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Re: Gardeners in the Asylum
My garden is the worst it's been in as long as I can remember. A cool spring and one heck of a rainy late spring-early summer has taken it's toll. It's still been raining here about every day and has been for weeks now. My squash and zucs have rotted and are gone. My cukes are mis-shapen and are suffering from under pollination. Probably because they're continually spray for mosquitoes and they're killing every other insect in the process. Tomatoes have fruited a little, but the wet ground nearly drowned two of them a couple of weeks ago. Just sad. No one else's garden around here is doing much better. On the upside, my grass is growing like I've never seen it. Problem is, I don't eat it and I'm not starting now.
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Our garden is in almost as "ugh" stage as Jamie's.
It just sat through all of June, never moving an inch. Too much cold and rain. The last week it bolted pretty nice with all the heat and then it got beat to death with hail yesterday. That'll set it back while it heals. Plants aren't dying, but with our short season we'll be lucky to see much of anything if the weather isn't optimal for the next 8 weeks. Good thing we're not relying on the garden to stave off starvation or I'd be a nervous wreck. |
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Mine's flourished as of late. My corn shot up quite a bit and I'm noticing the ears are starting to grow. I've got tomatoes on all my plants (4), eggplant and squash (already ate a couple small ones, plus some blossoms). I noticed cuc's yesterday too on my couple of plants and my broccoli is getting gigantic, but no crowns yet. Now if my garlic can be saved, i'll be really happy.
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Wow, so sorry to hear that guys. I can feel ya, because I would be mortified if my garden took a dump.
We had been suffering from lack of rain around here and was watering almost every day. I took the family to the lake for 5 days and came back to everything exploding! Most things had doubled in size. We also got 1.5 inches of rain while I was gone which really helped. Not to mention that I sprayed everything down with Compost Tea before leaving on my trip. We have been harvesting Cuc's, Zuk's & Broccoli and all of our Greens (chard, collard etc.) tomotoes and peppers are starting to set pretty well. The watermelon and cantaloupes are going crazy. I will try to record another garden video this weekend and post it here. Good luck guys. |
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Here's my porch garden. I hurt my back in January and couldn't build the raised garden I wanted this year but I'll probably get to build it this summer.
Right now I have basil, rosemary, cilantro, tomatoes, an avocado, and an easter lily that I thought was dead but has made a come back. https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...65402915_n.jpg |
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Hope your back gets better soon. I am in the same boat with a back injury and 2 herniated discs in my neck. It sucks!
Good job making due with what you can. |
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Shame y'all are having a tough year. Mine's been going great so far (SE PA). The first tomatoes should be ready in the next few days, with plenty more nice looking fruit not far behind. Picked my first pole beans yesterday despite the best efforts of a swarm of hungry japanese beetles, and my early garlic is drying in the basement. Peppers seems a little slow, just starting to flower now, but they fought off an early insect problem too and seem happy at the moment. Zucchini is growing well, though I've lost a few to what looks like blossom end rot? Does zucchini need calcium like tomatoes or is this something else? They grow about 6" long, and then turn yellow and go soft from the blossom end.
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I"m having the same issue with my yellow squash. Had a few that started to rot on the blossom end. Not sure what it might be, my first time growing yellow squash.
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Still raining here on the East Coast. Been raining for nearly 3 weeks. Like pouring piss out of a boot most days. The only things that remain are peppers and tomatoes. Getting a few of each. Like Scott said, I'm glad my garden doesn't sustain us throughout the year. At my production rate, I would've had to plant 50 acres and I'm pretty sure I'd be sick of tomatoes at about the 10th month.
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Our garden is still a soggy embarrassment.
These cold nights are great for sleeping, and the rainy days are great for depression, but the combo really sucks for growing a garden. Rain, rain, and rain in the forecast for the next 10 days, so it'll be more of the same. I can report a nice pile of sugar peas, the chinese kind that you eat pod and all. Those plants have laid over and haven't dried out long enough to stand back up, so they're starting to rot. The beans look great!!! :tu |
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You guys might also try hand pollinating the squash. They might not be getting pollinated well enough.
