Raised Bed Gardening

SwampDonkey · July 23, 2010, 04:23:47 PM

I like it when they crawl out onto the water spout on the water jug in the bushes.

You've been slimed. :D :D

Believe it or not, they are only in hardwood and aspen ground near the settled areas and come out on wet days. When we go 50 miles in the deep bush I never see a one.

Jeff · July 23, 2010, 08:17:50 PM

Nothing I have tried stops the slug problem, It only slows it. With the beer, I can catch a hundred in a night, while a half dozen still strip the plant. Short of an island in a sea of beer, its only a stop gap. The raised metal container seems to have fooled them for now though.

Burlkraft · July 24, 2010, 07:24:21 AM

Quote from: Jeff on July 23, 2010, 08:17:50 PM
Nothing I have tried stops the slug problem, It only slows it. With the beer, I can catch a hundred in a night, while a half dozen still strip the plant. Short of an island in a sea of beer, its only a stop gap. The raised metal container seems to have fooled them for now though.

What about the other method of thinning them out that you showed Jill last year?

That looked like it would work good ;D ;D

Jeff · July 24, 2010, 09:54:01 AM

That only works when you want to disgust somebody's girlfriend. ;D

SwampDonkey · July 24, 2010, 10:33:49 AM

Earwigs seem to like romaine lettuce too. :

Never had them until far off green houses sent them here in their plant material.

Jeff · July 24, 2010, 11:26:54 AM

I had never even heard of an earwig probably as recent as 4 years ago. We now have them everywhere.

DouginUtah · July 24, 2010, 12:01:04 PM

Same out here in Utah. Never been bothered by earwigs until this year. Now there are hundreds of them somehow getting into the house. Worse than the boxelder bugs that hang out at my front (south-facing) door.

ErikC · July 26, 2010, 11:13:08 PM

I have always had earwigs around here, and they never really hurt anything. I have even heard they are beneficial in some respects(they eat decaying vegetation?). But this is the worst year ever I have seen. Literally dozens all over everywhere I looked with a flashlight after it got dark. They don't seem to like the tomatoes much, but lettuce, chard, beans, some flowers, and a few other things were getting massacred. DE was the answer. Now most everything is doing great.

SwampDonkey · July 31, 2010, 11:05:42 AM

Today picked yellow string beans, a jalpino pepper (immature still), beets, lettuce and peas from the garden. I have had lettuce (romaine) for a couple weeks now. When I get back from the pig roast, there will be a pint full of cherry tomatoes ready and my peppers will be a whole lot bigger by then. ;D Got salad all made and the rest on cook'n for dinna.

Jeff · July 31, 2010, 01:01:07 PM

I've never tried to grow squash where I live here until this year. The plants came up and looked quite healthy. I planted Butternut and zucchini. They blossomed beautifully but there is a problem. After the blossoms wither, no squash forms. I've had dozens of blooms on 4 big separate plants and there is not a squash on them. Any ideas what would cause that?

Radar67 · July 31, 2010, 01:05:41 PM

No pollination is what it sounds like.

Jeff · July 31, 2010, 01:09:06 PM

Tomatoes are right there to and they have fruit.

Norm · July 31, 2010, 02:08:48 PM

Jeff I'd try hand pollinating some to see if that helps. I find bumble bees are my main bug for that, but it's odd that your tomatoes are setting fruit and the squash are not.

DanG · July 31, 2010, 03:06:45 PM

I think tomatoes have a better chance of pollinating without the help of insects, due to their vertical growing habit. The squash blossoms are all at the same level, way down by the ground where the breeze can't get to them.

SwampDonkey · July 31, 2010, 03:44:58 PM

I also believe there are both perfect (male/female) and male blooms on squash and cukes. If you have all male blooms you'll never get a squash. The perfect bloom comes out with a ovary attached that becomes the fruit. I've probably got about a dozen or more fruit growing on my tiny patch. Haven't noticed a cucumber set any fruit yet though, all male blooms.

Jeff · July 31, 2010, 03:51:29 PM

I've had cucumbers from the plants only a few feet away. We've made bread and butter pickles for dummies a couple times now. I have noticed the pickles have not been as prolific as in the past though.

SwampDonkey · July 31, 2010, 03:59:18 PM

Need these type of buds to bloom. If you don't than your out of luck. If your getting these coming out then it's probably a pollination issue. But good grief, with all the hymenoptera and dyptera in the air I can't see how that would be the case. We don't have anyone with honeybees nearby here anymore and I had to kill a colony off last fall in the flu.

Norm · July 31, 2010, 04:13:55 PM

Last year was very wet and cool during the blossoming of our winter squash. We got lots of blooms but very few fruits.

Jeff · July 31, 2010, 04:35:33 PM

Its been very wet and warm here. I just went out with a q-tip and found bees all over the blossoms, so no sense trying it myself.

Mooseherder · July 31, 2010, 08:31:07 PM

Our Butternut Squash and Zuccini Squash came out strong and then withered away last year.
I think extreme rain and heat did them in. :(
On a I don't know if this is good note. ;D
Da Pineapple turned yeller ever since dat picture wit da Sweet Baby Ray's sauce!

He may have to come to da Pigroast ride in da back of da truck. ;D

jim king · July 31, 2010, 10:10:25 PM

For the polination problem I would first take a soil test to make sure you have what is needed in the soil for proper polination . Here I use cement or egg shells for calcium, milk of magnesia and chicken manure soaked in water for a few days and then pour the water sparingly around most everything. Our soils are horrible.

http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=57&bhcd2=1280627202

Do a google on "soil nutrients" .

WDH · August 01, 2010, 09:10:32 PM

Calcium deficiency causes blossom end rot. Really prevalent in tomatoes, so if your tomatoes do not show rot at the bottom end of some of the tomatoes, that is probably not the problem. Sounds like a soil test is in order.

Don K · August 02, 2010, 06:03:42 AM

This has been my worst garden year by far. Got a late start due to a shutdown at work, coyotes have cleaned out 64 hills of melons. Even my okra is only waist high.

Trying for a fresh start for fall. I started 4 varieties of lettuce and 6 cabbage plants in a flat. I'll start some more in a couple of weeks and then more succession after that. Gotta get some broccoli and cauliflower seeds and watch for some collard plants.

Don

WDH · August 02, 2010, 08:22:26 AM

The extremes in climatic expression (new term that I just made up

) down here make it tough to grow a garden. With the blazing heat and no rain, it is tough to just keep plants alive, much less producing bountifully.

ErikC · August 03, 2010, 12:59:06 AM

WDH, For blazing heat and no rain, I recommend a sprinkler ;D

I have had squash act like that Jeff, and a lack of male flowers was why, not a lack of female. The weather may have something to do with it, I'm not sure, but after a while they kicked in and were fine. This year those have done good for me.