23,948 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening
I wasn't trying to overwinter eggplants, but I had one that was growing nicely in a 2-gallon grow bag and had unripe fruit on it. After the eggplants ripened and were harvested, I cut off the foliage and neglected the plant on a windowsill with a plant light running on a timer for another plant. The eggplant promptly put up new shoots, and I started watering it once in a while. Now in early January, it is looking full and vigorous. I am curious enough to keep watering it and see where this leads.
We had a somewhat unpredicted "hard freeze" last week -- temps of 28F, and I didn't have a chance to protect my peppers (jalapenos) and eggplants (ichiban). which I was thinking about keeping over the winter. Both were doing fine in temps of 30-40F. The peppers did well in the freeze -- no damage at all, but the eggplants were half-killed. In fact, the peppers were more exposed, and the eggplants were on the south side of the house. I ended up pulling the latter. Comes as a bit of a surprise that the eggplants seem to be a lot less frost tolerant than the peppers. I would have thought they'd both be about the same in that regard, but that they're not is consistent with what I'm reading here.
1. Only plant ONE cherry tomato plant, and give it 4x4' to itself.
2. Keep it simple, stupid
3. Plant more cabbages and don't bother with Brussels sprouts
4. Get soakers or drip lines installed first thing, and mulch heavily to keep the watering labor under control.
5. Don't plant so many summer crops; leave room for fall crops
6. Be prepared with mulch or row covers in case of freak early winter weather like we had in November.
Last year I grew both Happy Rich and Green Lance (and will do so again this year).. I direct sowed both in early April under a little hoop house I rigged up over the bed. Both did very well, were very easy to grow and were absolutely delicious. Much easier than broccoli, much more productive, and better tasting and more versatile as well. Great plants.
BTW, When I removed the plastic hoop house, I immediately put the plants under row covers.
I got a kick out of the phrase "efficient/economical"... there is no such thing when you are discussing wildlife. I have been gardening & managing wildlife for 50+ years.
You always use an 8' Sta-Tuff net wire fence & 10' T-posts (preferably galvanized, although painted ones will easily last 15-20 years). The cross-section of a T-post is just like it's name & the will rarely, if ever, be affected by high winds, especially if you engineer it & brace the corners properly. The corners/braces (& the supports every 100') are 4" 'thick-walled' pipe concreted in 6' deep, & the net-wire is designed to 'close up around any 'penetrating object'. In essence, the fence was engineered to stop a charging 3000 lb. bull. Don't forget to install a strand of gaucho wire top & bottom.
Mine have stood the test of both time & sustained hurricane-force winds, deer, feral hogs, as well as cattle. For cost purposes, mine ran about $10/ft. Good luck with your project!
I read some posts that seemed to mirror my experience with cheap netting tearing with any little branch, caught shoe buckle, or errant weed whacker. However, deer in our area are too lazy to jump 7', especially into a small enclosed space. So, I just need a deterrent, as much for people as deer! I have read about rolls of a type of netting that is supposed to be stronger than the other stuff. There are three levels or options, but I think one of the two lesser would suffice. Has anyone used both, or either of Heavy Duty Tenax C-flex, 80 (Ironically, their "heavy duty" is their light fencing) and Extra Strength Tenax C-flex P, 110 g (the P stands for "professional" I was told. The 80 g and 110 g are pounds of force they can withstand per square foot....but what does that really mean? Any thoughts out there on these "stronger" nets, any experience with them? Supposedly they are stronger than other "discount" netting I have used with frustrating results in the past (more like bird netting than deer netting!!). Thanks
another thing that I think helps with early blight is to spray with the organic spray Soap Shield from Gardens Alive. I usually spray as directed until early July, by which time my plants are just too big. While this doesn't prevent EB, it seems to hold it off some.
There are a few new varieties with decent resistance to both early and late blight, most from Randy Gardner's breeding program at NC state. Last year I grew Plum Regal as my paste tomato and it was pretty awesome. Mountain Magic (cherry) is unstoppable, too. Haven't tried the slicers, Sophie's Choice and Iron Lady.
i did NOT read all the posts.. but i wont let that stop me.. lol ...
i would NEVER... throw away one year old seed ...
not to mention.. they germinate very fast ... so plant them in spring ... and if in 2 weeks ... they dont pop ... go buy another pack ...
or better yet ... come late in winter.. germinate one or two.. and FIND out ...
the only caveat.. is if you mail order seed .. rather than purchase locally ... then i suppose you need to plan ahead... but you could still germ one or two right now ... just for fun.. to see if right now.. they are still good ... then eat the sprout ... what the heck .. knowledge is power... we are all guessing right now ....
if anyone else said such.. along the sames lines.. they are genius.. lol ... great minds think alike ...
ken
I like to have a couple of the red celery plants in the garden to cut from all summer. There is one selected from Venture called Redventure that I think is better than Giant Red, but I haven't tried them all.
