Field and Garden: Community garden update, and questions

Thirteen gardeners planted 24 plots in Carrington’s community garden this year.

It’s been fun watching the gardeners experiment with new crops and new techniques.

One technique that really worked well was the use of clear plastic to mulch melon plants. The plastic warmed the soil and increased melon growth in early summer.

My experiment using the Florida weave to tie up tomatoes was less successful. I’ll be looking for a different method next year.

There are some nice pumpkins in the community garden. I’m hoping their owners will enter the Foster County pumpkin growing contest.

The weigh off will occur in the city park between 5 and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept 19. That’s the date of the final Carrington Market in 2023.

The contest is open to everyone. There will be youth and adult divisions.

If you have questions about the contest, please contact me in the Extension office (652-2581, [email protected]).

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Here are some garden questions I’ve encountered recently:

Q: Is it too late to plant grass?

In our area, Aug. 1 to Sept. 15 is the best time to establish a new lawn or to overseed an existing lawn.

The grass seedlings will benefit from cool temperatures that we normally experience during this time, and weed pressure is usually less in autumn than in spring.

It helps to core aerate the lawn first before overseeding. This will improve seed to soil contact.

Remember not to spray herbicides after you seed. The grass seedlings cannot tolerate the chemicals.

Q: When should I harvest my onions?

Onions can be harvested when half or more of the tops have fallen over.

If the weather is dry, the bulbs can be left on the soil surface for two or three days after digging.

Collect the onions and spread them in a dry area with good air circulation for two to four weeks, until the necks are dry and the outer skin rustles.

When properly dry, the tops can either be braided together or trimmed off.

The ideal storage temperature for onions is 32 to 40 degrees.

Q: What are the yellow and brown spots on my tomato leaves?

Early blight (Alternaria) and Septoria blight are the two most common leaf diseases of tomatoes. They are frequently seen at this time of year.

One key to control these diseases is to avoid getting water on the leaves when irrigating.

Don’t spray the plants. Keep the water near the base of the plant by using a soaker hose or careful hand-watering.

Whether or not you observed disease symptoms this year, it’s always recommended to remove the vines at the end of the gardening season.

Next year, make sure to plant resistant varieties and rotate the tomatoes to a different location in the garden.

Q: How do I know when cantaloupe is ripe?

Muskmelons (which include cantaloupe) have a layer of cells around the stem which softens as the fruit ripens.

If you put slight pressure on the stem of a ripe muskmelon, the stem should release easily, leaving a clean, disk-shaped scar.

Ripe melons also have a pleasant, musky aroma.