u/Kaz_archer — reddlx

Potato disease or natural dying back?

Someone accidently threw out the tag for the variety of potatoes she's growing and when they should be ready. 😅 planted in early April? Foliage started looking rough maybe two weeks ago. No signs of flowering. Digging about an inch down I did spot a couple small red potatoes.

We are in for more damp weather here in Southern BC (heavy rain and cooler temps this week) in the next few weeks so I'm worried if I leave them until next month then any rot/disease might take them out. But also if this is just the foliage reacting to yoyo weather, inconsistent watering, pests, etc, and I dig too early, I'm probably cheating myself out of more of the crop.

Last year I had very happy potato foliage that didn't die back until Sept/October....but also made zero potatoes, so this is all new to me.

u/Kaz_archer — 1 day ago

▲ 1 r/bugidentification

Who was on my tomatoes? (Southern British Columbia)

An inch and a half long, never seen one of these fellas before.

u/Kaz_archer — 1 day ago

▲ 4 r/pnwgardening+1 crossposts

Any idea what is demolishing my cape gooseberries?

These two plants have been DECIMATED in the last 72 hours. I have been checking constantly for catapillers, eggs, slug slime. Nothing. No sign of any pest on or near them. This is on a patio with no access for most wildlife. A bird could get to it but I've never seen any birds anywhere near my patio.

One plant has been eaten down so bad I'm not sure it'll be able to produce more leaves/bud and it's been happening so fast I'm not sure it would even get a chance too. It is planted beside some young cucumbers and a foot or so away from bush beans, neither of which are showing any signs of predation. Help?

u/Kaz_archer — 2 days ago

▲ 1 r/pnwgardening+1 crossposts

Re: Chive seeds not germinating

Does anyone know something I don't about chives? 4-6 weeks ago I sowed a LOT of chive seeds (onion and garlic varieties) in my plot and not a one has shown itself. They were from different companies/varieties all from this year so I don't think I got a bad batch. 7-14 days was the expected germination time.

The allotment is in full sun and we did get a late cold snap for a few days but that was at least three weeks after sowimg. The only alliums I've grown before from seed are spring onions so I'm just not familiar with if this is a problem to expect with chives.

Does anyone know why I've had such failure to germinate?

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u/Kaz_archer — 22 days ago

▲ 3 r/pnwgardening

Seeking advice setting up pumpkin patch in lower mainland BC

Hey folks, so a friend with a backyard but almost no gardening experience has expressed interest in creating a garden in their backyard. Obviously in late May time is a bit short for some things to get started, but their primary interest is pumpkins and squash for the fall.

I've offered to help get them going but also have limited experience in this kind of setup.

Looking for advice on a quick, budget friendly setup that could be done in a weekend.

The yard is semi flat and currently covered in a patchy lawn. My idea was to get some scrap cedar or pine boards to make a short barrier. Till up/turn over the first 5-6 inches of dirt to kill the grass/aerate, then top with enough bags of compost to fill the space almost to the height of the border. So it would be around 5-6 inches of new soil/Compost above the ground level and anything that roots deeper than that can still get into the dirt below.

Does this sound like a decent plan? They're keen but I don't want to discourage or overwhelm them by too much info/steps getting started.

What I'm curious about is: if they wanted maybe 4 pumpkin plants, 2 winter squash, and one summer squash, how big should this bed be? (Please give in rough dimensions of length and width please, sq footage always gets my head in knots)

While there are three people who live in the house, probably no there wants to do a ton of monitoring, maintenance, and watering might get spotty from time to time. Are there any companion plants or ground cover that might be good to help shade the soil/repellent pests if planted between the squash?

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u/Kaz_archer — 1 month ago

▲ 3 r/Pickles

Hello! I have officially run out of my batch of spicy pickled green tomatoes I made last summer and am feeling the void. No other pickle will do, apparently.

Can anyone point me at anywhere that might sell this? I'm in western Canada so that's been a bit limiting. Would love to buy or ship local if possible because of all the reasons but open to others options. I know they must exist because you run into them in fancy sandwich shops but nothing I can seem to find in a jar.

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u/Kaz_archer — 2 months ago

▲ 15 r/tinnedtopclub

First time doing something like this! Many thanks to u/redilyntoriami for getting it out to me from about as opposite sides of the continent as possible. (Even if Canada Post had opinions about your packing job, see second picture 😂)

Very pleasantly surpised to see a lot of new tins for me, considering I've found availability in Canada to be somewhat limited in terms of what I have found local/online.

In fact the only truly familiar face is the Sabor de Mar, but they're my fave grocery story pilchards and are hard to find in stock near me!

The KOs and Matiz are varieties I haven't seen around me either. I am probably most excited to try the El Rano (the cutest box art) and the pepper Herring right now. Also pondering making some kind of Niscoise style salad with the vinegrette KOs!

Also, the summer savory extra smells INCREDIBLE. I just keep taking sniffs in the general direction of the bag.

This was so fun to do, my fish cabinet runneth over so I'll have to make some space before the next exchange. 😊

u/Kaz_archer — 3 months ago