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Showing 1951 - 1980 of 19920 comments
Cucumber 12 Jan, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
I forgot to mention: as part of my previous reply; that the insects are eating your plant because it is stressed. That is, insects USUALLY attack/eat plants that are NOT healthy..... plants that are deteriorating are easily digestible. It's part of the natural process; the insects help breakdown a plant that is dying, rather than the insects killing the plant. So focusing on the insects may again, be misleading. Clearly, if you're trying to save the plant, you will need to get rid of the insects....but in MOST cases the insects are not the root cause of your issue.
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Cucumber 17 Jan, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I generally have very healthy plants and I can tell you the insects don't wait until they are stressed. Recently very healthy egg plant and now the leaves have been decimated by something eating the leaves.
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Cucumber 14 Feb, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
I did say USUALLY -- that is to say: rabbits will go for your greenest crispiest leaves -- caterpillars tend to pick the best of the lot as well -- aphids are PLACED on healthy fava beans by ANTS (as a form of enslavement/hostage situation) to suck the sap and excrete honeydew ... and so on for many insects --- BUT what we have IN THIS situation is clearly STRESSED PLANTS -- and stressed plants will bring in the decomposers -- that is the natural cycle- so focusing on which decomposers you have is really not going to solve the problem here.......... this is my best guess -- the plants where stressed and failed to perform first, and then the decomposers came in.... judging by the description of the problem.
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Cucumber 12 Jan, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
Have you had a lot of humidity (higher than usual) lately ? If so, your plants may be having a hard time transpiring. Transpiration is the process of releasing moisture (like sweating and evaporation rolled into one). Plants suck up water through their roots and move the water up through their stems and into their leaves, where they release the water (transpiration). Only about 5-10% of the water they intake is used for growth - the rest is released into the environment. The movement of water facilitates the movement of nutrients. So if the movement of water is SLOWED due to really high humidity (and this mostly happens in greenhouses when they are not properly ventilated) plants start to show signs of nutrient deficiencies of all kinds (maybe blossom end rot in tomatoes despite having plenty of bio-available calcium in the soil). That is to say; you could have a lot of misleading signs like: blossom end rot, or nitrogen deficiency (honestly I'm not sure which nutrients need the most water to be moved).....but the take away is the signs could be really confusing, and appear totally illogical. This only happens in high humidity situations; again like an improperly vented greenhouse, or if somehow you have managed to trap the humidity in your space...... this is a long shot.....but I lived on the Gold Coast (Broad Beach area) 30+ years ago...... and I still remember how humid it could get... especially further North. Clearly, some plants are better at moving the water in high humidity situations....tomatoes tend to have difficulty in very high humidity. Ensuring proper air flow may be helpful.
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Cucumber 04 Feb, Smithy (Australia - tropical climate)
Is there a way to counteract high humidity? Hydroponics might flourish in greenhouses but they are pumped up with water and chemicals. They look good but are not palatable.
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Cucumber 16 Feb, Celeste Archer (Canada - Zone 7b Mild Temperate climate)
If you have TRUE high humidity: humidex above 95% consistently -- then you have a real issue. If you have a "created" high humidity situation: like a poorly ventilated greenhouse; then correcting the ventilation will fix things. You can create an updraft by placing a screened window/door very close to ground level (or the lowest level that opens to fresh air) and then furthest and highest away from this point another screened window (on the ceiling/roof, or very high on the wall). So if you have a door on the North/East Bottom. the window goes on the South/West Top. When both of the windows are open, you should get a nice updraft that will whisk away all your humidity. It is best to situate the ground level door/window in a shady spot -- because this will be cooler air, and as this comes in it will force the hot/humid air up and out. There are also green house fans that can be installed (but if you do your updraft correctly you will probably not need one) ; and if you are fully indoors even a dehumidifier might work. If you are in a garden setting like the situation above; I think perhaps the cucumber created a roof that was helping hold in the moisture. In this case prune the cucumber to increase airflow. Things like fences can hold moisture; for example if you have a garden between two houses and there is a wood picket fence; this could impede the flow of air, and cause humidity to build up. The answer will ALMOST always be to increase air flow. If this is a true climate issue then you should select what you are growing with care, choosing plants that can tolerate high humidity; and still trying to situate your plants/garden in such a way that air flows freely. I have an allotment, that has "dense" fencing on two sides (I am in the back corner) and I can feel that I have an extra humid situation. I have found that runner beans do well; once they climb higher than fence level, they get a lot of air flow and do nicely. As far a hydroponics; I am not well versed enough to even begin guessing at the issues that may exist in these environments. Just remember that even when the humidex is NOT high, plants still need the airflow to move what they have transpired away from their leaves.
