Summer Gardening in Eugene

Hopefully, by now, all your gardens are underway and enjoying significant growth midway through the growing season.  Here are some reminders, tips, and ideas for ensuring a successful harvest.

First, the most obvious — remember to water!  I know this seems like a no-brainer, but many of us, if we haven’t already done so, are probably planning vacations and camping trips.  Although we remember to find friends to feed and water our animal companions in our absence, we oft neglect to have someone come over to water the garden.  This is critical if you intend to be away for more than 48 hours, especially since the summer heat is well underway.  An easy – albeit pricey – remedy is to have a drip or sprinkler system on a daily timer.  Generally, the best times to water are before 9am or after 7pm;  if you water during the day, druing the peak temperature hours, the water evaporates and, sometimes, burns the leaves of certain plants.

When you water, remember that you have committed to having a garden this season, so do not be lazy when it comes to watering.  Sprinklers are an easy solution;  a good rule of thumb is to turn on your sprinkler before your breakfast or morning coffee.  Pay attention to how effective your sprinkler is because not all sprinklers are created equal.  Just because the leaves of your plants are wet, doesn’t mean they’ve been adequately watered.  The roots are what need water, not the leaves.  In fact, squash plants prefer not to have their leaves watered (fertilizing with milk will help combat leaf mold);  if at all possible just give them a deep soak every other day, unless temperatures are in the upper 90s for consecutive days in a row.  Late in the afternoon the leaves of squash and pepper plants may appear to wilt, and this is perfectly normal.  Remember to check the soil often to see if it is moist;  it should be to at least an inch deep.

Another way to ensure success is to remove ripe fruit and deadhead flowers promptly.  You should be checking everday for fruit by now.  Inspect closely because you will oft miss a ripe tomato hidden in the bush.  You don’t want to let the fruit or vegetable rot, of course, but once it’s ripened it continues to leech energy from the rest of the plant, preventing more from growing or ripening.  The same goes for flowers.  Deadheading refers to removing the bloom after it has already flowered.  Do this at the lowest junction on the stem; do not just rip the bloom off.  Pay attention to ensure you’re not cutting off other tiny blooms.  Basic home scissors work fine for this although a good pair of Fiskar hand clippers are convenient to have on hand.

At this point in the season your plants may be ready for another round of fertilization, or perhaps you have not fertilized?  Hopefully, you did when you initially planted your veggies.  Either way, I recommend keeping track in a little garden journal so you do not overdo it.  Virtually all types of fertilizers will indicate on the packaging an appropriate timeline.  If you have to transplant, say, a pepper, because you potted it in something that ended up being too small, it is a good idea to fertilize at that point.  I do not endorse so-called chemical fertilizers like Miracle Gro.  In my organic garden, we use bat guano, blood meal, bone meal, ground up oyster shells, and the fillings and droppings from our chicken coop on the entire vegetable garden.  One or more of those substances is highly recommended;  most are generally low-cost and available at any garden center.

And, finally, weed, weed, weed!  Many gardeners use hay to maintaix

Best of luck!

Written by Sabrina McNamara for DiscoverEugene.com