By Mike the Gardener

Powdery mildew is a fungal
disease that is one of the more common plant diseases that many home
vegetable gardeners will experience. Powdery mildew is in the order of
Erysiphales which contains one family named Erysiphaceae of which many
cause powdery mildew.

Powdery mildew begins on a host plant, in this case one of your
vegetable plants, when the sexual ascospores, or the asexual conidia
germinating on the surface of the plants leaf or stem, resulting in
septate mycelium of uninucleate cells.

Powdery mildew is one of the easier plant diseases to spot. If your
plants are affected, what you will see are white powdery spots on the
leaves and stems. Powdery mildew is most prominent on the lower leaves
although powdery mildew will appear on the upper leaves as it
progresses. If left untreated, the spots will get larger and more dense
as more spores form.

Do you live in an area or environment where you will experience high
humidity and moderate temperatures? If so, then you are more likely to
experience Powdery mildew.

So what will powdery mildew do to your plants if not addressed? Chances
are it won’t kill your plants, but will contribute to the reduction of
fruit and vegetable yields.

While many home vegetable gardeners are looking for a cure for powdery
mildew, one simply does not exist. So what you need to do is take steps
to preventing and controlling powdery mildew. Two good things to make
sure your plants are receiving in helping with prevention is air
circulation and direct sunlight. Both have shown to inhibit powdery
mildew formation.

But, let’s say that powdery mildew already exists on your plants. What
you have to do now is move into “control” mode. According to Organic Gardening,
“Research studies in 1999 and 2003 on infected zucchini and winter
wheat (respectively) indicated that spraying cow’s milk slowed the
spread of the disease.”

By mixing 1 part milk and 9 parts water (by volume), you will create a
spray that can then be applied to your affected plants. Also you can
try a mix of 1 teaspoon of baking soda with 1 quart of water as a spray.
This helps raise the pH, which is not a suitable environment for
powdery mildew.

At the end of the season, remove all plants that were affected with
powdery mildew, bag them up and throw them away. While some sources say
they are ok to add to your compost pile, I take a more cautious stand
and do not do so.

…read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Mike the Gardener

I recently read in an issue of
Mother Earth News magazine a great quote. “Every time you buy organic,
you’re persuading more farmers to grow organic.” This quote goes well
along with my lines of thinking. I am a true believer of not buying a
product or hiring someone to perform a service from a business if that
product or service does not meet my expectations for what I am paying.

In this case that product is freshly grown fruits or veggies. I grow a
lot of my own food, but lack the space to grow it all. So, for the
items that I am unable to grow in abundance I will search out quality
farms in my area, that do not use chemical pesticides or synthetic
fertilizers. I am willing to pay a little more because I am getting
quality food, great customer service and get what I am paying for.

What I have also noticed in my search for local farms, is the term
organic being thrown around a lot. The question I was mulling over, is
that term overused? Has it become nothing more than a marketing gimic?

My dad, and grandfather before him, practiced organic methods when
tending to their gardens. No use of pesticides or synthetic
fertilizers, heck they did not even use gas powered tools. Everything
was done with a little elbow grease and plenty of sweat. They each kept
compost piles, and since my dad was (and still is) a big fisherman, all
of the fish waste went into his garden beds. Everything was natural.

But one thing was common, you never heard them use the word organic. If
you asked them if they practiced organic methods, they probably would
be the first to tell you they have no idea of what you are talking
about. They used safe, healthy methods to grow their food, not because
they wanted to be “organic”, but because they wanted to put good food
on the table.

In order for someone to use the word “organic” they must meet some
criteria as outlined by the USDA. You can read up on what it takes to
become certified organic on the USDA website.

Me personally, I think the word “organic” is quickly a word that is
being overused. But what do you think? I understand the importance of
needing to certify items to be organic, but do you think “organic” is
being overused?

…read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Mike the Gardener

How do I stake up my tomato
plants is a question I receive all the time. My answer is, whatever
works for you. When I was a kid, my dad would use my broken hockey
sticks, cut off the blade, or what remained thereof, and use them as
stakes for his tomato plants. He would then secure the tomato plants to
the hockey stick by loosely tying them with some type of string, twine,
old t-shirts and even mom’s ripped pantyhose. He was a resourceful
guy.

