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Small Farm Tools Demonstration at KSU Field Station

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Kennesaw State University has scheduled a Small Farm Tools Demonstration day at its field station, which is also the site of its farm. This is the basic event information:

DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 @ 1 PM (3.5 hours)

LOCATION: KSU Field Station, 1875 Hickory Grove Road, Acworth

Tools to be discussed and demonstrated include long-handled hand tools, flame weeders, walk-behind tractors, seeders, transplanters, and wheel hoes. Attendees will get a chance to try some of these tools out, to learn first-hand how they work, to help determine which tools may be appropriate for their own farms.

ADDITIONAL: The event is free. A full description of the event is on KSU’s Community events calendar. The visitor parking lot at the field station is on the right, just before the gate, but it is small. If you are attending with a friend, carpooling is recommended. Also, bring water. It will probably be a hot day.

Representatives from Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Georgia Organics are also participating in the Demonstration Day, bringing additional perspectives and conversation about sustainable small farming practices.

The KSU farm produces salad greens in a hydroponics greenhouse, other crops in two high-tunnels, and transplants in its propagation greenhouse.

Inside one of the high tunnels at the KSU field station

When I visited the farm last week (I know — I am sooo lucky!), I had a tour of part of the farm. I learned that the farm is focusing not just on producing food for the KSU cafeteria, but also on beginning research aimed at helping urban farmers.

  • Hydroponic salad greens
  • Hydroponic basil crops

The farm has been at this location for only one year. It had been up in Ballground, GA, previously, but this new location is much closer to the main campus, which makes it easier for students to participate in on-site activities. Already, the Ecology classes have been sending students to the field station on buses for their grasshopper mark-and-recapture lab.

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Squirrels in the Fruit Trees

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Sometimes, I think squirrels are cute. Other times, they seem less cute, such as when they are in the attic, or chewing the siding on the house, or eating the fruit ripening on the carefully tended fruit trees in the yard.

One might think that such small animals would be easy to control, but that would be an error; they are wily and hard to discourage.

The squirrels I am referring to are not fox squirrels or flying squirrels (although those are also cute little trouble-makers that are hard to discourage). The squirrels eating fruit in trees in my area are usually the grey squirrels.

What we can’t control

If squirrels are having a “boom year” — high population because of abundant food following a mild winter — they will be much harder to deal with. A gardener might think about using humane traps to catch squirrels and move them to a distant area, but this is a bit like trying to bail a sinking ship with a teaspoon. More squirrels will just flow in from the surrounding neighborhood to take the place of the ones that are removed.

(NOTE: currently in Georgia, squirrels are considered nuisance animals, but the legality of trapping is not clear. You might need a nuisance animal permit.)

Aspects of the yard to consider

Getting rid of ALL the squirrels is not really possible, but there are ways to make the yard less attractive to squirrels, to reduce the numbers of animals eating fruit in your trees.

  • Reduce or remove any “cover” on the ground that might hide squirrels from predators like hawks and coyotes. Leafy cover in a yard might include vines, tall grasses, and low shrubs, for example. Small animals cross wide open spaces less often than they cross spaces that have lots of leafy cover to hide under.
  • Make sure trees are far enough apart that branches don’t interlace, forming squirrel highways from one tree to the next. Branches of my Asian persimmon tree are at least twelve feet from the nearest next branch. That tree loses very little fruit to small animals, partly (I think) because it is not easy to get to the tree without crossing open spaces on the ground. North Carolina State University Extension suggests 6-8 feet as adequate distance to discourage squirrel jumping.
  • Any gardener who is facing a squirrel problem who also puts out birdseed should reconsider the bird feeders. Squirrels and other small animals (chipmunks, rats, mice) thrive on all the seed that falls from feeders. This extra food can support a LOT of small animals, allowing them to have even more babies that will eat even more of your fruit.
  • Extension’s Ask an Expert suggests putting an alternate food source (like an ear of corn wired to a fence) at a distance from your fruit trees, to draw squirrels away.

Discouraging animal pests usually requires working from more than one angle all at once. After working to change aspects of the yard to make the whole place less squirrel-friendly, the next step is to work on the trees themselves.

Make the fruit trees unpleasant or hard to climb

If squirrels can’t get up into the trees, they will not be able to eat the fruit. If they manage to get up there in spite of your interventions, it may be possible to make the experience so unpleasant that the fruit won’t be worth the effort.

Ways to interfere with climbing

University of Missouri Extension suggests that wrapping a tree with metal flashing and/or adding a metal baffle below the lowest branches can keep squirrels out of the branches:

… wrap trees with metal sheeting or protect them with squirrel baffles, as you would the pole for a bird feeder. . . Wrap all trees within branch-to-branch jumping distance. Be sure to allow for tree growth when wrapping. 

Tree squirrels: managing habitat and Controlling damage, by Robert Pierce

Extension’s Ask an Expert site suggests making the metal collar around the tree trunk two feet wide and six feet off the ground.

For baffles, I have not seen any for sale that would really work for most trees. Consider making one either from metal sheeting or from a couple of large aluminum roasting pans.

Use repellents to make the experience unpleasant

Repellents are products that taste bad, or smell bad, or are sticky enough that they are uncomfortable, or that otherwise offend the target animal.

Repellents work best when they are applied early — before the squirrels even know about your fruit trees. However, even if applied late, repellents can help slow the losses when their use is combined with other strategies.

Repellents for the ground versus for trees, fences, and structures

When I’ve had small animal problems, they have mostly been with chipmunks. I have used a hot-pepper based granular application that goes around the outside of the garden, that keeps them out. The one I use is organic-approved. To be honest, it has always worked to keep chipmunks from crossing into my garden, but it is not labeled for use on fruit trees or directly adjacent to other food crops.

I haven’t found any commercial repellents to use on the ground around fruit trees, but the granules I use for chipmunks (which also work for squirrels) might be useful in another part of the yard to keep the squirrels from running through. Just a thought.

Also, there is always experimenting with hot red pepper and black pepper that is liberally spread on the ground around the base of each tree. This would need to be re-applied after a rain, but The Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests that it may be worth a try.

Buy a commercially prepared repellent

The products I’ve seen that are labeled for use on food crops, including fruit, are not organic-approved. They mostly have names that are some version of “hot pepper wax”. I don’t know whether the lack of organic certification is due to the paraffin base that is in many of these, or the chemical that makes the paraffin flowable, or the hot-pepper extract, or any or all of the above.

