Hello Violet,

I just started my long beans on Friday. I plan to grow some winter melon (did you get some melons last summer from the seeds I sent you?), and sze gwa and Chinese celery. I got several sze gwa last summer and it was my first time growing them. I really enjoy them.

My mom gave me some more winter melon seeds those without the fuzz. If you need some, let me know.

I planted some baby pak choy and mizuna in the fall and enjoyed them. They are flowering now. Some others I had planted didn't germinate.

Betsy

1- i plan on growing bittermeon and yard long beans.

2-i'm planting yard long beans, some bittermelon - 4 varieties and soybeans. the rest are tomatoes eggplants and cucumbers, watermelon cantaloupe and peppers, also dill and basil. my mom is planting herbs in her pots. oh yeah snap peas too. wait you just said asian oh well now you know my whole garden lol

3-yes they are all from seeds.

4- i'm waiting for the bean seeds to sprout since they're usually the first ones to come up

5- the new ones i'm growing this year are thai bittermelon, large top and 2 two ones. wait i thought i had the hk one too, hrm.... something is wrong here lol. this is all from memory.

6- yeah!!!!!!! i walked to the post office in my shorts. it was still a bit cold but who cares!!! my plants are going to sprout out and make mama happy! lol

Hi Violet:
Glad to see you back!
How are you?
I was just ordering a few more things from Kitazawa Seed Co.
and thought I would look up some opinions on eggplants when I saw your post. You sent me my first load of seeds as a newbie! I'm still planting them and their offspring.
I'm growing Thai Basil, Shoya long eggplant, Tasy Green cukes, yard long beans, Komatsuna spinach mustard greens, snow peas, and chinese parsley.
I'm winter sowing things this year to try something different.
I feel like I'm behind when it is so nice outside.. Hey, why am I in here... oh yea I'm home sick... well I regress..
If I can't plant at least I can plan.
Valerie

Hi. May I join in this conversation ? For once there're questions here that I can answer! :-)

1) Plan on growing Asparagus Peas, Yard Long Bean, Bok Choy, Gai Choy, Tong Ho, Cee Gwa, Perilla & Thai Basil.
2) Currently growing Snow Peas, Tong Ho, Green Onion & Lemongrass.
3) Yes, except for Lemongrass which I got as a start.
4) Waiting for the Cilantro to sprout. Actually one batch of them sprouted, but got eaten by snails/slugs. Didn't know that they like Chinese food!
5) Most of what I plan to grow are new to me. I've just started focusing on veggies.
6) Am really excited about it. Someone sent me praying mantis cases which are supposed to hatch in Spring. I've got so much to look forward to!

Hi Betsy,
Yes, I did get them. Now I just have to make time to get them started. I'll have to go thru my inventory and figure out what I'm going to plant so I'll keep that in mind. What did not germinate for you? What were your temperatures when you sowed?

sleepycookie,
4 varieties and soybeans? Can I come over to help you harvest? LOL! I love fresh soybeans... How do you plant them (rows, spacing, when, etc.)? Also, what are the 4 varieties called and how do you use them? Sounds like you're going to eat well this summer!

Valerie,
Thank you! I'm doing good. Are you winter sowing Asian vegetables or other things? I hope you feel better soon...

ieozok z9,

Certainly! That's what this forum is for! What are the Asparagus Peas and Tong Ho? And what do you do with them?

That's funny about the cilantro... you can use a plastic container like a butter tub or yogurt, etc and put a sugar/water solution or beer (any kind) in it. Dig a hole near the plants they like. Make sure the top of the container is even with the top of the ground and the slugs will crawl in and drown.

What country are you from? Sounds like you've learned a lot about gardening recently according to your member page. Feel free to browse my page. I have some resources there you may find fun to browse. Praying mantis cases? Was this a trade? I just saw a case on a thorny bush at one of the local parks. I'll have to go back to see if they've hatched...

well one is vinton 81 i believe. and the other one i don't know. someone received extra from anotehr trade. it's probably the same cause i've seen in the magazines and they sell the same soybean seeds. we're just going to boil them and eat the pods. really can't eat the skin. this is really experimental so i dont 'knwo how it'll come out. we planted it all in one row. a little bit of each in a long long row. and the fu gwa is going against the fence so thats not bad. i heard that if i plant that with anthing else it'll make my other plants bitter. is that true?

