Greeting to all from the Bluegrass State of Kentucky.



Many of you have been busy planting and looking forward to harvesting crops. Nothing can compare to the taste of fresh vegetables and herbs. I hope that the tips below will help make your harvesting a bit easier and provide you with a bountiful supply.

HERBS

Most herbs need no fertilizer and little water, so water only during prolonged dry spells. Avoid mulching herbs as mulch keeps the soil too moist. If fungus develops on your herbs during wet weather, cut them back to encourage healthy new growth.

The best time to harvest most herbs is just before flowering, when the leaves contain the maximum essential oils. Cut herbs early on a sunny day.

Comfrey improves soil as it grows! Dwarf English comfrey is especially good. The plants have thick, deep roots that are able to penetrate 6 to 10 feet down, breaking up the worst soils. For a very adaptable ground cover that is vigorous in spreading, try St. John's Wort or Aaron's Beard. It has striking yellow flowers, will live in dry soil, and needs little or no care.

Comfrey makes a great addition to the compost pile. Its succulent, green leaves are rich in nitrogen that aids in the break down of dry material in the compost pile

Cut the first flowers of lavender to encourage a second crop. Also, try rubbing your hands with lavender leaves to remove strong odors, such as garlic or onion. Mulching herbs during hot weather protects the plant roots and helps keep them healthy. Perennial herbs also need mulch in the fall for protection from winter thaws and freezing.

Savory can be used as a salt substitute in vegetable dishes.

One way to preserve herbs is to freeze them in water. Chop the herbs into an ice-cube tray, cover them with water, and freeze. Store the cubes in plastic bags in the freezer. Add these handy cubes as you prepare soup or other dishes.

Many herbs self sow if the flowers are not removed. Dill and sage produce seeds that fall around the parent plant and come up as volunteers the following spring.

Pot up chives, parsley, and other herbs, and bring into the house to extend the growing season.

To insure a good crop of big bulbs next fall, plant garlic cloves this fall. Be sure to cover the garlic plot with a layer of organic mulch.

Garlic is harvested when the tops die down. To prepare garlic for long term storage, cure the bulbs for four to six weeks in a warm, dry, shady location where there is good air circulation. Pile bulbs no more than two to three deep. After curing, store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated spot.

Keep basil, parsley, mint, sage, balm, and borage producing by pinching out the seed pods. Herbs can be used fresh, frozen, or dried. Wait until the dew has dried to cut a few stems, tie a string around this little bouquet, and hang in a cool, dry place until completely dry. Crumble and place in a jar for use during the winter.

Plant lavender seeds outside in the fall. The seedlings will appear in early spring.

Herbs can be dried quickly in a microwave oven. Place them between two paper towels, and heat for one minute. Remove them from the oven, let cool, then test to see if the leaves are crisp. If not, return them to the oven for a few more seconds. Store in jars in a dark place so they will keep their color and flavor.

A plant or two of parsley taken from the garden and potted up will do well all winter if watered and set in a sunny window. Chives, sage, and thyme also can be maintained in this manner.



VEGETABLES

Apply fish emulsion when pepper plants begin to bloom.

You can begin to harvest some of your string beans now. They will have a fuller flavor when they are bigger but the smaller beans are quite nice too.

Harvest broccoli before the buds begin to loosen and the yellow flowers begin to appear.

Spread a couple of inches of compost over asparagus beds. Remember to keep the soil moist.

Harvest corn when the husk fits tightly around the ear.

In most cases, choose early maturing vegetables for the fall garden. They can be planted after the early summer vegetables have been harvested and still be ready to pick before freezing weather.

An eggplant is ready to harvest when the fruit is fully colored and has achieved the mature size for the variety. Seed should be white, and the tissue firm. If the seeds are brown and hard, the fruit is past eating quality, so harvest the next fruit sooner.

The heat of summer makes radishes turn very hot and pithy. Try the European radish. It remains sweet and solid, not pithy. Tops are very tall, averaging 12 inches in length.

Stop vine crops from taking over your garden and lawn by pinching off the fuzzy growing tips. This also directs the plant's energy into ripening fruit rather than producing more vine.

