Is there a way to remove an orange, thin parasitic like vine physically attached to my green peppers without injuring the pepper plants?
Your description matches that of a parasitic vine called dodder. The vines wrap around the host plant and embed themselves into the host’s branches, and then absorb food from the host plant. To control the dodder, remove as much of the vines as you can. You may be able to save the pepper ...
- I have tomato plants in earth boxes- Something is getting the fruit just as it starts to ripen--how do I tell if it is rats, squirrels, or birds and are there any natural repellants?
If the damage to the fruits appears to happen overnight the problem is likely rats. If the damage consists of large bites taken out of the fruit and is happening during the day it is likely squirrel damage. Smaller holes in the fruit could be bird damage although that type of damage could also ...
- The blossoms are dropping on my young zucchini plants without setting fruit. How can I fix this?
Zucchini and other cucumber relatives have separate male and female flowers. The male flowers are attached to slender stalks. The female flowers sit on the end of the swollen ovary, which later becomes the fruit. The female flowers must be pollinated with pollen from the male flowers for fruits ...
- Is it ok to put wood chips on potted tomato plants?
Wood chips can be used as mulch on the soil surface. It is a good idea to pull the mulch back a couple of inches from the stem of the plant to allow for air circulation. Mulch will help to hold moisture in the soil and discourage weeds.
- I'm finding many grubs in the area where I am planning a raised bed vegetable garden. What should I do to ensure I don't have problems with grubs in my garden?
White grubs are considered to be an occasional pest of vegetable crops. There is not much in the way of chemical controls currently available for the control of white grubs in a home vegetable garden. Attacks on vegetables are more likely to occur when the vegetable garden plot is an area that p ...
- 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.
- 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 ...
- 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, ...
- 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 ...
- 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
- 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 ...
- 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 ...