If you are frustrated enough by squirrels to go without the organic approval, you might try one of the Hot Pepper Wax products, like the one from Bonide.

In general, all the brands of hot wax pepper products seem to be similar, and all have mixed reviews. They work in some situations and not in others.

DIY a batch at home

If you have a lot of powdered hot pepper already in your spice cupboard, making some of your own repellent is an option to try.

 You’ll need powdered red pepper (the hotter the better), water and some liquid soap. In a large jug, stir 2 tablespoons of the pepper into a gallon of warm water, then add six drops of liquid soap. Stir well, put the lid on and let it sit overnight. Early the next morning, pour some of the solution into a spray bottle, shake well and spray your plants, fences, or whatever the squirrels are after. At dusk, you can apply a second coat. Continue this for a few days or until the squirrels get the idea. After that, you may only need to spray once a week. The mixture will keep for two to three weeks in the refrigerator.

5 ways to keep pests out of fruit trees, by Joan Morris, Mercury News

Hot pepper is a key active ingredient for most of the commercial repellents, which makes this option a reasonable one to try. I can imagine, though, that the powdered pepper might clog a sprayer, which is something to be aware of when choosing your sprayer. Use one that will permit powdered stuff to go through.

The wrap up

As in most wildlife control situations, the key to best success for managing hungry squirrels is to use two or more new strategies at the same time. Mix it up by installing tree wrapping or a baffle, removing leafy cover near the ground, pruning nearby branches from other trees, AND using repellents.

For all my fellow gardeners whose fruit trees are plagued by squirrels, I hope that this information is helpful. Also — thanks to Sally for suggesting the topic!

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Planting Crops for Fall and Winter Harvest

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Over the past few weeks, I have been planting crops that can stand up to cold weather to harvest in fall and winter. So far, I’ve planted carrots (four kinds), beets, winter radishes, escarole, heading chicories, radicchio, kale, and cabbage.

Beet seedlings in the garden

Still to be planted: more escarole and other chicories, lettuces, more winter radishes and beets, a few turnips, cilantro, and many kinds of salad radishes. Arugula will go into containers to grow, so it won’t need space in my in-ground garden.

We start the fall crops in summer?

I know, it seems weird to plant our “cool season” crops in hot weather. However, planting in August and early September gives the crops their best chance to reach harvest-stage before December.

Fall Garden Planning book explains how to choose crops, create a schedule, and prepare the garden for fall planting.
This book explains what, how, and when to plant for the fall garden.

If your fall planting gets a late start (like now, or next week), that is not a disaster. It just means that some of your crops might not be ready for harvest until late winter or early spring. Also, some crops, like the more tender lettuces, might not survive into January.

Gardeners can adjust a bit for a late start by choosing varieties that mature more quickly than others. Most of my carrot varieties this year mature in about 70-75 days (“days to harvest” listed on the seed packets). I planted them all a couple of weeks ago.

Some varieties mature in less time. ‘Little finger’ carrots, for example, mature in about 55 days. If planted now, they could be harvested in about two months.

Rows of carrot seedlings in partly shaded garden
Carrot seedlings — each variety in its own row, to help me know which is which.

Protecting the seedlings

I am looking forward to cooking with the new escaroles and other chicories in this year’s garden. However, many hazards await our cool-season crops in late summer. One is the risk of drying out in the hot sun. My seedlings get water, from a watering can, almost every morning while they are small.

When they are larger, and I am confident that their roots reach deep enough that they are protected from the worst heat and from the quick-drying surface of the garden, the seedings will get less frequent watering.

Snails, slugs, and roly-polies

Even though the weather is dry, and the forecast is for more dry, snails and roly-polies are still present in my garden. Both of those pests are known seedling-eaters. To protect the emerging seedlings, I sprinkled a little iron phosphate bait (Sluggo – organic-approved – this one includes spinosad) on the seeded areas.

Accidental removal

Seedlings emerging in the garden within white paper circles
Escarole and other chicory family crops

The chicory family crops (escarole, heading chicories, radicchio) are planted within rings formed by the tops of paper cups.

I cut off the lower half of each cup, then pressed the top part into into the soil, about an inch down. The seeds are planted inside the cylinders, to remind me where they are. This keeps me from “weeding” them out of the garden by accident.

Moths, butterflies, and their hungry caterpillar babies

My cabbage family plants — the kale (not yet emerged) and two tiny cabbages — are under netting. I put the netting over the area immediately after planting, to protect these crops from cabbage moths and cabbage butterflies.

The bird netting over my support-structure has large enough holes (5/8 inch) that some insects, like ladybugs, can get through. The holes are small enough, though, that the cabbage moths and butterflies cannot get to my plants, which keeps them from laying eggs on them. No eggs, no caterpillars.

Fall planting continues

Assorted summer crops are still producing good food, which means they continue to take space in the garden. Planting for fall crops, for me at least, is a hodge-podge affair as a result.

Swiss chard planted in a curved line around the June-planted ‘Winterkeeper’ tomato.

The first patch of chicory family plants is in the space that held Southern peas earlier this summer. The carrots and some beets are in the spot that held zucchini. Winter radishes are in the spot vacated by an heirloom tomato. Kale and cabbages are in the space previously held by pole beans.

The space taken by the Swiss chard and the late-planted ‘winterkeeper’ tomato will not be available for planting until after the first freeze, unless horrible things happen to them (always possible) before then.

By the time a hard freeze arrives, though, some of my cool-season crops will already be coming into the kitchen.

How are your fall garden plantings coming along?

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Two Days for Pollinators

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Today and tomorrow, August 23 and 24, are the days set for UGA’s Great Georgia Pollinator Census (GGPC). UGA’s goal is to create a “snapshot” of the pollinators in Georgia on these two days in August.

Since UGA research staff can’t cover the whole state in two days, they have called for “all hands on deck” — inviting the entire population of the state to help. I went to one of my favorite neighborhood gardens to participate this morning.

Sign for a community garden with painted images of children working in a garden, tomato plant, a pumpkin, carrots growing, a tree, and a butterfly

My day at the garden

A woman in blue shirt, shorts and a hat, with a clipboard, observing a patch of flowers.
One of this morning’s pollinator counters

A total of nine of us showed up to count pollinators, but the garden will be open again tomorrow, for people who couldn’t participate on a weekday.

