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Does anyone have any advice on dealing with cutworms? My transplants are fine, but they obliterated my seedlings. They have destroyed most of my beets, rutabagas, chard, and lettuce. One day I have a perfectly healthy beet seedling, then the next day I see it toppled over severed at the surface, and now have huge gaps in the bed. I could replant, but not sure how practical since I might disturb the few survivors and how do I know it won’t happen again?
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Jun 7, 2010 14:37
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 17:24 |
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 Our land lord has decided to increase his chances of finding a buyer for the duplex I live in by doing some landscaping, also known as DESTROY Godfrey's gardens. the potatoes, onions, mint, strawberries, and my cats catnip, gone.
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Jun 7, 2010 23:21
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Anyone have any experience using newspaper (a la the "lasagna gardening" idea) to improve dirt? I want to plant strawberries and raspberries in a certain part of my back yard next year but it's on a pretty steep hill. I worry that if I tilled or broke up the grass holding down the top soil I would just end up with giant messy runoff into my neighbor's backyard. She's already been patient enough with the runoff from the french drain I put under the garden. I thought I could just layer some newspaper there from summer through the winter and maybe it would break down enough?
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Jun 8, 2010 01:56
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Scavenge some rebar and jam it into the ground like a little fence. Use it to build up a barrier to keep the mulch from slipping away. Also iron is good for soil. (that's my story and I'm stickin to it)
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Jun 8, 2010 04:47
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I have enough rebar in my compost piles. I've got some old wood from pruning the crepe myrtles last year that should suffice holding the bed up. I've also got one compost pile that never really took that can add a layer. gently caress if I'm buying more peat moss. This loving clay has consumed a metric ton of that poo poo by now I'd wager.
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Jun 8, 2010 05:58
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I'm in the north of England and would like to grow some sort of vegetable for fun and for the experience, preferably starting from seed. It will have to be relatively cheap and I want to grow it in a pot (a small pot at first, and then I will transfer it/them to a larger one outside). Also, I'll be moving house in about three weeks so I'll need to be able to transport it in the pots -- so nothing which would be too big or sensitive to being moved around. I'm thinking maybe some tomato seeds on my east-facing window ledge? Would it be too late to start sprouting them? If I get the hang of it I'll try a slightly larger quantity and variety of veg and also try herbs.
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Jun 9, 2010 23:32
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This rain my have pooched my 2010 garden  Been raining almost daily for 2 weeks, my plants are looking pretty wilted. I gave them all a shot of fertilizer yesterday in hopes to revive them
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Jun 9, 2010 23:44
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Umbriago posted:I'm in the north of England and would like to grow some sort of vegetable for fun and for the experience, preferably starting from seed. It will have to be relatively cheap and I want to grow it in a pot (a small pot at first, and then I will transfer it/them to a larger one outside). Also, I'll be moving house in about three weeks so I'll need to be able to transport it in the pots -- so nothing which would be too big or sensitive to being moved around. I'm thinking maybe some tomato seeds on my east-facing window ledge? Would it be too late to start sprouting them? If I get the hang of it I'll try a slightly larger quantity and variety of veg and also try herbs. Having done a little more reading it appears that the best choice of plants available to me for planting now are: Beans Beat Leaf Kale Broccoli Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Fennel Peas Pumpkin Salad leaves (Red Salad Bowl, Red Chard, Spinach, Green Lobjoits Cos, Mizuna, Oakleaf Cocarde, Rocket) Swede Turnip and that I should be planting these directly to soil rather than indoors with the aim of transplanting them. Gonna try to make a small container of salad leaves and maybe another of runner beans.
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Jun 10, 2010 01:20
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I found (and then lost) a website where you enter your zip code and it told you what to plant and when. Does anyone know what I'm talking about, and what the URL is?
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Jun 10, 2010 01:49
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Emasculatrix posted:I found (and then lost) a website where you enter your zip code and it told you what to plant and when. Does anyone know what I'm talking about, and what the URL is? http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/ ?
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Jun 10, 2010 02:10
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I like turtles posted:http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/ ? Oh, awesome! Thanks!
