Spraying
A cloudy day, which was nice for a change and good for spraying. L 79F and H 88F. I thought there was only a slight chance of rain, so I sprayed Captain Jack’s organic Copper Fungicide on just about everything. As it is about this time the humidity cranks up and the popup summer showers create the diseases like septoria, early blight, or powdery mildew. The only plants I didn’t spray were the basil. I will spray them with a light baking soda spray of 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp vegetable oil in 1 gallon of water. This is enough to disrupt the leaf pH.
Sammy’s Plot
I was way wrong about Sammy’s tomatoes and the other veggies I planted there. There was no hope of saving the tomatoes, and the eggplants, peppers, and basils need some TLC. I didn’t realize Sammy wasn’t maintaining it by weeding, and in order to see the veggies I had to weed‑whack a path just to get to them. Of course, I weed‑whacked and fixed things. He can still pick some of the tomatoes, but they are too diseased to save. I told Sammy that if I can get help getting my lawn mower onto my truck, I will mow it and get it ready for a few more tomatoes.
Learning Plot
I also sprayed all the plants in the Learning Plot and noticed a few more seeds germinating—cucumbers and watermelon. I am concerned that I don’t see any yellow or zucchini squash germinating and it will be a week tomorrow. I might have to pop a few more seeds in each mound again. Since my weed‑whacker was charged, I decided to quickly weed‑whack it so it doesn’t get out of hand again.
I forgot to give the 8‑24‑24 to the plants in the Learning Plot. Yes, I know this is not organic and I had it on hand, and I am moving toward being more natural or Amish, but it takes time and I see no reason not to use something the plants need right now.
Garden Thief
I talked to another new gardener that I gave some seed to use, and she told me she was discouraged and I asked why. This was the gardener that I relocated as her other plot would always flood and everything drowned except for the few plants of corn. She was still tending the corn as it was almost ready and was going to pick it today, but another person spotted it and picked all the ears of corn. The garden thief strikes again.
I am suspicious of this black Toyota Camry, because several weeks ago the driver asked me if I had any corn for sale. I told him I’m not growing corn. I didn’t think quickly enough to take a picture of his license plate, and he was definitely not a gardener here. I keep seeing him — or at least the same Toyota — early in the morning, driving very slowly around the gardens. When you’re out here almost every day, you get to know the regular vehicles that belong to gardeners or birders, and this one doesn’t fit.
My Garden Work
In my gardens I started to clean up the bed that had the tomatoes in it to get it ready for new tomatoes. Since I’m going to use my Sears Craftsman front‑tine tiller, I wanted everything out that I could remove so tilling would be easier. I dug up and wrapped the four marigolds in the landscape fabric that I pulled out of the bottom of the raised bed several weeks ago, and stored the plants in the shade under my spinning composters. Tomorrow I will rake the mulch off and weed the areas around where the tomatoes were.
Once I finished with the marigolds, I needed to pick because it was about time to go. I picked the April tomatoes and they are just about played out, but the okra is coming on, the cucumbers are producing, I picked my first zucchini, and I got green beans. I forgot again to pick dill — I must not forget tomorrow. I did remember to give the ginger some blood meal, so I can finally get that off my list.
Nancy’s To‑Do List
- Pick dill tomorrow
- Prep fall tomato holes—B40, PP & RRR
- Clean and consolidate cage storage
- Rake mulch off old tomato bed
- Weed tomato bed in PP
- Pop a few more yellow squash and zucchini seeds in LP
- Mow Sammy’s plot once mower is loaded
- Spray basil with baking soda mix
- Harden the tomatoes for planting
Weekly Outlook & Tomato Timing
Looking at the week ahead, I see a lot of chances for rain. The thing about the rain is they sometimes underestimate it — like the other day when we got 1½ inches instead of 1/10. My goal is to get the tomatoes planted by the 15th, since most of them are 65–75 days to maturity. And if I end up harvesting green tomatoes, I already have a plan for those — who doesn’t like fried green tomatoes or maybe a chow‑chow.
So yes, I’m a little late getting the tomatoes in, but everything will work out just fine. No need to stress about it.