Anyone grow onions?
The neighbor gave us one that was flowering, and I’ve saved seeds.
Some of them started sprouting before I got to them, though!
I’ve got ants, spiders, aphids and spider mites, along with bees and the occasional ladybug. One year I had a cabbage worm that went to work on my kale! I think the pigeons might be Uber-ing them up, those bastards.
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Seriously 
Maybe cipollini seedlings this fall, but certainly shallots and garlic in Nov.
Ooh. From seed? Shallots sound more manageable than onions, which I’ll never grow enough for my consumption (on my balcony) - so is there a point, I wonder.
I’d be happy to exchange seeds with folks here, btw.
The cipollini from seed, or seedlings, the shallots from sets, and garlic from cloves.
Are the sprouts tasty? Seems like they would be.
Step two of some “golden” tomato shrub!
Saregama, most passionfruit plants need to be pollinated by another variety of passionfruit; they’re most often self-sterile. Self-fertile varieties do exist, so it is possible to have one plant and have it produce fruit. First, they’re heavy feeders and need full sunlight and warmth. Once you start getting a bunch of foliage, vine to support the energy needed to mature fruit, you may need to hand pollinate the flowers, which is very easy.
Take a small paintbrush or cotton swab and collect pollen onto it from the flat, yellow anthers. Gently dab pollen onto the three receptacles, at the top of the flower. The swollen, outward-facing tips should get a good dusting with pollen.
If fruit still fails to form, you likely have a self-sterile plant. It looks like you’ve got a Passiflora edulis, one of the main fruit producing species. If you can locate another P. edulis, with different-looking flowers, or one that IS self-fruitful, that should do the trick. Alternately, you can buy a fresh passionfruit and plant the seeds after removing the juicy coating (aril). Taking a small file or sandpaper and making a dent in the seed coat (scarification) usually speeds up germination.
Most of the larger passionfruits are pollinated by large bumblebees or sometimes by hummingbirds. If you don’t see larger pollinators working the flowers, try hand pollinating.
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shrinkrap, are you using the dried tendril method for determining ripeness? Some say withholding water, a week before expected ripening, helps flavor; just water enough to prevent wilting. After picking, I leave melons on the table to after ripen a couple days.
Those Scotch Bonnets are lovely! Are they as hot as the original, old type? That’s the one I grow. It’s not a pretty fruit, but you can see the tam-o-shanter name in it, and it’s much hotter than a habanero.
If you haven’t made mango & habanero (any of the super hot C. chinense) bbq sauce, it’s fantastic on pork, chicken, fish, shrimp and more. You can adjust the heat to taste and it freezes beautifully.
It’s going to be hard to frost-proof the Peruvian Aji Amarillo in Oct. The plants are already 7 feet tall and making lots of green peppers. I just harvested the first four orange peppers, which is very early for that variety. It’s my all time favorite chili.
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A cucumber that was well hidden behind some leaves, not sure if edible. Wish I had some hungry large beasts.
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Your scotch bonnets are lovely as well. I haven’t tried mine yet, but will send a pic to MIL.
I am . I don’t have a lot of experience, so I could obsess for awhile about how dried is dried.
A week or so ago, a Tiger Baby was picked for me by a storm, and was quite sweet enough.
I am not sweating this ( not enough humidity!). I’m glad to get what I get.
I do have two or three melons left, two with pretty different markings from the third. The third is growing the most, suspended from a stocking. I fear it will crash from its cradle any day now, so I am watching it’s tendrils. I am hoping it’s an orange fleshed New Dawn, but will be happy with any ripe fruit and learning experience.
Not New Dawn; New Orchid.
I picked figs again today to give a visiting friend - have to be careful of the giant wasps that have taken abode in the big fig tree.
Friend said the little purple ones from the tiny tree are tastier.
Fig preserves/jam/mostarda/something one of these days.
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I am assuming these tomato plants are doomed, but if @bogman or anyone else knows what this is, I’d love to know.
Don’t remember seeing anything quite like it before, although I have seen dry, crispy leaves at the bottom of plants.
What was different most recently was hotter than usual temps, during which there was a little bit of precipitation, and then fires. The plants weren’t touched by the fire, and this started just before the fire, but there are lots of ashes on them.
While the leaves on the different plants vary from dark grey to pale yellow, none are wilting, and most of the damage is at the bottom and center of the plant.
At first I thought it was spider mites, but now I’m assuming it is several things, including fungal, and I rarely have fungal problems. I’m guessing late blight?
Oh, well. The peppers seem okay, and i guess ican make room for a September planting.
The wrinkly/dead brown leaves - I had those, many of the plants survived though. I sprayed with neem, watered with neem, and fertilizes.
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Thanks @Saregama. Neem sounds like a good idea. If only it wasn’t going to be so hot ! I’ll trim some sick leaves, feed, then try neem this evening.
Anybody started/starting a fall garden? I hope to try another box of beans soon, and then sugar snaps and sweet peae when I yank the tomatoes.
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Shrinkrap, the bottom image looks like Spiraling Whitefly, which I didn’t know, still don’t know if it’s in CA. It’s in FL and makes those white patterns when the female lays eggs. I downloaded that image and zoomed in to see what are almost certainly nymphs, larval insects. There may be other things going on.
Neem can burn foliage in very hot weather, but that would evidence on upper leaves. If you are spraying any insecticide, natural things like neem, the adults may be scarce if the neem prevents maturation. That white, cottony wax can be formed in many shapes. That wax also protect the pests. If you don’t have a pocket microscope, I’d recommend this one, by Carson. Once you get a really close look, there may be answers.
Again, I don’t know if spiraling Whitefly is yet in CA. But, that’s what the bottom pic looks like. Might be good to call the local Agricultural Extension agent. Spiraling Whitefly also infests peppers and a lot of food crops. More imported pests, ugh!
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I just neemed. I have been spritzing with 70% rubbing alcohol, which does a bang-up job on aphids, fyi.
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Thank you @bogman. I definitely think at least one thing is spiraling whitefly. And thanks for the microscope reference. I do have a handheld digital one, but it seems to require being hooked up to a computer by USB to use. I recently saw one that snaps on to your phone, but can’t seem to find the one that was recommended, so if anyone has one of those, id love to learn more about it.