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Cucumber 11 Jan, Anonymous (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It is very hard to grow things during summer along the coast in Qld with all the rain and heat. Generally start planting seeds etc late Feb/Mar. Rain brings on the breeding cycle of a lot of insects etc. If plants are growing fast and too big - too much nitrogen. Yellow leaves - with lots of rain the fertiliser is leached through the soil. Also yellow leaves can be from a trace element deficiency. Use a fert that has trace elements. Here is my tips - during summer try and improve your soil with compost manures etc. Put grass clippings and leaves etc on you garden bed and dig in and turn over a couple of times during summer. Soil has to be watered to help break down the leaves etc. You should then only need a very light feritising.before planting in March. Plant cabbage broccoli etc in early May.
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Cucumber 07 Feb, Smithy (Australia - tropical climate)
Thank you.
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Strawberry Plants 08 Jan, Seena yager (USA - Zone 4b climate)
I live on north shore in Minnesota, what my best strawberry to grow here
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Strawberry Plants 11 Jan, (USA - Zone 4b climate)
Ask at a nursery place.
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Choko/Chayote (also Chayote squash, christophene, chouchou, mirliton) 06 Jan, Lance Hill (USA - Zone 9a climate)
We would love to hear from anyone growing chokos (chayote/mirlitons) on your techniques and experiences. Our website is devoted to all things Mirlitons: www.Mirliton.org, including the world's largest collection of chayote recipes. I also have an article on the history of mirlitons that links the Australian and U.S. varieties.
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Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 06 Jan, Tara Sikorski (USA - Zone 7a climate)
-I planted the seeds from the berries I had from the store. -I live on Long Island, NY. -I started them in a small pot, a bit too late to sow- so I kept them indoor. I have my own odd ways of trying things- but this has been my biggest thriving indoor plant. (It was tiny and slow growing for a few months and then one day they just shot up and just keep growing a couple feet tall, and some are crazy looking (like one stem made a complete u-turn because the wall was in the way lol)... But for a start off-let's see if this will work experiment, it surprisingly worked out well. I will do it outdoors this year for sure. My second best plant has been dragon fruit.... So weird I know. I gave some pots with them already 6-12 inches high to people in VA and South Carolina, and some how- no one could grow it larger, and mine is looking like cousin it with green spiked hair. Lol.
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Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 31 Aug, Chris (USA - Zone 8b climate)
Where do you have it in the house? Is it near a window or is it in a sunroom or what? That sounds cool are you eating those berries yet bud?
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Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 06 Dec, Camille (USA - Zone 5a climate)
It's better to have sunroom. I place the golden berries plants indoor near the window since Oct. Warm and sunny make it grow faster.
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Cape Gooseberry (also Golden Berry, Inca Berry ) 11 Jan, Anonymous (USA - Zone 4b climate)
Most plants require certain climate conditions to grow. A soil temperature range to germinate etc. Hours of daylight sun to grow well. That is why you plant crop at a certain time of the year.
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Watermelon 06 Jan, Jen (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Can I grow watermelons in Christchurch or is it too cold
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Watermelon 11 Jan, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Yes look in the planting calendar guide. It is generally a Spring planting crop.
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 04 Jan, Mark J Grzywa (USA - Zone 5a climate)
What varieties grow best in N. Illinois, if any? Thanks
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 11 Oct, TMR (USA - Zone 6b climate)
I know it's over a year later, but I've been looking for info for overwintering a huge eggplant plant, and saw your question here. Summer '22 I picked up three 5" Japanese eggplant plants from local Tractor supply store, on sale in 3 or 4" pots, for $4 each. I grew them in central MA, each in a 12 or 14" pot all summer. Got some good yield, and they grew to about 18" high, but I decided to bring them inside for the winter to see if I could get more fruit from them. I put them on a south facing bay window, air temp was never much above 68*, I watered, fertilized once (maybe 2x) from October-May, and hand pollinated flowers with a paint brush. Got about 10 fruits, which I thought was pretty good! Nice and tender and sweet. In late May/early June they went outside, (after hardened off properly) planted 1 into 2' tall raised wooden garden box (with tomatoes, potatoes, basil, borage), 1 into a large deep pot, and one in a conditioned straw bale. The pot one failed, the box and straw bale one thrived and are now 3' tall and maybe 2-3' wide. Tons of flowers, fruit, I couldn't keep up. I'm trying to figure out if I can bring one of them inside again (transplant into v. large pot) and get one more summer out of it! So you can probably grow Ichyban Japanese in your zone, just protect from cooler temps, and bring inside if your season isn't long enough.
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 06 Jan, Anonymous (USA - Zone 5a climate)
Plant Feb to May - look on the internet for some varieties.
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Brussels sprouts 04 Jan, Grant (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Grew brussel sprouts for the first time in Blenheim. Was impressed with the size of the plants. But, when I took the sprouts off they were full of a white powdery substance. When I shook the plants, white fly came off them. Is there any hope for my sprouts? Some of them are still developing .
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Brussels sprouts 07 Jan, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Research an organic spray for white fly. Or a chemical one.
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Salsify (also Vegetable oyster) 03 Jan, Kathy (Australia - temperate climate)
I grew white salsify....never again! They say its best to grow for 2yrs for taste,well they went to seed like a giant milkweed head i had to cut them off and bag them before they blew away and contaminated my whole garden and into the surrounding paddock! Wasnt impressed with that or the couple i pulled to taste, i ripped the lot out after the 3rd time trimming the puff seed..in hindsight probably dont take growing advice and wait the extra harvest time..btw? If anyone wants FREE SEEDS i have two bags full of 2021 crop (couldnt bring myself to toss em! ),your welcome to them,will post to you.im out at Tamworth nsw.
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Borage (also Burrage, Bugloss) 03 Jan, Barbara (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Although all the plant books say borage is pest free, I find that for some years now it has been colonised in my Auckland garden by a leaf miner, presumably the echium leaf miner Dialectica scariella ,self introduced here from Australia 20 odd years ago. They were trying it over there as a biological control for Paterson's curse ( didn't work very well). This infestation causes really unsightly brown patches on the leaves. I have noticed it also on my Pride of Madeira, another echium, but since those leaves are bigger it is not so obvious.
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Ginger 31 Dec, Alesia (USA - Zone 9b climate)
Can I plant Ginger and Turmeric in the month of January? Zone 9b
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Ginger 06 Jan, Janet F (USA - Zone 6b climate)
Just checked my ginger pots, many little sprouts starting ( Basically like potatoes) so I just watered well and put them back on the heat mat. I bought the ginger at Whole Foods and rinsed it well in case of any growth inhibitors, cut it in 1-2” chunks with a few places that looked like they could be eyes, planted it in potting soil( 2-3 pieces per 6” pot) just barely covered and watered , put on heat mat with plastic wrap over since our house is old and drafty. But in zone 9 you may have a long enough growing time, I don’t so figured they’d need a head start.
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Ginger 06 Jan, Janet F (USA - Zone 6b climate)
You can start it inside. Check you tube, many videos. The rusted gardener has one, in bags on top of the fridge by see video for details. I tried some just in seed started but they didn’t sprout so about to do it in the bag method. Then pot up and outside after frost.
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Ginger 04 Jan, (USA - Zone 9b climate)
Probably not - if there is no P S or T's in any of the months in the planting calendar then you don't have the climate for it.
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 30 Dec, Hetal (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
Hi, I am in Tauranga, planted okra and it's flowering this time, should I harvest before flowering or after? Waited after flowering but there is small pod which turned yellow. What is your advice?
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Okra (also Ladyfinger, gumbo) 04 Feb, John Mauger (Australia - temperate climate)
You would harvest okra pods when they are about 90mm long , after the flower has finished. Getting them going as early as possible in the season is the key to a reasonable harvest in temperate climates.
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Showing 1951 - 1980 of 19920 comments
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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. Gardenate is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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