This is the worst gardening year I have ever had. The peppers have been a disaster since I started them in January, the voles were a huge problem early on, it stayed cold forever and then it instantly got hot ruining the cabbage and broccoli. As of today the cucumbers are all yellow and there are no more flowers and the squash has borers. Guess it is going to be an expensive winter.
MJ

On 7/10/2014 7:35 AM, wrote:
This is the worst gardening year I have ever had. The peppers have been a disaster since I started them in January, the voles were a huge problem early on, it stayed cold forever and then it instantly got hot ruining the cabbage and broccoli. As of today the cucumbers are all yellow and there are no more flowers and the squash has borers. Guess it is going to be an expensive winter.
MJ

And exactly the opposite here in Houston area. Gardens are going nuts
with the exception of squash, we have a problem with squash borers. Lots
of eggplant, both Ichiban and Black Beauty, sweet chiles are producing
like crazy, Hopi red limas doing the same, crowder peas are a little
slow but my lovely wife planted tomatoes in front of them and very thick
at that. Naturally the stink bugs got into the tomatoes but we thinned
the plants and the bugs moved out.

Our very small fig tree has produced about a quart of figs, where we
lived before the fifteen year old fig produced dozens of quarts, we miss
that tree. The kumquat is covered with blossoms so there might be a
small crop of kumquat fruit this fall. Swiss chard is still going crazy,
harvest a batch every other day. Cukes also going crazy, giving them to
the neighbors as we have a pantry full of pickles from last year.

Getting just enough rain to only have to water the raised beds every
other week, supposed to be a bit of rain today according to the wx heads.

On Thursday, July 10, 2014 9:02:01 AM UTC-4, George Shirley wrote:
On 7/10/2014 7:35 AM, wrote:

This is the worst gardening year I have ever had. The peppers have been a disaster since I started them in January, the voles were a huge problem early on, it stayed cold forever and then it instantly got hot ruining the cabbage and broccoli. As of today the cucumbers are all yellow and there are no more flowers and the squash has borers. Guess it is going to be an expensive winter.

MJ



And exactly the opposite here in Houston area. Gardens are going nuts

with the exception of squash, we have a problem with squash borers. Lots

of eggplant, both Ichiban and Black Beauty, sweet chiles are producing

like crazy, Hopi red limas doing the same, crowder peas are a little

slow but my lovely wife planted tomatoes in front of them and very thick

at that. Naturally the stink bugs got into the tomatoes but we thinned

the plants and the bugs moved out.



Our very small fig tree has produced about a quart of figs, where we

lived before the fifteen year old fig produced dozens of quarts, we miss

that tree. The kumquat is covered with blossoms so there might be a

small crop of kumquat fruit this fall. Swiss chard is still going crazy,

harvest a batch every other day. Cukes also going crazy, giving them to

the neighbors as we have a pantry full of pickles from last year.



Getting just enough rain to only have to water the raised beds every

other week, supposed to be a bit of rain today according to the wx heads.

That is great, you have a much bigger variety of things than I do. I have been thinking about a fall crop but honestly I am not sure I could take the disappointment. I have never really had any luck with a second round of squash. SO I may just wait until later and re plant some cabbage, lettuce and sugar peas.
Question? Will the borers stick around? The plants will all come out and I will re-till the dirt but is that enough? Do I need to rotate? The other thing that has confused me is that I have done more to enrich the soil than I ever have. I have a bunch of black cow and used lots of coffee grounds. I use Epsom for the peppers and 10.10.10 for everything else, always have. I was told the coffee grounds would get rid of the fire ants and well as be good for the dirt but the ants are still around and then I was told un-composted coffee grounds are bad. I even kept things well weeded, geesh
MJ

In article
" writes:
This is the worst gardening year I have ever had. The peppers have been a disaster since I started them in
January, the voles were a huge problem early on, it stayed cold forever and then it instantly got hot
ruining the cabbage and broccoli. As of today the cucumbers are all yellow and there are no more flowers
and the squash has borers. Guess it is going to be an expensive winter.
MJ

Sorry to hear all the bad luck got delivered to the same address.

My broccoli is really puzzling. One of the varieties has a bunch
of plants that are about 2 inches tall, and they've been that size
for about 2 months. This was direct seeded. I think I'll start
them inside next year. I'm just baffled that they neither grow nor
die.

The peas gave me about 7 small pods and never got tall, but I know
that I planted them much later than I should have. The green beans
are dong okay, but I should have planted a second row about a month
ago.

--
Drew Lawson

I only came in search of answers, never planned to sell my soul
I only came in search of something left that I could call my own

In article
" writes:

That is great, you have a much bigger variety of things than I do.
I have been thinking about a fall crop but honestly I am not sure
I could take the disappointment. I have never really had any luck
with a second round of squash. SO I may just wait until later and
re plant some cabbage, lettuce and sugar peas. Question? Will the
borers stick around? The plants will all come out and I will re-till
the dirt but is that enough?

Squash vine borers are moth caterpillers, and the eggs are laid
directly on/in the vine. So if you are worrying about more of them
in the soil, that isn't a problem. Of course, they may still have
a nearby population, so there is no guarantee.

I don't grow much that is bothered by them (though I have some acorn
squash in this year), but the best thing I've heard is to use row
covers. If the adults can't get to the vines, they can't lay eggs
there.

Do I need to rotate?

Can't hurt, if you have enough planting spaces.

The other thing that has confused me is that I have done more to
enrich the soil than I ever have. I have a bunch of black cow and
used lots of coffee grounds. I use Epsom for the peppers and
10.10.10 for everything else, always have. I was told the coffee
grounds would get rid of the fire ants and well as be good for the
dirt but the ants are still around and then I was told un-composted
coffee grounds are bad.

