Update - weeds. 'maters, etc.

Just a little update for everyone, since poor MG has been pretty much the only one watching the garden and I'd guess she is sick of thinking about it. So, I'll try to step in. There is some good news and some OK news and maybe some less than great news.

Good news. So far there are seemingly no large beetle problems, although as you can see from my previous post there are lots of other people in the area who are not so lucky. I've seen a few here and there, but so far, so good.

The weeds, on the other hand, are thriving. We've done a fair amount of weeding in the past couple days and have made quite a bit of progress (I've been just leaving the dead weeds on top of the straw as a second layer of mulch). As we've cleared the weeds, we've found some good surprises (the cukes and one plot of yellow squash look great) and so-so (some of the replanted squash plants seem small but healthy. Brussel sprouts look good. I think the cabbage and broccoli may be toast. I haven't looked at the beans (that area still needs some weeding).

Now, tomatoes. As MG, planbreaker and I have noticed, the tomatoes do not seem to be turning red very quickly (we had a lot of red tomatoes by this time last year). We've also cumulatively thrown out probably 40 rotten tomatoes that have turned red; essentially it seems like if they turn red they rot instantly. There is a similar, though less pervasive, problem with some of the peppers -- although in general the peppers look pretty good. This seems to be only a problem with the regular tomatoes, the cherry and grape varieties seem fine.

However, I talked to a friend who is a big gardener, and got some news that may be better than MG and I had hoped. Turns out a lot of people don't have many red tomatoes yet this year, some people think it has something to do with the weird spring and the effect on bees, which in turn has an impact on pollenation of the plants. However, things are starting to look up in that regard. And, the rotting is likely blossom end rot, which, from what he said and from what I've found online, is caused by soil composition and soil moisture, neither of which there is anything we can do about. HOWEVER, it often solves itself as the season goes on and the roots get better established. I guess for now all we can do is keep an eye on things and hope for the best. The only thing he suggested is more regular watering, but not drowning it when you do (do we need to move to daily watering? Seems excessive, but I dunno...)

I picked a couple good tomatoes today (good sign!), a couple cukes, and a couple beets because I didn't want them to go bad out there. If you want them, come and get them--we're kind of overloaded with food right now. We are probably to the point where there will be good new stuff daily, so people should start picking away. There's also a ton of chard out there and the kale is really good too.

Lastly, planbreaker and I think we should just tear out all the lettuce, maybe plant something new in its place? Here are the things that the UI Extension says can be planted now, and hopefully we could get it harvested by the time they close the garden:

Beets
Brocolli
Cabbage
Leaf lettuce
Peas
Radishes
Spinach
Snap beans
Cauliflower
Carrots
Mustard greens
Mesclun mixes (If weather is unusually hot, plant these greens in partial shade.)

Well, that about wraps up what's been going on. It should be pretty obvious what needs to be weeded, if anyone wants to go out. An hour or so can really make a dent. I'm up for going, with a little notice, if anyone wants company.

We also need to plan a harvest "feast" sometime soon. Anyone wanna suggest a date?