Everything you need to know to grow peppers, in a pot or garden

Peppers are for every taste and garden

Monday, May 29, 2023

No matter your taste buds, your style of cooking or the type of food you love, there is a pepper for you!  Besides that, peppers are pest free, come in beautiful colors, are easy to grow, and look great on the patio.

Peppers originated in South America.  Their use goes back to at least 7500 BCE and were domesticated at least 8000 years ago.  

Peppers have many great nutritional benefits.  They contain high amounts of vitamins C, A (carotene), K, potassium, manganese, B6 as well as a good source of fiber.  Its antioxidants help the body combat free radicals.  For more details, SELF magazine has a nice compilation of nutritional information of fruits and vegetables:  pepper nutritional info 

There are hot peppers, there are sweet peppers, there are smokey peppers.  There are peppers of a multitude of colors-white, yellow, orange, red, purple, brown, black, green.  They come in all shapes from the size of a blueberry to 12”, straight, crooked, puckered.

The hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains.  A tablespoon of ground chili pepper would contain between 0.8 to 480 mg of capsaicin.  In Ayurvedic medicine, capsaicin is used for digestive and circulatory health support.

Pepper’s heat is measured in Scoville heat units.  Some of the hottest peppers measured was a Trinidad Scorpion Butch T at 1,463,700 and a Naga Viper, at 1,382,118 SHU’s.  Now that is smokin’ hot!

Quick reference Scoville values:

*0 Sweet peppers like the classic bell and Italian sweet peppers.  

*100-900 Mild peppers such as pimento, banana and pepperoncini peppers

*1,000-2,500 Anaheim, Poblano, Peppadew peppers

*3,500-8,000 Jalapeño, Anaheim peppers

*10,000-23,000 Serrano, Peter peppers

*30,000-50,000 Tabasco, Cayenne peppers

*100,000-350,000 Habanero/Scotch bonnet peppers

One thing to keep in mind, peppers are natural plants and their heat can vary widely based on growing conditions and their pepper neighbor in the garden.  If you place a hot pepper and a sweet pepper next to each other, the sweet pepper can become a spicy pepper through cross pollination.

Once you get in the range of cayenne peppers, you should use gloves when handling.  Washing your hands with water after handling the pepper does not wash away the heat!  Transferring some of the pepper’s heat to the eyes can be extremely painful!  The best way to cool the heat is to use whole milk.  

The center of a pepper’s heat is in its seeds and ribs.  If you want a milder dish, clean the seeds and ribs from the pepper before using.

We typically grow our hot peppers in pots as they seem to do best in a container.  I try to grow enough peppers to last us all winter for chili, salsa, and pepper seasonings.  The hot peppers like Jalapeños and Cayenne are prolific in pots.  One plant of the hot, smaller varieties is all we need.  We have found that the smaller sweet pepper plants like banana peppers and Nikita do equally well in pots.  The large sweet peppers like California bell and Pimento seemed to do better in the garden bed.

For planting in the pots, just use a good organic potting soil purchased from our local garden center and place one plant per pot along with a petunia or nasturtium for additional color and to attract pollinators.  To help maintain moisture, I mulch around the peppers after planted in the pot and use a large catch pan under each pot.  I water them once/week in the summer.  Converting your favorite pot to a self watering container can also cut down how often watering is required.  Decorative container gardening for edibles

If you want to give your pepper plants an extra boost, they favor phosphorous (bulb food or bone meal works well), sulfur (a book of matches in the hole does the trick), calcium to prevent blossom end rot (a half dozen crushed egg shells works well), and magnesium (which is contained in epson salts, a diluted spray when the flowers appear).  Some say if the leaves pucker, this is a sign that phosphorous is needed.  Tomato fertilizer is also good for peppers as both are fruiting plants.

You should put out pepper plants after it is nice and warm.  Peppers are in the nightshade family with tomatoes and eggplant.  They should be planted outside when night time temps are above 55 and daytime temps in the 70’s consistently.  If you buy pepper plants with peppers already on them, remove them before planting so the plant can focus its energy on developing a strong root system. 

If you are going to grow your peppers from seeds, start them indoors 6-8 weeks before you will transplant outside.  You can get unusual varieties not at your local nursery in seed catalogues.  Baker Creek Heirloom Seed company has some very unique varieties from around the world.  Although the spectrum available today in stores is quite nice.  You can also order plants from most seed catalogues.

