Summer Garden Info At-A-Glance*

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2 Summer Garden Info At-A-Glance* *Most of the information for each vegetable is not mine, but was taken from The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith Vegetables Specific Needs How Often to Water When to Feed What to feed How Often When to Harvest Not too much nitrogen; high Dilute solution of fish Moderate to high during tomato phosphorus and potassium Begin when newly planted emulsion or other complete Every 2-3 weeks growth, low during harvest. need liquid fertilizer Pick fruit when the skin of the tomato yields slightly to finger pressure. The shoulder might still be yellow, since it's the last to change color. sweet pepper hot pepper Not too much nitrogen; high phosphorus and potassium need Keep soil evenly moist. When you first transplant, and again when you see dimesized fruits. A fertilizer with a lot of water so the fertilizer doesn't get too concentrated in the soil. Twice--when planted and when setting fruit. You can harvest when peppers are green, but they are not fully ripe until they turn the color they are supposed to turn (red, yellow, orange, purple, whatever). zucchini pattypan squash yellow squash High nitrogen, moderate phosphorus and potassium; however, way too much nitrogen can limit yields. Heavy and even watering. Only when needed if planted in a soil rich in organic matter. Seaweed or fish emulsion Harvest zucchini and yellow When leaves are pale or plants summer squash when it's lack vigor about 4 inches; pattypan when it's about 2-3 inches. cucumber Moderate nitrogen, high phosphorus and potassium Moderate until flowering, heavey from flowering to harvest. Only when needed if your soil is in good shape. A liquid fertilizer with a good shot of nitrogen. Whenever there is slow growth or yellow leaves. Harvest when they are large enough to use (small ones usually taste better than big ones). Harvest big fruits while the whole cucumber is still dark green (yellowing at the blossom end indicates overripe fruit that is past its prime). PH range ; low Low at planting, medium at nitrogen, moderate flowering, heavy through At planting and again at two to green beans (bush) phosphorus, moderate harvest. During germination four weeks if the leaves are Use a liquid organic fertilizer Twice--when planted and at potassium. Full sun and less period, keep soil moist. After not a deep green color. Pale like fish emulsion. two to four weeks if needed. susceptiblw to mildew if there germination, water if the soil greens or yellow indicate a is some gentle air movement becomes dry. Water soil, not need for nitrogen. in the garden. leaves to avoid disease. Plant in fertile soil to feed PH range ; moderate small root systems, and side nitrogen, phosphorus, and dress with compost in late onions, sweet potassium. Full sun for best Medium and even watering spring. If needed fertilize Use fish emulsion. Only when needed. yield, but will tolerate light shade. lightly once per month only if the plants aren't growing well with dark green leaves. Harvest when pods are 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick in diameter (about as thick as a pencil). Harvest when tops fall over (in warm areas, when 1/4-1/3 of your onion tops fall over; in cool areas, when all of the tops fall over).

3 Natural and Organic Garden Pest Control Cheat Sheet Copyright Kristi Stone, StonFamilyFarmstead.com. All rights reserved. Permission granted to print for personal use. For permission to use for non-personal use, ants Pest or Disease Symptoms Natural Remedy Organic Remedy Covering various parts of plants, may be accompanied by aphids, as they are harvesters of the "honeydew" (droppings) from the aphids. They protect the aphid population for this reason. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth on plants, reapply if it gets wet. Combine borax, sugar, and water into a paste and place out in garden (paste that is taken to the queen, said to kill the colony). All-natural insecticidal soap. You may need to treat for aphids as well (see below). aphids cabbage looper cabbage worms squash bugs Curled, distorted leaves, colonies of tiny bugs on the undersides of leaves, and in some cases on top. They like to hide in the curls and distortions of the leaves. Can be green, grey, and even other colors. Chewed leaves, sometimes completely gone. Green inchworm-type larvae found on any stage of growth of cruciferous plants. Greenish-brown fecal pellets found at the base of leaves. Stunted growth. Chewed leaves, velvety green larvae with faint yellow stripes, eggs on the undersides of leaves, fecal matter. Watch for white moths with occasional black markings flying around cruciferous vegetables, these are the parent bug. Brownish-grey bug over 1/2" long in size. Eggs and grey young squash bugs on the underside of leaves. Yellow spots on leaves (they suck the sap out of the leaves), ragged holes in leaves. Remove all of the severely infested leaves from the plant. Smush small cluster of aphids with your fingers (wear gloves if you are squeamish). If smushing isn t your jam, you can power spray your plants with water and that should knock them off of your plant. You ll need to do this daily until the infestation is gone. Also effective is a warm soap and water solution (1Tb dish soap to a small bucket or 32 oz spray bottle of warm water, add essential oils if you prefer). Spray or sponge solution onto plants and leaves daily until the infestation is gone. Hand pick larvae daily for two weeks until the infestation is gone. Look on the undersides for eggs and crush them between your fingers. Use row covers if it's cool enough not to cause plants to bolt All-natural insecticidal soap, or neem oil. Peppermint Neem Oil Recipe - To ½ gallon of water, add.5-1 tsp. 100% organic neem oil (2 capfuls), 10 drops of peppermint essential oil, and a squirt of dish soap. To use, spray on the aphids, soaking the leaves where the bugs are. Repeat daily for a few weeks, or until the infestation is gone. Bt (bacillus thuringiensis); neem oil. Peppermint Neem Oil Recipe - To ½ gallon of water, add.5-1 tsp. 100% organic neem oil (2 capfuls), 10 drops of peppermint essential oil, and a squirt of dish soap. To use, spray on the aphids, soaking the leaves where the bugs are. Repeat daily for a few weeks, or until the infestation is gone. Equal parts baking soda and AP flour; dust your Bt (bacillus thuringiensis); neem oil. brassica plants, cabbage worms will eat it and die; do for a few days. Row covers if it's cool enough not Peppermint Neem Oil Recipe - To ½ gallon of to cause the plants to bolt. water, add.5-1 tsp. 100% organic neem oil (2 capfuls), 10 drops of peppermint essential oil, and a squirt of dish soap. To use, spray on the aphids, soaking the leaves where the bugs are. Repeat daily for a few weeks, or until the infestation is gone. Plant resistant varieties of squash whenever possible. Garlic spray. All-natural insecticidal soap.

