June 13, 2008

Sharon's Tips of the Week

• This is a good time to plant late potatoes. It may be a little difficult to find seed potatoes now, but check at the gardens centers.
• I have been doing some research on brussel sprouts. Apparently they grow best in the late fall. I planted a few seeds this week hoping they will be a nice size plant by the time cool fall weather returns.
• I also planted a few cabbage seeds of the Late Flat Dutch variety. From my experience, they do very well in the fall. They will sometimes actually keep in the garden until a freeze.
• I am also considering planting a few broccoli seeds for fall harvest.
• Think about planting a couple more zucchini seeds again now. They will be ready to start producing by the time the first plants are dying.
• Peas will be ready to harvest in the next week or two. Peas may seem slow to start filling the pods, BUT in just two or three days it can happen. You will need to check them everyday. The pods need to be full but not to hard. Open a couple each day to get an idea of how they feel and then check the size of peas in the pod. They will need to be harvested at least every other day for about 7 to 10 days. Be thinking about what you could plant after pulling the vines.
• Plant a few cucumber seeds every other week. This will keep the supply continuous unless the temperature is extreme for several days in a row.
• Tomatoes will produce and resist disease better if they are up off the ground. Several methods are helpful. You can stake them up or put cages around them. At the very minimum put several layers of newspaper on the ground around the tomato plant to keep it off of the ground. You will need to put a little compost on the papers to hold them in place.

Information provided by Sharon Crum, Pike County Master Gardener

Posted by Jennifer Mowen at 4:21 PM |