We had a great time watching the insects, identifying butterflies, and being in a garden full of flowers.

The garden includes a patch of milkweeds, more than one kind, for the monarchs, and we found monarch butterfly eggs on the backs of some of the leaves. It is always heartening to see evidence that the monarch migration continues.

Some pictures from my morning:

  • Pollinator Census sheet for the GGPC
  • Carpenter bee on marigold
  • A fellow pollinator-counter
  • Sulfur butterfly on red Pentas flowers
  • Chrysalis for a swallowtail butterfly, on fennel
  • Fritillary caterpillar on passionflower vine

What we learned

One plant can be visited by five or six or more kinds of butterflies in just the fifteen minute window of counting time. The good news is that we didn’t have to identify the exact kinds, just know that they were butterflies. Many were skippers, and those can be hard to tell apart.

Also, some plants are visited by so many teeny tiny bees that counting can be difficult.

Two tiny bees in the yellow center of a red-petaled zinnia flower
Two tiny bees in the yellow center of a red-petaled zinnia flower

The husband of one of our pollinator counters did a “dry run” on a plant in their yard yesterday, the day before the census, to see how it would go. He saw a hummingbird moth (his wife identified it), and he had never seen one before. He was entranced.

Still another day to participate!

If you weren’t able to pitch in today, there is still tomorrow. Visit the GGPC website to read about how-to-count and to download a copy of the counting sheet.

Then, on Saturday the 24th of August, find a plant that has flowers on it and insects visiting the flowers. Set a timer for 15 minutes, then count the insects that visit the flowers.

You don’t have to have great insect-ID skills for this. The categories of pollinators are for just eight kinds, and the GGPC website includes a guide to download that shows pictures.

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Basil Trial for Basil Downy Mildew

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A plant disease called Basil Downy Mildew has been yellowing basil leaves, stunting basil plants, and interfering with gardeners’ pesto dreams for many years. According to Cornell University, this basil disease was first identified in the USA in Florida in 2007. Since then, the disease has spread pretty much across the entire country, and beyond.

What is basil downy mildew?

Basil downy mildew is a plant disease that causes yellowing and browning of basil leaves. Because the first signs, the changes in color of the leaves, are also signs of other problems, like a lack of soil fertility, identifying downy mildew requires a closer look at the plant.

  • Basil plant with yellowing, mottled leaves
    Sweet basil plant affected by basil downy mildew, August8
  • Basil plant with healthy, bright green leaves
    Sweet basil plant not yet affected by downy mildew, July 22

In the two plants above, the first shows leaves that are less brightly green. The tops of the leaves show some yellowing, and there are brown patches on the leaves, too. The undersides of its leaves are pale.

The other plant is actually the exact same plant, just a few weeks earlier in the summer. Back on July 22, the leaves were brightly green, un-mottled, and the backs of the leaves were also green.

To see if downy mildew is causing the change in the leaves, from brightly green to a mix of paler green with yellow and brown, turn a yellowed leaf over to look underneath.

If downy mildew is causing the problem, there will be purple-gray dots that are the spores of the disease that you can see if you look close. You might need a magnifying lens to see them well. From further away, the underside of an affected leaf looks almost silvered.

Backside of a basil leaf showing the purplish gray spores of basil downy mildew.

The good news for home gardeners is that not all basils are affected by the downy mildew. Finding resistant basils that have the flavor we desire is the next step in renewing our pesto dreams.

My home garden basil varieties trial

This year I planted eight kinds of basil. My goal was to identify hardy, good-flavored varieties for my yard. All but two varieties (‘Amazel’ and ‘Red Rubin’) were grown from seed that I bought from Strictly Medicinal Seeds.

The ‘Red Rubin’ seeds were from Nichol’s Garden Seeds. The ‘Amazel’ basil was a plant sent to me (for free) from Proven Winners.

The information below is what I’ve learned so far for each of the eight basil varieties currently growing in my yard (two are about to come out, because of the downy mildew).

Sweet Genovese basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Genovese basil has the “classic” basil flavor. It is the variety I have relied on for many years to fill my freezer with pesto, to be used in winter.

However, this is one of two varieties in my garden that currently are turning yellow and brown from downy mildew. The downy mildew pictures above are of this variety.

The good news is that I already harvested leaves from my two Genovese plants, early in July, to make pesto. That pesto is in the freezer now, waiting for its moment to shine in appropriate meals.

Sweet lettuce leaf basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Yellowed mottled leaves of basil plant in August
Lettuce leaf basil showing signs of downy mildew disease

Lettuce leaf basil is the other variety that is fading fast in my garden as a result of basil downy mildew. To be honest, this variety looks worse than the Genovese basil.

In the past, this has been a great basil to have in the garden, because the large leaves fit so nicely onto a sandwich.

If I had known what was coming to the plant this summer, I would have brought more of it into the kitchen before now.

Kivumbasi lime basil (Ocimum canum)

This is a new basil variety for me. I was curious about the flavor and wanted to know more. The great news is that the plant, so far, shows no signs of being affected by basil downy mildew.

Basil plant with flower spikes
Flower spikes of small-leaved Kivumbasi lime basil plant

The plant in my garden has small leaves, and the entire plant is not as large and robust-looking as some varieties. The flavor is the funny part. It really does taste like a mix of lime and basil.

I have not been super-successful in finding ways to use this basil in the kitchen. The description at Strictly Medicinal Seeds, where I purchased the seeds, suggests using the leaves in tea. Before I pull the plant from the garden, to make way for fall vegetables, I will harvest the remaining leaves to dry for herb tea.

The other way I’ve used the leaves is to make lime-basil popsicles. The result was a little odd, but you never really know until you try, right?

Mrihani basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Scallop edged green leaves of mrihani basil
Scallop-edged green leaves of Mrihani basil

This is another new basil for me, and it also shows no signs of basil downy mildew. The flavor is very good; it leans a bit toward anise. I am saving leaves for tea.

The leaves are large and scallop-edged. The scalloped edges are pretty in the garden, and the large size makes for an easy harvest. The plant is also large, for a basil.

The flower spikes start out green but mature to purple. Bees love them.