4 spider mites tomato/tobacco hornworms Webs and tiny red dots on the plant, plant turning yellow and looking like it's dying (advanced stages). Yellow spots on leaves (early stage). These little guys like dusty plants, and plants that are stressed from underwatering. Chewed leaves, bare stems. In a large infestation, a plant can be devoured overnight. Tiny whitish eggs on the back of leaves, not in clusters. Green worms with white strips (tobacco hornworm) or white "v" (tomato hornworm), and a horn at the back end of the worm. Prune off all of the damaged and infested leaves, wet your plant completely with the hose, including both sides of the leaves. Water your plant regularly to reduce stress on your plant and use a strong blast of water to knock off any webs and spider mites that make their home on the undersides or anywhere else on the plant. Alternatively, you can remove the plant completely if the infestation is really bad. Dampening walkways around your plants can help keep the dust down, which will make a less spider mite-friendly situation. If you have ladybugs in your garden already, they will help keep the spider mite population down, but if it gets out of control, you ll need to step up your game. The best way I have found to treat your plants that have hornworms is to prune them back to only 2-3 branches, keeping the middle open so the sunshine can get into the middle of the plant (leave plenty of foliage to shade the fruit or you run the risk of sunspots on your fruit if it gets too hot). If you keep your plants well-pruned, you will be more readily able to spot these guys one your plants. Usually chemical pesticides multiply the issue, so you can rest assured that natural and organic is best. When I had this issue, I used Dr. Earth Final Stop Yard and Insect Killer Concentrate (the kind you hook to your hose) and sprayed the whole plant again, covering the whole plant, stems and both sides of the leaves. Since it s active ingredients are essential oils and garlic oil, it is safe around pets and you can spray it even if you have fruit on the vine. Also, insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, and sulfur spray (with some restrictions--see labels). Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) When you find a hornworm, pick it off your tomato plant. If you are squeamish and don t want to touch them, just break the leaf stem off and throw them in a bucket, and make sure to remove them from your yard by dumping them in the trash. It usually takes about 2 weeks of daily hunting to get them all and save your plants, but if you are diligent every day to look your plants over, you can avoid losing plants in their entirety.

5 Where to Plant Culinary Herbs Herb Grows in Full Sun? Grows in Full Shade? Grows in Partial Sun/Shade? Parsley yes yes yes Cilantro no yes yes Chives yes yes yes Mint yes yes yes Thyme yes yes yes Tarragon yes yes yes Lemon Balm yes yes yes Oregano yes yes yes Bay yes yes yes Basil yes no yes Rosemary yes yes yes Sage yes no yes

6 Notes: Let me preface all that I will say with the fact that I am in Zone 9b. Zone 9b has lows down to degrees in winter, and in the summer, highs that can reach 115, but is usually around for at least two months of the summer. The recommendations for the herbs on the list are very general, not necessarily complete information for my zone or yours. In my zone, I cannot grow cilantro in full sun, because cilantro tends to bolt when it gets higher in temperature. I have grown most of the delicate, small-leafed herbs in partial sun and shade, with the sun being morning sun, rather than our scorching afternoon sun. Basil and sage do not do well in full shade at all here, but seem to need long stretches of hot sun to thrive. The reason I bring this up is to make note that there are so many planting zones and so many varying microclimates (even from property to property). Because of that, this cheat sheet can only serve as a guideline for you. Gardening is always trial and error, but if you use cheat sheets like this one, you will soon learn what plants do best in specific locations on your property. Please feel free to print as many of these as you need to until you learn instinctively where to plant your precious herbs. If the herbs you would like to try your hand with are not listed, please use the additional spaces to add them in. I would also like to suggest that you begin to keep a notebook for your gardening, and add this cheat sheet into it for your future reference. If you do not have one, you can purchase the one I use, The Gardening Notebook (a liate link) by Angi Schneider. Happy gardening! Kristi Stone, StoneFamilyFarmstead.com, all rights reserved. Permission granted to print for personal use.

7 A Note from the Kristi: Hey all! Thank you so much for subscribing to my blog! I really appreciate you for doing so! It is my hope to provide easy-to-follow, actionable homesteading information for you so you can get started with homesteading on the right path. Please know that you are welcome to contact me at any time with questions at krististone@stonefamilyfarmstead.com. I love helping people and chatting about homesteading! Warmly, Kristi