July 2013 New England

CapeCoddess wrote:This is todays haul not including the the mustard spinach, scallions & collards for this weeks salad greens box: carrots, beets & beet greens, onions, basil, garlic chives, chard, collards, kale. There were a lot more greens but I couldn't fit them in the picture so left them in the basket. Not bad!


The tulle over the greens is completely falling apart at the slightest touch.  If I can just get it thru this season, I may go with row cover next year.  Does it last longer than 1.5 yrs?

CC

Man, those beets are beautiful! What variety are they? I have a hard time getting them to bulb out so nicely like yours...any tips?

Hey Cape....I"m on my 3rd year with the same insect barrier/row covers so they last and last.

for the people with Egyptian walking onions, any advice on planting them. Got some bulbs from a friend at work, and have yet to plant them.

Just stick them in the ground so the pointy tip is just visible. Put them in a place where you wont mind that they spread.

"Southern Gardener wrote: Man, those beets are beautiful! What variety are they? I have a hard time getting them to bulb out so nicely like yours...any tips?"

SG, that is music to my eyes!  I had such a terrible time with these Detroit Red beets last year and the beginning of this year.  Then I checked Mels ANSWER BOOK out of the library and in it he says that beets need boron, and that rain and watering can wash the boron away.  So he suggests adding 1/2 t Borax to 1 qt of water and watering the beets with that.  I did it once and they actually grew more than just leaves!  It was like a miracle!   I left some of these spring planted beets in the SFG to see how big they will get, and my fall planted beets were watered the same way.  I'll be planting some more this weekend and I think I'll wait til they sprout & grow a little bit before adding the Borax.
 
QB, thanks for letting me know about the row cover.  I may have to get it sooner than expected as the tulle is even falling apart from the breeze.  I can stand there a watch it fall into the veggies.

Camp, what about watering the Egyptian onions?  I put mine in an out of the way place and pretty much forgot about them. They seem to be struggling so I'm thinking more water?

CC

I have a friend who has the most amazing walking onions, growing next to the hottest sidewalk and she gives them very little, if any, attention.

So CC, I don't know.

I found a vine around the berry bushes today, wondered if anyone could help identify it. It might be sumac, not sure. It was a pretty strong vine, with 3" pods that, when broken, look like they might have flower petals in them.



 

 

Well, oh, darn. It looks like the vine is swallow wort, which is an invasive species, aggressive, and I have to go out there and get rid of it.

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/cyro1.htm

with a distribution map: http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/map/cyro1.htm

and it looks like NH is one of the few states where this has become invasive.

Good to know. Thanks NHG!

Today one of my large zucchini plants, which I recently rescued from squash bugs, broke off at the base. Inside I found about 6-8 vine borer caterpillars. I took great delight in feeding them to the chickens.

Next year, it's all out war on the squash bugs and vine borers. Besides the stockings and the agrabon, I'm pulling out every trick I can find on the internet (except chemicals). It's not natural to go squashless in the summer.

Oh that just stinks!

NHGardener wrote:Today one of my large zucchini plants, which I recently rescued from squash bugs, broke off at the base. Inside I found about 6-8 vine borer caterpillars. I took great delight in feeding them to the chickens.

Next year, it's all out war on the squash bugs and vine borers. Besides the stockings and the agrabon, I'm pulling out every trick I can find on the internet (except chemicals). It's not natural to go squashless in the summer.

So after reading this I went out to the squash bed and every single one of my zucchinis and summer squash plants had big fat ugly grubs in them.    What an experience!  After 'operating' to remove over a dzn grubs, I buried each vine under a pile of new compost.  Now it's the wait and see game.  

I read the other day in the New Victory Garden book that he places a sheet of aluminum foil laid out at the base of each plant.  The reflecting light is supposed to confuse the SVB moth so she can't lay her eggs on the vine.  I'm trying that next year.  Unless the moth is still out there this time of year???

CC

CC and NHG, sorry to hear about your SVB problems. I guess I better better check mine again. At least the SVB is a single generation per year and the moths should be done by now. Just squash bugs and mildew to worry about.

I didn't grow squash this year. the last three years with vine borer did me in