What Are Some Tips for Successful Gardening?

[rewebster]

Here is a place that sells spider mite predators. They're pricey, but if it saves your garden...

http://www.arbico-organics.com/organic-pest-control-beneficial-insects-organisms-mite-control.html

thanks--I guess the main problem is the eggs (about every 10 days and 1000's) and they're on the bottom side of the leaves which the spray has a hard time reaching them all

I think I just re-spray and pay mre attention to the underside of the leaves--a soap, malathion, and sevin solution

and, yes, those were very pricey

 

[Evo]

well... yes... I can IMAGINE it---

you look and appear to be overly happy and almost laughing uncontrollably with some type of look of joy to your face as you send the flames 75 ft in most directions

That was a great thread. https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=122258

 

[rewebster]

That was a great thread. https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=122258

funny!

I don't know if I saw that one---I don't think I started coming down to GD regularly until about a year ago

 

[turbo]

thanks--I guess the main problem is the eggs (about every 10 days and 1000's) and they're on the bottom side of the leaves which the spray has a hard time reaching them all

I think I just re-spray and pay mre attention to the underside of the leaves--a soap, malathion, and sevin solution

Be careful with the soap - some plants are damaged by soaps, and some (like sunflowers) experience a synergistic damage from a combination of soap residue and sunlight (VOE, here). You may want to do some test-sprayings on a few sacrificial plants (one pepper, one tomato, etc) to be safe.

 

[Ms Music]

If you grow green beans, don't wash them or snap them or anything. Get them into the freezer laid out in a thin layer ASAP, and when they have frozen, transfer them to a big zip-lock freezer bag.

You don't even blanch them? I always thought the layer of water (ice) helped keep them from drying out. I never had luck freezing anything straight from the garden... But I didn't try beans either.

 

[turbo]

You don't even blanch them? I always thought the layer of water (ice) helped keep them from drying out. I never had luck freezing anything straight from the garden... But I didn't try beans either.

Nope! Don't blanch, don't wash, don't snap - nothing! Get them into the freezer (arranged in a thin layer, preferably on pre-cooled metal cookie sheets, etc) as soon as you pick them, so that they will freeze very quickly. Fast-freezing forms much smaller ice crystals that do less damage to the plant cells, and it preserves the texture of the beans beautifully. There's plenty of time to rinse off any dirt, pollen, etc, when you take them out of the freezer bag prior to use.

Edit: The purpose of blanching is to halt the action of enzymes that degrade the taste and depletes nutrients. These enzymes kick into gear as soon as you pick the beans, so you should freeze the beans as soon after picking as possible. Usually, I make several trips to the freezer while picking, so that the beans don't spend much time out in the heat in my basket. We fast-freeze green peppers, too. We slice them into rings, freeze them on trays and bag them, just like the beans. It works beautifully.

 

[turbo]

rewebster, I just took a lot closer look at your photo, and you don't have red spider mites, but two-dot (two-spotted) spider mites, which could be tougher to eliminate. Good luck with the infestations. These guys are nasty and can attack and survive on LOTS of plants, not just ornamentals, vegetables, etc. Your trees could also become infested.

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/twospotted_mite.htm

 

[Evo]

rewebster, I just took a lot closer look at your photo, and you don't have red spider mites, but two-dot spider mites, which could be tougher to eliminate. Good luck with the infestations.

Oh, don't just stab him through the heart, twist the knife!

<Evo throws protective net over her plants and builds a shrine to the assasin bug>

I've realized that in a patio garden where you have maybe 2-3 of each plant, one infestation means the loss of the entire garden!

 

[turbo]

Oh, don't just stab him through the heart, twist the knife!

<Evo throws protective net over her plants and builds a shrine to the assasin bug>

I've realized that in a patio garden where you have maybe 2-3 of each plant, one infestation means the loss of the entire garden!

Part of getting rid of pests is knowing which pest you have, and I have scanned a bit of the literature regarding mites - these guys seem to be much more problematic than red spider mites, and can thrive on plants that other insect pests leave alone, like maples, redbuds, etc.

 

[Evo]

OH! Hold your breath! I think a couple of tomatillos might have been poliinated! They aren't turning yellow and falling off!

Stay tuned!

Turbo, at what size do you start picking your jalepenos? My bushes have about a dozen each already set with more blooms and some are quite large.

 

[turbo]

Turbo, at what size do you start picking your jalepenos? My bushes have about a dozen each already set with more blooms and some are quite large.

If I don't have an immediate use for them, I just let them keep growing, and eventually, they develop purple streaks and ultimately end up red. I prefer the flavor of the ripe ones. No matter - if you get an itch for poppers use 'em green. Cook bacon so that it is crisp and crumbly, mix it with cream cheese and whatever other seasoning you'd like (black pepper is a must for me), slice the peppers lengthwise and stuff with the mix. Top with shredded Monterey Jack, and stick the tray under the broiler on in a grill on high until the cheese has melted and starts to brown. I use an aluminum pizza pan that heats up fast, and line it with aluminum foil to catch the cheese that WILL drip and burn. Delish!

