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| Late July harvest-peppers, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers |
July is the time of year for harvesting the heat lovers like tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, all types of peppers, basil and other Mediterranean herbs. With the hot, dry weather here, watering and fertilizing are key to on-going harvests. It is also the time to plant for fall harvests.
I got my summer garden in early May this year. Our spring and summer weather moved up planting by 3 weeks or so. Now, we are having a long string of 90's at the end of June and it is forecasted to remain above average for the next 15 days. I started tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumber, beans, basil, rosemary and sage from seed in my seed starting pots outdoors. I did 2 rounds indoors starting in March then the last round outdoors as the temperatures were warm enough in April.
Since it warmed up early, I was hoping to have ripe tomatoes before the 4th of July. The Tumbling Tom tomatoes I had indoors all winter starting giving tomatoes in March. Our outdoor tomatoes are loaded and the Chocolate Pear is just starting to turn. Small tomato varieties are usually the first to ripen.
Typically all my summer veggies are being harvested at this time-peppers, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, and green beans. This year, I have harvested only a few cucumbers and overwintered tomatoes. There is an eggplant that is large enough to harvest but I'll let it grow a bit more. There are lots and lots of baby tomatoes, many baby peppers, squash and zucchini fruits. The lima and snap pole beans are flowering so beans should be here soon. I had many volunteer squash plants and several have flowers on them but no fruits yet. The plants are growing and filling out well. I got my okra started late so it is the only one without flowers of the summer veggies. They all love thrive in hot weather so will be producing within the month of July.
By the end of the month, there should be more summer veggies than we can eat and we will start preserving the extra for winter and spring eating. Preservation garden
For salads, Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Perpetual Spinach, sprouting broccoli, Blue Feather lettuce and orach are growing robustly and I have been harvesting from them weekly. Red Malabar and New Zealand spinach greens love summer heat and humidity so are great substitutes for cool loving spinach. Hilton Chinese mustard is growing nicely and volunteer multi colored Chinese amaranth plants are sprouting up in several pots. Growing summer salads
The spring lettuce has flowered and is producing seed. When you see the white fuzzies on lettuce stalks, they are ready to save the seed. I just pull the seed heads, break apart, put in a ziplock freezer bag, label with type and date, and store in the refrigerator. I will re-seed my self watering pots with some of the seeds by cutting off the seed heads and placing in pots. If I don't have time to gather the seed, I just let the seeds spread throughout the garden and move the volunteers to pots or garden spots that I want them. Never ending salad from one packet of seeds
It is best to start new lettuce seed every 3 weeks to keep yourself supplied for salads. This time of year, do start the heat tolerant varieties. Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces Next round will be the fall and winter varieties that have cold tolerance. Succession planting is key for keeping lettuce in the heat of the summer. Start your lettuce seeds in a cool spot as they won't sprout when the ground is above 75 F. You can start them in a pot indoors and then take outside when they have sprouted.
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| Pole green beans on trellis |
The pole beans and winged beans are flowering. I have put the pole snap and lima beans in the garden bed this year. My winged bean with its beautiful blue flowers I put in a pot so I can move it where I want it. Once we get the tile laid on our covered patio, I'll move it there. When snap beans start producing, harvest them daily to keep them producing. I keep a quart bag in the freezer and add mature green beans as they are ready for picking. Any storage beans like lima beans will stay on the vine until the pod dries. The 1500 Year Old bean vine just started flowering. It is one you can either harvest young or use as a shelling bean. Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer
I had some garlic plants come up last year in a spot they used to be a couple of years ago. I dug them and put them into the bed by the walkout basement where most of my edibles are at. The plants now have garlic scapes and flowers so they are doing well. Hopefully the cloves will be big enough to harvest this year. Most of the shallots I planted last year did not survive, but the ones that did are flowering and expanding underground so I may also be able to harvest them this year. I just planted shallots I got from the grocery store so I wasn't sure if they would do well, but they have.
Garlic harvest time is typically this time of year. When the tops start dying, it is time to harvest. After pulling, be sure to harden off in a shaded area. If your soil has alot of clay, you will have to dig them. Try to not cut into the cloves when digging. After two weeks hardening, the cloves can be brought indoors for storing. Hardening is critical for the garlic to not rot when stored. I love elephant garlic as the cloves are as their name suggests, they are huge! Save the biggest cloves for replanting in the fall. Garlic harvest time is near! My favorite way to preserve garlic is to pickle them in apple cider vinegar with a few hot peppers and store in the frig. Have garlic any time you need it, just pickle some!
