Move over winter, spring is coming

Old man winter has been rough on us this year. After dumping about 2 feet of snow just a couple of weeks ago, it is hard to believe that in about a month, the daffodils will be blooming and their trumpets blaring to welcome the start of spring.

After taking inventory of my remaining seeds, perusing through my favorite online catalogs, and of course, drooling over everything that is new for this year – it is finally time to start my vegetable seedlings.

As I have done in years past, I used my APS seed starting containers and a mix of sphagnum peat and a commercial seed starting mix (AKA: germination mix) to start my seedlings indoors.

The APS containers have large holes in the bottom of each cell that need to be temporarily “plugged” to prevent the germination mix from falling through.

To fill the cells, first cover the bottom of pegboard platform with a piece of aluminum foil, then firmly hold the planting cells against the platform and scoop handfuls of the pre-moistened peat/seed starting mix over the cells until just overflowing.

  

 

Gently compact the “soil” in each cell. The “soil” should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch below the top of the cells once compacted. If you lift the container up off the foil, you will see there is very little “soil” that fell through the holes.

 

Keeping the cells on the foil, plant the seeds according to the recommendation on the seed packet (remember to mark what seeds are in which cells). Gently tamp the soil down to make sure the seeds have good contact with the soil.

 

Remove the foil from the pegboard and assemble the APS seed starting container as shown by the vendor and fill the reservoir with water. And then wait. In about 3-21 days, seeds will begin to show signs of life. Typically, the smaller the seed, the faster it will sprout. Patience is key as not everything will germinate at the same time.

Once some of the seeds germinated, I moved the seedlings under fluorescent lights so the seedlings could grow into strong stocky plants. I will remove the clear humidity dome once all the seeds in a tray have germinated. Doing so will help prevent damping off of the plants.

So far, I have planted a variety of herbs, hot and sweet peppers, onions, and hardy, cool weather vegetables such as celery, lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli. With the exception of the peppers, these vegetables will likely be transplanted outdoors around the end of March, beginning of April…well, as long as we don’t get any more snow. In a few weeks, I will start the warm season vegetables (tomatoes, melon, and squash). 

Move over winter, spring is coming!

First hard frost

It is official - the 2013 garden season has come to an end. Last night we had our first hard frost. 

I previously reflected on this year's garden season so I do not want to repeat myself. However, I do want to brag one thing...

I harvest 750.7 lbs of produce. This is 348.6 lbs MORE than last year! And it works out to be more than 3 lbs of produce per square foot. 

Here is the breakdown:

Another summer comes to an end

Garden in early summer

Alas, after 92 days, summer has officially come and gone. As we say goodbye to summer and welcome in fall, I wanted to take a few moments to document my 2013 garden.

I was not able to start seeds as early as I normally do since I spent two weeks out of the country during prime seed starting dates. Nonetheless, this worked out well, because...

The main gardening season got a late start due to a frost that occurred on May 13th - just days after giving away all the extra tomato plants I had grown. I was able to protect the tomato plants I had just planted before the cold weather hit. Luckily, only the tips of the tomato leaves were frost-bitten and the plants were able to survive. However...

Early summer sure was a wet one - the entire east coast was flooded by hard rain for about a month. At first I thought the rain would be good for the newly planted vegetables and fruits, but alas, there is a point where you can get too much water. The tomato plants became infected with leaf spot due to all the wet weather. Fortunately, the tomatoes continued to grow and produce an overabundance of fruit!

Ryan (AKA, Emanuel Labor as he called himself) and I removed two raised beds that were falling apart and he rebuilt me an additional two new 12X5 foot raised beds. My garden now has a total of 240 square feet of space. At first I thought this was not enough (I NEEDED more), but I think I have come to terms with this amount of space. Of course, I do reserve the right to change my mind in future years!

This year has been the best gardening years by far! There are too many successes and very few failures to recap so below are some of the highlights and things for me to remember for next year:

Problems with growing zucchini - part 3

Ever notice your beautiful zucchini plants suddenly wilt in what seems like overnight. If so, a squash vine borer is probably to blame. Unfortunately, the damage is already done by the time you notice the first signs of the plant beginning to wilt. The infested plants usually die very quickly (24-48 hours after I first notice the plants looking weak).

Squash vine borer larvae

The squash vine borer has a cream colored body with a brown head. It overwinters just below the soil surface and emerges in the spring as a moth. The moth looks more like a wasp with an orangish-red body and black wings. The moth lays individual small brown eggs on leaf stalks and vines of zucchini plants. Once hatched, the larva immediately bores into the stem where it feeds before exiting the stem to pupate in the soil. If the plant dies before the borer has completed its life cycle, the larva can migrate to a neighboring plant and resume feeding there.

