* Harvest summer squash when the fruit are very young, i.e. 4-6 inch length for zucchini and straight neck yellow squash. Young squash are much more flavorful than large, baseball bat-sized squash. The flavor is almost like sweet corn. If they get much larger than 6 inches, we create “zoodles”, zucchini noodles made using a spiralizer. A julienne peeler or mandolin may also be used.
* Don’t dismiss the large blossoms on summer squash plants as something to toss onto the compost heap. Though the most common recipes using the blossoms involve stuffing and then deep frying, many other recipes may be found with a little internet search.
* Remove the suckers from tomatoes which are staked. Keep in mind that staked tomatoes are somewhat stressed; it’s not their natural habit of growth. That stress can contribute to the occurrence of blossom end rot, a physiological condition characterized by dry sunken areas at the blossom end of the tomato fruit. Keeping soil evenly moist with the help of regular watering or a layer of mulch can help reduce the incidence of blossom end rot.
* Don’t be in a rush to harvest onions as soon as the tops (tubular leaves) have flopped but are still green. Well, you could harvest some if needed now for a recipe. However, if the onions are to be stored for any length of time, don’t pull up the bulbs until the tops are brown or nearly so. If completely brown and dry, the tops may be cut off, leaving a stem about one inch long. If tops are a little green, tie the onions in bunches and hang these to cure in a dry, airy location away from sunlight. After several weeks, the tops should be cut off. Fully cured onions will keep through the fall and winter if stored in a cool (35-55F), dry location.
* Replace fading annuals in containers and in flower beds with new plants. Garden centers still have bedding plants for sale, and at much-reduced prices. Sort through the plants carefully as some may be a little leggy. However, if the stems are cut back a little, the plants will be usable and attractive. Give the plants a boost by applying an organic fertilizer after planting. There’s still more than half the growing season left.
* Make a note when planning next year’s vegetable garden to plant annual flowers intermingled with vegetable crops. Not only does this cause one to pause to admire the view when working in the garden, but planting flowers among vegetables is also a good way to deter pests.
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I’m a big fan of buckwheat. I love that little rascal in the Our Gang comedies. I also love buckwheat pancakes and bread, but most of all I love buckwheat as a summer cover crop in our vegetable garden. Though we are planting some late crops to fill in vacant spaces, there will still be open sections in the garden. Over these areas, we’ll scatter buckwheat seeds. Buckwheat sprouts and grows quickly, shading the soil and inhibiting development of weeds. Once the buckwheat plants begin to flower and before they set seed, they’ll be cut down and tilled into the soil, contributing a small but valuable amount of organic matter. Later plantings of buckwheat will be killed by frost and left on the soil surface. In spring, they dried stems may be raked aside allowing for the transplanting or seeding of vegetable crops. This is an example of a no-till method, a technique which preserves soil structure.
