We are in peak garden season and there’s a lot happening out there. The dry weeks of July have made two practices essential: watering and mulching. While you enjoy some satisfying harvests and flowers, stay alert to new pests showing up now to prevent serious damage. There are some more things that can be planted now too. Garlic harvest is almost here so let’s look at the best way to harvest, cure, and select next year’s crop. Weeds are growing too and it’s important to prevent them from producing seed that will come back next year. This week we’ll look at these topics plus a couple important tips to make your garden even more productive.

What can I plant now?  Many of our early plants are now past their prime and can be removed to make room for new ones.  Yes, it’s hard to take away those first lettuces and greens but they can add to your home compost and the space is valuable.  For example, if you like fresh garden salads and greens, you can keep planting new rows including leaf lettuces, mesclun mixes, arugula, spinach, chard, kales, radishes, etc.  I like to start a new planting every 2 weeks to keep fresh harvests coming in.  They need extra watering to get started if it doesn’t rain and some mulch (straw or grass clippings) between the rows keeps them cooler and conserves soil moisture.  Start a couple rows and you’ll be pleased with how well they will grow for you into the late summer and fall.

Tomatoes:  I have a suggestion.  This may not be a popular practice but it’s worth considering if you have had foliage diseases (early blight, septoria, canker, etc) gradually overtake your tomato plants.  Prune off all the lower branches of your staked or caged tomato plants up to 12-18 inches above ground.  Leave no branches that have yellowed, turned brown, or look aged down there.  This accomplishes at least two things: 1. It gets rid of older, non-productive foliage that are no longer feeding the plant but are very susceptible to infection and 2. It creates a gap between the soil (where many diseases may start) and the upper, productive part of your plants.  Yes, they will look a bit odd with bare stems but it seems to slow the progress of diseases up through the plant.  Additionally, keep pruning those “suckers” and be sure you have mulch under the plants to suppress weeds and keep the soil moist.  Applying a weekly spray of compost tea, Serenade, or fungicidal copper are all good organic practices to prevent diseases from getting started.

Pest Alerts.  It’s always something, but if you stay on top of things they won’t get ahead of you.  Japanese Beetles are emerging from the lawns and moving onto raspberries, roses, and whatever is available.  Handpicking works, beetle traps do not, don’t bother. Traps actually attract more beetles than they catch.  A good way to reduce your local beetle population is to mow your grass high (4-6 inches!) so the females don’t lay their eggs there for next year. The second generation of Colorado Potato Beetles are emerging.  Get the young adults and larvae to prevent them from reproducing and save yourself future troubles.   Cabbage moths (white wings with a black spot on each wing) are flying about and mating and laying eggs on cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.  They will hatch into “cabbage worms” that can spoil a great harvest.  Snag the flying adults with a children’s’ butterfly net (you’re allowed to play too!) and apply weekly treatments of Bt or Dipel (caterpillar killer) to the plants.  These are naturally occurring bacteria that will stop the caterpillars and are harmless to us.

While you’re out there watering, mulching, weeding, and picking be sure to look under leaves for insect pest eggs.  When you find single eggs, rows, or clusters you can eliminate them easily to prevent potential pest outbreaks.  Be careful not to disturb clusters of yellow eggs as they probably are beneficial lady beetles that will become your ally by eating many of your garden pests.  Look for web worm hatchings on your fruit trees and raspberries.  If you see dead leaves near the branch ends and webbing, clip that branch off and burn or bury them.  Another effective organic pest preventer for crawling insects and slugs/snails is the application of Diatomaceous Earth (DE) on plants showing leaf damage.  DE is made from fossilized diatoms (no chemicals) that acts like microscopic broken glass to crawling pests such as slugs, snails, earwigs, and ants.

Do you want more flowers?  Keep cutting off mature and fading blossoms just below the flower to stimulate the plants to produce more blossoms instead of putting their energy into seeds.  This called “deadheading” and is an easy way to extend the blossoming of many annual & perennial plants including marigolds, zinnias, petunias, begonias, geraniums, phlox, salvia, Shasta daisy, calendula, coneflowers, and many others. 

Garlic is ready!  If you were ambitious enough to plant garlic last fall, it’s now harvest time.  Watch your plants as they mature and gradually turn yellow to brown.  As they decline the bulbs are enlarging and you want to get them when they are full sized but still tight together, just before the cloves loosen apart.  Tight bulbs will store better, loose bulbs should be used sooner.  Garlic needs to “cure” and dry for storage so plan for a place where you can place them for a few weeks after harvesting.  It’s best to dig (rather than pull) the garlic.  Use a soft brush to clean off the roots and lay the entire plant out to dry in an airy place, some direct sunlight helps.  Do not cut off the plant tops yet.  After drying (1-2 weeks) the bulbs need to cure for another month.  Hang the whole plants or lay them in an out of the way warm location and let them complete their maturation.  These bulbs are the strongest, juiciest garlic you’ll ever have so go ahead and use some in your cooking.  After the stems above the bulbs are completely dried you can cut them off about 2 inches above the bulbs.  You can also now trim off the dried roots to prepare your bulbs for storage in a ventilated basket. 

Finally, be sure to select the Largest of your bulbs to save for planting next year’s crop.  By using the biggest bulbs for planting you will be developing future generations of bigger and better garlic adapted to your specific soil conditions.  We have been selecting our own garlic at Fenn Farmstead & Gardens for 10 years and now have bulbs about double the typical size found commercially with incomparable flavor.  If you haven’t grown your own garlic before, now is the time to begin planning for next year’s crop, don’t miss this great New England harvest again!

Remember to compost your food and yard wastes for the best garden fertilizer.  Here’s a short video to help you make your own compost.

What are you seeing on in your garden?  Got questions?  Suggestions?  Please share them in the Comments section below.