Aster yellows

Aster yellows

Aster yellows is a chronic, systemic plant disease caused by a bacterium-like organism called a phytoplasma.[1] The aster yellows phytoplasma (AYP) affects 300 species in 38 families of broad-leaf herbaceous plants, primarily in the aster family. Symptoms are variable and can include phyllody, virescence, chlorosis, stunting, and sterility of flowers. The aster leafhopper vector, Macrosteles quadrilineatus, moves the aster yellows phytoplasma from plant to plant.[2] Its economic burden is primarily felt in the carrot (Daucus carota ssp. sativus) crop industry as well as the nursery industry. There is no cure for plants infected with Aster yellows. Infected plants should be removed immediately to limit the continued spread of the phytoplasma to other susceptible plants. However, in agricultural settings such as carrot fields, some application of chemical insecticides has proven to minimize the rate of infection by killing the vector.

Treatment

There is no cure for plants infected with Aster yellows. Infected plants should be removed immediately to limit the continued spread.

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A Few Tips to Avoid Root Rot

Here in New Jersey we are experiencing a boat load of rain. Last I heard on the news, for our area, we are over a few inches above last year’s total at this same time. Last year’s total rainfall at this time were normal measurements. As Luke Bryan sings, Rain is a Good Thing. However, too much rain, is not a good thing for your vegetable plants.

Good drainage in your vegetable garden beds can prevent the most obvious issue which is root rot. Root rot is a disease that can occur in vegetable plants both indoors and outdoors, which is the decaying of a vegetable plants’ roots. Root rot will occur when the roots of your vegetable plants get too wet, which creates a perfect environment for various fungi that carry out this process.

As stated earlier, making sure the area where your vegetable plants reside has adequate drainage is a major key in preventing root rot. There a few solutions you can implement to prevent excess water around your vegetable plants’ roots.

For vegetable plants that you are growing indoors, let’s start with the obvious. Make sure that whatever your vegetable plants are planted in have enough drainage holes. You may have purchased a pot (or pots) from a home or garden center and think that it may have enough holes, but that is not always the case. Do not be afraid to drill a few more in the bottom of the pot, no less than ¼” in diameter. To prevent soil erosion in your pots, line them with newspaper before you put your potting soil in. This will allow the excess water to drain out, while keeping the soil in.

For your outdoor vegetable garden there are a number of solutions you can go with. For starters, build your garden beds up using raised beds. As vegetable gardening author Chris McLaughlin writes in her book Vertical Vegetable Gardening: A Living Free Guide, raised beds give you better drainage especially in areas wher clay soil dominates.

Many people that have raised beds, build them in such a way as there is no need to actually go into the bed itself and that helps by not compacting the soil every time a step is taken near their vegetable plants.

Finally, whether you are using raised beds or not, mix up a soil solution that aides in wicking away excess water. There are three great products that you can add to your soil before you plant that will help with this. They are peat moss, coir and perlite.

The peat moss and coir are interchangeable. Although you can, you would not use them together as they serve the same purpose. They make your soil loose and friable. Peat moss is far less expensive than coir, and one distinct advantage coir has over peat to justify the price, is coir is more environmentally friendly as a renewable resource since it is derived from the fiber of the outer husks of coconuts.

Peat moss, also referred to as Sphagnum (peat moss’ genus name), grows in dense masses on boggy ground. Peat bogs are valuable to wildlife habitat that rely on them. I was unable to locate any study findings as to how quickly or slowly peat regenerates itself once it’s stripped.

You would mix either peat or coir with perlite though. Perlite is a form of obsidian (A hard, dark, glasslike volcanic rock formed by the rapid solidification of lava without crystallization) consisting of glassy globules, used in plant growth.

Perlite helps loosen heavy soils (high clay content), aerate soil, prevent soil compaction, and aid in preventing overwatering. When it comes to perlite, a little goes a long way. So you do not need to add a lot to your garden beds.

The combination of using raised beds along with items that aid in preventing over watering will help with reducing the potential of root rot on your vegetable plants.

Build a Vertical Herb Planter

If you have been following our blog, facebook page, or our website, then you already know that we are very enthusiastic about growing vertically.

The sky is truly the limit when it comes to growing vertically with many varieties of fruits and vegetables, and herbs are no different.

Herbs grow great in containers, and this project combines the best of both worlds, container gardening and vertical gardening. If you have some basic tools and handy skills, then all you really need is to get started.