Wow Violet, you're very conscientious! I see that you answer each person's question and post. :-)

Tong Ho is the edible Chrysanthemum also known as Shingiku. In the chinese grocery store, it's always sold as Tong Ho, so I'm used to calling it that rather than Shingiku. I normally use it a soup veggie.

As for Asparagus Peas, I don't know what it is. Never seen it in the store, yet the Pinetree catalog says it is a Chinese veggie. So I'll try growing it and see how it looks and tastes like. Here's one description of it on the web.

Ya I read about the beer trap. The thing is I used up all my containers for winter-sowing, so I couldn't implement it. When the night gets warmer, I might go into the yard at night to commit homicide of the snails/slugs. :-)

I'm from Singapore, did learn alot about gardening, am still learning. Your member page is great! So much information there, it must have taken you ages to set it up. I have a suggestion, how about a link for seedling identification ? :-) I have all these little seedlings popping up all over the place and I'm not sure if they're weeds or seeds that I've sown. Hey know who else has a great member page ? poloma. He/she posted on the Seed Exchange so I went to take a look at his/her page which is very well done, except that it doesn't have nice flower pictures as in yours.

Yup the praying mantis case is from a trade. I never knew how it looks like until now. I took a picture of it today. Hopefully I could catch the hatching in action within the next few months!

And finally, how about answering the same questions that you posed ? I'll be interested to see what you'll be growing too.

ieozok,

Asparagus Peas, ah, thanks for the clarification. The botanical name of the Tong Ho is Chrysanthemum coronarium var. spatiosum. (I like to try to use the botanical/Latin names since it refers to the same thing no matter where you are in the world. With all these names from different countries, it can get confusing. You're either talking about the exact same thing and don't realize it, or you think you're talking about the same thing only to find out you're not! LOL!). So are they bitter at all?

The asparagus pea is Psophocarpus tetragonolbus. Apparently you can pick the leaves when young and cook them, and eat the raw flower buds or stir fry or use for tempura. The pods can be eaten raw or cooked.

They sound delicious! I may have to track some seeds down LOL!

Crushed egg shells surrounding your plant in a circle may help prevent slugs too.

Seedlings? Weren't you supposed to label the bottom? I'm surely you didn't sow weeds.... Why don't you post to the Growing from Seed Forum to see if they have any suggested web sites.

I'll post a list just as soon as I figure it out first...

;)

sleepycookie,

I am pretty sure you don't have to "separate" your bitter melon (Momordica charantia). I've never hand any problems and have not found documentation otherwise. You could plant short or small things around it, of course they would have to be things that don't require full sun since the vines will surely shade whatever is nearby.

All right you lukers... what will you be growing in your garden?

All mine are started from seeds.

I started my sugar peas in January, so they are about 12 inch tall. Spinach was started last fall, so we have already harvested some. Sprouts of chinese cabbage from last fall are ready as well.

I planted tse-quo last summer but only got several. I will try again. Got winter melon seeds from Violet; so they are on the task list.

I have not been able to find bok-choi seeds for several years in local markets. So I ordered some on line and are planting them.

I also planted Tong Ho, chin-jung and small Chinese cabbage. They have already germinated. In a week or so, yard long beans and wung-tsai will be in as well.

It is exciting to see them grow.

1. Bitter melon, winter melon, yardlong bean, fuzzy melon,
chinese chives,okra
2. Daikon, bok choi
3. Yes always, they are more fun that way
4. Okra, bitter melon
5. Chinese garlic chives
6. Exciting is an understatement. My house is filled with
plants in 4 inch pots

I am doing several Asian Veggies this year. I just transplanted into the beds some pak choi and I am waiting for a float of pingtung eggplant to germinate. Hubs loves my stir frys so I am doing more and more veggies for his dinners. Love it!

Hugs,

Trudi

PS...the pak choi and eggplant were both Winter Sown. I don't expect germination in the eggplant for a few more weeks. I still have some thai peppers to WS this week.

I have plans for

yard long beans (have to figure what seeds to try)
snake gourd
chinese eggplant
chinese spinach/ amaranth
I already harvested one round of fenugreek greens and have a lush bowl of Cilantro.

I wanted to do winter melon but cannot find a variety that will work in compact spaces.. still looking

i want to save the seeds for my fu gwa but i herd that they gotta be relaly far away from each other lol. i'm gonna have to buy my seeds for that. can't find many ppl with bitter melon seeds. oh well.

FortuneGardener,
Must be nice to be in TX... more time to warm time to see things grow! You should have asked me for some bok choy seeds...

