Posted on 02/27/2015 12:35:01 PM PST by greeneyes
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Sounds like a problem of either nematodes, or blight in the soil.
Regardless, Johnny's recipie for soil sterilization (6 mil. clear plastic ), blight resistant varieties, or crop rotation would seem to be reasonable and helpful.
That’s great, greeneyes! I’m not going to be able to start my seeds until sometime in March. I just have to accept that and hope for the best.
If I recall properly , they are all members of the curcubit family .
I would sterilize and rotate crops location, and raise disease resistant varieties.
Winter is back; Summer in January is long over: -8L & 22H today.
Light snow fell nearly every day this week, but it was mostly so fine & dry that we still have a lot of bare ground.
Last of our seeds arrived: butterfly weed, milkweed, and fennel. We do have a little wild milkweed around, and a very few Monarchs each year.
Despite winter lows down to -35, and months of deeply frozen ground & snow cover, we have robins (and chickadees) resident year around. The robins have access to the barns, and nest in them.
What denotes Spring here is the return of towhees & bluebirds; and the departure of the juncos.
Another fairly reliable sign of Spring is 6 inches of mud replacing 4 inches of snow in the garden.
Oh, yeah; as I said, -8 last night, after -2 the night before, so naturally that was when Mama Rabbit decided to kindle.
Haven’t dared try to pry into the nest to count noses yet.
We still have canned & frozen rabbit from last year, but one of my co-workers wants to buy some.
You owe me a new keyboard as I laughed soooo hard !
Bamboo spreads by rhizomes and mini-rootletts.
It can become invasive, unless the roots are restrained and confined. Plan on digging down 2 - 2 1/2 feet with an impermerable barrier.
I have seen bamboo used as a visual hedge as far north as Northern Ohio, in Amish country, close to Lake Erie shores.
Yes - take some soil samples - your local extension office can instruct you how - and then get your soil analyzed. They will advise you on how to adjust your pH so your plants will thrive. One thing I’ve learned is that most plants thrive on a pH of 5.5 to 7 (5.5 being slightly acidic and 7 being more alkaline). Azaleas and rhodendrons like more acidic soil - so you will want to note what you’re trying to grow.
All plants need adequate oxygen so if the soil is too compacted you may need to amend with pine bark (1/2 inch or so) or some other organic material that can be tilled into the soil. After you mail in your samples (in NC they will do it for you) it takes them about 2 weeks to complete their analysis. If there is anything that you don’t understand in the report the office is more than happy to enlighten you. The folks at our local office love to assist with all manner of questions. They want gardeners to be successful. I was surprised to learn that clay soil is not bad soil. It holds onto nutrients and absorbs water fairly evenly. The greatest issue is that it compacts. You know this is a problem if your tree roots are on the surface of your lawn or garden.
So my answer is contact your local extension and ask them about taking samples and getting your soil analyzed. In NC there is no charge for soil analysis certain times of the year. I don’t know about other states.
Hope this helps.
That tomato story sounds a bit like The Little Red Hen’s experience.
Bump for later…
ah...the story of life!.....boo and polyiks, whatcha gonna do.........
;)
Take care!
Dick G: AMERICAN!
aka: Gunny G
Semper FIDELIS
*****
But, Barb has seedlings up under the grow lights.
Twenty-four work days and a wake-up to retirement for me and we are planning our enlarged and serious garden!
Oh, yes. And this weekend, we are going to enter the world of home-made cheese, starting out with ricotta.
Cliff, thanks for the tip on the Golden Egg Zucchini. Barb just looked it up in the Burpee catalog and we will try them.
Check around for a copy of “Crockett’s Victory Garden”. It is probably out of print, but available. That books was my real start at gardening.
I never noticed the Robins eating seed EXCEPT for about 15 years ago.. horrible Winter and the poor little things ate seed. I am going to the store today (we are having ice tomorrow.. JOY!) and get some suet. There is a bird seed place where I live and I feel so sorry for the little things. Hugs, Mom
Thanks
thanks
Consider giving it to a local food kitchen
and you can get a tax "write-off" based on value
or can/bottle them up for yourselves for food storage.
Ask your local food co-op ,community food kitchen , or religious community as to where food and fruit can be effectively used.
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