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Jun 10, 2010 02:11
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a handful of dust posted:So I'm reading Patricia Lanza's Lasagna Gardening, and I figure I'll give it a try this year. What materials are you using to layer and what are the thicknesses? If your top soil/finished compost layer on the top is 4" or more, I think planting would not be a problem (depending on many things). I've seen designs that called for planting established plants into a top straw layer that had mostly uncomposted material below; seemed to work for them. Depends on materials though dwoloz fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Jun 11, 2010 |
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Jun 11, 2010 00:27
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Godfrey posted:
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Jun 11, 2010 05:58
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Umbriago posted:Having done a little more reading it appears that the best choice of plants available to me for planting now are: Salad leaves are so quick to grow and much tastier straight from the garden. My rocket is just right to eat this week and it's been delicious. You could try radishes as well, there are fairly fast growing strains available now. Had a sprout casualty (got complacent with slug defence), but it's okay because the patch was looking pretty crowded anyway. Are beetroot a slow or fast growing crop? I grew them last year by accident in my flowerbed (this is why you don't chuck whatever seeds you find all over the place), so I didn't really notice them sprouting and dug them up when they were ping-pong ball size.
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Jun 13, 2010 11:23
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I went to the garden centre and got the seeds which were listed as still sowable at this time of year. I got some carrots, dwarf beans, lettuce, mixed salad, spinach and rocket and split them across five containers. I hope at least half will grow.
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Jun 13, 2010 14:56
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This drat rain needs to stop, I don't want a small pond in my garden and my green beans likely don't appreciate being 1/4" underwater! I lost the last little batch of June strawberries because it was so wet they rotted and the storms have managed to hurt my baby apple trees as well, this poo poo needs to stop. In other news, I'm considering buying a bunch of rootstock and setting it up for grafting from my apple trees and doing all the new ones in a supported espalier style. Does anyone have any experience doing something like that? Opinions on if I just be better off trying to find whips in the rootstock that I want than grafting myself? Anubis fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Jun 14, 2010 |
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Jun 14, 2010 16:04
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Umbriago posted:carrots, dwarf beans, lettuce, mixed salad, spinach and rocket How long before I see this stuff sprouting out of the soil?
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Jun 14, 2010 16:45
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We just moved into our house Thursday eve, and Friday I promptly went out and bought tomatoes. That's about the only thing I can reliably grow... but I'm giving some other plants a go too. Things currently planted: 6 varieties tomatoes (beefsteak, roma, some heirlooms), rosemary, thyme. Living in small containers: Basil, chives. Waiting to be planted in... something: Jalapeno peppers. Seeds: Acorn squash. I know it's a bit late to begin planting here in California, but since we have good weather, I am hoping some of the things I'd like to eat are still plantable. Is garlic difficult and/or feasible on a small scale? I really like garlic but I don't know if it's got any finicky needs. Also: I would like to plant a small-medium tree. One of the trees in this yard has GOT to go (we have 3 useless, decorative trees at the fenceline) and I'd like to replace it with a useful tree. Fruit, nuts, and preferably something that will yield something in less than 5 years. Does anyone have any suggestions? I live in the Los Angeles area, so we have very mild weather and excess sunshine.
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Jun 14, 2010 18:51
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Umbriago posted:How long before I see this stuff sprouting out of the soil? The salad leaves sprout so drat quickly, you will have sizeable seedlings in a week. I've never had luck with direct sown carrots, so I don't know, but beans can take about 2 weeks in the ground.
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Jun 15, 2010 17:29
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I've had a pothos in a hanging pot for a little over a year and it's been doing great, but recently a bunch of the leaves have started browning: Any ideas what's causing this?
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Jun 15, 2010 18:31
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All of this rain is making me extremely grateful that I went the extra mile last year and built a French drain under the garden. I swear the rabbits are going to have to build rowboats if it keeps coming down like this every night.
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Jun 16, 2010 00:04
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a handful of dust posted:I've had a pothos in a hanging pot for a little over a year and it's been doing great, but recently a bunch of the leaves have started browning: Looks like salt burn to me which could be the result of over-fertilization or the usage of softened water. Is the leaf burn occurring on only the older leaves or new growth as well? Its also possible that your pothos is drowning. Does your pot have drainage holes in the bottom and are you letting the soil dry out before watering again? Other than that, in my experiences pothos can simply not be rootbound, underwatered, or shaded out.