Thai basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Bumblebee on purple flower spike of a Thai basil plant
Purple flower spike of a Thai basil plant, with bumblebee

So far, I see no signs of basil downy mildew on this variety. The plants make tidy, globe-shaped mounds. The flower spikes are purple, which makes an ornamental contrast to the leaves. The basil flavor is spicy and good, but not exactly pesto-like.

If you order pho from a Thai restaurant, this is likely to be the basil that comes in the pile of green things that accompany your soup.

Greek basil (Ocimum minimum)

Small-leaved Greek basil, crowded by a cucumber vine.

This small-leaved variety also shows no signs of basil downy mildew. The plant is small all over, with a neat, tree-like shape if given proper spacing at planting time. My garden tended toward crowdedness this year, so my Greek basil did not develop the classic shape.

I have grown this basil before. The small leaf-size slows down harvest a little, but the strong, spicy flavor means a little bit goes a long way. The flavor leans toward cloves.

Red Rubin basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Purple leaves and purple flower spike of red rubin basil
Purple leaves and purple flower spike of red rubin basil

This is the basil variety I grew last year, when I first decided to look into a wider range of basil varieties that might resist the basil downy mildew disease. Of all the non-Genovese varieties in the garden this year, this one has the most Genovese-like flavor.

Like last year, the plant does not show any signs of having basil downy mildew.

The leaves do shade toward purple. Both years that I’ve grown this variety, the plants have not grown to a large size. The leaves, though, are large enough that harvesting is easy.

‘Amazel’ sweet basil from Proven Winners (Ocimum basilicum)

Bright green leaves on basil plant
Downy mildew resistant ‘Amazel’ basil from Proven Winners

This plant was sent to me by Proven Winners, and it fit nicely into my plan to try more basil varieties this year. The plant shows no sign of basil downy mildew. The leaves are large-ish, brightly green, and the flavor is similar to that of ‘Red Rubin’ — not quite as sweet as the classic Sweet Genovese, but close.

Cornell University reports that the seeds of ‘Amazel’ are sterile, which means that, even if we manage to collect seeds from the plants, they won’t grow next year. However, many gardeners purchase herb plants, instead of seeds, for the garden each year. If they buy an ‘Amazel’, they will get a plant with good flavor that won’t suffer from basil downy mildew.

How to manage basil downy mildew in the organic home garden

Currently, no good treatment options exist for basil downy mildew in home gardens, even in gardens that are not managed organically. Commercial non-organic farms do have some chemical options, but even those are not perfectly effective.

Organic home gardeners should consider other strategies.

Change our expectations

Some of us may choose to branch out, flavor-wise, and bring some differently flavored pestos to the table. Certainly, there are many flavor options to try! Maybe a batch of lime-basil pesto would be less odd than my lime-basil popsicles. Maybe, too, I will eventually love lime-basil popsicles.

Plant resistant varieties

‘Amazel’ is not the only new Genovese-type basil variety that shows resistance to the downy mildew disease. A Basil Downy Mildew article from Wisconsin Cooperative Extension suggests ‘Eleanora’ as a resistant variety to try. Cornell University (linked earlier in this article) lists several additional varieties for home gardeners to try:

  • Devotion
  • Obsession
  • Passion
  • Thunderstruck
  • Prospera
  • Emma
  • Everleaf

Many of the above varieties can be purchased from Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

Change the timing of planting and harvest

Looking back at the first two pictures in the article, you can see that the plant on July 22 looked great. Evidence of disease did not show up until later. If I had planted more Sweet Genovese basil earlier in spring, I could have harvested loads of delicious basil leaves before August, with its heat and humidity that encourage downy mildew diseases.

Then, as the disease became noticeable, I could have removed them from the garden, replanting that space with another crop, knowing that I had plenty of pesto stored for use in later months.

Purchase steam-treated seeds

Some basil seeds are steam-treated to kill the basil downy mildew pathogen. The information might not be easy to find in a seed catalog or even online, but untreated seeds can spread the disease to your garden if they came from infected plants.

The disease can also come into your garden on the wind, which we can’t do anything about, but making sure our tools are clean, that plants we purchase to set into our gardens are healthy, and buying disease-free seeds are ways we can slow the spread of this disease.

Herb tea in my future

Glove-shaped Thai basil plant with green leaves and purple flower spikes
Globe-shaped Thai basil plant with green leaves and purple flower spikes, beloved by pollinators

Right now, my garden still contains several basil plants. They won’t all be there much longer, though. Soon, I will be harvesting leaves to dry (in my most excellent Excaliber dehydrator) for herb tea. Then, I will remove most of the plants to make room for planting vegetables that I want to grow for fall and winter harvests.

The Thai basil plants will stay in the garden until frost, to support the many pollinators that visit them every day.

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What Caused my Tomato Plant to Wilt, Part 2

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One of my two mature, productive tomato plants wilted last week. Surprise! My previous article (was it just five weeks ago?) about wilting tomato plants was more timely than I knew.

This is the story of what happened.

Wilted, green top of tomato plant
The whole plant had wilted. See the droopy leaves up top?

We had rain. The rain in our area has been patchy, so the rain in my yard may not be like the rain in your yard, but one day we had about 10 hours of steady rain. When I looked out the front windows the next morning, thinking that the garden would probably look great after all that water, I saw that one of my tomato plants had wilted.

I thought back to my previous article about the steps to follow, to figure out what happened to my plant.

At the very least, I can say with confidence that dry soil was not the cause of the wilting.

The plant hadn’t wilted only on one side, and it wasn’t merely slightly droopy. All the leaves on the entire plant were hanging limp on the branches, and smaller branches were sagging.

Tomato stems suspended in jar of clear water.
The streaming test for bacterial wilt was negative.

At first, I thought “cool, bacterial wilt”, since the wilting was so sudden.

Checking for Bacterial Wilt

This is a disease I have seen only once, but I knew that one sign of bacterial wilt was sudden wilting of the entire plant.

Often, this wilting takes place in hot weather and moist soil.

I trimmed off leaves and branches to do the bacterial wilt streaming test. If bacterial wilt was the cause, then white cloudy ooze should stream out of the branches when they were suspended in water.

When the first couple of leafy branches failed to produce the white cloudy streaming that I expected, I cut a thicker section of stem to add to my jar of clear water, to see if maybe I just hadn’t used a big enough section of branch. Ten minutes later, the water was still clear.

