2012 Fall Gardening Tips

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Jay White

Right now it is so hot outside I work up a sweat just walking to the garden. Photo by Heather White

August 1 is the official kick off date for fall gardening in my part of Texas. In reality, I actually start working on my fall garden around the middle of July. Like most of us in zones 7-9, my tomatoes are basically done by July 4th. When your spring tomatoes stop setting fruit you have two choices. Pull ’em up and replace with new plants in August, or trim your exisiting vines up, give them a little shade, a few nutrients, and wait for the temperatures to drop.

In my opinion, the best way to ensure a fall tomato harvest is to keep your spring plants alive through July and August. These mature plants will flower and bloom much faster than new plants put out in August.

Ever since the November night that I was late to my anniversary party because I was building cold frames out of old windows around the tomato plants I planted in August, I have been in the tomato trimming group. Little tomato plants planted in the 100 degree August heat will not always produce red ripe tomatoes before our first freeze. Because of this, I try and keep my spring tomato plants alive through July and August. To keep my spring tomato plants alive, I prune them by about a third to a half in mid-July. I then add a thick layer of composted chicken manure, mulch and put up some sort of shade. For me, this has been the best way to ensure a harvest of a few fall tomatoes.

While I am out trimming tomatoes I also do a good garden clean up. July is when I pull down any vines on my trellises that have stopped producing. This can included beans, gourds, cucumbers, cantelopes and squash. I also pull up any old mulch that is still lying on top of the ground. I take all of this dead vegation directly to the burn pile. Many of those bugs that caused you so much grief earlier in the year are sleeping and laying eggs in the mulch and plant liter under your plants. Because of this, removing it and burning it twice a year is a good pest control measure.

Put out a fresh layer of compost on your clean Fall beds. Animal manures like cow manure and chicken manure are a little higher and nitrogen than the palnt types. I use these to give a boost to my newly trimmed tomatoes.

After my beds and trellises are clean, I amend the soil. I add about 3″ of whatever compost is on sale to the tops of my beds. I don’t usually till this compost in. I actually kind of use it as mulch. The compost will eventually get worked in when I plant or it rains or through the natural processes of all of the tiny little animals in the soil that feed off of the compost.

Finally, to conserve moisture, cool remaining roots and protect all of those micro-organisms in the soil I add a fresh deep layer of hay mulch. If you mulch with hay you need to be careful. Alot of herbicides that farmers use to control weeds in their hay crops are very persistent. There can be enough residue is some hays (particularly bermuda hays like coastal, Tifton and Jiggs) to kill your new plants that are trying to germinate or become established. I typically use rice straw as my mulch. In my experience rice hay has no residual herbicides and very few weeds.

A large $70 roll of rice hay will supply me with all of the mulch I need for an entire year of gardening

After doing all of this prep, I spend a lot of time on the internet figuring out what I am going to plant and when I am going to plant it. This year, I found the best planting guide/calendar I have ever seen. This guide is on the Austin Organic Gardeners website. (they also have one for herbs). Instead of a list of dates, this calendar is a graphical representative of the entire year. It’s easy to read format allows you to quickly look up any plant you want. The headers show every month broken down into weeks and the rows are an alphabetical listing of all of the vegetables we can grow in this area.

This very good planting guide is on the Austin Organic Gardeners website. This graphical guide is the easiest to use that I have found. They website has one for herbs as well.

My grandmother used to say you could find something nice to say about anything. So, I am going to say something nice about Texas summers. Even though it is 106 in the hot Texas sun right now, that sun is what is going to allow me to grow some of my favorite vegetables over the next six months. I know it is hot out there, but now is the ideal time to get that fall garden going. All of the sweat of July and August will pay off big in September and October. So suck it up and get busy. You will forget all about how hot July was when you are OUTSIDE in your garden harvesting broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and cabbage in January!

Gardening With Chickens

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Jay White

Based on all of the press I see, I am convinced that almost everyone in America is either raising chickens or gardening. Notice I said “either”. While both activities are a ton of fun, they are very difficult to do together. You see, chickens will eat anything and everything; especially fresh produce. Because of this, most people that have both chickens and gardens do everything possible to keep the chickens far, far away from their plants.

Carol and Andy KMetz in front of their root cellar. This cellar was a labor of love given to Andy by his son for Father’s Day. Note to my own children: THIS WAS A VERY GOOD GIFT!!!!!

I recently met a couple that has overcome this problem. They have created a way to combine their love of chickens and their love of gardening in a way that is equally beneficial to the plants, the animals and the people. I was so impressed by this very simple and ingenious method that I had to share it.

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to moat on the other side!

