Tag Archives: vegetables

Smoke Not a Problem for Vegetables

June 9, 2023 sgn32

by Steve Reiners, Professor in Horticulture, Cornell University, Cornell AgriTech

A vegetable garden with a combination of cabbage surrounded by small yellow and orange flowers and dark purple leafy greens Canadian wildfires are impacting air quality here in the Northeast. Smoke has filled the sky and warnings are issued for outdoor activities. This is making many growers and gardeners worried about the potential impact the smoke will have on field grown vegetables. The good news is the impact will be minimal at worst.

Smoke filled skies decrease sunlight and reduce photosynthesis but to a small degree and temporarily. Despite the shade, there is still enough diffused light penetrating the smoke to maintain growth. Smoke typically does not block the pores in the leaf (stomata) where photosynthesis happens. The most important thing you can do is maintain good soil moisture by optimizing irrigation. This will keep the pores open and clean. The droughty conditions this spring are likely to cause more of a problem than the smoke.

Concerns that leafy greens and other commodities will pick up a smokey flavor are unwarranted. Recent research done in California after wildfires there showed leafy greens had no issues with flavor or possible volatile chemicals on or within the leaves. The smoke we’re seeing does not contain dangerous chemicals.

The smoke we are experiencing is nearly 100% from the burning forests, not plastics, buildings or chemicals as seen in recent train derailments. The rain that falls through this smoky layer is also not dangerous to plants, people or animals. Unlike acid rain that forms from the burning of high sulfur fuels, the rain will be near neutral pH or just slightly acid.

Pollinators will likely stay close to their hives when it’s smoky. It’s a little early in the season for pollination of squash and other fruiting crops, so this should not be a problem. Even if the crop has flowers, bees will become active again as soon as the smoke clears.

Mask up when you’re outside tending to your plants as the smoke is a danger to you and me. But the vegetables should be fine. Keep them well watered, and you should be enjoying a normal harvest later this summer.

Gardening Knowledge

Is Broccoli Man-Made?

January 28, 2022 sgn32

by Joan Kean, Pine Bush Master Gardener Volunteer

Is broccoli man-made? This was a question recently posed to me by a newcomer to the Community Garden that I frequent. I had no idea as to the correct answer, so I told the gentleman that I would have to research the topic and would share the results with him as soon as possible. What follows in this article are the results of my research.

While there are many edible plants that can be foraged in the wild (i.e. asparagus, berries, onions, etc.), broccoli is not one of them. Broccoli is in fact a human invention. It is not known exactly how many years ago broccoli was created, but it is believed that early varieties of this plant were cultivated in the Mediterranean region during the Roman Empire in the 6th century BCE. After its creation over 2000 years ago, broccoli continued to be improved through artificial selection in parts of what is now Italy. Then in 16^th century broccoli was introduced in other parts of Europe which eventually lead to cultivation in those areas. Although broccoli was brought over the United States in the 17^th century it was not grown commercially until the 1920s.

Drawing of Brassica oleracea highlighting th leaf, flower, and root structure — A wild variety of Brassica oleracea

Broccoli is a derivative of the Brassica oleracea, also known as wild cabbage or wild mustard. The leaves, stems and flowering heads of wild mustard are edible, but bitter. In an effort to improve its palatability, farmers identified characteristics in some wild mustard plants that they wanted to keep and planted seeds from those plants, gradually emphasizing certain traits. This process is a type of genetic modification known as selective breeding or artificial selection.

Selective breeding is an extensive and lengthy process. Plants with favorable characteristics such as larger or tastier fruits and/or greater yield are propagated. Propagation is not only achieved by seed from the desired plants, but also from asexual propagation from cuttings, grafting, layering, etc. Eventually a plant is produced that has the desired characteristics and when reproduced retains those unique characteristics. This new plant is considered a cultivar and has a genetic makeup that differs from the wild type of the plant.

The obvious disadvantage of selective breeding is that it is a very long and laborious process, requiring many years to obtain the desired results. Yet selective breeding is an important process as it is not only used to improve taste and yield, but also to obtain plants that are more resistant to disease and pests as well as withstand harsh environmental conditions, such as low temperatures, drought, wind, and salinity.

Diagram: HIghlighting the parts of the wild mustard plant (Brassica oleracea) that were selectively breed to create cabbage (terminal leaf bud), kale (leaves), broccoli (flower buds/stem, and cauliflower (flower buds) Many of the vegetables included in the Brassiceae family are not actually different species, just cultivars of wild mustard. Plants with a large terminal bud were bred to produce cabbage. Plants with desirable leaves eventually became kale and collard greens. Brussels sprouts were developed from plants with large lateral buds while those with larger stems became kohlrabi. In the case of broccoli and cauliflower, the flowers were the focus.

Just as broccoli is man-made, all the fruits and vegetables you see in the grocery store today are all a result of thousands of years of genetic manipulation.

Learn More

Crop Breeding – Crop Science Society of America
A great primer on plant breeding – what it is, how it is done, how it affects you.

