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| gardener JUNE IN THE GARDEN
n If you have holes to fill in the veggie garden, there is still time this month to plant such delectable edibles as squash, Southern peas, Swiss chard, okra, sweet potatoes, leeks, collards and mustard greens.
L . A . JAC KSO N
TIP OF THE MONTH For better success with planters and hanging baskets this summer, keep these tips in mind: (1) Unglazed clay pots leach moisture through their sides, meaning plants in these types of containers normally have to be watered more often; (2) the smaller the pot, the quicker it will dry out; (3) trailing plants such as million bells, vinca, petunias, CONTAINMENT AREA A few basic tips can help creeping maintain pretty planters Jenny and through the summer ornamental growing season. sweet potatoes can shade the pots’ sides to help keep plant roots cooler; and (4) the more you irrigate, the more plant nutrients are washed away, so water with a diluted liquid fertilizer at least once a month through the growing season.
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Tomato troubles BY L.A. JACKSON
Sunscald. Appearing Recognize the first as a yellowish, growers who begin to calamities that can discolored spot on the harvest healthy fruits, top of a tomato, it then because it means they beset tomatoes turns about as ugly as a have managed to avoid the calamities often and learn how to case of blossom end rot. True to its name, the wrought by diseases and avoid them cause of this blemish is bad bugs. However, Ol’ Sol—too much sun. there are also physiologiSunscald usually happens to tomatoes cal problems that can really mess up a that ripen on the upper parts of plants, patch of ’maters, and here are the top which, with less shade from the foliage, four nasties to watch for: can become overexposed to relentless sunrays. Conservative pruning (espeBlossom End Rot. This yucky, dusky spot on the bottom of an otherwise cially in the top branches) and using a pretty tomato is usually due to the light covering such as cheesecloth or a plant’s lack of calcium uptake from the horticultural fabric like Reemay over soil because of extended dry conditions. the plants will help prevent the sun A three- to four-inch layer of mulch and from doing such damage to ripening regular waterings will help stabilize the ’maters. ground moisture and prevent such ugliness from occurring. Occasionally spray- Catfacing. I also call this problem “early-itis” because it is the result ing the leaves with a diluted solution of of eager gardeners wanting to get calcium chloride (available at most gartheir tomatoes growing in the very den shops) will also aid in stopping this early spring when the weather is still nastiness from besmirching tomatoes. relatively cool. Young fruits that start to develop in low temperatures are Cracking. Another disorder associated sometimes distorted into odd shapes, with uneven soil moisture. This condiincluding—with some imagination on tion creates concentric, unappetizing rings circling the stems or vertical splits your part—cat faces. This disorder is along the sides of the fruits. Dry spells only temporary because, as simmering broken by frog-strangler rains can cause summer temperatures take over in the rehydrated tomatoes to grow too fast veggie patch, any following fruit should too soon and literally burst out of their be free of such weirdness. skins. Like with blossom end rot, mulching the plants will help steady ground L.A. JACKSON is the former editor of moisture availability, as will regular Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact waterings when the rains don’t come. him at lajackson1@gmail.com. HAPPY ARE TOMATO
SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | JUNE 2022 | SCLIVING.COOP
L . A . JAC KSO N
n A dollar doesn’t buy much these days, but in the garden, having a buck in your pocket is still worth something. The dollar bill is a shade over two-and-a-half inches wide and six inches long, so if you need to roughly measure row widths, pot diameters or planting distances and depths—and your tape measure is lost in the garage—a single note can come in handy.
SALAD DAYS For healthier, better-looking fruits, prevent common physiological problems from invading your tomato patch.
