Any gardeners?

[damus]

I got some summer squash that I transplanted outside, and they all seem to wilt a little and the stems split soon after I put them in. Of the ones I didn't pull, they're all still growing. Anyone have an idea why this is happening and whether or not I should pull them all up?

[PghUSA]

I grow tomatoes, lettuce, onions, green beans, but I've never grown any squash. Sorry couldn't help you. Why grow squash, is there some great health benefit?

[monsoon]

Why grow squash, is there some great health benefit?

Well.... because I like eating it. Both yellow crookneck squash and zuchinni squash. All fresh vegetables provide a health benefit.

Currently I have tomatoes, okra, cayenne pepper, anaheim pepper, mustard greens, swiss chard, cucumbers, squash, and some asian eggplant growing in the garden.

[GRDadof3]

I haven't planted any vegetables, but every year I add to my perennials and trees: Hostas, Black-Eyed Susans, Hydrangea, Weigela, Lilacs, Serviceberry Trees, Japanese Maples and a number of other species. It's starting to look like a jungle.

[damus]

I grow tomatoes, lettuce, onions, green beans, but I've never grown any squash. Sorry couldn't help you. Why grow squash, is there some great health benefit?

Squash is (usually) the easiest to grow. And I love it fried on the stovetop, or blended up with the milk when I make my pancakes from scratch. During the winter, I just use frozen squash for that. I guess it must be a New England thing, but squash is probably the most grown vegetable after tomatoes and corn.

We got blueberry bushes, which are definately worth it, and I just got a few raspberry plants from the neighbors. We got some sort of grapes left over from when grandpa owned the house, but we don't tend to them. This year it's going to be tomatoes, cubanelle peppers, yellow squash, green beans, butternut squash, watermellon, and lots of corn.

[damus]

I just got thinking of the blueberries, and I didn't get to mulch one of the 2 patches (we ran out of oak leaves). Would there be any adverse effects to the blueberries to weedwacking the weeds that popped up, then spraying what's left with roundup?

[monsoon]

I tried to grow blueberries here once, but I think the weather is just too hot for them.

[damus]

I tried to grow blueberries here once, but I think the weather is just too hot for them.

You can grow blueberries as far south as Florida and as far north as Alaska. I'd check your local nursury and see if they offer any that are suitable for your zone.

BTW, you need to get two different varieties of blueberries for them to pollinate right.

[monsoon]

I think I had 3 bushes of different varieties, but they died. I've had much better success with blackberrys.

[damus]

I think I had 3 bushes of different varieties, but they died. I've had much better success with blackberrys.

I get those in the woods. You can also get grapes in the woods but most of them are more bitter than what you'd be used to in the store. There is a big patch or blackberries on the side of the road across the street from my house. The birds spread that all over. I got black raspberries (from the birds) in that grape patch I don't tend to, and my neighbor gave me yellow and red raspberries.

I heard from the old relatives that highbush blueberries used to grow wild around here and that they used to go out and pick it so their mother could make jam. I guess when the farms cut down all the forests for pasture they got rid of the wild blueberries around here.

Anyone else around here make smoothies for breakfast a lot? I put in 2 little cubes of frozen pineapple, 1-2 handfuls of raspberries, 1-2 handfuls of blueberries, a few frozen strawberries, a half of a banana, and milk. It tastes like candy to me, and it's 100% healthy for you.

[monsoon]

Well, except for the bovine lactose. It's full of BGH. Soymilk would be a much healthier choice.

[NCB]

I've really only been focusing on my blueberries and blackberries lately, which I've had success with, but over the last few years I've grown tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, and eggplant. I'd like to start growing my own cayenne pepper too, as I use it so much for cooking here in south Louisiana.

[monsoon]

I'd like to start growing my own cayenne pepper too, as I use it so much for cooking here in south Louisiana.

Ahh yeah. It is great for cooking. You can grind up the dried red cayenne peppers (I use a food processor) and have it to add lots of heat to almost anything. Hot peppers like very warm weather so don't plant them until the nighttime weather is above 50 degrees or they will go into shock.

[NCB]

Hot peppers like very warm weather so don't plant them until the nighttime weather is above 50 degrees or they will go into shock.

Nightime weather above 50 degrees. Well, that will give me, lets see, the whole year! Thanks for the info.