Take the "male" flower (the one with the long stem) and tear off the petals to expose the Stamen. Then open the female flower (the one on the end of the small zicchini, squash, pumpkin etc. and rub the Male Stamen all over the female Pistil. This will insure good polination and help with fruit reaching maturity. |
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MR.B....I wanted to tell yu something about the birds that scatter feed all over, (from your
mention in your garden video) their behavior doubles your seed costs, makes a mess and encourages the seeds to take root where you don't want them. IF YOU CAN both find it, and FIT IT, you take that white grid diffuser that people use in flourescent light fixtures, and cut a piece to fit the floor of your feeder. The birds that scatter seed like that are generally the 'trash birds' like house sparrows that both make a mess and also intimidate other birds that you actually want. They are a non-native bird that will kill other birds for nest space, and will eat anything that man drops or gives. Plus they don't sing so much as CONSTANTLY chatter in the areas where they roost and rest, and it gets old fast. They like to 'rake' their bills across the food, to get to what they want. The grid allows birds that peck at it to eat just fine, but it confounds the other bird's ability to rake the seed and scatter it everywhere. I they want to eat out of a gridded feeder, they have to do it the same as everybody else. I will also pass on the fact that almost ANY kind of bird seed attracts them, but they only want the tiny pearl millet seeds. They will throw out everything they don't like to get to that millet. The irony is that while almost every bird you WANT TO ATTRACT will gladly take black oil sunflower seeds, about the only bird that won't is a House Sparrow. So if you skip the blends and go straight black oil seeds, they will eventually just stop coming around, and ALL the other birds will flock to your feeder. The upshot is the House Sparrows that just have to come are relegated to the ground feeders they are meant to be, looking for bits of seed kernels the other birds accidentally drop. This creates a LOT less fighting and intimidation at the feeder, and the only other birds that will be on the ground are other 'good' sparrows and doves. And they are intimidated by the doves, so its payback time. Usually at the Depot or the Low'es, you can find a busted piece that they can't sell, but leave there on the shelf anyway, and you can usually get them to sell it to you cheap at the service desk. It would normally be trashed, and you only need a little of it. |
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Yep, I forgot about grackles. I see an occasional grackle in my yard, but they REALLY
want the dog food. So at my feeder, I don't have to deal with em as much. But freaking house sparrows, they are just the worst. The starlings also want the dog food. i shoot em as fast as they come by. I have a few starlings around that only hunt insects in the grass and on the sidewalk. I don't shoot those. Only the ones that pass on the skill of feeding in the dog's bowl get shot. |
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Damn house sparrows though, I hung a tube feeder on my first day of bird feeding, a whole tube
of Black sunflower seeds. I got home and found the feeder empty, all of the seed on the ground, and a house sparrow steadily shovelling the seed out to get to what I guess he hoped was millet. Shot that one, too. |
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Granted, this doesn't work for all feeders, just the kind where you ahve a flat bottom, like hoppers, flat tables, etc. For tubes it is useless. That's the job of the pellet gun, lol. |
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My messiest one is this style, w/out the suet feeders on the ends. So I guess the grid would have to be placed so that the seed can flow under it to still continously fill, correct?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...AL._SX450_.jpg |
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Thanks for the tips on zucchini. I don't have black spots so it doesn't look like blossom end rot for me, but the pollination problem pics look about right. I'll have to try hand pollinating.
Here's some pictures of the garden from the last few days: https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...98681820_n.jpg https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...28304010_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n..._2036337_n.jpg https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...87121884_n.jpg https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...74517370_n.jpg |
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Very cool pics!
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No, the grid is pretty much the base of it, the feed fills the individual cells and spills over fine.
