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.
{ 125 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.
I have a container garden and everything is looking great. BUT my yellow squashes have flowers but not fruits are coming behind the flowers?? I am fertilizing with Chickie-poop just a top dressing every 2 weeks and scrathing in. Is that not enough? Why no fruits, I’ve seen bees in the neighborhood??
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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!!!
what can I do to prevent wormy radish. what I use to use is no lomger available.
@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
For whoever might face the same thing~
Ladybugs- Popular prey: aphids, mites and insect eggs
Nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematodes)- Popular Prey: fungus gnat larvae and many more economically important critters (grub, maggot, larva) (just about anything they can crawl in, except other nematodes)
Good luck!
Idug mt cold frame up because i had a bad year when nothing i planted wa any good.on digging the soil ,spade length deep,all underneath the spade depth was colour grey previously it was dark,what i planted before last year seemed fine .can you tell me what my problem is please .
Do you have suggestions for preventing tree roots from growing up into raised beds?
@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.
I put my garden in a different location 2 years ago. The McCaslin
pole beans and another local variety from saved (non-hybrid)
seed both produced the most luxuriant vines ever, but almost no
beans. It was even worse last year.
i would like to know the definition or meaning of vegetable gardening
Do we cut or pinch back the first set of leaves on our vegetables and flowers we are starting from seeds in order to get the second set of leaves? I have not been able to find this detail in any of my books.
Also do we cut the extra stems down to the dirt to have just one stem to make that only one stronger?
I just planted my tomato plants and covered them with rubber mulch. I want to make sure that the rubber mulch is not going to hinder or hurt my tomatos. The mulch bag claims that it is great for keeping out weeds and holding moisture. Any comments?
@jim
I’m not so sure about rubber mulch and vegetable gardening. If it were me, I don’t know if I would worry so much that I’d pick it all back up. But I probably wouldn’t use it if I hadn’t put it down already.
http://landscaping.about.com/od/compostandmulch/f/rubber_mulch.htm
I have a Cucumber plant well at least thats what I thought it was. What the leaves are round and not heart like shaped. Very confused, they still vine but the leaves arent as big and so I am so unsure. If you need a picture I have one, I hope someone can help me, this depends on my food source.
Thanks
This is the picture of my plant
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=1340585&id=1141528328
My son is growing a veggie container garden[his first time].
He has planted what is called in the South “banana peppers” [yellow & shaped like them] in the same container w/bell peppers & both are doing very well.
My “?” is:We don’t have a clue about when the “banana peppers” are ripe & ready to be picked?? We started w/starter plants that were healthy & of good size..and already have quite a few peppers of good size! HELP!
@Carroll
If they are already a few inches long, they should be fine for harvesting. Try one!
I planted Pole Beans, they came up perfect but then some rabbits ate the tops off of them! I am a first time gardener so I am not sure – will they grow back (they ate down to the stems) or should I plant new ones? I have since put up a fence!
Thanks!
@Sarah
I think you’re going to have to replant, unfortunately.
I planted a bunch of onion bulbs last fall. Not sure how to tell when the onions are ready, I see a few above groung that look like they may be trying to grow into onions. Is it okay to cut the green onion parts off to use or do you have to leave them on in order for the onion to grow to full maturitity?
First year for radishes. What is the log stem with flowers on the radishes? Never seen this before
Ok, there’s probally a simple explanation to this. Why are my radish plants producing radishes and peppers? The radishes are growing like normal but there are also small peppers growing on the top of the plants. I have both red and white radishes. They have a great flavor but are also pretty hot.
My beautiful Sweet bell peppers have been eaten almost when I was ready to pick. What eats them?
I don’t know the variety of my cucumbers but they have a bitter taste that doesn’t have anything to do with their size. They are growing in a raised bed and our temperatures have been in the 90′s for several weeks now. Any ideas why?
my garden is big but no veg. what is going on help!!
My squash plants are growing beautifully. I have many flowers in bloom. However, on one zuccinni plant, 6 of the blossoms have been cut off. It’s a clean cut and the flowers are on the ground. I do have a chicken wire fence…do you think a small animal is getting in? We have skunks around too.
my green peppers are rotting on the bottom of then while still on the plant. It is too much water or too much 90 degree days
My summer squash plant leaves are developing white spots. Do you know what they are and what to do about them?
some of my cucumbers are great but too many are just nubs. How come?
How can I tell when to pick my sweet green peppers? Do they loosen from the stalk or what? I have never grown them before and don’t even know how large (or small) they should be before they are ready. Thanks
I have pumpkin, summer squash and zucchini growing. The plants are growing like crazy, with gorgeous male flowers. It took forever for the females to appear, but now that they are starting to show, the female flowers and the tiny vegetables behind them are turning yellow and dropping off before the flowers even open. Why would they be doing this when, overall, the plants are so healthy?
I planted beefsteak tomato plants Memorial Day weekend.
They are very tall and look very healthy, but they have yet
to bear fruit and it is first week of August. I water and
I used Miracle Gro soil with organic fertilizer that says it keeps feeding. I added this a few times, but still nothing. Any ideas? Do you think they will still bear fruit?
I have grown tomatoes in same spot a couple of years ago, but
skipped last year.
Thanks!
My cucumber plants were doing well, producing cukes. Then I missed watering for 4-5 days and some of the leaves started turning yellow and drying out. Should I just leave them be, or should I snip them off for fear that they will become moldy with the addition of watering/rain, infecting the whole plant and surrounding plants? Also, when squash plants start showing a white, uniformly distributed moldy film on the large leaves and look to be weakening and collapsing, should you stick with them for a while or pull them up before problems spread to neighbors? Is air circulation around plants a concern with respect to watering and rain when you have planted a tightly packed veg garden that gets adequate sun, but not optimal full sun? Thank you.
My tomato plants grow very very tall, 6 to 7 feet. They produce well but often fall over in inclement weather. What can I do to get shorter stronger stalks? Similarly, my bell pepper plants are growing very tall, 4-5 feet, but have very very few peppers on them. Is their a soil change I need to do to correct these situations?
THANX
This is a silly question since I have been gardening for years but, how do you know if the watermelons and cantalope are ripe for picking. Thanks for your help!
I have a tomato problem. I have planted numerous tomato plants in various spots in my garden. For a while, they look fine, but when they get to be 3 1/2 – 4 feet tall, they wilt and die. Plants around them (beans, peppers, cucumbers squash) did fine and produced. I water reqularly and I’m pretty sure I haven’t over watered. In at least 2/3 of the spots I tried, there never have been tomato’s planted. I also had the soil analyzed at Clemson Univ. The Phosphorus is a bit high, but otherwise ok. Any ideas?? Thanks