Looking at base of the plant for more clues

Then, I finally looked at the base of the plant, where the stem emerges from the ground. This was when I thought “uh oh”. There was white fungus-looking stuff right near the base of the plant and climbing up the stem.

White stuff on ground and on two green stems growing through the white stuff

To be honest, this is probably a bigger problem than bacterial wilt would have been for the future of my garden. My knowledge of white fungus climbing up stems from the ground leads me to think the fungus is Southern Blight. (Link is to a pdf about Southern Blight from University of Kentucky)

White fungus climbing up green tomato stem and extending into nearby soil

Lots of fungal diseases are host-specific. That means that they can infect only a limited number of crops. Southern Blight, on the other hand, can infect many kinds of crops.

How can I reduce future damage from Southern Blight?

I already removed the plant, including as much of the root system as I could. University of Kentucky’s information (linked previously) recommends removing the soil in that area, too, to reduce the number of reproductive bits, called Sclerotia, in the garden.

The next recommendation that organic home gardeners can follow is to grow plants that can resist Southern Blight in that area for a few years.

Resistant plants, according to University of Florida and Louisiana State University include woody plants, ornamental grasses, corn, and wheat.

The other recommendation is to raise the soil pH a bit. The fungus grows more slowly in higher-pH soils.

The good news: no evidence of root-knot nematodes

Smooth roots from dug-up tomato plant
Smooth, tapering roots show no evidence of root-knot nematodes.

If there were root-knot nematodes adding to the damage, the roots would look lumpy. Maybe other gardeners are not as relieved as I am to see this lack of lumpiness, but some years my garden is seriously affected by the nematodes.

Where did the Southern Blight come from?

This is hard to know. My garden has never, until now, shown any sign of harboring Southern Blight. The disease can travel on infected plants, mulches, soil, and contaminated tools. I am thinking that it could also be spread by ground-scratching birds, but they are not mentioned in any of the publications I checked.

A new tomato plant growing nearby

At the end of June, when we returned from five weeks of travel and before we drove across Texas to visit family in the Austin and Houston areas, I planted two tomato seeds in the garden. Luckily, they are in a separate garden bed from the blighted plant.

I set the seeds inside a collar formed by a paper cup that had the bottom removed. The collar was to help hold moisture and to protect the seeds from being eaten. I watered the area well before we got in the car and headed west.

Small tomato plant next to a stake, and several Swiss chard plants planted in an arc nearby
Healthy, young tomato plant was started from seed in late June.

Amazingly, when we got back from our 8-day tour of relatives, a little tomato plant was standing where I had planted those two seeds.

I had planted some Swiss chard and a leaf-amaranth in the same little garden area, and they were coming up, too. A caterpillar of some kind found those to be delicious, so I had to replant the greens, but all is looking good now.

That little tomato plant has flowers on it today. If all goes well, there will be more garden-tomatoes coming into my kitchen by late September, and, hopefully, the potential disaster of Southern Blight will not be causing too many more problems.

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Growing Turmeric, and Other Garden Adventures

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An abiding desire to grow more good food is evident at The Metro Atlanta Urban Farm (MAUF). Some of that evidence is in experiments and unconventional practices seen throughout the farm. One recent experiment at the urban farm is turmeric.

Man in jeans, a red and blue plaid shirt, and red and blue striped hat, pulls aside large green leaves of turmeric plant to show the white flower spike coming up behind the leaves.
Mr. Moses Cobb, with some of his turmeric plants.

When I visited the farm and its community garden last week, one volunteer, Mr. Moses (Robert) Cobb, showed me around the farm, which includes ginger and turmeric plants. These plants are his own project, and they are beautiful.

He told me that the project originally was to grow ginger. He had bought some rhizomes, the thick root-like part that we use in the kitchen, at a grocery store to grow, but they never did grow for him. He suspected that they had been treated with something to prevent sprouting.

He finally was able to get some fresh, untreated ginger rhizomes. A friend had located and mailed them to him, and the packet, when it arrived, included turmeric rhizomes.

If you want to grow turmeric and ginger

Moses noted that ginger is a slow grower for him. Right now, it is protected in a glass-house. The ginger is growing in several pots. The plants look healthy, but the rhizomes do not appear to be spreading robustly across their containers.

The turmeric, however, is growing very well. Moses started the rhizomes together in one container, but he has separated and divided and had to rustle up additional large-size containers to transplant them into.

  • Ginger plants, with large leaves on tall stems, growing in a greenhouse.
    Healthy ginger plants, but less lush than the turmeric.
  • Turmeric plant, luxuriantly leafy, with flower spike.
  • Turmeric plants growing in discarded wheelbarrow tops and other large containers.

Moses has found that the turmeric does best when grown in partial shade. Too much sun results in burnt leaves.

Time-to-harvest for ginger and turmeric

An article out of North Carolina State University (NCSU) about growing turmeric and ginger tells that both of these crops can produce new rhizomes in the eight months of growing time that many gardeners in the Southeastern US have.

The article points out that neither of these plants will survive a freeze. In addition, the growing season is too short, across much of the Southeastern US, for the turmeric to form the thick skin that helps it “keep” through the winter.

Turmeric plants need a full twelve months for their rhizomes to develop that thicker skin. NCSU suggests planting in containers that can be moved indoors or into a greenhouse, to produce the more mature rhizomes if those are your goal.

Starting ginger and turmeric plants from rhizomes

This is NCSU’s information on sprouting rhizomes for both ginger and turmeric:

To initiate sprouts, place a 1.5” piece of rhizome in potting media with ample moisture in a warm, humid location (72-80 degrees F) for 4-6 weeks. A tray with a plastic dome or some kind of enclosed container is ideal to keep in moisture, but light is not necessary until the sprouts start growing. You can sprout either mature, shelf-stable rhizomes, or baby rhizomes may also produce sprouts. Once they have sprouted, gradually harden them off before planting. Take the plants outside an hour or two per day, gradually increasing that time, for approximately two weeks before transplanting outside. 

Read more at: https://caldwell.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/10/ginger-and-turmeric-tropical-superfoods-for-the-garden/

Where to get good rhizomes

Rhizomes are the root-like part that we use in the kitchen for both of these plants. The rhizomes are also what we plant in the soil for growing new plants. Many of the rhizomes in grocery stores, as Moses found, won’t sprout.

