August 29, 2016

Avalanche column

August 25, 2016

After my first sowing of summer squash, I decided to try a couple of varieties from High Mowing seeds. They were a variety of yellow squash and a variety of zucchini. Both of these were selected for their powdery mildew (PM) resistance.

Both varieties are very prolific producers, maybe even more so than my normal varieties. They are also a little more open growing than my normal squash. This I feel is what helps these guys to be PM resistant. They are a little more “viney” too and less bush like.

I am seeing some PM on the plants but nothing too pronounced like on my other squash. I am pulling the infected plants to see if there are some plants that are more resistant and then I could save seeds from these.

PM starts showing its head from mid to late summer when the humidity is higher, the days are hot and the nights are cool into the 60’s. PM starts as small “whiteish” blotches on the leaves and left to its own vices will soon cover the whole plant and then soon kills it.

Once you start to see PM you can slow the spread but the end is inevitable, death will follow

I find young vigorous plants to be the most resistant but the use of some sprays can slow the spread.

With all sprays the sooner you start the better the results will be. What follows is a list of some sprays most all of which I have used. I can’t say one is superior to the others.

1 tablespoon baking soda added to one gallon of water with ½ teaspoon of liquid soap. This can be added to clarified hydrophobic neem oil. Follow the directions on the Neem Oil container for mixing one gallon and the baking soda can be added to this.

1 1/3 tablespoons of cold pressed neem oil with ½ teaspoon of liquid soap in a gallon of water.

Or Actinovate (a natural fungicide) follow the label mixing directions.

Any and all of these will slow the spread but will not stop the eventual demise of the plants

I also like to cut and collect the most infected leaves as I harvest. I then dispose of these leaves in the garbage. If these leaves are left in the garden they will add to the infection.

In some years when I have enough seeds I will sow a third planting of squash around the middle of August, this is the best way to insure squash to the first freeze

Good luck and happy gardening!!

August 25, 2016

Good morning, It is that time of year where I start giving thoughts to next years garden. I always try to have next years garden planned in October. One thing for certain this has been a very strange year. With any luck it will not be repeated.

None the less I have given thoughts as to some changes I will do next year. The first thing is to work at having enough mulch so that all of the garden can be evenly mulched. The beds that were mulched the best sustained the summer heat the best too. This really is a “no brainer” idea.

I am not for sure why but all of my red tomato beds started to ripen at the same time. Although the second bed that was started a month later did have harvests that lasted a little longer. I am thinking that I will start the second crop around the end of January towards the first of February. With hope the first red tomatoes will be finishing as the second one begins. My only concern is that this planting date is about the time we can expect some angry weather. With luck having a drip system, mulch and fabric, this can be remedied.

This year I tried a new winter storage squash. It was sown a little late and started to bloom just as the real hot weather hit. Like with my butternuts ALL of the blooms and very immature fruit aborted during this period. With the cooling both of these squash are trying to make up for lost time.

Next year I plan to plant a bed of each of these two squash so that I can compare. Some of the things I will compare will be: harvest quantities, length of store-ability, and customer acceptance.

Some things I have noticed this year about the new squash is that it does appear to be a very good draw for cucumber beetles (possibly a trap crop), it is a much more aggressive grower than my butternuts (it has been difficult turning the growing tips to keep the vines in the bed).

It will be interesting to see if my storage techniques will work with these squash (They are more round. I will see if they will fit into my storage trays or stay put under the bed. The butternuts are longer than round and fit well into both of these places).

I am going to purchase enough sweet sets to plant all four beds in April. My cutting technique works quite well but it was difficult to get them established this year because it was getting into the July “fry zone” we had this year and I will be interested to see if they make. Sweets like hot days and warm nights, time will tell how these two sweet beds do. Not for sure why but the first planted sweet beds are not showing the signs of sweet potatoes pushing up soil. I have started the sweet harvest and a pound size sweet is the exception , most are smaller.

Even with all the recent rains as I was digging the first sweets, the soil is not damp, but not dry either. Also I am noticing that there are a number of “snake like” tubers. This is an indication of not enough moisture. This summer before the rains, I would drip for 5 and 1/2 hours every three days. I also during this time noticed the signs of iron chlorosis, the indication of too much water too frequently. Such a confusing year.

As for the summer peas, all the vines have set peas. I hope the guineas do not help themselves and I get some peas to see if I have found a warm weather strain of snow peas.

All of this is exciting and we will have to wait and see where it takes us.