Frass

The burrowing larvae destroy the internal tissue of the zucchini plant causing the whole plant to die. You will likely notice something that looks like wet sawdust around the base of the plant. This is excrement from the squash vine borer called frass and it is the telltale sign that a squash vine borer has been enjoying dinner at the expense of the zucchini plant. 

Squash vine borers are difficult to control, so the key to squash vine borer management is controlling the borers before they enter the stem. Promptly pull and destroy any plants killed by squash vine borers.

In my experience, the squash vine borer is the worst insect that can invade my garden as it does the most damage before it is even detected.

Problems with growing zucchini - part 2

They're baaack! Squash bugs. How do I know? I found their eggs on the backs of some of my zucchini leaves.

Typically, squash bugs begin arriving in the garden around mid June and attack all cucurbit crops (squash, cucumber, pumpkin, etc). However, in my garden, squash bugs show a strong preference for zucchini.

Squash bugs are often mistaken for stink bugs; however, squash bugs have a slightly longer and leaner body. (I find that squash bugs smell like bubble gum when squished, rather than skunk.) Both insects are equally annoying and difficult to get rid of from the garden.

As soon as they begin to feed, squash bugs start laying eggs, which are found

Squash bug eggs

primarily on the undersides of leaves, between veins of the squash plant. The eggs are brown, oval shaped, and often seen in groups of 10 or more.

The larvae hatch about 2 weeks after eggs are first laid. The larvae morph into nymphs that are light gray in color with black legs. The nymphs feed in groups until they mature into adults (5-6 weeks later).

Leaves and fruits become speckled with sunken puncture wounds from where the squash bugs (nymphs and adults) sucked the sap from the plants. Eventually the feeding will cause enough damage that the plant will wither and die. 

The adult squash bug spends most of their time hiding around the base plant and on the underside of leaves. This, and the fact that squash bugs disperse quickly when disturbed, make it difficult to control squash bugs. Thus, early detection of the squash bug eggs is the key to minimizing damage to the plant. Once I find the eggs, I squish them with the back of my fingernail. This helps to reduce the number of adult squash bugs I find later in my garden.

This year I planted zucchini late in the season (mid-July) to try to avoid a major infestation of squash bugs. This seemed to work, so I will do it again next year.

Problems with growing zucchini - part 1

I cannot grow zucchini for the life of me. I usually start off great with beautiful looking plants and just when they start to produce fruits, something causes its demise. Either a squash vine borer chews through the stem of the plant, squash bugs invade the plants and suck the juice out of the fruits, or powdery mildew strikes. Unfortunately, I have found all three in my garden this week!  It is not surprising since these problems often appear in July/August. But, did I really need to get all three problems at once. Well, it gives me something to b!tch write about.  

Over the next few posts, my plan is to cover each of the problems I have with growing zucchini. I will start with powdery mildew... 

Powdery mildew on zucchini leaves

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that is favored by warm temperatures, high humidity, and poor airflow. It is often seen on zucchini, cucumber, and melon plants.

Shaded from the sun, powdery mildew first appears on the surface of leaves found in the crown or lower portion of the plant. It appears as white/gray, powdery spots on the top sides of leaves. If not controlled, powdery mildew can quickly spread to the stems and fruit of the same or closely related plant families (i.e. curbits: cucumbers, melons, etc).

Prevention ensures the greatest success. To minimize the risk of plants becoming infected with powdery mildew, it is best to grow zucchini (and other curbits) in full sun with proper spacing between plants. 

However, despite these preventative measure, it is still possible for the plants to get a powdery mildew infection. Thus, it is best to monitor the leaves on a weekly basis for signs of infection. 

At the first sign of infection, remove and destroy (do not compost) infected plant parts (leaves and stems). In addition, spray/dust sulfur on the leaves of the infected plants (preferably in the evening to avoid burning the leaves) to help control the spread of the disease. Continue to monitor and remove infected leaves and spray/dust sulfur on a weekly basis. 

Oh, and cross your fingers and hope for the best.  

Growing carrots

Carrots smell amazing when they are first harvested - like a bouquet of wisteria and gardenia. The slightly phenolic aroma is intoxicating. It is no wonder rabbits keep finding their way to my carrot patch! I seriously think the perfume industry is missing out on some untapped fragrances that can be extracted from vegetables. 