How to Make a GMO – Science in the News – Harvard University
A great primer on how genetically modified organisms are created using genetic engineering.

VIDEO: Everything is Broccoli – Science in Real Life
A bit technical, but highly entertaining and educational video!

Wild Greens – Academy of Nutrients and Dietetics
Nutritional information about several wild greens that you can forage in your own backyard.

Uncategorized

Book Reviews

December 22, 2021 sgn32

Photo: Person with long brown hair, wearing comfy socks and sweat pants, sitting on the floor in front of a blazing fire place reading a book as a black and white cat rests its head on their leg Winter has arrived! While there isn’t much to be doing outside in our gardens, the winter is a great opportunity to spend time learning more about gardening. So grab one of these books recommended by our Master Gardener Volunteers, sit by the fire, and spend time cultivating your mind this winter.

Book List

Freedom’s Gardener: James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America by Myra Beth Young Armstead

Garden Alchemy: 80 Recipes and Concoctions for Organic Fertilizers, Plant Elixirs, Potting Mixes, Pest Deterrents, and More by Stephanie Rose

Good Garden Bugs by Mary M. Gardiner, Ph. D.

The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden by Roy Diblik

Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations by Ken Druse

Square Foot Gardening with Kids by Mel Bartholomew

The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardner’s Handbook by Ron and Jennifer Kujawski

The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency by Anna Hess

The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith

A Year at Brandywine Cottage by David L. Culp

Your Wellbeing Garden: How to Make Your Garden Good for You – Science, Design, Function by D.K. Publishing

Freedom’s Gardener: James F. Brown, Horticulture, and the Hudson Valley in Antebellum America

by Myra Beth Young Armstead

Reviewed by Madelene Knaggs, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

Freedom’s Gardener is impeccably researched and full of detail. It is the kind of book that grabs the attention of readers interested in gardening, local history, Black history, and the concept of freedom. Armstead, a professor of history at Bard College, extracts small details from the diary of James F. Brown to compose a story illustrating the concept of freedom as it developed in the United States in the decades following the Revolutionary War.

James F. Brown was born a slave in 1793 and died a free man in 1868. He escaped slavery in Maryland to the Hudson Valley of New York State, where he was employed as a gardener by the wealthy Verplanck family in Beacon, NY (on what is presently the Mount Gulian Historic Site).

Brown kept a detailed diary over 39 years, with entries covering weather, gardening, and steamboat schedules, as well as domestic matters. James began his career with the Verplancks as a waiter and a laborer, but eventually assumed the duties as the Verplanck Estate’s master gardener. He managed and supervised garden, farm, and nursery workers. He was also responsible for making major purchases for the Verplanck house and garden. He frequently interacted in Newburgh with Andrew Jackson Downing, the famed lAmerican landscape designer and editor of The Horticulturist magazine (1846–1852). Brown attended the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Show in Philadelphia as well as the New York Horticultural Society Exhibition.

This book has been recommended by the Library Journal to historians of antebellum America and the social aspects of horticulture, as well as those interested in historical diaries. Armstead’s well-researched study of Brown’s work greatly expands our understanding of the Hudson Valley and the people and plants that have shaped it.

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Garden Alchemy: 80 Recipes and Concoctions for Organic Fertilizers, Plant Elixirs, Potting Mixes, Pest Deterrents, and More

by Stephanie Rose

Reviewed by Mary Presutti, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

As a newly minted Master Gardener Volunteer, I frequently turn to my class notes for advice in the garden. Now I have another, more portable source. In this one handy, slim volume, Canadian Master Gardener Stephanie Rose has compiled a nifty hands-on guide with useful recipes to get everyone’s garden in top shape.

The book is loaded with step-by-step instructions beginning with homemade methods to test your soil, then on to recipes for soil amendment, custom mulch, compost boosters, fertilizers, garden teas, potting soils, and even a method to produce your own worm castings. The ingredients are common items available in your home.

Even wildlife has not been left out. There are techniques for encouraging as well as discouraging nature in the garden. Some of my plants go outdoors in the summer months. They invariably bring fungus gnats back indoors in the fall. She has a fix to keep them away. She also includes a bottle trap for flies, wasps, and stinkbugs—all with their own individual bait recipes.

As a plus, Ms. Rose has included some fun activities to keep gardeners occupied while their plants are sleeping this winter season. You can make seed bombs, suet holders, butterfly puddlers, and more.

Garden Alchemy is chock full of beautiful, interesting photographs and diagrams that complement the easy to understand, straight to the point text. I recommend it for all gardeners.

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Good Garden Bugs

by Mary M. Gardiner, Ph.D.

Review by Donna Beyer, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

All gardeners must deal with bugs — good bugs, bad bugs — but some of us aren’t sure which is which. Good Garden Bugs is directed to the home gardener who might not know the difference. As gardeners, we invest time and effort into making our gardens the most beautiful and productive they can be, yet bugs can present challenges to our efforts. Most of us understand the need for good bugs, but sometimes find it difficult to live in harmony with them.

