Growing a peck of peppers doesn’t appeal only to guys named Peter. Many gardeners grow these popular nightshades every year.

Whether you prefer the cool, juicy crunch of a sweet bell pepper or the face-melting heat of hot peppers, you’ve likely come across a few specimens with strange woody scars across their surface – pepper corking.

Let’s discuss this gardening phenomenon.

One thing we gardeners know is that vegetables can get a little funky.

Unlike the picture-perfect produce in your local supermarket, growing food at home often means you run into some strange characters. Whether it’s the carrot that decided to split in two and grow entwined around each other, cat-faced heirloom tomatoes or the cucumber that grew sandwiched between the garden fence and my gardening box – veggies can start to look downright weird.

So, it’s no wonder people are taken aback by the woody lines they find on their peppers.

If you grow jalapenos, it’s highly likely you’ve picked your fair share of corked peppers.

“What on earth happened?”

Well, they grew.

What is Pepper Corking

No, there isn’t a strange garden pest at work. The cork-like striations that show up on peppers are stretch marks. Yup, it’s as simple as that.

When the conditions are right, the inside of the pepper grows much faster than the outer skin. Eventually, the outer skin tears and then heals over in a woody scab known as corking. This happens over and over all over the surface of the pepper.

The same thing happens with tomatoes.

Tomatoes are thin-skinned by comparison, whereas peppers can take this wear and tear and keep right on growing.  

Sometimes, you’ll notice pepper corking in concentric circles around the stem, but most of the time, it presents as tiny vertical lines covering the pepper.  

What Causes Pepper Corking

Corked peppers look a bit rough, almost as if they didn’t get enough water, but it’s the opposite that causes corking. Too much water sends growing peppers into overdrive, and before you know it, that outer skin is stretched tight. Peppers have specific water needs and prefer the soil to dry out between waterings.

Most of the time, pepper corking happens after heavy periods of rain.

If you have a watering setup where you’re watering the entire garden all at once, rather than one section at a time, such as with a soaker hose or drip irrigation, you’ll likely find that corking is more likely to occur.

Corking can even happen once the pepper is picked. Although, this is less common. If picked peppers are stored somewhere warm and humid, they can experience corking.

What Varieties are More Susceptible to Corking

By far, corking is most often seen in jalapenos. There even seems to be a devoted following of corked jalapeno lovers who eagerly search for these woody prizes. (More on that later.)

Related Reading: Quick & Easy Spicy Honey & Honey-Fermented Jalapenos

You’re more likely to see corking on hot peppers. Their smaller size means they’re more likely to experience the growth spurts that lead to corking.

However, given the right conditions, even sweet peppers sometimes experience corking. Usually, this happens when you get a long, dry, hot stretch followed by several days of heavy rain. The resulting growth spurt can cause the outer skin of your sweet peppers to stretch and crack, leaving them with a few lines.

Corking in sweet peppers is usually less pronounced.

Are Corked Peppers Safe to Eat?

The first time you encounter one of those funny-looking peppers in your garden, you may wonder if it’s even safe to eat. The answer is a resounding yes. Not only are corked peppers safe to eat, but it has no effect on the flavor.  

Corked Peppers = Hotter Peppers

If you’re into hot peppers, you’ve probably heard that corking makes chili peppers hotter. It’s for this reason that some people seek out corking on hot peppers. This is another one of those popular myths that fly around the internet but hold no weight scientifically.

It’s a case of correlation, not causation.

As hot peppers mature and grow larger, they create more capsaicin. More mature peppers are more likely to have experienced the kind of growth spurt that leads to corking.

While the corking isn’t the reason a pepper is hotter, it can still be a pretty good indicator of some serious heat if Peter is looking to pick the hottest peck of peppers. Peppers that stay on the plant longer will usually end up with quite a bit of corking.

Related Reading: 10 Hot Peppers You Need to Grow If You Love to Cook Spicy Food

How to Prevent Pepper Corking

If woody peppers aren’t your thing, there are a few things you can do to prevent corking.

Water your plants less frequently. This only works if you’re the one doing the watering. If Mother Nature is pouring it on by the bucketload, there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it.

Actually, there is something you can do.

Pick a peck of peppers.

Pick your peppers often. Picking peppers when they’re young and on the smaller side means they’re not hanging out waiting for one of those crazy growth spurts. Harvesting more often also encourages the plant to put more energy into making more new peppers, which we can all agree is a good thing.

But in the end, corking doesn’t affect the flavor or heat of peppers, only their appearance. So whether or not you try to prevent corking, you’ll still end up with some tasty peppers.

The post Pepper Corking – What You Need to Know About Woody Lines on Peppers appeared first on Rural Sprout.

When we think of gardening, leafy greens with vibrant flowers and delectable fruit are usually what come to mind. Most herbaceous plants have the typical care requirements of lots of sunshine, fertile soil, and good drainage to take root and give us that show.

Mushrooms are unlike traditional plants, an oddball distant cousin that doesn’t play by the same rules. They are not bound by photosynthesis for energy; instead, they feast on decay. Rather than rich soil, they prefer fresh and unrotted materials as their growing medium. And while most mushrooms like a bit of sunshine, they will positively thrive in damp shade.

Introducing us to a world beneath our feet, where unseen networks and communications bring the forest to life, mushrooms are a wonderfully weird addition to any permaculture setup.

If you’re looking to dip your toe in fungiculture, wine cap mushrooms are an excellent beginner-friendly mushroom to grow.

Stropharia rugosoannulata is a distinctive agaric mushroom that’s easy to recognize for its white stalks with a wrinkled ring and reddish-purple to burgundy caps.

So large and prolific are wine caps that they also go by the names garden giant, king stropharia, and – fittingly – Godzilla mushroom.

Wine cap mushrooms naturally grow in the forest understory, an edible ground cover that loves the shade. As such, wine caps are a delicacy you won’t see at your grocery store. Although you might chance upon them at farmers’ markets and specialty shops, the most reliable way to have wine caps is to grow them yourself.

5 Reasons to Grow Wine Cap Mushrooms in Your Garden

1. Wine cap mushrooms are delicious and nutritious

It’s well worth your while to grow wine caps and experience their pleasant and earthy taste, hinting of nuttiness with subtle notes of wine. Texture-wise, immature wine caps are delicate and tender, and mature ones are firm and a little meaty.

A versatile culinary mushroom, the flavor wine caps contribute is complex but not overly imposing. Wine caps take on the flavors of the foods they are cooked in while imparting their own savory richness to the dish. Toss them in stir-fries, sautés, soups, and any recipe that includes mushrooms on the ingredient list.

Wine caps are tasty, and they’re good for you, too. A rich source of fiber, protein, and amino acids, wine cap mushrooms are also chock-full of calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, and magnesium. They are a great source of B vitamins – specifically B2, B5, B6, B9, and B12.

2. Wine caps are easy to grow and very hardy

Wine cap mushrooms are native to the temperate regions of the world, most commonly in North America and Europe. They prefer habitats filled with a mix of softwood and hardwood trees, both coniferous and deciduous. As saprophytic fungi, wine caps live on fallen branches, leaf litter, and other organic debris – all things that are easy enough to source around the ol’ homestead.

When winter comes, the mushroom-fruiting bodies die back. But the mycelium – the mass of branching, thread-like filaments – lives on underground. A perennial forever food of a different sort, wine caps will return year after year in hardiness zones 4 through 8.

All wine caps need to flourish is a bit of shade, plenty of moisture, and lots of carbon-rich food.

3. Wine cap is an exceptional performer

There’s good reason wine caps are dubbed Godzilla mushrooms – and it’s meant in the best possible way!

Wine cap mushrooms can grow to gigantic proportions, reaching up to 8 inches tall with caps 12 inches across. One large wine cap mushroom may weigh as much as 3 pounds.

Once the mycelium is established, wine caps will provide a lot of food from summer to fall, even in small beds.

As wanderers, wine caps tend to pop up in other shaded and woodsy parts of the garden to give you a surprise harvest here and there.

4. Wine cap mushrooms enrich the soil

Like all saprotrophs, wine caps are decomposers that feed on dead and decaying organic matter. As they work their way through woody debris, the nutrients bound within are released and returned to the earth.

Along with improved soil fertility, wine caps benefit soil structure as well. Below the surface, the mycelium, with its myriad hair-like structures, pushes through the soil to create channels for air and water. Better porosity means improved moisture retention, drainage, and oxygen flow – and that makes plants happy.

Mushroom mycelium is full of mystery, but we are starting to grasp the vital role it plays in healthy soil ecosystems. The massive underground web of fungal filaments crosses vast distances and is interwoven into the roots of plants. In this way, the mycelium connects individual plants together, allowing them to communicate and transmit water, carbon, nitrogen, and minerals across the entire network.

An example of the complex interconnectedness is “mother trees”, so tall that they receive sunlight above the forest canopy. Flowing with sugary energy, these old-growth trees use the mycorrhizal network to send sugars down to small saplings struggling to grow in deep shade. By sharing its resources, big trees keep the little ones alive.   

So we, too, can harness the ancient wisdom of the forest through homegrown mycelium cultivation. And growing wine cap mushrooms can bring us a little closer to the ideal of a self-sustaining and interconnected permaculture garden.

5. Wine cap mushrooms are an earthly delight

In a garden filled with herbaceous plants and woody shrubs and trees, a mound of adorable toadstools will add another layer of dimension to your outdoor space.

The unique burgundy-topped mushrooms are an attractive ground cover, especially eye-catching among the greenery. The rounded purplish-red caps are slightly rough and scaly, with smooth white stalks.