Ok, what is "wung tsai"?

fanaticgardener,
Is your "okra" a 'Chinese okra' or regular American okra?

Trudi,
Wonderful, keep us updated on what Asian veggies come up (or do not come up) via the WS method...


Lalitha,
Good to 'see' you again! What are your choices on the yard long beans?
How do you eat your chinese spinach/amaranth?
Is there a picture of your eggplant here?
What do you do with so much cilantro?

As for winter melon, have you looked at the Hybrid Small Round and Hybrid Small Long varietieshere?

How compact is your space? You may be able to go vertical with it.

sleepycookie,
I've got some. How many varieties are you wanting to plant? How do you prefer to eat it?

As for cross pollination of the bitter melon, according to Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth, "Insects can cross-pollinate different varieties of balsam pear, so isolation or hand-pollination is required to ensure seed purity."

Cilantro (can't live without it!)
Amaranthus leaves (red and green)
Pak choi
(next year, will plan for lots more)

Lalitha, does fenugreek tolerate some cold / frost?

i bought most of the varieties of bittermelon from evergreen seeds. wait half, the hk, two whites, large top, and taiwan. i received thai from someone in a trade, i think it was thai. any bittermleon seeds are ok. i can't save seeds as i said before cause they'll cross pollinate.

Here is a link that might be useful: bitter melon seeds

sleepycookie,

How do you prefer to eat your bitter melon?

Violet,

You're so right about the latin name. I should have used it. Funny thing is, when I was setting up a trade with Betsy before this post, I told her Tong Ho and she asked me what it was. Guess I never learn my lesson, :-).

I think the asparagus pea sounds delicious too, especially since I love asparagus but asparagus is only good during early spring.

I do currently have lots of eggshells in the house, will get about crushing them soon.

As for the seedlings identification, well I don't know .. you see I winter sowed quite a bit of things this year, and then ran out of containers. Then I decided to just direct sowed Alyssum & Bachelor Button but more than 2 types of seedlings came up! So far I managed to figured out the Alyssum & Bachelor Button, and the Cosmo Sulpheureus & Morning Glory that self-seeded from last year... and then the rest I'm not sure. There's one seedling that have thick cotyledon leaves and a true leaf that is scalloped with a brown marking ... and another seedling also thick cotyledon leaves but serrated true leaves ...etc etc. There're some website suggestions in the Growing From Seeds forum, but I can't find a comprehensive one ..

By the way, I think the "wung-tsai" mentioned by FortuneGardener is cilantro. I'll see if my guess is right, :-).

SunHat,

Agree with you about the cilantro. Love that herb, it enhances everything. :-)

I transplanted perilla and orange calendulas into the same border today. I think it's going to be very pretty....maybe too pretty to eat.

Post a Follow-Up

What Asian Veggies is everybody growing this year??
Posted by winane z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 3:13

hi all,

we currently have two varieties of bak choy, garlic chives, asparagus beans, and winter melon. anybody have any good ideas? we still have some room to plant still (but don't let my boyfriend know i said that...heheheh) he thinks we have everything in the ground already. he doesn't know i've been peeking at some more seed catalogs...and have been in chinatown peeking at some seed packets either..hehehe

green thumbs up!

win

Follow-Up Postings:

RE: What Asian Veggies is everybody growing this year??

• Posted by: LoveHummingBirds Z5 CO (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 15:50

Right now I have garlic chive, snow pea, garlic, cilantro, and green onion growing. We eat the tender shoots of snow pea and garlic. Sometime in July, I will rip out the snow pea and garlic, then plant pak choi and Chinese cabbage. Both will tolerate frost and snow, we were still eating those well into December. I am in Zone 5 and get frost in late Sept, so those crops is really worth the effort because we have such a short growing season. Of course the green onion overwintered, I will plant plenty of those. I noticed that after overwintering, the green onion had much stronger flavor.
Towards the end of May I will plant Luffa (Si Gua), Xiang Gua, plus the regular cucumber, tomato, pepper, zuccini and etc. Xiang Gua is golden yellow in color with thin white strips. It is less sweet than honeydew but more crisp. I found Xiang Gua in a Korean store last year. Saved the seed and they all germinated. Winter squash did not germinate for me :( Will try again. Oh, also the small pumpkin (Nan Gua), its color stays green with small dots of lighter green and its skin is a bit bumpy, nowhere near bitter melon though.
So many veggies, so little space :( Well, actually I have three 4x8 raised bed for veggies, but I have way too many veggies to plant. I will tuck some in my flower bed.