The book begins by providing information on the classification, anatomy, and the life cycle of garden bugs. The information helps the gardener understand how each stage of a bug’s development has different enemies and threats, and is presented in a way that non-academics can understand. How bugs overwinter and mature provides the gardener with valuable insight into promoting good garden bugs.

The chapter that discusses controls we use to regulate bug populations can help gardeners understand how their actions affect them. This section also stresses the need for native plants to promote healthy habitats that support good bug populations.

The chapters that follow are the core of the book. Each subsequent chapter is dedicated to an order of bug that describes the unique attributes and common examples of bugs that fall into that order. The book also includes large color photos with descriptions of each.

Over half the chapters are dedicated to wasps, beetles, and spiders. These bugs are the most plentiful and can be difficult to identify. These orders can do serious damage to plants and humans alike, so being able to identify these “good” bugs is especially important. Gardeners want to promote good bugs that fall into these orders, but also want to protect themselves and their gardens.

Currently, in the age of the internet, having a resource you can carry to the garden that will assist with pest identification is invaluable. This book is slim but does not skimp on content and is a valuable addition to a home gardener’s library.

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The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden

by Roy Diblik

Reviewed by Cecille Jones, Monroe Master Gardener Volunteer

If the title of this book doesn’t hook you, perhaps the words on the cover will. In red ink, it loudly declares knowing your plants means less work. Or perhaps you’ve heard of Roy Diblik, the renowned plantsman behind the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park in Chicago.

Diblik’s approach to gardening stresses harmony with how plants grow and interact with each other. He advocates knowing your plants so you can plant them in self-sustaining communities. By doing so, you will spend less time maintaining them and more time enjoying them.

The author focuses on perennials because he believes they are the foundation of durable, diverse and beautiful gardens. According to Diblik, once you’re familiar with perennials, then you will recognize how and when to add annuals, vegetables, herbs, shrubs and trees.

Diblik believes that traditional gardening has become so culturally defined over the last 50 years that it is now a source of frustration and defeat for most gardeners.

In the first four chapters, he covers the basics – from understanding plant growth to soil, light, site preparation, and more. Chapter 5 covers 74 key perennials selected for their dependability, suitability to the northern half of the U.S., adaptability to soil & seasonal changes, and durability.

The true treasure is saved for Chapter 6 and beyond, where Diblik provides more than 60 garden plans, each designed to cover a 10 – 14’ rectangle, categorized by plans for growing in sun or shade, and complete with notes on care and maintenance. Assuming you are diligent about care and maintenance, Diblik claims that each plan should take about 3 to 4 hours of work per week.

Diblik’s approach will put you on a path to a style of gardening that stresses harmony, simplicity and enjoyment.

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Natural Companions: The Garden Lover’s Guide to Plant Combinations

by Ken Druse

Reviewed by Gerda Krogslund, Middletown Senior Master Gardener Volunteer

For this book, author Ken Druse worked in conjunction with artist Ellen Hoverkamp who provided the beautiful botanical photographs throughout. Each chapter explores plants in a different light looking at season, family, form, function, color, spirit of place, or theme.

Take a journey through the seasons starting with signs of spring and continuing through the year concluding with winter and new awakenings. Learn about different plant families and delve into the numerous varieties found in each. Form follows function – examine the many different shapes, textures, structures and growth habit of flowers and other plants. Be inspired by pictures of flowers with both similar colors and exciting color combinations. Consider the spirit of place and think about what you can plant in woodlands, meadows, wetlands, rain gardens, and rock gardens. Explore themed gardens grown for fragrance, roses, pollinators, birds, cutting, edible plants, herbs, medicinal plants, and toxic plants.

This is not a “how-to” manual but a book that suggests possible plant combinations for your consideration. It gives you lots of ideas in which you can take your reliable basic plants and add others to make your garden even more spectacular. Ken Druse knows that gardening is very personable and suggests that while you read through the book, you make lists of combinations that appeal to you.

A garden is never really complete but more a work in progress as we continually experiment with new plants and new plant arrangements. I’ve spent hours going through this book and I know I’ll come back again and again.

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Square Foot Gardening with Kids

by Mel Bartholomew

Reviewed by Brooke Moore, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

Getting children interested in growing food and learning more about the natural world is an admirable goal. And one that does not have to be boring or pedantic.

This lovely book by the master of Square Foot Gardening, provides kids from toddlers to teens with all the tools they need to build, manage, grow and harvest a vegetable garden. It encourages starting small and building more as confidence and experience lead one to wanting a larger planting area.

With a format that provides age-appropriate tasks and goals at every step, this book also works for the whole family. I loved that there are clues to help parents not be overly involved but rather encourage the children to figure out how to do things themselves. It covers building raised beds, making soil mixes, how to make a grid system, water issues, protecting plants from predators, best growing practices, and much more.

