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 us.

Got Tomatoes?  Tomatoes love the warmer days and nights of July & August and will try to grow in every direction possible.  As a sub-tropical plant they don’t “know” that winter is coming and they are trying to be the biggest bush they can be with a couple years of life ahead.  We know better and want to see as many ripe tomatoes as possible before you-know-what happens.  You certainly can let the plants have their way and grow “free-range” tomatoes but with some regular pruning and supports you’ll get more fruits (yes, tomatoes are fruits, actually a type of berry!) with less disease damage. 

If you have a few tomatoes then cages are probably the most practical support system.  You’ll either need 6 ft tall cages or plan to prune the tops before they start falling over.  Tall stakes inside the cages can also give more height support.  The prefab cages sold in big box stores are really inadequate and never seem to do the job.  Try a simple DIY tomato cage that once made will serve you for many years.  Simple staking is a common way to support tomatoes but requires some pruning and regular tying the main stem(s) to the stake to keep them supported.  I plant rows of tomatoes with 20-30 plants and support them with a “stake & weave system” that economizes on stakes and tying time per plant.  One comment about stakes.  Wooden stakes have 2 serious disadvantages:  1) wood rots, so they have a limited life expectancy, and 2) wood can harbor plant diseases (early blight, septoria, canker, etc.) over winter and re-infect your garden every year when you re-use them  Disinfecting them is an option but, I think using steel stakes (u-posts) is more practical and economical in the long run 

Pruning tomatoes is pretty simple if you keep up with a weekly trim.  Your primary goal is to encourage one or two main stems and to eliminate the extra side shoots or “suckers”.  This practice can be debated but by keeping the plant less dense and more open to sunshine & air circulation you are reducing the chances of diseases getting established and ruining your crop.  Don’t be afraid to take off a big sucker if it escaped your earlier pruning, the plant will be fine. 

Garlic scapes are ready.  The blossom shoot of garlic plants make a great early harvest and your bulbs will be bigger.  Snip them off before they completely curl around and get too fibrous to eat.  We roast the tender part below the flower bud and freeze the surplus in 1 inch pieces for winter soups and sauces. 

Fall broccoli and cauliflower are the best for eating fresh and freezing and early July is the time to start those seeds.  For some reason garden centers don’t carry late season plants like these but you can easily start you own from seed.  They will germinate quickly in this warm weather and you can grow them entirely outdoors in a sunny, protected, location.  Get them growing now.

Pest & disease scouting is essential to successful gardening – here what to watch for on your daily inspections.

Slugs & snails love marigolds, petunias, cleome, and all tender salad greens.  Set out some beer traps and/or apply iron phosphate (Sluggo).  I’ve caught over 10 slugs per night in beer traps so know they do help.  To keep them from getting flooded with rain water I cover traps with a larger plastic yogurt cups inverted over the smaller trap cup.  Cut small V notches out along the rim of the large cups to give slugs access to the party inside.

Leaf Hoppers have been very active and can cause leaf damage to many garden plants including beans, corn, beets, & potatoes.  Look for edge yellowing & curling with tiny spots caused by their toxic or infectious saliva.  If damage is minor healthy plants will outgrow the damage.  If it seems to be hurting the plants, they can be controlled with diatomaceous earth or insecticidal soap applied after every rain until damage is eliminated.  These are both registered for organic gardening.

Birds have been enjoying our strawberries and are now watching the ripening blueberries and raspberries.  We certainly do not want to harm any visiting birds but will want to limit how much we share with them.  Complete protection can be realized with a supported bird net over the bushes and well anchored to the ground.  (Available at the Mount Holly Farmers’ market.)  I’ve also had success with Bird Repellent tapes that provide a flashy, scary (to birds) show all day over our bushes.  I also hang a Big Eye Balloon over the garden to discourage birds and deer, plus it looks so cool.

Cabbage moths are flying around looking for places to lay eggs for another generation of leaf eating caterpillars (cabbage worms).  They are the small, white moths zig zagging around our gardens these days. There are several effective organic controls available but I use 3 methods.  All Brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) get treated with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt or Dipel) to control the caterpillars on leaves.  This is a beneficial bacteria that blocks their digestive systems but is harmless to us.  Hand picking the green caterpillars is effective and I remove as many adults as I can with a toy butterfly net.  Moths are very fast and know how to avoid the net so you’ll need some practice.  I find that approaching them with net down, below them and sweeping upwards very quickly works best.  Good luck.

Tick Check.  There are ticks in the area and we need to be very watchful for them on ourselves and pets.  I’ve already removed 2 from myself this week and know there are more out there waiting.  Ticks carry some serious diseases and are one of the hazards we now need to deal with.  Use repellents, tuck your pants into socks, and inspect.

What are you focusing on in the garden?  Got questions?  Remember: Bring your plant or bug samples to the Mount Holly farmers’ market Plant Clinic on Saturday mornings.