Organic Gardening Tip of the Week

If your perennial plants are starting to look crowded, overgrown, are not flowering as well as they used to, or you would like to propagate a favorite perennial–it might be time to divide. Many perennial plants benefit from being divided every two to five years. Most perennials can be divided any time of the year. However, you will have the best success in spring or fall for summer-flowering plants, or in late summer for spring-flowering plants. Basically divide the plant after it has flowered. Try to avoid dividing during the hottest part of the summer, and also no less than 6 weeks before the first frost, so that your divisions are not stressed by extreme temperatures while they re-establish their roots. You can water them in with a little dilute mixture of Kelp or Thrive Alive to help offset the stress. How you dig them will depend on how they multiply–either clumping crowns, rhizomes, tubers or tuberous roots, corms, offsets, bulbils or bulbets. Watch our video on dividing perennials or our article on Dividing Perennials to Keep Them Healthy.

Garlic can be stored as whole bulbs for a few months to a year, depending on the storage conditions and the variety – softnecks store longer than hardnecks – but all your garlic can be preserved for longer storage by freezing or dehydrating. Store whole, unbroken heads in a cool (about 60 to 65 degrees is ideal), dry, dark place with moderate humidity. Keep them in a mesh bag, paper bag or cardboard box for good air circulation. If you had braided your garlic for curing, you can leave it in the braid for storage as well, just cut off the heads when you’re ready to use them starting at the bottom of the braid. Do not store bulbs with damaged cloves, as they spoil easily, use these up first. These should instead be used right away, or preserved by drying or pickling. For more information on preserving garlic, read our blog How to Store and Preserve Garlic. Don't let your homegrown garlic spoil before you can use it...preserve it!

Summer is a wonderful time for eating homegrown melons, but sometimes it is hard to tell when the melon is ripe. For cantaloupes and other melons with netted rinds, the color under the netting (ground color) will change to a golden color. When ripe, the melon easily separates from the stem (slipping). They will also smell sweet and the end will be slightly soft. Honeydew melons are a little different, they don’t easily detach from the vine or develop a strong aroma. The rind will change from green to a creamy yellow. Don’t try to pull the honeydew from the vine, remove it with snips. For watermelons, look for when tendril has dried up. Also where the melon sits on the ground, this spot remains green, as melon ripens it turns a yellowish color (as long as you don’t turn the melon). Watermelons also don’t slip off the vine, they need to be cut off.

Garlic is one of the easiest veggies to grow, but sometimes those big green tops yield a harvest of disappointingly small heads. After nearly a year of patiently watering, weeding and fertilizing, we all want large flavorful garlic for our favorite recipes! We suggest following these 9 steps from selecting the right type of garlic for your growing zone, soil preparation before planting, clove selection for planting, spacing, watering, keeping garlic cool in the summer, weeding, trimming those scapes and when to harvest. Read the entire article, pre-order your garlic and grow the biggest and best crop of garlic yet!

Most blackberries have two kinds of canes, floricanes (2nd year primocanes that bear the fruit) and primocanes (first year canes that will bear next year’s fruit). The primocanes grow really tall during the summer and they should be topped off between 4–5 feet or the same height as their support structure. The removal of the growing tip will stimulate more lateral growth and increase the fruiting potential the following year. Towards the end of summer the lateral shoots can also be pruned to about 18”. Semi-erect blackberries can be tied up to the support. Thin to about 3–4 primocanes per plant, selecting the strongest, biggest canes. If you are growing trailing blackberries (Olallie or Marion), do not tip prune the primocanes. After the fruit has been picked the floricanes can be pruned down to the ground to make room for new shoots to emerge. Keep weeds removed around your plants and since berries have shallow root systems, it is better to pull them by hand. Keep a thick layer of mulch (straw works great) around the base of the plant to help conserve water and keep weeds down.

Fall is around the corner and now is a great time to start veggies for a fall or early winter finish. You can use our Planting Calculator to see what can be planted in the fall and the times to plant. Just put in your first expected frost date then click calculate. The general planting guide will give you date ranges when you can direct sow seeds. As an example for zone 9, the approximate first frost is 11/22 (for our area). The Fall Planting Dates are generated and some seeds that can direct sown (given our first frost date) now are broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, chard, most greens, peas, kohlrabi, kale, lettuce (hot regions may need to plant under some shade cloth), and peas. Later in September/October you can plant your radishes, turnips, onions, shallots, and garlic. Read your seed packs for the soil temperatures that are needed for germination. Seeds like spinach will not germinate if the soil is too hot (above about 75°F), so you may need to start them indoors or outdoors in a cooler spot. Have some Agribon rowcover on hand in the fall for those early unexpected cold nights. A low tunnel with greenhouse plastic can also be placed over your beds to grow into the winter.