Oriental Melon

• Posted by: LoveHummingBirds Z5 CO (My Page) on

  Sun, May 11, 03 at 16:16

Just found out that Evergreen has Xiang Gua listed as Oriental Melon, Hybrid Golden.

Hi everyone!

It's been cold and rainy in my part of the northeast, and I am starting new beds, so I've still got a lot of work ahead of me. I am collaborating with two first-time gardeners and have drawn up the garden plan via companion planting, wooden eds, etc. Any suggestions for not overwhelming these new gardeners?

1. Planning on growing pingtung eggplant, cilantro, snow peas (in the fall) daikon, red rose radish and other radishes (that I got from Violet's seed swap last year), mizuna, suhyo long cuke (I harvested 60 from ONE plant last year!), thai basil, thai peppers, mustard greens, maybe napa and some choys later on.

2. Some radishes, but I don't remember which kinds. I planted them in mid-March, amid some ice clumps, and enjoyed a few this past weekend! Yum!

3. Generally I start everything from seed, but this year, because I expect we'll be a bit late in getting the beds together, and because I didn't finish making my modular, heated, fluorescent lit greenhouse, I will mosy likely buy seedlings for the eggplant, Thai peppers (and other Euro-veg). But for the greens, radishes, cuke, snow peas and basil, I will start from seed.

4. na, haven't planted yet (except the radishes and they sprouted long ago).

5. Yes, I haven't grown pingtung eggplant before. I am also going to trellis a muskmelon plant!

6. Yes, but it's not really feeling like spring. It was 33-55F this weekend and rainy rainy rainy. But rain is good...but I wish it were spaced out a bit more evenly.

Violet, are you going to set up horizontal trellisses for your pole beans this year? If you have a chance, would you take a photo and post it? Do you have to guide/train the bean plants to wrap around horizontal bars? I asked you about this last year and plan to do this this season.

Fresh_Air

Hi Fresh_Air,

Good to hear from you!

I am currently deliberating on how I want to grow the Asian Long Beans this year. The choices are very inexpensive wire garden arch kits, bamboo poles, common wood trellises, pre-exhisting fence property dividers and galvanized pipe.

Here lies the delima.... If you go too high, you may not be able to harvest, so that dictates the height.

If you go too low, even 3.5 feet, you have to manually train the vines quite literally almost every day.

I am curious as to how a miniature pergola would do. At an ideal height for harvesting...

Let's make sure we're "on the same page" in regard to horizontal trellising. If you're talking about a chain link fence (common between properties), then this will require daily training of the vine. I have not yet tried a miniature pergola but will be trying one this year for Japanese Cucumbers, Bitter Melon, and possibly the asparagus pea.

Yes, I will try to document this photographically, however, I'm not sure this will help your current situation.

Keep us updated on how you approach your trellising.

:)

Hi...

Growing to many to mention... :)

Snake, Bitter, Wax, Sweet, (Gwa)

Watermelon,

Asian Eggplants,

Tatsoi, Red Giant, Chinese Kale, Mustards...

and much more!

BTW, Friends, I am leaving June 4 to collect more Asian seeds in Thailand for 28 days... sure wish I could grow the fruit :(

Bye,

Jethro

Silly me. Since the last time I've posted what we were growing, the list has dramatically increased. As for the asian vegetables we have asparagus beans (brown seed type), bitter melon (I don't know the variety. Seeds given to me by my mom), luffa squash, green fortune and joi choi hybrid pak choi, thai dragon peppers, thai long purple eggplant, winter melons, green and red shiso, fenugreek, black sesame, lemongrass, cilantro, green onions...I think that is it for the asian veggies. When cool weather comes around I think gailan, ando wase (radish leaf), okiku (chrysanthemum) and other types of asian greens. Any suggestions for a fall crop?

