May 15, 2015

I have noticed that even though there were no plants killed by the last freeze, it did shock the garden. When we had the few very chilly events this past “winter” the garden reacted the same way. I think it is very stressing on plants to go from very warm and then to below freezing. It appears to force the plants into a short dormancy and it takes several days to reactivate growth.

There were two veggies this effected the most, my beans and my yellow squash. The beans were frosted the worst and I thought that I would lose some of them but with the return to warmth they have recuperated nicely and I think I will be able to wait on sowing a second bed. The yellow squash was effected differently. The variety that I grow is more of a vining variety instead of a bush variety. In the past I grew only bush varieties for space saving reasons. This new variety of yellow squash is extremely productive along with being strongly powdery mildew resistant. Powdery mildew (PM) is a real problem on the summer squash around the end of summer  (MID TO LATE August). It will cover the plants with a whiteish mold and causes a very slow but progressive death. What I have found is most organic fungicides just slow this progressive death. I feel that even though this squash takes up a lot of space the PM quality warrants this varieties use.

Back to the freeze. The growth habit is that male flowers form back at the center of the plant while the female flowers are on the trialing part of the plant. These plants filled the inside of the covers completely.  The trailing part has not grown long enough so it is up in the air ( Later on they will be trailing on the ground) which put the runners in contact with the fabric. This is always a bad thing in a freeze. This did not freeze the tips but it has caused many of the female flowers to abort. This has slowed the harvest dramatically. As of Saturday, morning I noticed that they have grown out of this aborted zone and production should soon resume.

I will have to remember next year that I need to add more layers of fabric when and if there is a potential late freeze. Live and learn.

As for my neem oil soil drench and sowing of okra and cucumbers, the seed has been sown and we are waiting for emergence. I am curious to see if the neem oil and nemicide work better than just the nemicide.

Last week I harvested 3 pounds of tomatoes, a handful of okra, and have noticed that there are eggplants and chilies enlarging. So, it is looking like a July garden in May. I love it when a plan comes together.

 I will say I was wondering if I was a bit crazy to out plant Toms in January and the rest of the garden in February. I am either very lucky or very fortunate to have discovered fabric and learning how to use it. What an amazing tool.

Happy gardening!!!