Surprisingly, peppers don’t like extremely hot weather.  They get sunburned when the temps get into the 90’s consistently.  Their sunburn looks like dark spots on the exposed fruits.  If you can, move them into the shade when temps are extreme.  They won’t croak, but they are stressed during periods of high heat.  

Almost all veggies love fertile soil and consistent watering.  Peppers are no exception.   Summer garden tips Some swear that stressing the plant will increase the heat of the pepper.  Now, a recent Guinness winner thinks the secret to getting the world’s hottest pepper was run off from a worm farm.

Peppers will get flowers on them that, if pollinated, will grow into a pepper.  If you look into the center of a flower, you can see the emerging baby pepper.

Pepper flower with baby pepper forming

Anything that produces a seed or fruit needs a visit from a friendly pollinator, like the honey bee, mason bee, bumble bee, predatory wasps, hover flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, or many other insects.  It is important to not use insecticides as they kill the pollinators along with the bad bugs or to use very sparingly and not on the flowers themselves.  I have not seen any pest issue with peppers in my garden that would need a pesticide.

I plant the peppers in a pot with nasturtium or petunias to attract the pollinators and to look good on the patio.

Pepper plant with petunias

This year I am growing several peppers:

*Purple sweet peppers for the salsa and snacking

*Cayenne for salsa and making hot sauce
*Chiltepin for adding to my seasoned salt

*Jigsaw pepper because it is variegated and has purple fruits.  Spicy so will use for making hot sauce.

*Ancho to dry for chili powder  

                                  Pimento at top, jalapeño on bottom      Red and green cayennes

I have been overwintering the Chiltepin and Cayenne peppers inside for the last few years.  I have already harvested cayenne peppers. Peppers are a tropical perennial so can be overwintered in the garage or house to get a jump start on the next season.  Plus, if you have a pepper plant that was just outstanding the previous year, you know you will get a repeat show.

Peppers all start out green.  It is as they ripen that they turn colors.  Jalapeño will turn red if left to ripen on the vine.  The sweet peppers I am growing from seed this year will turn chocolate.  They can be eaten either when green or after they have turned.  Their flavor, and heat, will intensify as they ripen.

The trick to keeping the pepper crop going is to harvest often.  It’s like the plant knows when it has its quota of peppers.  The blossoms will fall off until more are picked.  Save the seeds from your best pepper.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Here are some ways to preserve your pepper harvest if you have more than you can eat  Preserving peppers

Peppers come in so many different flavors and heat intensity.  There is a pepper out there for everyone.  Combined with their carefree horticulture, they make a great plant to add to your garden this year. 

What to plant in the June edible garden

Potted eggplant with petunia
Sunday, May 28, 2023

In our Zone 7 garden, June is summer; highs in the 80's are here to stay.  The cold crops planted in April like lettuce, mustard, kale and spinach are bolting (gone to seed).  The tomato transplants are blooming and three varieties have a baby tomato growing.  The bean vines I planted last month are 2.5 feet tall.  I just transplanted the squash and cucumbers into their summer pots and garden bed.  If planted earlier, they would all be flowering with baby fruits on them.  This year, I started my summer loving  peppers, basil and eggplant from seed late.  No worries, these heat lovers will grow quickly in the summer sun.

I transplanted my seedlings of basil, rosemary, a couple more tomatoes, eggplant, salvia, and sweet peppers from peat pods to 4" pots this week.  I started them indoors early in the month and moved them outside for a few days before transplanting them into 4" pots.  Some still have only their seed leaves and a few have their second and third set of leaves.  I'll transplant them out into the garden and large pots in another couple of weeks.  I plant my eggplant and peppers in pots.  The basil, salvia and tomatoes will all go in the garden bed.

I'll continue growing lettuce from seed about every 3 weeks to keep sweet leaves going for harvest.  I do love salads.  I have done a couple of rounds of wildflower seeds in a rectangular growing pot next to the patio.  After the seedlings are a nice size, I transplant into my pollinator garden bed.  Other than lettuce, I don't have plans for any more seeding for a month or so.  Late July is the time to start fall veggies from seed.

Below is a list of plants and seeds you can put in the June edible garden.  Transplants give you a jump on harvests and are still available at big box stores and nurseries, but seeds are inexpensive and you can get unusual varieties to try that you can't get as transplants.

