Recent Activity
Garlic can be easily grown in containers and a container should be easy enough to fully enclose in a row cover. Assuming you cover next year before the adults become active you should still be able to have a garlic crop, albeit a smaller one (I mean that in number of bulbs grown/harvested) than you would if growing in the ground.
Also, I'm not sure what your views are on gardening chemicals but a systemic pesticide may be needed this year to try to control them on your current crop.
Rodney
This extension article does mention that using both spinosad and an insecticidal soap does help control allium leafminers. Also, for what it's worth, spinosad is a broad spectrum pesticide and does have somewhat systemic properties. In other words, it is basically a "nuclear" option.
https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/leafminer-allium#:~:text=chemical%20controls
Rodney
Interesting that people are recommending specific pesticides to control allium borers (leaf miners), and quoting respectable sources. As I noted a few days ago, it has also been claimed that no residential pesticides are available that will work. See https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/allium-leaf-miner. So I guess there is some disagreement in the community. Though it is true that spinosad, for example, is banned in several states and some countries. Permethrin is also mentioned here, but that is not approved for residential use.
daninthedirt, that was also my understanding. An exceedlingly difficult pest to deal with.
Perhaps if I were younger I'd try some of the suggestions. But at nearly 80, I can't take on more garden set ups than I've already got. So, probably gilroy garlic from now on.
Hard to tell but that second pic looks like they could be sitting on concrete. Are these plants outside? It might just be sun damage. If not then it could also simply be a magnesium deficiency. You say the potting soil *could* be previously used and nutrients don't stay in potting mix forever.
There is no mention of you fertilizing them, nor do you mention what kind of growing conditions they are in or care they have received up until now so it's really all just guessing at this point...
Rodney
Growing inside 100% temps 68-78 watered from bottom. I planted from seeds. No fertilizer until 2 days ago (miracle grow potting soil).
Dan good point about not stopping it, I keep forgetting that. I pitched the 1 plant seemed like a no brainer - I had a few extra. Most mature leaves had it bad. Going to trim other leaves and spray immunox then in a few days daconcil.
Well the trouble with white rot is that it infects onions as well. I've got fifty sweet onions right next to these garlic plants that are all doing great. The garlic ARE soft neck - California Early. To the extent they are sprouting new growth, may I presume they will eventually mature?
Agree with the others. Definitely not normal and I'm not sure what is to blame. Maybe a virus? No idea whether they will produce bulbs or not, but the good thing is that garlic is useable at any stage of growth or size.
Rodney
Put a fence around the outside of the entire garden about 5 feet away from the beds themselves. T-posts and welded wire fencing would most likley be the cheapest option. Deer typically won't jump over something if they see that they may have enough space to land on the other side so it's not like it has to be 8 feet tall. Groundhogs can dig under so using the chicken wire along the bottom with the chicken wire partially buried beneath the soil should help keep them out.
Rodney
I wouldn't tuck the chicken wire down into the inside of the boxes. It can be a bit of a pain to garden right up against it. If you get any broken bits it's easier to deal with it on an outside wrap than an inside one. I would frame the verticals on the outside of the box. You might want to go two high with the chicken wire depending on what you are growing- if it grows over the top of the chicken wire wall, the deer will snack at that level if they can.
For a stringer on the inside edge. It's just a single wire strung across the top of the garden stakes. You tie flags onto it. Colorful ribbon or non-sticky plastic tape like flash tape or neon yard tape. It creates a visual moat effect to the deer. With the box in the center and with the moat, the deer think there isn't a good spot to jump into there.
It's like building a chicken moat- only instead of running chickens in it you are growing your raised bed garden in it. Try looking up chickem moats. And enclosed or fenced keyhole raised bed is a good phrase to look up a visual of your bed with a fence on it.
Put a gate on the opening of the bed, and it helps keep everything out. Put a solid panel on the bottom of the gate, at least the same height as the bed walls. This will help keep out visual grazers like rabbits and some fowl.
If you want, you can install some PVC pipes in your bed vertically. The height of the bed along the inside edges. Then you have post holes in your beds. Use these for hoops for frost/sun/shade/netting cloths. Also can be used for holding stringer posts through the summer.
I would also suggest you put in some support for those long sides. It's built nice, don't get me wrong. But putting in a couple spanners/braces to help keep the walls aligned now is easier before filling. And prevent potential bowing issues in the future. Also or as an alternative. You can use your verticals for your chicken wire if you sink them into the ground as braces to help prevent future bowing.
This grid wire anchored to wood makes a nice fence.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091SL4NM9/ref=twister_B092BBH48S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
There are federal minimum standards that seed sellers need to follow. For melons the minimum germination rate is 75%, watermelons are 70%.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/201.31
Rodney
It seems very suspicious that they are not giving me the info.....................
Hmmm. They seem reluctant to admit that something might have happened to the seeds between the time they left their site, and when they ended up in your hands, and seem to want to presume that you did something wrong. They also conspicuously did not reassure you that their germination tests for that lot didn't show anything wrong.