Fall is just around the corner and it is time to start thinking about planting seed garlic. Planting large seed garlic cloves will produce larger bulbs but another consideration should be the soil. Preparing the soil properly is also key to a successful garlic crop the following summer. The area where you are planning to plant garlic, make sure it is not the same location you planted the previous year. Amend your soil with organic matter, either by adding compost, or planting a summer cover crop. Buckwheat is a great choice and will be finished in about 45 days and will not only add organic matter to the soil it will pull insoluble phosphorus out of the soil which will be released when the plant decomposes. Make sure your soil has a good level of phosphorus by adding soft rock phosphate, bone meal or another high phosphorus fertilizer (should also have low or no nitrogen). For more information on preparing the soil you can read our gardening blog.

Now that your tomatoes are bursting with growth and flowers and you are waiting for the fruit to ripen, you find flowers dropping or withering on the plant. Why is that happening? The problem is called blossom drop. The main reason is that the flowers are not getting pollinated. Tomatoes have perfect flowers, meaning both male and female flower parts are in the same flower. The pollen is moved from the male part (stamen) to the female part (pistil) by wind movement of the plant or by vibration of the flower by bumble bees or other pollinators. So what are the causes of lack of pollination? One of the main causes is from daytime temperatures exceeding 85°F or nighttime temps rising above 70°F or dropping below 55°F. You can put up some shade cloth over your tomatoes, positioned so it is shading your plants during the hottest time of the day. For more causes of flower drop you can read the blog Why are My Tomato Flowers Falling Off and Not Making Fruit?

There are two basic types of garlic available to plant–hardneck and softneck varieties. So how do you decide which one to grow? If you live in a region with very mild winters, the softneck garlic will perform better than hardnecks. Softnecks store much longer and have a milder flavor. Hardneck garlic requires colder winter temperatures to make large bulbs, so plant this variety if you live in a region with very frigid winters.

So now you have settled on either a hardneck or softneck, how do you choose within those groups. Well hardnecks can be mild to very, very spicy. Read the description before buying to get the flavor you desire. If you want something really mild, and you live in a mild winter region, plant some Elephant garlic. It is not even garlic but a member of the leek family, but it smells and tastes like garlic. If you are unsure about what to grow, consider ordering our Garlic Combo Pack. It contains a mix of hardneck, softneck, and elephant garlic along with French Red Shallots.

If you see black or rotting bottoms on your tomatoes, peppers or eggplants (less common), it is most likely blossom end rot. Tomato varieties that set all of its fruit at once (determinate) are commonly affected; cherry tomatoes rarely get blossom end rot. It is caused by a calcium deficiency in your plants caused by soil deficiencies or from uneven watering (calcium is not taken up). To help prevent this, mulch around your plants to help conserve soil moisture, keep your plants evenly watered, and make sure your soil has sufficient amounts of calcium. Apply a soluble form of calcium for quick release to your plants. If your soil has sufficient calcium, then no supplement is needed. Don’t over fertilize your plants with high nitrogen either. Excessive nitrogen will lead to more foliage which will reduce the amount of calcium available to the fruit. Remove the damaged fruit.

Table grape vines can be pruned in June through July to thin out shoots which will open up the plant for better sunlight penetration and air circulation. This will help in preventing powdery mildew and is also good for fruit development. You want to wait and thin out your vines after your plant has set fruit and the clusters are starting to size up (size of a pea). Thin to 6-8 shoots per foot of canopy. You also want to trim the vines with fruit clusters. Trim them to leave about 15-17 leaves after the fruit cluster. Remove the suckers growing on the trunk of grape vine. Cluster thin your vines so you only have 1-2 fruit clusters per shoot. You should pick the largest clusters and remove any misshaped clusters. You can also snip off the bottom of each grape cluster, which will improve the size of the fruit. What our video on summer pruning to see the process.

The removal of fruit may seem counterintuitive, but it will actually give you a better crop and will help prevent biennial bearing (producing fruit every other year). Thinning will help prevent limb damage, improve size of the remaining fruit and discourage early fruit drop. June is a good time to thin out your fruit set on your apples, pears and stone fruit. Your tree will naturally drop fruit but it is also a good idea to do more before the fruit gets too big. Thin the fruit in the clusters (like apples and pears) and thin between the fruit (for peaches, nectarines, plums and pluots). For apples or pears, thin to 1-2 fruit per cluster. Nectarines, peaches, plums, pluots, pluerries and apriums can be thinned to one fruit every six inches and thin any fruit growing in pairs. Pick up any aborted fruit on the ground and if there are no signs of disease, you can add it to your compost pile or worm bin or your chickens might enjoy a fruit salad. If you have not fertilized your fruit trees, it is not too late to do so this season.  

