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BS: Veggie Gardenin'...
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Subject: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 20 Jul 08 - 10:32 AM Well, I know that there are other threads about gardenin' but our veggie garden had finally decided to, ahhhhh, feed us... Yellow squash, cukes, zuchinni, pole beans (smeraldo), Yukon gold taters comin' in now... Tomatoes and okra soon... Yukon Gold taters, spinich, asparagus,onions, beets and lettuce allready harvested... Yummy.... So, what's in ya'll's veggie gardens??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: CarolC Date: 20 Jul 08 - 10:40 AM We've been getting tomatoes for several weeks, now, but lately they've been cracking and ants have been taking up residence inside of them. I thought cracking was a sign that the plants weren't getting enough water, but my plants get plenty of water. The rest of the veggies (peppers, eggplants, and watermelons) won't be ready for a while yet. I'm going to be putting in the fall gardens soon. I'm going to see how many kinds of veggies I can grow all winter long. There's a lot of things that won't grow in the summer here that are supposed to do well in the winter. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Alice Date: 20 Jul 08 - 10:42 AM no veggies, but my raspberries will be bumper crop, as they have been every year |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Sorcha Date: 20 Jul 08 - 10:43 AM Veg gardens are a pain. Time consuming. I just go to the farmers market. IF I remember early enough on Sat. I did plant one packet of multi coloured carrots and 2 tomato plants. The weeds are eating the carrots, and the toms just aren't doing well. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Irene M Date: 20 Jul 08 - 10:50 AM Tomatoes crack when the water supply fluctuates. The influx of water into the plant makes it expand, only the fruit cannot expand and splits. Slow and steady water supply is best. Drippers are what I use, run off a dustbin of water that I top up daily, sort of water-butt style. The first courgettes are forming, runner beans are starting to flower. I grow carrots and potatoes in old florist buckets, and the carrot thinings are good so far. Made the first lot of blackcurrant jam. The redcurrants look like they may need picking next weekend, followed by more blackcurrants, then bullace, plums and eventually, apples. Picked the first blackberries yesterday and put them in the freezer. I add to the bag until I have enough for a batch of bramble jelly. Still waiting for summer, here in the UK. Mind you, the plants like the rain and I don't have to go out and water, so I shouldn't moan. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: CarolC Date: 20 Jul 08 - 10:56 AM Is it possible for the plants to dry out even when they're getting watered daily and are heavily mulched? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Jul 08 - 11:50 AM Depends on your soil. A little water often may be draining away, you may need to do a really heavy soaking a couple of times a week. For all tomato gardeners getting that early blight (the creeping yellow foliage up the plant), spray store-strength (3%) hydrogen peroxide directly on the plant. Don't do it too often or it will knock out beneficial bugs, but the anti-fungal properties of hydrogen peroxide knock out the early blight. Be careful mixing peroxide with other stuff, don't leave it standing in your sprayer. If you have more dollars, there is a product called Veggie Wash that does the same thing. Our main plant here now is eggplant, so many off of just three bushes that I am tempted to put a stand at the curb. :-) Johnny-one-fruit, though. Eggplants only, the tomatoes are prolific but still mostly green. I have a few carrots, an experiment, haven't tried them yet. Lots of banana peppers, a few green bell peppers, lots of jalapeno. Only harvested one squash before all of them bit the dust. Wrong place, I think, and the borer got them. Chard is a bit stressed but we get greens every couple of weeks. Got several gallons of wild mustang grapes from the vines across the road. Several pints of jelly and jam (this was our first time canning these). SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bee Date: 20 Jul 08 - 06:58 PM I don't have much room for a veggie garden, though I'd like one - just a few tomato plants this year (and the garden herbs). But I usually have a couple mounds for squash and pumpkin. Last year a powdery mildew of round white spots turning to black decimated my squash vines, and no amount of fungicide (I tried three different kinds, and a vinegar spray someone suggested, before giving up) had any visible effect. So I've left off for this year, and next year I'll start them in a different area and blast the young plants early and often. Anyone had experience of controlling such blights, or killing old spores - cause I'll bet there's plenty just waiting? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: katlaughing Date: 20 Jul 08 - 08:12 PM I have had a few grape tomatoes off the potted plant we started this year, but the news ones are really tiny, though red, and I've noticed the blooms on both tom. plants are not producing. I think they may have dried out too much as I missed a couple of mornings of watering and the heat and sun, at this altitude, are brutal. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 20 Jul 08 - 08:23 PM Bee, Try some dish detergent (1/2 cup = gallon of water) on them squash plants and see if that clears things up... I've used this on lots of stuff that seems to be suffering from fungi or root problems and it seems to work... Why??? I don't know... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Jul 08 - 09:18 PM Kat, when it gets hot they won't pollinate on their own. Get a cotton swab or some of the Blossom set spray and do it yourself. My garden is kind of tipping over and collapsing under its own weight. There are tomato cages in there, but you wouldn't know it, and the cantaloupe is trying to climb everything. I've redirected it over toward the rosemary. I'm not sure that all of these tomatoes are going to be the type that will last through fall for more fruit, I may have to start some more plants. With such a long growing season we easily get two good crops. The fall garden is often better than the spring/summer one. Less heat, more rain. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Sooz Date: 21 Jul 08 - 03:40 AM So far we've eaten: lettuce rocket spring onions radishes beetroot potatoes broad beans sugar snap peas blackcurrants raspberries shallots herbs Coming shortly: runner beans tomatoes courgettes carrots squash Harvesting and eating food from the garden is so satisfying - worth all of the effort! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Mr Happy Date: 21 Jul 08 - 06:00 AM Spuds - had the first coulpe've newies last night with me roast beef & runner beans, followed by stewed rhubarb - delishuss!! Runner beans Tomatoes Sweet peppers Radish: Long white icicle & scarlet globe Mangetout Cherries Victoria Plums Apples Rhubarb Some've the runners were showing signs of vitamin deficiency a month or so ago, yellowing leaves - solved the prob with added phosphate from that easily renewable source - banana skins! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Mr Happy Date: 21 Jul 08 - 07:03 AM Just been researching Wikipedia for Rocket, its not there. I know its a leaf vegetable - what's its other names? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Ruth Archer Date: 21 Jul 08 - 07:16 AM rocket= arugula. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Mr Happy Date: 21 Jul 08 - 07:24 AM Ruth, Many thanks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruca_sativa |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Ruth Archer Date: 21 Jul 08 - 07:31 AM no probs. It makes a wicked pesto. :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: lady penelope Date: 21 Jul 08 - 08:25 AM Well you learn something every day eh? I always wondered what arugula was! I've been successfully growing rocket on me kitchen window sill - just eating it as I wanted it. I have a basil plant I do the same with, only it's getting wee bit big so it may have to brave the big wide world outside for the rest of the summer at least. My toms are coming along quite nicely, thanks for the handy tips on the splitting and blight, I had problems with splitting last year. Trying radishes for the first time and they seem to be going great guns. I'll have to wait for a couple of years for my rhubarb, only planted it a couple of months ago! Oh well, I'll have to keep nicking me mother's... *G* Next thing to try is spuds, blackthorn, possibly some blackberries, chives and garlic. Mind you, I really must finish clearing and laying out my back yard... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Mr Happy Date: 21 Jul 08 - 09:05 AM In spite of the copious amounts of precipitation lately, as I've loads of stuff in containers as well as in the front & back gardens, its still been necessary to do lots of watering |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Jul 08 - 10:36 AM Bee, A recent organic gardening discovery is that hydrogen peroxide, sprayed on undiluted at the grocery store 3% strength, will knock out powdery mildew. Do a thorough application and wait a few days to see that it clears. Leaves hit too hard by the mildew that are past the tipping point may still die, but it should clear younger leaves. There is a commercial product called Plant Wash (I've never seen it and don't know the cost) is said to be as good or better. Up to the last few years organic gardeners typically used potassium bicarbonate mixed with a little dish soap in water, or in a pinch, baking soda in that recipe, to treat powdery mildew. It had iffy results, at best it might slow its spread. The discovery that hydrogen peroxide knocks out many plant fungal and bacterial problems is big news. But keep in mind that repeated applications might be overkill and can kill beneficial bugs also if you're not careful. The store strength is the best one to use--hydrogen peroxide is available at higher concentrations for industrial applications, but there is a risk of chemical burns and injury from breathing it in. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Irene M Date: 21 Jul 08 - 02:58 PM I gotta ask. Peroxide = blonde leaves? Sorry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Irene M Date: 21 Jul 08 - 02:59 PM Me again... and dark roots? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: katlaughing Date: 21 Jul 08 - 04:19 PM Thanks, Maggie, I'll try that with the qtips. I don't know how my ex and I did it. We were just kids and had a huge garden one year. The only that we didn't get to harvest was a huge watermelon that we found a mouse had made into its cafeteria. And, we didn't know anything about how to treat, fertilise, etc.:-) I forgot to say Rog's oldest grape vine had a bunch of grapes coming on, then suddenly they were gone. He thought at first birds had eaten, though that did not happen the past two years. The other day, he looked closely and told me he saw some kind of fluffy looking stuff. I haven't gone to look, but I'll bet its some kind of fungus. I'll have to get out the peroxide. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: MarkS Date: 21 Jul 08 - 09:49 PM We put in a drip irrigation systemt this year and have to say it works great. Couple hours a day (turn it off if has rained the day before) and no worries about proper watering. Also it uses a lot less water than sprinkling from above. Now that the rows are clearly marked with the drip lines, the plan is to till in organic material from our manure pile (4 horses, we got lots) over winter. That should really improve our sandy soil and jump start things next spring. Oh, anybody had any experience with a propane flamer for weed control? Mark |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Jul 08 - 12:16 AM I'm working on a gray water drip system for next year, pulling together the parts and designating the bed placement to put in after it cools off some (do the initial digging and then it's easier to dig an plant in the spring). Shower and dish water. Flame thrower for weed control? I suppose I could consider it. Not many weeds in the garden right now, but it would weed, bake the eggplant, and grill the tomatoes on the vine all in one fell swoop! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 22 Jul 08 - 02:32 PM Help... We have some kind of fungus on parts of all of our tomato plants that I have never run into... Some of the leaves are turning yellowish with small brown spots... The stems also have the spot5s... We cut the bad parts out this morning but am open to suggestion on what tghis is and how to treat it (organically)... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Jul 08 - 02:54 PM Hydrogen Peroxide, straight, 3% grocery store strength, sprayed on the plants. Don't do it daily or you'll hurt beneficial bugs, but give it a good coverage to start and then return to check after a few days. Or look for Veggie Wash and follow the directions. It has the same effect as the peroxide, but apparently has more ingredients. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: GUEST,Norval Date: 23 Jul 08 - 02:29 AM Bobert: Check this site: Tomato Disorders |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: gnu Date: 23 Jul 08 - 04:46 AM Norval... thanks! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 23 Jul 08 - 08:24 AM Yeah, thanks, Norvel.... Very helpful website... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 23 Jul 08 - 09:05 PM I have a disorderly Roma tomato out in the middle of the rest. Some are "determinant" plants, they only last so long. I wonder it that is the case here. I'll check out the site also. Mine have gotten the peroxide treatment and the Roma still decided to crash this week. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: maeve Date: 24 Jul 08 - 10:52 PM In case it is of interest to y'all: We planted several test plots of various varieties of corn in this year's veggie gardens. Raccoons visited last night and broke several stalks of one variety, weeks before any ears had even begun. Then today the lunatic fringe of New Hampshire's tornado system swept through, shoving much of the corn flat to the ground.What interested me was that the plots in which I had interplanted dwarf peas and bush beans, the corn stayed happy and tall. None were damaged in the big winds. So in the morning we'll see how much we can reset and hill with even more compost, and which are needing to be removed and planted to something else. I did spray all of the corn with repellent, and sprinkled a different repellent in granular form on and around the corn patches. We'll need to take further action with the critters, but I'm hoping it will buy us a little time to do so. maeve |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Jul 08 - 12:01 AM Relatively speaking I have a tiny little garden, though there are "annex" plots all over the yard with other stuff. This is the one that neighbors poke through and tonight a four-year-old girl came to visit and enjoyed looking at eggplant ("Can I touch it?") and picking tomatoes ("Look what I got, grandma!" when she ran back next door). I love watching children go through that discovery process, and it is so easy to give pleasure when all it entails is picking a few small tomatoes and patting a purple globe hidden under large leaves. I did alert her grandmother to the one biology question that came up. My dog rolled over to have her tummy rubbed and Audrey wanted to know how I knew she was a girl. "That's the vagina, and that's what girl dogs look like." I don't have a male dog for comparison, but I'm sure someone at home will think of a way to make the contrast. They used to have a Boston Terrier who came to stay on some weekends, and someone can remind her that he used to lift his leg. Her mother is apparently pretty forthcoming on the science information in the household, so I don't think there were any shocks at home this evening. :) Makes one feel rather subversive, though, actually teaching a little biology in the vegetable garden. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Jul 08 - 12:18 AM Oops. This is the garden (photo hosted at Mudcat Gardeners group). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bee Date: 25 Jul 08 - 11:40 AM Thanks, Bobert and SRS, for the fungi advice. Saved and labelled for next year's attempt. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: GUEST,GI Joe Date: 25 Jul 08 - 11:40 AM any one had problems w/ moles??? I know they only eat the insect grubs, but it is the field mice that use the tunnels and attack the veggies. ex potatoes w/ teath marks where they have been chewing.. I just put up one of those windmills that send vibrations into the ground via a iron pipe Bought it from Lehmans that sell to the Amish people... Has any one tried them???? Next year will put down Bacillus Thuringes It should kill the grubs.. Has anyone tried Ether ?? the stuff thats in compressed spray cans the start engines ..... Thanx |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 25 Jul 08 - 08:35 PM Yes, I have a problem with moles. My dermatologist checks them out every couple of years. . . |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 25 Jul 08 - 08:54 PM Everything you want to know about moles (voles)... Ummmmmm, moles are big... Like 6 inches long... They have front feet that look like paddles... They make tunnels... They eat grubs... They have no interest in yer potatoes or yer hostas but... They do the hard work if diggin' tunnels and then voles move into those tunnels and take up residence... Vole are like mice but thay aren't... They have a much shorter tail... They love anything that you have planted... Yes, they will get into yer potatoes... They will also eat the roots of hostas and other beding plants... There are lots of things you can do but nothing is 100%: 1. Plant yer ornimentals in "Permitil" which is like a gravelly stuff that moles and voles don't like digging thru... 2. Plant yer ornimentals in plastic pots with wire mesh inside... That will keep the sunamiches out... 3. Get cats... 4. Put mice traps with peanut butter for bail over holes with palstic pot over it so that kitties don't get zapped... Put rock on top of pot to keep kittie from gettin in there... 5. Put down "Grub-X" on yer lawn... This kills the moles food source and if he ain't happy then the voles won't be either... 6. Then, of course, there are various poisons, ehich we don't use ot reccommened... The end... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Jul 08 - 01:35 AM Poignant story--my ex was stuck with my daughter's roommate's pygmy hamster. Had the darned thing for probably 3 or 4 years. It got out of its cage one night and got behind the dryer and got the peanut butter on the mouse trap. No more hamster, but he went fast. It was an annoying, stinky little monster, ugly growths coming and going on it's body, but it seems to have been a source of entertainment, especially when it chomped on my son's friends who tried to touch him. Ah, well. . . the ex-roommate moved away to Alaska, got married, probably never gave it another thought. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: GUEST Date: 26 Jul 08 - 10:37 AM Thread drifting SRS but isn't that how a lot of us end up with 'pets' we never intended? Our cat was inherited as 'a 17 year old cat that won't live long' more than a few years ago and it's still going strong - the little bugger! Mike |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 26 Jul 08 - 11:49 AM Right up there with "free (stray)" dogs or cats. All but one of mine arrived under their own power. The top of the heap is the beautiful, smart, injured Am. Staffordshire Terrier who, after she was treated for a glancing blow from a car before she got here, got all of her shots, neutering and dental work from hitting the street with her face when she was hit, PLUS putting up a new fence PLUS the invisible fence collars that finally keeps both dogs in the yard, amounted to several thousand dollars. . . Makes the cats seem positively cheap by comparison, and the Animal Shelter dog, while the most annoying of the lot, cost far less than any of the others. And to bring this back around to the subject, the dogs are the reason I haven't had a garden in the back for several years now. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 26 Jul 08 - 05:33 PM Well, for the last three days I have been convertin' a block outbuilding that was used for curing meat into a "potato house"... Yup, look as if we are going to get about 3 or 4 bushles of potatoes and so the only place I could think of for storing them was in a refrigerator but this building needed to be wired and that's what I have been doing... Not to mention rescuing an old, but useable, refrigerator from the old hotel I own... But we now have am official potato house and That is good... Plus there is enough room for another upright freezer which will be nice because we are freezing alot more veggies than usual because of the food prices... We have had good rains all summer so I guess that is the reason that we are getting so much produce... The chicken manure doesn't hurt either... Unfortunately we haven't gotten our first ripe tomato but I believe that we will very soon as we have tons of green ones and looks as if our stripping the fungi affected leaves has worked 'cause the plants look good... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Megan L Date: 26 Jul 08 - 05:39 PM Bobert if the tomatoes wont ripen go out and swear at them till they blush, thats what our neighbour used to do. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: GUEST Date: 27 Jul 08 - 11:35 AM Megan- Tomatoes are indeed modest by nature. We've gotten the same results using lavish applications of compliments. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 27 Jul 08 - 12:10 PM Think I'll go with GUEST on this one seein' as I ain't into swearin'... And if that don't work, there's always spray paint... Went out and plugged the new (old) refrigerator in this morning'... Had to lay it on it's side yesterday for a while so I let it stand all night which is what yer supposed to do after letting 'um lay flat but... ...all is well... It's working just fine and ready for taters... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Jul 08 - 01:29 PM It's supposed to be 105 here today. I think I'll go pick vine grilled tomatoes for dinner tonight. I took a leaf from your book, Bobert, and am testing the "cut off the sick leaves" approach on the tomato. I noticed that the leaves that were browning didn't have fruit or blossoms on them. It may be a combination of blight and sacrifice to get the fruit to ripen. I finished building a table top outside for my kitchen stuff, the roaster, the convection oven, we'll see what else is suitable out there. I'll bake outside and keep from heating the house so much. I wanted a sturdy table that the weather wouldn't affect. The equipment will only go outside when it is needed. I'm going to start this afternoon with two items, a loaf of bread and a lamb/tomato/eggplant casserole. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: maeve Date: 27 Jul 08 - 01:31 PM Guest= maeve without her cookie. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 27 Jul 08 - 02:38 PM It's been a week now since we removed the fungus leave, SRS, and the plants look great and we have our first tomaoto ripening so by the end of the week we'll be havin' tomato sammichs... We had friends up today and loaded them up with our excess cukes, beans and potatoes... We've got 20 pounds of beans allready in the freezer... These are the flat pole beans... No strings... Just cut 'um into 2 inch long pieces and stirfry 'um with onions and garlic... Yummy... We're gonna have a ton on limas... Nothin' better than ***fresh*** limas... Little butter and salt and yummy... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Jul 08 - 02:47 PM I hate lima beans. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Veggie Gardenin'... From: Bobert Date: 27 Jul 08 - 03:46 PM I did, too, until I grew them and had them fresh... The rest are crap... Try one, you'll like it... I promise... |
