Weekly Gardening Outlook

This will be a continuing series. Each Monday we will look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

It has been so hot and dry that even the sun loving cucumbers are moving into the shade!  Amazingly, they were able to span the two foot gap between the top of our eight foot tall trellis and the branch of a neighboring silver maple.  We will leave them alone for now as they aren't hurting anything.

Spaghetti Squash / Squash Vine Borer Update:

The vines grew about a foot in the last week.  They are thriving in this hot weather.  The package says they take 100 days from seed to harvest.  We are giving them about 107 days unless we have an early frost.  Actual days to maturity is variable depending on growing conditions (temperature, sun exposure, moisture, etc.).  We feel good about getting a harvest from these late planted vines.  We'll continue to keep you updated.

Things to be on the lookout for:

Leafhoppers come in a variety of colors and are usually very brightly colored as seen here on a sweet potato vine.  Adults are about 3/8" long and jump away with a strong, quick motion when disturbed.  They suck juice from leaves and can cause leaf spots and wilting.  Of more concern is their ability to transmit viral diseases.  We've always had a few around the garden without a problem, but they can build up to point where they need to be treated for.  If they do, handpicking or vacuuming is difficult due to their quickness.  Use insecticidal soap or diatomaceous earth, but as always treat late in the day and do not get it on flowers to avoid killing bees. 

Weather outlook:
-Low 90s all week, with a very slight chance of rain
-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:
-Peppers

-Watermelons

-Chard 

-Tomatoes
-Cucumbers
-Celeriac leaves, basil, mint, and other herbs

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a very space efficient crop, growing readily on a trellis and giving large numbers of fruits per plant.  Vines can reach 12-14' long. Four plants of a standard straight eight type cucumber will easily yield a fruit a day and even more in optimal conditions. 


Planting:

Sow seeds in a sunny location after all danger of frost has passed (early May in Northwest Arkansas).  In square foot gardening , we've found that one plant per square foot provides plenty of production and avoids overcrowding.  Seeds don't germinate 100% of the time.  To increase the odds of a seedling in each spot, sow two seeds in each hole.  Keep well watered until they come up (about a week).  Using scissors, thin the seedlings to one plant per hole by cutting the smallest plant off at its base.

Tips and Tricks:

• Save some money and buy cucumber seed rather than seedlings.  Save unused seeds in a ziptop bag and keep them in a cool, dark place until next year.
• If the soil in your garden is clay based and clumpy, create a pocket of finished compost or peat in which to plant the seeds.  This will hold moisture around the seed and give it a loose medium to push through as it emerges. 
• To reduce fungal disease and maximize space efficiency, provide the cucumbers with a trellis to grow on.  Half of a cattle panel cost $8.00 and gives a solid 8' tall trellis.  
• At the first sign of powdery mildew or downy mildew, treat with Serenade.
• The only other serious problem that we've run into is bacterial wilt.  Once a vine has this disease, there is no treatment.  It is transmitted by cucumber beetles.  Inspect the vines often and if these beetles are found, treat with neem oil.  
• It is normal for cucumbers to have small spines on them.  Run your hand up and down them under cold running water to remove.

Putting Up the Harvest:

• We prefer to eat these fresh.  They store best at room temperature.  We've found that they dehydrate somewhat after several days in the refrigerator.
• They can obviously be pickled.  We haven't yet made pickles, but we suggest following direct instructions from a good pickling book in your first attempt.  You will want to grow a variety of cucumber that is bred to have a size and texture especially for pickling.  An example is Snow's Fancy Pickling.
• Another option is chutney, which can be canned.  As always, we suggest following canning instructions from the ball blue book.

Weekly Gardening Outlook

This will be a continuing series. Each Monday we will look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

    Newly planted spaghetti squash vine emerging


Our spaghetti squash have been slaughtered by the squash vine borer (1 vine left).  Ever the optimists, we have replanted.  We should have just enough time to get a crop in before the first frost of the year.  It's our thought that this planting will be too late in the season for the squash vine borers to invade.  We'll keep you updated.  

Things to be on the lookout for:

    Adult cucumber beetle

If you have cucumbers, melons, or squash, be on the lookout for these small yellow beetles.  They can be spotted as shown above or striped as seen here.  The adults can damage leaves and fruits, while the larvae can damage the plant's roots.  These aren't really a huge problem except in very young plants or if you let the adult population get very high.  The real problem with these beetles is that they transmit a disease called bacterial wilt.  We have had every cucumber vine (8 in total) wiped out at a customer's garden this year due to this disease.  We just replanted.    

     Newly planted cucumbers emerging

So what can be done about it?  Once infected with the bacteria, nothing can be done for the vine.  The best strategy is so reduce the cucumber beetle population.  A regular coating of diatomaceous earth on the young seedlings will keep the beetles at bay.  Once the seedlings get up a little, our old standby neem oil will discourage feeding and reduce the population of cucumber beetles.  It has the added benefit of reducing any problems with mildew.

Weather outlook:
-Mid 80's early in the week; warming to low 90's late in the week
-Chance of rain today and tomorrow
-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:
-Green beans

-Peppers

-Watermelons

-Chard and kale

-Onions
-Tomatoes
-Cucumbers (MANY cucumbers!)
-Kohlrabi (almost all gone)
-Squash and zucchini
-Squash blossoms
-Celeriac leaves, basil, mint, and other herbs

Weekly Gardening Outlook

This will be a continuing series. Each Monday we will look ahead at the coming week in gardening for the Northwest Arkansas area.

The lettuce is done for the summer, all of it having bolted due to the heat.  It's impressive that it lasted this long considering the heat we've had.  We will definitely be growing this lettuce mix again this fall.  Until then, our salads will consist of chard and kale.  The heat that we are experiencing has also temporarily halted strawberry production.