But from the look of it, your clearance under the glass might be an issue, so you might be better served by slicing your hands all up with a section of 1/2" hardware cloth and using that as a base, maybe bending the tips down at a length of about 1/8" so that you get the same effect without the brutal 3/8" clearance issue inherent with the white grid. But then I can ALMOST guarantee that if you switch to ONLY the black sunflower seeds, you will stop having these issues, since I THINK the birds that are ruining your feeder will not prefer these. You still will attract all the songbirds and cardinals and jays, woodpeckers, etc. You will just lose the grackles, blackbirds and house sparrows. They need to be eating insects right now, anyway. The mixes contain mostly millet, cracked corn and red milo, with a few sunflower seeds. Most birds will eat the millet and sunflower seeds, but will ignore the corn and milo. If you force the issue, the good birds will still come, but the seeds that attract problem birds will not be available to them anymore and they will eventually just stop coming. Keep in mind, the BAGS will say 'premium mix" and "songbird mix", but that is just a clever way to get you to buy them, with the cheap, heavy filler making up the bulk of the bag. The same birds they claim you will attract with that crap will all eat black sunflower seeds, and what's more, they LOVE IT. |
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I think you could also take the advanced step of milling that 3/8 inch thick white grid,
say by rubbing it back and forth on a sheet of rough sandpaper, or some sidewalk or something, lol, until you got it down to about 1/4" to 1/8". After looking at that feeder again, I think you could almost get away with it as is. As long as the grid was in contact with the bottom board and seed could still be picked out under the glass edge. But knocking it down in thickness by half would also work, if a bit difficult. |
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Gotch.
Ya, I dont buy seed unless it is in a clear bag and I can see whats in it. I already mix my seed w/ 50% Black Oil Sunflowers right now. The Doves do a decent job of picking up the stuff from the the ground unless my dog is out there chasing them off. |
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will tolerate the Milo, and they will not turn up their noses at millet either. I was only hoping you wouldn't bring up doves, lol. If you don't care about the scatter, you COULD just do nothing, haha. |
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Got a question for you garden "experts". I planted 4 green pepper plants and not a single one of them has grown since planting about a month ago. Everything else is growing great (tomatos, jalapenos, beans, cucumbers, zuchini and squash). Any ideas why the green peppers are not growing?
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I think it is safe to say that if started from seeds, the seeds could have been old and barely viable, or not viable for another reason, and if you bought them as seedlings in a nursery or garden center, it could still be the same, even plants that manage to spring from weak seeds can grow, but in a very stunted fashion, with little vigor. Outside of that, it could well be the odd season we have had this year, EVERYTHING seems to be getting a slow start. Except weeds. Add to that you are in the mitten as you say. I am sure there are others who could be more helpful. |
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Make a dilution of 30% Tea and 70% non-chlorinated water and spray it onto and all over the plants. Then drench the roots w/ a 50% dilution of the same. Get some Azomite rock powder and work it into the soil real good around the plants. This has over 60 trace elements that your soil has probably lost over the years. P.M. me your addy and I will mail you some Azomite if you cannot find it near you. http://www.azomite.com/ |
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You know what is funny. I am not sure, after reading that reply again, whether or not his peppers even emerged.
I imagined he meant stunted. They may not have even popped up yet. |
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You may be right Brad. In that case, if the seeds did not sprout yet, you may be a little too late in the season to have hopes of growing and producing any peppers this season.
If you want to try again, just make sure that your seeds are only about 1/4" deep and no more. if starting in a cup or pot, start with moist soil and only water from the bottom so as not to wash the seeds away. |
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Was out surveying the garden this evening. Two days ago I was looking at the cucumber plants, all I saw were blooms and very tiny cuc's starting. Today I pull back the cover and there's a full grown cuc right there. Picked, washed, cut, salted, consumed. Gotta love stuff straight from the garden.
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Sounds delish.
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Alright guys, I'm getting frustrated with my Cucumbers. Every year they taste Spicy and bitter. I pick em late and large, they taste bad. I pick em small and early, they taste bad.