Andy and Carol Kmetz of Sapulpa, Ok are avid gardeners that have developed a unique way to use their chickens to improve their garden and their gardening experience. Andy grows vegetables and berries in a 60’X40’ garden that is enclosed by two fences. The second (or outer) fence is an incredibly brilliant idea that allows him to use his chickens as a natural pest barrier, weed barrier and garden waste disposal system. This second fence creates a 6’ border (or run) around the outside of his garden. This run is connected to his chicken coop by an underground tunnel he calls a moat. This buffer space between the plants and the chickens is beneficial to both he and his hens. The chickens patrol this area and eat any insect that dares to try and move through it. They also eat all of the weeds that try to pop up. This creates a very effective barrier that keeps weeds from encroaching from the perimeter of the garden. In addition, as Andy works in the garden, he can quickly and easily dispose of weeds and over ripe produce by throwing it over the fence to the hungry chickens that will literally eat anything that hits the ground.

The girls enter the trench that connects their coop with the vegetable garden on the other side.

This moat idea took a while to get just right. Initially, Andy dug a trench and placed a concrete conduit in it. The chickens didn’t like it. Turns out chickens are “chicken” of the dark (why is that when I write about chickens I am compelled to use bad chicken puns). When he discovered this he dug another trench, walled it up with two deep cross-ties and covered it with heavy gauge welded wire. This open topped design was all the chickens needed to make them “cross the road”.

The girls are in the moat. Note how the edge of the fence by the garden is almost devoid of vegetation

Andy’s chickens aren’t the only thing special about his garden. Each year, Andy grows tons of produce on plants that are so healthy they look like they were grown in a greenhouse. His skill as a gardener surpasses his families ability to consume and Carol’s ability to can. So, each year he and Carol distribute the fruits of their labor to their friends and those in need. Andy achieves these results through a combination of diligence and organic growing methods. He credits his success to three things: a very special compost, mulch and drip irrigation. Every year, before he plants anything, Andy feeds his soil with a humate mixture that that he gets from Humalfa. This compost is made from feed lot waste and blended with composted alfalfa to create a very nutrient dense mixture that is great for the vegetable garden. Andy is so in love with this stuff that he makes a 500 mile round trip every spring so he can buy this product in bulk directly from the manufacturer.

After Andy feeds his soil, he makes sure that all of his plants are serviced by his drip irrigation system. Once the plants are up he mulches them with grass clippings and pine needles that he gathers from his yard. His efforts do two things; conserve moisture and they extend his growing season. Andy has gardened in this plot for many years. Before the mulch and drip system went in, his garden was done each year by July 4. Now, his deep mulch and drip system extends his garden production well into August.

Andy and Carol were excellent hosts and kindred spirits. My only regret is that we didn’t have more time to spend with them. In my opinion, their chicken moat borders on genius. It is a simple solution to a problem that vexes many gardeners across the world. I am so thankful that they allowed us to learn from their experience. I was so impressed by the chicken moat that I am willing to bet, it won’t be too long until I get to write a post about one at my house! Many thanks to both Carol and Andy for taking the time to teach this old gardener a few new tricks!

This post has been shared on the Homestead Barn Hop and the HomeAcre Hop. These Hops are a source of great information from some of the top homesteaders and gardeners across the web. Check them out!

Red and Yellow Kill A Fellow

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Jay White

Yesterday was a very sad day for me. You see, I lost the best gardening partner I have ever had; my wife. Now before you get all teary eyed, realize that she did not die. No, Sally is still very much alive. However, something happened yesterday that has me convinced that her gardening days are over.

Since yesterday was an uncharacteristically cool and cloudy July day, Sally and I decided that it would be the perfect time to catch up on some much needed weeding in the flower beds. Sally and I are a great little weed pulling team. We have worked these beds enough together that we can very quickly and efficently strip a bed of all unwanted plant material. Yesterday was no exception. Spurred on by the cool temps, we quickly built up a nice pile of weeds. The pile was bigger than either of us could comfortably carry to the burn pile so I went to the garage and got out the wheelbarrow. When I reached down and picked up the pile I was VERY surprised to find a CORAL SNAKE slithering through the pile of weeds in my hand! Now I am not a snake hater. Heck, I am not even scared of most snakes. But this was different. This one could kill me and that realization occured to my brain as soon as it saw those bright bands of color gliding through my hands.

Luckily for me, coral snakes are not very aggresive. If there had been a copper head or rattler in that pile of weeds I would have been very bit very quickly. However, this little guy only wanted to get as far away from me as quickly as he could. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t fast enough. I never kill snakes; unless they are poisonous! And since coral snakes are the most poisonous snake in North America, this guy had to die.

There are lots of myths and wives tales concerning coral snakes. The most common one goes like this “Because of their small size, they can’t bite you except in little skinny places on your body like a little finger or the flap of skin between your thumb and index finger.” THIS IS FALSE!!!! A coral snake can and will bite you anywhere you give him an opening. If you try and pick up a coral snake by its tail, it will climb its own body to give you a bite that is at the least, painful and at its worst, deadly. So never, ever try and pick one up by the tail, even if you think it is dead. Also remember that when a snake dies, it’s muscles twitch and contract for quite a while after you kill it (this guy twitched for over an hour). Because of this, snakes can actually still bite you after they are dead. Due to this, you should never, never, never pick one up by the tail unless you are certain it is “dead still” or it’s head has been removed and disposed of. It would be awfully embarrassing to get to heaven and have to explain to St. Peter that you got killed by a bite from a dead snake!

