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Gail
garden sage
Australia
7707 Posts |
 Posted - 19/11/2008 : 19:06:58
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I didn't mean to Tessa   I'm glad I re-read my posts to check.
I'm never in the garden at the right time to hand pollinate but it is fun to make hybrids 
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
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Tony
dirt-poker
39 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 08:06:58
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Hello everyone, been busy with work in the lead up to xmas.
My zucchini's have a problem. Massive leaves, plenty of crop, no sign of anything wrong, but the fruits are getting to about one third of maturity and the just drop off. It seems that by the time they hit the ground the begin to rot at an alarming rate. But that rot is not evident whilst on the stem. Any clues?? They are growing between thriving tomato plants in 100% horse poo.
tony |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 08:11:25
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tony...it sounds like they're just not getting pollinated.
when i'm having my morning coffee...i wander around my patch, coffee in one hand, artist's paint brush in the other. i 'paint' a boy flower to collect pollen, then i 'paint' a girl flower' to deposit the pollen.
works a trick.
if you've got a fertilized flower...you can tell almost immediately....because she will double in size within 24 hours. if she didn't fertilize...she will remain small for about a week...and then start to decay. so on the 2nd or third day, if i see no change in size, i will cut these off and eat them as courgettes.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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Tony
dirt-poker
39 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 08:38:20
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Thanks Tessa, it would seem the flowers are fertilising, but the crop just dies off after a very short time. Cucumbers, zucc's and eggplants are not doing as well as my beans and tomatoes, all in the same media and side by side, beans going for 8 foot, tomatoes not far behind. I will try to get some photos to show the prob.
tony |
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Gail
garden sage
Australia
7707 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 09:28:34
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I wonder if it is too much of a good thing growing in straight horse poo? I've had plants in 100% horse poo but it was old and well rotted but fresher might be a little too much... maybe lack of trace elements?
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
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Tony
dirt-poker
39 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 09:36:59
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Thats what I'm thinking. Although the older poo I get is just rich soil. Full of worms, you cannot recognise it as manure.
I have trawled places like gardening aust,, and googled it, but its seems that there is no difinative answer.
t |
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Gail
garden sage
Australia
7707 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 11:25:05
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I'm not sure what your weather has been like but could also be fluctuating temperatures, or too much or not enough rain. What do you feed them with if anything? Would they be getting too much nitrogen not enough potassium? Or lack of a trace element... I can never remember which trace elements cause what 
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
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Tony
dirt-poker
39 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 12:33:19
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I'm thinking to little potassium, although spent a lazy day googling the topic and can find nothing but praise for poo. Over the next year or so looks like it will be experimenting to see what types of veges respond to that type of media. The poo really does break down so after this season I'll top it up with something else for that growing season. Seems a shame cause I can get tonnes of it for free. And free poo is the best poo of all.
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pitta
head gardener
Australia
1209 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 13:59:25
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,Tony. Google, Potash .Iam sure you will learn a lot from that . Also Gardening Australia ABC also on the subject Potash.Pitta.
If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.
Gwen
Cooktown |
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Gail
garden sage
Australia
7707 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 15:03:39
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Old manures are a good growing media but I think they are low in some elements so a dose of some general purpose all-round organic food may give it the boost it needs.
Just had a look at an old book of mine - it says though the NPK varies depending on the diet but horse manure is around .7-.3-.6 so is very light in nutrient.
I wish I had access to some of your manure!
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
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tessa
head gardener
Australia
3682 Posts |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 15:41:54
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i agree with pitta.
i would look to potash.
cranky people live longer. i'm going to live forever! perth, wa |
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Tony
dirt-poker
39 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2008 : 06:25:25
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Thank you, one and all. I've read up on potash and it' lack of does describe the problems I'm having. I'll give it a go and let you know. I'll try to get some pictures of my little garden. Hopefully we will be supplying xmas salad entirely from our garden.
t |
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pitta
head gardener
Australia
1209 Posts |
Posted - 16/12/2008 : 15:13:03
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Tony . What state are you hailing from .Pitta.
If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.
Gwen
Cooktown |
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Tony
dirt-poker
39 Posts |
Posted - 17/12/2008 : 05:30:02
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Sydneys northern beaches, but did live in Cairns for ten years. Which seems like a lifetime ago!
Gave my entire crop a serve of high NPK last night. Unfortunately the horse poo is so light that it doesn't seem to have fanstastic water holding abilities.
I have my annual fishing trip shortly and think I might grab a big pile of the decayed ribbon weed from the waters edge to improve the bulk and water holding of my soil. I think this will add nicely to the structure of the soil.
Surprisingly how quickly the poo is diminishing, my first garden bed, is down to half its original depth in only 8 weeks. And surprise surprise thats exactly where my Zuchinies are.
Live and learn.
t |
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Di Taylor
assistant gardener
New Zealand
188 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2009 : 11:00:16
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Wow thanks, I have been gazing at my self seeded curcubits wondering what they are and if I should be handpollinating. We have heaps of bees so I havn't bothered, using your photos as a guide I think I have an appled cucumber  Not sure, but it has a round swelling like the pumpking pic but smooth, shiny and darker, or it could be a mini- pumpkin, in either case these are discards from last years germination failures that got hurled into the garden in disgust 
Some however don't seem to look like much of anything in the stem department, just long thin and smooth although a little hairy, although look like female flowers inside ....any suggestions, are they unpollinated, are my bees lazy 
A good year is when more things get harvested than die! |
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Topic |
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About Hand pollinating Zucchini & Pumpkins.