Teachers and classroom projects are also a part of the book, and these can be used by anyone. Math, science, art, and history are all related to gardening, and the book provides simple and interesting activities to bring these skills into the garden and to use the garden to develop entirely new ones. Measuring, weighing, keeping a planting journal are all well described and encouraged. There are good photos and illustrations for each step and lots of handy tips and “how to” suggestions.

This is a book with “kids” in the title, but it truly is a book for anyone and everyone interested in exploring how to use this simple system to have a successful garden harvest.

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The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardner’s Handbook

by Ron and Jennifer Kujawski

Reviewed by Kimberly Marshall, Washingtonville Master Gardener Volunteer

If there were only one vegetable gardening book I could use throughout the gardening year, it would be The Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook by Ron and Jennifer Kujawski. This dynamic father-and-daughter gardening duo have made an indispensable resource that should grace the bookshelves of vegetable gardeners everywhere.

It provides week-by-week vegetable gardening how-to’s that coincide with each planting season. A chart at the beginning of the book helps you identify where you are in your own area’s growing season, using your first and last frost dates as a guide. For example, if your last frost date is mid-May, as it is for many of us here in Orange County, you enter that date in the calendar’s “Week 1,” which starts your weekly to-do’s (first week, two weeks out, three weeks out, etc.).

Based on these dates, the book explains which week to start seeds indoors, plant cover crops, look for pests, harvest your crops, and fertilize each and every vegetable you can think of, with plenty of gardening tips and tricks along the way. There are even steps for gardening in the winter, with instructions for planning gardens and ordering seeds, so you can work on or think about your garden all year long.

The book also includes space for journaling your thoughts and experiences. There is ample room for notes in each section to remind yourself of what you planted and any issues you might have experienced, helping you to avoid making the same mistakes the following year.

If you’re looking for a step-by-step vegetable gardening book that tells you exactly what to do and when to do it, give this one a try—especially if you find the idea of vegetable gardening a bit overwhelming, like I do. It breaks everything down into easy steps, making even the scariest parts of gardening seem effortless while helping you realize what’s truly possible for your garden along the way.

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The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency

by Anna Hess

Reviewed by Robin Portelli, Cornwall Master Gardener Volunteer

As I was perusing through gardening books on the Libby App from my local library, the book title, The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self Sufficiency by Anna Hess caught my attention. I was envisioning a book with information that would inspire me to become a self-sufficient gardener without feeling overwhelmed or pressured that I needed to go off the grid or never buy grocery produce again. I was not disappointed.

In her introduction, Anna Hess immediately connects with the novice homesteader. She understands that the dream of full-time homesteading can be daunting for most people. “Weekend Homesteader is full of short projects that you can use to dip your toes into the vast ocean of homesteading without becoming overwhelmed,” she writes. So, I began to read.

The book is divided by months beginning in the month of April or October if you live down under. Each month introduces you to topics that are important factors in growing a successful garden and maintaining a small homestead. Some homesteading basics covered that are more familiar to most of us include budgeting skills and record keeping (ugh!), healthy soil, garden rotation, and how to build a chicken coop. Anna Hess also touches upon less well-known details and tips such as how to find space to plant if you live in the city, how to stay warm without electricity for longer periods of time, and how to extend the gardening season by making your own garden hoops. Recipes, canning, cooking, and details of food/seed storing options are among some of the other multitude of topics.

Overall, I would give this book 4.5/5 stars.

Pros: It was well organized and gave many tips that only an experienced homesteader would know. It could help a novice homesteader avoid rookie mistakes. This book was published in 2012, but the topics and information are still very practical and relevant.

Cons: It covers the basics so an already experienced homesteader may not reap much benefit by reading it. Also, it is missing a chapter specific to urban gardening topics.

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The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature

by Sue Stuart-Smith

Reviewed by Sharon Lunden, Goshen Master Gardener Volunteer

In The Well-Gardened Mind, Stuart-Smith, a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist, delves into the therapeutic aspects of immersing yourself in a garden. This is not a how-to garden book but instead outlines the well-researched benefits to the human body, mind, and soul to be found in the natural world around us.

Our brain cells are like branching trees, requiring pruning, weeding, and room to grow. Experience and pain can be “composted” into something beneficial. Gardens reflect our lives, periods of yield and beauty, loss and rest. Our minds as gardens seek light, cultivation, seeding, nourishment, watering, and replenishment. Souls and bodies begin to heal and thrive in the peace, safety, and beauty of the confines of a flower or vegetable garden. We need the earth as much as the earth needs us to care for and cherish it, a full circle. By learning to care for a garden, we better learn to care for ourselves and others.

This is a fascinating book which I recommend to you, as it can prove helpful and comforting in the midst of the stress of these difficult times.

