Articles

Although lots of goodies still linger in my vegetable garden, it is September and maybe a good time to take stock of the good and the bad this season. Top on the doing real well list were zucchini, tomatoes and redroot.

Everyone already knows that half a zucchini plant will feed at least two large families and daughter Kris has already expounded on the fact that they gave me one each of 25 varieties of tomatoes to plant.

What surprised me about the tomatoes was that all but one variety survived. When the one quickly died I applied fungicide once in early June. Since then, nothing, and they are happier than happy. One point is that they were planted in a location that hasn’t seen a tomato in at least 20 years.

If you are not familiar with redroot, you are fortunate. As the name implies, this weed has a red root, oval leaves, grows quite tall and sets seed on each stem tip. Crowded, they may stay single stem, but can often imitate a well branched shrub.

Since I built my house 20 years ago in an old pasture, my garden had the same origin but has grown in size in recent years. It has been at least six or eight years since any weeds have gone to seed there, but the redroot persists. The garden is also surrounded by mowed yard. Last week, for at least the third time this summer, I have filled four wheel barrows of weeds.

Fighting weeds is a battle you should be able to win. In a flower bed where you dig little and mulch regularly several years should start to turn the tide. It is more difficult in the vegetable garden where we till often.

As a side note, the area where the tomatoes are planted was in grass for at least 20 years. Before that it was farmed and infested with a weedy member of the hibiscus family. Guess what? After an absence of at least 20 years they were back when I cultivated the area

The spring was difficult being cold and wet. Peas were planted thick, but I still had a mediocre stand. Few snap peas came up. Years ago someone suggested planting beans in late April rather than waiting for mid May. It always worked.

This year few came up so I replanted in early May. They didn’t come up either. Try three came in late May when it was turning hot and dry. Again few came up. I was ready for new seed but rigged up some drip irrigation and grabbed the same seed bag. In spite, I planted them about twice as thick as normal. We’ll have plenty of beans in the freezer for this winter.

Strawberries and last year’s planting of raspberries looked very promising until the heat and dry weather. Both did well ,but the season ended much quicker than it should have.

Cucumbers and melons, with some almost too late drip irrigation, gave about half their normal yield. Interestingly the first planting of lopes seem rejuvenated with the return of rain and are showing some baseball sized fruit. They are racing the clock as mid September temperatures usually kill the plants or at least destroy the taste.

There were other successes, too. Onions, red beets, spinach, and the cole crops did well. The peas planted August 1 look like some tasty September meals are coming. Asparagus planted this spring makes me anxious for next year and hopeful that it will bring less weather challenges. Weeds ,too.

Thinking of heading south to find warmer temperatures? Now? Not me, but many of our bird friends are getting restless. Migration has started. The pace will accelerate through September and early October before dribbling to a conclusion by late November or early December.

My goal here is to offer rather general information while acknowledging that each species moves on its own schedule. In reality, for many species the males, the females and this year’s young each have their own travel schedules.

One of the first hints of the coming migration is plainly visible with a glance at the overhead wires near open fields along almost any of our less traveled roads. The swallows are congregating. Careful observation might require more than the fingers of one hand to count the different swallow species you see. Usually three or four fingers are enough.

Lancaster County records suggest at least one of them will be gone by September first while small numbers of the others are occasionally spotted into early October.

Another group of early migrants are the shorebirds. These are usually found on mudflats near water but several, including the Killdeer, can be found in open meadows. One often favors grassy areas near airport runways. Unfortunately, the authorities aren’t real happy with scope toting birdwatchers near airport fences.

We don’t have an excess of mudflats in our immediate area ,but occasionally the water drops a little in the Octoraro Lake exposing some mud with grassy edges. Last Sunday I spotted six different shorebirds there. Others spotted more.

The one that got the most attention breeds in northern Canada and is common on the mudflats of coastal areas including nearby Delaware, but is seen infrequently this far inland. Seeing an American Avocet in Pennsylvania was a first for me. Seeing it in Delaware or further south happens often.

August signals the beginning of the organized hawk watches which continue deep into the fall. Hawk Mountain is the best known but there are at least two that are nearer home.

Raptor counts are still low but will accelerate quickly in the coming weeks. High counts of the eagles, vultures and different hawks peak on different dates.

