Several of my tomatoes in a raised planter are succumbing to early blight. Are there veggies that can be planted in the heat of late June in Alabama zone 7b?
Veggies started in late June?
cowpeas, limas, okra
thanks!
Time for a round of late cucumbers and plant winter squash like butternut. Get ready to start Fall planting next month if you are direct seeding.
Are you opposed to using Daconil? You can cut those lower leaves and spray. Your tomatoes will slow and stall during these hot months but pick up again when it cools off. You can cut healthy suckers and root them for planting in a few weeks.
Laurel - do let us (me!) know what you are planting and when you do it... I like to do fall crops but I sometimes forget when! Your garden is beautiful!!!!!!
Sterling
Promise I will, Sterling and thanks for the compliment about our garden. It's food among the flowers. My suggestions come with two caveats. Firstly, Farmerdill and Horseshoe are more knowledgeable about the scope of possibilities than I and secondly, what you plant in late Summer or Autumn is water resource dependent. Folks who field garden don't normally have water access. I have limited access based on my spring cistern and the time here at Maypop and you probably have full access with city water. This means you can germinate seed in hotter, drier temps than others of us. I will keep you posted.
So it's possible for tomato plants that are affected by blight to still produce and survive? I found some on my plants this weekend and Kellie Bowen from Full Bloom told me to spray them but I forgot to ask if she thought they would make it.
Laurel, thanks for the reminder on the cukes. I got some seed from Denmark, shared by a lovely fellow gardener. Some of the names on the seeds she sent are in other languages, so it will be fun to see what they produce. A little gardening adventure! I don't have much gardening space but a few spots got freed up when I harvested my cool weather veggies for their seeds. Arugula, parsley-flat leaf, cilantro, and a romaine and loose leaf lettuce.
My tomatoes always decline after the blight starts showing. I do have a few newly planted tomatoes that I hope will continue the harvest later, toward the Fall.
Maypop, I am spraying with the equivalent of Daconil, but it seems to rain a little every other day, so it's hard to keep them sprayed. Two or three are hanging in there. I like the idea of propagating from healthy suckers; maybe I'll educate myself on how to do that. Do you have any advice about which Brussells Sprouts do best in a fall garden zone 7b?
thanks
Sorry, I have no advice in the sprout dept., BPlum. Google Walter Reeves and brussels sprouts for recommended varieties and advice. I love them though luckless in growing them. They sell starter plants everywhere come Fall but I've never seen anyone grow them. I think my problem is a lack of consistent water and heat during August and September. I've only ever tried to grow them in Fall. Maybe I'll try starting seed in February and planting in March with row covers. We have been surprised this summer to still be cutting main stems of broccoli and cabbage. I planted cauliflower started from seed in February that has neither headed nor bolted so I'm waiting to see what will happen come Fall. What is a Daconil equivalent?
Sterling, I will start planting arugula and cilantro from seed within the next week. I have two week old water rooted tomato cuttings that were potted in gallon pots a few days ago. They will go in the ground in two more weeks. I will seed out red and green cabbage, collards and maybe broccoli, in a partly sunny, damp space in the next few weeks under row covers. Then, when they are a good transplant size, and I've cleared a spot for them, I'll move them to their permanent spots in full sun. Mustard and turnips will go in much later. I grow a lot of mustards, not just the southern types but also mizunaa. For southern I like Florida broad leaf (India mustard).
This photo is a week old. Need to snap some new ones.
thanks for the update - wow - still cutting broccoli... all mine bolted and I cut the flowers off and they bolted again.
I did put put Brussels sprouts in the early spring. The info said they would not be ready until fall, but I thought it would be an interesting experiment. I don't really like them but I like to try different things to grow. Right now they have developed tiny delicate green knobs on the stems. I will look at the label and see what kind they are.
Not sure what blight you have. When I was trying to raise tomatoes here I found that adding calcium supplement to the soil produced stronger more resistant foliage and flowers.
The calcium supplement tablets that are sold in a drug store for human consumption are fine. They are calcium carbonate, the same as sold for plants. Just stick a couple tablets in the ground around each tomato plant.
Just throwing this out. It may be too late now.
I'd also consider planting a store-bought plant this late for some September/October tomatoes.
Laurel, Sandy loves Brussel Sprouts and grows them every year. You can dmail her to ask her how and when she does it. I don't care for brussel sprouts myself, so no help here!!
Thanks Brenda and BTW, I've got your 'maters. We are turning into Maypop jungle here.
Re: Brussels sprouts for a fall garden in zone 7b: years ago a local gardener said brussels sprouts transplants should be set out around Labor Day. I have forgotten his recommended variety. I had some luck with them, but not nearly enough sprouts. If I can find some plants I'll try again this fall, and I have more sun this time. I'll keep you posted if I find out more about varieties.
Maypop, thanks for the tip about tip cuttings of tomatoes for a fall crop. I did manage to do that before they succumbed to early blight. I should have sprayed (with Chlorothanolil) as soon as I saw the symptoms. Extension Agent says everyone should do preventive spraying for blight since it's in all our soil. It is reputedly quite safe.
I recommend Burpee Sweet Seedless tomatoes for those who want to avoid seeds. I thought they were quite tasty before blight set in.
We are still picking our first round of cukes while our second "crop" (I only planted five or six) has female flowers. The second ones were planted in early June. I planted a third round, also about five, the first week in August because I have read they can handle cool weather if the seed is germinated in warm weather. I broadcast arugula seed five days ago. Despite the lake of rain and the heat, it is up and going. So are the rutabagas. Tomatoes rooted in early July, potted in mid July and planted out two weeks ago are flowering and setting fruit.