Other things we have growing diva and tasty jade cucumbers, fortex snap pole beans, trionfo purple pole beans, italian pole beans (yellow, green and purple), dragon tongue yellow bush beans, purple calabash tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, sweet 100 tomatoes, watermelon beefsteak tomatoes, chantais melons, calabash melons, tigger melons, honey king honey dew melons, bush sugar baby watermelon, yellow sunshine watermelon, thyme, long island mammoth dill, italian sage, genovese basil, pineapple mint, summer squashes: white patty pan, golden zucchini, grey zucchini, patisson panoche(jaune et vert), straight neck early yellow, black beauty, costata romanesco, winter squashes: walthum butternut, jumbo pink banana, buttercup, lakota, butterbush, red kuri, kabocha, sweet meat, hi beta gold hybrid spaghetti. purple top white globe turnips, green sprouting broccoli, red onions, texas grano onions, detroit red beets,white super sweet corn, california wonder and sweet banana peppers. Hot peppers: datali, fatali, rat turd, lipstick, habanero, long red cayenne, poblano, hawaiian, costeno amarillo, rocotillo, aji amarillo, jamaican red, black cluster and red squash. PHEW!!! We are also have about 50 russian mammoth sunflowers as a "hedge" between us and the apartment complex next to us. We also have plenty of marigolds surrounding our veggie's the help with "bugs".

We also have a bunch of flowers growing. Strange, flowers aren't really my thing but the boyfriend's thing. He has about 50 tall dahlia's, mostly dishplates and also a dahlia tree. He also has alot of sweet pea vines, and snail vines (vigna caracalla). We both are trying our best to get the kiss me over the garden gate (KMOG's) to flourish. We've got a vast array of scattered flowers in one patch that our neighbor helpingly scattered for us last year that have resurfaced...alot of 4 o'clock's. A bunch of foxgloves, delphiniums, and snap dragons which I like alot. Wow..I think we have too much growing now!!

Hi Jethro!
Good to see you here!

winane,
My goodness, I assume you don't have any lawn to mow?! LOL!

:)

lawn?? what lawn...he rototilled it a month ago!!! actually we do have a wee patch of a lawn. hehehhee. we sometimes forget to water it even!!

Ok, here's my list. I think it's complete but I could be missing something... LOL!

Asparagus Pea - Tetragonolobus purpureusÃÃ
Bitter Melon - Momordica charantia
Burdock, Edible/Chinese angelica/Gobo - Arctium lappa
Cardoon Cynara cardunculus
Chinese Cabbage - Brassica campestris var. chinensis
Chinese Celtuce Lettuce/Asparagus Lettuce - Lactuca sativa augustana
Chinese Mustard/Gai Choy - Brassica juncea
Egusi/Festival Watermelon - Citrullus lanatus ssp. colocynthoides
Entsai/Kangkung/Water Spinach - Ipomoea aquatica
Gai Lan/Chinese broccoli - Brassica rapa and B. oleracea alboglabra
Gao Gei - Lycium chinense
Garland Chrysanthemum - Chrysanthemum coronarium
Garlic Chives - Allium tuberosum
Japanese Giant Red Mustard - Brassica rapa
Japanese Long Cucumber - Cucumis sativus L. var. sativus (Japanese Group)
Kohlrabi - Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes
Luffa, Ridged/Chinese Okra - Luffa acutangula
Mizuna - Brassica rapa nipposinica (japonica)
Pak Choy/Bok Choy
Purple mint/Beefsteak Plant/Shiso - Perilla frutescens, P. 'Crispa'
Salad Burnet - Poterium sanguisorba
Soybean/Edamame - Glycine max
Taro - Alocasia macrorrhizos
Tatsoi - Brassica rapa var. rosularis
Winter Melon - Benincasa hispida
Yard Long Beans - Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis

:)

Better late than never - eh?

How are everyone's gardens doing so far? Successes? Failures? Pests? Disease? What are you harvesting now?

I am new to this forum, and I need some information, Please. Today I went shopping for another tomato plant to add to the other 8 I have growing on my deck in pots. I came home with an Asian Vegetable that I have no awareness of. It is called TATSOI. It is a pretty roundish plant with dark green leaves, and the tag said it would grow out into about a 12 inch circle. Leaves when young are used in stir fry and salads. No info on how to grow, protect it, feed it etc. Just said 'GROW IN FULL SUN.' Well lets hope for sun in Western Washington from here on. We have had some beautiful weather - but is changing daily now. Any help and advice on keeping it outside or bringing it in when it gets to be winter? Does it produce seeds or babies to start new plants? I appreciate all the wisdom out there, so please give me some advice. These plants were all imported from Canada - many I know nothing about, but am curious. Donna1952_1@Juno.com

Donna1952,

Tatsoi (Brassica rapa narinosa) is a beautiful leafy green, also known as mustard spinach. It is used in edible landscaping because of the "rosette" the leaves form. It's delicious, no bitterness, and if you keep harvesting the leaves, they'll keep coming back. Harvest the outer leaves, no more than 2/3 of the foilage and allow the remaining 1/3 in the center to photosynthesize for root production.

