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Fruit and Vegetable Gardening Thread 2020 Edition

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7 hours ago, MattituckMike said:

I have had issues with crows, blackbirds, grackles, cardinals, and especially mockingbirds eating my tomatoes in the past.  This year I watched a robin take a ripe cherry tomato right off the vine in front of me and when I scared it off it dropped the tomato but was sure to pick it back up again before retreating!
 

Sometimes setting up a bird bath close by reduces the visits as the easily accessible water source might be what they are after.

 

I’ve set up bird netting on my bed of tomatoes already this year.  :shrug:

Some give and take here. Phoebes and cat birds eat bugs.  We pick tomatoes early so nobody is tempted but some are lost.  In the woods so there are berries on a lot of stuff that keeps them busy for a bit. 

"I have ... put a lump of ice into an equal quantity of water ...  if a little sea salt be added to the water we shall produce a fluid sensibly colder than the ice was in the beginning, which has appeared a curious and puzzling thing to those unacquainted with the general fact."- Joseph Black

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23 hours ago, jjdbike said:

And now my zucchini leaves look like this.  I’m finding gardening as frustrating as it is rewarding.

JD

Jim - This time of year sqaush and cuc leaves start to die off. Powdery mildew, Downey mildew, Mosaic virus, bacterial wilt.....they all come into play. It is just part of the cycle and has to be accepted. Sure, there are preventive measures, but they only go so far, and some loss in the garden is always to be expected, it is part of the deal.

 

This is a good site, this page is for cucs and squash and such:

 

https://gardenplanner.almanac.com/plant-diseases/us-and-canada/plant-problems/squash-diseases-identification/

"You know the Bill of Rights is serving its purpose when it protects things you wish it didn't."

 

"You can no longer be oppressed if you are not afraid anymore - Unknown"

 

SOL Member #174

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21 hours ago, JimW said:

Yes, birds will peck a hole in tomatoes.  There’s no pic of your leaves

 

19 hours ago, MattituckMike said:

I have had issues with crows, blackbirds, grackles, cardinals, and especially mockingbirds eating my tomatoes in the past.  This year I watched a robin take a ripe cherry tomato right off the vine in front of me and when I scared it off it dropped the tomato but was sure to pick it back up again before retreating!
 

Sometimes setting up a bird bath close by reduces the visits as the easily accessible water source might be what they are after.

 

I’ve set up bird netting on my bed of tomatoes already this year.  :shrug:

 

24 mins ago, Steve in Mass said:

Jim - This time of year sqaush and cuc leaves start to die off. Powdery mildew, Downey mildew, Mosaic virus, bacterial wilt.....they all come into play. It is just part of the cycle and has to be accepted. Sure, there are preventive measures, but they only go so far, and some loss in the garden is always to be expected, it is part of the deal.

 

This is a good site, this page is for cucs and squash and such:

 

https://gardenplanner.almanac.com/plant-diseases/us-and-canada/plant-problems/squash-diseases-identification/

Thanks gentlemen. I just need to reset my expectations and learn to take the good w/ the bad.

This year has been a learning process for sure. I know this is just the beguning.

I appreciate everyone's input. Will probably be putting in another tased bed next year. I've got to learn about rotation, when to sow what and what I am better off just buying you plants ve direct sowing seeds..

JD

 

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I hear you guys about give & take, good with the bad.

That being said, I’m fed up w/ rabbits biting blossoms off my butternut squash. 
I feel like a cross between Elmer Fudd & Bill Murray in Caddy Shack. I’m spreading two kinds of repellent today. Unfortunately I live in a borough that doesn’t allow hunting, shooting or trapping.

JD

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On going zucchini problems continue.

Exactly the same as last year.  I'm growing, or should I say, attempting to grow bush zucchini again this summer.  I have these beautiful 24"x24" x24" containers. Beautiful black soil I made myself.   The plants are flourishing. Look like they belong in Martha Stewart's garden.

Now for the problem.   No squash.  Hundreds of flowers, more each day.  But they're all males.  

What gives? This us the second year in a row. Same thing happened last year. For years I grew beautiful zucchini. I eat them daily.   

The Sultan of Sluggo

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3 hours ago, bob_G said:

On going zucchini problems continue.

Exactly the same as last year.  I'm growing, or should I say, attempting to grow bush zucchini again this summer.  I have these beautiful 24"x24" x24" containers. Beautiful black soil I made myself.   The plants are flourishing. Look like they belong in Martha Stewart's garden.

Now for the problem.   No squash.  Hundreds of flowers, more each day.  But they're all males.  

What gives? This us the second year in a row. Same thing happened last year. For years I grew beautiful zucchini. I eat them daily.   

One year I put out sugar water to attract pollinators

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd

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6 hours ago, jjdbike said:

I hear you guys about give & take, good with the bad.

That being said, I’m fed up w/ rabbits biting blossoms off my butternut squash. 
I feel like a cross between Elmer Fudd & Bill Murray in Caddy Shack. I’m spreading two kinds of repellent today. Unfortunately I live in a borough that doesn’t allow hunting, shooting or trapping.

JD

I've had good success with some spray that I bought at home depot. I can check the brand later...

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd

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4 hours ago, bob_G said:

On going zucchini problems continue.

Exactly the same as last year.  I'm growing, or should I say, attempting to grow bush zucchini again this summer.  I have these beautiful 24"x24" x24" containers. Beautiful black soil I made myself.   The plants are flourishing. Look like they belong in Martha Stewart's garden.

Now for the problem.   No squash.  Hundreds of flowers, more each day.  But they're all males.  

What gives? This us the second year in a row. Same thing happened last year. For years I grew beautiful zucchini. I eat them daily.   

Hi Bob,

  Are there some female flowers forming but then dropping/aborting, or are the flowers that form all male?  

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1 min ago, MattituckMike said:

Hi Bob,

  Are there some female flowers forming but then dropping/aborting, or are the flowers that form all male?  

Flowers are all males.  So many, my wife has been picking them since they're delicious as well. We're going to have some with dinner tonight.

The Sultan of Sluggo

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6 mins ago, bob_G said:

Flowers are all males.  So many, my wife has been picking them since they're delicious as well. We're going to have some with dinner tonight.

I do know that with pumpkins and other winter squashes  daytime temps in the 90’s and nighttime temps in the 70’s may produce all male flowers, as can a bit too much nitrogen but never saw that issue with summer squashes.  :shrug:

 

Good luck and let us know if you start getting fruits when the weather cools off a bit.

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12 mins ago, MattituckMike said:

I do know that with pumpkins and other winter squashes  daytime temps in the 90’s and nighttime temps in the 70’s may produce all male flowers, as can a bit too much nitrogen but never saw that issue with summer squashes.  :shrug:

 

Good luck and let us know if you start getting fruits when the weather cools off a bit.

Mike,

These are bush zucchini. It's the second year I've tried them, and both times with the same results.   I made the soil myself, it has  manure, worm castings in it.  Heavily watered and fed with Alaskan fish formula.

The Sultan of Sluggo

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