Posted on 04/01/2016 12:05:34 PM PDT by greeneyes
If they all went 'ick' pretty much at the same time , I think that there is something in the soil, either bugs ,bacteria, fungus, or virus.
The most simple explanation is sunburn due to not being 'hardened off' enough, but rarely is it that simple .
I would suggest Johnny's (JRandomFreeper) method of soil sterilization with soil aeration , then cover with 6 mill plastic, for about 6 weeks + to 3months.
This is especially true if you haven't rotated crops, or have planted other crops of the same family (ie: tomatoes, potatoes, pepper,eggplant, etc).
That is why it is always helpful to maintain a copy of your garden each year, and date it , so as to assist in that crop rotation.
When in doubt, rotate to another plant family with different soil demands , or identify the culprit , and plant virus , or fungi resistant varieties.
When dealing with "Heirloom" varieties seed propagation , they rarely have both virus or fungal resistance - that is why we also now have " Hybrids" .
Oh that’s good news about the fruit trees. Thanks for the picture-really nice looking mushroom.
Glad you’re feeling better. Since I quit eating out as often as I use too I’ve eliminated getting intestinal flu pretty much. I’ve been working on a small triangle near my porch and driveway. There was a dead Rose bush there, now gone. Some pretty red mulch and Nautical theme border (live near lake) completed the project in two days. I have a huge container my brother gave me last year and it will be the centerpiece.
I’m going for some smaller Sunflowers, and will put inserted pots around the central Sunflowers with some chives, purple basil, and any other purple Herbs I can think of. Suggestions welcome. I’ve always wanted to grow my own chives, lol. I may have to put a border around the top even though I don’t want too. My three feral cat girlfriends like to dig in my pots, so need to keep them out. The one is totally addicted to my Agave plant on the porch, haha.
So glad you’re feeling better! Welcome back.
For intestinal viruses I always make sure to eat a few bites of probiotic yogurt or kefir, and sip on some pedialite. Seems to get the old lower GI tract back in working order pretty quickly.
Re: Rosemary. Several rosemary plants purchased from WalMart and Lowes died on me, too, after I put them in bigger pots. Then I got a fairly large one from an herb farm, stuck it in the ground, and ignored it for 5 years. It’s a huge shrub now and blooms lovely blue flowers. Maybe it preferred the crummy red dirt instead of potting soil. Dunno!
My mower was in the shop for several days, so a weedy spot by the fence started sending up a vine that normally would have been whacked. Lo and behold! Grapes! Copious bunches of tiny grapes! Planted by the previous owner.
The fruit and nut trees are blossoming nicely. Baby nectarines are showing already on a tree that produced nada last year.
A good trick to stop tent worms on fruit trees: wrap the trunks with tinfoil. The worms won’t climb the trunk. Spray the ground around the trees with dilute mix Fertilome spinosad to kill the larvae.
Bird netting on fruit trees is a must. It also frustrates deer. You can never have too many deer deterrents.
Deer deterrent spray:
1 egg per gallon of water.
4 tbl. hot sauce (siriacha is great!!)
I whole bulb of garlic per gallon of water
Put the egg, garlic, hot sauce in a couple of cups of water in a blender. Liquefy it, and put the mixture in a sealed container.
Leave this outside for a week or two—to allow the egg to stink.
Then add this stinky mix to a gallon of water. Shake it up, and let the chunks settle in bottom.
Put the liquid in a spray bottle.
Don’t spray directly on fruit, but on the grass a short distance from the trees.
Some people make a batch in a 5 gal. paint bucket bucket and just set the open bucket near the trees.
I’m sticking tomatoes and peppers into pots, and potatoes and onions in the ground. Bought lumber to make a couple 4’X8’ raised beds for greens, etc.
Trying to germinate seeds for round cucumbers.
Have acquired free seeds for Hopi tobacco. This will be planted in pots in fond remembrance of jrandomfreeper.
A caution for you Augie. Don’t mix alcohol and Morels. It produces Hydrazine, a sort of rocket fuel. A couple websites you might like:
http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~6676.asp
http://www.ohiomushroom.org/oms/FeaturedMushrooms.htm
I haven’t blown up yet! LOL
Busch isn’t anything but water anyway, lol. It was a cool picture though, haha.
That sounds pretty. Chives are the best. I can grow them in very deep shade under our Maple tree-only thing I’ve found for there so far.
Basil is also nice, but I haven’t really grown the purple one. My favorite flower that is also edible is a viola-Johnny Jump Up. Purple and yellow flowers, but it’s not an herb.
Augie - nice morels. I have a patch too near the house I'll have to start checking it, I figure they will be early this year.
Every spring seems more beautiful and joyous. Happy gardening to all!
BTW it took awhile to get this scheduled but Mass is coming up in our parish offered for JRandomFreeper (aka John Dake) at 5:00 EST Saturday evening (tomorrow) for those who might want to join us in prayer. He is probably hard at work in his new garden.
Thanks for the tips. The homemade spray sounds a lot like the one I make.
Pour boiling water over an onion and several garlic cloves and let sit overnight; drain off liquid, and add some cayenne pepper and a drop of dish washing liquid, mix well and put in sprayer.
Mine is sprayed on the leaves and produce, though. I was very doubtful that it would work, but I spied a bug right after the first batch was mixed, and squirted it with it.
That bug went haywire for about 15 seconds, turned belly up and was dead within 30 seconds. Powerful and basically non-toxic.
Prayers up for all. Hoping you and Hubby do well with your procedures and recoveries.
Thanks for the insect mix, wonder how it works on keeping the cats away from my herbs, will find out.
I don’t know - I should have mentioned that you put the stuff in a quart jar and fill it with the boiling water.
I don’t know - I should have mentioned that you put the stuff in a quart jar and fill it with the boiling water.
It’s just plain hard to grow tomatoes here these days. Even the neighbors can’t. Yes, they’re rotated and were hardened off.
Thanks!
For the most part I buy plants. Just have a few Russian varieties I start from seed. I harden them off by leaving them outside and bringing them in at night if it gets chilly. I use Rubbermaid totes and old cottage cheese containers with holes punched in the bottom.
Then if it isn't the varieties of tomatoes that you planted,
I would suggest that you try the soil sterilization method that Johnny recommended with the 6 mil plastic .
For the plants to react that quickly and wilt , there has to be a soil-borne issue there . Even nematodes, (which you can't see) will affect all members of the solanaceous plants
The soil sterilization should overcome any soil-borne issue , whether it be insects,fungus , or virus ( + via crop rotation).
My first though is that it could be wireworms (soil) or thrips (flying insect) which exist in the wild in areas surrounding your garden.
I have a question about milkweed seeds. I want to get some milkweeds to grow down near our pond (Carroll County MD). The seeds are in the refrigerator now - do I need to sprout them and plant them, or can I put the seeds directly into the soil? If anyone has had success, I’d like to get your advice. Thanks in advance!
Not sure. Some seeds do better with soaking, and depending on climate may need to have seedlings started. I have no experience with milkweed.
Your best bet is to search for University Extension office for your state. They usually have all sorts of info about various plants and what is best for your state’s climate.
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