There are various other ways to stake up tomatoes and I wanted to cover
just a few. First I wanted to start with the method I use to prop up my
tomatoes, and that is the use of tomato cages. Regardless of whether
you use the round tomato cages, triangular tomato cages or square tomato cages,
the concept of their use is the same. Simply push your tomato cage
into the soil so that your tomato plant sits in the center. As the
tomato plant grows, you will have to do some maneuvering of branches so
they don’t get “stuck” as they try and grow upwards.

As mentioned earlier with the method my father used, you can use stakes or poles
to prop them up. As with the tomato cage method, you will have to do
some maneuvering. With the stake method, you have to attach them to the
tomato stake with string or twine. They even sell velcro plant ties which are great. You can move them rather easily when you have to make adjustments.

Although I have not used these myself, I have seen in use spiral tomato plant supports.
The way these work is very simple.The idea is to eliminate the part
where you tie them to the stake by weaving your tomato plants as they
grow, through the spiral. They come in heights of 4 to 6 feet, which is
ideal for most varieties of tomatoes.

Another excellent method is creating your own trellis where there are
poles on each end with some twine at various heights connected between
them. This tomato propping method is most commonly called the Florida weave. As the tomato plants grow, you weave them in between the strings on the trellis.

Finally, just let them be. Some gardeners I know do not even stake up
their tomatoes at all. They lay down some black plastic tarp over the
soil, then let the tomatoes simply grow along the ground. Of course
this method makes your plants susceptible to a lot things, but if going
100% natural is what you are looking for, then this is it.

By Mike the Gardener

Here in New Jersey we are
experiencing a boat load of rain. Last I heard on the news, for our
area, we are over a few inches above last year’s total at this same
time. Last year’s total rainfall at this time were normal measurements.
As Luke Bryan sings, Rain is a Good Thing. However, too much rain, is not a good thing for your vegetable plants.

Good drainage in your vegetable garden beds can prevent the most obvious
issue which is root rot. Root rot is a disease that can occur in
vegetable plants both indoors and outdoors, which is the decaying of a
vegetable plants’ roots. Root rot will occur when the roots of your
vegetable plants get too wet, which creates a perfect environment for
various fungi that carry out this process.

As stated earlier, making sure the area where your vegetable plants
reside has adequate drainage is a major key in preventing root rot.
There a few solutions you can implement to prevent excess water around
your vegetable plants’ roots.

For vegetable plants that you are growing indoors, let’s start with the
obvious. Make sure that whatever your vegetable plants are planted in
have enough drainage holes. You may have purchased a pot (or pots) from
a home or garden center and think that it may have enough holes, but
that is not always the case. Do not be afraid to drill a few more in
the bottom of the pot, no less than ¼” in diameter. To prevent soil
erosion in your pots, line them with newspaper before you put your
potting soil in. This will allow the excess water to drain out, while
keeping the soil in.

For your outdoor vegetable garden there are a number of solutions you
can go with. For starters, build your garden beds up using raised beds.
As vegetable gardening author Chris McLaughlin writes in her book Vertical Vegetable Gardening: A Living Free Guide, raised beds give you better drainage especially in areas wher clay soil dominates.

Many people that have raised beds, build them in such a way as there is
no need to actually go into the bed itself and that helps by not
compacting the soil every time a step is taken near their vegetable
plants.

Finally, whether you are using raised beds or not, mix up a soil
solution that aides in wicking away excess water. There are three great
products that you can add to your soil before you plant that will help
with this. They are peat moss, coir and perlite.

The peat moss and coir are interchangeable. Although you can, you would
not use them together as they serve the same …read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Celeste Longacre

The peony that we have in our yard is one of my favorite plants.

It was actually the very first thing that I planted on our property. A friend had given me some cut peonies and they lasted for a very, very long time.

I have heard that there are basically two types of peonies; one that keeps well as a cut flower and the other that is heavily scented. The one I ended up planting is of the heavily scented variety.