Not all of us have a friend who can send us fresh, untreated rhizomes, but some seed companies sell them. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, in Virginia, sells turmeric rhizomes and ginger and turmeric plants. Fedco Seeds, up in Maine, also sells ginger and turmeric pieces for sprouting.

Neither of these sources sells the rhizomes year-round, and shipping is limited to March/April. Plan to order early if you want to grow these, because it looks like supplies may be limited.

Elsewhere on The Metro Atlanta Urban Farm

Two pink zinnia flowers and one butterfly, a silver spotted skipper
MAUF also grows flowers that attract pollinators.

Like in gardens all across the Southeastern US, weeds are gaining ground in spots, and some crops are starting to look a little ragged. Tomato plants in particular are beginning to slow down. Tomato plants growing in the high tunnels, though, that are protected from rainfall, had healthier looking leaves than plants that are exposed to rain.

Many of the melons are growing on hugelkultur mounds. The farm is producing a LOT of watermelons this year, and they all look good. Hugelkultur beds, which are built on and around piles of woody debris, maintain an even moisture level, which is a big boost for many crops. (How to build your own hugelkutur bed is described in this Permaculture News article.)

The melon areas have a lot of weeds growing in them, but this seemed to be helpful in one particular way. When I volunteered at a farm here in Cobb County, any melons that touched the bare ground ended up with a “belly rot”. We had to find the developing fruit and place a protective barrier (styrofoam tray, plastic sheeting) under each one to prevent this rot from invading the melons.

At MAUF this week, I didn’t see any belly rot on the melons. This could be because the thick weeds formed a barrier that held the melons away from the soil. The potential for rot-prevention may be a good reason to leave some weeds, strategically, around the garden.

Equipment maintenance and repair is an ongoing project for most small farms.

Another experiment on the farm, in one of the high tunnels, was growing strawberries in long fabric tubes. The fabric tubes had been filled with growing medium (soil). The plants were planted in slits made on the top side of the tube. The plants looked good, so this probably counts as a successful experiment.

When I asked Moses about the baby plants growing on the long runners that the original strawberry plants were sending out, he said that in a few weeks, as the little plants developed more of their own roots, he would be planting those.

The Metro Atlanta Urban Farm

The farm (MAUF) includes a community garden, and it also assists other community gardens and school gardens in Atlanta. I visited the farm because Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds had sent me a box full of lovely seeds.

Bobby Wilson, co-founder of The Metro Atlanta Urban Farm

I had already shared some of the seeds at a meeting of Cobb Community Gardens, a group of garden coordinators and other garden leaders. Participants at that meeting all took some seeds back to their community gardens, but there were still seed packets left. To get more of the seeds into the hands of gardeners who could use them, I contacted Bobby Wilson, co-founder of MAUF.

MAUF’s work with so many area gardens means the seeds will get distributed to even more gardeners.

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Southern Peas for the Summer Garden

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Southern peas include crowder peas, field peas and cowpeas, but the type that may be most familiar is black-eye peas. These are all classic Southern crops that produce well in hot weather. Even better, they tolerate a lack of rain pretty well.

Mounded growth of Southern peas in a front yard garden.
‘Purple hull speckled’ cowpeas are a lower-growing variety, suitable for small gardens.

Southern peas that I have tried include black-eye peas, common field peas, javy peas, purple hull peas, lady creams, Colossus peas, and Piggott family cowpeas. All the varieties that I have cooked and eaten have a flavor similar to black-eye peas, but not exactly the same.

Anyone who has grown several varieties of tomatoes will understand how that works. They all taste like tomatoes, but there are differences, too. The differences are what makes growing more than one kind worthwhile!

For gardeners who may not be familiar with Southern peas, these are not an edible-pod type of bean. We eat the shelled-out peas from inside the pods.

This year, my Southern pea patch is all ‘Purple hull speckled’ cowpeas.

Look for a fast-maturing variety

Southern peas can be a good crop to plant in mid-summer, if the space won’t be needed for other crops before mid-October. Many varieties produce mature peas in about 60 days.

Purple pea pods and brown shelled-out Southern peas in a flat basket
Mature pods of ‘Purple hull speckled’ and their brown, dried peas.

Gardeners who plant a fast-maturing variety of Southern peas within the next week or two are likely to begin harvesting peas in early October. Any gardener as far South as the metro-Atlanta area, planting now, can expect to harvest plenty of peas before the first frost.

‘Purple hull speckled‘ has peas ready for picking in about 60-62 days (two months). I noticed that Baker Creek also offers a variety called ‘Six week purple hull’ that sounds promising as a fast-maturing type.

Plant size when full grown

Those of us with small gardens, especially when the gardens are in the front yard, like mine, try to be aware of smaller-growing varieties, even when we totally plan to grow huge ones. The classic ‘Purple hull pinkeye’ is a neatly mounded plant, growing to about two feet high. ‘Colossus’ peas that we grew at the farm where I used to volunteer have a similar growth habit.

Some Southern peas, however, are long vining plants that will sprawl over the whole yard if they are not trellised. ‘Piggott family’ is one of the vigorous growers. Years ago (2012!), I made a little video about these peas:

‘Purple hull speckled’, the variety I am growing this year, is described in more than one seed catalog, as being a short, bush plant, but that is not exactly how they turned out in my garden. The plants in my garden do have a basic mound shape at the core, but they have sent out runners, long runners.

Mounded patch of Southern peas in the garden.
‘Purple hull speckled’ pea patch showing mature pods and emerging vines.

If I had known what was coming, I would have set up something for them to climb. Instead of going up, the plants are reaching into the lawn and across other plants in the garden.

Productivity

In the video about ‘Piggott family’ peas linked above, I tell that the small patch of peas has already produced two quarts of dry peas, and it is easy to see that more are on the way. The plants are covered up in pea pods!

Unfolding purple pea flower and a newly-formed pea, together on one stem.
After the first flush of abundant Southern pea pods, ‘Purple hull speckled’ is making more peas.

This year’s smaller patch, planted in a two-by-three foot space, has produced about one quart of dried peas so far. The plants also still have plenty of flowers and smaller pods that will, eventually, add to the total harvest.