All joking aside, finding this snake in my flower bed is very bad news for me. Because of this little incident, I am certain that I have forever lost my wife as a weeding partner. Sally is deathly afraid of snakes. I can no longer brush off her fears and tell her there is nothing out there to worry about. She now knows very well that there are things out there that can kill her and she is in no hurry to die. So, thanks to this brightly colored, 25″ long snake, my gardening work load has been increased. Not only have I lost my partner, but my own output will be greatly reduced because now, each time I get on my knees to pull weeds, I will be doing just as much snake hunting as weed pulling!

No Rest for the Weary-Summer Gardening Chores by Patty Leander

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Jay White

Well, is it hot enough for ya? The sweet corn ain’t so sweet anymore, the spider mites have set up camp on the underside of my green beans, the squash vine borer has mutilated my zucchini and the mockingbirds keep beating me to the tomatoes. It’s a jungle out there and usually by late June or early July I’m ready to pull out these weary spring plantings and give most of the garden (and the gardener) a well deserved rest. Take advantage of the summer ‘dormant season’ to dream, plan and prepare for the upcoming fall season.

A planting of buckwheat makes a good summer cover crop, the blooms also attracts pollinators. Photo by Bruce Leander

If you are not the type to hibernate in air-conditioned comfort for the next few months there is still plenty to do in the vegetable garden. Summer tasks might include removing spent crops, planting a cover crop of cowpeas or buckwheat or mulching fallow beds with leaves, hay, dried grass or compost. Organic matter burns up quickly in hot weather and a layer of mulch or compost will help add and/or conserve organic matter in the soil so it will be ready to receive your plants in the fall. Red Ripper or Iron & Clay cowpeas make vigorous summer cover crops – I get mine from Heavenly Seed (www.heavenlyseed.net). Johnny’s (www.johnnyseed.com) also carries Iron & Clay, buckwheat and a wide selection of green manures.

A compost bin located in the garden row makes for easy distribution later. Photo by Bruce Leander

Be sure to keep your compost pile going through the summer, and if you don’t have one why not start now? Composting has many benefits for the soil and is an excellent way to reduce, reuse and recycle waste from your garden, yard and kitchen. Most compost guides suggest placing the compost in an inconspicuous corner of your yard, but over the years my compost piles (yes, I have more than one) seem to inch closer and closer to the garden where they will eventually be used. Sometimes they inch so close that they end up IN the garden – I place a square or round compost bin, made of chicken wire or fencing material, right in an empty garden bed or in the row. Over the summer I fill it with kitchen scraps, grass clippings and garden trimmings, keeping it moist to encourage microbial activity (if it’s in full sun cover with an umbrella, tarp or shade cloth to help hold some of that moisture). Come fall I’ll loosen the bin and remove it, freeing up the contents for incorporation into the soil or for mulching crops.

The author using bricks to secure a layer of plastic for solarization. Photo by Bruce Leander

Another task that is well-suited to our hot days and warm nights is solarizing nematode infested soil with plastic. Use clear plastic that is 2-4 ml thick and anchor it in place with bricks, U-pins or bury the edges with soil. Before putting the plastic in place, turn or till the soil, rake it smooth and water well. The moist soil covered with clear plastic will create a greenhouse effect that will elevate the soil temperature enough to kill nematodes. Leave the plastic in place for 4-6 weeks during the hottest part of the summer. It may get too hot for soil microbes under that plastic so after solarizing be sure to amend the area with 2-3 inches of compost, turn it under and you’ll be ready to plant for fall. To discourage nematodes even further, I’ll usually follow solarization with a nematode resistant crop, such as onions, garlic or corn.

The author’s cat reminds us that sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, water and cooler with cold washcloths will help keep us cool and safe while working in the Texas heat. Photo by Bruce Leander

I know you know this, but it is worth repeating: if you do work in the garden this summer, wear sunscreen, take breaks and drink plenty of fluids. It is easy to fall victim to heat exhaustion this time of year. If you are going to spend some time working outside, try this tip – wet some wash cloths, roll them up and put them in a cooler with ice or a couple of ice packs. Then when you take a break, you’ll have a nice, cold cloth to wipe down your face and neck or drape over your head. Ahhhh, sweet relief.

Growing Potatoes

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Jay White

This weekend I had one of those experiences that remind me again why I love to garden. My daughter Heather came out for Father’s Day. Since she loves going into the garden with me I always make sure she has something to pick. This weekend, I saved her a special treat; blue fingerling potatoes.

Of all of the things I harvest in the garden, potatoes are my absolute favorite. Each time I dig them it reminds me of an Easter egg hunt. I get so excited when I stick my fork in the ground and turn over the soil and find all of those spuds. Since I like doing this so much, I knew she would too. And, since they were blue, I knew it would make our dig a little more like an Easter egg hunt for her as well.