Here are the Step by Step instructions

Our latest addition to our online store

Cowpots, biodegradable pots that you plant

As many of you know we have an online store where we sell an excellent selection of vegetable, fruit and herb seeds.

Yesterday, to go along with our seeds selection in our store, we added our newest addition to our store, Cowpots(tm).  

Cowpots are simply the very best seed starting pots for your plants! You have probably seen them on television, having been featured on the Discovery Channel`s popular series Dirty Jobs, on CNN, and a variety of national and local television shows.

Revolutionary seed starting pot made with 100% renewable composted cow manure.

They are manure-fiber based seed starter pots, which allow for unrestricted root growth creating stronger, healthier plants. These earth-friendly pots you plant are an exciting high-performing alternative to plastic and peat pots.

The CowPots manufacturing process removes all weeds, pathogens and odor. All that`s left is the natural fiber and goodness of manure: the perfectly plantable seed starting pot!

So as you can see we are pretty excited to add this product to our existing line of open-pollinated heirloom variety seeds. 

And of course, as always, Seeds of the Month Club members will receive 25% off their order and free shipping.

What does the new USDA Frost Zone Map mean to you?

You may have been gardening your whole life and never knew that your corner of the country is in a zone. A plant hardiness zone that is. If you live in the United States of America like I do (and you may having something equivalent outside of the USA), then you will come to know, as your vegetable gardening experience continues to grow, that the country is broken into plant hardiness zones.

Plant hardiness zone designations represent the average annual extreme minimum temperatures at a given location during a particular time period. They do not reflect the coldest it has ever been or ever will be at a specific location, but simply the average lowest winter temperature for the location over a specified time.

These zones appear on a map of the US that is distributed by the United States Department of Agriculture. The last time a zone map was released was back 1990 and the zones were created using temperature data from a 13 year period (1974 to 1986).

The USDA believes they have improved upon the original map with new data. There are now 13 zones as opposed to 11, and the new zones are now divided into “A” and “B” zones using 5 degree Fahrenheit differentials.

According to the USDA, “Compared to the 1990 version, zone boundaries in this edition of the map have shifted in many areas. The new map is generally one 5-degree Fahrenheit half-zone warmer than the previous map throughout much of the United States. This is mostly a result of using temperature data from a longer and more recent time period (1976 - 2005).”

Large posters of the new map will no longer be available for purchase. The USDA website at USDA.gov has an interactive map that users can click on down to their exact location and give them detailed plant starting dates.

For example, on the old map, New Jersey, where I am from, was split into zones 6 & 7. Now there is 6a, 6b, 7a and 7b with all 4 zones being spread throughout the entire state. My zone went from 7 to 7a (ironically the same exit off the turnpike {inside joke for New Jersians}), however the temps and cold frost dates are virtually unchanged for my area.

So what does this mean for your growing adventures? Well, the more detailed version will allow you to better estimate when to start your plants indoors and of course move them outdoors to avoid any chance of frost. While this new map is more accurate, according to the USDA, you should always take precautions with your plants outdoors as you never know when you will get that one last blast of frost.


About the Author

Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us, the moderator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook and creator of the monthly Seeds Club.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mike`s Seeds of the Month Club:

#97:Companion Planting

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Start Using Companion Planting in your Home Vegetable Garden

If you are looking to maximize the available room you have in your yard or on your property, while at the same time promoting healthier plants through better soil and other means,companion planting is the way to go.

Listen in as Mike talks about companion planting.

For a full transcript of this podcast visit: http://averagepersongardening.blogspot.com/2011/11/start-using-companion-planting-in-your.html

About the Author

Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us, the moderator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook and creator of the monthly Seeds Club.

Watch the video below to learn more about Mike`s Seeds of the Month Club:

Start Using Companion Planting in your Home Vegetable Garden

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If you are looking to maximize the available room you have in your yard or on your property, while at the same time promoting healthier plants through better soil and other means,companion planting is the way to go.

Companion planting is a great way to combine various plants in a single location all of which work in conjunction with one another as opposed to competing with each other for the same nutrients. The most widely known method for companion planting and the easiest to understand would be the Three Sisters Method.

The three sisters gardening method is a Native American technique where you grow corn, squash and beans together in the same general location. The corn will provide support for the beans, while the beans provide nitrogen for the corn and the squash creates protection for the root systems. This is just one of the many companion planting examples, it just happens to be the most widely known.

Another great example is planting deep rooted crops such as carrots with tomatoes as noted in the widely popular book by Louise Riotte, Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening.