After your garlic has produced scapes (hardneck varieties) your bulbs are really starting to size up. You can start cutting back on the amount of water they are getting, but you don’t want your garlic to dry out. Once your garlic has a couple of dead bottom leaves you will want to stop watering. You can dig your garlic in a couple of weeks. If you are unsure if your hardneck garlic is ready to harvest, look for about 3-4 dried leaves at the bottom of the plant. Dig up a test bulb to see how well the bulb has sized up. If it is nice and large, you can dig up the remaining bulbs. Don’t harvest too soon or you may have small bulbs, too late and the wrappers may have broken down and your garlic may not keep as long. If this happens eat these bulbs first. Softneck garlic is a little different than hardnecks. Softnecks are ready for harvesting when the top of the plant falls over, similar to onions.

Once your garlic is ready to harvest, dig the bulbs up carefully with a garden fork or shovel. Remove most of the soil, being careful not to hit the bulb (it bruises easily), leaving the roots & stems. Cure out of the sun (and rain) in a place with good air circulation. Tie the garlic with twine in bunches of 6 to 12 plants. Hang the bunches in a place out of direct sun and rain. A shed or under a large tree (as long as there is no rain). Temperatures should be around 80°F and garlic should be cured for at least two weeks. Once cured, trim off the leaves (don’t cut too close to the top of the bulb) and roots, leaving about 1/2” of roots. Store in mesh bags at around 60-65°F in an area with some air circulation.

Now that your tomatoes are growing like weeds it is time to prune out the suckers. The advantages to pruning out the suckers on your tomatoes are increased fruit size and better air circulation, which will help with disease prevention. The suckers are the stems growing out of the leaf crotch. You should remove the suckers from the bottom of the plant up to the first flower cluster. Remove them before they get too big, less than 2-3” long is a good rule of thumb. You will need to keep an eye on your tomato plants throughout the season and prune the suckers as they get big enough, look for new growth coming up at the ground too and cut those out. Also you want to remove the yellow or dead leaves (especially seen on the bottom of the plant). Only prune the indeterminate varieties; determinate varieties should not get pruned, you can leave the suckers on those plants.

If you are supporting the plants with an overhead trellis with string or wire supported at the top you can allow your plants to develop two leaders or more commonly, it is pruned to a single leader. Prune out suckers along the plant to allow for better air circulation and less weight. You will have a reduced yield, however, the tomatoes that are left will develop earlier and will be bigger.

After your garlic has produced scapes (hardneck varieties) your bulbs are really starting to size up. Keep your garlic weeded throughout the growing season as it does not compete well with weeds. Since garlic is a heavy feeder a dose of a good organic all purpose fertilizer (higher in phosphorus) can be worked into the soil. You can start cutting back on the amount of water they are getting (if you irrigate), but you don’t want your garlic to dry out. Once your garlic has a couple of dead bottom leaves you will want to stop watering. You can dig your garlic in a couple of weeks. If you are unsure if your hardneck garlic is ready to harvest, look for about 3-4 dried leaves at the bottom of the plant. Dig up a test bulb to see how well the bulb has sized up. If it is nice and large, you can dig up the remaining bulbs. Don’t harvest too soon or you may have small bulbs, too late and the wrappers may have broken down and your garlic may not keep as long. If this happens eat these bulbs first. Softneck garlic is a little different than hardnecks. Softnecks are ready for harvesting when the top of the plant falls over, similar to onions.

By now your hardneck garlic is shooting up a funny looking curly stalk. Those curly-Q things are called scapes. They are a false flower stalk that starts out straight, then curls around into one or two loops then straightens again. They are produced on hardneck varieties and most people like to remove them. Removing them will direct the plants’ energy into making a larger bulb. But don’t just throw them into your compost pile–scapes are very delicious to eat and are milder than the garlic cloves. Allow them to grow down into a single loop (the longer they grow the tougher then get), cut them off and take them to the kitchen. You can steam them, saute them in olive oil or butter, pickle them, freeze them for later use, or if you don’t want to eat them, toss them in your compost pile. Softneck garlic does not produce scapes but may produce a flower stalk. You will want to cut those off as well and compost them.

Now that our gardens are in and the plants in our landscape are in full swing, here come the pests. You can control many pests without the use of harsh chemical sprays. Some ways to do this are to use row cover barriers like the Agribon AG15, which is lightweight enough to leave on your plants throughout the growing season. Another method of pest control is the use of  beneficial insects to combat pests, as long as the infestation is not too bad. Lacewings, fly parasites, trichogramma wasps, and predatory mites are just a few beneficial insects to choose from. You can even use something as simple as a strong spray of water to knock off and kill soft bodied pests like aphids. There are some other biological methods to control pests like mosquitos using a bacteria such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). So put away those harsh chemicals and Grow Organic...for Life!