The first step in escaping major pest problems in the garden is to choose carefully the crops you plant. Plant resistant varieties and use pest-free stocks. Most herbs are essentially pest free, as are beet, chard, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, radish, and pea. Mustard, spinach, and sweet potato have few and minor problems.

Seeds from mature or over mature peppers have higher viability and faster germination than do seeds from unripe peppers. While it is possible to obtain viable seed from peppers harvested while green by allowing them to ripen (several weeks to two months) before removing seeds, it is preferable to collect ripe or overripe peppers when harvesting for seed.

Before storing root crops like carrots and beets, cut off the green tops. The leaves transpire pulling moisture out of the roots, thus drying them out.

Watering properly is the key to conserving water in the heat of summer. One inch per week applied at one time will wet the soil 6 to 8 inches deep and insure good yield from your mature crops. Two inches of organic mulch will cool the soil and reduce surface evaporation of water.

If you are harvesting and must leave your produce outdoors for several hours, provide some shade to keep the fresh foods succulent and reduce the conversion of sugars to starch.

If going on vacation this month, be sure to harvest all your vegetables and then arrange for someone to pick fast-maturing crops, such as squash and okra; otherwise, they will become over mature and stop producing.

Pinch off onion flower buds from the top of the plant to direct all of the plant's energy into the developing bulb instead of seed production.

Roots of vine crops, like cucumbers and melons, usually extend as far as the vines and sometimes farther when grown in friable garden soil. Use caution when cultivating around these crops.

Harvest winter squash and pumpkins by cutting with 2 or 3 inches of stem; they'll keep better in storage that way than if stemless.

Mound soil over the lateral or brace roots of corn stalks for extra support against strong winds.

When cantaloupes reach softball size, place them on an inverted coffee can to increase the air circulation and sunlight they receive. Puncture drainage holes on the can top to prevent fruit rot.

An old-time trick for germinating seeds in mid-summer is to plant the seeds, water them well, and then place a board over the row until the sprouts just reach the soil surface. At that time, remove the board.

Plant a winter cover crop to enrich your garden soil. Annual rye, red clover, and hairy vetch are good choices.

A cover crop decreases erosion of the soil during the winter, adds organic material when it is incorporated in the spring, improves soil and porosity, and adds valuable nutrients. Winter cover crops can be planted as early as August 1, but should not be planted any later than November 1.

Where you have fall crops growing, you can sow cover crop seed between rows a month or less before expected harvest. This way the cover crop gets a good start, but will not interfere with vegetable plant growth.

Pick summer squash and zucchini every day or two to keep the plants producing.

Remove old plants that have stopped producing to eliminate shelters for insects and disease organisms.

Potatoes continue to grow as long as the tops are green. Dig only as many as you need for immediate use. The tubers will keep better in the ground than in a warm, dry home.

The last, fall, garden vegetables should be planted in August . For hardy crops like cabbage, cauliflower, and collards, count back from your average first frost date the number of days the particular variety requires to mature and plant at that time. For half-hardy crops like beets and carrots, allow an additional week. For tender crops like beans and sweet corn, allow an extra two weeks to be sure an early frost does not kill your vegetables before they mature.

Snap bean, tomato, and pepper flowers may fail to develop fruit when daytime temperatures rise above 90 degrees F.

It's not too late to plant a fall garden. Lettuce, radishes, spinach, turnip, and peas can be started from seed. Chinese cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower transplants will still have time to produce a good harvest. Be extra diligent in watching for pests on these crops.

Here is a quick-and-easy method for reducing your slug population, especially if you are squeamish about the little devils: put out squares of cardboard in your garden each night. In the morning, pick them up, and if there are any slugs clinging to the underside, discard the whole square in a trash bag. The number and size of the squares depend on the size of your garden and how heavy the infestation of slugs. No need for the messy and tedious process of hand picking each one.

Water the garden early in the day so the foliage dries before night. Wet foliage at night increases susceptibility to fungus diseases

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As they say here in Kentucky....."Ain't nothing like a fried green tomato" To fry green tomatoes, slice, dip in flour (or flour and cornmeal), sprinkle with salt, and fry in a little butter until tender.

Until next month.....keep smiling and reach for the stars