My daughter is fueling up on fresh peaches before we started digging the potatoes

I have absolutely no idea what type of potatoes we harvested. I got them from my mentor Cynthia Mueller last fall. I tried to grow them in my potato box and they didn’t seem to make. However, this March, I looked in the box and I saw several little potato vines popping up so I immediately dug them up and moved them to my row garden.

Potatoes of all sorts are pretty easy to grow. There are well over 800 varieties of potatoes in the world so there is a variety that will grow in just about any condition. Basically, potatoes come in three maturity types; short season, mid-season and long season maturation types. To determine which ones are best for you, pick one that will mature between a planting date of three to four weeks before your last freeze and a harvest date before temperatures get up into the 90s. Potatoes can take some cold but they shut down completely in high heat. Since it gets so hot so quickly where we are, the mid length maturation types seem to do best. The two I most often grow are Kennebec whites and La Soda reds.

Digging with a shovel. I prefer to use a spading fork but this was handy and we didn’t have too many vines to dig.

The rule for planting potatoes is three to four weeks before your last frost date. In reality, here in the Gulf South, we can plant our potatoes anytime after Christmas. In fact, a friend of mine grew up next to an older gentleman that “planted” his potatoes on December 26 each year. I say “planted”, because he would scatter his seed potatoes on top of the ground and then cover them in about a foot of spoiled hay. I tell that story for two reasons. One, it shows that you really can plant potatoes very early here and it also says something about how adaptable potatoes are.

Freshly dug!

I have heard people say that you have to plant potatoes in sandy soil. Not true. While sandy soil allows potatoes to grow a little bigger and makes them a whole lot easier to harvest, you can grow them in clay (or on top of the ground heavily mulched in hay). Potatoes have just about everything they need to grow stored in that tuber so if you can figure out a way to get them covered and watered, they are usually going to produce something for you

Last year I tried growing potatoes in a box. I constantly “hilled them up” with compost. I think the compost gave them too much nitrogen. As you can see I got great vines and exactly one potato.

For best results when you plant your potatoes, plant them in loose, well worked soil. If your soil has a good amount of organic material in it, don’t worry about adding any supplemental fertilizer. While they appreciate nitrogen as much as any plant, too much of it will cut your tuber production. Too much nitrogen will result in great big healthy looking vines but very few potatoes.

Some of our “blue” potatoes in my favorite Texas Ware bowl. My wife roasted these with fresh rosemary and thyme from our garden, a little EVOO, salt and pepper. They were awesome!

When your plants get about a foot tall, you should “hill” them by pulling soil or mulch up over the base of the plant. Cover leaves and everything but leave at least half of the plant exposed. Continue to do this until your plant is about 2’ tall. Hilling does a couple of things. First, if your variety is the type that will produce potatoes all along the submerged stem then hilling will increase your yield. This works great for some varieties and not so well for others. However, no matter what type of tater you have, it is good to keep sunlight away from the developing tubers that try to grow at or above the surface of the soil. If sunlight hits these developing tubers they develop a green “rind” under the skin. This rind is full of solanine. Solanine is a toxic substance that can give you a tummy ache in small amounts, or kill you in large amounts. There is not enough in a potato to hurt you but it is a good idea to peel that green layer off before you eat it. BTW, potatoes are not the only plant to produce solanine. All members of the genus Solnum produce it. Members of this family include potatoes, tomatoes, egg plants and the deadly Night Shade.

Very few vegetables are as productive and easy to grow as potatoes. Plus they are incredibly good for you. If you have a milk cow and pile of potatoes you can keep yourself and your family alive indefinitely. With so many varieties out there, and their adaptability to soil types and pH, there is surely one out there for you to grow.

Borage (Borago officinalis)

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Jay White

When I select plants for the potager, I select on two criteria; form and function. In my row garden, plants are always selected for function. I grow food in those beds and I plant what I like to eat. If I can make it look attractive, that is a bonus but it is not what I select for. When I plant a bed or border around the house I select solely on form because I am designing something that looks good. The potager is where my two styles come together. I want the potager to be beautiful but I also want it to produce food. So, a lot more thought goes into the plants for the potager.

Young borage in my potager. I planted this at the end of March and this picture was taken on May 25

One of the annuals that almost always makes its way into the spring potager is borage. Borage is a large scale, leafy herb that produces beautiful little star shaped, corn blue flowers. The leaves have a mild cucumber taste and can be used in salads and drinks. As the plant matures, those cumber tasting leaves become “fuzzy”. A lot of folks, me included, do not like the texture of the leaves when they get to this point. However, since I don’t grow it primarily for food, I don’t really care about the stiff fuzz on the leaves. I grow it in the potager because it makes a very lovely three foot tall cone shaped bush. Plus I love the tiny flowers.

