here some good picture of a sucker:
http://inthegardenonline.com/main/2011/10/how-to-prune-tomato-plants/
also here http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/planting-tomatoes-in-a-growing-bag/index.html
LizaMouse I think you did great starting so early.
I have transplanted my tomatoes outside on February 17th. It is a big risk, but I get rewards every year.
When the crazy heat starts here in DFW, tomatoes stop to make fruits and start to make just leaves ...
ZONE 8 - SPRING season 2012
I have harvested my first peppers yesterday.
I will use them on my Etoufee'
Here are the cucumbers making tendrils
Blonfkophfen tomatoes ... so many flowers
Datura reseeded from last year
Confederate Rose
Plums, Blackberries, Peaches ...
sorry ... pictures of flowers posted in the wrong thread.
I was on the phone with Italy and got distracted .... aaahh
Here are some of my Pole Beans ... my first year growing them , so I dunno what to expect
Sungold tomato is starting to change color.
Lots of tomatoes in all the other plants
I have planted BASIL every three tomato plants.
I have done it every year. The flowers will attract bees and the plant will improve the flavor of the tomatoes.
Pole Beans are growing taller.
Strawberry are making fruits.
Cucumbers are growing like monsters already.
Zucchini are growing too ... hidden between the garlic.
The Squash Vine Borer has not found them yet ...
Peppers and Eggplants are growing too.
Peppers are starting to make lots of new leaves and flowers
Eggplants are getting taller and making flowers too
I have removed my Fava Beans plants and harvest the last beans.
I am ready to plant the Okra.
Sunday or Monday are FRUIT days.
and I am DONE for the summer season !
Thank you for the 'sucker' pictures, drthor. I've picked off the obvious ones but I don't want to get too pinch happy since I'm a rookie. Putting the plants out early has sure paid off though.
I have planted Okra outside today.
I am done !!
My first ripen tomato of 2012 was ready today.
SUNGOLD !!
Cucumbers and Cantaloupe are flowering.
It is here already : the SQUASH VINE BORER !!!
I was outside looking at my cucumbers and I saw it !! monssssterrrrr
I went in the front to check my zucchini and every plant was full of eggs ... at least 20 each !!
I pick the one I found ... but I am sure I did miss a lot of them ...
My dream of zucchini is gone already ....
I have peas!!
The onions have started bulbing, too!
stephanietex you are awesome !
I cannot grow peas !!
My onions are just like yours. When are they going to be ready?
This is my first year growing onions ... I cannot believe I didn't grow them before ... so easy !!
I planted bulbing onion plants on January 8th, 2011 and harvested from July thru August.
All I've read puts harvest approximately 100 days from plant out (more or less).
They grow best thru the winter and into spring, and tolerate short dips into the mid-30s (with some protection). I threw old sheets over them, in mid-Jan and they were fine.
I planted waaaaaaaay late this season, and, although they are bulbing up now, I'm not happy with them growing into the heat. I keep checking and expecting root maggots any day.
Linda
Don't want to hear that about the Squash Borer. I wonder if there is something that can be injected into the stem to kill them. Maybe using a kitchen syringe. There has to be something. After all you hid your squash. I don't really care for Zuke but will they bother the cukes too?
This is going to be a really bad year for bugs. Almost every whole I dig has a grub in it, but I like smashing them. Lol. Then the fowl eat them.
I did find a few eggs in my cucumber plants too.
Great, the story gets worse but I can't say I'm surprised. Dang! Did you find them in the main stem?
Did you put *any* preventive measures in place to repel the SVB? Just curious. There are several methods discussed in various forums to prevent the invasion. If you do nothing, they will visit.
She put them in a totally different location. I didn't even know what they were until I moved to TX. I didn't have them in SOCAL. In fact if I had 3 plants the neighbors hated me by the end of the season.lol
I try to plant my cukes and such later here to avoid them all together but I really want to make pickles this year. I haven't been able to do that in a long time. Can you give a quick run down of some of the preventative measures? So they are all in one place. Thanks.
This message was edited Apr 24, 2012 9:26 PM
As soon as the sun comes up I'll give you a picture. Thousand words and all that......heh heh...
