Lots of Time to Plant! - theHumm June 2020

By David Hinks

Missed planting the vegetable garden on the May 2-4 weekend (well it was a bit early this year)? Do not despair if you haven’t planted your entire vegetable garden yet. It is not at all too late to start a vegetable garden. Seeds of short-season vegetables such as beans and zucchini can be planted throughout June with a reasonable expectation of success. Vegetable seedlings such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers may still be planted (with some hope of success — look for short-season varieties — you might want to carry a good seed catalogue to the store with you). In all likelihood seasonal garden centres at box stores will have these plants on deep discount as soon as they wrap up their operations for the season.

If you choose to celebrate Canada Day by planting your vegetable garden, you will still have about two-and-a-half months (about 75 days) of reasonable growing conditions for plants that need heat. Plants such as beans may reach maturity in as few as 50 days from seed, beets a few days longer and zucchini a similar period. If they are planted in warm moist soil they should germinate and grow very quickly to maturity, leaving a period of about three weeks to enjoy a harvest. However, it is important to realize that plants that love heat such as beans will definitely slow down into September as the days get shorter and the temperatures get cooler. Carrots may also be started now for a last crop for winter storage. Frequent watering or covering the row with a board or bag may be necessary to encourage them to germinate if the weather turns hot.

Even if your garden is fully planted, there will be opportunities for additional crops. While it seems like we are still a long way away from a meal of fresh beans from the garden, nonetheless it is time to think about planting another bed with beans and beets and maybe carrots (perhaps where the lettuce and spinach have gone to seed and been pulled out). This is often termed “succession planting”. Rather than plant all of the beans at once, plant every two or three weeks, thus spreading out the harvest over an extended period. I will want to plant my last crop of beans about mid-July.

Some gardeners are also choosing to plant their potatoes late in an attempt to escape the ravages of the Colorado potato beetle. The adult beetle over-winters in the soil, emerges early in the spring and then lays eggs on newly growing potato plants. If you plant potatoes late, the beetles have hopefully moved on to your neighbours. You will probably want to plant a potato that matures in 60 days rather than a 90-day potato.

For plants that are frost tolerant and that prefer cooler growing conditions such as lettuce, radish, arugula and spinach, the growing season may well extent to the end of October — a whole four months of growing time left. Mid-August is probably the best opportunity to plant — they will grow very well as the days get shorter and cooler in the fall. The trick is to get them to germinate in warm soil. Frequent watering may be necessary. A trick that I have read about but not yet tried is to put pea seeds in a moist paper towel, put that in a baggie and then put it in the refrigerator. Check frequently, and when the seeds have germinated plant them in the garden and then stand back!

If you grow garlic, you may want to start thinking about removing the scapes round about the end of June. The flower/seed heads that grow on a long stem from the middle of the garlic plant are called “scapes”. They can be snapped off and then minced and used in cooking or made into pesto, as they have a strong garlic flavour. Connoisseurs recommend that they be used as soon after picking as possible as they become tough quite quickly.

There is virtually unanimous agreement that if the scapes are removed the garlic plant will put more energy into the bulb, which after all is the part of the plant that we want to harvest. Some gardeners pick the scape when it has one curl, others wait until it has two; I pick it whenever I get around to it!

The question of removing suckers from tomatoes does not enjoy the same unanimous support — in fact, it may instigate a spirited debate! And in general, there is a lot of discussion about the best way to grow tomatoes. Many people believe that suckers (the branches that develop where the leaves join the main stem) should be removed so the plant puts more energy into the fruit on the main stem and that lower leaves should be removed to help prevent blight. Generally, I do not sucker or prune my tomatoes. I tend to believe that it is a waste of time and may even contribute to sunscald as it reduces the foliage canopy. I believe that the key to healthy plants is to set down mulch under the plants and then have a cage to support each tomato. The mulch helps provide consistent moisture and the cage keeps the fruit off the ground. That being said, tomatoes are generally very vigorous and adaptable plants, and whatever has worked for you is the best way of doing it. Happy gardening!

Where to Find the June Humm - theHumm June 2020

We’re heading out to deliver the June issue of theHumm! Because things have changed a wee bit since the last time we did our distribution, here’s a list of the places we will be trying to deliver to. Hours and more information can be found at the links. Happy Humm hunting!

Almonte:

Dandelion Foods dandelionfoods.ca

Don’s Meat Market donsmeatmarke......

Lots of Time to Plant! - theHumm June 2020