Hello,
This week we will take stock of your early-summer garden.
Flowers are starting to form on your tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumber and zucchini are starting to flower. If you still have floating a floating row cover protecting your cucumbers and squash, it is time to remove it to let the insects in to pollinate. It is a great time to add some extra compost to give these plants a boost. You can remove the first couple of flowers to let these plants get a little bigger before they start producing.
The tomatoes need to be trained up the trellis, wrap the top of the tomato plants around the trellis string. Also remove the suckers found between the leaf and the central stem to keep your tomato plants neat and tidy. If your tomatoes have not grown at all since they were planted, please let me know and we will come by and take a look.
If you are a member from last year and have garlic planted in your garden you will have some nice round garlic scapes growing. It is important to remove these scapes before the flower develops so that the garlic plant’s energy will be focused on developing a big head. Snap the scapes off with your fingers just above the leaves. Here are some great ideas of how to eat your scapes:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/06/the-crisper-whisperer-what-to…
If you still have lettuce in your garden, you should harvest it this week. It is starting to bolt because of the heat. Also your squash should be getting to a size where it will need the extra space.
Make sure to keep your garden weeded and well watered even with the frequent rain the sunny days will dry out the soil quickly and can stress out your vegetables and leave them vulnerable to pests and disease. If you let weeds get big, they can compete with your vegetables for valuable resources, water and nutrients. If the outer leaves of your cabbage or broccoli are getting too big for their squares, remove them so that your other plants are not shaded out.
If your herb and flower garden is getting over grown, you may want to root around and remove any plants that are not getting enough sun and move them to somewhere else in your yard, or in a pot. If you want to have more of a particular herb, there is still time to get some in a garden centre to supplement what you have in your own garden.
For more details, take a look at my early-summer gardening video:
Best,
Tereska Gesing