This week I anticipate to harvest: chard, kale, green onions, carrots, beans, chilies, summer squash, tomatoes, and okra. In storage I have butternut squash, garlic, sweet potatoes and bulb onions.

August 18, 2016

Good morning, Recently Deb and I had the fortune to purchase a piece of property on East Murphy Street to move the Market too. This has been very well received.

I used to think having the ambiance of the wall at the hotel was a plus. Not having a wall makes the market much more visible (and more breezes too!). With this visibility it does appear that on Saturdays we are getting more casual passers by coming to market. Only because they see a “happening “ happening.

With the canopies and shade structure there is a festiveness about the place.

With more visibility will come more customers and vendors alike. It is so nice that the weekly donations will go for market improvements and not to rent. I can hardly wait to see what the market looks like in a year.

I am extremely grateful and filled with joy from all of the outpouring of help to move the shade structure to ts new home. Nothing like an instant presence.

Having a large storage container will allow vendors to be more self help on setting up and taking down their booths.

Things we would like to do for the market: finish the child security fence, caliche under the shade structure, a restroom, more signs, solar electricity, rain catchment, shade trees to replace elms.......

Yes the “to do” list of market improvements is growing and we will get to them as time and funds allow. Yes this is exciting times and by all means come down to market and help us grow!!!

It has been a long time coming with the recent cooler and damper weather. It was frustrating to be able to see huge rains in town and all we would get would be a 10^th or a 100^th of an inch. But recently we have gotten quite wet so that I do not need to water. Prospects of rain look good going forward too. It will take a couple sunny warm days but I suspect the garden will explode. What with this being our first real rain since very early June.

The eggplants were looking especially pathetic but they too are looking better. By the by I have better than a dozen sugar pod peas that are fattening up their pods. It will be interesting to see if they will grow next summer. I am looking forward to fall, this summer has been a bit intense. As they say this too will pass!!

Anticipated to harvest: chard, kale, green onions, carrots, cucumbers, summer squash, chilies, tomatoes, green beans, okra, and from storage bulb onions, garlic, and butternuts. Please email about quantities.

August 15, 2016

Avalanche column 

Careful observations as you work in the garden help identify problems without actually seeing the perpetrator.

Identification is the key to proper control!

While harvesting tomatoes it appears something is eating the top of the plants. Random missing parts of the plant may indicate some mammal is in the garden. You would also notice tracks in the soil around the bed. On the other hand if the tops look like green sticks with all the leaf eaten off and several blocky greenish droppings on the leaves or on the ground, this would indicate tomato horn worms.

Working around your eggplants it appears there are lots of very tiny holes in the leaves. Eggplants are a preferred crop of flea beetles and tiny holes are an indication of an infestation. If the holes are larger and much more irregular in shape, this would indicate a larger insect and most likely grasshoppers are chewing on the plants.

Your brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, kale…) appear to be growing in reverse. This would lead you to believe you need to look for cutworms. If you have mulched your plants, fingering through this mulch just might expose these critters.

Small strings of feces on leaves and shredded leaves would indicate a need to look for and dispose of blister beetles. The use of gloves would be wise because some folks get skin burns from blister beetles.

When cucumber leaves look like lace or netting, cucumber beetles are feeding. Most cases you will see hundreds of the critters. Sometimes they are not seen but seeing the netting you know you have them.

Patient and careful observations can also inform the need for fertilizer. If the vegetation has a general yellowed look, an application of nitrogen may be instore. On the other hand after heavy rains or during daily garden visits there is an observation of the new growth being yellow; this would indicate too much water.

Like with bird watchers before going on a birding trip they will look through a birding book to familiarize themselves with the expected birds they may see.  When you only have a small glance of a bird this familiarization helps immensely.

By looking through bug identification books, a gardener can become familiar with what bugs they may find in the garden. It is also important to make notes of the “good guys” too.

A long time ago I took a soil fertility class. The real neat thing with this class was the lab. We induced fertility deficiencies with different minerals. In most cases this was from a healthy plant all the way to the death of the plant. This was invaluable in helping me to make plant health observations.

Yes with careful observations problems can be taken care of before they become critical.