 

June-transplants or seeds

Basil

Bee balm (monarda)

Beans-bush and pole

Beets

Borage

Broccoli

Catnip

Celery

Cucumber

Eggplant

Horseradish

Lavender

Lemon balm

Lettuce (heat tolerant)

Lovage
Mustard
Onions
Parsley
Parsnips

Peppers

Pumpkins

Radicchio

Radishes

Rosemary

Sage

Strawberries

Summer and winter squash

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomatoes

Turnips

Valerian

June-start from seeds directly in the garden

Beans (snap-bush & pole)

Beets

Carrots

Corn

Cucumber
Peas, Southern

Radishes

Squash

Turnips

I love to have fresh salads every day.  It is tough in summer to keep the traditional salad greens like lettuce and spinach going in the hot weather.  I sow seeds every 3 weeks in spring to keep greens going.  Go for the bolt resistant types in late spring and early summer.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces  I have also in recent years started planting substitutes for lettuce and spinach.  

For lettuce substitute, I am growing sprouting broccoli and a sweet Chinese cabbage, Hilton, along with orach, multi colored amaranth, cultivated dandelion greens, arugula and chard.  All can be sown now.

For spinach substitutes, I am growing Perpetual Spinach, Red Malabar spinach and New Zealand spinach.  They all thrive in hot weather.  Malabar spinach is a vine so give it a trellis to climb.  It is quite pretty with its maroon stems and flowers.

Give your greens the coolest spot in the garden and moist to keep them sweet and succulent.  You can use taller plants to give them shade as well.  Growing summer salads

For tips on starting your seeds in the garden:  Outdoor seed starting tips  I also like to put a pot or two on our covered deck and start seeds there.  Once they are to a good size, transplant them into their permanent pot or into the garden bed.  Be sure your seedlings are hardened off as the heat and sun can be intense this time of year. "Hardening off" seedlings   I like to plant on a cloudy day when rain is being called for the next day.

In June, the days are getting hot and the rains don't come as often.  Be sure to water your new plants when it gets dry or they wilt.  Summer garden tips

Native fruits and vegetables

Tomatoes are a native of the Americas

Saturday, May 27, 2023

With global access to seeds and plants these days, it is difficult to tell what are native to our area, region, continent and what was brought here over the centuries.  The difference between "native" and "heirloom" is that an heirloom only needs to have been grown here for at least 50 years whereas native is a plant that originated here; some natives are thousands of years old.

We don't have many native fruit trees in North America; most of our popular fruit trees were brought over as folks immigrated from Europe and other parts of the world. Black cherry, American persimmon, mayhaw, farkleberry and pawpaw trees are natives.  Apple, pear, plum, lime, and lemon trees all hail from Asia and Europe.

We have quite a few native berries in North America.  Strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, red and black raspberries, serviceberries, North American grapes (like Concord and mustang), loganberries, gooseberries, elderberries, chokeberries, buffalo berries, and huckleberries. 

There are many globally popular vegetables that originated in the Americas.  America's favorite garden vegetable, tomatoes, originated in South and Central America.  Other natives include maize (corn-Mexico), beans (Central and South America), squash (Mexico and Central America), avocados (Mexico), peppers (Central or South America), potatoes (Peru), tomatillos (Mexico), sweet potatoes (Peru), peanuts (South America).  A couple of grains that are native are wild rice (Great Lakes) and amaranth (South America).  All of these crops spread across North and South America thousands of years ago, well before European explorers came to the Americas.

Peppers, a native of the Americas

Some were taken back to Europe from the Americas and cultivated widely before being brought back to the colonies.  Great examples are the tomato and potato.  We associate potatoes with the Irish and British and tomatoes with Italy but their origin was actually in the Americas.

There are several edible greens that are native to North America like ramps, lambsquarter, wild onion, wild garlic, and fiddle leaf fern but are not commonly cultivated in the garden.  They are packed with nutrition so great to add to salads.  The greens of amaranth can also be used as a summer substitute for lettuce.  

Everything you need to know to grow cucumbers, in pots or the garden bed

Cucumber vines on trellis in the August garden

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Cucumbers are a tropical plant and love heat.  They should be started indoors 4 weeks prior to the last frost (mid March in our Zone 6) and transplanted outside after all danger of frost has passed for the quickest harvest.  They can also be directly sown into the garden in the summer.  You can purchase transplants at nurseries or big box stores.  You can plant into July and have fruits from August to frost.

Cucumbers have been around for thousands of years and originate from India.  The cucumber arrived in Europe at least 2000 years ago.  The Romans loved them.  Christopher Columbus brought the cucumber with him to Haiti in the 1400‘s and seeds were likely aboard the first ships in Virginia in the 1600’s.

