Soak your seeds to save time

If you want to save some time pre-soak your seeds.

Any seed can be pre-soaked. They can be hard to handle if the seeds are small when they are wet but soaking gives you a good 2-5 day jump.

They only need to be soaked over night 8-10 hours. Any seed can be soaked. You don't want to over soak them. 8 hours is plenty of time for them to absorb water and be put in the ground.

Sure if you put them in the ground and can stay up on watering them daily it might not make much of a difference.

But if you are like me your busy and might let the plots dry out a bit here or there. This can and several days to the germination process and peeking of the first leaves. Soaking them gives them a head-start.

Radishes, Lettuces, Spinach, and Greens

In Maryland its not to late to get these crops in the ground. They can withstand a light frost and need about 40 days to 60 days to mature.

Greens do need longer to mature, specifically, the kale and collards but many of them can withstand the winter and will grow in spring. Same with certain varieties of spinach.

So clear out you fading tomatoes and vine crops and put in the cold weather crops.

Hedge Hog?

Something big is eating my tomatoes and leafy plants. It knawed through my fence to get in. Any ideas?

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.