I love the fuzzy white flower buds

Borage is a great choice for containers, the garden and the flower bed. It is fairly drought tolerant. Botanists believe it originated in Syria so it is perfectly designed to take high heat and low water. It is also fairly pest and disease resistant. Like most herbs it prefers a loose, well draining soil. I plant from seed in March in full sun and give it about an inch of water every five days or so. This treatment makes it thrive. There are some bugs that nibble on the leaves, but what plant doesn’t have a few leaf munching predators? Borage is also a great companion plant for tomatoes, squash and strawberries. Some say that it is actually a deterrent to hornworms.

The blue, star shaped flowers are lovely

As I mentioned earlier, the flowers are really why I grow this plant. I love those little blue stars (the fuzzy white buds are almost as cute)! These pretty blue flowers are edible and they also have the mild cucumber flavor of the leaves. Add them directly to your summer salads for a quick way to liven it up. You can also freeze the flowers in ice cubes and add those flower filled cubes to your summer drinks.

Growing Beans

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Jay White

Right now I am eating green beans just about every night. Which is fine by me because I love them. Plus, my wife is a really good cook and she knows about 100 different ways to prepare them. The beans I am eating now are a bush variety called “Contender”. I grow Contender every year because it is a reliable bush that produces tons of flavorful, firm podded beans that are three to four inches long.

Contender Bush Beans are very productive and tasty green beans for your spring garden

Beans are a staple all over the world. In places where meat is scarce or expensive, beans provide the protein needed for healthy bodies. Because of their high nutritive value, people have been growing them for about as long as there have been people. According to the National Gardening Association almost 40% of all gardeners in the U.S. grow beans. There is good reason for that; they taste good and they are good for you. Plus, they are good for your garden too. All beans are legumes which means they have the ability (with the help of the bacteria rhizobia) to turn atmospheric nitrogen into a soil based plant soluble nitrogen that will improve your soil. Because of this, beans are often grown as a rotational crop to replenish the nitrogen taken up by plants that are heavy nitrogen feeders.

I space my beans about 4" apart in a single trench

There are basically two kinds of “green beans” that we grow in our gardens; pole beans and bush beans. Pole beans grow long vines and do best if supported on a fence or trellis. They are very prolific and usually take the heat better than bush beans. It is not uncommon for some varieties to continue producing in the Texas heat well into July. Generally, pole beans are grown as “snap’ beans or dried beans. While you can pick them young and use them as a green bean, many varieties must be “snapped” and have the “string” that holds the pod together removed before eating in this manner. Bush beans on the other hand, are designed to be eaten pod and all. Bush beans are generally planted a little earlier than pole beans and they stop producing once daytime temps are in the 90s and night time temps stay above 75.

The simple little flowers forming on your bush mean that you will have beans in about a week.

To grow bush beans simply place the seeds in well worked soil once it has warmed up to around 70 degrees. I planted mine on March 31 and picked my first “mess” on May 20. Beans should be spaced at about 4” to 6” and planted 1” deep. Since my rows are 33′ long I dig a trench with my Cobrahead hand hoe, scatter and cover. If you are planting smaller quantities you can quickly plant an area by scattering the seeds and then using your finger to push them into the soil past the first joint on your index finger. If conditions are right they should sprout in 3 to 4 days and grow into small bushes that are about 18″ tall.

Beans develop quickly and it is not uncommon to harvest your first beans 45 to 50 days after planting. Since most bush beans are designed to be eaten pod and all it is best to harvest them before the beans begin to fill out. The longer they stay on the vine the tougher the pod gets. Also, many of the beans from bush varieties do not taste all that great. So, to get the best green bean experience possible pick your beans when they are young.

My raised beds are 3' feet wide and 33' feet long. I plant tomatoes on the cattle panels in the back and bush beans in the front. The nitrogen fixing quality of the beans ensure that my tomatoes have plenty N available

Very few vegetables are as easy to grow as beans. They do have a few pest issues that you need to watch for. There are several beetles that love the foliage and a few more that will even drill into the pod and eat the beans. A regular, weekly application of BT or neem oil will repel many of them.

Beans are an important source of protein all over the world. They may have also been the reason you became a gardener. Do you remember your first horticultural experiment? I am willing to bet that it involved a bean, a paper towel and a Dixie cup. Watching that little bean sprout was our first introduction to the mystery and miracle of life. So, if you love growing things from seed, be sure and thank your first or second teacher and beans. Both of them are probably more responsible for your love of growing things than you realize!

TLC for Your BLTs (Big Luscious Tomatoes!) By Patty Leander

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Jay White

I came in from working in the garden the other day and declared to anyone that would listen that my vegetable garden was looking AWESOME, and my dear husband hardly looked up from his work as he replied, “EVERYBODY’S vegetable garden is looking awesome this spring”. True enough, the rain and mild temperatures have been just what we needed here in Central Texas to shake off the drought doldrums, but I can still revel in the beauty and bounty of my own little piece of earth. It is my sincere hope that you are experiencing the same success. One reason our vegetable gardens are so splendid is because tomato time is finally here, and for tomato lovers, especially those who try to eat local and in season, it has been a long and mostly tomato-less winter.