                                    

Things to be on the lookout for:

      Wilted vine in the foreground

Summer's little nasties are really starting to pop their ugly heads up now.  The newest arrival is the squash vine borer (SVB).  The first sign was one vine was noticeably wilting during the midday heat yesterday.  Upon closer inspection,  a small pile of sawdust-like frass (poop) was found near the base of a vine along with a 2" section turning brown.  The adult SVB lays its eggs on the leafstalk.  When they hatch out the small caterpillar burrows into the stem and grows rather large (1" to 1" 1/2" long) inside the stem.  The damage will kill everything on the vine past the caterpillar.

These guys will also attack other squashes and cucumbers, but they really seem to prefer the spaghetti squash.  This a shame because we LOVE spaghetti squash.  Here's how to treat the problem if this happens to you:  Go out at night with a strong flashlight.  Hold the light behind the stem where it is discolored and the caterpillar will appear as a dark spot in the stem.  Using a very sharp knife (be careful!) slice halfway into the stem lengthwise to open it up.  Cutting as little as possible and being very gentle, open the stem up and remove the caterpillar.  I've seen two caterpillars in the same stem, so use your flashlight to check thoroughly.  Now heap damp well finished compost or peat moss over the base of the stem and wound.  Keep it damp for a couple of weeks and more times than not, the vine will put down new roots and will start to produce fruit again.

How can this be prevented?  Placing mint cuttings near the base of the vines everyday is said to deter the adult SVB.  DO NOT plant mint here as it is very invasive and will take over.  Coating the base of the vines in diatomaceous earth is another option.  Sticky traps can work, but will also catch beneficial insects.

Perhaps the best option is a second crop of squash planted July 15th after the SVB adult has quit flying.  There is still time in the growing season for the vines to mature barring an early frost.

Weather outlook:
-Hot and dry, in the mid 90's
-No chance of rain
-Ten day forecast

What's being harvested:
-Green tomatoes

-Cucumbers
-Kohlrabi
-Broccoli
-Squash and zucchini
-Squash blossoms
-Celeriac leaves
-Basil, mint, and other herbs
-Radishes

What's coming soon:
-Red tomatoes
-Peppers

Trellising, Caging, and Staking

One of the biggest advantages of the raised bed design that we use is the ability to grow a lot of food in a relatively small space.  So how can we grow space hogs like watermelons, cantaloupe, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, cucumbers, and the like with such a small ground footprint?  As I am sure you have guessed, the answer is we support them and grow them vertically into the air.

Cattle Panels:

The most useful trellis material that we have found are 16' x 50" cattle panels.  They are strong and flexible, have holes large enough to put your hands through for harvesting and guiding the vines, and at $15 each are CHEAP for the value they bring to the garden.  They can be bought at your local Tractor Supply, Lowes, etc.  With a pair of bolt cutters they can be cut into custom sizes and shapes in minutes.  If you don't have bolt cutters, ask the people where you buy them from and they will probably cut them for you.


In the picture above you can see three trellises.  The rainbow shaped trellis on the left will support the spaghetti squash that you see in the wooden bed.  If you have the space to do it, a curved design works better than a strictly vertical trellis as it gives the vine more solar exposure and more support for heavy fruits.  If the vine is well supported by the trellis, it will usually be strong enough to support even heavy fruits.  If the fruits do become too heavy, they can be supported with a sling made from breathable fabric such as old pantyhose.  


Coming from a cinder block bed on the right of the picture, watermelon vines (personal sized variety) will grow up this arched trellis which connects to the spaghetti squash trellis.  Spaghetti squash and watermelon vines grow particularly long (15-20 feet!!!) so full length 16' panels were used.  

Between the two wooden beds we created an arbor by bending a full length panel to fit.  Green beans (pole beans) are planted in each bed and will climb up both sides of the arch.  These vines and fruit weigh very little and just the stiffness of the bent panel will support them.


Due to space constraints in our garden area, our cucumbers are growing vertically on a half a cattle panel (8' tall) secured to two 8' tall t posts.  

Green beans ready to grow up the trellis

Connecting the panels:

The spaghetti squash trellis is connected to the wooden bed with fencing staples at the bottom and at the top it is connected to the top of two t posts with electric fence wire.  The watermelon trellis is up against the cinder block bed at the bottom and is secured to a t post with the electric fencing wire to keep it in place.  At the top it it connected to the spaghetti squash trellis with electric fencing wire.  While we are on the subject, electric fencing wire is marvelous stuff to have around the garden and home.  It doesn't rust and is useful for a ton of things.


Tomato Cages:

The soil in our raised beds is so loose and friable that taller plants need support or they can fall over.  Tomato cages aren't just for tomatoes.  These cages completely surround the plants and provide good support for crops such as eggplants and peppers.  There are many styles available, but we prefer the conical, premade type because they stack inside one another for easy storage through the winter.  Hint: wire the cages together at the top with electric fencing wire to provide more stability.  Many people have good luck with welded wire fencing rolled and wired together to form a cylinder.  One method that we are thinking about experimenting with next year is the Florida weave.  If anyone has any experience with this, let us know in the comments section.


Staking:


Almost anything can be used as a stake. Bamboo, premade plastic covered stakes, and wooden stakes are common.  Put the stake in before planting to avoid damaging the plant's root system.  As the plant grows tie it LOOSELY with a soft material to the stake.  Strips of old pantyhose work great for this.  Ensure that the stake is tall enough for the plant's final height and that it is in the ground deep enough to avoid toppling over during a wind storm.