With peonies, they need the help of the ants. In the spring when the buds form, they will be covered by ants.

As ants are a bit creepy-crawly, the tendency may be to spray them off. However, these ants are necessary to eat the coverings of the buds.

Without the ants performing this function, the peonies would not be able to bloom. So bless the ants as they aid these gorgeous blossoms.

Fuchsias are also lovely plants. We usually see them in hanging baskets.

They will bloom all summer long with a bit of attention. For one thing, they love water. I always check my fuchsia first if the weather has been dry. These “plants” are actually a combination of many plants put together in one pot. So you have to be careful watering them—make sure that the entire surface of the soil gets wet. Also, the seeds need to be picked off.

For any plant, its purpose is to reproduce itself. So it will grow and flower hoping to attract pollinating insects. Once this has happened, it will set seeds. Then the plant thinks that its job is done. And, it will stop flowering. To keep it flowering all summer long we need to keep removing the seeds. A small price to pay for a season of loveliness seeds. A small price to pay for a season of loveliness.

…read more

Source: The Old Farmers Almanac

By Mindy

Did you know that there is a vegetable that can be used as a sponge?  Well there is and it is called the loofah.  But how do you get an edible sponge?  The answer is simple and has to do with the timing of the picking of the fruit.  If the fruit is picked young, it can be eaten like a squash.  On the other hand, if you let the fruit mature, then you can have a sponge.

To grow your own edible sponge requires some planning.  Loofahs need a long growing season, which equates out to 150 to 200 frost-free days.   To start your own loofah, requires one to start them indoors.  This process begins with the harvesting and/or ordering your seeds.  Loofah seeds can be harvested from picked loofahs that have been processed as sponges.  The easiest way of removing the seeds is by whacking the gourd on a post.  After that is done, the seeds will come out the bottom.

If, on the other hand, you plan to order your seeds, they are easy to find in seed catalogues or even at your local garden supply center.

Once you have your seeds, it is time to plant them.  If you live in an area that has a long growing season, plant your seeds outdoors.  If your area does not have a long growing season, then you will need to start them indoors.  To do the later, plan your planting time by counting back six to eight weeks from your local frost-free date.  Once you have that date, you can plan your planting schedule.

When the planting date arrives, prepare your containers with an all-purpose potting soil that has been moistened.  After that is done, take a pencil and make holes in the soil that are ½ to ¾ inch deep.  To prevent from wasting seed, place one seed per hole and fill in.  Cover the container with glass or plastic and place on a propagation mat.  Check the container in about 4 days.  If you see sprouting occurring, remove the cover.  On the other hand, if you see no progress, do not worry.  Loofahs can take 4 to 14 days to germinate with an average time being 7 to 14 days.

Once your loofah seedlings have two sets of true leaves, it is time to transplant them into individual pots.  After the local frost-free date has passed and the seedlings have been hardened off, it is time to plant them outside.

Loofahs can be planted in the ground or in a 5-gallon container.  If you plant them in the ground, make sure to space them out at least every 3 feet.  If you have the space, consider spacing them every 6 feet, which is better.

If using a container, place one plant per pot.  Regardless of which planting method you choose, make sure to place a trellis in the ground at the time of planting.

In about 100 days, you should begin to see the fruits of your labor but this depends on the weather.  …read more

Source: Weekend Gardener

By Mike the Gardener

Last
night I was on a radio program and we were discussing fall gardening.
What to plant, what not to plant, when to plant and so on. During the
course of the interview, we began talking about how to protect plants in
the colder months. Without hesitation I replied “use a cold frame”.

A cold frame is a great way to extend your gardening season well in to
the cooler months. It works similar to a green house, however it is
lower to the ground, which in turn, at night, will keep the warmer air
closer to the plants. It will also have a means to ventilate easily so
that if it does get warm during the day, you simply open up the
ventilation and let the heat out, which helps prevent “burning” your
plants.

Here is a great step by step instructional that I found on building your
own cold frame out of some recycled material. It’s easy to build, and
if you have some basic skills, you should get this done in no time.