Hopefully by now your tomatoes are growing strong and you may have already savored that first juicy bite of your home-grown and sun-ripened treats. But just when tomatoes are in the home stretch it seems a plethora of plague and pestilence begin a full assault, and that is when our plants will benefit from a steady diet of attention, inspection and TLC.

As we move toward summer make sure your plants receive at least 1½” of water each week, preferably from drip or soaker irrigation that places water at the root zone and avoids wetting the leaves. A 2-4 inch layer of mulch is essential to moderate soil temperature, to keep water from splashing soil onto the leaves (fungal spores are often lurking in the soil underneath plants), and to conserve moisture in the soil. Dried leaves or grass, alfalfa hay, pine straw, or even partially decomposed compost are suitable mulches. Side-dress your plants with fertilizer as soon as the first fruit set, and then continue to dole out small servings of fertilizer every 4 weeks. One way to side-dress a tomato plant is to pull the mulch back and apply 2-3 tablespoons of fertilizer (feather meal, blood meal, ammonium sulfate or other packaged fertilizer) around the diameter of each tomato plant, scratch it into the soil, water lightly and then replace the mulch. Some gardeners prefer to spray their tomato foliage with a water soluble fertilizer every week (using a product like Miracle Grow or liquid fish emulsion) and that seems to work well, but remember that plants are not designed to take in nutrients from their leaves, so it’s important to also get fertilizer into the root zone. A hybrid approach may be best – side-dressing at the root zone every 4 weeks and applying a foliar spray every 7-10 days.

Tomatoes generally stop setting fruit when the daytime temperature hits 90º and nighttime temps reach the mid 70s, though cherry varieties may often produce through the heat. If your tomato plants are healthy and you can keep them that way you might be able to carry them through the summer for a fall crop. If you would rather start with fresh tomato plants for the fall garden most local nurseries will have transplants available in late summer or you can grow your own. It takes 6-8 weeks to grow a good size tomato transplant so plant those little tomato seeds in early June so you’ll have decent size transplants by late July or early August.

Inspect your tomatoes every few days for signs of insect damage or disease, and as the plants grow gently guide the stems so they stay within the cage. Eventually those stems will be laden with fruit and they will need the support that the cage provides. Below is a rundown of some of the most common problems associated with tomato cultivation:

Leaf Footed Bug. Photo By Bruce Leander

Leaf-footed Bugs: these grayish brown bugs with the flattened hind legs are a common pest of tomatoes. They have what entomologists call “piercing-sucking” mouthparts, and that is exactly what they do to tomatoes. They pierce the skin, inject an enzyme to dissolve the juices, and then suck the juice out, leaving small, hard, white spots or lesions on the surface of the tomato.

Leaf Footed nymphs and eggs. Here you can clearly see how they are laid in "a chain". Photo By Bruce Leander

Their eggs are laid in long chains along the stems or leaf midrib; after hatching the nymphs, with their orange bodies and black legs, congregate together making them easy to spot. Do not be deceived – the nymphs may not look like adult leaf-footed bugs, but they will in approximately 30 days after morphing through five instar stages.

Adult and nymph Leaf Footed Bugs on a tomato leaf. Photo By Bruce Leander

These soft-bodied orange nymphs cannot fly, they can only scatter, so this is the preferred stage to treat them with insecticide, squish them or drop them into a bucket of soapy water. Also destroy any egg cases that you find. Spinosad and insecticidal soap may be effective against the nymphs, but nothing seems to bother the adults – they just glare at you and fly away. Handpicking is the best way to get the adults, but beware – they are a type of stink bug and when you squish them it is not pleasant.

The first sign of early blight. Photo By Bruce Leander

Early Blight: Alternaria solani, a common fungal disease that attacks tomatoes, especially during rainy periods. Foliage starts to yellow at the base of the plant and then gradually moves upward. Ideally we should prevent this disease by providing adequate spacing and air circulation, mulching below the plants and avoiding overhead watering that wets the leaves.

Early Blight can decimate your tomatoes. Photo By Bruce Leander

Once the disease takes hold it can be treated with an approved fungicide; if early blight is a perennial problem it’s best to start treatment early in the season, to prevent spreading of the disease. Serenade and neem oil are organic controls and Daconil (active ingredient chlorothalonil) is a conventional fungicide that is effective in combating early blight. Using these products on an alternating schedule may give better results. Even though Daconil is not organic, it requires approximately ½ teaspoon per quart of water and the solution can be judiciously directed at foliage, not fruit.

Spider mites can cause a strippling effect on leaves. Photo By Bruce Leander

Spider Mites: a nuisance in most spring and summer gardens, this tiny pest inhabits and feeds on the underside of leaves, causing a stippled effect on the surface of the leaf. If left untreated spider mites can quickly destroy a crop. It is amazing how many teeny tiny mites can be on the back of a leaf, they are just near impossible to see without magnification. Their numbers usually increase in hot and dry conditions, but I am already seeing huge numbers of spider mites on my tomatoes even though we’ve had more rain than usual this spring and the temperatures have been mild.

