24,795 Garden Web Discussions | Vegetable Gardening

This is how i cook Bitter MELON. Clean the Melon ,removed the insidesmthen chop it cross cut into quarter inch pieces remove the seeds,stir fry with onions and crushed garlics, seasoned it 3 tbsp salted sauce, then add a scrumbled 3 pcs.eggs.Do not over cook.Enjoy eating with Rice .

ltran,
Looks fantastic! I'm kinda bummed. I had gotten bitter melon seeds because my mom really likes these melons because they're really good for you. I started them inside, but none of my seeds germinated and it was getting late and I didn't want to sow more because I don't have that many. Never grown them, are the seeds difficult to germinate? Any tried sowing seeds from store bought bitter melons? Ya, we mainly eat them in vegetable stirfrys. They're great with asian eggplants and a black bean sauce.

<we did get a few days randomly around frost temps. but everything else is growing great my tomatoes are almost 4ft tall and flowering and transplanted the same time>
The difference in tolerance between tomatoes and peppers for cold exposure and cold soil temps is like night and day. No comparison as peppers are easily stunted by it, tomatoes aren't. That's the main reason why peppers are normally planted out much later than tomatoes are. They require 20 degree warmer air temps and at least 10 degree warmer soil temps.
So the odds are your peppers have been stunted by such cold exposure. If the weather cooperates and heats up fast they may recover but crop will likely be late and reduced.
I'd give them a kick-start of something stronger than compost tea. Good stuff but only effective if you have a really good and active soil food web in your soil. If you want to stay organic look into some of the fish emulsion/kelp blends. If synthetics are ok, a diluted 1/2 strength dose of MG All Purpose should do the trick.
Dave


Wow! I wonder how they can possibly justify that cost given what it is made of? For that price you could buy 100 rakes, a Troy-Bilt tiller, or 2 Mantis mini-tillers and not have to supply your own motor. But like jnfarm said my planter and my tillers more than fill my needs.
Dave


Like Dave said, that shape points squarely at inconsistent watering. Zukes don't seem to have very deep roots, and I grow the stuff in full sun, arid-everything, hot temps, heavy OM, and lots of mulch. They grow wonky if the watering is inconsistent, so in these conditions, automatic drip is the key.

Hi. Newbie here searching for a solution described in this thread. What is P & K ? I use newspaper and grass clippings in my garden to keep down the weeds. I was thinking too much nitrogen was my issue. Now thinking the spacing. Soil sems pretty packed too. Should I till in some sand? This is my first time trying radishes. Thanks

Hi Koz - is radishes the only crop? If not how are the others doing? If ok then your P (phosphorous) and K (potassium) levels are likely fine. Plant spacing (over-crowded) and maybe too much N (nitrogen) are the most likely problems. Be sure to this the radishes once they germinate to insure good spacing.
Adding lots of good compost to compacted soil is much better than adding sand.
Dave

I don't get wrapped up in measuring exact dimensions when I fertilize. Mix as instructions state, water plants until run off, and you are good to go. Been doing it this way for nearly 40 years and haven't ever burnt a plant yet. 0-10-10 fertilizer.....absolutely no sweat applying that stuff even though I wouldn't use it on my tomatoes unless they were coming out of the cages with zero blooms on them.


The stake or cage is for support and protection. One hard thunderstorm or hard wind can lay them over and break stems and as fruit weight increases so does the potential for damage if there is no support. Even the gardener walking through or overreaching can cause damage. If you choose to use a stake then the plant has to be somehow tied to the stake. The advantage of the cage is no tying is required and it gets 360 degrees of support.
Salad Slicer is a cucumber. It is the use of the word pepino that isn't quite accurate in its use - it means cucumber in Spanish. That is Burpee's effort at international marketing but they don't understand how to use it in proper context because it can mean something else in English and something else in French and Italian and Portuguese, etc.
So they way they have it you are growing "Cucumber Salad Slicer Cucumber". :)
Dave

Yes, absolutely for support and protection. They don't need any training or help to grow straight. Mine are two or three feet right now and I noticed they got whipped around pretty hard in storms or even just gusty normal Florida afternoons. The more support you give them the less stress the plant is under and less likely to get damage.
I am using the staking because I've got the plants in pretty close quarters and also it just looks nicer. I haven't had any issues with it not being enough support and I secure it with some loosely tied twine just every foot or so.


The "fuzzy stuff" is what used to be cucumber flowers, which are now wilting and falling into oblivion thanks (I think) to the cucumber beetles and their larva. I only saw one of them a few weeks ago and now I am seeing a lot of babies on the under sides of leaves. So that's what he is eating.


If 5 gallons and IF you can monitor the soil moisture levels carefully several times a day then it may handle 3 plants. Cukes are so consistent soil moisture, so water dependent however that I would only leave 2 plants max. Otherwise you risk bitterness, poor pollination and deformed cukes.
Dave


This is how I do mine. It makes fall cleanup easier as you don't have a vine tangled around a trellis - just cut the string & vine then dispose of the whole thing.
Tie the jute twine loosely to the plant then up to the cross beam described below. Then each day or when you water wind the plant stem around the twine - I was surprised at just how well that does hold.
It really only takes seconds to do the winding plus you will notice growth and see any problems early on.
The nice thing about gardening you can do whatever fits you and your space.
The below is taken from the FAQ page which was taken from Mels first book.
<An upside-down U made from electrical conduit or other pipe works well and doesn't break the bank (3/4" copper plumbing pipe used for this purpose is a little more expensive but very nice-looking). To support the individual plants, string is tied horizontally just above ground level and then vertically between the top bar and bottom string. Nylon is recommended to prevent rotting.>
I used 2x2 wood for the uprights and 1x2, 1x3, or 2x2 for the cross piece. I thought the wood was not only more affordable but easier to work with. I used whatever I had on hand.
I used a combination of sheet rock screws and carriage bolts (w/wing nuts) long enuff to hold the pieces together. The bolts will require drilling first and a cordless screw gun is always handy.
I used nylon string the first year after that I used jute twine which only lasts a year but did last the whole season and makes cleanup easier as the jute will compost IF that is what you choose to do.
I only ran a string down to the plants (tomato, cukes, or other vines) - I did not run one horizontally. You just wrap the plant around the string each day or when it is long enuff.
I am not an aggressive pruner by any means but I was really impressed how well this method held up to the hurricane winds when the plants were weighed down with fruit in Aug/Sep. So impressed I have used this method each year since 2002.
<Mel includes extensive info on this method in his book and website.> This referred to his 'old website' as that is when these FAQs were written.
http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2766689/how-do-i-trellis-veggies
For more SFG FAQs...
http://faq.gardenweb.com/forums/square-foot-gardening-faq
HTH
Make the uprights no higher than you can reach to harvest or wrap - when growing longer vines I let them grow down the other side.


How deep is it? They come in all sorts of depths.
Dave
It's between 6 and 8 inches deep. I've filled it with old potting soil from pots I wanted to fill with fresh potting soil, a couple wheel barrels my native sandy soil then added some cotton burr compost I had on hand and a little peat moss. I planted my nine slips and covered the surface with straw have not watered in yet as it was starting to rain. Decided to let Mother nature water it. Will check moisture tomorrow to see if maybe need more water or more drainage holes. Thank you all for your info, and I will let you know results. Yvonne