If we put energy into cultivating the earth, we are given something back. There is magic in it and there is hard work in it, but the fruits and flowers of the earth are a form of goodness that is real; they are worth believing in and are not out of reach. When we sow a seed, we plant a narrative of future possibility. It is an action of hope. Not all the seeds we sow will germinate, but there is a sense of security that comes from knowing you have seeds in the ground. (pp. 65–66)

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A Year at Brandywine Cottage

by David L. Culp

Reviewed by Madelene Knaggs, New Windsor Master Gardener Volunteer

A Year at Brandywine Cottage leads us on a journey through an exquisite garden that represents a lifetime of hard work, passion, successes and disappointments, experience and knowledge. Engaging prose and beautiful photography take the armchair gardener on a virtual tour through each season as the author informs us of the Latin genus and species and the botanical and historical facts about each plant.

Author and gardener David Culp states, “By looking closely at my garden over a period of time, and allowing it to speak to me, I find that the garden at Brandywine Cottage wants six seasons. As you will see, this book chronicles what happens in my garden over the course of those seasons.”

Culp demonstrates his deep knowledge of plants season by season with such tips and techniques for a successful layered garden as adding pots of tropicals (he has 400 pots) into the beds to boost a tired August garden, or clipping distracting dead leaves off hellebores before they bloom. He also weaves in family and local recipes using ingredients from his own beautiful vegetable garden.

Beginning in February (in the chapter “Early Spring”), he shows us the sleepy phase in the garden when most people are oblivious to any plant life. He proves that there is much to behold—the emerging bulbs of crocus, dwarf iris, glory-of-the-snow, winter aconite, witch hazels, and the author’s large collection of snowdrops. As the season progresses into March, daffodils and hellebores take center stage. He continues to show the progression and overlapping from season to season and from outdoors to inside the home.

This book will inspire readers with ideas for their own gardens, and will encourage plans in anticipation of the upcoming season.

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Your Wellbeing Garden: How to Make Your Garden Good for You – Science, Design, Function

by D.K. Publishing

Review by Patricia Henighan, Walden Master Gardener Volunteer

If you have been gardening for a while, you probably don’t need to be convinced that your garden is good for you. Nevertheless, this delightfully designed and easy to digest book uses scientific research drawn together by a team of scientists from the Royal Horticultural Society to present the whys and hows of creating an outdoor space that nourishes both the mind and the body, and is good for the planet. Each section encapsulates the latest research on topics such as how to fight air pollution, reduce noise pollution, help pollinators, address climate change, and provide fodder for your brain.

The authors use diagrams and illustrations to explain concepts such as how different types of leaves trap air pollutants and why vegetation is a better at reducing noise pollution than a fence or a wall. They explore topics such as Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS) which rates plants from 1 to 10 for allergenicity using eye-catching illustrations that show why certain flower and tree species are better choices if you are looking to avoid flying pollen.

Many people spend time outside to find peace and tranquility in a chaotic world. Research has found that when seeking “natural restoration”, we respond best to natural features that are moderately complex – not too smooth and not too busy. A grassy area with openings and some trees provides the highest rewards for inducing tranquility. Fractals or repeating branching patterns, which occur frequently in nature, can be added to a garden to ensure the landscape provides release for the brain from stress and anxiety. The authors encourage you to design a mindfulness corner with a comfortable seat in an area cushioned from street noise with a soothing sound of water or bees buzzing. Who said gardens must be all work?

Gardening can be a solitary pursuit or a communal activity. It can benefit people from all walks of life. Children and adults with special needs can benefit from the experience of growing flowers and food crops. Horticultural therapy is a way in which gardening is used to help people suffering from trauma and illness. For immigrants, growing crops from their home country can help to allay homesickness. And when it comes to children and gardening, psychologists have found that children can cultivate character by taking care of their own individual garden plots. It is also thought that by handling dirt at an early age, children increase their exposure to beneficial microbes, which may boost the immune system.

Since climate change is an ongoing challenge for everyone, the last section covers many aspects of creating a sustainable garden. There are suggestions on how to change barren, water-gobbling lawns into more resilient spaces and the latest recommendations on how to care for your soil, avoid impermeable surfaces, capture run-off, and design rain gardens. Obviously, it is a win-win situation as making your garden better for you will also make it better for the environment.

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Vegetable Gardening

Seven Crops to Plant in August for a Fall Harvest

August 10, 2021 sgn32

By Cecille Jones, Monroe Master Gardener Volunteer

This article appeared in the August 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County.

If you have been enjoying your summer vegetable harvest, there is no reason why you can’t extend your growing season through the fall and winter.

Those of us who live in Orange County, NY, are in planting USDA Hardiness Zone 6A/6B and can expect the first frost to arrive on or around October 15. Since planting for a good fall harvest starts six to eight weeks before the first anticipated frost date, the dog days of August are a good time to start.

Here are seven crops good for Zones 5 – 7 that you can plant this month for nutritious edibles on your dinner table.

Brassica or Cole Crops

Head of broccoli growing on a broccoli plant — Broccoli

What could be more delicious than garden fresh broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts? This family of plants are perfect crops to harvest come fall. Plant them as seedlings or starters from your local nursery, not as seeds. Put the starters in the ground six weeks before the first frost and plan on protecting them late in the season with a fabric row cover or a hoop house. If you want to plant from seeds, June of next year is the time to start.