 

[Evo]

My jalepenos.

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/4076/camerapictures316on4.jpg

My plum tomatoes are ripening.

My only squash so far.

 

[rewebster]

rewebster, I just took a lot closer look at your photo, and you don't have red spider mites, but two-dot (two-spotted) spider mites, which could be tougher to eliminate. Good luck with the infestations. These guys are nasty and can attack and survive on LOTS of plants, not just ornamentals, vegetables, etc. Your trees could also become infested.

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/twospotted_mite.htm

yeah--I think you're right about the two-dots---thanks--

I read some more too about them---oh boy---this looks like its going to be a full time job for a while--if there's that many on that one leaf, I bet there more mites in my yard than there are people in Oklahoma---

 

[rewebster]

Oh, don't just stab him through the heart, twist the knife!

<Evo throws protective net over her plants and builds a shrine to the assasin bug>

well--good---I see that you're feeling better and back to that spunky evo that we all enjoy


oh yeah---nice fruits there evo--you may end up having a better crop than me (something is better than nothing)---they look good

 

[turbo]

Those jalapenos are babies, Evo. Let 'em grow. If you've never had ripe ones (many people have not) let at least a few of them mature. They are VERY tasty.

 

[Evo]

Those jalapenos are babies, Evo. Let 'em grow. If you've never had ripe ones (many people have not) let at least a few of them mature. They are VERY tasty.

I've never grown jalepenos before, don't know why. Ok, I will let them sit.

Oh. In case anyone is wondering how Canada Dry's Green Tea Ginger Ale tastes. Mix Ginger Ale and grass juice together. Why am I such an impulse buyer (sucker) of such strange things?

 

[rewebster]

I've never grown jalepenos before, don't know why. Ok, I will let them sit.

Oh. In case anyone is wondering how Canada Dry's Green Tea Ginger Ale tastes. Mix Ginger Ale and grass juice together. Why am I such an impulse buyer (sucker) of such strange things?

well, it helps all of us who won't be buying it now-



-(the PF guinea pig?)

 

[turbo]

well, it helps all of us who won't be buying it now-

-(the PF guinea pig?)

Should we ask Greg to come up with a smiley for a "Click and Clack" dope smack? The big DUH!?

 

[Moonbear]

Today, I noticed one tomato is finally turning orange (and a few others are that yellowish shade of green that says they'll start turning in a day or two). The funny thing is it's not even on the first plant that started growing tomatoes...on that one, they're still very green, huge, and funny-shaped.

I only have one zucchini growing though. Lots of blossoms, but a bunch have just fallen off without fruiting. The leaves all look healthy, and I see bees on them every so often, so there's no shortage of pollinators. Oh well, if they'll just kindly stagger growth of a few zucchinis, I'll be happy. I don't need as many as I have flowers anyway.

 

[rewebster]

Should we ask Greg to come up with a smiley for a "Click and Clack" dope smack? The big DUH!?

hey--good idea!------it may become one of the 'more used' smileys

(I was thinking about a thread---'New products tried by PF members'---'What new product have you tried?'---'The Guinea Pig Thread'---something on that line for reviewing new products out there---cameras, laptops, programs, ginger ales, new products to get rid of two-spot spider mites, etc.--we could have a Guinea Pig Award)

 

[Evo]

Update.

Some of my regular tomatoes have gotten their first blush.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8813/tomatoesripeningtn5.jpg

This jalapeno bush's fruit are longer and thinner than the other bush. This one has 19 so far, not including blooms.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9358/jalapeno19en0.jpg

 

[Moonbear]

I decided to pick my zucchini today. I couldn't wait any longer and didn't want to give some other critter a chance to get to it before me (the crickets have started appearing, and a hungry looking baby bunny is running around the area too). I forgot how much flavor a zucchini can have! YUMMY!

I'm struggling to get my tomatoes to stand up today. We had a storm go through yesterday, and the wind just before the rest of the storm blew them all over (it just got windy suddenly...I barely got outside in time to keep the patio umbrella from blowing away since I had it open). Once the wind and rain started, there was nothing I could do with them, so just left them lying on their sides until the storm passed. When I tried to stand them all back up, half of them seem to have shifted the positions of the branches and keep wanting to fall back over. Of course they're all the ones with the most and best looking tomatoes.

 

[turbo]

Moonie, do you have a garden shop nearby? Often they have slim bamboo stalks that you can put in the pots around the perimeter of each pot. I'd use maybe 5-6 bamboo sticks per pot. You'll want to stop at a hardware store and buy a roll of surveyor's flagging tape, too. With the bamboo sticks and the flagging tape, you can cage up your tomato plants and contain them until they regain strength. I do this to tomato plants on the elevated back deck. They are exposed to the prevailing wind and are more easily damaged than the plants in the garden.

