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Greetings!
I have become a prisoner to the many pots I planted this spring. It is that time of the year when I ask myself, "What was I thinking?" I am watering daily with some pots needing a drink twice daily. There are no nice words for this heat. Saying "It is hot" doesn't seem to capture the true unpleasantness. I wish I could say that a cool-down was in our near future but unfortunately we are stuck with this extreme heat for the next seven days and there is no rain in sight. With days like these it makes me wonder about July and August. I guess we'll know soon enough as July arrives in a few short days.
Kevin harvested some cherry tomatoes last night and asked me if I wanted to put them in a salad. I looked at him and said, "Can't we eat them now?" As we stood on the patio enjoying the warm, juicy taste, our youngest son Jake asked us what we were doing. We offered up a tomato and he said, "Is it ok to eat that without washing it?" I laughed and told him that some of my fondest memories of growing up include picking home-grown tomatoes with my grandfather. And yes, we would pick them right off the vine and pop them into our mouths. They were delicious and I still prefer picking and eating them right off the vine. Such a treat!
Although our weather is miserable right now I watch the news at night and I am distraught by the fires in Colorado and the floods in Florida. I feel for all of those who have lost their homes (whether to fire or floods) and I'm thankful that we are not facing a disaster such as those. Yep, the Midwest is not too bad a place to be!
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Timing Is Everything...
Some of us are morning people, others need more time to get going every day. The same is true for garden vegetables! The time of day you pick your vegetables can actually have a dramatic effect on their taste and texture. For instance, your lettuce and cucumbers will be crispier if picked early - before the hot sun has had a chance to wilt your crop. On the other hand corn and peas will be sweeter if you wait until later in the day when their sugar levels are highest. Yum!
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Lawns Becoming Forests...
This time of year conditions are very favorable for the germination of saplings (baby trees) and there is a profusion of them across the metro. Left alone for a decade or so they will indeed turn a lawn into a wooded lot. Luckily, simply following a normal mowing routine will prevent these upstarts from becoming mighty oaks (or maples, or whatever). The ones in your garden are a bit more challenging. You're going to have to treat them like weeds a remove them individually. Sorry.
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Shake It Up...
Although tomatoes are self-pollinating, they need movement to transfer pollen. If it is hot and calm for several days you may need to gently shake your plants to assure that pollen is properly transferred. Very hot temperatures can also interfere with blossom set. One solution is to mist the plants periodically throughout the day. Careful here! Wet leaves can promote other diseases. If you choose to mist do it during the day when plants will have adequate time to dry out before nightfall.
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Nurturing Natures Nightlights...
Some things just mean summer to me. Fireflies (lightning bugs to some of you) fit that category nicely. My kids could spend hours catching these magical creatures and putting them in a jar or cage. Before calling it a night however, I make sure they let the fireflies escape. Anglers call it catch and release. We call it good gardening. You see, the larvae of fireflies dine on cutworms, mites, slugs, snails, soft-bodied insects and the larvae of other insects. They apparently have voracious appetites and quietly do wonders keeping pests at bay.
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Better Blackberries...
The exact time to harvest blackberries varies by cultivar, and thorny blackberries normally ripen earlier than thornless types. But there are some general guidelines to keep in mind when harvesting blackberries.
- Do not pick blackberries too early or berry size and flavor will be sacrificed.
- Blackberries usually develop a dull, black color with plump, juicy fruitlets as they ripen. The berries soften and produce the characteristic flavor.
- Full color often develops before the berries separate easily.
Pick the berries by gently lifting the berry with the thumb and fingers. The receptacle, or center part of the fruit, remains in the fruit when blackberries are harvested, unlike raspberries, which leave the receptacle on the bush. Take care not to crush the berries or expose them to the hot sun. When possible, avoid picking berries when they are wet. They'll probably need picking every second or third day. Cool the berries immediately after harvest to extend shelf life. Keep them refrigerated under high relative humidity and use within three to five days.
Source
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Too Hot To Handle?
When the weather gets really oppressive (like they're predicting for the next week or so) it's all too easy to want to stay inside and neglect the garden. Instead, try to do your watering early in the morning, take the afternoon off, and do your weeding, dead-heading, etc... in the evening. Remember, in high heat watering must be thorough and deep. If you can't water adequately during hot, dry weather you are actually better off doing nothing at all and I mean nothing. Plants under severe summer stress compensate by becoming inactive. Pruning, fertilizing, spraying or otherwise encouraging growth can do more harm than good if water is insufficient.
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Battling Brown Patch (continued)...
You will recognize brown patch in your lawn by thinning of the turf in clustered, roughly circular patches. The patches will expand as the problem gets worse.
This is a disease that remains in the soil, so you're not going to get rid of it completely. All you can do is prevent it through smart horticultural practices and treat it when necessary with appropriately labeled fungicides. Smart practices include:
- Avoiding heavy, early spring and summer fertilization, particularly with soluble nitrogen.
- Watering in the early morning. Late afternoon and evening watering should be avoided.
- Remove and dispose of clippings from infected areas or when conditions are conducive to disease development. (Mulching mowers that chop clippings to ¼ inch or less do not contribute to brown patch development.)
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Finally...
"The smell of manure, of sun on foliage, of evaporating
water, rose to my head; two steps farther, and I could look
down into the vegetable garden enclosed within its tall
pale of reeds-rich chocolate earth studded emerald green,
frothed with the white of cauliflowers, jeweled with the
purple globes of eggplant and the scarlet wealth of tomatoes."
~ Doris Lessing
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