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Jun 16, 2010 00:26
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Cathis posted:Is garlic difficult and/or feasible on a small scale? I really like garlic but I don't know if it's got any finicky needs. My mom planted one bulb of garlic around 1995 or so. She let it go to seed that year, then let those plants go to seed the following year. Since then, I don't believe she's bought garlic at the store, nor could she kill off her garlic forest without a backhoe & a hundred gallons of roundup. It's a very hardy plant, to the point of being invasive unless it's not allowed to go to seed. My snap peas are still being prolific, which surprises me. One pepper was planted too close to a tomato and was completely out-competed, but my tomato plants are all around 2.5 feet high and flowering. Radishes have been delicious but not very big, carrots have been slow to grow. This has been my first year using a 1/3 1/3 1/3 mix of compost, peat moss and vermiculite, and i'm amazed by how well the mix holds water. Even three days of 90 degree temps doesn't completely dry it out, and my plants obviously appreciate it.
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Jun 16, 2010 05:20
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Progress! Bonus shot of the outside of my house after weeding, mulching, and a bit of planting. We still have a lot of space to fill. My peas are plentiful! Those plants are over 3' tall now.  Brussels sprouts, with zucchini on the trellis.  Mint in the pot, cherry tomatoes in the hanging baskets, lettuce, swiss chard, and various herbs (and weeds!) in my center bed. The terracotta pot holds the avocado tree I started from seed.  What's that? Chloe wants a pea?  Well, OK.  I have a bunch more tomatoes in the other beds, but I didn't snap pics. Richard Noggin fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Jun 17, 2010 |
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Jun 17, 2010 19:56
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I'm growing some cayenne peppers and they're coming in strong, but not ripening as quickly as I'd expect. Do I pick the big ones after ~1 month of no visible further growth, or will they all turn red eventually?
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Jun 24, 2010 23:11
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wnatw posted:I'm growing some cayenne peppers and they're coming in strong, but not ripening as quickly as I'd expect. Do I pick the big ones after ~1 month of no visible further growth, or will they all turn red eventually? They should all turn red eventually. You can certainly go ahead and pick them when they are green as long as they look large and mature. Someone told me once it helps to reduce the amount of water you give them towards the end when they have a lot of peppers in order to have them turn red faster. Don't know how true that is though.
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Jun 25, 2010 03:52
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Seventyfour posted:Do you know what varieties of plum, pear, and grape you've planted? I live in Austin and would be interested in hearing about your experience with the fruit (and seeing photos!) I have fig, lemon, lime and tangerine trees, and would like to start adding other fruits. Sorry, missed this earlier. I have Bruce plums, Bradford pear (which is new, fruit maybe next year) and Concord grape. I've seen figs put out lots here. The citrus I'm always iffy about, I've never done any myself, but would love to.
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Jun 25, 2010 08:50
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How the hell can I stop various cats (both mine and others) making GBS threads in my veggie bed? They scratched over and killed my butternut squash, and hosed up all my mooli. I tried putting down holly branches but couldn't find a balance between having so many that the seedlings don't get enough light and having so few that the cats just scratch them out of place. Also what can I do to encourage my pea plant to produce more flowers? It's a bit of an anticlimax to wait for a plant from March and then only get 4 pea pods off it.
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Jun 25, 2010 11:04
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madlilnerd posted:How the hell can I stop various cats (both mine and others) making GBS threads in my veggie bed? They scratched over and killed my butternut squash, and hosed up all my mooli. I found a dog and cat repellent spray at Lowe's. It smells very much like pickle juice. It might take a few times of squirting the area but they will eventually learn. I can't find the exact one I got, but it didn't seem to harm my plants. Or build a cage around your bed.
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Jun 25, 2010 20:24
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madlilnerd posted:How the hell can I stop various cats (both mine and others) making GBS threads in my veggie bed? They scratched over and killed my butternut squash, and hosed up all my mooli. They say that cats don't like the smell of lavender, but that's bullshit cause we have a bunch of it and do have cats around. Your options may be somewhat limited by the fact that you have a cat of your own. I have seen stuff at Lowe's that claims to repel animals; I think it is a concoction of wintergreen and cayenne pepper. It will probably keep the strays away, but your own cat will likely be pretty miffed. They also make humane no-kill traps for small animals; catching a few will likely send a signal to the others that the garden is bad news and they should stay away. Again, should you catch your own cat, he's going to be pissed. We were having problems with that earlier this year, but it seems to have tapered off with increased activity in the beds. I guess it just smells too much like people and dogs for them to want to hang around much.