I doubt you'll be able to bring it in for the winter because it will likely set seed before then, like lettuce, spinach, etc.

It does extremely well in cool weather, and can even tolerate some frost.

Here is a link that might be useful: Look here for recipes

I am growing a roundish green Korean squash, Early Bulam F1
Also, in the fall will be growing "Black Skirted" Korean leaf lettuce, looks like it will be good for rolling food with.
Erm, also, some Korean radishes, napa cabbage, regular radishes (going to try making a regular radish kimchi this year), chamae melon (that yellow one with white stripes), some Korean cucumbers, green onions, Korean mint (que) and I think some other stuff, but i forget.

Guvar, Yardlong beans, bitter gourd (karela), Tindola, Tuver, Indian hot peppers (var. Jwala), Red & Green Amaranth (lal Math & Hirwa Math -marathi), Tandalja Bhaji, Doodhi (bottle gourd?), Indian Radish (Marwadi Mula), Green eggplants (small round -ravaiya), large round almost seed less eggplants (bhuttha) and Cilantro. This is in addition to Local Okra (clemson), several varieties of tomatoes (roma, cherry, 3 types of heirloom and 3 types of yellow), Cucumbers, and lots of greens (in the available space between p[lants).
No Time for the idiot box :)

Chandu,

Wow! That is quite a selection of indian/oriental veggies. I wish i could grow some of the veggies you are growing. Do you by any chance have guvar and Tidola (is that the same as tindora?) seeds to share? I have some south indian seeds like lemon cucumber, snake gourd, white round eggplant, thai pepper seeds that i could share. Please let me know.

Violet, Thanks for your help with my Tatsoi. I still do not have the answer as to whether or not it will withstand our winter here in Western Washington outside, or how do I keep it when cold weather comes? It is my first adventure growing any Asian vegetable. Any ideas? And fertilizer, what to use?

Paperwhite,
I have guvar seeds -it is a nylon (?) variety, I brought from India in 1999. The seeds are stored dessicated in a refrigerator and have 30-40% germination. My seeds were started in peat pots before going in the garden. I am afraid I have planted them very close (For Tindolas, best bet is to sart from a root cutting. This is my first year for tindola. I discovered an almost dry, abandoned cutting languishing in a dark spot behind a motel. With great difficulty I have nursed it back to life. Now it has the first green twigs with small leaves. Hopefully it will mature during this season such that I can share cuttings with friends. Later in the season I will try to air-layer well -established shoots. I am a newbie at propagating plants & therefore would like to know more about how to multiply tindola plant.

The leaves of this plant are sour and in Burma, they call it Chinbaung. It has the shape of a maple leaf. I was told that the English name is Roselle. Does anyone know where I can find some leaves? I took a leaf to the Vietnamese store and they had never seen it before? I would appreciate any help. Thanks.

may taros, and oriental squashes; althought quite hot this year!

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures

Violet,

I'm hoping you can answer a question concerning fertilizing. I've several yard long beans that are containerized. Lately I've noticed a lot of leaves had gone yellow. It's a fertiling issue and while I'm more organic in practise, I think this time, some fertilizer is warranted. Can you suggest what kind? Thanks

Ianna

Hi Ianna,

First, I've found it normal for yard long beans to have yellow leaves and look unhealthy for a week or two while they're young. It depends on your source of seed. What type of container are you using? How large? How often do you water?

Sure. I suggest compost tea and fish emulsion. You can get fish emulsion at any garden center. Use at half strength according to directions. You can also put a diluted concentration in a spray bottle and spray the leaves in the early evening. Some folks do this once every two weeks and say their vegetables have the best flavor they've ever had.

If you don't have your own compost, you can get compost and make the compost tea out of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Making Compost Tea

The containers are probably a good 18" in diameter, fiber pots. The thing is I have several beans in a pot. Some are doing well but a few are yellowing. It's got a good showing of yard longs right now.

Thanks for the tips on compost tea and fish emulsions. I'm familiar the process and I'll get right to it.

I have another question on eggplants - the long japanese types. I've several in containers as well and have had a good harvest. However, the problem I'm encountering is that the eggplants are a bit hard and cooks longer. Not as tasty. Again, I've had them in containers, in soilless mixes which contains composted manure. Any reason why eggplants turn out this way?

Thanks
Ianna