As intriguing fungal sculptures, wine caps break up the usual scheme of color, texture, and form. Hulking but low-growing, they are visually striking and bring a welcome change to the surrounding scene.

Beyond its curious looks, watching wine caps grow is a fascinating thing to see. There’s no better proof that your soil is good and healthy as when wine cap mushrooms arise from the substrate. They offer a splendid visual reminder of the positive effect the mycelium below the surface is having on your garden.

Where to Buy Wine Cap Mushroom Spawn

The first step toward growing your own wine cap mushroom patch is to purchase sawdust spawn.

Typically sold in 2.5 or 5.5-pound weights, these kits contain pasteurized sawdust inoculated with wine cap mycelium. When crumbled over a garden bed, a 5.5-pound kit will cover up to 50 square feet of space.

You can find wine cap mushroom spawn for sale at these online retailers:

• Better Fungi @ Amazon
• Field & Forest
• North Spore
• Silver Tree Forest
• Gardener’s Supply

Because wine caps return year after year, you’ll only need to purchase the spawn once. When the mycelium has fully colonized the substrate after a growing season or two, you can take a few scoops to transplant it around to other parts of your garden if you wish. Wine caps are vigorous and grow so readily that dropping the butts of the mushroom stem on mulch is often enough to seed a whole new colony.

Once you’ve received your spawn, it’s best to start the grow as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep the mushroom kit in the fridge until it’s time to “plant”.

When to Plant Wine Cap Mushrooms

Wine cap sawdust spawn can be spread anytime during the warm months, from spring to fall.

For fall plantings, wine cap spawn is sown from mid-autumn and up to 3 weeks after the first frost – as long as the ground isn’t yet frozen. Fall-planted wine caps will come to life the following spring, with mushrooms emerging from summer to fall.

Wine caps started in spring are scattered after the last frost date for a same-year harvest. These will usually start fruiting in summer and are ready to be harvested by fall.

Topping up the bed with fresh wood chips after every harvest will keep the wine cap mushroom bed going and going until wintertime.   

Where to Plant Wine Cap Mushrooms

Wine cap mushrooms can be tucked into all sorts of nooks and crannies of the garden. The best spots to pick are places where they will receive rain and a little sunlight. Morning sun with afternoon shade is an ideal location.

Plant them between vegetable rows to take advantage of their soil-enhancing benefits. They grow happily in apple orchards, beneath fruit trees and grape arbors, and under the fluffy umbrage of asparagus.

As an ornamental, wine caps are shade-friendly ground covers that will brighten up the darker parts of the garden. These mushrooms are darling planted along pathways, shady borders, and forest edges.

Growing wine caps in raised beds and containers is possible as well, as long as the mushroom spawn isn’t planted too deeply. Crumble the spawn no more than 2 inches below the substrate so it doesn’t become smothered by the mulch.

Prepping the Wine Cap Bed

Once you’ve picked the perfect spot, your mushroom bed will need to be sod and weed-free. Wine cap spawn can be applied to bare soil or a mulched surface in newly-created beds or established plots.

For added weed suppression – or to grow wine caps on the lawn – set down a few layers of cardboard first. Cardboard will smother grass and weedy growth and supply more carbon to fuel the wine caps.

When the cardboard is laid, soak it thoroughly with a hose, making sure all layers are completely wet and fully saturated.

Straw or Wood Chips?

Wood chips are the classic substrate for growing wine cap mushrooms. It’s a full-bodied fungal food that’s rich in carbon and slow to degrade. It can feed your colony for up to 3 years.

A mixture of softwood and hardwood chips is best – box elder, willow, maple, cottonwood, and oak are great feedstock for wine caps. The wood can be fresh or aged, in chip sizes large and small.

When using wood chips as your wine cap spawn substrate, you’ll need to mulch to an overall depth of 4 inches.

Clean straw (oat or wheat) is another solid choice. It produces mushrooms quicker, but dries out and breaks down just as fast. To help keep moisture in, pre-soak the straw for 2 to 3 days.

Wine cap spawns in straw is mulched to a total depth of 5 to 8 inches, replenishing straw as needed to maintain this depth.

Or, have faster growth along with better moisture retention by using both wood chips and straw in your wine cap beds.

Sandwich Wine Cap Spawn Between Layers of Mulch

On the wetted cardboard or soil floor, start by doling out a 2-inch layer of wood chips or 4 to 5 inches of straw. Use a rake to distribute it evenly over the bed.

The sawdust spawn comes as a compressed block. It’s quite moist, so it crumbles easily. You’ll see the white mycelium threaded through the sawdust, but don’t worry – breaking it up won’t harm the fungi.

By hand, scatter the crumbled wine cap spawn evenly across the bed.

The final layer in our mushroom bed sandwich is 2 inches of wood chips. If you use straw in your mushroom bed, topdressing with wood chips will help keep things moist.

Once you’ve achieved the correct depth, tamp the bed down with your feet to firm it up.

Give the site a deep and thorough watering, and the wine cap bed is complete.

Maintain Moisture

After planting, check in on your wine caps regularly at first. Stick your hand into in the bed; the mulch should be damp but not sopping wet. If it’s on the dry side, spray the bed down with a hose on a gentle setting so as not to disturb the spawn.

Like most crops, wine caps need about an inch of water per week during the warm season. Water them at the same time you would irrigate your vegetable plot, with extra moisture supplied in heat waves.

The trick to growing any type of mushroom is consistent moisture. Wine caps planted in full sun will need more upkeep than those in part shade. Choose your growing site wisely, and your wine cap bed will require only minimal maintenance.

Watch for Signs of Fungal Life

When temperatures reach 50°F to 70°F (10°C to 21°C) for some weeks, you’ll begin to see white, stringy strands of the wine cap mycelium take hold of the substrate.

The mycelium will continue to grow, colonizing the mulch and feeding on the decaying organic matter. With enough energy, the fruiting body will arise from the substrate – the wine cap mushroom, proper.

Wine caps tend to begin fruiting after rain or temperature fluctuations. Once they’re up, the mushrooms grow rapidly. They start out as buttons with tightly closed caps and develop into fully mature garden giants in 10 to 20 days. In the realm of edible gardening, that’s some really fast food!

Wine Cap Mushroom Identification Checklist

Wine caps are a unique-looking and distinctive mushroom with no deadly lookalikes. Still, it’s smart to do a visual check before you go ahead and eat them up.

• Cap color – Wine cap mushrooms have reddish brown to deep wine red caps, fading to a tan hue as the mushroom matures.
• Stem – The stalk is at least a half-inch thick and white when fresh. Wine caps have a distinct wrinkled ring located at the upper portion of the stem, a remnant of the veil breaking when the cap fully opens. This “skirt” is rough to the touch with a shape similar to cogwheels.
• Gills – On the underside of the cap, the gills are initially pale gray or purplish gray and mature to dark purple or nearly black.
• Spore print – When in doubt, remove the mushroom stem and place the cap, and gills down on a white sheet of paper. Cover with a bowl and leave it overnight. The spore dust from wine caps will be a deep purple-black color.

Harvesting and Storing Wine Cap Mushrooms

Wine cap mushrooms can be harvested and enjoyed as immature buttons to humongous burgundy-topped toadstools. Young wine caps have a milder flavor and tender texture, while mature ones are far more robust and meaty.

Older wine caps, past their prime, will dull to a tan color and become too tough and fibrous to eat. Leave these ones back in the bed. They will decompose eventually and replenish the soil with nutrients, so all is not lost.

To harvest, pull the mushrooms from the soil with your hands or use a sharp knife to slice the stems off at ground level.  

Place your wine cap haul in a paper bag in the fridge, and they will keep for about a week. They can be preserved over the longer term by freezing, dehydrating, or canning them.

Wine Cap Mushroom Recipes

Wine caps are delectable simply sautéed in olive oil and butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. The mushroom pairs well with wine, lemon juice, fennel, nutmeg, and ramps. It goes great in pasta, polenta, quinoa, and rice. Use wine caps as an alternative to portobellos or really any recipe that calls for mushrooms. It’s also an excellent substitute for meat.

For recipes specifically tailored to the flavor profile of wine cap mushrooms, here are some good ones to try:

• Spiced Wine Caps
• Pickled Wine Cap Mushrooms
• Wine Cap Mushroom Soup
• Wine Caps Stuffed with White Bean & Sun-Dried Tomato
• Corn Fettuccine with Wine Cap, Lemon Verbena & Bucheron
• Braised Wine Cap and Asparagus
• Wine Cap Mushroom Risotto
• Grilled Wine Cap Mushrooms in Herb Sauce
• Wine Cap and Ginger Hash Brown Cakes

The post How to Plant a Wine Cap Mushroom Bed appeared first on Rural Sprout.

I winced a bit as I watched my partner lower the spinning tines into the soil in our garden. Dark, brown earth immediately turned up behind him as he walked next to the lumbering rototiller. “That’s years of hard work down the drain,” I thought. Or is it?

This fall, we made the tough choice to till our no-dig garden.

Why Go No-Dig or No-Till?

There’s a lot to be said in favor of no-dig gardening, and here at Rural Sprout, we’re big fans. Improved soil, better water retention, higher yields, fewer weeds and, of course, the big one – no back-breaking digging!