I have grown English Cucs, Burpless Cucs, regular Cucs and the last 2 years Boston Pickling Cucs. This year I have them in a barrell (grew in the ground before this) with brand new soil. Unlike years past, I have grown everything organically this year. No chemical fertalizers or pesticides (did not use pesticides before either). I cant figure it out. I get maybe 1 good one for every 5 nasty ones. Its not just the skin either. I peeled a 1/2 dozen of them last night and only 1-2 were any good. The plants are healthy and producing lost of fruit. I just dont get it. |
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Sorry, B, can't help you there. I know the larger they get, the more bitter they get. Other than that, I'm at a loss. Hopefully someone can help you.
BTW, I took a picture of my garden yesterday. :D http://www.virginmedia.com/images/ma...-2-431x300.jpg |
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Yea, sorry B, don't know what can be causing it. I just went and picked some from my garden, plus yellow squash, a eggplant and a Indigo Rose tomato.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2805/9...fae3a23dfd.jpg |
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B, they bitter when they're over ripe. Size means nothing. Little ones can be over ripe and so can big ones. Try to pick them when they're nice and young and have that whitish color or sheen. Once they get real green they'll start to bitter and turn to yellow.
When I cut them up I always taste each cuke, especially if they look like they're old on the vine ones. If it's bitter I chuck it in the compost bin. It really sucks if you cut a bunch of cukes and every other bite is bitter, ya know? Blech. I blanched all our beans last night. Got 6 or 7 gallon bags from the little patch by the sidewalk. They are SUPER tasty. Very grassy and strong and sweet. I'm the only one who doesn't like them, but everyone else loves them. That's not fully true. I like them small, I just hate them when they get big and leathery. I think I got them in plenty of time that I'll enjoy these ones. :) I saw the Ravens in the garden today. I will be raining pellet gun death upon them for the rest of the summer, God bless their little hearts. The new pellet gun I got is an absolute beast and insanely accurate. I hope it hits hard enough to wipe them out quick. I don't want a bunch of racket, I live among yuppies and they don't quite understand. |
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Thanks guys.
Jamie, LOL sorry to hear about your desert....I mean garden. Thanks Scott. I got a New Nitro Piston Pellet for the boys. Very nice. I wish I could take out the dang crows areound here, but I am residential and all I need is a dead crow w/ a hole in its head landing in my neighbors spa or something. :sh |
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They don't land when you drop them where they stand. ;)
I've got an old Chinese .22 pellet gun I've had 20 years, rust and all. It'll drop a squirrel at 30 ft. A raven wouldn't stand a chance. It's quiet and the neighbors never know. |
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I had such high hopes for my sweet corn. First time growing it. I waited until the silks had turned brown and picked a couple of the fuller ears. One was perfect, the other just a little under developed. Flavor was spot on too, nice and sweet. Picked a couple more earlier this week, only half developed and less sweet. Now that the silks are really brown, I picked a lot more today. Again, only half developed.
Was the underdevelopment from lack of fertilizer? They had plenty of water as we've been getting drenched this year. |
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Sounds like fertilization issue, Bob. My granddad always said to plant at least two rows beside each other and never one row in a straight line. The more rows beside each other, the better, as it's wind fertilized and needs to have a cross-wind source. The pollen release happens very quickly and having your corn bunched together gives a better chance of successful ears.
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I'm thinking that was it Jamie, lack of fertilizer, particularly nitrogen. I did some searching after my post and it kinda confirmed it. I had the plants bunched together, so i don't think it was lack of pollination. The bottom of each ear was well formed, just not the upper halves. I'll just know better for next year.
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Took this photo earlier in the week. Underneath all the tomatoes are more cuc's. I picked 8 more today. More tomatoes tomorrow.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7387/9...8246ddc999.jpg |
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My poor garden remains the most pathetic example I've ever raised.
We've finally had a couple warmer days and the peppers are rushing to put on some leaves. The tomatoes are turning, but the vines are tiny. It was just a cold, wet year. Anything we get will be a bonus. |
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Mine sucked wind this year. Too much rain. My cukes did well though.
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I just went out and picked a boatload of tomatoes, mostly my small teardrop. I'm guessing later this week my bigger varieties will start to ripen. I have one variety, a Polish Linguisa, that if I leave on the vine too long, it'll start to rot from the bottom.
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Nice Haul Bob!!
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