Patty is blasting away her mites with the MiteyFine mister created for her by her brother. Photo By Bruce Leander

Spider mites are difficult to control, but my first line of defense is to wash the mites off using a strong spray of water directed at the underside of the leaves every 3-5 days. My favorite tool for this purpose is the Mite-Y-Fine Sprayer™ – a tool that my engineer brother built for me. It is a long-handled tool with a high pressure nozzle that allows me to wash mites off of leaves efficiently and without stooping – it’s such a useful tool I told my brother he should make more and sell them – and he is! They are made of quality materials, hand built by him, his wife and their son. I use mine almost every week during the spring and summer growing season. See www.miteyfine.com for more information.

Insecticidal soap, neem oil and wettable sulfur are labeled as miticides and can be sprayed on leaves to help control mites. Many gardeners swear by a weekly seaweed spray to keep them at bay though I prefer to use the Mite-Y-Fine because I like to eat tomatoes off the vine while standing in the garden, and I’d rather not spray them with anything.

A great shot of a serious tomato predator - the hornworm. Photo By Bruce Leander

Tomato Hornworm: prevention is the best control here. A single tomato hornworm can defoliate a tomato plant in short order if left unchecked, so it’s best to scout the plants for signs of damage (large chunks of missing leaves and moist, dark green worm poop on the soil or in the branches. These large caterpillars usually show up as an army of one, rarely do I see more than two on a plant. When there’s only one or two it’s easy to pull them off and toss them into your neighbor’s yard, or do as one lady told me – she just goes after them with a pair of scissors (ugh).

Nematodes can decimate a tomato's root system. Photo By Bruce Leander

Nematodes: if your healthy tomato plant begins to gradually decline, turning yellow, drooping, losing vigor and/or wilting without reviving by the next morning then you may have nematodes. Nematodes are microscopic worms that get into the roots and form small galls or knots in the root, blocking the uptake of water and nutrients and causing the plant to gradually decline. Once a plant has nematodes you might as well pull it up as there is no treatment and leaving it in the ground will only allow the nematodes to increase in numbers. When pulling an infected plant be careful not to fling nematode-infested soil to other parts of the garden.

Below are two of my family’s favorite recipes for utilizing the season’s tomato harvest:

Patty's salsa is made with only fresh veggies from her garden. Photo By Bruce Leander

¡salsa!
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped (peeled and seeded if desired, but I usually don’t)
2-3 jalapenos, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup cilantro
1-2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
2-4 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar

Chop the onion, jalapenos, garlic and one tomato in a blender or food processor. Then add the seasonings and the remaining tomatoes, and blend till it seems right. This is personal taste. You can leave it chunky but I usually blend out most of the chunks. Then I taste and usually end up adding more tomatoes, lime juice and sometimes another jalapeno. I let it sit a bit and then go back and taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. It gets a little redder and a little spicier as it sits.

** You do not have to use a blender/food processor. If you prefer, finely chop the first five ingredients by hand, then stir in the seasonings and adjust to your taste.

Roasted Tomatoes

Roasted tomatos - Yum! Photo By Bruce Leander

Roasting tomatoes brings out an amazing, concentrated flavor – they can be used in sauces, pasta, sandwiches or simply as a savory snack. They don’t last long around my house, but they can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks or frozen for up to three months without compromising the flavor. ‘Juliet’ tomatoes and small roma varieties are perfect for this recipe.

Wash, dry and slice tomatoes in half vertically. Remove seeds and juice (don’t worry about removing every single seed, you just want to scoop out most of the wet pulp). Arrange on a foil-lined pan, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in a 325º oven for 1½ -2 hours. Watch carefully to be sure they don’t burn and adjust temperature or time, depending on size of tomatoes.

Incredible New Live Oak from Tree Town USA

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Jay White

The Empire Live Oak from Tree Town USA is a beautifully shaped, fast growing, and pest resistant tree that is perfect for the landscape.

Necessity is frequently the mother of invention. When Tree Town USA, the country’s largest tree farm based in Texas, couldn’t get a sufficient yield of high quality Live Oak seedlings from the acorns they were receiving from their seed sources they needed to make changes. They would regularly end up with many genetically inferior trees that did not meet the quality standards of their most discriminating landscape contractors and landscape architects. Changes needed to be made to keep their customers happy with a consistent supply of high quality trees. They developed an area where they could harvest their own acorns from parent trees that exhibited the genetic traits they were looking for to produce high quality trees consistently. Their experienced team of growers selected parent trees with good branching angles, faster rates of growth, good foliage, and overall appeal from their large inventory of Live Oaks. They planted them near one another in an isolated area of their 1,200 acre tree farm near Glen Flora, Texas segregated from other Live Oaks on the farm. They began harvesting acorns produced by the selected trees to produce a large portion of their crop of seedlings. After watching the seedlings for several years, the growers determined they were getting a much higher percentage of high quality trees than any other seed source they were using. They noticed consistency between the trees, faster growth and overall higher quality resulting in many more trees meeting the quality requirements of their most discriminating customers.

