Garden Preparation - June

June! - Time to plant everything now because this is  the month to plant everything... Well, yes, but check that long range weather forecast just one more time.  It is possible for early June to be cool and wet with a few hot days sprinkled in. That combination happened in early May and  activated the  spores  of  Early Blight and  Downy Mildew in many gardens.  

Early blight on tomatoes leave.
Source: Ohio State University

Early Blight (Alternaria solani) is a fungal infection that affects tomatoes and potatoes as well as  related plants such as eggplants and peppers.  It usually shows up as dark spots on the the lower leaves of plants and progresses upward. The dark spots will enlarge, converge and the leaves will eventually turn yellow and drop.

The fungi's spores live in the soil and can be spattered up on plants during overhead watering or heavy rains as well as  by wind. To control, or minimize, future infestations, infected plants should be removed and burned or buried. Although fungicides are available, they are expensive and need to be applied to the soil well before plants are growing in the garden, and they do not necessarily eliminate the disease.  Some tomato varieties are resistant to Early Blight. These include  a few like Defiant, Juliet, Legend, Old Brooks, Mountain Supreme, or Verona.




Downy Mildew identifies a group of fungal-like microbes that are triggered by cool wet spring conditions and affect even a wider range of plants   Upper leaf surfaces initially appear pale green or yellowish while the undersides start to appear white, light grey or brown. Eventually, these leaves whither, turn brown and die.

Downy mildew on cucumber.
Source: Cornell University

The spores of downy mildew can activate in soil as cool as 45° F.  The spores can live in soil debris for up to 15 years; and common weeds such as  sheperd's purse, wild mustand and pepper grass can serve as alternate hosts.  For both diseases the practices of  crop rotation, removing plant debris from garden beds and not adding infected plants to compost piles are important management techniques. 

However, in small backyard gardens implementing effective control measures are very challenging. Staking, pruning, mulching and watering at the base of plants or by soaker hoses will  reduce risk further; but given continuing periods of cool, wet weather, gardeners are bound to find these problems showing up.

Despite these depressing notes, here are a few other things you can do in June besides weeding and looking for the first seasonal garden pests:

• Most vegetables can now be mulched with either compost or straw;

• Add a side dressing of fertilizer - preferable an organic, slow release type;

• Time to start second plantings of lettuce, radishes and other cool weather crops;

• Plant beans, beets, carrots and squash; and

• If you've planted tomatoes, put your stakes or cages in now while it's easy to avoid damaging the plants.

Gardening & Plastic

Source: phys.org

A few nights ago I attended a gardening program, and one of the discussions covered weed suppression and how to warm the soil in spring. Although a few gardeners mentioned using newspapers and cardboard for  weed control, most of us, including me, talked about putting down black plastic.  Later that evening, I started wondering about just how reliant gardeners are on using plastics and if I should  start feeling guilty about a possible plastic addiction.   

After a little investigation I started to feel a little better about my own use of plastics in gardening, but I did continue to be dismayed about the ongoing level of plastic litter being introduced into the environment by my species stemming from its collective greed and ignorance.

I recognize that many plastics are  well suited for their applications; and if societies reduced their fossil fuel energy needs and incorporated recycling   regimens into product life cycles, the continuing manufacture and use of plastics would not be  worsening existing environmental problems.  But now  to return to our gardens...

Gardeners are most likely to deal with three kinds of plastics: low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). All three types, although   essentially not bio-degradable in the sense that they transform into organic compost, they are all re-cyclable materials.  

• LDPE (Recyle Code #4) is  relatively soft, pliable, tough and chemically resistant to varying degrees to many types of chemicals.   LDPE gradually breaks down  over time when exposed to solar radiation  and releases small amounts of a few compounds such as methane and ethylene.   Gardeners using plastic sheeting to cover their plots are using LDPEs.

• HDPE (Recycle Code #2) is both very durable and highly resistant to many chemicals. It is commonly used for storage tanks, furniture, piping etc. Gardeners may encounter HDPE in the form of  large planters & garden bed materials, hoses, and storage tanks (e.g. rain barrels). 

• PP's (Recycle Code #5) characteristics are similar to the polyethylenes, but it is harder, almost as heat resistant, but more economical to produce. Probably the plastic trays and pots that most gardeners use or get when they buy plants are made from PP. 

In short, if conscientious gardeners simply  re-use and recycle their plastics, they may be able to feel less guilty about living in the age of plastics... but I must admit that the chore of cleaning  last year's shredded plastic sheeting from my garden before stuffing it in the recycle bin does  not especially inbue me with a lot of motivational energy. I will now try to remember not to yield to the temptation of simply hiding these plastics in the trash...


And remember:

"If it can't be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, 

resold, recycled or composted, then it should restricted, redesigned 

or removed from production." - Pete Seeger