 

[Moonbear]

I already have sticks and long twist ties making a cage, but the weight still seems to be off-center now. They aren't lacking strength...well, one or two small stems broke, but there's nothing to do for that, and they aren't the pots that are listing anyway...just lost the centered balance they had. I'm working on trying to get the sticks repositioned, but it's tedious since the branches have now all tangled together around sticks, ties, each other, neighboring pots... I turned them all now so the side they're leaning toward is more away from the sun (facing the house)...hoping they'll grow toward the sun and rebalance on their own.

 

[Evo]

I'm struggling to get my tomatoes to stand up today. We had a storm go through yesterday, and the wind just before the rest of the storm blew them all over (it just got windy suddenly...I barely got outside in time to keep the patio umbrella from blowing away since I had it open). Once the wind and rain started, there was nothing I could do with them, so just left them lying on their sides until the storm passed. When I tried to stand them all back up, half of them seem to have shifted the positions of the branches and keep wanting to fall back over. Of course they're all the ones with the most and best looking tomatoes.

Moonbear that happened to my squash, twice!. I gave up and am letting them grow toppled over.

I am so sorry to hear about your tomatoes, is there anyone that can help support them while you get the container upright? I'd hate to have any branches break. Once you get the soil adjusted the plants should lean less. I got my squash upright and the dirt situated so the planter sits upright, but the plants are still spilled over to one side and I've let them trail on the ground. I had a tomatilo knocked over, but luckily got it re-situated.

Goood luck, the most imporatnt thing is not to let the stems break.

 

[turbo]

Ah, I see. Dislodged and lost branches = off-balance. The bamboo rods are very durable and I re-use them year after year. Flagging tape is dirt cheap and it is wide enough and flexible enough so that it doesn't damage the stems like smaller-diameter cordage, ties, etc can.

We had a heavy rain and wind during last night, and one of our giant sunflower plants was laying on the ground this morning. I tried straightening it, but it wanted to keep sagging, indicating possible root damage. A single bamboo stick and some flagging tape is holding it straight until it can repair the roots. My cousin uses poles cut from small saplings, and strips of bedsheet material, but I have concerns about insects laying eggs in protected (cloth-covered) areas in contact with my plants.

 

[Moonbear]

Moonbear that happened to my squash, twice!. I gave up and am letting them grow toppled over.

I am so sorry to hear about your tomatoes, is there anyone that can help support them while you get the container upright? I'd hate to have any branches break. Once you get the soil adjusted the plants should lean less. I got my squash upright and the dirt situated so the planter sits upright, but the plants are still spilled over to one side and I've let them trail on the ground. I had a tomatilo knocked over, but luckily got it re-situated.

Goood luck, the most imporatnt thing is not to let the stems break.

That's my biggest problem, lack of an extra pair of hands. Trying to stabilize the pot while rearranging stems and then catching the one next to it that wants to topple again because I've bumped a stem interwoven into it (some of this happened during the toppling, some during the growing) is just feeling quite futile. If I fuss with a couple each day after work, by the weekend I might have them all back upright again.

If not, now that I'm thinking more about it, I can try a different approach of getting sturdier posts/stakes to run along the side of the deck staked into ground rather than the planters that I can then string line across and tie the plants or pots to that. A few 1X2s should suffice for that if I can get them deep enough into the soil.

 

[Moonbear]

My cousin uses poles cut from small saplings, and strips of bedsheet material, but I have concerns about insects laying eggs in protected (cloth-covered) areas in contact with my plants.

We never had problems with bugs in cloth-covered areas. My grandmother was a seamstress and would bring home all sorts of fabric scraps and ribbon remnants that we'd use for ties to stakes. My grandparents used these and so did my parents. Then again, my parents would send my sister and me into the garden as bug control...for some reason, it was important to learn the difference between a potato bug and a Japanese beetle, even though the treatment was the same...pluck them off and squash them. I don't remember them hiding under ties though.

 

[turbo]

That's my biggest problem, lack of an extra pair of hands. Trying to stabilize the pot while rearranging stems and then catching the one next to it that wants to topple again because I've bumped a stem interwoven into it (some of this happened during the toppling, some during the growing) is just feeling quite futile.

I feel your pain! I generally tie up the plants, train the vines to fences, etc by myself, but I know that by late afternoon, my wife will be home to lend a hand so I can get the tough ones that need more manipulation.

Ask a grad student to come over for pizza and beer and put them to work for a little while. It shouldn't take long with two people at it. It's frustrating as hell to try to do stuff like this alone when the plants are intertwined. Last year, I tried to train my tomatoes in the garden to a fence, and planted them a little more closely than I should have. They came in thicker than normal and were choking each other out. I needed my wife's help to separate and re-tie the plants to the fence with more spacing to promote drying and suppress mold.

 

[Moonbear]

Ask a grad student to come over for pizza and beer and put them to work for a little while.

Ooh, I should ask our technician over. She's going to house and cat sit for me next month when I go on vacation, and by then, there should be tons of tomatoes for her to enjoy while staying here. She would have a vested interest in keeping them healthy (she was the one who watered them when they were still babies in May and I had to go to a conference, so I think she's already hoping for some tomatoes).