Here are the Step by Step instructions

…read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Mindy

Oh what does a gardener do when they have no garden?  Well the answer is easy; they create their own garden space.  To do this, one only needs a few supplies, a little time, and human ingenuity.

Supplies needed for this project include one bag of all-purpose soil or compost/manure, an old plant flat, utility knife, and plants.  After you have your supplies lined up, the next step consists of creating your garden.

To begin this process, lay your bag of potting soil inside the flat.  Now place your “soil flat” in the location where you would like your garden to be.  It is easier to move it before planting then after.  Once you have the “garden” in its location, begin to cut “Xs” in the side of the bag that is facing up.  Each “X” represents one plant.   As a gauge, one can fit three to four plants per bag.

After the “Xs” have been cut, open up these cut spaces to expose the soil.  Now, dig a hole just like you would in a traditional or container garden for your plant.  Once that is done, remove one plant from its container and tease the roots.  Then, place the plant in the hole, and fill in the hole with soil.  Repeat with the remaining plants.

Once all the plants have been planted, water in the plant material.  Then, close up each “X” and poke a few small holes in the top.  This will be additional areas where water can enter the garden.

When it comes time for watering, pull back the “Xs” and water each plant.  After the plants’ roots have become established, poke a few drainage holes in the underneath side of the bag.  This is done after the plants have taken hold so that their roots can hold the soil in place verses the soil running out of the holes.

While this is a very simple type of garden, there are a few hints to follow when it comes to this gardening technique.   One, avoid anything that may need to be trellised.  The depth of the soil in the bag is not deep enough to hold the trellis up.  Two, if you are planting tomatoes do not try to plant them deep instead use the trench method.  This method requires one to dig a long trench.  Once the trench has been dug and in this case it will be under the “X,” bend the tomato plant into the shape of a “J.”  Once that has been done, remove the leaves along the stem leaving three to four on the top.  Now, lay the plant in the trench and fill in.  The stem under the ground will develop leaves and help hold the plant up.  As far as tomato varieties go, always use determinate tomato plants.  These will require no trellising.

Lastly, if you are a forgetful gardener, consider adding a slow-release fertilizer and/or hydrogel to each hole before planting.  If this is done, you will not need to panic if you miss a feeding …read more

Source: Weekend Gardener

By Mike the Gardener

I do very well here in New
Jersey growing peppers. For the past two season, I have had peppers
grow (and thrive) well into November, even after a couple of frosts also
with no cover protection.

I grow a lot of sweet peppers and some hot peppers, but as a total, I
grow a boatload of peppers. Enough to share with the neighborhood my
wife tells everyone.

With that said, I wanted to share some of my tips on peppers, that I
believe has lead me to have such great pepper harvests. Of course I
can’t control the weather in the cooler months that would do peppers
harm, I do believe that by using these tips, I am able to have my
peppers grow very hardy, and that helps out a great deal.

Your Site
As with any other fruit or vegetable plant, peppers are no different,
and that is, good peppers start with an excellent foundation. In this
case, the foundation for your peppers is the soil itself. Obviously
some might disagree and say “no, Mike, it starts with the seeds you
use”. While I do agree with that statement, that good peppers start
with seeds from a reputable company (or a friend), I am assuming that
you have already completed that step.

Before you plant your pepper transplants (or direct pepper seeds), make
sure to mix in plenty of compost. I like to do a mix of compost from my
compost pile, vermicompost from my worm bin, and seasoned livestock
manure (cow manure). I would like to add that I use so much
vermicompost that I added a worm tower this year to my yard and plan on adding another worm tower next season. They can be a bit pricey.

As a side note. If you started your peppers from seeds indoors, be sure
to harden them off, that is acclimate them to the outdoors before you
plant them in your garden bed.

Bring the Heat
Pepper plants love heat. Which bodes well for us here in New Jersey,
because around July to August, between the heat and humidity, it can
become unbearable for humans in the summer. If you live in a cooler
climate, you can always help increase the temperatures around the plant
using cold frames,
greenhouses and so on. You want to keep the temperatures for your
pepper plants above 60 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly 16 degrees Celsius).