If you have never spent a few hours at a hawk watch it might be a fun experience. If you go very often it might become addictive.

I haven’t mentioned songbirds, hummingbirds or waterfowl but I guess I can save that for later. We have a bit of time. My wife insists that we wait until after Christmas before we migrate.

     One of my earliest memories of my grandmother was her eating tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches. The tomatoes, still warm from the garden, the soft wheat bread, a dash of salt and a slather of mayo was just about her favorite supper from about July 1st until the frost killed all her tomato plants.  

Me, I am much more of a BLT girl, heavy on the B, light on the T. This summer however I am learning to appreciate tomatoes.   

Every year we grow about 20-25 varieties of tomato starts at the greenhouse and people always ask which one is the best. Since I only ever grew two kinds in my garden, an Italian plum for canning and ‘Celebrity’ for BLTs, my breadth of experience was not great. So we decided to find out. 

We planted one each of 25 different varieties of tomato plants in our garden the third week in May after the rain finally stopped. Dad dutifully bought heavy-gauge square wire cages, and even set up a drip line irrigation system. This was the most attention our tomato plants have ever gotten.

The plan was to have a tomato taste testing, a very scientific experiment, and decide which was the best. Maybe next year we wouldn’t have to grow so many choices.

In the three months since these monster tomato plants have been growing, I have really come to appreciate the different classifications of tomatoes. There are indeterminate, vining types that flower in stages, producing fruits for a long period of time. These plants can get quite large. Most tomatoes fall into this category.

The determinate, bush types reach a certain stage, flower at once and produce most of the fruit simultaneously. Most plum types or other canning tomatoes are this type. All the work can be done at once. Many patio tomatoes, also fit this description. These plants top out at less than 3 feet, and may not even need much support.

Another classification is heirloom versus hybrid. The heirloom types are open pollinated, meaning you can collect the seed at the end of the summer, and if you plant it the following spring, should have more or less the same tomatoes. They generally have prosaic names like ‘Brandywine’, ‘Mortgage Lifter’, ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Black Zebra’, ‘Arkansas Traveler’ or ‘Box Car Willie’ to name a few. These are generally thought to have better flavor, at the expense of a high yield, or disease resistance.

The hybrid types are a cross of two inbred lines. If you keep the seeds, the tomatoes won’t come true the following spring. These generally have been selected for superior production traits such as size, firmness, disease resistance, high yield. Some say at the expense of flavor.

Most tomatoes are between 70 and 90 day crops, meaning the time from when the seed is planted until when the first harvestable fruit is ripe. I started picking the ‘Early Girl’ and the ‘Jetsetter’ fruits in late June. By the second week of July we had tomatoes coming out of our ears.

One of the biggest challenges with tomatoes is blossom end rot. This is not actually a fungus, but rather a calcium deficiency. There are several products containing calcium solutions that you spray on the foliage. They recommend applying several times when the plants are flowering, and during wet or extremely dry weather to help prevent this problem. I didn’t do this. Last week I noticed a few tomatoes with rot on the bottom, and mixed some flowable calcium in with the irrigation water. This week the tomatoes showed no signs of rot. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn’t and they got better by themselves. Who knows?

What I do know is 25 tomato plants makes a LOT of tomatoes. Look for the results of our taste testing next week. Meanwhile here is one of my new favorite recipes.

RAINBOW TOMATO SALAD

Great for a potluck or a summer picnic

3-4 pounds of different kinds of tomatoes -small slices, diced or cherries cut in half
Salt
¼ cup White Basalmic vinegar or Red Wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
Fresh Mozzarella cheese balls drained, cut into bite sized pieces (optional)
Fresh Basil leaves 7-8 sliced thin, a sprig for garnish

Liberally sprinkle cut tomatoes with salt in a colander and let drain 15-20 minutes. This draws out the moisture and intensifies the flavor. Don’t worry, it won’t taste salty. Mix vinegar and oil, add shredded basil, and pour over tomatoes and mozzarella. Garnish with spring of basil. Eat at room temp or slightly chilled. Will keep in fridge 1-2 days, though best first day. This salad looks best with a mix of red and yellow tomatoes of different sizes.

     As a life-long farmer, avid gardener, serious bird-watcher and a retired hiker, I have always spent a lot of time out of doors. I’ll confess that a garden with too many plants, a lonely trail or a large sitting-rock in a shaded forest top my list of favorite places.
      I have long scoffed at those who proclaim the perils of the great outdoors. I salute all efforts to get people, especially the youth, outside. I love gardens, but have yet to see one that matches what occurs without man’s intervention.
      For me, frequent rambles through poison ivy have yielded no ill effects. If that pest ventures into one of my gardens, I pull it out before thinking about getting a glove. I’m blessed, but recently I have started to head for the soap and water after serious encounters. My thought is of my wife who has learned that I am a carrier.
      Someone told me that ticks are attracted to people with certain blood types. I don’t believe that, but the ticks seem to like me even more than the hospital did during my blood donor days. My blood type is unusual, but not rare.
On the tick front, my record for a single outing is 13. I’ll also admit that I have had multiple Lymes scares because of missed ticks.
      Unfazed by the above, I met my match several days ago. I made two bird watching jaunts to two locations in neighboring Chester County. I came home with a first, but nasty, case of chiggers. I was told about them in Texas several years ago, but had no idea that they lived anywhere near here.
      A friend, who is younger and wiser, told about getting them picking wine berries. The tasty red berries often grow along our back roads, in abandoned fields or along woods edge. She told me how chiggers bore into your skin and how to effectively smother them with clear nail polish.
      Medical sources on the internet suggest that the previous sentence contains old wives tales. Really, they are a near microscopic relative of the ticks. When they attach, they inject toxins into your skin. Brushing, scratching or bathing will almost certainly dislodge them. Unfortunately by the time you recognize you have a problem, it’s too late.
      Without any more details, let me assure you that you don’t want to encounter them. On both walks I was on established trails only venturing off to grab a few wine berries. Go figure, but meaningless, I’m sure.
      As soon as the welts go down I’m headed for the woods. Maybe sooner if it takes as long as some sources suggest, but this time I’ll forego my lackadaisical relationship with DEET. An application is supposed to last two to three hours. I guess my watch will need to be added to the things I look at when outside.

Many suggest that our world would look a lot different if we did not have beetles. Recent reading and long ago high school biology suggests that there are tens of thousands of different beetles in the world. Many are scavengers; some are beneficial while many are pests.

Unless you live in a world of concrete and pavement, mile a minute weed has almost certainly found you. The plant was introduced in York County many years ago as an ornamental vine with jaggy foliage and beautiful blue berries. For decades it was well behaved before going wildly invasive five or 10 years ago. Targeted releases are scheduled. Our farm was buried somewhere on the list of release sites. As we climbed the list a funny thing happened.

We were told to scout our infestations, and, to every one’s surprise, the beetles had already arrived on their own despite the fact that there have been only a few releases in southern Lancaster County to date.

That surprise reminded me of another successful use of a predator beetle. Some 15 years ago my tenant built a rather large cage or something covered with fine meshed wire to raise a beetle that ate purple loosestrife. At the time, purple loosestrife was the demon plant that was choking many wet areas.

Releases of that insect turned the tide on purple loosestrife with no apparent bad side effects. One can only hope that the work with mile a minute vine will follow the same road.

Shifting now to the beetles that I think are the worst garden pests. I am referring to the potato beetle and the one that loves beans.

One of my almost-retirement jobs is to provide homeward transportation to several employees. This gives me a perfect opportunity to view some gardens on an almost daily basis. I have been especially watching one patch of potatoes.

I am aware that this family shuns spraying, so I have been watching for the potato beetles. One day a month or so ago I noticed that the vines were covered with a white material. Finally, when I could still see no beetles several days ago, my curiosity got stronger than my ability to wait. so I asked.

To digress a bit, I grew potatoes commercially nearly 40 years ago and then potato beetles made the chemical companies happy.

The white stuff is diatomacous earth, the ground deposits of ancient seashells. There is a synthetic version. The principal is that when the beetle eats the leaves it ingests the material which lacerates their guts, and they are no more. Applications are made whenever beetles appear. To date there has been three applications, usually made in the morning when the foliage is damp.

One good one, one or two bad ones and one who’s benefit is still to be determined. That’s enough beetles for today. Diatomacous earth is headed for my bean patch and my eggplants too. I may even try a few potatoes next year.