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Gardening Thread

RacerDeac said:
They've been calling for 40% or greater chance of rain for something like 8 of the last 10 days in Charlotte and not a drop has fallen on my garden yet. Hoping it finally comes through tomorrow.
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It's been great here (Central PA). About 3 days a week of bright, hot sunlight, and 4 days a week of light-medium rain. Our leafy veggies are exploding.
 
jamesda3 said:
looks like aphids to me. Lady bugs find them tasty.
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I think that's it. Strange bug though...you can find plenty of google hits for getting rid of aphids on tomato leaves, but then when you google solutions for getting rid of them, making a tomato leave spray is one of the recommendations for killing them.
 
Bifenthrin does a good job killing aphids I believe (and just about everything else). Not sure if you are planning on growing organic or not....
 
I bought some spray to get rid of the aphids that are all over my lettuce and tomato plants but didn't read the label well. It said it was for organic gardening. Well after I started spraying it on stuff I looked closer at the label and it said with skin exposure wash with soap and water for 20 minutes and call poison control. WTF how can something be organic if it requires a hazmat suit to apply?? I definitely got some on my skin so I washed well and my skin hasn't melted off so I guess I'm in the clear.

As far as the veggies I have planted, my zucchini are starting to flower and there are dozens of little green tomatoes on my early girl. My corn seems to be growing slowly it might not get enough sun to do well so we will see.
 
calideacon12 said:
I bought some spray to get rid of the aphids that are all over my lettuce and tomato plants but didn't read the label well. It said it was for organic gardening. Well after I started spraying it on stuff I looked closer at the label and it said with skin exposure wash with soap and water for 20 minutes and call poison control. WTF how can something be organic if it requires a hazmat suit to apply?? I definitely got some on my skin so I washed well and my skin hasn't melted off so I guess I'm in the clear.

As far as the veggies I have planted, my zucchini are starting to flower and there are dozens of little green tomatoes on my early girl. My corn seems to be growing slowly it might not get enough sun to do well so we will see.
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Certain organic chemicals are dangerous to the skin, but not bad for plants. Think about super hot peppers or poison ivy. Lots of plant based chemicals are dangerous to the skin. What kind of chemicals are you talking about?
 
Wrangor said:
Bifenthrin does a good job killing aphids I believe (and just about everything else). Not sure if you are planning on growing organic or not....
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Definitely growing organic. Only saw two today when I went back out there after picking them all off yesterday. At the advice of a couple sites, I crushed those two and left them laying. If I continue to see them, I'll mix up a garlic spray and put in an order for some ladybugs.

Got my 7 foot stakes in the ground for the Florida Weave and tied up my two tallest tomato plants tonight. The other 6 are still too short to start tying up. Corn is 18+ inches tall now and seems to be growing an inch or two a day. Everything else looks great save for my Okra plants. Think I'm going to have to buy some mature seedlings and replant. Crook-neck squash and cucumbers are flowering, still waiting on the zucchinis.
 
TownieDeac said:
Certain organic chemicals are dangerous to the skin, but not bad for plants. Think about super hot peppers or poison ivy. Lots of plant based chemicals are dangerous to the skin. What kind of chemicals are you talking about?
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It says potassium salts of fatty acids is the active ingredient. It's Insecticidal Soap by Safer brand.
 
Went out to water my garden today, and the ants have been feasting on my green beans. Also, some damned birds are sitting on my grape vines, breaking off the chutes. Soon birds, soon.
 
tsywake said:
Went out to water my garden today, and the ants have been feasting on my green beans. Also, some damned birds are sitting on my grape vines, breaking off the chutes. Soon birds, soon.
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Put a rose bush at the end of each row. You can do knock outs. This will let you know ahead of time about any possible disease.
 
We have a hard time getting any cherries or grapes every year due to birds. We have tried the next and running pipe through the trees that looks like snakes.
 
jamesda3 said:
We have a hard time getting any cherries or grapes every year due to birds. We have tried the next and running pipe through the trees that looks like snakes.
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You need to plant another food that they like but make sure it is taller.

If its deer causing problems, plant soy beans. The deer will eat the soy first.
 
So I was taking out the recycling tonight and managed to drop a cardboard box on one of my Marigold seedlings. The stem folded over and almost snapped. I used a piece of straw as a splint. Here's hoping the little guy makes it :(
 
My green beans have come up nicely and are 3-4 inches tall. Black eyed peas and limas that I planted at the same time haven't sprouted at all. Never had this happen before. Any suggestions?
 
I planted my big garden at the same time. The green beans and corn have come up, but none of the peppers have yet. The best explanation I can give you Deacon Dog is that different type seeds germinate in different time frames. Give it a couple more weeks and see if the limas and black eyed peas come up.

We got rain for the first time in a while last night, and it was a good soaking rain so I anticipate things picking up. Watering the garden sustains them, but its nothing like a good soaking rain.

A friend at work set up a home made irrigation system with 1" white pvc pipe, drilling pinholes every 4-6". I'm thinking of doing this. I've got drip hoses, but after one summer, the rubber gets brittle and starts cracking and leaking.

Something similar to what this guy did: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/water/msg0512131414221.html
 
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Finally. After being in moderate drought conditions in Charlotte, we got over 2 inchs of rain at my house last night with more expected today. I swear the corn and sunflowers grew 6 inches overnight.
 
Yeah, thats what I'm thinking. I've got solid pressure from the nearby faucet, and there shouldnt be very much friction loss. I'm currently running six 50' drip hoses, so I cant imagine it'd be worse with the pvc. The valves would allow you to alternate between the rows and cut down on the amounts for peppers and other plants that need less watering. I've seen 1/16" and 1/8" holes used, and I'm leaning towards going with the 1/16" to be safe. I can always drill the holes out larger if needed.
 
Deacon Dog said:
My green beans have come up nicely and are 3-4 inches tall. Black eyed peas and limas that I planted at the same time haven't sprouted at all. Never had this happen before. Any suggestions?
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This actually makes perfect sense. They all have about the same germination period, but the latter two require warmer soil temps. Also, if they werent planted a good 2 weeks after the last frost, they may be in trouble.
 
The broccoli I planted back on Feb 25th (from seed) is just now starting to be harvestable. It seems it was slower to produce than expected, so now I'm stuck between waiting for the broccoli heads to get larger or whether to go ahead and harvest before it gets too hot. How long does it typically take from the time you see the first heads till they go to flower? I'd hate to wake up one morning and find all of my broccoli has gone to flower before I could eat it, but right now only a few heads in the very center seem "ready".
 
Thanks for the replies. Planted the last weekend in April which was almost 3 weeks after the last frost, so I should be okay. I seem to rember all the beans coming up about the same time, but I usually plant a little later.
 
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