Today is the first full day of summer. The first full day of the season of summer has arrived. It is the time when tomato plants will thrive and within a few weeks the first ripe tomatoes will adorn the vines of tomatoes. All warm-weather vegetables should now be well on their way to a harvest. The soil is warm and anything you plant now will quickly respond to the warmth of daytime and night-time temperatures.
A welcome mat for pollinators for squash and cucumbers. To make your squash and cucumber blooms more inviting to honeybees, bumblebees and other pollinators, fill a spray bottle with a mixture of sugar and water and spray a mist of vines and foliage to attract pollinators to the blooms to promote a bountiful harvest.
Still time to plant peppers. Peppers are tropical and late June is as tropical as Carolina weather gets. This means that peppers planted in late June will thrive and produce an abundant harvest of peppers until the first frost. You can plant all varieties and most hardwares and nurseries still have lots of plants available. The sweet bell peepers include California Wonder, Door Knob, Keystone, and Big Bertha. Hot peppers include Cayenne, Jalapeno, habanero, and banana. Keep a distance between hot and sweet varieties. Allow two and a half feet between plants. Stake or cage peppers for support from thunderstorms and winds. Feed pepper plants every 15 days by side dressing with Garden-Tone organic vegetable food and pull soil up to the plants to cover the Plant-Tone.
Controlling cucumber and squash mildew. Cloudy and stormy days in June combined with high humidity can produce powdery mildew on squash and cucumber vines and also on zinnias in the flower bed or garden. You can control powdery mildew by mixing a simple solution of two tablespoons of baking soda in a quart of water poured into a spray bottle such as window cleaner comes in. Spray this concoction on leaves of squash and cucumbers and on the foliage of zinnias on a day when no rain or thunderstorms are forecast. Apply it on a hot and humid day so the sun will dry the misty spray. Apply once a week if necessary. When powdery mildew appears, it will look powdery white on the leaves.
Quick chicken cordon bleu supper. On a warm summer evening, this is a nice way to enjoy a simple and easy meal without heating up the kitchen. You will need one pound of chicken tenders (cooked and cut into half-inch cubes), half stick margarine, one ten-and-a-half-ounce can Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, two tablespoons milk, one cup finely shredded Swiss cheese or one cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese, one cup shopped deli ham, four cups hot boiled and drained medium egg noodles. Boil chicken tenders and cut into half-inch cubes. Place cubes in a frying pan and cook on medium heat for two or three minutes. Set chicken aside. In a large bowl, add the cream of chicken soup, shredded cheese, milk, and ham. Add cooked chicken to bowl, cool on low heat three minutes, and set aside. Boil noodles in a pot of water until tender. Drain noodles and add to sauce mixture and heat on low heat. Add more milk if noodles seem to dry. For extra flavor, pour the Cordon Bleu into a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish and pour a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese on top of noodles and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts on top of the noodles.
Keeping tomato plants fed as we move into warmer temperatures. Warm June nights and sunny days are the kind of environment that tomatoes love and thrive in. Two things tomato plants need to get them well on their way to a great harvest are food and protection from blossom-end rot. To prevent blossom-end rot, mix powdered lime and water in a sprinkle can and pour around base of tomato plants. Another solution is Uigaro tomato food that is also calcium-enriched and can be purchased in three pound bags. It is a great tomato food and calcium in the Uigaro prevents blossom-end rot. Sprinkle it on both sides of the tomato row and hill up soil to cover it up. Another good tomato food that tomatoes respond to quickly is Tomato-Tone organic tomato food available in four pound zippered plastic bags. It is fine-textured and a little goes a long ways. It is totally organic and totally natural. It is a great product and a bag feeds a lot of tomatoes.
Planting another row of strike green beans to continue harvest. Strike green beans are the must productive of all green bean varieties. They are totally stringless, pencil thin, and very tender. They will produce two harvest when picked clean. They are great fresh, canned, or frozen. In the heat of summer, they thrive in warm soil and produce an abundance of beans.
Starting a packet of tomato seed to produce plants for a late harvest. As we move into late June, tomato plants will be harder to find. You can start a packet of tomato seed this week to provide tomato plants for the mid-summer garden in early August. Buy a bag of seed-starting medium and a packet or two of determinates like Marglobe, Rutgers, Early Girl or Celebrity that are good late summer varieties. In a small quart container or pot, pour it full of seed-starting medium and allow an extra handful for covering the packet of seed. Mix the medium with enough water to moisten the medium. Sprinkle seed on top of the medium and cover the seed with remaining medium. Use a spray bottle of water to dampen seed each evening. Keep the container out of direct sunlight to prevent them from getting too dry. Protect from thunderstorms. Shelter them each night. Water daily. They should develop two leaves in about ten days. Use the remaining seed-starting medium to transplant seedlings to individual pots. They should be ready to transplant to garden in late July or early August.
Late June is time for thunderstorms and rainbows. Thunderstorms can be the lifeblood of the summer garden plot end a shot in the arm for the drooping vegetable plants. Thunderstorms can also be the color wheel of summer with a seven-colored rainbow as the grand finale of a gusty summer thunderstorm. Not only is a thunderstorm refreshing to the thirsty garden, but the leaves on the trees turn upright as they anticipate every drop of precipitation. As we watch the putter-patter of raindrops, our nostrils breathe in the fresh aroma of welcome rain and relief on a thirsty lawn, garden, and flowerbed.
The aftermath of a summer day. Have you ever noticed that on a summer evening with the dampness of an afternoon thunderstorm still lingering, there seems to be more fireflies than usual? They seem to be flying lower to the ground making it easier to catch them. We remember catching them on the sawdust pile in Northampton County as a kid. The wet sawdust clinging to our bare feet and the scent of fireflies on our hands. We believe fireflies are magical and definitely memory-makers. We hope kids of today will keep them in the windmills of their minds!
Hoe-Hoe-Hoedown: “Too Lazy.”An old farmer and his son were sitting on the front porch napping on a warm June afternoon. After the nap, the farmer said to his son, “Step outside and see if it has been raining.” Without even moving, the son said, “Why don’t we just call in the dog and see if he is wet?”
“Garden Fever.” Carla: “Do you know what happens every time I ask my husband to plant the garden?” Darla: “He goes to the hardware to buy seeds?” Carla: “No, he digs up an excuse.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com