Throw your plants a compost tea party this spring! Compost tea can be applied as a foliar or soil drench. It is easy to make with just a few components and can be customized to your plants' needs. Compost tea takes all the goodness from your compost and makes it even better. We have a great video showing you step-by-step on how to make it. There are so many versions of compost tea recipes but you can “brew” your own version. The basic components of compost tea includes water, compost (or you can use arctic humus or worm castings) and a tea catalyst. Additions can be made to your tea–liquid kelp or maxicrop (a kelp extract), liquid fish or water soluble bat or seabird guano are great to supplement your compost tea. You can customize your brew according to the stage of growth your plants are in (growing, blooming or fruiting). The additions can be added at the end of the brewing process. You can apply the tea using a watering can or sprayer (clean).If foliar feeding, dilute the tea to one part tea to 10 parts water (dechlorinated water). Or if applying to the soil, dilute one part tea to 5 parts water (dechlorinated water).

Spring is a great time to start planting (zones 7 and up) in the garden but the weather can be very unpredictable so you don’t want to jump into direct seeding your warm weather seeds until conditions are right. Two important tools to have on hand in the spring is a soil thermometer and some floating row cover for the cold temperatures that warm-season seedlings do not favor. Most common warm season seeds that are direct seeded are beans, corn, cucumber, melons, okra, pumpkins, squash. These seeds grow fast and do not need to be started ahead of time, unless you live in a region with very short growing season. For information about soil temperature, see the back of your seed packs. If you live in a region that stays cool, beets, carrots, radishes and greens can also be direct seeded. In general, if the soil is 70°F, these seeds will germinate. If you soil has not warmed up enough, you can put down a plastic mulch to speed up warming the soil. Watch the nighttime temperature as well.  If it is forecast to dip below 45°F, then you will want to cover your seedlings with a floating row cover such as Agribon. This will give just enough protection for the tender seedlings.

If you are just setting up your drip irrigation system for your garden or yard, there are quite a few things to consider when choosing the type of irrigation you want to use. Drip systems can be made up of either drip tape, emitterline, soaker hose, drip emitters or a combination. If you are watering straight, flat rows then drip tape is a good choice. Unless you have a low pressure system, you will need to put a pressure reducer on your drip tape system. If your property has a slope, then you may want to use emitterline (works best with higher pressure). Soaker hose is great if you want to wind it around your landscape plants (not sharp curves). Drip emitters can be plugged right into your 1/2” poly or attached to 1/4” poly and run to your plants. There are so many options with drip irrigation, check out our selection to choose the right system for you.

Spring is here and so are the flies. When controlling flies, it is important to control the larvae (maggots) and the adults. To control the larvae, fly parasites are the answer. If you have livestock (including chickens), the fly parasites should be released every 2 weeks throughout the season. Monthly or weekly shipping can easily be set up for you in our Order Department so you don’t miss releasing the parasites on a regular schedule. Release them near a fly breeding site, like a chicken coop or stable. Adult flies can be caught with traps. Most traps use a smelly bait to lure the flies into the trap, then they can’t figure out how to get back out. You can use the Peaceful Valley Fly Bait or make your own. Place the traps in the sun and near your livestock.

If you planted a soil building cover crop in the fall and about half of the plants (the peas and vetch) are blooming, it is time to cut it down. The easiest and fastest way to incorporate all of the goodness of the cover crop is to cut it with a weed eater or mower, apply a product to speed up decomposition like our Biodynamic Field Spray, and turn it under with either a rototiller or garden fork. If you don’t add the Field Spray, then the cover crop should be allowed to decompose for about 3 to 6 weeks before planting your next crop. It’s important to wait because your cover crop will be decomposing and during this decomposition process you will temporarily lock up some of the nitrogen in the soil. If you don’t want to wait, the plant material that you cut down can be added to your compost pile to decompose. To also speed up break down is to cover it with some weed fabric or a silage tarp. This will heat up the soil and chopped cover crop and help increase decomposition. 

We all love the beauty of a field of wildflowers and so do all the pollinators. But when is the best time to plant and how do you prepare your site for planting? The answer is, it depends on your location or climate. If you live in regions with harsh winters, it is better to wait until the spring to plant. Areas with mild winters, you can plant wildflowers in the fall or spring (before the end of the rain). Wildflowers will grow just fine in native soil, so no need to fertilize or amend. Unless specifically buying a shade-loving mix, wildflowers like full sun. But they don’t like soggy, wet feet, so a good draining location is a must. Make sure all of the weeds are removed from the area you will planting the seeds. Many wildflower seeds are very small so it is best to mix with an inert material like sand (not sea sand) or vermiculite in a 1:10 ratio and add to a seed spreader to broadcast. After seeding wildflowers, roll area to get good seed-soil contact, or you can press down with a piece of plywood.