Cucumbers are a good source of potassium, antioxidants like beta carotene, lutein, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K.  It also has a diuretic properties.  Cucumber nutritional info  Cucumbers have a sweet, refreshing taste.  They are popular in salads, smoothies, and juices.

Cucumbers should be planted in full sun with rich soil and consistent moisture.  Cucumbers can be grown in pots or in the garden bed.   You can let them run or train them to grow on a trellis.  If growing in soil, plant 4 seeds in hills 3-4‘ apart and thin to the strongest two.  I plant mine around a trellis to use the vertical space.  Unless you get a "bush" variety, the plant will outgrow its trellis; just pinch off the top when it gets to the height you want. 

In my garden, cucumbers have never been bothered with pests or disease.  They are a seemingly carefree vegetable that produces abundantly. 

If growing green varieties, harvest before the fruits turn yellow.  Early fruits have less seeds and have no bitterness.  Frequent harvesting also encourages the vine to grow more fruits.  Follow the seed packet instructions for harvesting of other colors of cucumbers.

If growing in pots, look for patio, dwarf, bush, or compact in the description.  Some small varieties include Lemon, Suyo, Salad Bush, Fanfare, Sweet Success, Bush Champion.  One vine of Salad Bush was all we needed to have enough cucumbers to make pickles for the year for my husband and for salads for me.  I also love adding cukes to my smoothies and snacking on them right off the vine.  
Grow your own smoothie and juice garden
Decorative container gardening for edibles
Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix

I have started seeds indoors and outdoors.  If started outdoors, starting in May after the soil has had a chance to warm up will give quick germination and growth.  If you start too early like I did this year, the seed won't sprout and will rot.  I started them outside at the first of April and they never sprouted.  I re-sowed indoors a couple of weeks ago.  The seedling is going strong!

Days to harvest after sprouting varies from 50-70 days, depending on variety, amount of sun the plant gets and how warm it is.  Typically, the smaller fruits are quicker to develop.  Cucumbers grow and produce fast in hot, humid weather.  

Last year, I planted my seeds directly into a garden pot in early June.  I grew one green Bush Champion in a large pot.  The one plant gave me enough to eat fresh, make pickles that my husband loves and pickle relish for me.

Fertilize regularly and keep evenly moist.  Do not let soil completely dry out.  This will result in bitter or hollow fruits.  Each plant produces both male and female flowers.  The first flowers will likely be males; they are the ones that have a long thin stalk with the flower on the end.  Don’t be surprised or worried when the first flowers fall off without fruiting.  When the female flowers appear, you will get baby fruits.

Summer garden tips

There are a wide variety of cucumbers out there from tiny to humongous, from green to white to yellow to red, from those grown to eat fresh to those that can be stored on the counter for months, from those that are smaller bush types to those whose vines can ramble over 20 feet.  Lately, I have been planting the green bush varieties as a single plant gives me all we need to eat and preserve.  I have enjoyed growing yellow and white varieties as they are more forgiving in our hot summers.  Maybe next this winter when I have more time, I'll look for a bush variety in a fun color to try next year.

Don't forget to save seeds from your best producer for next year's garden!

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

What's happening in the mid May edible garden

Potted lettuce

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Everything is lush and green this time of year.  The edibles are growing quickly.   Salad fixings are in their prime with the summer edibles just getting started.  Herbs are filling out nicely.  By this time of year, we no longer need to purchase produce from the grocery store and can get fresh herbs to add to dishes that make them taste wonderful.

The greens we are eating-French sorrel, spinach, dandelion greens, winter cress, arugula, chick weed, sweet clover, Egyptian Walking onions, celery, Ruby Streaks mustard, Chinese Giant Leaf mustard, sprouting broccoli leaves, orach, many varieties of lettuce and snow peas.  Many are overwintered or volunteers from last year.  I also started different varieties of lettuce and bought a few transplants from the store.  I like to have new lettuces coming on all the time so there is always plenty for salads.

Herbs to add to dishes and salads-garlic chives, regular chives, oregano, thyme, horseradish, Egyptian walking onions, tarragon, sage, young garlic, cilantro.  All are perennials or self-sowers so they come back year after year.

The fruits and veggies-wild strawberries, cultivated strawberries and carrots.  Strawberries are perennial and carrots overwintered and came up from last year's seed.