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Jun 25, 2010 20:34
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madlilnerd posted:How the hell can I stop various cats (both mine and others) making GBS threads in my veggie bed? They scratched over and killed my butternut squash, and hosed up all my mooli. Along the same lines, should I be worried about eating veggies from a garden cats frequent? I realized today that the neighborhood feral cats have been making GBS threads in my garden. A nice unburied poo poo pile full of wriggling worms greeted me as I went out to weed this morning.
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Jun 25, 2010 22:27
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stubblyhead posted:They say that cats don't like the smell of lavender, but that's bullshit cause we have a bunch of it and do have cats around. Your options may be somewhat limited by the fact that you have a cat of your own. I have seen stuff at Lowe's that claims to repel animals; I think it is a concoction of wintergreen and cayenne pepper. It will probably keep the strays away, but your own cat will likely be pretty miffed. They also make humane no-kill traps for small animals; catching a few will likely send a signal to the others that the garden is bad news and they should stay away. Again, should you catch your own cat, he's going to be pissed. We were having problems with that earlier this year, but it seems to have tapered off with increased activity in the beds. I guess it just smells too much like people and dogs for them to want to hang around much. It's a huge garden, she has plenty of other places to poo poo, so I might try a repellent spray. The humane trap thing doesn't work well in my household. Think squirrels in the attic. Think placing trap. Think not going in attic between March and November. Picture mummified/air dried squirrel in a "humane" trap. I have a feeling that the whole pooping thing is a turf war between my cat and at least 1 other, because I cleaned it out the other day and by the next morning there were WAAAY too many turds to have just been one cat's worth. Ew ew ew ew. a handful of dust posted:Along the same lines, should I be worried about eating veggies from a garden cats frequent? It's even grosser if, when trying to cover up their most recent turd, they uncover all the others they've buried. There's also foxes and hedgehogs making GBS threads all over the place in my garden. My mum (ex-microbiologist) says it should be fine as long as you give everything a good rinse/scrub before eating it. Cooking kills a lot of germs too.
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Jun 25, 2010 22:43
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a handful of dust posted:Along the same lines, should I be worried about eating veggies from a garden cats frequent? Wash/cook everything really well, because if the cat's carrying toxoplasmosis it could contaminate your veggies.
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Jun 26, 2010 06:07
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Agustin Cienfuegos posted:Sorry, missed this earlier. I have Bruce plums, Bradford pear (which is new, fruit maybe next year) and Concord grape. I've seen figs put out lots here. The citrus I'm always iffy about, I've never done any myself, but would love to. Uhhh, I hate to break it to you but the Bradford pear is an ornamental variety. The fruits are all seed and about 1 cm in diameter. So you won't get any fruit off that one ever.
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Jun 28, 2010 02:34
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Marchegiana posted:Uhhh, I hate to break it to you but the Bradford pear is an ornamental variety. The fruits are all seed and about 1 cm in diameter. So you won't get any fruit off that one ever. You forgot to mention that the flowers smell like old semen.
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Jun 28, 2010 02:56
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Marchegiana posted:Uhhh, I hate to break it to you but the Bradford pear is an ornamental variety. The fruits are all seed and about 1 cm in diameter. So you won't get any fruit off that one ever. I was about to say something but then I thought maybe I was crazy and there was another sort of Bradford Pear! Not only do they smell bad, but they're very fragile in high wind so beware if it's planted too close to your house.
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Jun 28, 2010 03:37
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Yep. First tree I ever had fall on a house was a Bradford pear. And oh god, the stink.
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Jun 28, 2010 15:23
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Jonny 290 posted:And oh god, the stink. Are they worse smelling than ginkgo trees?
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Jun 28, 2010 15:50
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No, no. But spring in the South is a unique affair - when "that week" comes around, everybody just kind of walks around with their nose wrinkled and a sour look on their face
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Jun 28, 2010 17:39
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 17:24 |
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Something strange has developed in one of my cauliflower plants. It was doing decently, then overnight the leaves began to purple slightly, and inside the leaves near the stem there was some very odd crystalisation that almost look like someone put extremely tiny rocks/crystals in it. Any idea what this would be? I assume it's some sort of fungus but I'd like to know what specifically.
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Jun 28, 2010 23:58
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