Spacing
Peppers are abundant producers when given plenty of space. You may
produce bigger or more quantities of peppers if you grow just a few,
spaced out wider. With that said, I have done well spacing them out
eight to ten inches, although one gardening friend of mine has his
spaced out further (more like 12 …read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Mike the Gardener

If you have been following our blog, facebook page, or our website, then you already know that we are very enthusiastic about growing vertically.

The sky is truly the limit when it comes to growing vertically with many
varieties of fruits and vegetables, and herbs are no different.

Herbs grow great in containers, and this project combines the best of
both worlds, container gardening and vertical gardening. If you have
some basic tools and handy skills, then all you really need is to get
started.

Here are the Step by Step instructions

…read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Mike the Gardener

You no longer have to search all over eBay
to get great deals on gardening supplies. We did the work for you and
popped them into a single web page on our site. Simply visit eBay Gardening Auctions and take a look today.

…read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Mike the Gardener

By now you have probably seen
those inverted tomato planters. You are probably also wondering if they
really work. The answer in short is yes. So as long as you give the
tomato plant plenty of sun, water, and room for their roots to grow, it
will work.

However, did you also know that you can build your own upside down
planter with some basic material and of course a tomato plant? Well,
you can. Here is a great step by step instructional to do just that.

If you are short on garden space, but have a lot of hanging space, then
this is yet another tool for you to use to expand what you can grow, by
utilizing vertical area you may not have thought you had.

Here are the Step by Step instructions

…read more

Source: Mike the Gardener

By Stephanie

Coleus is an annual plant grown for its ornate foliage.  It is also called painted nettle, flame nettle, and painted leaf.  Coleus come in white, yellow, red, pink, purple, maroon, copper and a wide range of greens.  It is native to Asia and Malaysia.

Coleus need at least six hours of sun to have the most vibrant color foliage.  They can survive in partial shade but their colors are muted there.  The same variety of coleus grown in the sun may look very different from one grown in partial shade.  For optimal growth, and the prettiest foliage, plant your coleus where it will get morning sun and afternoon shade.  Remember that in hot limates, such as in Texas or Florida, the coleus will need more shade to protect it from sunscald.

Coleus does best in most, well drained soil.  Till your flowerbed down to six inches and add three inches of compost to the soil.  Mix well.  You can then plant your coleus after all danger of frost has passed. The outdoor temperature needs to be above 60 degrees F for the coleus to groiw properly.  Temperatures in the 40s can damage your plant.  Be sure you wait late enough in the season that the temperature does not fall below 60 degrees F to plant.

Space plants two to twelve inches apart, depending on the mature size of the plant.  Coleus can grow to ten to eighteen inches tall, depending on the variety. Coleus make more of an impression when planted in bunches.

When you plant your coleus, pinch off the top and remove any flowers to encourage a bushier, more compact plant.  Anytime the plant flowers, cut the flowers to avoid a spindly plant.

Coleus benefit from being fertilized with half strength liquid fertilizer on a regular basis.  Coleus need moist but not soggy soil.  The more the coleus are exposed to wind and heat, the more water it needs.  It originated in a tropical area and must stay moist or it will die.

Mulch is recommended for coleus plants to help keep them moist.  Do not use cedar mulch as it contains oils that are toxic to coleus.  Do not allow the mulch to touch the stems of the coleus as that makes it easier for slugs to reach the plant.

Since these plants are annuals, it is a good idea to take cuttings at the end of the season and grow them indoors until spring.  You can take a cutting from any non-flowering branch of the plant.  Make sure the cutting is two to three inches long with at least one set of leaf nodes besides the top leaf nodes.  Strip the lowest leaves off the cutting and plant it in potting soil.  The lowest node of leaves (which you have removed) needs to be under the soil.  That is where the roots will emerge from.  You can use a rooting medium but that is not usually necessary.  Keep the plants warm and moist in moderate sunlight for about two weeks to ensure rooting.

…read more

Source: Weekend Gardener