The flowers that are blooming-irises, spiderwort, roses and petunias.  The herbs and veggies going to seed-yellow flowers of the sprouting broccoli, mustard and cress, yellow dandelion flowers, lavender chive flowers.  Soon, the beautiful purple flowers of sage, the white flowers of thyme, and the white garlic chive flowers.  All veggie and herb flowers are edible.  A fun way to add flavor and beauty to salads or other dishes.

The overwintering and early spring planted lettuce is beginning to bolt so soon there will be the white, yellow and blue flowers from the different kinds of lettuce.  Several carrots are starting to bolt, too.  If not pulled, they have beautiful white flowers resembling Queen Ann's Lace, which they are from the same family, that bees love.

The white and pink peonies and lilacs have already come and gone.  They both were heavy with flowers this spring.  

This week, I weeded I transplanted and fertilized.  I planted out 11 tomato plants and am moving perennials from one bed to other beds.  I tried starting seeds outdoors in pots in April but then was gone most of the month.  I restarted the tomatoes, peppers, basil, eggplant, sage, squash and cucumbers indoors.  They have sprouted.  I'll start moving them into larger pots when they get their second set of leaves.  The cucumber and squash seedlings, I'll transplant into their permanent spot when they get their second set of leaves. I had started beans a few weeks ago in outside pots and they are about a foot tall now. 

It is a good idea to wait 10 days after planting new plants before you give them much fertilizer.  I'll add a diluted liquid fertilizer to all that have their first set of true leaves in the next week.  When I transplant them, I will add char, worm castings and starter to each planting hole.

It's okay to just be getting started in the edible garden with the summer lovers.  You can plant a summer garden into June and still have a nice harvest.

 

I have also have very enterprising voles in the garden.  The good part of this is that they do a great job of loosening up the soil.  The bad part is that if there tunnels go under your plant, there is a good chance, the plant will die.  I've tried electronic deterrents.  Not sure how well they worked.  Voles love mulched areas.  I don't get any in the beds with decorative gravel.  I read recently that they don't like coffee so I may try putting coffee grounds in their tunnels.

Volunteer Red Malabar spinach and Chinese Multicolor amaranth

I have been harvesting the greens by taking only the outer leaves so that the plants will continue to grow.  By harvesting, it stimulates the plant to grow even more leaves.  If you have extra greens, besides lettuce, you can blanch and freeze them.  I still have plenty left in the freezer.  Preservation garden

I am doing good right now on lettuce, but will need to start some more seeds in a couple of weeks.  If you start seeds every 2-3 weeks, it keeps you in lettuce all the way until winter.  This time of year, start the heat tolerant varieties.   I have also moved to using greens that stay sweet during the dog days of summer.  The greens I have found so far that are great lettuce and spinach substitutes in salads are Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Perpetual Spinach chard, Chinese Multicolored amaranth, all colors of orach, Chinese Hilton cabbage (doubles as a great wrap, too), sprouting broccoli.  Keep salads going all summer long.  

Everything you need to know to grow squash

Zucchini bush in center

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Bush type zucchini squash

Squash is amazing.  It spans from huge pumpkins to small petit pan squash.  From the summer kings like zucchini to the fall princes like pumpkins.  They have an amazing array of sizes, shapes, and tastes.

Squash originated in Mexico.  There are cave drawings from 8000 to 6500 BC depicting squash and the oldest remains found are from 8750 BC.  Squash was grown extensively by Native Americans as part of the “Three Sisters”-squash, corn and beans.  These three support each other's growth.  Beans provide nitrogen to the corn and squash.  The corn provides the stalks for the beans to grow up on.  

The sprawling squash vines crowd out any weeds.  

Squash love organic matter.  If you throw a few seeds in your compost pile, you will be rewarded with exuberant vines.

Zucchini is a favorite summer squash and full of nutrition.  It contains antioxidants, carotenes, lutein, folates, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and B vitamins.  For more specific nutritional information, Summer squash nutrition info

Plant squash when nighttime temps are 55F or warmer consistently.  Add a fertilizer rich in phosphorous a week after transplanting, when flowers first appear and again when fruits begin to form.  They love water, too.  If growing in a pot, keep well watered and don’t let dry out.

Don’t panic when the first blooms fall off without producing any fruits.  There are male and female flowers.  If yours falls off, it was likely a poor guy that withered without the love a gal.  There can also be some false starts with malformed fruits.  Don’t worry, the plant will put on more blooms and you will be on your way to zucchini overload before you know it!

Baby acorn squash, blooms still attached

There are two basic categories of squash-winter and summer.  