Kale

All types of kale also belong to the Brassica family, but kale can be planted by seed or seedling all through August. If you are short on time by a couple of weeks, you can always harvest baby kale, something the supermarket sells at a premium. As this plant matures, frost and even freezing temperatures sweeten them. To overwinter kale, protect them with a piece of heavy row cover.

Lettuce

Summer heat can burn lettuce leaf tips and cause it to get bitter, but not so for lettuce planted through August and harvested in the fall and early winter. Despite its appearance, lettuce leaves are hardy and can easily tolerate cold night temperatures and moderate frost. You can plant seeds 8 weeks before the first frost. If you want to harvest baby greens, you can plant as late as two weeks before Jack Frost makes his entrance. To get a good start on early spring lettuce next year, you can overwinter lettuce in a cold frame.

Asian Greens

Also, part of the Brassica family, Chinese greens like pak choi and tatsoi are quite hardy and grow well in the fall. You can plant these from seed eight weeks before October 15. If you want an earlier harvest, start them indoors and then tuck them in your garden as spots start to clear out in August.

Spinach

For a long harvest, plant the amazing spinach. If you start in August, you will be enjoying this vegetable by mid-October. Use protection from a hoop house or cold frame and you can continue harvesting small amounts all winter long. When spring arrives, this plant will take off again and yield a great harvest until May.

Beets

You cannot go wrong with planting beets. To harvest the root crop, you need to plant eight weeks before the first frost, but do not let the calendar stop you. Anything planted after six weeks before the frost will yield tasty tops, which you can add to your fall salads. Sadly, beets are not hardy enough to survive the winter.

Carrots

Carrots make a great fall and winter treat. With colder temperatures, the starches turn to sugars, making carrots sweet and delicious. Give your carrot seeds a good, healthy start by watering the seedbed once or even twice daily. When the weather starts to get colder in December, use a hoop house, cold frame or straw cover. You might also want to pick a variety that has a short maturity date so they can get ready by winter.

There are many other crops you can plant in August. Think arugula, radish, and leeks. Whatever you decide to plant, here is to a bountiful fall harvest and bon appetit.

(Special thanks to Master Gardener Sabrina Conti for sharing information on fall harvesting.)

Gardener's Checklist, July

Gardener’s Checklist

July 22, 2021 sgn32

July 2021

Garden Maintenance

Keep weeding and mulching.

Pinch back petunias to encourage bushy growth.

Deadhead annuals and perennials regularly.

Keep lawn mower blades sharp. Mow lawn high (2½ to 3 inches).

Pest Watch

Check your garden for slugs and slug damage.

Dump out any standing water from containers in your yard to prevent mosquito breeding.

How to Manage Mosquitoes in the Landscape – New York State Integrated Pest Management

Colorado potato beetle larvae

Scout often for pest in your vegetable garden.

What Kind of Insect is Destroying my Plants?– Gardening in Orange County New York Blog

Hand pick Colorado potato beetles—larvae and adults.

Watch you squash plants for signs of squash vine borer.

Vegetable Gardening

Brussels sprouts

Keep tucking your indeterminate tomato vines inside the cages.

Sow cool season crops.

Virtual Workshop: Summer Planting for an Autumn Harvest – Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County

Brown bullseye lesions on a yellowing tomato leaf — Early blight on tomato

Continue to remove weeds, as they compete with your garden plants for water, sunlight, and space.

Remove diseased or yellow leaves from tomato plant.

Got Blight? Which One? – NYS Integrated Pest Management

Go pollinators go!

Bumble bee on the petals of an echinacea bloom

Vegetable Gardening

Building a Hoop House

June 25, 2021 sgn32

By Joe Gregoire, Warwick Senior Master Gardener Volunteer

This article appeared in the June 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County.

I love to garden. I wouldn’t have become a Master Gardener Volunteer if I weren’t passionate about getting my hands dirty and growing food for my family and friends. My favorite time of year is the growing season, and I sure don’t like winter much. If not for the fact that I was born in the Northeast and all my family and friends are here, I’d probably move to another part of the country with a more favorable, Mediterranean climate for year-round growing, like Southern California—or even my dream retirement, to a home in Tuscany! Who knows, maybe someday I will.

Garden covered with row cover Until then, though, I have to enjoy the four seasons we’re blessed with in Orange County, New York. I’ve tried a number of strategies over the years to extend my growing season. Using row covers in the garden gives my cold-weather crops an earlier start in spring and extends my late harvest until the deep freeze sets in. I start my seedlings each February inside, under grow lights, and I grow sprouts and microgreens in the kitchen to add to salads in December and January. And I always do have houseplants to tend year-round. But I’ll admit I’ve found all these off-season activities underwhelming as they provide only the faintest scratch for my gardening itch.