What foods do you like to use cayenne peppers in the most? I use cayenne peppers mostly in Cajun and Creole dishes; like ettoufe, bisque, gumbo, jambalaya, as well as using it in crawfish boils and seasoning shrimp. Really anything you'll see alot of in South Louisiana.

[damus]

Heh... I really need to try real cajun food. The only gumbo I've ever had was the chicken gumbo from applebee's and chilis.

[NCB]

Heh... I really need to try real cajun food. The only gumbo I've ever had was the chicken gumbo from applebee's and chilis.

Haha, yea I can tell you that stuff is nothing like the real thing. You've really got to come to New Orleans to experience the real Creole foods from around here, and you really have to go to Cajun Country in south and southwest Louisiana to experience the Cajun foods from the area. Nothing you'll get at a chain restaurant like Chilis or Applebee's can even compare to the real stuff.

[monsoon]

I will put that pepper into anything tomato based like many itallian dishes. I cook a lot of asian food and peppers but flakes and chopped up green are always welcome in those dishes. And I like to eat them green with almost anything.

[GRDadof3]

Heh... I really need to try real cajun food. The only gumbo I've ever had was the chicken gumbo from applebee's and chilis.

If you can't make it to New Orleans to get the real thing, Zatarain's makes some pretty good mixes that you can get just about in any grocery store. At least it's definitely better than the Applebee's/Chili's stuff, and it's pretty easy to make.

You guys are making me hungry.

[Snowguy716]

Can't do much gardening in the middle of Salzburg. But my family has a good sized garden with sunflowers, tomatos, corn, bell peppers, carrots, onions, and strawberries. We've also done brocolli before.. and we do parsely and do some indoor herb gardening. (Basil, thyme).. and of course, chives.

I'm a little weary of gardening after planting 20 trees in our yard last year. For those interested in types: Paper birch, red pine, white pine, and sugar maple.

I think planting vegetables is so gratifying though.. especially in July/August when they all mature and you can have fresh garden salad. Or garden fresh tomatoes with fresh mozerella cheese and fresh basil.. yum

[damus]

Well I went ahead and bought some cubanelle peppers from a nursury... I see on a web site that they like "well aged" manure, but I only have manure scooped up from my uncle's farm a couple months ago. I know for a fact that corn doesn't mind manure right from the cow's behind, I wonder if I could put the same in for my peppers...

[PghUSA]

Squash is (usually) the easiest to grow. And I love it fried on the stovetop, or blended up with the milk when I make my pancakes from scratch. During the winter, I just use frozen squash for that. I guess it must be a New England thing, but squash is probably the most grown vegetable after tomatoes and corn.

We got blueberry bushes, which are definately worth it, and I just got a few raspberry plants from the neighbors. We got some sort of grapes left over from when grandpa owned the house, but we don't tend to them. This year it's going to be tomatoes, cubanelle peppers, yellow squash, green beans, butternut squash, watermellon, and lots of corn.

Interesting thread Damus, never really saw Squash for all that before, I might have to check that out.

[tinker-booda]

Hi,

Is squash the only vegetable/fruit you've planted? It's a member of the curcurbitae family and there's one scandalously mean-spririted insect that attacks all plants falling under this category (sigh...I found this includes cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, gourds, etc.). I can look this up, but if I recall correctly, the offending insect is blandly known as the squash bug (but I should double check this). They tunnel through the stems seemingly overnight and the first evidence of their presence is the wilting of the beautiful giant squash leaves.

Once it starts, it moves *quickly*. One day your garden is magnificently sturdy and fecund and the next day, as you look outside over your morning coffee, you may very well see everything has gone flat. Learned all of this the hardest way after having grown all from seeds, Seeds of Change no less. 90% of the garden was from the family this insect targets. Lost it all.

IF this is what you've got, and you may not, *honestly* (could be a watering issue, among a million other things), there are really only two options for emergency triage. Before you use either, start by yanking out any affected plants poste haste, and carry those suckers to some area far far away. Throw them in your trunk and travel to the next state if you have to.

