Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:My potatoes I planted indoors did so well. The weather was right to 'harden' them, putting them outdoors during the day. Went OK too. After some days, still warm weather, I decided they could stay outdoors during the night too ...
No, it wasn't a cold night ... not at all ... the temperatures were high enough to activate those tiny slimy bandits that liked eating all leaves off of my potato plants ...
Hans Albert Quistorff, LMT Hans Massage Qberry Farm
magnet therapy
gmail hquistorff
"Also, just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them" (Luke 6:31)
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
John Weiland wrote:
Carrots will spank you every time....don't try to plant carrots unless you feel you are really in deep with the deity of your persuasion.![]()
Maureen Atsali
Wrong Way Farm - Kenya
~ Dragons, Fairies and even a Mini-Paul! ~ You Know You're a Permie When...~ All About Permies, including tutorials ~Herbal Hugel Spiral of Randomness!~Tricks to Keep the Dirt from Sliding off a Hugel~List of Cascadia Bloggers and Facebook Pages!~
Deb Rebel wrote:I got cauliflower for the first time ever a few years ago, bought plants and put them in my heated hoop (small greenhouse of pvc pipe bent to make ribs and sheet plastic) that had a rain gutter heat tape buried 12 inches (30 cm) in ground with a brooder light for air temp heating... I got small store sized heads for the first time ever and they finished just as our summer arrived. To get that size head, the plants get huge (4 feet or more across, 1.3 meters). The broccoli, same thing. I had grown it at my parent's place but the florets were small and you had to pick through to get enough, no real heads. That year it went right and I got four harvests, first heads were store size.
Hans Albert Quistorff, LMT Hans Massage Qberry Farm
magnet therapy
gmail hquistorff
“The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.”― Albert Einstein
It's time to get positive about negative thinking -Art Donnelly
To lead a tranquil life, mind your own business and work with your hands.
Liquid Gold - WATER
Kelly Hart
www.greenhomebuilding.com
Kelly Hart wrote:... until last year when practically nothing wanted to grow. Many plants that had flourished other years barely grew; it was very disappointing.
Then one of the members of our local permaculture group mentioned that he had a very similar problem, and he attributed it to the accumulation of glysophate from straw he had purchased! I think that this might be my problem also, especially when I realized that the goat manure was likely contaminated with glysophate-laced hay fed to the goats, and even the commercial alfalfa pellets could have been contaminated.
Works at a residential alternative high school in the Himalayas SECMOL.org . "Back home" is Cape Cod, E Coast USA.
Music makes life better
Mary Cook wrote:
Others' story reminded me of my squash bug problem, particularly my first year here. It got kinda bad by the end of the year, but I still had decent harvests. I left the mulch in place, figuring cold would kill the bugs. The following spring the squash bugs completely killed my winter squash, summer squash and melons. The next year I waited till July first to plant squash in that garden and never saw a bug. Maybe the little cucumber beetles, which don't do significant damage but one year they brought in mosaic disease that ruined my zucchini. I don't use foil and get good squash nearly every year--I just spend a little time, as much as every other day, investigating each leaf of my plants and removing egg patches. I squash any nymphs or adults I find. And throw the leaf bits with eggs into the wood stove.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
-J. R. R. Tolkien
May Lotito wrote:I had problem with those giant sunflowers for several years. Specifically, the skyscraper and mammoth grey sunflowers never produced seeds, all were hollow inside husks. Other sunflowers, like black oilseed, evening sun and italian white were doing great growing side by side. And it was not about pollination failure, I saw bees crawling all over.
I gave up growing them early this year, but now I thought it might due to element deficiency. The taller varieties are more susceptible. I have replanted a few to test it out, I am going to apply some bone meal and sea salt to see if that's the cure. Any suggestions?
. . . bathes in wood chips . . .
May Lotito wrote:I had problem with those giant sunflowers for several years. Specifically, the skyscraper and mammoth grey sunflowers never produced seeds, all were hollow inside husks.
Anne Pratt wrote:
Soil test?
You know, that thing we know we are supposed to do, but somehow never get around to it?
May Lotito wrote:
Anne Pratt wrote:
Soil test?
You know, that thing we know we are supposed to do, but somehow never get around to it?
You are right. I used the home test kit, came out pH 6.5, low in P and K. But of course, the test was very limited and probably inaccurate too. I plan on do the soil test on locations where plants grow exceptionally well or poorly for comparison. Trace mineral test should help so if sea salt works in the end, I'd be able to pinpoint the crucial mineral.
. . . bathes in wood chips . . .
Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions. Mark Twain
It's time to get positive about negative thinking -Art Donnelly
It's time to get positive about negative thinking -Art Donnelly
. . . bathes in wood chips . . .
Anne Pratt wrote:
Congratulations on really doing the soil test.[/size] Me, I'm still toying with following my own advice.