The reflecting pool in the Palms of the World Gallery of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory at the New York Botanical Garden One of my favorite winter road trips is a visit to the New York Botanical Garden. No matter what cold winds blow or rain or snow falls during my wintertime visits, a walk through the conservatory instantly transports me to a tropical paradise. I’ve always dreamt of building my own conservatory onto my home, but as our tall house casts a deep shadow over the back where we could build a conservatory, it just doesn’t make sense where we are (not to mention the high cost of such an addition).

During my last winter visit to my favorite local nursery, a different idea came to mind. Walking into their hoop house to look at poinsettias, that same tropical paradise feeling covered me like a blanket fresh from the dryer. Nice! “What if we build a hoop house in our backyard?” I asked my wife. And since she understands me well enough to know what makes me happy, she encouraged me to pursue the idea and call it my Christmas present. Yes, I also have a habit of giving myself big projects as my “gifts”. The pizza oven I built for my last birthday is proof of that.

So, online I went to learn as much about hoop house construction as possible to understand what’s involved and how much it would cost. There are many, many videos on the topic on YouTube, and some of them are very useful. My research taught me what the pros and cons are for various shapes and sizes, and if a single poly layer would work for me or if I should use a double layer with an air space blown in between the layers. And many of these YouTube videos contained useful links to suppliers of hoop house construction materials, from complete kits that ship to your home with assembly instructions to more DIY solutions. I was willing to spend some money to achieve my goal, but not too much. As this is a passion and not a profession, I’m not looking to make a return on my investment and, as I was born in Connecticut, my Yankee frugality also tends to restrain my spending.

Bootstrap Farmer Logo I settled on a solution offered by a company called “Bootstrap Farmer,” which, as their name implies, promised to equip me with a smart solution worthy of a farmer without emptying my bank account. (I have to state here that this is not an endorsement or a paid advertisement. I am sharing my personal experience so you can see what is involved in building a hoop house, regardless of the company you choose.) Since I’m a DIYer, the options they provided allowed me to source some materials from them and the rest from local retailers, saving money on shipping costs. Their website has useful tools that helped me plan my hoop house build and budget my project before I was committed to placing an order. Their instructional videos and manual made what I imagined would be a complex process very doable.

In late December I placed the order for my own Christmas present (my wife is great!), and within a week our friendly UPS driver dropped off a few large boxes. One box was filled with nuts, bolts, screws, metal joints used to connect the hoops, and the gear boxes for the roll-up side kit I chose. The next box contained the tool I’d need to bend the 10-foot metal poles that I’d use to make the hoops, and the third and heaviest box contained the polyethylene cover I’d stretch over the erected hoops. And with that delivery, I was ready to order the rest of my supplies from my local retailer. As those consisted of large and heavy poles and lumber, I chose to have them delivered as well.

Hoop house under construction Now that I had all the materials, it was time to start my build. In hindsight, I probably should have timed the project differently. As you can imagine, building an outdoor structure in January is not what you’d call great planning. But passionate as I am, I didn’t let darkness and subfreezing temperatures prevent my dream from coming to life. So outside I worked, using a pickaxe to break through the frozen topsoil, leveling the perimeter where I’d be pounding in the 4-foot-long ground posts—22 in all for the 20’ × 40’ hoop house. Spaced every 4 feet, the ground posts are pounded 2 feet into the ground to leave 2-foot lengths sticking up above the surface. These 1-5/8” steel ground posts are the same as those used for the posts of chain-link fences, and they enable the steel hoops to slide into the 2-foot portion rising above the surface, which are each then secured with a through bolt.

Once the perimeter was leveled, a very good workout for my winter-softened muscles, I spent another day pounding in the 22 ground posts using a level to maintain perpendicularity and a string to ensure all posts were the same 2-foot height aboveground. Then it was time to bend my hoops. Using the hoop bender I ordered, which I mounted to my woodshed, I was able to bend all of the hoops within a hour. Each of the 11 hoops consist of 10-foot-long 1-3/8” steel poles, normally used as the top rail of a chain-link fence. The end of one 10-foot bent pole fits into the other end to create a 20-foot arc that matches the 20-foot width of my hoop house. A self-drilling screw holds them together.

The frame of ahoop house in the snow After the hoops were bent and assembled, the magnitude of the structure I was building dawned on me. With the placement of each hoop, I began to see clearly the bones of the “house” I was building over my garden. 20 feet wide by 40 feet long, with a ceiling height of 10 feet, made for a very spacious indoor growing area indeed. I was really getting excited now. And then it came: the dreaded snowstorm I had been racing against. I had hoped to get the poly covering on before the snow, but I was unfortunately not able to beat Mother Nature on that one. My progress slowed for about a month until the deep snow melted, with my activity limited to framing the end walls and building the door in my workshop.