Here are some of our most popular articles on the no dig method of gardening:

6 Reasons To Start A No Dig Garden + How To Get Started

12 Common Mistakes That No-Dig Gardeners Make

How to Go No-Dig In Raised Beds & Improve Your Soil

20 Vegetables We Grow In Our No Dig Garden

One of the main benefits of no-dig gardening is improving the microbiome beneath your feet. Just below the soil is a living universe filled with beneficial bacteria, microbes and fungi. All of these work symbiotically with the plants growing in the soil, specifically the fungi.

You’ve probably heard a lot about the benefits of using mycorrhizae in your garden these past few years.

When you opt for a no-dig garden, you’re allowing those naturally occurring mycorrhizae to grow and create a massive underground network that significantly enhances the size and efficiency of your garden plants. Trust me; it’s well worth the effort.  

Our Journey with No-Dig Gardening

So, several years ago, we decided to give no-dig gardening a try. Our soil has never been great. It’s very heavy and poor draining. We decided to bring in several loads of mushroom compost to put directly on top of our existing soil, trusting everything would break down and improve over the years. 

Within the first season, we noticed healthier, larger plants.

We had fantastic yields, and the weeds were minimal because we put down a layer of mulch.

The first year was great, and I was thinking – this is it – we’ve found the gardening holy grail.

But the next year, we started to have problems. The soil was still looking good, and the plants were large and healthy, but somehow, word had gotten around to the local pest population that we had gone no-dig and had the choicest plants in the neighborhood to nibble on.

No biggie. We knew beneficial insects would help control pest populations. But we also needed to break out the neem oil and the Bacillus thuringiensis about midsummer to keep pests from overwhelming the garden. It was a lot of work, but worth it in the end.

Then Came This Year

I’m still a little traumatized by this year.

From the word go, we were battling pests. No sooner had my radishes sprouted leaves when something was nibbling on them. When I put my eggplant seedlings out, the leaves were riddled with lacey holes from flea beetles. And the cabbageworms were insane. At one point, I think there was more caterpillar poop than kale accumulating in my garden.

I kept remarking to my sweetheart that these same pests weren’t nearly this bad last year.

What was going on?

This past season, my gardening day usually started with a walk around each row with my garden sprayer filled with B.t.

I anxiously watched my poor eggplant seedlings, knowing that flea beetles usually don’t cause enough damage to kill off a healthy plant.

But they kept at it. All season long. Nibble, nibble, nibble.

I couldn’t explain why the pests were so bad this year; they were much worse than last year.

And that’s when it dawned on me.

Duh. We didn’t till last year. So, most of my pest population wintered over in the soil and returned stronger this year. Hmm, that’s a problem I didn’t foresee with no-dig gardening.

Good Bugs vs. Bad Bugs – a Delicate Balance

If you’re like most organic gardeners, you know all about the diminishing insect populations – the good and the bad. Insects, on the whole, are in decline, and that’s especially bad news for pollinators.

Over the past decade, there’s been a major shift in pest control methods, especially in the organic gardening community.

We’re much more careful about what we do to mitigate pest damage. We may plant trap crops to entice pests away from the crop we want to eat. Or we may introduce a predatory insect species to help keep a particular garden pest in check, such as using lacewings to keep aphids in check. Or, for the truly adventurous, whipping out your UV flashlight and heading out to the garden at night to hunt tomato hornworms.

For many, our relationship with insects is changing. Myself included. I was willing to share my garden.

In Which I Scare the Chickens

And share we did.

I mean, sure, I can handle sharing my kale. It’s kale, after all. So be it if I don’t get to eat any myself this summer because it’s riddled with holes from imported cabbageworms. I can wait to eat kale in late fall and early winter when the cold has forced all the bugs underground. It tastes better after a frost anyway.

And I guess it’s okay if the squash vine borers decimate my zucchini…then my pattypan squash…then my Kubota pumpkins…then our carving pumpkins, and finally the cucumbers.

But it was when my eggplant finally recovered from all the flea beetle damage and started bouncing back that things got ugly. It was early October before it put out blooms, ready to fruit

…and then we had our first frost.

I looked down at my ruined eggplant and yelled to no one in particular, “This is so freaking stupid!”

The chickens went squawking to hide under the lilac bush.

Standing next to the poor wilted eggplant, I thought, what on earth are we doing all this work for?

Am I feeding the bugs or our family?

For the past several years, I’ve been so worried about the insect population in my garden that I completely lost sight of what all this hard work is for – feeding us.

Meanwhile, I’ve been so concerned with my impact on the environment that I was okay with smaller and smaller returns on my effort in the garden. At this point, it was clear we were putting a lot of work into hosting an all-you-can-eat buffet for the local garden pests while our pantry shelves were lacking in canned veggies.

I remembered that, hey, my family and I are a part of the environment, too.

So, rather than reaching for a large bottle of some nasty chemical, we decided to till up the garden after the first hard frost. We’ll till a couple more times before the snow flies, and then again in the spring.

This will unearth and destroy all the bugs – good and bad – hanging out in our soil. It’s a way of keeping the garden pest population in check that I’m comfortable with. Because at the end of the day, I’m trying to grow an all-you-can-eat buffet of veggies for our family, not the bugs.

Moving Forward – Giving up No-Dig for Good?

We have no plans to give up no-dig gardening.

We’ve noticed the benefits in the size and general health of our plants. We have fewer weeds because we mulch and let that mulch break down in the soil. Our crumby soil is now beautiful, dark, loamy earth. The drainage has improved greatly. And with each passing year, my body is grateful for the lack of digging and wrestling with that rototiller.

Of course, my sweetie, who is a natural-born tinkerer, looks mournfully at the rototiller each spring and fall before reminding me that he did a complete carburetor rebuild on it just for me. (Gosh, just what I always wanted, thanks, sweetie!)

I think, like with most gardening methods, we’re just going to adjust it to work for us. We’re hoping to lessen the pest load in our soil this year. If it rebuilds again in subsequent years, we’ll probably end up tilling again as needed. But for now, the plan is to continue our no-dig garden as though we hadn’t tilled. Yes, we’ll probably have to inoculate with mycorrhizae, but that’s okay.

It’s important to remember if it isn’t working for you, reevaluate and find something that does. There are no gardening police out there waiting to descend on you and issue a ticket. This is supposed to be an activity that’s good for you, not one that makes you pull your hair out and scare the chickens.

The post Enough! We’re Tilling Our No-Dig Garden This Fall appeared first on Rural Sprout.

There’s always a certain sadness when the gardening season comes to an end, but don’t despair quite yet – there are still a number of pleasurable chores to get done in your no-dig garden.

Take in a sweeping view of your garden and look at the work to be done. It may seem overwhelming at first sight, though it’s usually not as difficult as it seems. If you break down the fall jobs into bite-sized tasks, you’ll get from weeding to harvesting, manuring and laying down a final blanket of mulch in no time at all.

Let’s get started!

1. Weed Out the Remaining Weeds.

I know this sounds counter-intuitive. No-dig gardens aren’t supposed to have weeds, at least that’s what you’ve heard. But is that your experience?

In our garden, certain weeds are actually allowed. We eat some of them, we leave others for winter wildlife and nature has other plans for biodiversity. It often happens that plants we do not choose to keep, creep in.

There’s no other way to explain it than the soil is fertile, seeds last for multiple years in the soil and nature is abundant and productive. If I see a garden without weeds, I cringe at the thought of all the chemicals used to get rid of them.

Weeding doesn’t have to be a big chore.

You just pull the ones you don’t want to see and get on with life, and gardening as it were. The less you fuss, the easier it will be.

By now, at the end of autumn, many plants are starting to die back and are actually easier to pull. That being said, it is your job to get rid of those plants that are “going to seed” responsibly. In our case, the thistles are burnt, so is another type of grass that appears to be invasive in our landscape. If you’ve caught those weeds in time, before the seeds are fully formed, they can be left to lay on the ground, or composted.

As a last resort, they can be tossed in the trash on the appropriate day in your neighborhood.

2. Harvest the Last Crops Before the Frost Comes.

Depending on what you’ve grown in your garden, you may still have a few things to harvest. This will become very apparent if some weeds were previously hiding your stash.

Some of the last crops to glean in our garden this year are squashes, beans (for seeds) and nasturtium flowers.

Yours might be beets, green tomatoes, carrots, pumpkins, Swiss chard or leeks. Kale leaves can still be harvested at any time, even after the first frost has come and gone.

The bottom line is this: you’ve worked diligently all year in your garden, now is not the time to let things go to waste. If you have excess vegetables and fruits that might be difficult to store, gift them away while they are still ripe and beautiful.

At the same time, take stock of your seeds for future planting. Always save more than you think you’ll need. You don’t have to plant them all, seeds make wonderful presents for budding gardeners too.

3. Store Crops for Winter.

Harvesting crops in your no-dig garden is easy enough, plus it’s a lot of fun too.

Let’s say you store your squashes in the cellar. Sounds simple enough.

When it comes to storing them, however, there is room for user error. Maybe the temperatures are difficult to control, perhaps there is too much moisture, or rodents get in. Sometimes storing crops is up to chance, but if everything goes alright, you’ll be eating fresh squash well into winter.

Other crops, such as carrots and beets, can be stored in a crate filled with sand and sawdust. Cabbage can be stored for six months or more. Onions can last up to a year when properly stored.

And of course, there are always the options of canning, preserving and dehydrating. It all depends on the resources at your fingertips and your acquired skills. If you’d like to take your homesteading game a few steps further, the information out there is yours for the taking. My suggestion to you is to grab as many physical books on the subjects of organic gardening, self-reliance and homesteading as you can and attend as many workshops as humanely possible.