The two far less neurotic steps:

1. A semi/mostly-dreadful pesticide aimed at bugs such as this. (I'm positive there's a natural alternative -- anything sticky and undesirable sprayed to soaking stage, something these bugs just find distasteful). The pesticide is bad enough, but trying to spray every part of a squash plant, being *sure* to get the underside of the giant squash leaves -- this is their afternoon/evening siesta location, you may wish to schedule some chiropractic work in advance.

2. The other, which will take a bit longer to kick in (maybe too late): start a 100% natural compost stew (takes about 3-7 days to reach potential), which is unbelieveably easy, and it soaks your entire garden with extra wonderful, vital, powerful nutrients that assist them in not only achieving their *glorious* production, but also chocks them full of protection from every single antagonist: bug, disease, bacteria, virus, etc.

If I misunderstood your problem, this is all so abundantly irrelevant (though I cannot overly recommend a good compost stew for *any* garden, even the healthiest). So many apologies if this isn't helpful. Happy to answer any questions if I've misunderstood your original problem! I'm no garden genius, but I read every single thing I can . . . read/listen to/learn/ask questions about all I can in the world of all things trying to grow.

Good luck, and >very< curious to hear what happens and know more!

[runawayjim]

damus, could your squash problem be related to the over-abundance of rain we've had here in the northeast recently? there is such a thing as too much water. usually farmers in the area are complaining about not enough rain, but you can also have too much and that will cause problems with the vegetable garden.

my stepfather used to grow all sorts of veggies and they always came out fine... but he was a great gardener. one thing he did that really helped things was right after he tilled the garden at the beginning of the season, he would mix in manure before planting anything to prep the soil. that's something you might want to try next year.

[damus]

damus, could your squash problem be related to the over-abundance of rain we've had here in the northeast recently? there is such a thing as too much water. usually farmers in the area are complaining about not enough rain, but you can also have too much and that will cause problems with the vegetable garden.

my stepfather used to grow all sorts of veggies and they always came out fine... but he was a great gardener. one thing he did that really helped things was right after he tilled the garden at the beginning of the season, he would mix in manure before planting anything to prep the soil. that's something you might want to try next year.

I think the rain may have had something to do with it. The squash is now producing fruit, and I got my first fruit today. I actually bought 4 plants from the local nursury so I'd have early squash, only for my squash to start recovering immediately after I did that. I have a slight problem with bugs, but picking them off seems to be doing OK so far. I have sprayed, and want to be able to keep it to a minimum. I have tried companion planting this year, throwing in radishes, marigolds, and nastutiums in between the squash hills here and there. The squash closest to the radishes and nasturtiums seem to have the fewest amount of bugs.

I can get all the manure I want from the farm next door, though I'm shy about using it on the squash as it's pretty fresh. I used it on the corn and the beans this year. The squash got a little miracle grow garden soil and has been mulched with lawn clippings. There's pros and cons to mulching though. I don't get any weeds, and the soil gets worked and kept soft by all the bugs, but I'm also providing a good habitat for the bad bugs. It hasn't gotten out of control, yet, though I may throw in a little sevin in a little bit just in case. I have already found those little red eggs under the leaves, which I think are from the squash bugs. Half the time I run into cucumber beetles it looks like they're screwing. One's on top of the other, and I squish them both. I've only seen a few squash bugs and have killed all but one that got away.

The rest of the garden is doing fine, for the most part. I'm running into trouble with the rabbits eating my beans. I read in the paper that the New England Cottontail might get put on the endangered species list. Maybe there's a different kind of rabbit here, but they're everywhere. They don't have enough predators. Is it illegal to shoot them? I think of them like a pest in the mold of rats and mice, but I'm nervous about it and haven't done anything to them except for occasionally spraying my plants only to see them in numbers worse than ever this year. My grandfather used to shoot them when he was still alive, but he was old and was doing what they did in the old days.

[runawayjim]

you can buy ladybugs... a lot of gardeners do that. i think they're cheap. they eat some of the bad bugs.

i usually don't like spraying pesticides and just keep the garden pretty natural. i've never seen my stepfather use any sort of fertilizer other than manure except in potted flowers, and then he only uses it when he first plants them to help them start off well. unfortunately, he's no longer with us.

someone asked about roundup in a blueberry patch... i would advise against using that at all, except maybe to kill weeds growing in cracks in teh driveway or sidewalk. it can affect anything it hits.