We are making the transition from spring to summer and as your spring crops finish, the summer crops are coming on. Tomorrow I'll mow the first snow pea crop, it's finished and the second crop of snow peas are coming on. I'll work up the soil in the 1st pea patch, hopefully get some of the weed seeds to germinate and then work the ground again in two weeks for the next bean crop. This week I'll plant a second summer squash crop to extent the season on the squash. I'm killing squash bugs as I find them and so far the squash bugs aren't out of control. The eggplants survived the potato beetles, the wasps started feeding on the potato beetle larva...we even had a wasp munching on a potato beetle at the open house last week! Yesterday I planted the first of the sweet potatoes, the purple sweet potatoes sprouted first so they were planted last evening. I'll start planting regular sweet potatoes as they get ready. The sweet potatoes in bed 142 at the community garden are up and as soon as they are ready I'll advise.
The rains we had last week were a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the rain came at an opportune time for the berry crop here on the farm. The berries will take up that moisture and size up nicely. The potatoes also appreciated the water and will use it to size up. At the community garden that nearly 4" of rain was a bit much. It allows me to see where we need more French drains, a project for next winter.
Several years ago I lost my entire tomato crop to late blight. The yellow leaves you see on the bottoms of your tomatoes are early blight, a different disease. Now to prevent late blight and to protect my tomatoes I prophylactically spray copper sulfate and you may do so also. I'll spray 3 times total, about 10-14 days apart depending on the weather. If you spray copper, don't overdo it. A light mist to wet the leaves without runoff is all it takes. Too much copper is hard on the soil so be careful. You'll find premixed copper at the garden centers.
Bean beetles are a problem for some of you. The soap sprays will kill the soft bodied larva, you may not think the bugs are dead as the mouth part will stay attached to the leaves. Or if you want, pyrethrum and spinosad are two products that will also kill just about any insect pest you run into. Spray only in the evening when the pollinators are not active...don't kill the bees!
The rains we had last week were a blessing and a curse. A blessing because the rain came at an opportune time for the berry crop here on the farm. The berries will take up that moisture and size up nicely. The potatoes also appreciated the water and will use it to size up. At the community garden that nearly 4" of rain was a bit much. It allows me to see where we need more French drains, a project for next winter.
Several years ago I lost my entire tomato crop to late blight. The yellow leaves you see on the bottoms of your tomatoes are early blight, a different disease. Now to prevent late blight and to protect my tomatoes I prophylactically spray copper sulfate and you may do so also. I'll spray 3 times total, about 10-14 days apart depending on the weather. If you spray copper, don't overdo it. A light mist to wet the leaves without runoff is all it takes. Too much copper is hard on the soil so be careful. You'll find premixed copper at the garden centers.
Bean beetles are a problem for some of you. The soap sprays will kill the soft bodied larva, you may not think the bugs are dead as the mouth part will stay attached to the leaves. Or if you want, pyrethrum and spinosad are two products that will also kill just about any insect pest you run into. Spray only in the evening when the pollinators are not active...don't kill the bees!
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