4. Sow Seeds in October.

When harvest time comes around, your brain may not be thinking of planting – for it’s already been done. Yet gardening is never done. In fact, it goes in so many circles, it’s enough to drive you crazy.

Once you find balance in the garden, you’ll begin to deeper understand the importance of continuity. See, the gardening season isn’t over just because October arrives on the calendar. For those of you living far north this may be the case, though most gardeners will be happy to know that there are still several seeds to sow, provided the ground is not frozen, and won’t be for a couple more months.

Seeds to sow in fall:

• beets
• winter radishes
• carrots
• hardy salad leaves
• spinach
• parsnips
• rutabaga
• turnips
• garlic
• onion bulbs
• cover crops such as vetch, red clover, alfalfa, winter rye and/or mustard

One of the problems that we’ve run into with late fall planting, is that at this time of the year, the soil is usually as hard as cement, even under all that mulch. Late summer and early fall tend to be very dry for us, so in order to plant, it’s helpful to water the ground well a couple of days before planting. To save your energy and natural resources, only water where you wish to plant.

To make gardening even more complex, it’s wise to think about companion planting and succession planting for the year to come.

5. Take Care of the Vines, Leaves and Other Plant Material.

The fastest way to take care of the overgrowth in any garden, is to bring out your scythe. In a lucky case scenario, you already own, and know how to use, one. If not, perhaps now is the time to get on board with the ancient art of knocking down grass with a single blade.

If a garden is left to decay on its own, and it will, it often takes longer than you would like. Instead, we like to “help” nature do the job faster. Since all we take away from the garden is undesirable plants, the rest has to stay, thus providing free organic matter for the soil.

In order to take advantage of all the benefits that no-dig gardening has to offer, the best way to get the party started is to knock all those vines and stems down to the ground before frosts come your way. Within a few days it will already start to look like mulch, albeit a very thick one.

Later you can put manure/compost on top of this. Finally, add more finer mulch such as hay or uncontaminated straw to prepare your no-dig garden for winter.

6. Prune and/or Divide Perennials.

Whether you have perennials growing in your vegetable patch, or elsewhere in your yard, now is the time to take care of them. They may still be robust, as is our lemon balm (with a secret plan to take over the garden), or already in the wilting stage like perennial bunching onions. Those were divided in spring and are ready to make a comeback next year.

Let’s get back to lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) for a few lines.

If you don’t already have it in your garden, now (or spring) is a good time to plant it. And if you know someone who is digging it up and dividing it in fall, go ahead and ask for some.

It’s truly one of the most rewarding and useful perennials you can add to your garden. Lemon balm is perfect for healing teas, as well as for attracting summertime pollinators.

To prune it in fall, take your pruners and cut the stems back to 2-3″ in height. Even if the plant freezes back to the ground, the roots hold all the power and will come back strong in spring. Pruning certainly renews this vigorous plant.

You’ll notice that out of three plants, we’ve left one standing. Not only does this provide winter interest in the garden, overwintering critters can enjoy it as well.

If you have other perennials to divide and multiply, check out Elizabeth’s article here.

7. Leave Late Blooming Flowers for Insects.

At the time of writing in early October, there are still some flowers in the garden. Nasturtiums as mentioned above, most of which went into a vinegar solution.

Now, that the yarrow is finished, it’s another must-have for attracting beneficial insects, and the mint has long finished flowering, what’s left is spearmint – and lots of it.

Being a perennial, we would also like to prune this back, but at the moment it’s too early. It’s still teeming with various bees, butterflies and insects who don’t mind the cooler weather.

For the sake of rewilding our garden, we’ll leave it until frosts come. Then we’ll prune it back just like the lemon balm.

8. Nourish Your Soil With Manure.

There are so many ways to nourish your soil during the growing season.

By and large, the ultimate way to keep your soil happy and fertile in your no-dig garden is by adding organic matter throughout the season, not just at the end. How you do this, is entirely up to you. It depends on what you can get your hands on, as much as your existing soil conditions.

Seeing as how our compost isn’t ready yet, we’ve chosen to put some manure from the neighbor’s cows on the land. In exchange for scything a patch of nettle (which can also be fertilizer), it was absolutely free.

Here, we’ve started with one wheelbarrow of cow manure, but that doesn’t take the garden very far. Due to other obligations at the moment, such as stacking firewood and harvesting apples for winter storage and brandy, the trailer load will have to wait.

Manure in fall or spring?

Since we are done harvesting most everything from our garden, outside of the odd horseradish, fall really is the best time to lay down some manure. This helps to ensure that the nitrogen can be broken down over the coming months, ready for new plants to take up.

It’s not something we apply every year, but this season, for various reasons, we noticed a decline in volume of crops. We felt that a little nutrient boost was needed.

Naturally, one can perform a soil test to see what the soil is lacking. But consider that for a good portion of the farming and gardening past this wasn’t available.

Do as your ancestors would’ve done and engage your intuition. This goes for the amounts of manure you apply as well.

9. Mulch Your No-Dig Garden for Winter.

When it comes down to it, mulch is gold.

No, not in the monetary sense. However, it’s the thing that makes your garden crops grow year after year, as it protects the soil.

Again, your choices of mulch are many.

Now, that it’s fall, autumn leaves will begin to cover the land. If you feel you have too many to leave under the trees, go ahead and haul them to your no-dig garden. You can also turn them into leaf mold if you haven’t heard about that yet.

You can also opt for grass clippings if your lawn has one last mowing in it. Hay and organic straw are always popular options.

There’s something else you should know about mulching time.

I know a lot of people give up after the second or third year of no-dig gardening. I’ve seen it time and again, and it usually happens right about now.

At some point gardeners think no-dig gardening doesn’t work, or that it doesn’t work for them. So for now, they leave the ground uncovered, already with a vow to till it in spring. It’s a potential mistake to consider.

Before you decide straight out that no-dig gardening doesn’t work, I’d like for you to look at an extremely successful no-dig gardener, take Charles Dowding for example. This man has been no-dig gardening for 40+ years and producing every single year. If he can do it, so can you.

Now, get on with your gardening chores, the first frosts are awaiting.

The post 9 Fall Jobs In Your No-Dig Garden – Planting, Harvesting, Mulching & More appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Fall is in the air. The garden is slowing down, and the days and nights are getting cooler. Before you know it, we’ll be reaching for our sweaters.

Unfortunately, as weather patterns change each year, that first foray into sweater weather can take gardeners by surprise. So, what do you do when you wake up to a frosty garden? Is it okay to harvest and eat those vegetables?

Frost Dates

I don’t know about you, but I’ve given up on reliable first and last frost dates. These past few years, it seems as though Mother Nature has stopped playing by the rules. (Granted, they aren’t her rules to play by.) Those first and last frosts keep showing up further away from the projected dates, making it harder to know when to protect your garden.

It’s important to remember that regional frost dates are only estimates.

NOAA looks at years of past data and averages those numbers to estimate when an area can expect its first and last frost. Unfortunately, the weather patterns seem to be changing much quicker in the past few years, making these guesstimates a bit unreliable.

It’s no surprise then that the first frost of the year may find you unprepared, whether it’s because it’s much earlier than expected or so late that you gave up keeping an eye out for it. In either case, if you’re caught unaware and wake up to a silvery garden full of frost-kissed vegetables, all is not lost.

Don’t Panic – Assess the Damage

While even a light frost can kill some plants, it’s important to remember you can usually still harvest and eat the vegetables if you’re quick.

You’ll need to assess the damage to determine which vegetables are edible and which will be a contribution to the compost bin. Wait until the afternoon to make this assessment. By this time, the plants will have warmed and bounced back if they’re going to, making it easier for you to determine the extent of the frost damage, if any.

What is Frost Damage?

When a frost occurs, the water in plants freezes, and the sharp crystals pierce the plant’s cell walls. As the ice crystals melt, the cells collapse, leaving you with mushy veggies that will quickly rot. On the other hand, sometimes the main plant will die, but the fruit is fine. However, since the plant no longer supplies the fruit with water and nutrients, those vegetables will rot if not picked right away. You may find that some veggies on the same plant will be fine, while others are damaged beyond edibility.

Which Plants Are More Likely to Be Affected?

Something to keep in mind is the higher the water content of the vegetable, the more likely it will turn to mush once the sun comes up and burns away the frost. On the other side of that spectrum, more fibrous vegetables tend to handle frost better as their fibrous cells are much harder for ice crystals to pierce.

Some vegetables even get sweeter with a couple of frosts.

Nearly all your nightshades are high in water; even a light frost can kill the plant. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants are all susceptible to light frost. Some cucurbits, like summer squash, cucumbers and melons, are also easily frost-damaged. However, you’ll likely be able to pick and eat some of the vegetables if the plant takes the brunt of the damage.

Legumes are another plant where you might be able to salvage the beans or peas even if the plant has taken damage.

Lettuces, arugula and the like usually do fine with a light frost, although a hard frost will wipe them out completely. Again, check these plants in the afternoon, as they might look a little wilted in the morning but can perk up later in the day.

When checking vegetables for frost damage, look for severe discoloration and mushiness.

You’ll want to pitch those ones onto the compost pile. They’ve suffered too much frost damage and won’t be any good. However, a small blemish or two can easily be cut away. Or a slightly softened vegetable may be fine if you pick and eat it immediately. You can usually tell by the afternoon, just by appearance, whether or not a vegetable is still good to eat.

Enjoy Some Sweet, Frosty Brassicas

When discussing eating frost-damaged vegetables, it’s good to remember that frost isn’t all bad. Brassicas actually improve their flavor with a frost or two. Frosts help to concentrate the sugars in these plants, making them sweeter. Brussels sprouts, kale and many other plants in your fall garden benefit from a frost.

