Do you have that ancient family secret you’d like to share? That special trick that makes the difference? Please submit them to me. I’d like to share some community mojo in my August column. I think it would be fun and interesting to see what we all come up with. Remember my Turd Tea?
Or how about putting powdered milk in the hole when planting tomatoes for that ultra calcium boost? I have a couple of exciting new ones also. It doesn’t have to be pertinent to garden. It could be like using salt and vinegar to clean the bottom of our pans, etc. Please have them submitted or sent in no later than July 10th so I can be sure to include them.

The overwhelming problem I’m seeing this month is with watering & insect issues. I will start with the watering issues.

Remember over-watering veggies is just as bad, actually worse, than under watering. Without the constant shining of the sun, the water stays around longer. Photosynthesis is not as rapid right now. Excess water drowns the roots and chokes the plants. It also causes disease and fungus.

Under-watering browns and curls the leaves, inviting mites and other insects to come and stay in the crispy little curls of the leaves. When a wilted plant receives its much needed drink of water, it takes it in at such a rapid rate the insides expand sometimes more than the outside allows. For example, tomatoes are 90% water, so the inside can expand too much sometimes causing the tomato to split. So, as they start to ripen, cut back on the watering the last week so that the skin is not stretching as much by this time.

Melons, lemons, cucumbers and sometimes peppers do the same thing. Improper watering in "cukes" can even cause a build up of cucurbitacin (the stuff cucumbers get flavor from). Flooding your rows once or twice a week in a deep soak will promote deep root systems and keep the water intake even, so the plants grow into each phase steady and solid. Too much stress from watering too frequently will eventually brown, rot or just kill everything. Most of the garden needs 1-2 inches of water per week. Remember deep soaks keep the water around longer and avoids shallow roots. Tomatoes need a little more water, so maybe twice per week, deep soak. But cucumbers need about a gallon a day per mound or plant.

I read somewhere to take a milk jug and cut the bottom & very top off. Place at base just into the dirt and fill with water. This will slowly and sufficiently supply the plant. Consistency is the key with tomatoes and melons and cukes. Last month I wrote about mulching, etc, for weeds. Mulching also helps retain moisture.

A lot of you have inquired about your peas. Although they prefer the cooler season, they too like their soil to be moist from two inches down when you stick your finger in the soil. Allow the first two inches to be dry before you water again. Placing lattice nearby or a filtered light barrier atop during the hottest part of the day will definitely increase the yield at harvest. They like it kind of cool and shady.

Insects love nothing more than to attack plants under stress to weaken the structure of the leaves and stems and make for an easy, soft meal. A lot of us have had leaves with holes in them and asked what is doing this? Well, I’ve found that holes in the center of leaves are usually sucked out by snails and slugs. Holes on the edges are chewed off by caterpillars, etc. If suddenly the lower part of the stem or trunk of a plant gets brown or soft, it is usually indicative of grubs feeding on the roots. So its good to treat soils with insecticides along with herbicides. Baby snails and grubs love feeding on bulbs and roots as they are emerging from the soil.

Don’t forget to send in your tricks and secrets so we can share and learn.

Your Plant Lady

P.S. Correction from last month. The poem I included, “God’s Garden”, I did not write. My sister Rebecca came up with that somewhere, but thank all of you for your response.