Our basil has been doing well. I can harvest as many leaves as I want for cooking. They need to get a bit bigger before I will cut them back to make pesto. The trick to keeping the plants from getting woody is to make sure to harvest down to the first few sets of leaves before the plants go in to full flower.. Keep pinching off the tops when you see flowers starting to form. I leave several to go to flower as the bees love them and harvest from the rest. I get two-three good harvests before fall. Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil
Oregano and thyme has been blooming for a bit along with garden chives. The bees love these small herb flowers! All can be cut and dried now, but I love the dainty flowers, too, and will wait until fall. Make your own "Herbes de Provence"
I fertilized all the flowers and vegetables again to keep them growing last week. Pots lose nutrients at a much higher rate than garden beds so I supplement them with liquid fertilizer. I am using a liquid fertilizer for all the potted plants at least every other week and using a solid fertilizer monthly around each plant. I like Espoma since it is an all natural product. I use tomato fertilizer for all fruit producing plants and their general purpose vegetable fertilizer for all other veggie and herb plants. If the plants need just nitrogen (leaves are yellowish and not dark green), I use blood meal, alfalfa meal or a liquid fish emulsion. Decorative container gardening for edibles
I have been using a mineral supplement in spring for my plants for the last few years, both the garden bed, pots and the potting soil I make. Right now I alternate between Azomite and kelp meal each year. So many soils are low in minerals and micronutrients. Your plants can't absorb what the soil does not have. Kelp has growth hormones in it as well. They can cause your plants to outgrow their pot. If your plants get a big boost when you add minerals to the soil, you know that it was needed. Adding minerals to the plants and soil will significantly increase the minerals in the plant itself, giving you minerals in the veggies you eat. The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals
I have been using a mineral supplement in spring for my plants for the last few years, both the garden bed, pots and the potting soil I make. Right now I alternate between Azomite and kelp meal each year. So many soils are low in minerals and micronutrients. Your plants can't absorb what the soil does not have. Kelp has growth hormones in it as well. They can cause your plants to outgrow their pot. If your plants get a big boost when you add minerals to the soil, you know that it was needed. Adding minerals to the plants and soil will significantly increase the minerals in the plant itself, giving you minerals in the veggies you eat. The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals
A key to keeping the garden productive this time of year is to keep even moisture to all the beds and containers. Inconsistent moisture can cause tomato fruits to crack and blossom end rot. Water the beds weekly and deeply; they need a good inch of water a week. During hot, dry periods, your containers may need watering every other day. Self-watering pots with reservoirs in the bottom are the trick to extending time between waterings. Summer garden tips
If you are getting higher than normal rainfall, you'll need to fertilize more often as the rain can wash away the nutrients. Keep an eye on the growth of your veggies and if they are not growing and producing as expected, they may need some extra food.
The wild blackberries are already ripe. If you want wild blackberries, you have to get them quickly or the critters will beat you to it. Do leave some for the wildlife. My strawberries and raspberry vines are not flowering again yet. They are both ever bearers so they will produce until frost. Back yard strawberries
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| A butterfly on zinnias in the edible garden |
At the end of this month, it will be time to start your seeds and seedlings for fall and winter harvests. You have to start early so they are at full size before frost. Time to plant for fall and winter harvests!
Pests and fungus can also be a problem during this time of year with the hot temperatures and high humidity. I have been finding which vegetables aren't bothered by our heat and humidity and making these my standbys. Trombetta squash is one that can be used as zucchini but doesn't overwhelm in production. It's an heirloom variety from Italy. In my garden, it resists powdering mildew and squash bugs unlike zucchini. I tried a Warsaw spaghetti squash that was supposed to be disease resistant but it was overcome early in the season. I am trying it in another spot to see if it does better there. I am also trying Mashed Potato squash again this year. If either does not do well this year in my garden, I will not plant it again. Preventing and treating powdery mildew
You can try and stay ahead of pests by monitoring the garden closely and picking off the pests. If they do get the best of you, here are some natural ways to combat them. Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays If you want to let pests come into natural balance, the rule of thumb is that it takes about 7 years for the "good" bugs and other "bad" bug predators like toads, birds, lizards, to take up residence in your garden to keep the "bad" bugs in check.
It seems like the flea beetles are being kept in better check this year. However, the cabbageworm still decimates my sprouting broccoli. I keep hoping this will be the year it comes into balance, but it has not happened yet. I first tried to use BT sprays or dust that needs to be reapplied after a heavy dew or rain or inspect and squish daily, but those did not solve the problem over the long term and it was a lot of time to do religiously. The cabbageworm starts in June. If I harvested all my mustard, cauliflower and broccoli by the beginning of June, this would eliminate the problem. I don't because sprouting broccoli leaves are ones that stay sweet all summer long so I use them in summer salads. I have enough volunteers that there is always a plant to harvest from. Maybe later this year, they will come in balance.
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