Putting the plastic on the hoop house frame Once the snow finally cleared in March, I was back at it, bolting in place the base boards and hip boards that serve as a solid frame around the base of the structure and provide a surface on which to attach the poly. Now, there are a variety of ways to attach the poly, as the many YouTube videos I watched demonstrated, but I didn’t have to puzzle out my choice, because the Bootstrap Farmer kit I purchased included Wiggle Wire that is “wiggled” into a metal channel to set the poly in place. I screwed the Wiggle Wire along the hip boards and end wall frame boards, and arched it over the hoops at both ends of the structure. Once the poly is pulled over the hoops, the Wiggle Wire sandwiches the poly into the channels and holds the poly taut without puncturing it like staples or nails would. This is how the professional farmers do it, so it seemed like the best option for me.

Then came the hardest part of all, stretching the poly over the hoops and securing it with the Wiggle Wire. Sometimes I wish I was not a DIYer, as doing it yourself is literally impossible if your objective is to lift 100+ pounds of polyethylene film over a 10-foot-tall, 20-foot-wide, and 40-foot-long hoop house. At times like that I wish I had 3 or 4 clones of myself. So back I went to my sainted wife again for advice and assistance. And sure enough, she had a great idea: we could use the winch on our ATV to pull the poly sheeting over the length of the structure and then unfurl it down both sides. Genius! I built a large “spool” contraption at one end, tied a long rope to the end of the spooled poly, and—with my wife as the winch operator and me on a ladder to prevent the poly from snagging on anything—we pulled the poly, stretched it, and secured it with Wiggle Wire in just a couple of hours. (And all, I might add, before the wind had a chance to blow it off.)

Inside of hoop house full of growing crops After a few additional hours of trimming the end wall poly and installing the door, our new hoop house was complete. And the next day, with temperatures in the 30’s, my tropical paradise was a reality, with temperatures inside in the upper 60’s. The soil went from being frozen solid to holding steady temperatures above 50° within a week, and my first seedlings were in the ground as of early March. A variety of lettuce, kale, mustard greens, Swiss chard, beets, and Chinese broccoli started filling our kitchen in mid-April. And as my plans are to succession plant this space through the summer and grow my heat-loving tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini, I’m hoping to have a banner year. My ultimate goal is to follow the lessons learned in Eliot Coleman’s excellent book Four-Season Harvest and to continue gardening right through the winter. Wish me luck!

Resources for those interested in Extending the Season

If you’re interested in extending the gardening season and making the most of your limited space for as much of the year as possible, here are a few great websites to explore:

Four Season Farm Book List – A list of excellent books to read
about year-round growing in hoop houses.

Bootstrap Farmer – Learn all about hoop house design
options and watch useful instructional videos.

Charles Dowding – Learn about succession planting and inter-cropping growing techniques from a leading practitioner of no-dig gardening:

You’ll find plenty of other material on the web and YouTube to fill hours of your time, but these are just a few recommended places to start.

Inside of a hoop house full of green growing crops

Uncategorized

Pest Watch: Squash Vine Borer

June 23, 2021 sgn32

Drawing of the squash vine borer lifecycle showing a an adult red and black moth on a wilting squash plant with a white grub like worm burrowed in the stem and a white pupa buried in the ground By Kimberly Marshall, Washingtonville Master Gardener Volunteer

This article appeared in the June 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County.

Nothing feels worse than seeing your squash wilt and die—especially after months of watching those leafy green beauties thrive in your garden.

Although the culprit may be many things, it often turns out to be the squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae)—an odious insect that nestles into the squash’s stem. Whilst making a lovely home for itself, it chokes off the plant’s nutrients and kills those crops you’ve so carefully chosen, planted, and reared.

To prevent the squash vine borer from damaging your harvest, here’s how to recognize and eliminate the pest.

How to identify the squash vine borer and the damage that it does:

Look for

black moths with orangey-red markings on the head, legs, and abdomen
flat eggs resembling tiny brown ovals around the plant’s base
fat, white, wrinkly, worm-like larvae at the base of the stem
wilting leaves and rotting stems
holes at the base surrounded by “frass” (which looks like sawdust)

How to prevent squash vine borers from ruining your yield:

rotate your crops (as borer cocoons overwinter in the soil)
clear away squash plants immediately after harvesting, removing any and all plant debris
use row covers early in the growing season (must be removed to allow for pollination), or protect stem bases by wrapping them in aluminum foil
grow borer-resistant varieties, such as ‘Cocozella di Napoli’ or ‘Costata Romanesco’. Butternut squashes are also highly resistant.
plant extra—just in case.

How to minimize damage if borers have found your garden anyway:

plant the pest’s preferred crop—Hubbard squash—as a ‘trap crop’
fill a yellow dish or bucket with water to attract moths. While this won’t totally divert them from the plants, it will provide an indication of their presence so you know to be extra vigilant about looking for eggs
if you notice frass, immediately cut lengthwise up the squash’s stem, remove all of the larvae, and then bury the cut in nutrient-rich soil to re-root.

In general, you should look for the squash vine borer early and often. After all, it’s always better to be a safe gardener than a sorry one!

Gardener's Checklist, June

Gardener’s Check List

June 17, 2021 sgn32