We have only had to use Chlorothanolil a few times and only on tomatoes, squash and cucumbers. I don't use anything as a preventative but use it as early as I see symptoms. I have old extension service guideline sheets here that talk about using malathion as a garden pest preventative. I couldn't have a garden without Daconil and if I didn't use it the garden would be 100% certifiably organic. Personally I feel the low toxicity and biodegradability of this product makes it a lot more garden friendly than some of the organic products out there. Southern Ag has a cheaper version but I've only seen it at the country seed and feeds.
In the meantime the temps are dropping but it is miserably dry.
Something killed my cucumber vines I set out in mid July. I was trying to stagger my plants to have another crop. I bought them from HD. Does anyone know what would make beautiful lush plants just start wilting even with proper watering?
I have some late tomatoes just set out a couple of weeks ago. I hope they do something. I'm still getting peppers.
I want to do broccoli and some greens. I had good luck with those last year. I didn't do enough broccoli, though and didn't have a clue what I was doing. Any tips?
Thanks.
~Susan
Hi Susan, good to hear from you but more importantly...how's Moses? lol Your cucumbers sound like they got hit with bacterial wilt which is spread by striped and spotted cucumber beetles. You can put row covers over them until they have female flowers and later spray for the beetles in early evening after the bees have gone to bed. The beetles are more active at night so dusk is a good time to spray. If I may suggest...try growing cucumbers from seed in the future. They are so easy to germinate in the ground or in little mouth wash cups and a pack of seed is cheap. The seed lasts several years too.
Broccoli is pretty easy to grow but it needs rich soil and continuous moisture. If you are not into spending the time growing plants you are much better off buying them. Make sure you don't buy the biggest, most filled out ones in the packs as they tend to end up stunted and root bound in the ground. Also, if they've been allowed to dry out at the store they might not do well in your garden. Try to get plants that are right off the nursery truck or directly from the grower.
Still no rain.
Such a handsome and talented guy! Guess you two are getting around everywhere these days.
Our June planted cukes now have pollinated female flowers. I planted Suyo Long, a Japanese variety. I also planted another round of Boston pickling cukes around August 1st 'cause they come in fast. They are only around five inches so we shall see. While in experimental mode I put in a row of rattlesnake beans Aug. 1st, a green bean with a striped pod. They are vigorous and produce early in Spring so I am hoping for early results in late Summer/Fall. The plants are about four feet tall and I'm hoping they will flower in a few weeks. I definitely think I'll have green beans until it freezes. We are still picking our early beans but the vines are declining. I am experimenting with cutting the yardlong beans back to where there is signs of vigorous budding at the lower joints. I side dressed at the dame time. My theory is the plant is wasting a lot of energy trying to send water, grow and produce at the tops of the plants. These plants have been producing since late June.
In another experiment I am trying Wando peas. The old timey farmers plant them through summer and even now. I wrote Shoe (Horseshoe) that everything about this seems wrong including the soil temperatures and day length but since a farm pack of Mayo seed is seventy cents, what the heck. The shoots are good blanched and frozen or it's a good green manure. Maybe Farmerdill will see this and weigh in. It might be a waste. I planted about twenty five feet on the shady side of the tomato cages and mulched them up. Thought if they germinate well I'd put in another twenty five feet along more cages.
Susan, someone I know has a connection to the out of date seed for Botanical Interests and gifts me seed packs a few times a year. Wow, what a bonus for me! Sometimes the germination rate is low and sometimes the seed is fine. A few packs have been total duds. Anyway, Botanical Interests has the seed and I'll have to check if it's open pollinated and I can save seed. As for the Boston pickling I save seed from those. Your hub must be working on keeping his figure with the daily veggie sandwiches. We have bagels with cottage cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes almost every morning in summer.
Suyo Long is a popular Asian type cucumber, open pollinated. Widely available. http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-seeds-suyo-long-cucumber.html http://www.underwoodgardens.com/Suyo-Long-Cucumber-Cucumis-sativus/productinfo/V1044/ http://rareseeds.com/suyo-long-cucumber.html http://www.burpee.com/heirloom-seeds-and-plants/heirloom-cucumbers/cucumber-suyo-long-prod001924.html The list goes on but you get the picture.
Maypop, I am not a fan of Wando, but if you can get them germinated and growing you should be fine. Getting them started in hot soil is the problem area for all Pisum Sativum.
Yes, thanks, Dill for the reviews. Since Suyo is open pollinated I will save seed. Can you please tell me more about your opinion of Wando? I don't usually grow "English" peas at all but it seemed like a fun experiment at a time when I'm running low on garden options. Also, can you offer advice on heirloom garlic? Cindy from Eatonton and I are going to meet tomorrow at a farm near Maypop (Cleveland, GA) for a garlic festival. The farm grows eleven or so heirloom varieties. They did not list the varieties but are there special ones that you'd recommend to look out for? I should be able to grow both hard and softneck varieties up here. There is currently a brown-skinned one that was here when we bought the property many years ago that grows nice fat cloves.
Susan, I'd be happy to share seeds. Just DM me.
Sorry, garlic is one thing I don't grow. No experience whatever. Wando is ok. Burgess use to push it as a drought proof pea. It's not. but it will tolerate more heat than most varieties. It has a relatively long season at 70 days. My complaint is taste, It just does not have the flavor of most English peas. Green Arrow being about the best.
Well maybe I'll have something to report back to you regarding garlic. :>) I need to be growing more peas just to cover bare space in late Winter/Spring. I can't see it as being an economical venture but I'm not sure what would make a better cover for a small space garden. Alfalfas, rye and red clover just don't work unless you have a field garden. You know this means I'm going to have to bend a lot? Where are you getting Green Arrow? Do you save seed?