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August 15, 2001

Always Something To Learn...
What a weekend!  Kevin and I finally had a chance to work in the yard on Saturday and Sunday because it was so pleasant outside.  We started our weekend off by attending the Flower Extravaganza sponsored by the K-State Horticulture Research & Extension (click here for photos).  Wow!  You should have seen all of those flowers!  The color was extraordinary!  We had a chance to talk to some very knowledgeable people and came away with some new tips and great growing information.  It certainly did motivate us to come home and get to work.  I am truly amazed how much there really is to know about gardening and that there are professionals doing tests and trials to create a better product for us as consumers.  As always it was great running into some of our readers.  I hope you enjoyed the experience as much as we did.  

I sure am enjoying the break from the heat.  Now if we could just get some rain.  It sounds as if our best chances will be on Wednesday and again on Thursday.  The unfortunate news is that they are calling for an inch or less.  We sure could use more but beggars can't be choosy.  

It is time to start thinking and planning for the fall garden.  Re-seeding the yard, planting perennials, top-dressing with compost and mulch, buying mums, asters and even pansies!  Visit our sponsors, Earl May, The Sweet Onion, Missouri Organic Recycling and don't forget about all of the special gift items you can purchase from The Kelly Gallery.  I am glad fall is around the corner.  I need a new season to pull me out of my gardening slump.  Enjoy the "cooler" weather for now because it may not last long.

~ Shelly  

Getting Ready For Winter...
Despite the August heat it's actually time for your trees and shrubs to start preparing for winter.  They've got some tough conditions to prepare for and it begins now.  The best thing you can do to help is lay off the fertilizer.  Fertilizing now will only stimulate late growth that won't have time to harden-off properly before winter.  Keep watering however.  You still want to keep them alive after all!  

Bitter Cucumbers Or Better Cumbers?
Wondering why your cucumbers are bitter?  Well, the bitter taste in cucumbers is the result of stress that can be caused by a number of factors including heredity, moisture, temperature, soil characteristics and disease.  Most often this occurs during the hot part of the summer or later in the growing season.  Sometimes these happen at the same time.  

Two compounds, cucurbitacins B and C, give rise to the bitter taste.  Though often only the stem end is affected, at times the entire fruit is bitter.  Also, most of the bitter taste is found in and just under the skin.  Bitter fruit is not the result of cucumbers cross pollinating with squash or melons.  These plants cannot cross pollinate with one another. 

Often newer varieties are less likely to become bitter than older ones.  Proper cultural care is also helpful.  Make sure your plants have the following.

  • Well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5.  Plenty of organic matter also helps. 
  • Mulch. A mulch helps conserve moisture and keep roots cool during hot, dry weather. 
  • Adequate water especially during the fruiting season. 
  • Disease and insect control.

Source

Compost Considerations...
We get a lot of e-mail about compost piles.  There's always a question or two about what should not be composted.  Here are a few don'ts when it comes to back yard composting:

  • Weeds - Many weed seeds can remain viable and germinate next year when the compost is used.
  • Pet Waste - While many animal manures make valuable soil amendments, parasites carried in dog and cat feces can cause diseases in humans.
  • Meat, Fish, Bones - These items will develop an awful odor, attracting rats and other unwanted critters.

Lush Lawns Are Looming...
Fall is just around the corner and there's no better time of year to renovate your lawn.  Take a hard look at your grass and decide just how much work you have ahead of you.

  • If you just need to thicken it up a round of over-seeding will probably do the trick.  To ensure good seed to soil contact you might want to make use of a verticutter.  This handy machine, which can be rented locally, makes nice vertical cuts in your existing lawn and soil.  Over this cutting you can broadcast your seeds.  Seeds should find their way into the soil where they will germinate nicely.
  • Every other year or so you should try core aerating your lawn.  Doing so will control and prevent problems such as thatch and soil compaction.  Core aerating machines will pull up numerous plugs of soil about the diameter of a pencil, making holes into the lawn.  Leave the plugs on the surface and work the lawn as usual.
  • If your lawn is so overridden with perennial weeds or you're ready to try a new type of grass altogether you will need to eliminate what's there with Round Up or other appropriate herbicide.  Once the grass and weeds are dead use a verticutter or roto-tiller to prepare the soil for new seed.

A note about weeds - If crabgrass is appearing in your lawn in mid to late summer, remember that it's an annual and will die-off as temperatures drop later this fall.  For perennial weeds it is best to delay herbicide applications until a newly planted lawn has been mowed at least 3 times.  This gives the new grass time to mature to a point where it is not so sensitive to the weed killer.

Helpful Harvest Hints...
Fruit and vegetable harvest can be confusing - especially if you're still new at it.  Here are some quick tips to help with a few local favorites:

  • Harvest onions after the tops yellow and fall, then cure them in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area.  The necks should be free of moisture when fully cured in about a week's time.
  • Harvest potatoes after the tops yellow and die.  Potatoes also need to be cured before storage.
  • Pick beans, tomatoes, peppers and squash often to encourage further production.
  • Harvest sweet corn when kernels are plump and ooze a milky juice when punctured with your fingernail. If the liquid is watery, you're too early; if the kernels are doughy, you're too late.
  • Harvest watermelon when several factors indicate ripeness: 
    • the underside ground spot turns from whitish to creamy yellow
    • the tendril closest to the melon turns brown and shrivels
    • the rind loses its gloss and appears dull
    • the melon produces a dull thud rather than a ringing sound when thumped.

Source

What's Hot On The Hotline...
Hotline editor Bill Latimer knows clematis.  This week we're fortunate to have him share a small part of his vast knowledge of these wonderful plants.  Simplified pruning, disease-resistant plants, and more can be found in this week's What's Hot on the Hotline... 

Final Feeding...
Savvygardeners growing warm-season grasses like zoysia should make their last application of fertilizer this week.  Fertilizing into fall can interfere with the all important hardening-off process that prepares the grass for winter.

Finally...
"Inebriate of Air - am I - 
And Debauchee of Dew - 
Reeling through endless summer days - 
From inns of Molten Blue."

~ Emily Dickinson, Poet, 1830-1886

 

 

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