Winter squash are those that take until late fall to ripen and can be stored inside for months.  Butternut squash will last until June in my pantry.  Winter squash includes butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, Hubbards, turbans and pumpkins.  Each vine does not produce many fruits. It is typical to get 2-3 winter squash off a single vine.

Winter squash you typically leave on the vine until the vine dies and the fruit loses its sheen in the fall.   Then bring inside and store in a cool, not cold, dark place.

Turban squash

There are some amazingly diverse and cool winter squashes/pumpkins, from the bumpy and blue hubbards, to traditional pear shaped butternut to the exotic "turban" squash, so named because of the hat it appears to be wearing............  

From left to right-Hubbard and Butternut squash

Baby zucchini squash, blooms still attached

Summer squash can be harvested all summer long.  I have grown them successfully in a pot or garden bed.  This year I am planting in the flower bed and my potato boxes.  Summer squash include the ever popular zucchini, cushaw, pattypan, and yellow crookneck.

If growing summer squash in a pot, look for the bush varieties.  These are much more manageable.  I would recommend putting in a pot with a water reservoir as well as zucchini's love moisture.  Decorative container gardening for edibles

Zucchini is notorious for getting huge overnight.  It is important to pick summer squash when smaller.  As they grow large, they become very seedy and just don’t taste nearly as good!  Check them daily.  If left to grow too large, you can always use them for zucchini bread which is delicious.

Since I have switched to Trombetta squash.  It is a sprawler so I grow in the garden bed or our large potato boxes.  I prefer it because it seems impervious to disease and pests, produces less at one time and over a longer period, and you can harvest the fruits young for use as a summer squash or if you wait too long, you can harvest and keep as winter squash.  I still have several in the basement cellar from last year.

Since summer squash produces so many fruits, it needs to be fertilized and watered regularly in dry conditions.  I fertilize with an organic, granular fertilizer at least once a month.  I'll use tomato fertilizer on all my fruiting vegetables when I fertilize my tomatoes as it is good for all fruiting vegetables as well.  You can also make your own.  Make your own all natural, complete fertilizer

The two biggest pest problems are squash bugs (left) and squash vine borer (below left are eggs and right is the adult).  Inspect the plant for squash bugs.  You can wear gloves, pick them off and throw them in a bowl of soapy water.

Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays

The squash vine borer is best thwarted by planting early or late.  They fly in mid-June.  If planting early, be sure to inspect regularly the stems for any eggs.  Scrap off any that you find.  When the eggs hatch, the catepillar will dig into the vine and eat its way through its length.  You will have a strong plant one day and a wilted on the next.  You can wrap the stem base as a preventative.  The good news is that your plant does get infested, you can replace with another one.  They grow quickly in warm temperatures and soils of summer.

The cucumber beetle can infect the plant with a bacterial disease called wilt or cucumber mosaic virus.  The cucumber beetles we get here look like yellow/green lady bugs (left).  There are also striped varieties (below).

Again, the gloves, pick and throw in soapy water technique works.  Or if you are not squeamish, you can just squish them.

In late summer in areas with high humidity, you can get powdery mildew.  This can be treated by spraying with baking soda, copper, fresh whey and other organic fungal sprays and soil drenches.  When watering be sure to not get the foliage wet and water in the morning so any extra is quickly evaporated.  I have found that planting a second plant around the first of July is the best approach.  This plant will be kicking in as the second starts slowing down.  Summer garden tips

With zucchini, you are begging people to take them come mid-summer.  I found some great ways to use all that extra  What to do with all that zucchini?!   I make into spaghetti noodles, use as a substitute for lasagna noodles, stuff, dry, and freeze.  You can also pickle or high pressure can.  There are many ways to creatively use and to preserve your zucchini harvest!  

If you bought a heirloom or open pollinated variety, you can easily save the seed to grow next year's plants.  From your best plant with no disease, let one get large, remove from the vine and leave it out in the garden bed.  The inner flesh will deteriorate leaving the seeds.  Just scoop out the seeds, put in a plastic baggie, date and keep in the frig for next year.  You can also scoop out the seeds from the fruit right off the vine and leave the seeds indoors to dry on a paper towel or plate.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

If there is a variety that you love the looks and/or taste of from the store or farmers market, save the seeds and grow some of your own next year!  If it is an heirloom, it will come back "true" to the parent.  If it is a hybrid, it may be a surprise squash.  Either way, it is fun to try.