Harvest and Store Right Away

You need to pick and use vegetables with minor frost damage right away. It’s a good idea to give them a nibble in the garden and ensure the flavor hasn’t been affected. Tomatoes lose their flavor rapidly in the cold. They’re one of many vegetables you shouldn’t store in the fridge. Avoid canning these vegetables unless you cook them into something else, such as a soup or sauce.

Plan Ahead for Future Frosts

Having an idea of your first expected frost date is a good idea, even if it seems they’re changing. Generally, there’s a two to three-week buffer around that date, so you can start taking precautions within that window.

• As fall progresses, track your local extended weather forecast, so you know when overnight temperatures will start dropping down towards the freezing range.
• If you use an app on your phone to track the weather, see if it has a setting that will notify you when a frost is expected in your area.
• Make sure you have a plan ready to go well before that first expected frost date. We’ve got you covered with numerous ways to protect plants from a sudden frost.

Of course, you can also take that frosty cue from Mother Nature and pack it in for the year. Both you and your garden deserve a rest.

The post Is it Safe to Eat Vegetables From Your Garden After a Frost? appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Fall is here! It’s time to put away your gloves, put your garden tools in the shed and call it quits. Whether you had a banner of a year or a bummer of a harvest, most of us are ready to be done with all the seasonal work that comes from growing our own food. But before you throw in the trowel for the season, be sure you aren’t making more work for yourself next spring.

Let’s look at a few mistakes that could cost you next season.

1. Doing Your Fall Planting Too Late

Numerous veggies do great in the fall; pretty much everything you planted in the spring. But you’ll want to get them in the ground in time to harvest them before they get taken out by the first hard frost. Vegetables like lettuce, kale and root veggies can stand up to light frosts but eventually succumb to the cold.

Things like onions and garlic can be planted in the fall to be harvested next spring, ensure you do so early enough for the plants to get established before winter. If you wait too late, you could lose the plants before they’ve had a chance to toughen up for the winter ahead. If you run out of time, don’t worry; you can still plant garlic in the spring.

Related Reading: 5 Reasons It’s Better To Plant Onions In Fall (& How To Do It)

2. Skipping Soil Amendments

The soil needs a rest after a full season of providing nutrients and water for all your plants. But it’s not enough to simply take a break. If you want to start next spring with good, quality soil, now is the time to take action.

Adding soil amendments in the fall rather than spring allows organic matter and natural fertilizers to break down in the soil so that their nutrients are readily available to your plants next spring. Add compost, biochar or leaf mold to your garden beds before you put the wheelbarrow away for the year.

3. Not Weeding Anymore

Phew, the summer is over, and the garden is finally calling it quits for the season. Unfortunately, while your vegetables may die off for the year, the weeds never quit. Many gardeners stop weeding as soon as they’ve harvested that last tomato. But just because your plants have died off doesn’t mean the weeds have.  

Weeds are exceptionally tough and hardy plants, and they’re opportunists. As you start pulling up dead plants, weeds will happily creep into the first bit of bare ground they can find. And it’s wishful thinking to believe that the cold winters (if you even live in an area that gets cold winters) will kill them off. No, those weeds will go dormant and return bigger in the spring now that they’ve had an entire winter to grow deep, tap roots.

Continue to pull up any weeds you find in the fall, even if you’re done gardening for the year. Or better yet, make it easy on yourself and better for your garden by not forgetting number four.

4. Not Mulching

If you don’t already mulch your garden during the growing season, you should definitely mulch it in the fall. Soil is not meant to be bare.

Check out any area cleared for construction, and within a week or two, you’ll see an abundance of weeds pop up. Bare soil is prone to soil erosion by wind and rain as well. By laying down a thick layer of mulch at the end of the season, you’ll keep weeds from popping up during the winter, lock moisture into the soil and prevent soil loss from windy winter storms.

If you’ve got a lawn full of leaves, you don’t have to look far for the perfect top dressing for your garden.

5. Letting Leaves Pile Up on Your Lawn

Cheryl has given us plenty of reasons not to bag our leaves and send them to a landfill. But letting them rot in place on your lawn may not be the best option either. If you’re looking to rewild your space, then, by all means, go for it.

But for the vast majority of us, keeping a tidy lawn isn’t a hobby; our towns or HOAs require it. Unkempt lawns can lead to fines and angry neighbors.

Letting whole leaves sit on your lawn all winter can cause dead spots in your grass, leaving them wide open for more persistent weeds to fill in those areas. If you don’t want to rake them up and use them elsewhere on your property, at least mulch them well with your lawn mower so they will break down among the grass during the winter and provide nutrients for your soil.

6. Forgetting to Protect Tender Plants

Whether you’ve planted new blueberry bushes, started a hedgerow, or have grown shrubs as a privacy fence, they all need protection. New plants are still susceptible to cold damage and should be protected.

Depending on where you live, you can get away with planting some species that might not survive your winters as long as you cover and protect them.

In either case, we often get so focused on our gardens that we forget other plants around the yard. Take the time to prepare and wrap, cover or insulate those plants this fall.

7. Leaving Plants to Break Down in the Garden

There are numerous opinions about whether or not you should clean up your garden each fall or let it be. The argument for leaving it usually points to the fact that these dead and decaying plants are good places for native pollinators to winter over. That’s a very good argument for leaving your garden messy each year. Unfortunately, these same spots are often a great place for pests to winter over, often on the plant they were destroying.

Depending on your pest issues this past season, leaving plants to break down in the garden can lead to the same problems next year. Rather than provide pests with room and board, cut the plants down to soil level and compost or burn them while letting the roots decay below ground.

8. Cutting Down Dead Perennial Flowers

On the other side of that coin, many people mow over spent perennial flower beds each year to leave a tidy landscape throughout the winter. In this case, you should leave the dead stalks and leaves where they are, as native pollinators are more likely to nest where their food is.

Then, next spring, once the insects wake and become active again, you can cut down old plant matter. In this case, you want to provide room and board for these beneficial insects.

9. Pruning in the Fall

Trees and shrubs look a little worse for wear at the end of the growing season. They’ve often put on a lot of growth during the summer. As the leaves fall off, you can easily see areas where the tree will need to be pruned to keep its shape or promote new growth. With the branches in full view, you might be tempted to reach for the pruning shears, but that’s not a good idea this time of year.

By pruning flowering bushes, such as lilacs or camellias, in the fall, you’re pruning off next year’s buds. It’s best to let them go dormant and prune them shortly after they’ve finished blooming next year.

Pruning can trigger new growth in some trees. This new growth won’t have had time to harden off before getting blasted by cold temperatures and will likely die off and can sometimes leave the tree susceptible to disease and cold damage.  

10. Not Storing Your Garden Tools Properly

When all is said and done, and it’s time to stop visiting your garden daily, it’s tempting to put your tools away and forget about them until next year. However, before you do that, consider doing Future You a favor. Give your tools a good scrub down with the hose and an abrasive scrubber. Remove the season’s dirt and debris and let them dry.

Then, use our garden tool bucket tutorial to easily store, lubricate and sharpen your tools all in one step so they’ll be ready to roll next spring.

Quality garden tools can be expensive; make them last with a little extra care. All told, it takes mere minutes to do, and you can keep your garden tools in tip-top shape for decades. You’ll save money in the long run, as you won’t have to replace rusty tools every few years.

With a little extra effort this fall, you’ll be ready for an even better growing season next year.

The post 10 Fall Garden Mistakes You’ll Seriously Regret Next Spring appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Imagine a vegetable garden where the tomatoes are plump and juicy with perfectly unblemished skin, pepper plants so strong that they easily bear the weight of their dangling bell fruits, and leafy greens as crisp as they are sweet and tender. All these good qualities would not be possible without calcium.

Never part of our dreams are fruits with the bottoms rotting out while still growing on the vine, scorched leaf tips, or weak and distorted growth. But sometimes, that’s the reality of it, and these are the surest signs your plants aren’t receiving enough calcium.

As one of the 17 essential plant nutrients, calcium is the reason plants have a sturdy physical structure and firm-fleshed fruits. It also has a hand in nutrient transport, root growth, plant reproduction, and overall soil health. Calcium has a protective effect on plants, too – sending out signals to thicken leaves and stems to defend against pests, diseases, and other environmental stressors.

So when you spot the classic symptoms of calcium deficiency, you’ll need to act quickly to save the harvest. The fastest way to get calcium to plants isn’t through the soil but to take the calcium directly to the leaves.

Using Liquid Calcium to Fix Deficiencies

Being that calcium is an immobile nutrient – once absorbed, it stays put – calcium deficiencies first appear on the farthest reaches of the plant: the blossom ends, the tips of leaves, and the root tips. For plants to grow big and strong, a continuous supply of calcium is needed from start to finish.

Eggshells, composed of 95% calcium carbonate, are an easy source of calcium for the garden.

Sprinkling crushed eggshells around plants is a great thing to do as a preventative measure to gradually build up calcium levels in the soil – but it’s terribly slow.

To become available to plants, eggshells need to undergo several transformations. First, the eggshell fragments would have to dissolve completely into calcium ions. Then, with the help of our soil microorganisms, the ions need to be converted into a water-soluble and mobile form of calcium that plant roots can absorb. The whole process, from eggshell to fertilizer, can take months to complete.

Even so, all the calcium in the world won’t help if the real cause of the calcium deficiency is environmental. The soil may be rife with calcium, but unseasonably hot or cool temperatures, drought or waterlogging, as well as salty or acidic soil, can interfere with calcium uptake by plants.

But by making a water-soluble and calcium-rich foliar spray –from eggshells – we can sidestep soil, temperature, and irrigation problems altogether. Yep, we’re cutting out the middle man (the soil) to directly deliver calcium to plant tissues ASAP.

How to Make Liquid Calcium Fertilizer from Eggshells

Eggshells, white vinegar, and a bit of time is all it takes to make liquid calcium for our garden crops. It’s super easy and costs only pennies to make.

Step 1 – Collect Some Eggshells

If you’re not already setting aside eggshells for a plethora of uses around the garden, you’re missing out on a free and abundant source of calcium!

Every time you crack an egg, rinse the shell with cool water to clear away the gooey remnants. Place the shells in a bowl to dry.

You’ll need to collect at least 10 eggshells to whip up a batch of liquid calcium.

Step 2 – Sterilize the Eggshells in the Oven

As an extra layer of precaution, sterilizing the shells with heat will remove potential pathogens and bacteria.

Lay out your eggshell collection on a baking sheet and place in the oven at 200°F for 30 minutes.

Step 3 – Crush Eggshells into a Fine Powder

For making liquid calcium, the smaller the eggshell particle size, the better.

You can use a blender, coffee grinder, food processor, or mortar and pestle. Or, pop the shells in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Once the eggshells are rendered into a fine grit, transfer them to a container.

Aside from its practicalities in the garden, eggshell powder is excellent for increasing our own calcium intake. You can add eggshells to your diet by dropping a spoonful of powder in your coffee, tea, fruit smoothies, and vegetable broths.

Step 4 – Combine Powdered Eggshells with Vinegar

Dissolving eggshells into a liquid is as simple as adding distilled white vinegar. The ratio to use is 1 tablespoon of eggshell powder for every cup of vinegar.

But before you mix them, make sure you have a container that is about 3 times the volume of liquid.

Do you remember the classic baking-soda-and-vinegar erupting volcano science project? Swap out the baking soda with another alkaline material – like eggshells – and the same gushing chemical reaction will occur. 

After a few minutes, the solution will settle down. Mix it together thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

Cover the jar with a breathable material, like cheesecloth or a paper coffee filter, and secure it with a rubber band.

It takes about two weeks for the acids in the vinegar to break down the eggshells into calcium. Mark your calendar and place the jar in a cupboard. While you wait, give it a stir every so often.

Step 5 – Dilute Liquid Calcium with Water

After sitting in the vinegar for about two weeks, the eggshell powder has dissolved completely to create a thin, milky liquid. If there are still eggshell remnants floating in the vinegar, leave them for a few more days or simply strain them out.

This solution is quite acidic. Before applying it to soil or plants, dilute it first by mixing 1 part liquid calcium with 5 parts water.

Step 6 – Apply it to Your Calcium-Loving Plants

Although all plants need calcium, some crops have a higher requirement than others. Tomato, pepper, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, melon, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, as well as cherry and apple trees, will be especially appreciative of a calcium boost.

Transfer the diluted liquid calcium to a spray bottle to give them the foliar treatment. To prevent blossom end rot, the best time to spray plants is before bloom set or just after flowers have opened up.

Before you spray, it’s wise to do a spot test first.

Soak a small area of foliage and wait a few days. If all looks good and there isn’t an adverse reaction – such as wilting, burning, or discoloration – you can go ahead and spritz the rest of your crops.

When you have the all-clear, be thorough and spray the entire plant from top to bottom. Make sure you’re wetting both the top and underside of the leaves. As always, apply foliar sprays in the evening or on overcast days so the wet leaves don’t get scorched in the sun.

If it’s been raining a lot, you can use this solution as a soil drench to deliver calcium to the roots, too.

Any leftover liquid calcium will keep for 6 months to 1 year. Seal it up tightly with a lid and store it in a cool, dark place, and you’ll have ready-made, water-soluble calcium for the rest of this growing season and the next.

The post How to Make Liquid Eggshell Calcium Fertilizer appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Let’s be honest, tomatoes are kind of a pain. We put in months of work for a few short weeks of fruit, only to start over again each spring.

But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be this way? Did you know you can overwinter tomato plants and replant them next spring?

Doing so means you get tomatoes earlier in the season, which means more tomatoes overall.

Everyone’s Favorite Annual is a Perennial

Every winter, around February or March, gardeners poke tomato seeds in soil and start the annual process of growing the world’s most popular vegetable.

We tend the seedlings indoors before hardening them off and planting them outside after the magical “all danger of frost” date has passed. We toil all summer against pests, diseases and unfavorable weather to enjoy eating and preserving our own vine-ripened tomatoes.

And then, our plants get hit by that first hard frost, and the show is over for the season.

But tomatoes aren’t supposed to grow this way.

In the wild, tomatoes are perennials, sometimes living for years. They enter a period of dormancy in cooler weather, then begin growing and fruiting when the weather warms again.

Unfortunately for most of us, we have to grow tomatoes as annuals, as they are not frost-hardy and are incredibly cold-sensitive. But with a little planning, you can overwinter tomatoes in your home and start next spring ahead of the game by weeks.

What’s the Advantage of Overwintering Tomatoes?

There are a couple of great reasons to bring your tomatoes indoors for the winter.

Early Tomatoes = More Tomatoes

When we plant tomatoes in the spring, it’s quite a while before those transplants begin producing fruit. Rather than waiting for small, new seedlings to get established and begin flowering, overwintering allows us to leap ahead by putting a mature plant back in the ground.

From there, you only have to wait for the plant to resettle before it begins to set new flowers and produce tomatoes much earlier in the season.

Unlimited Tomato Varieties for Short-Season Growers

Overwintering opens up a world of later-developing tomato varieties to gardeners who live in short growing seasons. Many of the tastiest heirloom varieties take too long to produce fruit in certain hardiness zones. This means short-season gardeners miss out on hundreds of tasty tomato varieties.

However, overwintering tomato plants means you can skip ahead in the growing season by several weeks.

Granted, this would require committing a season to grow these varieties simply for the plant rather than the fruit. But once you have an established plant to overwinter, there’s no reason you can’t keep using that same plant every season thereafter.

Indeterminate & Determinate Tomatoes

Before we jump into the methods available for overwintering, it’s important to talk about indeterminate and determinate tomatoes.

The wild tomatoes that grow as perennials are indeterminate tomatoes. They continue to grow and set new fruit for the life of the plant. As long as you are growing an indeterminate tomato, it can be overwintered.  

Determinate tomatoes are mostly hybrids or highly cultivated varieties. These are all grown as annuals. The plants are bred to grow to a specific height and set all their fruit at once before the plant dies off naturally.

But don’t lose heart; even if you’re growing a determinate tomato variety, you can still overwinter it with one of the methods I’ll detail below. While overwintering determinate varieties won’t get you more tomatoes, it will get you earlier tomatoes, which can be helpful if you plan to preserve them.

Two Ways to Overwinter Tomatoes

There are two ways to overwinter tomatoes, each method with different advantages, disadvantages and varying degrees of success. Once you’ve learned how to do each, you’ll be ready to decide which method is best suited to your needs.  

Digging Up & Pruning Hard

Much like you would when overwintering pepper plants, indeterminate tomatoes can be pruned back, dug up and overwintered indoors, where they will enter dormancy. This method is great if you’ve got a nice, healthy plant that did well and you would like to keep it going again next year.

When using this method, it’s important to remember that you aren’t trying to keep the plant producing fruit through the winter. Instead, you’re bringing the plant indoors to protect it and let it go through a period of dormancy. Basically, you’ll have a hibernating tomato plant in your home.

The Process

Choose a healthy plant free of disease and major pest infestations. A couple of weeks before your first expected frost, cut the top of the plant off, leaving between 18”-24” of the main stem growing from the ground.

Being careful to include as much of the root system as possible, dig up the plant. Do your best not to disturb the soil around the root ball. Check the roots for any signs of disease or pests.

As we’re encouraging the plant to rest and store nutrients for next year, it’s important to provide nutrient-filled soil. Transplant into a large pot filled with quality potting soil with compost and/or leaf mold mixed into it. Consider adding worm castings, biochar or mycorrhizae to the soil as well. Water in the plant and set it somewhere it will receive full sun.

You want to give the plant several days to a week to acclimate and overcome the transplant shock.

Next, we will prune the plant back hard and bring it indoors. Prune all dead leaves and stems from the plant. Then go in with your hand pruners and prune back any live stems branching off from the main stem to about four to six inches long. Pinch off any flowers or developing tomatoes.

Bring the tomato plant indoors and keep it out of direct sunlight in a cool room. Aim for around 2-3 hours of sunlight daily and temperatures between 55-65F. We’re mimicking a mild winter that will cause the plant to go dormant. Limit watering to once every two weeks.

If the plant begins to put out new growth, it’s either getting too much light or is too warm. Pinch off new growth and reposition the plant to ensure it stays dormant.

Next spring, about 6-8 weeks before your last frost, move the tomato plant somewhere indoors where it will receive 8-10 hours of bright sunlight daily and temperatures between 65-75F. Water the plant deeply, but don’t let it sit in standing water. You may need grow lights to provide adequate light.

The plant will come out of its dormant state and begin producing new growth. Once you notice new growth on the plant, you can begin fertilizing with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer.

A week or two before you plan to transplant the tomato back in the garden, begin hardening it off by bringing it outdoors for successively longer periods.

Advantages:

• Because the plant will be dormant indoors, it will have the winter to recoup necessary nutrients and store energy for the next season.
• A dormant plant needs less frequent care than a cloned plant (another method we’ll discuss), so it’s much easier to deal with in the off-season.
• The plant already has a large, healthy root system, which is a great advantage next spring when you transplant it back in the garden.

Disadvantages:

• Because it’s a full-grown plant, you’ll need to put it in a pot large enough to accommodate the root system, which means it will take up more room in your home.
• This method won’t work with determinate tomato varieties.
• Sometimes, the plant isn’t as prolific in subsequent years.

Clone Tomatoes for the Earliest-Fruiting Plants

Creating and growing tomato clones is the most advantageous method for overwintering tomatoes, and it works with indeterminate or determinate tomato varieties.

If you start a tomato clone at the end of the growing season, by the time spring rolls around, you’ll have a mature tomato plant ready to set fruit as soon as you put it in the ground. Even were you to start your tomato seedlings indoors extra early, they still wouldn’t be as developed as an overwintered clone.

The Process

Begin this process about a month before your first frost date.

Choose a tall pot for your clone, at least 9” high. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a wide pot. The soft pots used for tree saplings are perfect for cloning tomatoes (I use them to pot up seedlings). You want to be able to bury half of the stem so new roots will grow along it beneath the soil.  

Prepare the pot with potting soil as discussed in the previous method. Moisten the potting mixture and set the pot aside. 

Be sure to choose from a healthy plant free of disease and major pest infestations. Choose a thick stem from the top portion of the plant you wish to clone. The stem should be 18”-24” long and a minimum of ½” in diameter.

Foliage naturally browns and dies off, starting at the base of the plant as the season progresses. Cutting your clone from the top of the plant will ensure you’re getting the newest growth.

A good candidate will have several smaller stems with leaves branching off of it. Don’t worry about whether or not it has flowers or fruit starting on it.

For indeterminate varieties, you can use the topmost part of the main stem, effectively topping the plant. This also results in the plant redirecting energy into the remaining fruit, which can hasten the ripening of late-season green tomatoes.

Using sharp, sterile pruners, cut your chosen stem at an angle. Working quickly, snip off any side stems from the lower half of the plant and pinch off flowers and developing tomatoes from the top half.

Now, carefully insert it into the prepared pot, ensuring at least half of the stem is below the soil. Firmly press the soil in around the base. The remaining leaves on the stem may look a little droopy but will bounce back after a few hours. Water in the new clone and let the pot drain well.

Caring for Your Clone

Place the clone in bright, indirect sunlight, and make sure the soil stays consistently moist for the first two weeks. At this point, the clone should have started putting out roots below the soil, and you can move it somewhere it will receive full sun.

It’s important to make sure the clone doesn’t dry out. Water it whenever the top inch of soil dries out.

Let the new clone continue to acclimate and grow outdoors, soaking up as much sun as possible. Pinch off any new flowers that develop to encourage the plant to put its energy into developing roots and new leaves.

Bring the plant indoors (making sure it’s free of bugs) before your first frost. From this point until next spring, you have a tomato houseplant. You’ll want to place your clone where it will receive as much sun as possible. If you don’t have a window that receives full sun for most of the day, a grow light will keep your tomato clone from growing leggy.

Continue to pinch back any new flowers during the winter. Your goal is to encourage bushy growth, not fruit. For indeterminate varieties, if the plant starts to get too tall, you can stake it or pinch off the top to encourage it to grow bushier.

If it’s a determinate variety, avoid pinching off new growth, as this will affect the plant’s overall size and fruit yield.

In the spring, harden off the plant about two weeks before transplanting it outside.

Advantages:

• Clones take up less room than an established plant with a large root system.
• There’s no need to dig up the root ball.
• You can select the healthiest growth from your established plant.
• You’re essentially creating an entirely new plant without going through the seedling process.

Disadvantages:

• Clones require regular and consistent care as they grow through the winter.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, both methods are reliable ways of overwintering tomato plants. It all comes down to which works best for you and your needs.

Overwintering tomatoes opens up new gardening possibilities for gardeners in cooler climates; for others, it means a bigger bounty of tomatoes. Still, some may choose to let their garden and themselves rest and stick to starting tomatoes from seed each year.

Read Next:

The post How to Overwinter Tomato Plants & Get Early Tomatoes Next Year appeared first on Rural Sprout.

Did you know that pepper plants are perennials with a lifespan of one and a half to three years? But it can take a while for peppers to get started.

If you’re a home gardener waiting for your first slice of red bell pepper, you can expect to wait at least four months after sowing the seeds. For spicier varieties like Carolina Reapers, you could be waiting five months or more from seed to harvest.

In some climates, you may not be able to grow peppers from seed because there aren’t enough days in the growing season.

Here in my Zone 8 microclimate in France, the bell pepper seeds I start inside in mid-February produce green peppers by mid-August. In order to have red peppers, I must wait until September. That doesn’t leave much time before our cooler temperatures arrive in October.

If I want to get the most out of my pepper plants, I have to find alternative ways to extend the growing season.

Since I don’t own a greenhouse and our last frost date is early May, what do I do? Here are three great options I use to extend my pepper season and increase my harvests.

3 Ways to Overwinter Pepper Plants

Depending on your reasons for overwintering, there are three possible options for overwintering pepper plants indoors.

Option One

With the first option, you simply move the pepper plant inside and provide the conditions it needs to continue to grow and produce throughout the winter. By keeping the plant fertilized, watered, and exposed to enough light and heat, you can grow peppers throughout winter.

That said, you will need to hand-pollinate once the plants are permanently indoors. You should also take measures to avoid indoor insect infestations by following the steps I outline below in The Transplanting Process.

Pepper plants need warm temperatures as well as light to flower and produce fruit. Most sweet pepper varieties will not flower if temperatures fall below 65 degrees F. If you want peppers throughout the winter, you’ll need to keep them someplace quite warm (70-80F), as well as bright.

However, since peppers (like most perennials) need a dormant period in order to maintain their health, I prefer to use Options 2 or 3.

Option Two

The second option for overwintering pepper plants involves pruning back the pepper plant to force it into dormancy over the winter, and this is done before bringing the pepper plant indoors. I’ll explain how to do this in detail, but first, let me explain the third option: a hybrid approach.

Option Three

For the hybrid option, like Option One, you bring the pepper plant indoors and encourage another round of peppers to grow. However, unlike Option One, after harvesting, you prune the plant back to force it into a dormant period.

When I’m using the hybrid approach, I leave my pepper plants outside on warm autumn days and bring them in at night.

By doing this, pollinators take care of the pollination for me, and I save electricity that would otherwise be used for a grow light. That said, pepper plants like warm weather, so I only do this on days that the temperature will be above 65°F or 18°C.

Last year, I harvested Italian peppers and tomato peppers on the 30th of December! The plants were still strong and healthy at that time, but it was winter, and I would have needed to hand-pollinate for another round of peppers. I decided it was time for the plants to rest and used the pruning methods which I will discuss next, to force them into dormancy.

When Should You Start the Overwintering Process?

Because I have a relatively small vegetable garden, there comes a time in September when I need to free up space for my fall crops. Ideally, I’m able to wait until I harvest all the peppers currently growing.

At that time, I observe which plants have new flower buds or immature peppers. I apply the hybrid approach to these plants. If there are no signs of buds or peppers, I start the full overwintering process (Option Two) at this time.

If you have ample garden space and aren’t rushed to make way for your autumn crops, you can also let nature take its course.

Barring frost or freezing temperatures, allow the pepper plants to lose their leaves and go dormant as the weather cools and then start the overwintering process to move them indoors.

Let’s Get to Work – Prepare your plants for overwintering

In order to protect my pepper plants from shock, I divide the overwintering process into two stages: (1) the transplanting process and (2) the pruning process.

1. The Transplanting Process

The transplanting process is when you move the pepper plant into the pot where it will spend the winter. 

• First, if you will allow the plant to continue growing indoors without pruning it, you should check all the leaves for insects and eggs.
• Next, you will dig up the pepper plant from the garden and remove the soil from its roots. You want to remove as much soil as possible because it could harbor insects that you don’t want to bring indoors.
• After removing the soil, use a clean pair of shears or scissors to trim the roots down to fit the size of the pot you have chosen.

• It is recommended to dip the roots in a neem oil or soapy water solution to kill any insects you might have missed. I have never done this nor had issues with insects in the soil while overwintering, but we have few pests here compared to many parts of the world.
• Once your roots have been trimmed and cleaned, transplant the pepper plant to the new pot you have prepared. This pot should have fresh potting soil. Do not reuse potting soil or use garden soil for overwintering because it could be harboring insects, eggs, or diseases.
• Be sure to water the new transplant and keep it away from direct sunlight for a couple of days to help lessen transplant shock.

If you plan to keep harvesting over the winter or are using the hybrid approach, move the pepper plant indoors at this point.

Remember, pepper plants need at least six to eight hours of sunlight per day. You will probably need a grow light as the days shorten. The plant will also need warm temperatures.

Otherwise, if you’re ready to force them into winter dormancy, it’s pruning time.

2. The Pruning Process

Pruning back pepper plants for overwintering will feel quite extreme the first time you do it.

• Using clean, sharp pruning shears, trim all the leaves and branches off down to a “V” or “Y” shape. In general, this means you will leave the primary stem of the plant and two main branches. You will make your cuts right above a node. I prune down each branch to one or two nodes, which is where next year’s growth will start.

