Got Vegetable Gardening Questions?
Do have any burning questions about vegetable gardening that we haven’t answered here?
Are there any other aspects of vegetable gardening that we should have written about?
Leave us a comment and let us know!
We’ll do our best to answer your question, and improve the site for anyone else who might want to know the same thing.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
My cucumbers were started from seed and were doing great until the stems got to be about 5inches long then they got thin and stretched, What is wrong?
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It sounds like the seedlings didn’t develop properly, and got too thin or puny, right? Usually, it’s because they didn’t get enough light. Some folks even add lights to grow their seedlings.
Another common problem for seedlings is damping off disease, caused by a fungi or bacteria in the soil. It happens from overwatering, or the seedlings are too close together. And, it can be passed by infected containers, or soil. So, it’s a good idea to use a fresh seed starting soil to grow seedlings, too.
Sounds like the seedlings needed more light. But, check into damping off disease, too. Those seedlings start off great, and then they just crash.
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Insects are eating our new vegetable plants (cabbage, sweet pepper, cucumbers, tomatoes.) My husband sprinkled lime dust on the plants today to keep the insects away. Will this harm the plants?
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Lime affects the pH of your soil, so I would not use it as an insect repellent. Depending on the pH of your soil, it may or may not be a good thing. You’d have to test your soil to know for sure. There are plenty of good organic insect control products out there. So I would recommend using that instead of lime.
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We are planting a vegetable garden near a feild where the no till faming method is used. How long should I wait to plant my seeds & established plants?
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I would say to plant seeds and established plants based on your climate, or growing zone. I would not think the location of your garden, being near a no-till field, would matter. There should not be as much water run off from the field to disturb or overwater your vegetable garden. Perhaps, you are concerned about weeds or pests nearby?
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why do my radishes have a long stalk with flowers coming out of the middle?
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It sounds like they bolted, meaning they go into the flowering stage early. Sometimes, it is caused by warm weather. When they flower early like this, the radish won’t taste very good.
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I live near a mushroom farm in Southern California. They offer mushroom compost for sale. Is this a good vegetable gardening idea? For the most part our garden is planted but should we use it to refurbish the soil between crops or as a topping during the growing season? Our garden is in raised boxes.
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I’d probably recommend using it to refurbish the soil between crops.
One year I bought a big truckload of compost from my municipality and used it on my garden during the season. But it turned out that all of the compost wasn’t 100 percent finished, so it was still a little “hot” and ended up stunting the growth of my plants that year.
So now, I usually only add compost at the end of a season so it has a few more months to break down before I plant, just in case it isn’t totally finished.
In general, using compost to improve your soil is a TERRIFIC idea though, and will improve your vegetable crop. And mushroom compost is good stuff.
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Was just reading your article on summer squash and I have a question–you talk about male and female flowers—well how do you know which is which???
Also is it the same for cantaloupe and watermelon??? Thanx!!
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Watch for the squash plant’s first blooms. The first blooms are the male flowers.
And yes, it is kind of the same for anything in the cucurbits family. So, things like cucumbers, squash, and melons. But cantaloupe actually have flowers with just male parts, and flowers with male and female parts. So, they pollinate themselves easily.
Your best bet is to let the bees do it for you!
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I have an existing strawberry patch I want to dig up and plant asparagus. Will this be o.k. to do? If so, what will I need to do to make sure all the strawberry plants are killed off?
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I’m having alot of trouble with weeds this year. They are out growing my vegetables and stunting growth of them. Any Idea’s to beat this problem. Garden to large to weed by hand
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There are a lot of garden tools out there to help. Here are some weeding tools. Also, try putting down straw or some other kind of mulch. This has helped me so much this year with weeds. Next year, you can plant vegetables closer together to help reduce weeds. Check out the square foot gardening page on this website. It’s the same concept.
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We are having a lot of trouble with mildew on our cucumbers this year no matter what we try. Any ideas.
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Try putting straw down around the plants! That not only helps keep the moisture in your soil, but off your plants, too! Also, keeps the soil from splashing up onto the leaves during rain.
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I live in SE Nebraska and we had a real wet first 2 weeks of June
and my cucumber leaves are very wrinkled and the plants seem
stunted. Some leaves are a little yellow but overall seem to be
deep green. Now its turned hot and dry. Should I water or is there another problem? thanks
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Inconsistent water or too much water really stresses out plants. I am thinking that is what happened in your case. Yes, water, and try to keep your watering consistent. I know that gets tough if you have a lot of rain, and then none. Same thing happened to me in my garden. We got tons of rain right after getting the garden planted, and we’ve been hot and dry since.
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Hi,
I am brand new to Vegetable gardening. I would like to put raised beds in the garden. We are in July now and I would have like to have a go at planting a few vegetables to harvest in fall, before I do better next spring. What do you advise I should start with?
Regards
Audrey
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First, make sure you check your growing zone to double check when to plant. Depends on where you live as to when you need to plant any frost tolerant vegetables. But, I would suggest trying some winter squash, fall carrots, broccoli, kale, collards, or maybe some fall lettuce. Pumpkins are also fun to grow! Just start small so you don’t get frustrated!
