The bottoms of my tomatoes have dark brown, rotten areas. What is this and how can I prevent it?
This is a nutritional disorder called “blossom end rot”. This may result from soils being deficient in available calcium. The soil pH should be 6.0-6.8. A soil pH lower than 6.0 may not supply enough available calcium. In this case, lime must be applied to raise the pH level accordin ...
- Is it safe to irrigate vegetables and herbs with reclaimed water?
According to Pinellas County Utilities, reclaimed water is not suitable for use on edible crops such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc., that are not peeled, skinned, cooked, or otherwise thermally processed before being consumed. Additional Resource http://www.pinellascounty.org/utilities/docu ...
- I would like to grow some vegetables, but my yard receives sun for only half the day. Are there any vegetables that might work in this situation?
All vegetables grow best in full sun, but the leafy types can tolerate some shade. Selections you might plant include cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce and most herbs. These might grow a bit leggy, but should still yield good harvests. Additional Resource http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VH021
- My tomato plants keep dropping their blossoms. What can I do to prevent this?
Blossom drop can be caused by too low or too high night temperatures, too much nitrogen, too much shade, over-watering or even insects, such as flower thrips. Fertilizer with too high a nitrogen content will cause a lack of blooms or blossom drop. There is an optimum temperature range for ...
- How can I start a vegetable garden in central Florida?
We are fortunate to have two growing seasons here; spring (February) for warm season vegetables, and fall (September) for cool season vegetables. Warm season vegetables are beans, sweet corn, eggplants, peas, peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes while cool season vegetables are beets, broccoli, ...
- What are some pesticides I can use on my vegetables that are safe for the plants as well as for me?
For pests with piercing-sucking mouthparts, such as aphids, spider mites, thrips and whiteflies, applications of insecticidal soap would be effective. For larger insects such as beetles and weevils, which chew the leaves and damage the harvest, a product containing carbaryl, such as Sevin is rec ...
- What kinds of vegetables can I grow in central Florida in the summer?
You can grow Black eyed peas, peanuts, Okra, Collard greens, Mustard greens, Swiss chard, Sweet Potato and Sunflowers. Cherry tomatoes may fruit in the summer; however, the full-size tomatoes will not set fruit in temperatures above 90 degrees.