It's really important to know what your soil needs before you start a fertilizing program. If you don't know the nutrient levels in your soil before dumping on a bunch of amendments, you may be wasting money on fertilizers. The most thorough test is the professional Complete Soil Analysis. The test will give you most everything you need to know about your soil. The DIY soil testing kits are great as well but they do not give you as much information as the professional test. If you have your results and don’t know where to begin we have a helpful two part video and blog series on interpreting and acting on your results. Part 1 is about how to read your analysis and Part 2 is how to amend your soil based on your results. If you still have questions about your soil test you can email lucas@groworganic.com.

Codling moths can ruin your apples, pears or walnuts and who wants that? Codling moths will start emerging, (depending on your temperatures) in March or April. A good way to monitor for their activity is to put out a trap with a codling moth lure. The male moths will be attracted to the pheromone in the lure and get trapped in the sticky substance on the inside of the trap. If your populations are low, then the sticky traps may be enough to disrupt the mating process. If the infestation is heavy then you will want to use a combination of monitoring traps and insecticides that are labeled for codling moths. Another solution is to apply a barrier around your developing fruit so the codling moth larva cannot penetrate such as our Maggot Barriers. For more information, check out our video on Controlling Codling Moths.

Getting your soil tested is a great idea and it all starts with taking a good sample. First of all start with a clean trowel; don’t use ones made of brass or soft steel and never use your hands. Have a clean plastic bucket or pail to use, don’t use galvanized steel or rubber. Do not sample your soil if it is wetter than you would want for tilling. Take about 10–12 subsamples in your garden soil or raised beds to get a good composite of your soil. Clear away any debris or organic material from the top of the soil. Dig down about 6” or as deep as you are planning to cultivate. Dry soil should be submitted for analysis, so if your soil is too wet, spread out on a newspaper and allow to air dry (and out of direct sunlight). Watch our video on How to Take a Good Soil Sample for Soil Testing for more information.

Pruning your established blueberry bushes will help to increase fruit production and improve the overall health of your plant. If you live in a mild winter region, pruning can be done during the winter. However, in harsh winter regions, pruning should be delayed until the end of winter or beginning of spring. First remove any dead branches from the plant. Dead or dying branches will be a different color than living tissue. Next remove any root suckers that are growing away from the center of the plant. Cut out any branches that are crossing or rubbing and open up the center of the bush to allow for improved light penetration and air circulation. If you live in a warmer winter region, your buds may be starting to swell and this is a good time to fertilize. Since blueberries thrive on low pH soils, it is also a good time to check the pH and make any adjustments if needed.

Planting bare root strawberry plants is easy and the most economical way to go. If you are planting Day Neutral and Everbearing plants the best way to plant those is with the Hill Method. The plants are put closer together (1 foot apart), since they don’t put out as many runners as the June-bearing strawberries. June-bearers should be planted farther apart (2 feet) in the Matted Row Method. Don’t plant too deep or too shallow. Set the plant in well-drained soil so the roots are just covered. Don’t cover the crown, this will cause the plant to rot. Make sure to plant where they will get at least 8 hours of full sun. If they don’t get enough sun, they will make lots of leaves but not much fruit. Check out our video on Growing Strawberries for more information. If you are not ready to plant your bare root strawberries, you can heel them into some moist soil and store them until the spring.

Winter is a good time to prune your established grape vines. Grapes can be spur or cane pruned, depending on the variety. Cane pruning promotes the highest yield for most table grapes. Select a total of about 4 canes that come off close to the trunk and remove the rest (but not before you select your renewal canes). The canes that you are keeping should have at least 15 buds and be about pencil size. These canes will be your fruiting canes. Cut the fruiting cane back to about 15 buds and and remove any laterals. For every fruiting cane you keep, you should also keep one renewal spur. The renewal spurs will produce next years fruiting canes. The renewal spurs are short and should be cut back to about 2 buds. The other method of pruning grapes is spur pruning. Watch our video to learn more about spur and cane pruning. If you have newly planted grape vines, we have a great helpful article on how to train your new grape vines.

Seed starting is just around the corner for some folks. If you are unsure of when to start your seeds indoors or when to direct seed, try our Seed Planting Calculator. Go to the top of our site and click Resource Center, that will take you to our Organic Gardening Resource Center. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Seed Planting Calculator. The calculator will determine spring or fall planting times based on either your last or first frost of the season. If you are unsure of your frost dates follow the directions on how to get your last and first frost dates. We have a helpful blog on how to use the Seed Starting Calculator. Planting dates given for spring or fall planting dates are estimates only. For more information about growing conditions needed for seed germination and growing, such as soil temperature, check the back of your seed packs.

