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Showing 331 - 360 of 19934 comments

Chives (also Garden chives) 26 Feb, Gary (Australia - cool/mountain climate): I have found commercial potting mixes to be a dicy and unreliable investment. I think that some are contaminated. The more expensive the worse. They seem to cause low growth rate or no growth at all. Also you need to prepare the soil at least Three month ahead.
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Garlic 19 Feb, Bruno K. (USA - Zone 9a climate): First time for me planting Garlic. I planted them last October. My question: Many of the green shoots I had have dried, now in Mid Feb. i noticed that new green shoot are coming up is this normal for garlic or did I do something wrong? my next question: I planted Tomato seeds on Feb. 1, 2024 Tycoons, Dixie Red, Celebrity and Juliets, they have 2 sets of true leafs and are about 4" tall, with temp. outside in the low 50's and daytime temp. Mid 60's is that a good time to harden them off? they are only 3 weeks old. Any Advise will help.
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Carrot 18 Feb, Pat (USA - Zone 8a climate): Cover with a board means: place a board on the ground flat over the seeds. Carrot seeds do not need light to germinate. Look under board a couple times a day if possible, until you see first leaves of carrots. When more than 10 % or so appear, remove the board so they can grow normally. PS it works well to plant not a single ROW of carrots, but a band of carrots, maybe 6 to 10 inches wide. Whatever width you can manage to work. To thin. If sown thicket enough, you can pull the little babies to thin and use them in salads.when you have carrots left about 2” apart, leave them to grow to size. As you need carrots, thin further. By the time they mature you should have enough room for them to grow full since. You might leave 2 or 3 in a back corner to continue on to next year, when they should eventually go to seed for you. To save seed, allow them to die and brown, save the tops and further dry seed indoors on an herb rack of mesh that should prevent seeds from coming through. When dry, collect on a piece of paper and allow to dry further. When dry, store in a paper envelope or seed pack.
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 16 Feb, Jimmy (USA - Zone 6a climate): The guide says for my zone, 6A to start eggplant in Feb and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Absolutely a error here. Right now we are 12 weeks out from our last frost date, May 9th. Unless you have a hot house or hoop house, do not Start seeds yet.
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Asparagus 15 Feb, John spence (USA - Zone 7a climate): When and how is the best time to plant asparagus seed in zone 7a
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Asparagus 19 Feb, (USA - Zone 9a climate): Best time to plant crowns is February and March or November and December
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Peas 15 Feb, william (USA - Zone 7a climate): how to grow pigeon peas in zone 7a
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Sweet corn (also corn,maize) 14 Feb, gugu dlamini (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): CORN701 does not grow in the ground I tried several times, it grew once after that it doesn't. Second time seeds became big and never progressed in the ground.
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Cardoon 13 Feb, Lyn barnard (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Where can i obtain cardoon plants or seed on south africa
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Sweet corn (also corn,maize) 12 Feb, Chris (USA - Zone 6a climate): What is the Ideal sweet corn variety for growing in zone 6a?
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Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 10 Feb, paul swan (New Zealand - temperate climate): why does the young growing marrow/zucchini go brown or rot on the flower end of the vegetable before maturity.
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Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 14 Mar, Harry (New Zealand - temperate climate): Hi Paul, blossom end rot can also be associated with water issues and/or calcium issues. Sometimes the plant suffers because water is too unreliably available, i.e. it dries out between adequate waterings. The growing zucchini will be
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Zucchini (also Courgette/Marrow, Summer squash) 15 Feb, Liz (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Rot in young flowers usually means that they have not been pollinated. You might have to try hand pollination
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Cabbage 10 Feb, ER (USA - Zone 7b climate): What does plant seeds "undercover" mean?
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Cabbage 15 Feb, Liz (Gardenate) (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): Young seedlings can be affected by sudden changes of temperature. To prevent this seedtrays are usually kept under cover for a few weeks. Any area which mantains even, frost-free, temperatures 24 hours will do. e.g. Unheated greenhouses, a covered area close to the house, or small frames covered with frostcloth or with a piece of fabric like old bed sheets. If possible put the trays above ground level. Too much strong sunlight can do as much damage as cold nights to seedlings.