“Companion planting is a wonderful way to encourage the best, most bountiful harvest from your gardens - both edible and ornamental,” says Gina Samarotto a Master Gardener and an award winning landscape designer. “An age old practice, this method of pairing certain plants and varieties utilizes the principles of Integrated Pest Management while it makes the most of your soils readily available resources.”

There are literally countless number of combinations a home vegetable gardener can use when it comes to companion planting. Gina recommends that you, “Do your research. If your gardens are plagued by aphids, make room to plant Anise. This herb, fragrant with the scent of licorice, attracts predatory wasps - a natural enemy of aphids. Love tomato salad? Make sure to plant plenty of basil between your young plants. In addition to providing a delightful accompaniment, basil can subtly add to the flavor of tomatoes (particularly container grown) and is helpful in repelling Thrips, Flies and Mosquitoes.”

Is companion planting for everyone? If you are a beginner, your best bet is to continue developing your gardening skills and only move on to companion planting when you feel comfortable enough that you are ready. As you become more knowledgeable on what works and what doesn’t work in your garden, your success with companion planting will go a lot further.

“Everyone should try their green thumb at companion planting. In addition to making the most out of your gardening space, companion planting is a wonderful way to create gorgeous groupings while limiting the levels of pesticides and herbicides your garden needs to thrive. It's a green practice that can enhance your gardening experience overall,” says Gina.

Are there any drawbacks to using companion gardening? Just one. You could plant “like-kind” plants next to each other without knowing it. When this occurs you may use up the soil’s nutrients at a faster rate which in turn will yield less growth. Just be sure to do your research and you should be ok. Just avoid planting vegetables that are in the same family and be sure to mix deep rooted crops with shallow rooted ones (i.e. carrots with tomatoes) as a rule of thumb.

An excellent resource on in depth companion planting is a book by author Brenda Little titled, Secrets of Companion Planting: Plants That Help, Plants That Hurt , which contains some nice lists on good companions and bad companions.

About the Author
Mike Podlesny is the author of Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A Guide to Vegetable Gardening for the rest of us and the administrator for the largest vegetable gardening page on Facebook.

Watch the video below to learn more about the Seeds of the Month Club:

Three Ideas to Vegetable Garden with Limited Space

One of the best things about growing your own vegetables is the freedom you get when it comes to picking and choosing exactly what you want to grow and how much of it you need or want. However, for some, as is the case with those that live in apartments and condos, space is a major factor. With limited space, many people believe you can’t grow what you want or anything at all. Here are some ideas to consider if you fall within this category.

Pots
This is the obvious choice, yet it can be overlooked. Many vegetables can be grown in pots of which the most common is tomatoes. Use large pots. I like to use ones that are at least 12 inches deep as well as 12 inches around. This gives the plants plenty of room to spread out their roots.

Raise Bed
A pot is really nothing more than a raised bed for a single plant. However, even if you have a concrete patio or slab you can turn a portion of that into a raised bed. Build a four foot by four foot by twelve inch deep raised bed out of some wood you can pick up at your local home center. Even better, find a construction site that is throwing away wood and save some money. Fill the raised bed with a mixture of equal parts, vermiculite, peat moss and compost and you will have everything you need to grow a nice little garden. You can just sit the raised bed right on top of the concrete slab.

Community Garden
Maybe you live on the wrong side of the apartment building and you get very little sun. But, the complex itself has some unused land. Ask the apartment owner if you can turn that unused land into a nice garden. You may want to ask some fellow tenants or condo owners if they want to get in on this idea with you. You can even look for a piece of vacant land in the city that you live in. Many towns like Detroit Michigan and Los Angeles California encourage gardening activities to reduce the eye sores of vacant land that gathers garbage. You are helping your town as well as yourself.

Do not let the lack of space prohibit you from growing your own fruits and vegetables. These are three of the many options that you can consider to take advantage of the space you never knew you had.

About the Author
Michael C. Podlesny is the administrator for the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook

Podcast Episode 4: Growing Plants in Pots

The latest podcast, Episode 4: Growing Plants in Pots, is up and available to listen to on our website at: http://www.averagepersongardening.com

You will see the podcast on the left side near the top.

Regards,
Mike

Welcome!

This is my first post of my gardening blog! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog as I hope to help continue your gardening education beyond my book, Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A guide to vegetable gardening for the rest of us, through my series of writings.

Please feel free to leave your comments here.