Well, this weekend has been a scorcher and I hope that you’re all well and staying cool. It’s been odd to work only a few hours and then stay closed in the house. But, taking full advantage of this has meant that all the cherries have been pitted, packaged and frozen. Miss Amy’s freezer got reorganized today so all those cherries could fit. Berries are starting to come in, so nightly picking has begun, and as sweat runs into my eyes the thought occurs to me that this happens every year. It is unearthly hot when raspberries and blueberries ripen. Oh well, I’m glad to have a crop to pick! All this fruit means that it’s time to make jam to restock. If you are interested in frozen cherries (dark or sweet pie varieties), get in touch.
As for the gardens, let me tell you that everything except one odd pepper plant has loved having consistently warm soil and sunshine! If that pepper isn’t looking better by Friday, it will go on the compost pile. Looking through the beds and checking seeding dates has been a great hot day task, too. For those of you with gardens, take out your seed packets and look at “Days to maturity” to see if you can get a second crop of your favorites seeded and harvested before October(ish).
Here, that has gotten me out to seed in a couple of fall squash rows, more carrots, beets, gourds, and beans. Tomorrow, a second seeding of tall sunflowers, zinnias, and cilantro will happen. With the lettuce completely done, those beds have been weeded, tilled, and two have been seeded with beans. The last one will wait a few weeks before it also gets beans. Speaking of beans, the first two beds are starting to flower! Peas continue to flower and fatten up, so they’re being picked daily. Zucchini and yellow squash are coming in slowly, but there are lots of buds coming! We may begin seeing some small broccoli harvests this week if it stays warm.
Cucumbers are finally getting some height and flowers. There’s another flat of them ready to go out, and that will probably happen tomorrow night. The tomatoes are all flowering like crazy and we have many golf ball or bigger tomatoes on more than half! This means that it’s time to make sure there is consistent watering and give them a source of calcium. This can be an organic vegetable fertilizer (check the label for calcium) or calcified limestone. Lightly work it into the soil and water slowly and deeply. Keeping those new fruits taking in calcium, through the water the plants drink, prevents blossom end rot (BER) which ruins the entire fruit. When the blossom end (the bottom of the fruit) has a dark, soft, rotten circle, you’re seeing BER. Eggshells do not fix this. They take far too long to break down to a usable form.
Some of the tomatoes are nearly double their size from last week, so it’s important to tuck, train, and trim them weekly to keep them tidy, manageable, and putting energy into fruiting. Use care when tying or tucking them into the support. Here, old t-shirts are cut into narrow strips to use as a soft tie-up. The lower leaves may need to be trimmed on a handful of plants again – especially with rain in the forecast. Remember to disinfect your pruners with rubbing alcohol or peroxide. If you trim anything that is discolored, tightly curled, or otherwise shows signs of potential disease, disinfect those pruners after every cut to prevent spreading it. Keep those tomato leaves away from the soil to prevent water from splashing soil, and potentially, soil-borne disease onto the plants. Re-apply your coffee grounds or crushed eggshells around the base of the peppers and tomatoes if they become buried or wash away. Those creepy crawlers that love to munch on nightshade plants will find the opening and take full advantage! Next week, I’ll talk about pruning for good light and air.
Check on your herbs. They probably need to be cut back and used or dried. I see that some things here are setting flower buds, so the dehydrator will get some use this week. If you want fresh herbs, just get in touch!
There’s a row of beets that should be pulled this week, so let me know if you want some beautiful beets with pretty leaves. The carrots are showing good signs of putting on growth, and I’ll pull a few as a test later in the week. Patience is a virtue, right? Well, it seems like we’ve been stuck in the month of May and have shifted gears to July. Some things are just going to be late. Some growers feel that they are a full month behind. I’d say that we’re 2-3 weeks behind, but a few things may just get a jump start with this heat and get closer to “normal” harvest times.
As always, weeding is on the week’s list, and I’m happy to report that my few “problem areas” look much cleaner this weekend. Staying on top of them when they’re small and getting after them weekly is the way to go.
Here’s to a great week and a break in the high heat! If you need anything – produce, advice, help with a plant problem, just reach out and I’ll help however possible. Happy gardening and growing!