What do the terms GMO, natural, heirloom, organic, hybrid really mean?

Summer squash is a fun one to grow because it is so productive and easy to grow.  Just a few seeds will provide so much food!

Everything you need to know to grow tomatoes

Summer tomato plant

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Tomatoes are Americans favorite vegetable to grow.  There really is no comparison between a home grown tomato and a store bought tomato.  There are just a few tips to know about growing great tasting tomatoes. 

The first is knowing what type of tomato to purchase

There are two types of tomatoes-indeterminate and determinate.  Determinate grow to a set height and the fruit sets all at once.  These can be a great candidate for canning if you would like to get your tomato canning done all at once.  Indeterminate continue to grow and yield fruits (yes, the tomato is actually a fruit) until frost.  These are the best for fresh tomatoes all season long.  Determinates height typically stays below 4'; indeterminates can grow well over 8' in a season.

Choosing which tomatoes to grow

I grow only indeterminates.  For what we don’t eat, I freeze whole in quart freezer bags for chili and salsa until fall.  Come fall, I start canning the surplus.  I like growing a variety of tomatoes, with different colors, salad tomatoes, slicers, and paste tomatoes.  I like adding paste tomatoes to each freezer bag as they give a silky sauce.  And colors are just fun!  I always have red and purple tomatoes in the garden.
The Power of Purple

Right before the first frost, I pick all the tomatoes left on the vine and put in a dark place for them to ripen.  We have fresh tomatoes into December.  They are definitely not the same as summer tomatoes, but better than anything you can buy in the store!  For more tips on preserving the tomato harvest:  Preserving the tomato harvest

There are "storage" tomato varieties.  You can pick these at frost and they will keep for up to 4 weeks longer than typical tomatoes.  One option is Red October.  The downside is they are a hybrid so will not come back true to the parent with seeds from this year's crop.  There are non-hybrid storage tomatoes like Evil Olive and A Grappoli D'Inverno that will grow true from seed.

Tomatoes kept in pantry at Christmas

All tomatoes are chock full of antioxidants and lycopene.  They contain vitamins A, C, E, K, and B-complex as well as potassium, manganese, and copper.  For a full listing of nutrition, SELF magazine has an informative nutritional database:  tomato nutrition

Tomato supports/cages

With indeterminate tomatoes, they definitely need something to help them grow upwards (although not required, it does make harvesting much easier, takes up less garden space and protects against disease).  A very sturdy pole can be used and the plant tied onto it as it grows.  The more popular option is a “tomato cage” that the tomato grows up in to.  This is what we use.  It is important to get the cage on while the plants are small or severe damage may ensue when you try to force the gangly plant into it’s cage.  Be sure to get a strong cage for large indeterminate types of tomato plants.  I also add a stake to the really big tomatoes to give extra support.  If using smaller cages, you can just pinch off the top when the plant starts growing too large.

If you grow dwarf or patio tomatoes, they may not need any support at all.  I did end up using a stake for each plant as they put on large tomatoes which caused the plant to lean when I grow the patio types.  

Staked dwarf tomato

Tips when planting

Tomatoes are susceptible to blossom-end rot and fungal diseases.  End rot is typically caused by not having enough calcium in the soil.  Fungal diseases remain the soil.  It is important to rotate vegetable plants and not plant them in the same spot every year.  You can use organic fungicides as a preventative.  You should spray when you transplant your seedlings and continue to spray every couple of weeks.  Organic fungicides are preventative so you have to keep the fungus from growing to start with.  Keeping fungal diseases at bay will greatly increase yields in late summer.  

Another preventative of disease is to provide the right fertilizer and nutrients when planting.  In each planting hole, I add a handful of worm castings, balanced fertilizer, and dust the roots with mycorrhizal life support which contains mycorrhizal, vitamins and minerals.  This blend improves soil fertility and the plants ability to take in the nutrition it needs.  It is not all about just the big 3-nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.  They are important but vitamins, minerals, and particularly living soil makes a huge difference in how healthy and lush the plants become.  I use fertilizer made specifically for tomatoes so that they get the calcium they need.  As your plants take up minerals, you will get these minerals when you eat your garden produce.  Every other year, I add Azomite to all my plants which contains over 70 minerals and trace elements just to make sure the plants have all the micronutrients they need.
The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals

When you plant your tomato, make sure to plant it deeply.  I take off all the limbs except the top couple and bury the plant up to these stems.  Roots will grow from where the stems are removed.  This gives the plants a much stronger root system to support growth.