A different location? So the SVB read maps and might get lost trying to find the new location? just kidding - early morning humor, coffee hasn't kicked in yet.
From what I've read, the best defense against the SVB is PREEMPTIVE TIMING of when that moth comes around to lay the eggs. I believe it's supposed to happen around mid-June, but looks like that has been thrown off by our mild winter weather. All sorts of creatures usually controlled by the winter are multiplying and swarming like crazy. Yesterday I heard the termites are having a field day, so watch out.
If it were a "normal" season, the suggestion is to cover the squash seedlings with floating row cover or some lightweight, breathable fabric at plant out so that when the moth comes round, it can't land on the vines to lay the eggs. The cover stays on until after the egg-laying season, then you can remove it.
At least, that's how I think it goes...
Yes Linda, that's one way. The downside to that one is lack of pollination with row covers on. One could hand pollinate but I feel so .... odd ... hand pollinating those large squash flowers. [giggling here]
Lisa, I believe you and I engaged in this SVB discussion last year and you had difficulty getting your head around my toilet paper roll defensive jackets. :-)))) The first year I grew squash here, I lost the entire batch, like drthor, to svb. did a bunch of research and found some information about enclosing the vine in a length of pantyhose secured at ground level with some wet soil. I did this one year and had no svb. I was talking it up on another board and somone mentioned they had used empty toilet paper rolls with the same good results....and it's easier than putting panty hose on the vine. That's what I did last year. No SVB.
Okay, this may be coincidence but I'm going with it again this year. Photo below. The idea is that the svb emerges AT THE SOIL LEVEL to lay her eggs. If you can protect the first 3 inches of the vine, you're good. Lisa, your comment was that the SVB lays eggs all along the vine. My returning comment was/is.....only if they can get to the vine from the soil level. That's what I hear. Try it. What else are you doing with old, used up toilet paper rolls? ;-)
As you can see, these are planted at the base of an old grapefruit tree. My plan is to let them climb up. The second pic gives you a long shot of the area. (This is my new straw wattle garden, the one on the left is 'under construction', the cinder blocks will grow some cutting celery and flowering plants for bee attractors, not yet filled or planted. Too few hours in the day.)
BTW, I *think* I'm on topic except my zone is off. I'll slink over to dreaves Veggie Garden thread next.
Oh Mary, don't worry about being off by a zone!!
The best preventative maintenance for the SVB is to not plant squash. LOL I also think growing vertically is supposed to help. I've only grown squash once since I'm not a squash fan. We had every single vine attacked by SVB so I gave up. They also attacked the pumpkins I planted.
This message was edited Apr 24, 2012 11:25 AM
MaryMcP,
Would 4" lengths of PVC pipe over the plants like your TP tubes work as well? The PVC could even be cut to 6" and shoved down into the ground 2". I think it's a stroke of genius you're exhibiting there!
This gives me courage to go forward with my ONE zucchini squash plant that I currently have under lights inside.
Once I plant it out (hopefully this weekend), this is what it'll grow on.
http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/simple-squash-trellis
This message was edited Apr 24, 2012 10:26 AM
stephanietx,
Here in ZONE 8a, last year I was very successful growing Zucchetta Tromboncino (which it was suppose to be a SVB free plant)
I had so many beautiful zucchini and they tasted so sweet.
I hope it will be the same this year.
I am not going to treat or do anything for the SVB ... if it doesn't grow here ... it is just not meant to grow.
This message was edited Apr 24, 2012 9:00 AM
The reason you were successful with tromboncino is because it is a solid core vine. Zucchini, crookneck, and some other summer squash are hollow core vines, nice nesting for the SVB.
Quoting:
...if it doesn't grow here ... it is just not meant to grow
That's pretty funny really, I'll leave it there. See you all on another thread.....somebody is shouting about Zones.
Linda, the pvc should work but I like the cardboard idea better. Good recycling.
Yeah.
That's great ... and I also agree that "some" members just want to cause troubles ...
So let's go back to amazing gardening in Zone 8 and let's hope that SVB will not find those beautiful plants ...
I find that implication offensive and fail to see who it is that you are agreeing with. You stated that squash vine borers decimated your crop of squash. "Some" members were attempting to assist. Where's the trouble?