• After you have finished pruning, place the plant in a room with a cool temperature (55-65° F or 13-18° C) where they will receive indirect sunlight (2-4 hours each day). Under these conditions, the plant will go into a dormant period.
• During this time, limit watering to once every 7-14 days.

• If your plant begins putting on new leaves when it should be dormant, this means you need to adjust the temperature of the room and/or the lighting received by the plant. Pinch off the new growth.
• Depending on the plant, some overwintered pepper plants might die. To get the best results, only choose the strongest and healthiest plants from your summer garden for overwintering.

Time to Wake Up – Bring your pepper plants out of dormancy

In March, I move my pepper plants from their overwintering room downstairs into my warm, south-facing living room. Within 10-12 days, the first green leaves begin to form. Once they are no longer dormant, the pepper plants will need at least six hours of sunlight each day. A grow light can substitute for limited sunlight.

Once the days get warmer, the pepper plant must be hardened off before moving it back outside. You’ll want to repot it into a container big enough to allow new root growth, such as a grow bag, or transplant them back to the garden once the danger of frost has passed.

Overwintering pepper plants is easy if you follow the steps I’ve outlined above. Aside from the peppers I harvested until the end of December last year, I was also able to harvest peppers a month earlier than usual from my overwintered pepper plants.

As a bonus, those same plants have new buds on them now, which means I should end up with a second harvest before they go dormant this year.

Overwintering pepper plants is a great way to extend your pepper season and get the most out of your pepper plants.

The post How to Overwinter Pepper Plants For Bigger Yields appeared first on Rural Sprout.

As far as garden vegetables go, zucchini are pretty tough plants. They’re naturally drought tolerant, will grow in all kinds of soil and will continue to provide you with summer squash even when nibbled on by the odd pest here and there.

But when things start to take a turn, the leaves are usually the first place we notice signs of trouble. Learning to diagnose common zucchini and summer squash issues by what’s going on with the leaves can help get your plant back on the right track.

Leaves are a Great Litmus Test for Plant Health

Because zucchini and other summer squash grow large, leafy canopies to shield the fruit and vines growing below them, the appearance of the leaves can be a good guide to plant health. After all, you can tell, at a glance, if things are doing okay.

A healthy zucchini plant should have large leaves, emerald green in color. The leaves should be sturdy and hold their shape. Some varieties may have variegated leaves, so take note when reading the seed packet.

As the season progresses, the canopy will grow quite large unless you prune or stake your zucchini. Familiarizing yourself with how common pests and diseases affect the plant’s leaves can make it much easier to spot issues at a glance and deal with them promptly.

1. Wilting Leaves

Water Issues

Droopy or wilting leaves that otherwise appear normal in color seem pretty obvious – clearly, your plant needs to be watered, right? Possibly, but that’s not always the case.

If the plant is otherwise healthy and you haven’t had rain for a bit, it’s most likely the plant needs to be watered. That one is easy to diagnose and fix.

But there are several other issues which can cause wilting leaves.

Oddly enough, too much water can cause drooping leaves as well. If the ground is waterlogged from too much rain, it can cause the roots to rot or become impacted by heavy, wet soil. The leaves will droop as a result, as they aren’t receiving water and nutrients from the roots despite there being plenty of water in the soil.

Compacted Soil

Similarly, compacted soil will also cause root issues, depriving the leaves of water and nutrients. If you have heavy clay soil or grow zucchini in an area of your garden with heavy foot traffic, the soil can become compacted, compressing and damaging the roots.

Squash Vine Borer

Wilting leaves can also be one of the first signs of squash vine borer, as they bore into the plant’s vascular system, disrupting the flow of nutrients and water. If you suspect squash vine borers, inspect the plant stem close to where it comes out of the ground. Look for open lesions or spots anywhere on the stem where it looks as if fine sawdust is coming out of the stem. You can learn how to control squash vine borer here.

Bacterial Wilt

Bacterial wilt (Erwinia tracheiphila) will also cause vascular issues in a plant and lead to wilting leaves; however, you’re more likely to notice this earlier in the season, just as the plant begins developing vines. A good clue is to check when plants are at their perkiest first thing in the morning. If your zucchini is wilting, then chances are good it’s bacterial wilt.

Along with wilting leaves, you’ll notice discolored stems and much darker than normal green leaves. Unfortunately, once a plant is infected, you will need to remove and destroy the plant to prevent it from spreading. (Burning the plant is best if you are able.) Rotating crops annually can help prevent recurring diseases like this one.

Nutrient Deficiency

Finally, and much less common, wilting can be caused by a potassium deficiency in your soil. We always recommend having your soil professionally tested to determine deficiencies before adding amendments. Lindsay has a thorough article about common soil deficiencies and how to diagnose them.

2. Leaves with White Patches

Variegated Leaves

Remember, some zucchini varieties will have naturally variegated leaves.

Powdery Mildew

The most common reason for white patches on plants is powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is one of the most common fungal diseases affecting plants worldwide. Because so many plants can contract it, it spreads quite rapidly. Chances are, if one plant in your yard or garden has it, it will eventually make its way to your zucchini.

It presents as small patches on the leaves that look as though it’s been dusted with white powder, hence the name. It can rapidly spread, covering entire leaves, stems and, rarely, the fruit. You can learn how to control it here.

Hard Water

Sometimes, water can cause white spots on your leaves as well. If you water your garden overhead and you have hard water, the minerals in the water can leave deposits on the plant’s leaves once the water dries. While you don’t need to do anything to correct the problem, it’s always best to water plants below the leaf canopy at the base of the plant.

Nutrient Deficiency

Rarely a zinc deficiency can cause white spots on leaves. Again, you’ll want to read Lindsay’s piece noted earlier and get your soil tested.

3. Yellow or Brown Patches on Leaves

Powdery Mildew

Small yellow spots on leaves can be the start of powdery mildew. Yes, you may notice small yellow patches on the leaves before it takes on the characteristic white patches. If you catch it early, in this stage, it’s easier to deal with.

Downy Mildew

If you notice light yellow, brown or tan spots on the leaves that are angular, chances are good it’s downy mildew, a type of mold, P. cubensis. If you flip the leaves over, you’ll likely find spores growing on the undersides of these spots.

Downy mildew shows up during cool, rainy seasons starting in June and continuing through the summer. It can affect more than your zucchini. Squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, melon, and even spinach are all vulnerable. It’s more common in the warmer southern states but can spread northward as the season progresses.

If you suspect that your zucchini has downy mildew, check out the Cucurbit Downy Mildew Forecast map, where you can see outbreaks and sign up to be notified of new outbreaks.

Downy mildew can be controlled with a copper-based fungicide. Again, crop rotation can help in subsequent years.

Nutrient Deficiency

A lack of iron or magnesium can lead to interveinal necrosis, which looks like yellowing between the veins on the leaf. Read Lindsay’s article and have your soil tested if you suspect a nutrient deficiency.

4. Yellowish or Pale Green Leaves

Water Issues

Like wilting leaves, yellowing leaves can be the product of the same watering issues noted above. You’ll want to reference those again to help diagnose your particular issues. Typically, it’s become more advanced if you notice yellow leaves, and it’s a water issue. You’ll need to take action to remedy the situation and allow the plant to bounce back.

Pests

One of the easiest ways to tell if you have something nibbling on your zucchini is if the leaves grow paler by the day. Most common zucchini and summer squash pests feast on the plant’s sap, weakening it and causing the leaves to discolor. Squash bugs, aphids, spider mites and whiteflies are common squash pests that can damage leaves.

You can spray the plant with insecticidal soap or neem oil to stop pests. Remember to spray early in the morning when flowers are still closed, and pollinator activity is low. You might also want to try encouraging predatory insects to take up residence in your garden.

Frost Damage

Summer squash are not frost-hardy; even a light frost can cause damage, including yellow leaves. Learn how to protect your zucchini from the cold and extend your growing season.  

Nutrient Deficiency

Yellow leaves can be a sign of a lack of nitrogen. Check nearby plants for similar issues; this will help to clue you in on whether something else may be going on. Nutrient deficiencies are much less common than environmental stressors, pests or diseases.

5. Brown Curling Leaves

Severe Drought

During severe drought and high heat, the leaves on your zucchini plant can brown and curl rapidly. When watering your plants, be sure to water them deeply, letting water soak deep into the ground, especially during lengthy periods without rain.

By providing adequate water during extreme temperatures, the plant should bounce back.

Advanced Pest Damage or Disease

Unfortunately, if it’s not an environmental stressor, and your zucchini has brown curling leaves, there were likely other changes to the leaves that went unnoticed until now. Brown curling leaves are usually an advanced stage of pest damage or disease.

At this point, it’s best to remove the damaged leaves and look for clues on less damaged leaves or the stem or fruit of the plant to determine what’s attacking the plant.

An Ounce of Prevention

We usually notice something’s not quite right when the leaves of our zucchini start looking a bit off. Maybe they’re a tad too yellow; maybe they’re curling or have odd patches. But by the time we notice issues with the leaves, it’s safe to assume whatever pest, disease or environmental stressor is the cause has been at it for a while.

It’s always a good idea to check your plants when tending your garden. Look at the stems and turn leaves over, looking closely at the plant’s interior. This is the best way to spot issues before they get out of hand. Many pests can easily be dealt with by hand picking them off before they multiply and become a problem.

As you monitor the plant’s overall health, you’re more likely to catch something and remedy it before it gets out of hand.

The post 5 Things Your Zucchini Leaves Are Trying To Tell You appeared first on Rural Sprout.