I let cutting celery reseed every couple of years, and always have several plants for the small trouble of weeding around them.
This past season I grew Redventure, Tango and Tall Utah. I didn't really care for the Redventure, it was tougher than the other two, but it was very vigorous, and sold well at my market to juicers. A fair bit of my green celeries got some sort of disease, just sort of wilted and died. That didn't affect the Redventure at all.
I had bug issues with the Redventure, where bugs got in at the base of the plants and I spent a lot of time trying to clean them up enough to sell. That wasn't an issue with the green varieties, where the base of the plants was more closed off. I didn't notice much difference in flavor between Tall Utah and Tango. Tango matures a bit faster.
Next year I'm growing Tango and Tall Utah. I think the flavor's better than Redventure and the plants are more manageable. I'd like to grow a third variety, maybe Calypso, in case either of the other types gets diseased, but I need to keep track of sales, and more than 2 varieties of green celery might be too confusing. I've also never had disease issues in celery and am hoping that last year was a fluke. I find celery pretty easy to grow, so long as I keep the plants well watered. I also have to hit it with some sort of knock down insecticide every few weeks to keep grasshoppers in line.
A planting time, I use Espoma Bulb Tone, the same product I use for all bulbs. In spring, I side dress with a little dried blood (also Espoma) for nitrogen for the tops. I've been saving my own garlic for at least 8 years (Leningrad and Chesnok Red) and the bulbs are very large.
Hello everyone. Bare with me I am new at this. I am getting to the age that going to work at a factory is becoming very ,oh what is that word sickening. But I love growing things. Like flowers and a garden and anything that looks pretty. And I know it means longs hours and hard work. But that is OK as long I love what I am doing. So on with the show. I need some help. I have a small piece of property its about 1/2 acre that's clears, and half that's not. just needs to be plowed and taken care of.. And I have done a lot of research on what to grow to make a profit. And what seems easy to sell. If I am wrong please tell me. Since I live in north eastern Penn. Close to the New York state line. And I am looking for what type of garlic will grow the best in cold to hot temperature. I have thought about it and decides to start a small farm. I am sick and so is my wife. And the idea of having the government taking care of me. Wants me to run out the front door screaming for help. So my question after all that what type of garlic should I start with, what type of soil do I need, Is there any special licenses do I need. OR do I just buy a variety soak them and plant them and wish for the best . Like I have heard elephant ear
has there own problems and people have a hard time growing them. So I am looking for a person or people that can help me start in the right directions. What my goal is, is to be up and planting this fall. So I can start looking towards doing this full time. And start spending time with me wife and just start living. I hope some people understand what I am talking about.
Learned this last year on GW: Remove squash bug eggs with duct tape wrapped inside out around your hand -- works great and doesn't damage the leaves.
TrpnBils -- the issues you had with your garden this year (especially since you compared to past years) sounds like you might have a bit of declining fertility. Might want to try adding some manure (especially for squash, pumpkins, and melons) and/ or organic matter. The OM -- rough compost, fall leaves, and the like -- can be added NOW and give you a boost for next year.
For eggplant, covering with thin fleece (AG 15 perhaps) could protect from flea beetles (it lets in rain and enough sunlight for the plants)
I second the motion to use broccoli that boasts "excellent side shoot production" -- broccoli from spring until hard frost.
I have to say that if you have a hydroponic basil bed in a classroom, you likely aren't getting enough for serious pesto-ing. You really need at least a square yard or two to get a few bottles. We're talkin' pesto, not spice.
Melons would be a great space-user -- they pretty much expand to fill the available space -- but if you're too far north, you may not have a long enough season for them. Since melons have to ripen on the vine, you need vine-time for them. They aren't usable unless they're fully ripe. I believe there are varieties that do better in cooler climates, though I don't have any experience with them. Might look into those. Also, melons are heavy feeders, and will likely need supplemental nitrogen to accelerate things once fruit is forming, to get by in a cooler climate.
More peppers might be a good bet. You can dry them or pickle them, and the dried or pickled product won't care how big the fruit got or what shape they were. Especially if they look nice, of course, they're easy to give away.
You did very good.
Not to detract from that, you are on some of the best soil in the world, the same diligence gets less results in more average places. Nevertheless the biggest factor is paying attention to climate and crop choices. Not to mention elbow grease when it come to weeds :)
Muscadineman45,
Visit green country seed savers website to see photos and read more articles about Heavy Hitter okra. The seeds are only available by contacting the developer at fourteenmilecreek@yahoo.com Fall and Winter are best times, as Spring and Summer, they are in the fields all day.
Here is another photo of Heavy Hitter okra. Notice the heavy branching traits, each branch will fork out to form a crown of blooms, bearing several pods of fresh, crisp, Clemson Spineless okra pods.
You can read more about Heavy Hitter okra at the green country seed savers website.