Tree Town has thousands of these remarkable trees available to the trade

The good genetics, seedling quality, combined with their growing and pruning practices have produced the first crop of these high quality trees for sale in 2012 in sizes from 10 gal to 45 gal. Tree Town USA trademarked the name Empire Live Oak to identify the trees produced from these superior genetics and growing practices.

Compared to other live oaks, these trees grow quickly and have been breed to produce a lovely, upright canopy

The seedlings are produced in special seedling pots to prevent circling roots and each subsequent step up to a larger size occurs when the trees are at a young age to ensure proper root structure. Trees with root issues or other quality issues are removed at each stage of the shift up process. The trees are staked for straight trunks, good leaders and good branching. Any tree that does not meet the genetic or quality requirements along the way to a finished tree is segregated and dealt with. The end result is a crop of high quality Live Oaks that will have a similar appearance, good branching, faster growth rate, good foliage, and overall appeal when planted in the landscape.

Tree Land USA offers this tree to professionals in all sizes from 10 to 45 gallons. A 670 gallon version will be available soon.

The great lengths that Tree Town USA has gone through will insure that landscape contractors, landscape architects, business owners and home owners will have a source of consistently high quality trees for their landscapes. The trees will be offered in sizes up to 670 gal over the next few years. The company is accepting contract grows for special large landscape construction projects in the future as well as future orders for companies wanting to offer the finest Live Oaks to their customers. They have more than 70,000 trees in inventory to support the anticipated demand for this popular tree. The Empire Live Oaks will be offered through retail garden centers, wholesale landscape suppliers, landscape contractors and other retail garden outlets in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

Rainy Day Blooms

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Jay White

This morning I awoke to the soft sounds of rain falling on our tin roof. There is something so calming, refreshing and nostalgic about that sound. A cool May morning in Texas is something to savor and celebrate. So, after breakfast, I put on some clothes, grabbed the camera and headed outside. The rain had stopped but the sun had not yet broken through the clouds. The air was heavy and cool and the light was filtered and soft. I love mornings like this because they are so rare in the South.

As I wandered through my yard I snapped tons of pictures. Despite the heat and weeds that are again trying to take over, May is my favorite month for gardening. Flowers are blooming and the vegetables are beginning to share their fruits. This morning was a perfect start to what promises to be a spectacular day. Here are several pictures of some of the things that helped to make my morning so special.

Daylillies

One thing that I truly love about my little garden is the fact that almost everyone of my plants came from someone I know. All of my daylillies, and I have hundreds, came from either my wife’s grandmother or a promising young horticulturist named Chris Von Kohn. Daylillies and May are synonymous in my mind. I am always incredibly excited when the first one opens at the beginning of the month and then equally sad when the bloom falls toward the end of the month. Here are some shots of the one’s that were in bloom this morning.

Here is a very lovely daylily that was bred by Chris Von Kohn.

Here is another one of Chris’s lovely creations.

Here is one of my borders filled with Hyperion daylilies that we got from my wife’s grandmother. Over the years we have turned our original clump into literally hundreds of plants.

Miscellaneous Blooms

I absolutely love cleome or Spider Flower. I was very pleased to see that the first one of the season has decided to open up.

Our easter lilies finally opened. Very lovely and they last so long in a vase.

I absolutely love Powis Castle artemsia. Here it pairs nicely with old fashioned petunias.

Daylilies aren’t they only thing blooming in my beds. A no fail stunner for me is always my Victoria salvia.

My native Datura is beginning to bloom

I love the combination of the old fashioned petunias with the Ruellia or Mexican petunias.

Here is a very lovely pink yarrow shared with me by my friend Cynthia Mueller.

I love the color and texture of coleus. These are in an old washstand with portulaca and calibrachoa

Vegetables and Herbs

This year I finally got arounf to building raised beds for my vegetables. I have three 33′ rows that I filled with a mix of 60% river sand and 40% mushroom compost. My building was delayed by all of the rain so I got my garden in a little late. However, it is really beggining to take off.

One of my favorite herbs is borage. Even though it has a nice, mild cucmber flavor, I don’t really like to eat it. The leaves are too fuzzy for me. However, it makes a lovely plant. Plus, it has beautiful little blue flowers that look great frozen in a ice cube.

I have 18 tomato plants growing. Because of that we will be making lots of salsa. I planted cilantro in a buried 2.5 gallon pot to try and keep it in check. I use this same trick with my mint.

Summer isn’t complete with out squash. My yellow crook neck it beginning to produce.

I love peppers. Because of this I have several varieties currently growning. Last Saturday we picked our first bell. It was perfectly shaped and a perfect size so we took it in and immediately ate it. We cut it into two thick slices that we sauteed in bacon grease. Once it softened up a bit we cracked an egg to the center. We topped it off with grilled onions, bell pepper and and shreaded American cheese. People that don’t garden will never know how truly wonderful a dish like this is.