It’s a great feeling to see your garden in full maturity and producing as much or more than you hoped for. That’s the reward that a hard-working gardener deserves and should enjoy this time of year. Harvesting is vital to good production, the more you pick the more you get! Leaving fruits on plants to get over-ripe signals the plants to slow or stop production. Of course, overabundance can become a burden too, unless we have some good ways to…
We are in peak garden production season and there’s a lot happening out there. While you enjoy some satisfying harvests stay alert to new pests showing up now and how to prevent serious damage. Do you know there are some great things that can be planted now? Garlic harvest is almost here, what’s the best way to harvest, cure, and select next year’s crop? This week let’s look at these topics plus a couple key tips to make your garden…
Heat & humidity are great for our gardens but can also trigger the appearance of numerous pests and diseases. Along with the great growth we’re seeing and early harvests of greens, peas, & summer squashes it’s time to keep a keen eye to detect and control any problems before they become serious issues. Healthy, well-watered plants can tolerate most pests and diseases, but plants may need our help when conditions in mid-summer are ideal for unwelcome insects or plant disease…
Gardens are in their peak growth phase and things are getting big fast. So are the weeds, bugs, and slugs. If you have already side-dressed with compost to feed and mulched to cover the soil you can now think about more specific tasks. It’s a great time to be gardening and may seem a challenge just to keep up. Let’s try to focus on a few priority things to do in early July so the garden does well without overwhelming…
Composting is like printing your own money, maybe better! As a home composter you take your kitchen scraps and lawn wastes and turn them into “black gold” for free. I call it gold but it is so valuable and provides so many benefits that it’s actually better than gold. Gardeners, farmers, and landscapers all know about the amazing benefits of compost for gardens and lawns, the environment, and your local economy. With a vision for the future Vermont passed a…
As plants enter their peak vegetative growth phase in June their nutrient requirements increase so they can get bigger and prepare for fruiting (tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, etc.) or storage (carrots, beets, onions, etc.). We’ve had some badly needed rains and things should start to look good out there. Also, this can be when plants in deficient soils run short of essential nutrients and show signs of poor health. In order to promote strong growth and avoid nutrient shortages now…
We’ve had a very dry and unusual spring in Vermont, again. While there is little we can do about the weather, there are some things you can do in the garden to be sure your plants are healthy and thriving despite what nature brings. Mulching is a very good practice to conserve water, suppress weeds, improve the soil, and encourage natural pest control. Let’s take a closer look at the kinds of mulch materials to use, when to apply them,…
If you’re growing asparagus you probably have been harvesting for a couple weeks now. You are not alone in enjoying those delicious, nutritious sprouts – the Asparagus Beetle is now active and it’s time to deal with them! One of the first signs that you have Asparagus Beetles are curved tops on asparagus sprouts known as “shepherds’ hooks”. You might also see the adult beetles on your asparagus, usually up near the tops. They are eating your asparagus and laying…
Garden planting and transplanting is now in full swing. If we can avoid any more cold spells pretty much everything we want to grow can be planted from now on. But one question remains, who makes good garden companions, who do not? Plants affect their neighbors and the soil so we should try to place compatible or non-competitive plants near each other when possible. A similar principle applies when deciding which plant follows recently removed ones (succession). We don’t want…
Protect your young transplants If you ambitiously got your tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, or basil transplanted during this recent warm spell, congratulations, but you may want to give them some protection from the cold spell forecast for Saturday, Sunday, & Monday nights. Temperatures in the low 40s and upper 30s probably won’t kill those plants but it can cause a serious set back and damage to exposed young leaves. Since plants grow mostly at night and chilly night temperatures (below 45F)…