Questions? I can be contacted at markdirtfarmer@gmail.com. Or more garden notes at redwagonfarm.blogsot.com 

August 11, 2016

Good morning, it is hard to believe but summer will be soon over. Fall sowing is around the corner. If the present heat level continues into fall, I am sure that with the larger seeds I will germinate and then plant. Germinating seed in the house can take advantage of cooler more stable conditions. To sow into a seed bed the best results could be enhanced by cooling the beds. Because I have root knot nematodes I would have to do this in several beds so as not to even further spread this pest. Cooling would be a lot of work. It would entail covering the bed of a morning and then remove the covers at night for at least a week or more. The soil temps could be lowered into the 80’s. I’ll just germinate in the house. Seeds wrapped in damp paper towels placed in open plastic bags. Great care must be made with germinated seed that the roots are not broken.

These seeds will grow, especially if only the germinated seeds are planted. Because germinated seeds will grow in warmer soil than what they will germinate in. Because germinated seed is planted there is not the need to use more seed that needs to be thinned. This is a good seed saving technique.

Of course after planting, it would be wise to mulch or cover them with fabric to keep the soil damp until the seeds emerge.

It is crazy but I have not given much thought as to where my fall crops will be placed. I have had a lot of distractions and it has also been a challenge to keep everything hydrated. Young seedlings are even more so since they do not have deep roots.

I will need to give this some thought because even though a lot of fall crops do well growing through our winter’s the maturity dates are extended because of decreased light and temperatures, there are cut off dates for some of the brassicas. An example is with cabbage: timing requires it to mature at or just a little before the winter solstice. If it ripens much past the solstice, it will begin to bolt and the heads begin to loose there density. We hope for lower temps because the soil was really quite warm into November last fall.

Fall rotation is coming and with any luck it will be a smooth transition.

I hope to start the sweet harvest soon. It has been an odd year and this continues. By this time I usually see ground swell around the sweet crowns where the tubers are enlarging, so far this is absent. Sweets like it hot and I would have thought this weather would be made to order. Just one more baffling observation for the year. Finally my last okra bed is maturing maybe I will have enough to pickle some okra, time will tell.

Probably the biggest thing that I will take from this year is that I will need to use thicker mulching so maybe with half a chance this will keep the soil marginally cooler and more evenly moist next year. This hopefully will get the garden through the extreme heat. Also hopefully I will not have a rodent eat seedlings so I do not have to reseed very close to this extreme heat. Yes having the garden fully planted by April 15 would make it a lot easier to get through the heat.

This week I anticipate harvesting: chard, kale, green onions, carrots, chilies, cucumbers, summer squash, butternut squash, garlic, bulb onions, green beans,  and some tomatoes.

August 8, 2016

Avalanche column 

August 5, 2016

How funny that one plant indicator can be interpreted differently depending on where you live within the United States and treatment couldn’t be any different either. 

The situation was that the person in far West Texas had found blossom end rot on her tomatoes and determined that she was watering too much.  She refrained from watering added lime and noted her tomatoes were dying. This would be a proper diagnosis if her garden was in East Texas and beyond. Most likely the lime was killing her plants.

Blossom end rot in the east is an indication that you are watering too much and have flushed all the calcium away from the roots. Hence this is why she thought she was over watering. Over watering in our part of the world has a totally different indicator. We will get to this in a moment.

There are only two ways that you can get tomato blossom end rot, one is noted above. The other is quite common in the arid west and is caused by insufficient watering. This can happen when a person plants an indeterminate tomato in a pot that is not of sufficient size. Then the plant is put through wet and dry cycles in August when the plant has completely filled the container with its roots. You would have to have a steady water IV going to keep such a plant hydrated.

In Alpine if you have blossom end rot, water more and this will go away.

The indicator of over watering in Alpine is all about soils. Our soils are alkaline in nature. This is why it is a bad idea to add lime. This means that we have an abundance of calcium carbonate (lime) in our soil. An easy test for this is to put a spoonful of soil in custard dish and then add some vinegar. If you are lucky you will have to hold the dish to your ear to hear a fizz.  Most cases you will see the vinegar reacting to the calcium before you pick the dish up.

In Alpine iron is leached away from the roots when we over water. Iron is a critical mineral needed for photosynthesis. This condition is called iron chlorosis. The first sign of iron chlorosis is the yellowing of the new growth. As iron chlorosis progresses the whole plant becomes yellow, the leaves are veined, leaves then decrease in size followed by the leaves bleaching white then death.

When you see the first sign of iron chlorosis, hold back on watering. Usually in a day or two this will correct itself. If not then you need to iron chelate the plant. The iron chelate needs to be formulated for alkaline soils. The label will indicate this. Any other formulation and the iron automatically bonds with the calcium carbonate. This has everything to do with stronger attraction of iron-calcium than iron-roots. 

