The BUFCO Bulletin, August 2018

Sugar snap peas, a brief highlight of late June to mid-July, are now a distant dream but both bush beans and pole beans should be going strong and providing a welcome and crunchy substitute. Tomatoes and peppers are ripening on the vine and more than a few eggplants, okra and a plethora of cucumbers are filling our harvest baskets to overflowing. Garlic should be fully harvested and curing by now which opens up a whole new patch of soil in which to seed cold hardy crops that can be harvested well into November and even December with proper frost protection like hoop tunnels or cold frames. Our favorite cold hardy crops to seed now are spinach, kale, chard, lettuce, carrots, beets and Asian greens like Pak Choi, Tatsoi and Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli). Choose varieties with a short number of days to maturity.

Not surprisingly, we’ve observed that this hot, dry summer has yielded some fruits and vegetables that are somewhat smaller and a little less juicy than in wetter seasons and unfortunately we’ve also had a few other issues to deal with…

Powdery mildew on a
tomato leaf

Powdery Mildew

If you see white, powdery splotches and dots appearing on either side of your tomato, squash, zucchini, or rosemary leaves, your garden may be affected by powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is an airborne fungal disease that has been particularly prolific this year thanks to the dry but hot and humid weather we had. If ignored, the powdery dots become larger and thicker and then can spread to other plants.

If you catch powdery mildew in its early stages, simply prune the affected leaves and the plant should keep producing. To prevent the further spread of disease, keep pruning and throw all affected leaves in a yard waste bag (not your compost!) and wash all the tools, gloves and tomato spirals in soapy water.

We’ve tried a few different organic treatments with very little success. If the disease spreads to the stems, you may be better off removing the entire plant to keep it from spreading to other plants. Try not to mourn the loss of a failing crop. Nothing lasts forever and if you have planted a garden rich in diversity then you will have other tasty treats to satisfy your hunger.

Squash Vine Borer Revisted

In our last newsletter we told you about our attempt to prevent squash vine borer larvae from feeding on our zucchini plants by wrapping their stems in tin foil. Well, we have observed that it has delayed but not fully prevented the larvae from finding their way into the plant further up the stem. Prevention didn’t work so now we turn to extraction. Check out this little video we put together that shows how to slit open the stem and remove the larvae, while hopefully keeping the plant alive. Warning: we love bugs, but you might find the video a bit disturbing.

Aphids

Aphids on a kohlrabi leaf

Aphids, like people, come in a variety of colours (white, black, grey, green, red, yellow) and aphids, like people, love eating your veggies.

Unlike (most) people, aphids are gross! These little sap sucking insects can be found in clusters on or under plant leaves and they multiply quickly. That’s good news for carnivorous ladybug larvae who gobble them up in large numbers but not so good for your plants. Inspect twisted or deformed leaves and you will likely find aphids. To prevent further damage, simply hose down the affected leaves with a steady stream of water or put on your gardening gloves and squish ‘em by hand. (Not a choice for the faint of heart.) Continue to inspect daily until the aphid population is under control.

Squirrels and Raccoons

One of the most consistent questions we get asked is what do we do to protect our precious produce from these cute but voracious critters. We like to use our critter barriers for shorter plants, but indeterminate tomatoes can grow to 8 feet tall. While we’ve seen a variety of different cage designs our best remedy is to pick tomatoes just as they are starting to change colour but before they fully ripen. Just place them on a window sill or in a brown paper bag and you’ll soon be eating perfectly ripe, unscathed tomatoes that taste just as delicious as if they were ripened on the vine. Of course, this strategy does not work for all fruits and veggies; here's a list of what you can and can't ripen off the vine. Another reason to harvest prematurely: tomatoes have a tendency to split or crack under inconsistent watering (ie. a drought followed by a heavy rain).