The Sauk County Gardener The August Garden

Jeannie Manis, Wisconsin Certified Master Gardener

“Now August comes with a dreamy haze of heat.”

— Gladys Taber

Although many in the area had lots of wind damage from the recent storm, fortunately we had very little damage at our home – just an overturned umbrella, a couple tipped over pots, and some of my tomato plants requiring additional staking. There was one benefit of the storm – 1.5 inches of rain.

The rain was definitely needed as many area gardens have been very dry unless they were watered. For many things we grow in our garden, water is very important at this time in the growing season. This is especially true for fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers to help prevent blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is a result of calcium deficiency, so when tomatoes and peppers get too dry, they don’t have enough water to transport the calcium to developing fruits. The best way to prevent blossom end rot is to maintain adequate and uniform soil moisture at the roots throughout the growing season. Tomato plants require about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week during the growing season. If you discover any fruit with blossom end rot, it cannot be saved. Dispose of the affected fruit and work to correct the calcium levels for the next round of fruit.

Although I am already getting yellow and red cherry and grape tomatoes, I’m waiting impatiently for the major bumper crop to ripen. I’m not dealing with the disease issues I’ve had in the past and my plants are exceptionally healthy this year. For our garden, it’s primarily a result of the dry weather and my watering technique as my plant leaves are not getting or staying wet and the plants have been pruned for

The Whys and Hows of Deadheading

“Off with their heads!”

— Queen of Hearts

(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)

This is the time of year when I enjoy walking in my gardens after work, drinking a glass of wine, and checking to see what’s blooming. At the same time, I do quite a bit of deadheading. Deadheading can help your plants thrive, it doesn’t require much except your time, and can help create a longer blooming season. If you’re unsure of what deadheading is, it’s simply the process of removing the spent or dying flowers from a plant. It helps tidy up the plant’s appearance, control seed dispersal, and allows the plant to put its energy into producing more flowers instead of producing new seeds. If you want to encourage more blooms all summer long, deadheading is a technique you should learn to do correctly.

Use clean tools, especially with plants prone to diseases. In the case of roses, I disinfect my gardening shears, pruners, or scissors with a quick spray of Lysol disinfectant spray. I wipe off the tool to remove the excess spray and then cut off the dead blooms. Clean your tool before you move to the next plant. You should also make sure the plant you want to extend its blooming season is a good candidate for deadheading. Zinnias, roses, cosmos, geraniums, petunias, and many others will continue to bloom if deadheaded regularly. A few perennials that may also provide a second bloom are Shasta daisies, spike speedwell, tickseed, and purple coneflower.

When deadheading, remove the flower stem right below the spent flower and above the next set of healthy leaves. Make sure to remove any seed pods that may have started to form. If your bloom had a long stem, you could also cut the stem way back to the bottom. Some plants need to be deadheaded more frequently so check regularly when you’re in the garden. If done properly,

Riverway Board to host field trip near Lone Rock August 19

The Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board will host a field trip at Cruson Slough in Richland County on Saturday, August 19, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. In case of severe weather, the field trip will be held on Sunday, August 20. Participants should gather at the boat landing at the westernmost end of Cruson Slough, which is located west of Lone

Rock on Hwy. 14. Look for the brown DNR signs.

The Riverway Board is partnering with the Friends of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway for the event. Dave Marshall of the FLOW Science Team will start off the day with a fish shocking demonstration at the boat landing. He will discuss some of the rare and unusual fish of the backwater lakes, such as the good airflow to prevent disease. If you can, water via a soaker hose and mulch heavily around your plants. When I planted our tomatoes, I put down paper all around the plants, weaved soaker hoses in and around the plants, and then added a very thick layer of straw mulch around the plants. No soil-borne diseases are able to splash up onto the bottom of my leaves.

As we wait for tomatoes, regularly harvest your beans, peas, and cucumbers (if the deer or rabbits haven’t eaten all of them.) Keep them regularly picked so they continue to produce for as long as you would like them. You may find you have to take regular, but smaller, cuttings of your broccoli as they can bolt quite quickly in the heat. In areas where you’ve already harvested the crops, there is still time to plant another crop of lettuce, spinach, and beets. You can also plant some of these quick growing vegetables - beans, basil, radishes, and arugula if you like. Plant some plants will bloom all summer long. Here are a couple other tips to keep in mind. Deadhead after a heavy rain to remove the rain-damaged flowers and help speed up the growing process of new blooms. When deadheading, be aware that you may unintentionally scatter seed from already-formed seed pods. If you don’t want volunteers, make sure you gather up any seed pods as you deadhead. When fall’s cool weather comes around, stop deadheading. Those seed pods are a great food source for birds and other animals in the winter, plus they provide winter interest. Remember, there is no reason you have to deadhead as it doesn’t make your flowers healthier, it just helps keep your plants tidy and produce more blooms. Make plans to attend the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association’s annual “Terrific Tomatoes Tasting” on Saturday, August 26. It will be held at the Baraboo Civic Center from 10 am to noon. You’ll have the opportunity to taste and vote for your favorite tomato grown by master gardeners, many of which are starhead topminnow and the pirate perch. The group will hike around the dike and bottomland forest to view the blooming plants and identify birds of the floodplain. Discussion of the DNR’s drawdown of Cruson Slough and Bakken’s Pond and associated management for waterfowl production will occur. Recently, some scientists have questioned the validity of the DNR’s management methods and cost-

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the seeds a little deeper than you did in the spring. You may need to provide the young seedlings additional moisture or shade from the hot sun. An added bonus is that later crops will miss the normal insect damage that affects earlier crops.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 26, and plan to attend the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association’s annual “Terrific Tomatoes Tasting Event.” It will be held at the Baraboo Civic Center from 10 am to noon. You’ll have the opportunity to taste and vote for your favorite tomato grown by master gardeners. Many of the tomatoes are heirlooms so you’ll have the opportunity to taste ones that are not readily available in the marketplace. You’ll also get to taste dishes that highlight tomatoes. The master gardeners will also share stories about their successes and failures from the growing season. Plan to join them and find a new favorite tomato for next year’s garden.

heirloom varieties. Master gardeners will also share stories about their successes and failures from the growing season. Come and find a new favorite tomato for next year’s garden.

If you’re interested in learning and improving your gardening skills, register for “Growing and Caring for Plants in Wisconsin: Foundation in Gardening”. This online, complete-at-your-ownpace introductory course is offered by the UW-Madison Division of Extension Horticulture Program. Registration is open until August 31 and the course runs from September 10 – December 9, 2023. This course is an approved learning opportunity if you’re interested in becoming a Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener. The Sauk County Master Gardener Association also offers limited scholarships to help offset the costs. For more information, visit: https://hort. extension.wisc.edu/foundations-ingardening/.

If you have gardening questions, visit the Sauk County Master Gardeners Association facebook.

effectiveness of the decades-old techniques of dike repairs and draining the impoundments, which result in fish kills and predation of vulnerable endangered species, such as the starhead topminnow.

For further information regarding the August 19 field trip, contact Mark Cupp at 608-739-3188 or by e-mail at mark.cupp@ wisconsin.gov.

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