August 4, 2016

Good morning, YESSS it is nice to see the weather moderate. What a joy to see overnight lows into the 60's instead of the upper 70's. There was a squash variety that a lady gave me the seeds to grow, it started to flower just as the hot weather hit. I did get one flower to take and produce a squash, all the other fruit shriveled and dropped off. This squash has very large leaves maybe twice the size of my butternuts. Where my butternuts would wilt these squash could very easily be compared to a Basset Hound's ears dangling to the ground. Even watering them in the heat of the day they still would wilt but not to the same degree. Since the weather has “cooled” I am beginning to see more fruit set. The squash I harvested is a bright orange red and about 2 to 3 pounds. Unless I get more fruit, I will be saving the fruit for the seed. I would like to try and plant it at the same time I plant my butternuts

Planting the butternuts in March I easily get two harvests and some times three. Last year was a banner year for the butternuts. I harvested close to 1000 pounds and had squash for bags into early spring. This year because the bees did not arrive as early, the first harvest was not near as good as last years first. The heat slowed their regrowth and thus their second bloom has been delayed but I am beginning to see fruit set and the bees are everywhere. Both honey bees and the Bismark sized squash bees. I love the buzz.

So next year I will plant a bed of each of these squash to compare productiveness and store-ability. The butternuts are easily a 5 to 6 month keeper and very productive too.

And now for the most baffling thing so far this year. One of my last sweet potato beds was a snow pea bed before it became a sweet bed.. I intentionally let the plants mature to harvest seeds. I left the pea straw for a mulch to grow the sweets through. Planted the sweets and covered them with 2 layers of 70 fabric. This technique did allow for a lot of weeds to sprout. With the first weeding I discovered there must have been 12 to 15 pea plants that germinated from the uncollected seeds . This happened right through the extreme heat. The soil had to be very warm. I had difficulty growing peas in October but July?

Well thinking these guys were short for this world and was sure they would fry when the covers were removed. They are now 12 to 15 inches tall and by all appearances are thriving. This year,I have had heat loving plants just drop dead for no apparent reason. But peas??? Well the sweets have just about covered the ground now and the peas are above the sweets. This is going to be very interesting. I do not know if by chance that I have found a heat tolerant strain of snow peas. What an amazing gift. Well needless to say there will be no peas for bags. I have got to see if this was a fluke or I can duplicate next year. Snow peas in West Texas is a challenge for winter/spring harvest but August?? I am gob smacked!!!!!! I have very little expectation but we will see where this takes us.

This has got to be the most conflicting and strangest year I have ever gardened in my entire life. What an amazing vocation. Never a dull moment.

August 1, 2016

Avalanche column

July 28, 2016

This year has been a very bazar year to garden. It has been “kinda sorta” moist, but not really. It always amazes me how the precipitation quantities are really quite variable in and around Alpine.

Deb will frequently ask me “how much rain did you get, it really dumped on campus”. Sometimes the best that falls is enough to make chicken “saunas”. And other times you could white water raft down the drive way.

Probably the biggest mystery I have had this year is when a plant that for all appearances looks to be a healthy plant: great color, blooming and loaded with fruit. By all indications a thriving plant, then a couple of days later dead.

I pull the plant, take note of the soil moisture, examine the roots, and look for any obvious insect problems: just a general inspection of the dead plant. Most of these plants just plain baffle me. My default for any problem in the garden is “what can I do different?” My practices are easier to change than say the environment.

I sent my weekly email to my veggies sales customers recently and I addressed this mystery death situation. It really was amazing the number of folks who responded to this email. I ALWAYS love feedback. Folks were mentioning these weird happenings in their gardens too. This feedback was very helpful besides knowing I wasn’t alone.

I have noticed that we have had many near 100 degree days, most likely the most since I have moved to alpine. I have become to feel that there is no “operator error” involved.

Plants will start to go dormant at 95 degrees and at 100 will totally shut down.  Most of our recent overnight lows have been 75 degrees or better. With these high lows, the 95 plus degree period during the day is much longer. Further observations have shown that the plants that are covered with at least 2 layers of Agribon fabric seem to be faring better.

Another observation has shown with the last few days with high temps in the mid to lower 90’s plants are starting to push new growth and blooms.

So the best you can do is make sure all your plants are mulched, remain hydrated and then wait out this period until better growing conditions return.

Reciting the Serenity Prayer and telling yourself “this too will pass” may help too.

Good luck and happy gardening!!!