Caring for fruit trees is not just a warm weather activity. Good winter care is very important to the health of your trees as well. Winter pruning is important for apples, pears, peaches and nectarines, but should be avoided in pluots, apricots, plums and cherries. It is best to prune those after harvest or thinning can be done in warm dry weather. You will want to remove dead or broken branches and thin out any crossing branches as well. Orchard sanitation is very important as well. You will want to remove rotting fruit on the ground and also any fruit still on the tree. Rake up leaves under trees as well. Old fruit and leaves provide a great place for disease and pests to overwinter. Dormant sprays for pests and disease can be applied during the winter to cut down on any eggs or spores that are hanging on during the winter months. Take a little time this winter to clean up your orchard or yard and then enjoy a cup of hot tea or coffee and plan out the garden, seed starting is just around the corner!

Espalier is a beautiful and functional way to grow fruit trees. In our video, Tricia talks about the techniques needed to prune and train an espalier. Espaliered trees and plants may be time intensive to maintain but they repay you in high fruit production in a very small space. If you're considering adding an espalier to your garden, the first step is planning. If you have a space that is narrow but gets good sun exposure, an espalier would be a good choice. Also if you want to create a stunning privacy screen or cover to a large blank wall, training a tree or plant is a great solution. Choose a shape you find beautiful and appropriate for the space you're filling. Next choose a tree to shape. Apples, pears and figs are great choices to espalier. We have a great blog to show you different forms of espalier. You will need to put in the time to train and prune your fruit tree, but it will be worth the time with the all the fruit you will get.

Fruit trees should be pruned from the time they are planted. Early pruning will shape the tree into a desirable structure and will encourage better fruit production and less broken branches later in life. There are three types of pruning systems, Central Leader, Vase or Open Center and Modified Central Leader. The type of tree will dictate the pruning system chosen. Central Leader is best for apples, pears, persimmons and pecans. Apples, pears, peaches and nectarines can be pruned during the winter, but wait until summer to prune apricots, cherries and pluots. Do not prune when rain is forcast–you want dry weather for the cuts to heal over. Make sure your pruners are clean and sharp. Clean up leaves and dropped fruit on the ground to decrease potential overwintering spots for pests and disease.

Blackberries have three possible growth habits—erect, semi-erect or trailing. The way to train and prune them will depend on the type. If you did not top the new canes during the late summer, you should top them to about 5’ (or the height of your trellis or fence). Dormant pruning of erect blackberries entails removing dead canes (color is brown vs a newer green cane) and cutting back laterals to 12–18”. Semi-erect blackberries should be thinned to 5 to 8 of the strongest canes, shorten the laterals to 12–18” and remove any growing on the lower 3’ section of the main canes. Tie to a fence or trellis to provide support. Trailing blackberries are less cold tolerant and in cold regions the canes can be left on the ground and protected with rowcover or mulch over the winter. In spring the canes can be lifted and tied to a trellis at 3’ and 6’.

Bare root trees are shipping out to their new homes and they need to be cared for upon arrival. Take the trees out of the box and inspect them for any damage at the graft, some broken branches are fine, they will regrow quickly in the spring. If you can’t plant your tree in the ground right away, they should be heeled in to protect the roots until planting time. This can be done outside if the ground is not frozen, or if it is, put them in a garage, shed, basement or greenhouse; cover with loose soil, compost or wood shavings (but not cedar, redwood or rice hulls). Keep the roots moist but not soaking wet. Plant your tree as soon as you can and definitely before it breaks dormancy in the spring (leafing out and blooming). If your trees/plants are potted (figs, almonds, pomegranates, olives…), just leave them in the pot and keep them moist over the winter.

Garlic plants can withstand cold weather as long as they are not exposed to a sudden drop of freezing temperatures. To help protect garlic from sudden drops in temperatures, apply a thick layer of mulch such as straw mulch (seed-free)—a minimum of 4 inches is recommended, and thicker in regions with harsh winters (up to 8 inches).  In the spring the mulch can be pulled back to allow the soil to warm up faster and also helps avoid excess moisture, which can cause rot. Another benefit to mulching is weed control. Garlic does not like to compete with weeds and it will suffer if weeds are not removed. You should not be applying any nitrogen fertilizers over the winter as that will lead to an increase in top growth.

In addition to good orchard sanitation (picking up rotten fruit and raking leaves), applying dormant sprays in the fall and winter is a great way to reduce overwintering pests & diseases in the home orchard. Dormant oils are applied when trees have dropped their leaves and are dormant. The oils can be applied when daytime temperatures are over 35-40°F. Dormant oils control aphids, scale, spider mites and many other insects by smothering eggs and larvae. To control diseases such as peach leaf curl, a fungicide is applied multiple times throughout the dormant season. An easy way to remember when to apply the fungicide is after leaf drop, New Years day (or around that time) and a final treatment on Valentine’s Day (before buds have broken or blossoming).

