Vegetables

Sweet potatoesSo you don't have much space to grow vegetables? Don't give up. Pat Glover of Blue Springs, our new featured gardener, has tips on you can grow just about anything in tight spaces. This photo shows sweet potatoes growing in plastic bags inside boxes. For more check Pat's tips over in the left column. -- Craig

Pat Glover is an accomplished vegetable gardener in Blue Springs. She's a University of Missouri Extension Master Gardener of Greater Kansas City.

Pat's lived in this area about three years, coming here after serving churches for 20 years. She lives at Blue Spring Terrace, an independent living community for United Church of Christ and The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastors.

Here's a quick look at Pat and her garden:

How did you begin gardening?

I grew up on a small family farm in Hinckley, Ohio. Our family grew vegetables and raised cows, pigs and goats, chickens, geese and turkey for our family table. At that time we had a huge garden of straight rows of vegetables which we children weeded.A raised bed with wire over the top to hold burlap and keep sun off the broccoli It was a tough job, but somehow the values of the earth and gardening were instilled in me. My parents were early supporters of Rachel Carson. She wrote a book called “The Silent Spring.” I was an active 4-H member and raised pumpkins for show. We fed them with milk so they got huge!

NOW is the time to order garlic for planting this fall.

I bet you didn't know there were so many varieties of garlic.

Like heirloom tomatoes, garlic choices come in an array of intensities and flavors. Some are more hot, some are more mild. Some have purple or red striping. Some store longer and some are superb for roasting.

Planting garlic in the fall produces a better crop next season (next June). Garlic is a very easy crop to grow.

I have grown about 40 different garlic varieties in our area. All have done well. We seem to be in a good transition zone between hard winters and mild winters which seem to limit choices for northern areas and southern areas. I have not seen that here with the few Ive chosen.

By LEE REICH
For The Associated Press
About this time of year, you might hear complaints about the sorry state of tomato plants.
Yes, many do look unhappy, and it all began early this summer. Surprisingly, such tomato plants might still be loaded down with a reasonably large crop of fruit — surprising considering the leaf loss on each plant. Then again, the crop might seem abundant only because there are fewer leaves now hiding the tomatoes.
AND THE CULPRIT IS...
Look more closely at tomato leaves to pinpoint the cause of the problem. Find a leaf that still has some green on it and you may see spots, each consisting of concentric light and dark rings. That’s a symptom of early blight, a disease especially troublesome in wet summers.

StrawberryIt's time for strawberry growers to think about fertilizing. For advice, see the new Tip of the Week. -- Craig

In order to have a bumper crop of spring-bearing strawberries next season, it’s important to fertilize in August. An application of nitrogen at this time is important in order to increase the number of strawberries produced.

There has been plenty of daylight hours and warm (actually downright hot) temperatures this past June through August to promote the growth of new runner, or daughter, plants. As daughter plants grow, they build up food reserves. As daylight hours dwindle down and temperatures cool off in September and October, fruit buds for the next year's fruit crop develop.

To get a good berry crop next spring, it is important for strawberry plants to be vigorous and healthy during the development of new plants and fruit buds. Nitrogen that is applied in early to mid-August will help promote fruit bud development.

By Nancy Brachey
McClatchy Newspapers

Q. We have planted Celebrity tomatoes for the past two years and have had a problem with them splitting from the top of the core, thus the tomatoes go bad quickly. It does not happen to all of the tomatoes, but it does affect about two-thirds of them. Do you know what causes this and how we could prevent this? Would you recommend a different variety for us to plant next year?

A. Celebrity is one of the best tomato varieties for home gardeners and it is supposed to be one of the better types to resist cracking. So I hope you will not give up on it.

A question from Derek:

Does anyone in the area have luck with arugula? And what about trying a fall harvest? When should I plant?

How do I tell when green zebra tomatoes are ripe?

I'm growing an heirloom tomato in a large container and trying to keep it watered enough in this hot weather. But the bottom leaves and branches are yellowing, and some in the middle too, so I figure I'm overwatering. Is there a rule of thumb for how much to water and how to tell when it's too much?

Here are a few more tomato color mutations that most never get to see. Most never get to see these because breeders at this point have chose not to work with them and release them as a variety.

Sherry gene

apricot

Apricot interior

I obtain these from the Charles M Rick Tomato Genetics Resource Center out of UC Davis for breeding and education (such as sharing them here).

My son has a tomato plant in a big pot on his patio. It has been growing like crazy. All of a sudden the leaves are curling up. Too much water, not enough water or something else?

Like the previous question, I have zucchinis that are rotting on the vine. I've got about a dozen, most about 5 or 6 inches long, and about half of them are getting yellow, soft and rotten. The others, however, look great.

Suggestions to prevent this problem?

I decided to try to grow an heirloom tomato in a large container this year but I'm seeing that many of the first tomatoes have bottom rot. I've read that uneven watering can cause that. How much water should a tomato in a container get? Is MiracleGro every two weeks a good idea? And is the whole effort of trying to grow tomatoes in a container doomed anyway? Thanks for your help.

I have finally found my package of lettuce seeds is it to late to plant or should I wait until fall?

German strawberry tomatoWith the recent salmonella scare, how do you pick safe -- and tasty -- tomatoes? Chelsey Wasem offers advice on that and on how to shop at farmers markets in the Tip of the Week in the left column. -- Craig

Several weeks have passed since the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers of a Salmonella outbreak linked to certain tomatoes. All U.S. states have been cleared as the source with the exception of Florida. Not all the sources from Mexico been cleared.

Tomatoes are returning to restaurants and supermarkets, but can consumers trust this produce after the food safety scare?

Disease outbreaks such as this one are a good reminder of the importance of a local, healthy food supply. Some of the safest produce to consume is that from your own backyard and community. For those with happily growing tomato plants, bring on the fresh salsa and BLT’s!

From Derrick:

I see all sorts of different advice about what kind of soil and water bell peppers want. What are people finding works in KC?

By Nancy Brachey
McClatchy Newspapers

Q. I’ve got tomato vines 3 feet tall with lots of blooms but no tomatoes setting yet. What is going wrong?

A. Tomatoes do not require insects to pollinate flowers because normal swaying in the wind shakes the pollen within the flowers. This sets fruit.

However, weather can interfere with this. As a general rule, fruit set is inhibited when night temperatures rise above the mid-70s and day temperatures are above 90. When tomato flowers don’t pollinate, they drop off the plant.

Try shaking your plants in bloom, but only gently, for a few seconds a couple of times a week as blossoms develop. Whether night temperatures will drop in coming weeks to the best level remains to be seen.

I don't plant many tomatos, maybe one a year and usually a standard variety such as Big Boy. But this year the store had racks and racks of heirloom tomatos, which I'd never tried. But I've got one now and I'm wondering in what ways these might be superior or inferior to the more standard varieties.