Plant Some Cucumbers and Squashes

The heat is hear. My tomatoes are a bit blighted but doing well. The heat is taking its toll on the cucs and squash.

Now is a good time to plant a few more cucumber and squash seeds. As the current squashes and cucumbers die back, the new plants will mature and keep the vegetables flowing to your table.

I've probably picked 50 pounds of tomatoes. I cant keep up with my peppers and I eat cucumbers every day.

Time to find some new recipes.

Been Away: The Blight and Borers Arrived

Well I was away and started drywalling my basement.

The blight has moved in on my tomatoes as it always does mid July. The tomato plants that I rotated still got it. The tomato plants I grew in containters with store bought soil got it.

The ones that are fairing best are the ones I cut almost 24 inches from the bottom and heavily mulched.

I have been spraying all plants with wettable sulphur.

Ill see how they do over the next 2 weeks. Any branch that gets the spots is removed.

Oh the Zuc's got borers. They have been Sevn dusted.

The rough time for Maryland gardens seems to be July 15 till August 15. The heat and humidity bring the disease and bugs.

On a good note picked all my red cabbage and the cucumbers are out of control. Tons of spaghetti squash. And the green beans are outstanding.

Planting July Beets: Beet Seeds are Multiple Seeds

Beets can be planted now for a Fall harvest. They love the cool weather. It is time to tuck some into your garden beds. The leaves are great in salads and with a Fall crop you can make beet soups.

If you didnt know a beet seed is actually a cluster of seeds. Beets are notorious for poor germinations so nature gave them a solution. When you plant a single beet seed from a pack it is actually multiple beet seeds. That is way you need to thin them. If you plant 20 beet seeds (from a pack) in a row 1 inch a part, you will end up with clusters numbering quite a bit more then 20 seedlings.

Pepper Blight

Well I wasn't quick enough with prevention though all my tomatoes look green and healthy so far. I new peppers could get early blight or late blight but I never had it happen in my current garden. A group of peppers are spotted and dropping their leaves.

I sprayed the peppers and tomatoes with wettable sulphur and remove damaged leaves. Hopefully that slows the blight down.

July Plantings, Prevention and Garden Tending

It's July. I have been spraying my tomatoes, squashes and cucumbers with a preventative wettable sulphur spray. I believe it prevents and slows some leafs spots, blights and mildews.

This is disease time in Maryland. Humid and hot July and August weather. If you aren't mulching and pruning your tomatoes, you might want to reconsider or get started.

Mulching under a tomato plant will prevent soil born diseases from splashing up on the plant. Pruning the tomato plant lets air circulate around them. Taking the bottom 12 inches of the leaves off the stem is a good idea. Dry leaves are good. Taking out a few upper branches won't hurt the plant and it helps the plants to dry more quickly.

Prevention is key to diseases now. I also lightly dust my plants with Sevn. Flea beetles aren't easily controlled and they dessimate my egg plants.

I suggest putting in more herb seeds such as basil and cilantro. Beets can go in too for a Fall harvest. Beans of every sort are absolutely waiting to be put in the ground.