Choosing the right fruit tree involves a little homework and research to find the best one for your yard or orchard. First you need to know your USDA zone. On our website you can find out your zone by putting in your zip code. Next you should know how many chill hours you have. Chill hours are the number of hours in the winter that are between 32-45°F. You can find out your chill hours by checking out a few web sites or asking your local master gardener. Once you know that information, you can narrow down your selection even further by deciding on the size of tree you want–standard, semi-dwarf or dwarf. You can keep your tree small by pruning and training it over the years. If you are renting a home and do not want to invest in a permanent planting, consider buying a dwarf tree and putting it in a large pot. Another important consideration is whether or not the tree is self-pollinating or needs another tree for pollination. Check out our large list of fruit trees, all the information you need to decide is listed for every tree.

Perennial vegetables like artichokes and asparagus need protection over the winter to help survive freezing temperatures. Artichokes are hardy down to zone 6, but they do need care before the cold winter temperatures set in. Cut back last years flower stalks to about 6” and tie up the remaining leaves with a piece of twine. Apply a thick layer of compost around the base of the plant and top off with about 8 inches of straw or leaves. Asparagus is hardy down to zone 4 and needs a little care in the fall. When the ferns start to turn yellow to brown, or after the first frost, cut them back to about 2 inch stubs. This will help cut down on disease setting in over the winter. Apply about 2–3” of compost around the remaining plants and cover with a mulch such as rice straw to a depth of about 4–6”.

Winter squash such as Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, Hubbard, or Delicata are varieties of squash that grow all summer, are harvested in the fall and stored for use over the winter. Harvest the squash when the vines have withered and the rind is tough enough that you cannot pierce it with your fingernail. Do not remove the stem, it helps prevent rotting over the winter. Remove the dirt or mud from the rind and store in a single layer (if possible). The best temperature for optimum storage is between 50-55°F and there should be good ventilation. The rinds should be tough to protect the fruit from mold, bacteria or insects. Storage time will depend on the variety and conditions, but as a rule Acorn and Spaghetti squash will keep 2.5 months, Butternut 3-4 months and Hubbard up to 6 months. Remove any fruit that seems soft or looks like it is starting to turn. Enjoy all winter long the tasty squash in soups, pies, or baked.

Cooler weather is here to stay, but what about the green tomatoes still on the vine. Not to worry, you can ripen them and maybe even try your hand at fried green tomatoes! Fruits stop ripening when temps drop below 50°F, so if you are still warmer than that during the day, leave the fruit on the vine as long as possible. Remove any flowers & small fruit, and decrease the watering. Once daytime temps are consistently below 50°F and before the first frost, harvest all of the fruit. Place it in a single layer in a box lined with newspaper, and store between 55-70°F. To speed up the ripening process, add a couple of apples to the box. Check weekly for ripened tomatoes and remove any rotted fruit. If some just don’t seem to be changing color at all, try some fried green tomatoes. Check out the recipe we have posted (under Entrées) for all the details.

Raw legumes in your cover crops need to be inoculated (coated) with rhizobia bacteria in order to fix nitrogen on their roots. Inoculate your seeds right before you are ready to plant. Put your seeds in a bucket or big bowl and either moisten with non-chlorinated water or a mixture of milk and molasses (one quart and 2 Tbs, respectively). Adjust the amount of liquid you add to just moisten the seed. Sprinkle the inoculant over the seeds and stir to coat. Don’t skimp on the inoculant, more is better than not enough. Plant the seeds right away. The bacteria on the legumes’ roots in your cover crop will take atmospheric nitrogen and fix it in small nodules on the roots. When the roots break down, the nitrogen will be released into the soil.

October is a great time to plant garlic in your garden. Garlic is easy to grow but follow some simple steps to make sure you will get the biggest bulbs the following summer. First is to select the variety that is right for your growing region. Hardneck garlic makes the biggest bulbs if grown in colder winter regions. Softnecks are more suited to mild winter climates. Another tip is to plant the biggest cloves, they will produce the biggest bulbs. Don’t toss out the smaller cloves–grow them to use as garlic scallions. Next, don’t plant them too close together, give them at least 6” between cloves. Gophers love garlic, so use gopher baskets or gopher wire to protect from hungry pests. Keep your garlic bed well weeded, garlic does not like to compete with other plants. Add a layer of mulch to your garlic bed (thicker if you live in very cold winter zones) and you’re done!

