Gardening in July
July is usually a good month for gardeners, with home-grown tomatoes,
sweet corn, peaches and summer apples for main course items. Watering
can be a major effort in continuing the garden and the following items
should also be considered:
Enjoy home grown sweet corn. In general, the shorter the time interval
from field to table, the better the flavor. Early season varieties are
good, but not as good as the mid-season varieties yet to come. Some
of the new sweet gene corns are excellent. Home gardeners have time
to make another planting or two for fall harvest some 70 days later.
Local growers have corn for sale if yours fails to develop.
Side dress long season vegetable crops such as tomatoes, peppers and
cucumbers with nitrogen (34-0-0 or other formulations) at the rate of
one pound per 100 feet of row. Keep the fertilizer off the foliage.
Irrigate or cultivate immediately following the treatment.
Cabbage is maturing and it will store in the garden for a week or two.
Heat splitting can be reduced by using a spade to cut roots on two sides
of the plant. This reduces water uptake from rain or irrigation.
Cabbage worms are most effectively controlled by using Bacillus
thuringiensis, a non- toxic bacterial spray sold as Dipel and Thuricide.
Use according to directions on the package.
Tomatoes may show early blight and blossom-end rot. Early blight is
when the lower leaves show spotting, turn yellow and drop off. Spray
or dust with tomato fungicides. Blossom-end rot infections appear on
the bottom of the fruit when ripening. Mulching and watering is the
best control.
Keep trees, plants and gardens watered as needed. Apply enough water
to soak into the root zone rather than very light waterings. Remember,
an inch of water normally moistens six inches of soil and it takes 0.6
gallons of water per square foot to equal an inch of rain.
Cucumber vine wilt this year is generally from bacterial wilt. This
disease is carried in the bodies of cucumber beetles and the plants
are inoculated when the beetles feed on the cucumber plants. Kill the
beetles before they feed by application of carbaryl on a five day interval
and the wilt will be prevented.
Make another planting of cucumbers, summer squash and snap beans early
in the month. Seed the fall garden crops of beans, broccoli, cabbage,
spinach and turnips late in the month.
Harvest onions when growth has stopped and tops have fallen over. Begin
the curing process by undercutting the bulbs and leaving them lay for
24-48 hours. Then tie in bundles of 10-15 onions and cure by hanging
in a dry sheltered area.
Source: David Robson, Horticulture, University of Illlinois
July
1999
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