I also like to plant early in the season and then again in the middle of the summer.  When the new plants come on strong, the early planted ones are slowing down.  It keeps the harvest going strong.

Pruning tips

Now that your plants have the right start, pruning is the next step.  To get the highest yields, some say it is important to prune your tomatoes.  You want no branches below 12” (some recommend 18”).  You also want to prune the plant to only 2 branches, the center stalk and one side stalk.  You want to keep the “suckers” cut or pinched off as well as the tomato grows.

The amount of pruning is controversial among tomato growing connoisseurs.  Some swear by pruning, others say it makes no difference.  If you live further south, keeping the greenery helps protect the fruits from sun scald.  If your plants seem to get fungal diseases, doing some pruning to open up the plant for air circulation can be beneficial.  For plants up north, increased greenery helps the plant have more energy going to its fruits.  I have tried both and for my garden, very limited pruning has worked the best.  I prune out the suckers but leave all the other stems and leaves.

Watering and fertilizing

Now, to on-going watering and fertilizing.  Many think more is better when it comes to watering and fertilizing.  Not so for tomatoes!  What you end up with are tons of greenery, mushy tomatoes, and very few of them.  Some tomato afficiados recommend a deep watering and fertilizer at planting, then again at flowering, and that is it.  I do water when there is a long dry spell.  Overwatering or erratic watering can also cause the fruits to crack and blossom end rot.  I provide the same water to my tomatoes as my other veggies, trying to make sure they are getting about 1" of rain or watering each week.  

For the tomatoes in the garden, I fertilize when planting, again when the first flowers appear, and monthly thereafter.  If growing in containers, I fertilize every other week with a liquid fertilizer when flowering.  I also add Azomite every other season to make sure the plants are getting all the trace minerals they need.  The first time I added Azomite, my plants seemed to grow and bush out within a few days.  If they respond favorably, then they really needed those nutrients.  Kelp meal also contains alot of minerals and hormones.  Kelp will stimulate your plants to grow upwards.  If your plants are staying stubby, I would apply kelp meal.

If your plant will not flower and fruit with lush green foliage, quit fertilizing and watering.  Nitrogen stimulates green growth.  If you go overboard, the plant will be focused on its greenery instead of fruiting.  A little stress should jump start it into producing flowers and fruits.

Although tomatoes love hot weather (they will not flower until night time temps get above 55), they also don’t like it too hot.  If daytime temps get above 90 and nighttime temps above 76, the plant will drop its flowers.  Not to worry, as soon as temps come back down, your plants will begin flowering again.
 Summer garden tips

Growing in containers

If you want to grow tomatoes in a container, you need to either have a really big container for full size tomatoes (5 gallon) or plant varieties that are adapted for containers. Tomatoes for containers would be labelled as dwarf, patio, container.  Some varieties that fit this bill:  BushSteak, Patio Princess, Bush Early Girl, Tumbler, Bush Big Boy, Baxter’s Bush Cherry, Lizzano, Sweetheart of the Patio, Tumbling Tom Yellow or Red, Bush Better Bush, Balcony (look for bush/patio/container types), Husky Bush.
Compact tomatoes for small spaces and pots

If you grow in containers, you will need to water weekly or maybe even more depending on the container and plant size combo used.  For more on container gardening and types to purchase for pots, Decorative container gardening for edibles

I have grown dwarfs in a larger container and have only needed to water weekly when I put a large catch pan under the pot so the plant can absorb water from the bottom.  They have grown and fruited the same as growing in the ground.  I have also grown indeterminates in extra large containers about the size of a half whisky barrel.  These plants did fine in the pot, but did not produce nearly what they do when planted in the ground.  My husband is trying the upside down 5 gallon bucket technique this year with any automatic watering system so we will see how that does.  Always fun to try something new! 

Seed saving

If you are growing open pollinated or heirloom tomatoes, you can save the seed from the best fruits and plants to grow for next season.  If you are growing hybrids, the seed will not produce a plant like the parent.  For very productive hybrids, I will save seed just to see what I get from them.

Why save seed?  Saving seed from the plants that produce the best fruits year on year will give you plants acclimated to your garden conditions and the best producers.  Save seed from plants that have the characteristics you want in future plants.  The ones with the best fruit, the largest fruit, the best tasting fruit, the earliest producer, the latest producer or the best producer.  You get to choose what you want in your future tomato plants.  Just do not save seed from any diseased plant as the disease stays in the seed.
Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver