Late Summer Garden Experiences
Late summer gardens, unfortunately, require sustained work. If you didn't plant those second crops for fall harvests, don't be discouraged by what now seems like just extra effort for clearly diminishing returns. Gardeners, like old men planting trees, must be optimistic in believing that any work done now is really for the next growing season...
Brussels sprouts Update
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| Sprouts forming in response to top pruning. Source: I. Stephens |
Three weeks ago I mentioned that my Brussels sprouts were not forming buds but exhibited extensive leaf growth due to the warm growing conditions. I removed the top leaders; and presto, within two weeks the plants refocused their energy into developing sprouts. The buds are now around 5/8"+ in diameter and still growing. By sometime in October I'll have fresh sprouts ready to pick. Occasionally some things I do, work out...
Thus, one of the interesting contradictions about tomatoes is revealed: the vines like it hot to grow, but the fruit needs moderate temperatures between 65°F and 75°F to ripen. Backyard gardeners who over prune vines or remove foliage to "give the tomatoes more sun to ripen" are actually doing exactly the opposite of what the fruit needs to ripen fully!
FWIW: Most plants produce carotene; most animals don't. In plants carotene absorbs ultraviolet, violet and blue light and transfers that additional solar energy to the plant's chlorophylls that produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water via the complexities of photosynthesis. Humans along with most other animals obtain carotene either from eating plants or other animals. The carotene then is converted into vitamin .
Because corn stalks do not compress much, their fiber does allow for good aeration in mulch; but unless they are chopped up (or put through a chipper), you will be stepping on the stalks and the cobs for a long time. In a vegetable garden the problem is that pests and diseases that are attracted to or reside in corn will be left in your garden. For this reason corn stalks are better if removed to your compost pile. Farmers simply either plow the stalks into the ground or use it as feed. In your compost pile the fibrous corn stalks will also provide a lot of potential carbon. This can balance the amount of nitrogen that fresh green materials, like grass clippings, abundantly supply.
If you are thinking about what types of mulch you want to use in your vegetable garden or around your ornamental plantings, checkout this U. of Missouri's website about the various characteristics of different kinds of mulches.
Given that I had lots of bags from various sources [because I never throw a good bag away], I tried it the following year. To my surprise, it did dramatically reduce the damage from these competing harvesters; and I have continued to use the technique since with continuing good results. The bags will not deter raccoons or the other usual critters from feasting once that the squash have been ripe on the vine for a while, but it buys the squash time to ripen and seems to give me just enough time to harvest them. Aestheticlaly, you really don't even notice the bags while the vines are alive, and they actually keep their integrity through a number of rain storms. Although the bags are biodegradable and could be left in the garden to decompose. Because the bags might blow away if not secured, I remove them from the garden and add them to my compost pile when I detach the squashes from the vines.
And remember:
Are Your Tomatoes Ripening Poorly?
Two of my city friends this past week have asked me why their tomatoes were not ripening completely. The tops either remained green or just turned yellow. [There is, of course, a lot about this topic on the Internet already, but we'll deal with their questions anyway...]
The sympthoms are commonly referred to either as "green" or "yellow" shoulder respectively, and both are temperature related. If tomato tops, i.e. the stem ends, remain green, it indicates that chlorophyll is not breaking down as the tomatoes attempt to ripen due either to prolonged high temperatures or simply too much direct sun exposure (but not enough to cause sun scorch). High temperatures suppress the production of lycopene, the chemical that makes ripe tomatoes red. If the stem tops turn yellow, it means that temperatures have been sufficiently warm to inhibit lycopene production but not so hot as to stymie the breakdown of chlorophyll. The result is that the tomatoes' carotene [yellow] becomes visible.
Thus, one of the interesting contradictions about tomatoes is revealed: the vines like it hot to grow, but the fruit needs moderate temperatures between 65°F and 75°F to ripen. Backyard gardeners who over prune vines or remove foliage to "give the tomatoes more sun to ripen" are actually doing exactly the opposite of what the fruit needs to ripen fully!FWIW: Most plants produce carotene; most animals don't. In plants carotene absorbs ultraviolet, violet and blue light and transfers that additional solar energy to the plant's chlorophylls that produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water via the complexities of photosynthesis. Humans along with most other animals obtain carotene either from eating plants or other animals. The carotene then is converted into vitamin .
You can attempt to minimize your tomatoes' green or yellow shoulders either by providing some shade in your garden or you can pick the fruit green and ripen it in your cellar as soon as you notice that the fruit is starting to look a little less intensely green. You can also just cut the green or yellow portions off of the fruit and devour the ripe red part.
Although it simply has been hot this year, I know of gardeners and farmers in rural parts of Rensselaer County whose tomatoes have ripened okay -- although they have not all escaped the early onset of late blight. I suspect that we urban/suburban gardeners are just dealing with the effects of the somewhat higher temperatures that occur in heavily built up areas.
Corn Stalks for Mulch
A community gardener I know this year planted corn mainly to use as a mulch on an adjacent abandoned plot. She knew that raccoons would probably get most of the corn, and her expectations about the critters unwillingness to share her corn were realistic; but her decision to use corn to suppress next season's weeds suprised me.  |
| Corn - better for compost than mulch. Photo: I. Stephens |
Because corn stalks do not compress much, their fiber does allow for good aeration in mulch; but unless they are chopped up (or put through a chipper), you will be stepping on the stalks and the cobs for a long time. In a vegetable garden the problem is that pests and diseases that are attracted to or reside in corn will be left in your garden. For this reason corn stalks are better if removed to your compost pile. Farmers simply either plow the stalks into the ground or use it as feed. In your compost pile the fibrous corn stalks will also provide a lot of potential carbon. This can balance the amount of nitrogen that fresh green materials, like grass clippings, abundantly supply.
If you are thinking about what types of mulch you want to use in your vegetable garden or around your ornamental plantings, checkout this U. of Missouri's website about the various characteristics of different kinds of mulches.
Bags For Butternuts
Several years ago when I first planted butternut squash in a new community garden plot, I lost a lot of squash to nibbling pests - probably an evil combination of squirrels, chipmunks and mice. An adjacent gardener suggested that I cover the squash with paper bags when they were starting to ripen as a means to discourage the nibblers. |
| Paper bags covering squash. Photo: I. Stephens |
And remember:
"We have neglected the truth that a good farmer is a craftsman
of the highest order, a kind of artist." - Wendell Berry, Author & Environmental Activist