For this variety, there was a big flush of peas to start, but the plants continue to make flowers and pods, the way some bush-type green beans do — a big harvest at first, then smaller amounts until the plants are decimated by pests or killed by frost.

When to harvest

The great feature of purple hull types is the color change, from green pods to purple pods, that tells a gardener when to harvest the peas. I love a color-coded garden!

Shelled-out peas, some green and some brown
Shelled-out peas shrink and develop their distinctive coloration as they dry.

For plants that do not have the purple hull feature, like ‘Piggott family’, I harvest by feel. If the pods feel as though they are beginning to dry, when the pods are turning a bit papery and tan, then they are ready.

Usually, leaving the pods on the plants until they are bone-dry is totally safe. However, in wet weather, pods many need to be harvested a little early, so they won’t turn moldy on the vines.

Most Southern peas are easy to harvest because of the way the pods are held away from the plants on stiff stems. The gardener does not have to hunt through the leaves to find the pods!

Wildlife

I have read that deer love Southern peas. I’ve also read that deer leave Southern peas untouched. So far, deer have not eaten my plants, but that could be a result of luck more than how much deer like to eat Southern pea plants.

Other wildlife most commonly attracted to Southern peas are wasps. For some people, this may be a problem, but I have never been stung while working around Southern peas.

Many insects are attracted to Southern peas because of the nectaries that are on the stems near the flowers. Nectar is a main food for adults of some of the predatory wasps. These wasps hunt caterpillars to feed to their babies, so attracting these wasps to your garden is actually a good thing.

  • Honey bee and purple pea flower
    Honeybees visit the nectaries of Southern peas
  • Orange wasp on green plant stem
    Orange wasp at a nectary on my Southern peas
  • Small brown anole lizard on leaf
    Another predator in the Southern peas
  • Three black ants at tip of pea stem
    Ants. Is anyone surprised?

Insect pests

North Carolina State University’s publication about Southern peas notes that the cowpea curculio is a serious pest on Southern peas, but not the only pest. More common garden pests like aphids and stinkbugs can also cause damage in the Southern pea patch.

So far, though, my Southern peas, over many years of growing them, have been untroubled by pests.

How to grow Southern peas

Soil fertility

Southern peas are known as “light feeders”. This means that they do not need a heavy dose of fertilizer to grow well and make lots of peas. If the space you are planning to grow them was already well-fertilized for the crop that was there before them, adding a layer of compost (2-3 inches deep) may be all you need.

The downside of a “light feeder” is that some soils may be so rich in nutrients that the plants grow to be lush and beautiful without producing many peas.

This crop is also one that does well in a lower pH soil. A range of 5.8-6.3 pH , according to Clemson University extension, is best — this is more acidic than the preferred pH range for some garden vegetable crops.

purple flower of Southern peas
Southern pea plants won’t make flowers or peas if too much fertilizer is used

My garden is in the red Georgia clay, and its pH is about 6.5, which is close enough. I typically amend it with compost and other organic sources of nutrients. For my garden, adding more compost before planting Southern peas in mid-summer is all that is required.

Deep, raised beds, filled with commercial composts that include some animal wastes, might not be good places to grow Southern peas. These composts can be too high in nutrients for good pod production.

Planting

Even in spring, I plant my Southern peas directly in the garden. I don’t start them indoors in pots/flats/trays. As a heat-loving crop, Southern peas are going to perform their best when planted in warm soil. I planted this year’s ‘Purple hull speckled’ peas in the second week in May.

Seed spacing

The plant spacing recommendations I have found are for row crops. If your garden is all row-crops, you can use the 3-4 inch spacing for smaller varieties and 6-8 inches for larger varieties, with 24-36 inches between rows.

If, however, you plant in blocks, using like I often do, some experimenting with plant spacing may be required. My little patch is ringed by some foldable wire fencing, that encloses a space about two-by-three feet. It contains 12 plants. The spacing is about 6 inches, but none of the plants is up close to the wire enclosure.

I had to lean down and hunt through the leaves to count them and estimate the spacing, because I forgot to write it down at planting time.

Seed depth

Plant the seeds about an inch deep. Then, water them in well.

In general, the plants will do fine most of the summer without regular watering, but the seedlings, the newly emerging plants, will need regular water for a few weeks.

Southern peas in the kitchen

Black-eye peas may be the most familiar Southern pea for most people. These are the peas my Mom says (and other people seem to agree) we need to eat on New Year’s day, for good luck in the coming year.

Even if you love them, though, branching out to other types is worth the effort.

Field peas and crowder peas all (I think) cook up to make a brown gravy that is delicious. A good way to start eating these peas is as gravy to pour over mashed potatoes. The ‘Piggott family’ variety, especially, is great to use this way.

Cream peas seem to be the mildest flavored types. The peas usually are smaller, too, than the other types of Southern peas.

There is a Southern pea grown in a small part of Italy, the Lake Trasimeno bean, that has been included in the Slow Food Ark of Taste. I have been lucky in being able to try these beans in Italy, and each time they were served the same way: cooked, then drained, then drenched in olive oil, with a little salt added.

The tiny size and mild flavor of the Lake Trasimeno beans made me think that cream peas might be their closest match in the United States. Last year, I purchased a bag of Lady Cream peas to prepare the same way, and the flavor is close enough that I will make it again. The peas I purchased are not organic, which is a good reason to grow my own in future gardens.

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Duct Tape for Pest Control

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At the Plant-a-Row-for-the-Hungry garden where I volunteer, squash bug eggs have shown up on some of the squash plants. The eggs stick very tightly to the leaves, making them difficult to remove by hand. Duct tape, though, can help with egg removal.

Why are squash bugs “bad”?

Squash bugs aren’t essentially bad, but their activity on our plants can have a bad result. North Carolina State University’s Extension tells us that squash bugs suck the sap out of our squash plants.

Even if the plants don’t die directly as a result of this feeding activity, it can weaken them. The result is that they can make fewer squashes and become wilted. Neither of those outcomes is good. Getting rid of the eggs can slow the infestation down.

How to use tape to remove squash bug eggs from leaves

Cluster of tiny, shiny, bronze colored eggs on a green leaf.
Cluster of shiny, bronze colored squash bug eggs on a squash leaf.

First, identify the clusters of eggs.

What the eggs look like

Squash bug eggs are pretty distinctive. They are shiny, hard, bronze-colored, and appear in clusters on the leaves of squash plants. Sometimes, they are on the stems, too, but this is less common.

Why remove the eggs, rather than smash them where they are? These particular insect eggs are difficult to smash without damaging the leaves. Removing the eggs completely from the plant is the best hope for keeping the numbers of hatching eggs to a minimum.

Duct tape egg removal technique

Actually, the blue painters tape works, too, if you don’t have duct tape. It is likely that clear package-sealing tape would also work, but I haven’t tried it.

Bronze-colored bug eggs and hairy yellow larvae stuck to the sticky side of a piece of duct tape.
Duct tape can lift eggs and squishy larvae from leaves of your garden crops.

Just press the sticky side of a short section of tape to the squash bug eggs, then peel it away from the leaf. Most of the eggs will be stuck to the tape.

You may need to press a fresh section of the tape to the eggs a second time to get them all, but the tape works. With little effort on your part, the eggs will be gone from the leaves.

Now, of course, those shiny eggs are on the tape. When your piece of tape is “full”, fold it over and smash the eggs as well as you can, before putting the tape into a trash bin.

Duct tape can lift away other pests, too

You may have noticed that there are some yellow fuzzy things on the tape pictured above, along with the squash bug eggs. Those fuzzy things are the larvae (babies) of squash beetles.

Normally, I just smash those beetle larvae with my fingers, but I already had the tape in hand. Picking the larvae up with the tape was convenient, easy, and less icky than my usual method.

You can read about squash beetles and the damage they can inflict on your squash patch in my 2018 article about those particular pests. Older articles, from 2015 and 2012 confirm that this is not a new pest for my area.

Upbeat pictures, to end a “pest post”

After thinking about pests for awhile, it is good to switch over to thinking about more of the positive parts of gardening and being out of doors. These pictures might help:

  • Yellow swallowtail butterfly resting on a large yellow squash flower; several bees are clustered in the center of the large flowers
    Yellow swallowtail butterfly on large squash flower, that also has several bees working at the center.
  • Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers in a cardboard box.
    Home garden vegetables from a recent morning’s harvest.
  • Frog on the table on our back deck.
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The Mid-July Garden

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From gardens across the area, I’ve had reports of great successes and annoying troubles. Gardeners are bringing amazing vegetables into their kitchens from some of their crops, but the usual troubles of mid-summer are beginning to appear.

First — here are some successes:

  • A recent morning’s harvest
  • ‘Park’s Whopper’
  • ‘Blue marbut’ pole bean flowers
  • ‘Oda purple bell’ peppers
  • My Southern pea patch
  • ‘Mrihani’ basil, a new variety for me

Now for some less-than-successes, which we all experience to some degree pretty much every year:

Insect pests

In the past week, I’ve seen for myself or heard other gardeners discuss these garden pests:

green tomato with hole near stem
Hole in tomato near the stem is a sign of fruitworm activity
  • Fruit worms on tomatoes and peppers (in my own garden)
  • Pickleworms on squash, melons, and cucumbers
  • Squash vine borers on yellow squashes and zucchini

Plant disease

More than one gardener has mentioned that all their tomato plants, except for one, look healthy. The one exception has been a plant that wilts in the day, then seems to recover at night.

Going through the steps to identify the cause, listed in my “wilting tomato plants” article, can help. Checking soil moisture and looking for stem damage are easy steps that anyone can do. The hard steps are the ones that ask the gardener to sacrifice the plant.

I understand. We love plants. Pulling them up to look at the roots or cutting them down to look inside the stem just seems wrong. However, those are the best ways to identify the problems that begin underground (nematodes and wilt-funguses). Also, leaving ailing plants in the garden can allow some problems to spread to other plants.

Problems caused by factors like the weather

red tomato showing a black soft spot on its underside
Blossom end rot appears on the bottom side of a tomato

Another way to name these problems is to call them “physiological”. They are the plant’s reaction to things like temperature and uneven watering (or too much rain, then no rain, then too much rain, repeat).

Blossom end rot

I see this most often in tomatoes, but Iowa State University’s article on blossom end rot says it also occurs in peppers and squashes. This looks like a dark soft spot that appears at the bottom of the fruit — the side opposite the stem — and Iowa State’s article says it is caused by a lack of calcium, that is caused by uneven watering.

Considering that I was away from home for much of May and June, it may be a miracle that I have seen blossom end rot on only a few of my tomatoes this year. Or, maybe the miracle is in the mulch that I put down before our travels began. Mulch keeps moisture in the soil longer.

Other gardeners have been less lucky; a large number of their tomatoes have this problem.

Sunscald

If there are squishy spots on the shoulders, up near the stem, of your blocky fruits like tomatoes and bell peppers, the cause is likely to be exposure to too much sun. In essence, the fruits get sunburned, but the specialists call it sunscald.

Avoiding sunscald is a good reason to prune tomato and pepper plants as little as necessary. (To see how I prune my tomato plants, watch the video in my article on determinate vs. indeterminate tomatoes.)

Some plants, even without pruning, do not have enough — or large enough — leaves to shade their fruits. This could mean that the plants are not getting enough nutrients to grow well.

Tomatoes not getting ripe

A lack of tomato-ripening is causing frustration among several gardeners I spoke with last week. There are plenty of big, green tomatoes on their plants, but none are turning red, even though they should be.

Depending on which state’s publications you read, in order for the red pigment in tomatoes to form, the daytime temperature has to stay either below 86 degrees F (Ohio State University) or below 90 degrees F (Arizona State University). The difference may be in the tomato varieties tested.

Nighttime temperatures also need to go below 70-to-75 degrees F for the red pigment to form.

Weirdly enough, my tomatoes are ripening on the plants, and they are growing with essentially the same air temperatures as the tomatoes of my gardening friends.

One of my friends is growing one of my ‘Park’s Whopper’ plants, started alongside the one that is in my garden, so we know that the problem isn’t just a difference in tomato varieties. Maybe my plant is in a cooler spot — with a different enough “microclimate” to allow ripening.

If your tomatoes are not ripening, and you are sure that they should be by now, consider rigging a shade cloth over your plants. Shade cloth can reduce the temperature by 5-9 degrees F, which could be all that your tomatoes need.

Tomato plant and yellow flowers
Section of my July garden, with black-eyed Susans to the right.
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