Gardening Green with Doug
Tips on When to Pick The Fruits of Our Labor
By Doug Oster
August 9, 2024
Gardeners look at rain differently than “normal” people. As television weather forecasters warn about a washed-out weekend, gardeners delight in the prospect of a slow soaking rain. It’s hard to explain the relief rain brings after a long, hot dry spell. With two thirds of the summer gone, this is a time to enjoy the fruits of our labor and that’s best done when the garden has enjoyed on and off rain for a week or two.
Whether it’s cutting a bouquet of zinnias or picking deep red tomatoes, morning is the best time to harvest. This is when the plants are at their highest moisture content. Most tomatoes are best picked when completely ripe for the best flavor. Try to wait until the fruit changes to its deepest color and softens a bit. For peppers, leave them on the plant until they reach their final color. Hot peppers are at their fiery best and sweet peppers have their best flavor after changing color.
Some vegetables like cucumbers, zucchini, beans and others are fine to pick when smaller and not mature. Don’t let them stay on the vine too long, as they will get tough or stringy. One problem that has plagued gardeners this season is blossom end rot on tomatoes and peppers. A brown or black lesion forms on the bottom of the fruit. Even though it’s caused by a calcium deficiency, the problem is actually a watering issue. Both plants need evenly moist soil to uptake the calcium, which is usually in the soil or planting mix. When the soil dries out then is soaked by a thunderstorm and the cycle is repeated, blossom end rot rears its ugly head. Some varieties are prone to the issue, often times plum or sauce tomatoes have the problem.
Since blossom end rot is related to watering, container tomatoes often fall victim to the issue, especially if grown in pots smaller than 15 gallons. A five-gallon bucket seems like the perfect size when a tiny tomato seedling is planted, but it doesn’t take long for the root system to fill the pot, making it nearly impossible to give the tomato enough water. Sometimes fruit will cure itself when the plant is given the water needed and fruit higher up on the plant might not be affected when moisture levels are correct.
Another rain related problems for tomatoes is early blight and septoria leaf spot, both are fungal diseases that rarely kill the tomato, but slows down production and often defoliates the plant. Tomatoes benefit from foliage, as it protects the fruit from sunscald. The diseases start early in the season when cold rain splashes soil borne fungal spores onto the lower leaves of the plant. When the foliage stays wet for 24 hours or longer, those fungal spores enter the plant’s system.
When things get humid, the diseases manifest themselves, turning leaves yellow with brown spots, starting on the bottom and working upward. There are cultural practices, done in the spring that can help prevent the disease, but that ship has sailed.
Things to do now include removing infected foliage and treating the plant with an organic fungicide like Revitalize from Bonide. Fungal diseases are always better dealt with before seeing signs of damage. If a a rose always gets black spot, or a lilac has powdery mildew every year, use an organic fungicide when the plant leafs out and continue applications as per label instructions.
The best water to use when things get dry in the garden is rainwater, which can me collected from a roof into rain barrels. The Pennsylvania Resources Council offers a class to teach homeowners how to use a rain barrel. Students can purchase a rain barrel through the organization. Not only will you be using the best water for your plants, but you’ll also be helping to keep storm water out of the rivers.
As nights get cooler and days get shorter, vegetable gardeners can start planting for a late summer/early fall harvest. Peas are one of the first seeds planted early in spring. They love cool weather but need to be started soon to reach fruition before a hard frost. The seeds germinate quickly in the warm soil and grow fast. ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II’ is a favorite snow pea, the seeds are readily available at local nurseries. Other seeds to sow now include lettuce, radish, spinach, cilantro, arugula, beets, Swiss chard and many others. Rain keeps the garden going strong, but cause problems when there’s too much or too little.
That’s just what gardening is all about.
Check Out Doug’s Videos
Do me a favor and watch this video about my visit to Randyland. It’s one of Pittsburgh’s hidden treasures. Randy Gilson has created a colorful, eclectic, artistic garden in Pittsburgh’s Mexican War Streets that people visit from all over the world.
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