The smell of carrots is fresh in my mind as I just harvest the mother load today. It has been a long wait for these sweet treats, especially given the cooler, wet spring we experienced this year. 

Fortunately, not all the carrots were "of size" so I will probably continue to harvest them throughout the rest of the season. A handful every couple of days is still too much for two people, but that is why I have friends, neighbors, and co-workers - to share the bounty! This is probably the real reason I love gardening. If Ryan and I ate everything we harvested, we would be a lot thinner and healthier. But that is for another blog  ;)  

In general, carrots are slow to grow and are picky about their growing conditions. 

Although carrots can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring, seeds germinate best when the soil temperature is 60-65oF. So it is best to give the soil a few weeks to warm up in the early spring. 

Carrot seeds must be seeded directly in the garden. They should be sprinkled over the surface of nutrient-rich, deeply tilled sandy soil that is free of stones. The seeding density needs to be just right: close, but not too close together. This can be quite the chore given the size of carrot seeds and the fact that they are hard to see when sprinkled over the soil surface. There are lots of ways to help get the right spacing, but the easiest is to take a pinch of seeds and gently rub them between your fingers over the surface of the soil...think of how you might sprinkle pepper over your food.

To germinate, carrot seeds need even moisture. But be careful watering! It is best to use a mister to water carrot seeds during the 14-21 days it takes for seeds to germinate to prevent seeds from floating away with every watering. 

I keep the soil evenly moist throughout the growing season. Too much water, especially after a hot spell, may result in the carrots splitting (see photo).

Waterlogged carrot

After about 2 months, to see if the carrot is ready to harvest, look at the thickness of the leaves at the soil line. Carrots are ready to harvest when the leaves at the soil line are thick and about 1 inch in diameter. The shoulder of the carrot may be visible when ready to harvest, but not always. 

To harvest, hold the carrot top close to the soil and give it a tug. Success? You may find you have a tiny root. Try another one. Same thing? Wait another week and check again. If the carrots look like a good size, start harvesting as many as you can eat in a weeks timeframe. 

Carrots can be left in the ground without rotting. You will be in for an even more tasty treat when carrots are allowed to go through a cold spell (light frost).

Praying mantis

Baby praying mantis

Despite its awkward appearance, the praying mantis is a gardener's best friend.

Praying mantis will eat any insect that is large enough to capture their attention, but small enough to grasp with their spiked forelegs. Unfortunately, this sometimes includes honey bees. 

However, for the most part, praying mantises are beneficial insects. They are predators that feed on "bad" bugs such as aphids, moths, flies, and beetles which are more destructive than the honey bee and are often a larger feast for the praying mantis. 

A bugs life is a tough life. Praying mantis are cannibalistic when food sources are scarce. In addition, females will kill their partner after mating and baby mantises will eat each other in an "eat or be eaten" way of life. 

Nonetheless, I am excited that I have finally found a praying mantis in my garden. I just hope that these guys stick around and help me to organically control the insects in my garden. Lord knows I have plenty of japanese beetles feasting on my raspberry bushes and apple trees.

Darn rabbits

Dear Mrs. Bunny, your dare-devil partner, and all your little ones:

I am watching you. 

Peppers eaten by rabbits

I see you in the mornings and in the evenings munching on a variety of produce that is meant for human consumption. I see one bunny as the look out bunny while the others munch away. You think you are SO clever by bringing your cute little 4 inch offspring with you to the feast.  I am on to you.

There are solutions that your family will not like - just look at what I was capable of earlier this year when I was tilling the garden. It could happen again. And this time, it may not be an accident.

Just because you can reach my vegetables, does not mean you can eat my vegetables. If you are seeking vegetation, please eat the weeds which are far more plentiful.

Warm regards,

The FARMER

Tomatoes are here

There are a few things that come to mind when I think of summer: fireflies, longer days, warm nights, hot cars, tall corn stalks, 4th of July, and of course tomatoes.

I cannot wait to see all the different colors and shapes of the heirloom tomatoes I am growing this year - 10 varieties in total (oh my, what was I thinking). 

First of many tomato harvest

I picked my first tomatoes this weekend: one yellow pear tomato, one sweet 100 cherry, two roma, and a handful of sun gold cherry tomatoes. While this harvest was small, it is only a matter of time before I am again swimming in tomatoes. 

Using the peppers, sweet onions, and basil that I have harvested from my garden, I am making my first batch of homemade tomato sauce with about 3 gallons of stewed tomatoes that I froze at the end of last summer.  This is the first of many days to come.