People say lots of things about coffee grounds. I'm not sure how
many of them have been confirmed by biologists. Mine go into the
compost pile with everything else, mostly because I'm lazy. They
tend to be acidic, which is good for some plants and bad for others.

I even kept things well weeded, geesh

And my failed garden is well mulched. I suspect that some of my
direct-seeded problems are from too much mulch zealotry.


--
Drew Lawson | If dreams were thunder,
| and lightning was desire,
| This old house would have burnt down
| a long time ago

wrote:
This is the worst gardening year I have ever had. The peppers have
been a disaster since I started them in January, the voles were a
huge problem early on, it stayed cold forever and then it instantly
got hot ruining the cabbage and broccoli. As of today the cucumbers
are all yellow and there are no more flowers and the squash has
borers. Guess it is going to be an expensive winter.
MJ

Aw , man , I'm so sorry to hear that . We're having a banner year here .
Had a few setbacks , but also had great advice from here and a couple of
local gardeners .

--
Snag

Drew Lawson wrote:
In article
" writes:

That is great, you have a much bigger variety of things than I do.
I have been thinking about a fall crop but honestly I am not sure
I could take the disappointment. I have never really had any luck
with a second round of squash. SO I may just wait until later and
re plant some cabbage, lettuce and sugar peas. Question? Will the
borers stick around? The plants will all come out and I will re-till
the dirt but is that enough?

Squash vine borers are moth caterpillers, and the eggs are laid
directly on/in the vine. So if you are worrying about more of them
in the soil, that isn't a problem. Of course, they may still have
a nearby population, so there is no guarantee.

I don't grow much that is bothered by them (though I have some acorn
squash in this year), but the best thing I've heard is to use row
covers. If the adults can't get to the vines, they can't lay eggs
there.

Squash borers have a pupa that overwinters in the ground . To quote :"
Beginning in late June or early July, squash vine borer adults emerge from
cocoons in the ground. Squash vine borer adults are good fliers for moths
...."
Tilling helps destroy the coccoon , and is one method of control . Watch
the underside of the leaves for their eggs starting in late May/early June .
They'll be clusters of small orange/yellow balls that squish easily . Each
egg can potentially cost you a vine ... I was lucky this year , I never
found any eggs on my vines to destroy .
--
Snag

On Thursday, July 10, 2014 5:46:31 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
Drew Lawson wrote:

In article

" writes:



That is great, you have a much bigger variety of things than I do.

I have been thinking about a fall crop but honestly I am not sure

I could take the disappointment. I have never really had any luck

with a second round of squash. SO I may just wait until later and

re plant some cabbage, lettuce and sugar peas. Question? Will the

borers stick around? The plants will all come out and I will re-till

the dirt but is that enough?



Squash vine borers are moth caterpillers, and the eggs are laid

directly on/in the vine. So if you are worrying about more of them

in the soil, that isn't a problem. Of course, they may still have

a nearby population, so there is no guarantee.



I don't grow much that is bothered by them (though I have some acorn

squash in this year), but the best thing I've heard is to use row

covers. If the adults can't get to the vines, they can't lay eggs

there.



Squash borers have a pupa that overwinters in the ground . To quote :"

Beginning in late June or early July, squash vine borer adults emerge from

cocoons in the ground. Squash vine borer adults are good fliers for moths

..."

Tilling helps destroy the coccoon , and is one method of control . Watch

the underside of the leaves for their eggs starting in late May/early June .

They'll be clusters of small orange/yellow balls that squish easily . Each

egg can potentially cost you a vine ... I was lucky this year , I never

found any eggs on my vines to destroy .

--

Snag

Again in anticipation of a banner year I tucked in sheets of black plastic last fall. I think, especially with the voles, it did way more harm than good. Won't be doing that again, I will deal with the extra weeds.
Thanks for all the sympathy and information everyone.
MJ

All but one pea plant were chewed off by a critter just about as they
were flowering. Most of the garden is run to weeds due to time. Garlic
is OK, Raspberries probably will be, blueberries might if the critters
don't get them all, cherries all vanished off the trees while on
vacation for a week or so, and I just (today) planted some potatoes
after finding that someone had left a bag of withered but sprouting
viably seed potatoes at work - might get some little potatoes late off
those, I suppose. Grapes will probably rot or get raccooned, but neither
has happened yet. Creeping towards a more bush-based garden, for sure. I
only have to plant those once, and I still get to marvel at how the odds
stack up against me getting food off them.

;-)

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.

Ecnerwal wrote:
All but one pea plant were chewed off by a critter just about as they
were flowering. Most of the garden is run to weeds due to time. Garlic
is OK, Raspberries probably will be, blueberries might if the critters
don't get them all, cherries all vanished off the trees while on
vacation for a week or so, and I just (today) planted some potatoes
after finding that someone had left a bag of withered but sprouting
viably seed potatoes at work - might get some little potatoes late off
those, I suppose. Grapes will probably rot or get raccooned, but
neither has happened yet. Creeping towards a more bush-based garden,
for sure. I only have to plant those once, and I still get to marvel
at how the odds stack up against me getting food off them.

;-)

I must be blessed . In 3 trips thru the wild blackberries I have over a
gallon in the freezer . And a cobbler in the fridge ... Though I must admit
I've worked my ass off the last 3 months to get to this point - and I think
it well worth the effort - we're starting to see produce from the garden .
Well , more produce , we were getting salad greens for a while before they
bolted . Right now the tomatoes are flowering and ripening , green onions
flourishing , eggplant , cayennes , okra , and potatoes blooming . Green
beans are starting to come off , and the corn is all tasseled out .
--
Snag