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Cabbage 14 Feb, Domanique (Canada - Zone 5b Temperate Warm Summer climate): Plant undercover in seed trays (with a dome or other thing like that)
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Watermelon 10 Feb, Rob Taege (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): After last year's disappointment of being so wet, this year has had lots of sun hours with intermittent rain. However, a few weeks ago I noticed two watermelon fruits had their skin punctured. I just chucked on them today and now half of my fruit has punctured holes in them. I have a few pukekos in the paddock that come over and pick my unripe tomatoes from the plants. Would they peck at watermelon fruit as well? If not, what other animal or bird would do this and how do I stop them? I'm 100% sure it isn't rats as the holes are punctured not gnawed, Any suggestions, please before I lose my whole crop.
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Cardoon 08 Feb, Sofia (USA - Zone 6b climate): Hi! Can anyone suggest varieties that are likely to overwinter and establish as perennials in Zone 6b? Thanks!
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Watermelon 07 Feb, Lawrence Msibi (South Africa - Summer rainfall climate): Which is best fertilizer to use in Mpumalanga for planting watermelons and when to apply such fertilizers. Furthermore, the pesticides etc when to start spaying my watermelons, Thank you so much.
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Onion 07 Feb, Brenda (USA - Zone 5a climate): What do you mean when you say plant out
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Onion 12 Aug, Vicki (USA - Zone 8a climate): Plant out means to plant your transplants out into the garden.
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Onion 07 Feb, (USA - Zone 5a climate): Hi, it means to take the seedlings you've grown from seed, and plant them in the ground or bigger pots.
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Onion 08 Feb, (USA - Zone 5a climate): Thanks
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Squash (also Crookneck, Pattypan, Summer squash) 06 Feb, Mike Johnson (USA - Zone 6a climate): I have Georgia Candy Roaster squash seeds, Heirloom. Can they be grown in 6A?
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 05 Feb, Annette James (New Zealand - temperate climate): I have 2 healthy looking plants of the large purple variety. They are producing flowers ok but no fruit. Any ideas on why this is happening?
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Eggplant (also Aubergine) 12 Feb, (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate): May be no bees - try hand pollination in the mornings.
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Tomato 05 Feb, Barbara Shaw (USA - Zone 8b climate): What should I pretreat my soil with before I plant tomatoes . They are pretty and then they get root rot on bottom. I heard calcium . Is there anything else Thanks
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Tomato 20 Feb, jacob (USA - Zone 10a climate): my understanding is that root rot is due to a lack of calcium, but calcium is usually plentiful in garden soil. the real issue is with inconsistent watering, meaning the plants cannot properly absorb that calcium. water more!
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Tomato 24 Feb, Celeste Archer (Australia - temperate climate): I think you might have blossom end rot, and root rot mixed up. Blossom end rot occurs on the base of the tomato, and is caused by a lack of calcium (usually -- it could be other things that cause the calcium to be unavailable - PH, lack of water etc.). Blossom end rot causes the tomato to look deformed. Calcium added to the soil at the time of planting is usually adequate to ensure this does not happen. The calcium really needs to be added EARLY in the growing stages. You could also use egg shells -- I would grind/smash up the shells pretty good then work them into the soil of the planting hole; better yet, enrich with egg shells over the winter and early spring in anticipation of future planting. Root rot usually occurs when water sits around the roots of a plant for long periods of time -- bad drainage, excess watering, soil that holds too much water (which is really drainage). If you have proper aeration this usually doesn't happen since the air flow will whisk away excess moisture (provided it isn't a swamp at the roots). Try to create updrafts in your pots -- you want water drainage holes that do double duty -- let the water run off and allow air in. I find that holes at the SIDE BOTTOM of the pot, rather than directly under the pot, work well. It may seem like a hole at the side of the pot will let the soil out -- but pretty much after the first watering this stops happening -- and once the roots take hold it certainly does not happen. No need for drainage material (stones etc.) -- just use soil/compost top to bottom -- expect soil to come out at first when filling the pot -- after that you should be fine. I make my holes rather large -- on a BIG pot these holes are about 3inches (circular). Roots of plants really like air (maybe not direct exposure) but they certainly like the occasional breeze through the soil. Face the hole on the shady side of the pot for a cooling updraft in hot weather.
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Tomato 03 Feb, Carol Edwards (USA - Zone 6a climate): What is the best tomato to grow in my zone
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