Not Adaptable

[Nyboy]

https://theherbalacademy.com/benefits-of-bee-balm-monarda-fistulosa-and-m-didyma/

 

[AMKuska]

Maybe so, @AMKuska .

I'd hate to be cut off from all squash varieties so being stuck in the front yard would be a problem. What do you suppose is the difference, soil, sunlight, the evil stares of neighbors, their nasty dogs trampling the vines ..?

Yeah, pests can make a difference. Potato beetles were just not a problem in location A, they can be a big problem in location B. Still, spinosad knocked them down better than hoped so that those pests were only taking over for a few days in the spuds (and eggplants).

Steve

My squash gets powdery mildew in the front, but never in the back. I don't know how to get rid of it, so I just grow squash in the back.

 

[Zeedman]

Is there a plant variety that you could enjoy in one garden location but it failed to thrive when you tried to grow it in another location? Climate conditions are about the same. It may have been a reliable favorite but you are left wondering: Why did it have good seasons there but not here?

Yes, I've had that happen... even from one side of the garden to the other. My rural garden is 100' X 100', and there is about a 6" difference in height going N-S. The low end drains much more slowly, so plants which don't like wet feet do poorly there. In wet years (like last year) the low end in unworkable; but even in good years, I won't direct-seed beans there.

This year, I planted rows of garlic on both sides of my largest home plot, 15' apart. Although I had measured the shadow from the wooden fence (of my neighbor to the South) when laying out that garden, I took that measurement in the Summer, and had previously only grown annual vegetables there. The garlic was Fall planted, and wintered over. As it turned out, the shadow in early Spring - with the sun lower in the sky - extended well into the garden on the South side. So the snow there was the last to thaw, and the ground there was very slow to dry out. As a result, nearly all of that garlic died; 15' away, with identical soil & elevation, nearly all of the other row survived.

Proximity to nearby trees can influence growth too, even if the garden is unshaded. In the same plot above (which runs E-W) plants were noticeably less productive on the West end, which was close to a large maple. The tree only shaded the garden for about an hour before sunset, so light was not really a factor. When I cut that tree down though, growth on that end was much more vigorous. When I extended the garden 10' further this year, I found out why - large roots from the tree had extended far into the garden, just below my till depth. It will probably take several years for those roots to break down, but at least now they are not stealing nutrients. A mulberry tree near the other end though, has even longer roots, some of which I dig up every year. I call that tree "next".

Back on the 80's (when I lived in San Jose CA), I had several gardens that spanned a 150' area, next to a creek. The gardens on one side were silt clay; on the other side, nearly all sand. Potatoes, carrots, and Jerusalem artichokes did far better in the sandy side. Its amazing sometimes how much a garden can differ from side to side.

 

[flowerbug]

My squash gets powdery mildew in the front, but never in the back. I don't know how to get rid of it, so I just grow squash in the back.

maybe hotter and dryer conditions out front? what is the orientation and surrounding conditions like? tree cover? open? west facing? prevailing winds? and of course in our case it is host/reservoir species which always seem to get it no matter what...

 

[AMKuska]

What is a host/reservoir species?

My front yard is full sun, and the garden is facing south. There are no trees. I have no idea which way the wind blows. I live in the puget sound area of Washington, it rains almost all year round. We get a few weeks of hot and dry as we are having right now, but then it will go back to regular rain fall.

The backyard garden is on the north side, and has some shade from a neighbor's tree. It's a raised garden bed, which might make a difference.

 

[flowerbug]

What is a host/reservoir species?

My front yard is full sun, and the garden is facing south. There are no trees. I have no idea which way the wind blows. I live in the puget sound area of Washington, it rains almost all year round. We get a few weeks of hot and dry as we are having right now, but then it will go back to regular rain fall.

The backyard garden is on the north side, and has some shade from a neighbor's tree. It's a raised garden bed, which might make a difference.

so far what i've noticed are that bee balm varieties, false sunflower varieties, some berry bushes (unsure of name, but it always has powdery mildew), cucumbers and squash both seem to pick it up, but by the time the cucumbers get it i'm happy to thin or pull them all out. sometimes we've had the squash plants drop most of their leaves and then regrow. i never spray for it so to me it's just nature doing it's own thing. if plants can't resist it well enough i'll find something else to grow instead. as of yet none of the beans, peppers or tomatoes seem to care much about it and those are much bigger crops to me than cucumbers (in terms of nutrition and winter food stores)... we have so much squash in the freezer right now that i think we'll probably give away most of what we grow this season.

the hot and dry is where i see powdery mildew pick up here. so to me it does make sense that it would be more out front than the back.

 

[AMKuska]

Oh I see.
Actually, nothing else in the yard gets powdery mildew except any kind of squash like plant. This includes melons and pumpkins. I'm being really broad when I say that. I even specifically purchase seeds that say "Powdery mildew resistant" and still get it.

 

[flowerbug]

Oh I see.
Actually, nothing else in the yard gets powdery mildew except any kind of squash like plant. This includes melons and pumpkins. I'm being really broad when I say that. I even specifically purchase seeds that say "Powdery mildew resistant" and still get it.

if it doesn't outright kill the plant and i get some harvest i'm not really that worried about it here. so far so good. i do try to keep an eye out for varieties which will improve the seed lines i've already got going (for squash only since that is the crop that has the borer damage at times) and if i can work in powdery mildew resistance i will. as of yet, like you, it's there but it doesn't terminate the line so on it goes...

 

[digitS']

About once in 3 or 4 years, powdery mildew is the end of the story for summer squash, weeks ahead of frost. That's why I have some extra summer squash plants to set out about a month later than the first planting.

Another reason to do this is that the squash can grow in the summer heat and fill in vacancies where large, early plants like broccoli and early cabbage are taken out .

I must say that they are not necessary every year and I end up with both early and late summer squash producing at the same time ... Oh well ...

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

Steve is powdery mildew a problem with dahlias ?