not need to plant. they are green sprouted. Some eyes have up to 8 shoots. I believe that nice sized seed pieces provide more starting food than small ones, but small ones that are fertilized are ok. I do cut large potatoes in 2 pieces usually and rub off some of the eyes....they do not rot for me.

<Mother nature is doing most of the watering, but if there's no rain for 2 days, I'll hand water. >
Watering every 2 days IS over-watering and then rain on top of that within the same week is definitely over-watering. Unless plants are in containers think about water in terms of "this week" not days. :)
Dave



Lawn grass ferilizer is also very expensive for what you get. If you want a processed nitrate supplement, field fertizer which comes in 50 lb bags at farm suppliers is much less expensive. You will have your choice of Ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate, urea, and possibly sodium nitrate.

You can give it a try. There are way more seeds in a packet than you will need unless you are planning on having a farmstand. You can plant a few now and save the rest for next spring. I'm in 9b in SoCal and I'd do it (except I already have more zucchini than I know what to do with).

Im in 8a, and will probably plant a few more today fyi. I usually plant less than I want because sometimes a plant or two will really produce way more than we eat, other years it may take more plants. just so happens this year we are loving squash and zuch's so I am gonna plant a couple more. It helps zuchs especially love heat, so I set them up on my drip system, or if not, make sure I keep the soil watered well until they start taking off. I don't have to worry about squash bugs here in west texas, and if I am seeing borers, I will spray new plants with spinasad every few weeks on the stems and that seems to do the trick.

@Weirdtrev, thanks for the advice, they're outdoors. I know tomatoes have both sexes in one flower... I vibrate them to mimic the effect of a bug or bee landing on the flower and shaking the pollen loose so it can pollinate itself. What's been happening in the past, is I let nature do the work and I get a super tiny tomato harvest... lots of blooms, no maters.
Growing some hybrid determinate bush tomatoes, they're at about maturity now and pushing out blooms
Then growing some heirloom indeterminate tomatoes, they too are at maturity and some are pushing out flowers. Thanks!

I guess I don't understand what is so hard about watering it? if you are there to pick the beans it could be watered at the same time. I you dig a big hole and bury the pot, you are still going to have to water it till the roots get through the drainage holes which will be about the same time the plant quits producing.


how-do-you-support-your-tomatoes
Hi Keith - here is a thread running right now about this question over on the Growing Tomatoes forum. Folks are posting pics of their various types of supports. The search there will also pull up many of the previous discussions about it.
Dave

Wow are people in other zones only now planting sunflowers? It never fails to amaze me the growing season differences across climate zones! Mine were started in march indoors and are currently 4' tall and pushing out flowers.
I don't know if they'll survive, but if they do I'd bet you'll get a few little sunflower heads rather than one large head. Flowers aren't like veggies in that they get cut back and grow right up again... the main stem produces one main flower. If it's damaged then the flower will produce off shoots to survive, and possibly several little sunflower heads. They won't be as big as the one large one and I don't know about harvest. At least that's been my experience. Google some images to see what I'm talking about... good luck





<Do eggplants need to be hand pollinated under cover? I thought they are self-pollinating, like peppers...>
Have to? No just as you don't have to uncover them when they bloom for pollination. But it makes big difference in production just as it does with all other members of the family. They are also shielded from the wind when under cover and wind plays a role in pollination of eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers.
Planting peppermint between our eggplants seems really to have with the flea beetles though something else has ravaged them. I am not sure why eggplants are so attractive to bugs.