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I read that hay should be used under cantaloupe, watermelon and pumpkin fruits. Would grass clippings be a suitable alternative? Our yard is virtually weed free so seeds shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks!
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It might work. But, I have a few concerns about the grass clippings retaining moisture agaisnt the fruit, and causing it to rot. I use straw. Even after a heavy rain, that top layer of straw dries out nicely.
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My spaghetti squash plants are growing like crazy, but the young squash are turning yellow and dying. Some of the leaves have a whitish tinge. Our weather is hot and dry, but has been pretty cool this season. I’m not sure if it’s weather related or something else.
Thanks!
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If you are having a lot of rapid plant growth, the setting fruit may not be getting enough calcium. That causes blossom end rot. See if it stops once the plant levels out a little in growth.
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I have crookneck squash plants in my garden. Some of the fruit get about 1 to 2 inches long and then they shrivel up and rot at the end. Is this due to overwatering? I only water about every 2 to 3 days. Help!
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Sounds like blossom end rot, and is usually from inconsistent watering. Also, with squash plants, sometimes they grow really fast and take you by surprise if it’s been a couple of days since you’ve made it to your garden. The rapid growth of the plant can lead to blossom end rot, too. If this is the case, I would suspect the squash will be fine once the plant slows in growth a little.
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I have a squash plant that has yielded several blooms however I have not had any squash grown it appears as if something is eating the blooms and the leaves appear to be rotting, I also h ave tomatoes and peppers and eggplant they are doing well.
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Are the squash in the same vegetable bed as the tomatoes and peppers? If so, I’m thinking it’s not due to a soil contaminant or a soil pH problem since the rest of your vegetables are doing well. It could be something like blossom end rot. But, keep in mind your first blooms will not set fruit anyway. Try an organic fertilizer, first, and see if that helps.
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Are there any flowers that are good for vegetable gardens?
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Yes. Marigolds are great for vegetable gardens, and help deter some garden pests like deer. Zinnias and sunflowers make nice additions, too. But check this resource on companion planting to see which flowers benefit a specific vegetable. Also, don’t forget about planting herbs!
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How do I go about checking the PH in my soil. I have a feeling it is causing the stunted and poor growth of my squash and cucumbers. Also, how do I add calcium to the soil? Thanks
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You can use a simple pH tester like this:
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/phtester.html
Here are some organic sources of calcium for the garden:
http://www.extension.org/faq/1259
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What causes half-runner beans to speck? Is it weather related or soil related? We have had a very wet year here in Virginia.
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Check for bacterial and fungal blight. Blight tends to love wet soil. Also, look into mineral deficiencies.
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Is it a good idea to burn tree limbs, spent flowers, and leaves in my garden spot in the fall? I plan to till it afterwards. Thanks
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I garden out of raised beds somewhat successfully. They are 24″ in depth and eight feet by eight feet. All of the elements seem to be there. The soil comes from a local composting company. I replenish it with my compost regurlarly. The beds have plenty of sun, and I water at the appropriate times, often with a drip system. My frustration is the the veg which is the ultimately desired never grows to be ample size, hardly huge and barely enough. I get ok tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers and garlic for example, but anything of real size never appears. Brussel sprouts are a good example. The stalks don’t develop any real good cabbages, just little nubs. I am leaving something out. Provide a sage answer, will you? Thanks. (Nothing really intended there.)
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Could it be that you are adding too much compost that isn’t all the way broken down, and that is stunting the growth of your plants?
Compost that hasn’t completely broken down is still “hot” and isn’t good for small, tender new plants.
Are you growing in pure compost, with nothing else? If so, you might check out the Square Foot Gardening soil recipe and add some vermiculite and peat (or coir) to your soil and mix it up to see if that gives you some improvement. 100 percent compost isn’t really “soil” per se, so that would also be a potential source of problems.
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Your suggestions make sense. The garden is mostly compost, the product of local horse ranches. And, quite possibly I may have added compost which has not been thoroughly processed. I’ll look for those items to add and experiment with a solution. Thank you.
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Is there any way to treat rail road ties to keep the creosote from leaching out? If so can you please give me some examples. Thank You Very Much!!!
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what can I do to prevent wormy radish. what I use to use is no lomger available.
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Lars Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 10:08 am
@betty,
Thanks for your question.
Here’s a great newspaper column about the same subject.
http://blog.pennlive.com/gardening/2009/06/somethings_eating_my_carrots_p.html
They recommend Veggie Pharm as an organic solution.
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/veggiepharm.html
I also like Spinosad based products, and have found them very effective on my organic garden.
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/spinosad-yard.html
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Do you have suggestions for preventing tree roots from growing up into raised beds?
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Lars Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 10:03 am
@Harry,
Thanks for your question!
This issue comes up a lot with people who compost too, because tree roots often grow right up into the bottom of a compost pile or compost bin because it’s such a rich area of soil.
If your raised bed is deep enough, you can line it with a weed barrier, or layers of cardboard. My raised bed garden at home is lined with weed barrier.
If you’ve already planted though, it’s probably too late for that. And it might be a real pain to shovel out all of the soil and shovel it back in even if you haven’t planted.
That’s my best idea though! Hope it helps.
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