Freezing temperatures are just around the corner for some gardens. If you have flowering summer plants in your landscape and live in an area with very cold winters, continue reading. Some beautiful summer plants like dahlia, gladiolus, tuberous begonia, canna, calla lily, and Elephant Ear are actually either subtropical or tropical plants. Their bulbs, corms, rhizomes or tubers will not survive if your ground freezes and they should be lifted before that happens. These can be dug up after the plant is killed by frost or after the foliage has dried up. After curing, place in sphagnum peat or vermiculite and store in a cool (45–50°F), dry location over the winter. Monitor over the winter and remove any rotting pieces. You could also transfer to soil in a pot and move into a greenhouse or shed, but do not allow soil to freeze.

Whether you are growing vegetables on a large scale or as a home gardener, planting cover crops is a good thing to do for your soil’s health. Cover crops not only increases microbial activity, but helps prevent soil erosion, increases water infiltration, provides weed competition and if your mix includes legumes, it will add nitrogen to the soil. Cover crop seeds can be easily broadcast, raked in and covered with a thin layer of compost or a mulch like straw. Cool-season seeds can be planted in the fall and allowed to grow over the winter and turned under in the spring. The seeds will need to be watered until the fall rains arrive and allowed to establish before freezing temperatures arrive. Read our full article for more information on the benefits of planting a cover crop and watch the video on how to plant it in the fall.

Garlic can be stored as whole heads for a few months to a year, depending on the storage conditions and the variety – softnecks store longer than hardnecks – but all your garlic can be preserved for longer storage by freezing or dehydrating. Store whole, unbroken heads in a cool (about 60 to 65 degrees is ideal), dry, dark place with moderate humidity. Keep them in a mesh bag, paper bag or cardboard box for good air circulation. If you had braided your garlic for curing, you can leave it in the braid for storage as well, just cut off the heads when you’re ready to use them starting at the bottom of the braid. Do not store heads with damaged cloves, as they spoil easily. These should instead be used right away, or preserved by drying or pickling. For more information on preserving garlic, read our blog How to Store and Preserve Garlic. Don't let your homegrown garlic spoil before you can use it...preserve it!

If your perennial plants are starting to look crowded, overgrown, or are not flowering as well as they used to, or you would like to increase the numbers of a perennial, it might be time to divide. Many perennial plants benefit from being divided every two to five years. Most perennials can be divided any time of the year. However, you will have the best success in spring or fall for summer-flowering plants, or in late summer for spring-flowering plants. Basically divide the plant after it has flowered. Try to avoid dividing during the hottest part of the summer, and also no less than 6 weeks before the first frost, so that your divisions are not stressed by extreme temperatures while they re-establish their roots. How you dig them will depend on how they multiply–either clumping crowns, rhizomes, tubers or tuberous roots, corms, offsets, bulbils or bulbets. Watch our video on dividing perennials or our article on division.

Garlic is easy to grow but follow some simple steps to make sure you will get the biggest bulbs the following summer. Plant at the right time; October is a great time to plant garlic in your garden, November is a late for roots to get established. Select the variety that is right for your growing region. Hardneck garlic makes the biggest bulbs if grown in colder winter regions. Softnecks are more suited to mild winter climates. Another tip is to plant the biggest cloves, they will produce the biggest bulbs. Don’t toss out the smaller cloves–grow them to use as garlic scallions. Next, don’t plant them too close together, give them at least 6” between cloves. Gophers love garlic, so use gopher baskets or gopher wire to protect from hungry pests. Keep your garlic bed well weeded, garlic does not like to compete with other plants. Add a thick layer of mulch to your garlic bed, 6-8” if you live in a very cold region. For more info, see our blog.

Summer is a wonderful time for eating homegrown melons, but sometimes it is hard to tell when the melon is ripe. For cantaloupes and other melons with netted rinds, the color under the netting (ground color) will change to a golden color. When ripe, the melon easily separates from the stem (slipping). They will also smell sweet and the end will be slightly soft. Honeydew melons are a little different, they don’t easily detach from the vine or develop a strong aroma. The rind will change from green to a creamy yellow. Don’t try to pull the honeydew from the vine, remove it with snips. For watermelons, look for when tendril has dried up. Also where the melon sits on the ground, this spot remains green, as melon ripens it turns a yellowish color (as long as you don’t turn the melon). Watermelons also don’t slip off the vine, they need to be cut off.

Blackberries have two kinds of canes, floricanes (2nd year primocanes that bear the fruit) and primocanes (first year canes that will bear next year’s fruit). The primocanes grow really tall during the summer and they should be topped off between 4–5 feet or the same height as their support structure. If you are growing trailing blackberries (Olallie or Marion), do not tip prune the primocanes. Semi-erect blackberries can be tied up to the support. Thin to about 3–4 primocanes per plant, selecting the strongest, biggest canes. After the fruit has been picked the floricanes can be pruned down to the ground or you can prune them in the winter. Keep weeds removed around your plants and since berries have shallow root systems, it is better to pull them by hand. Keep a thick layer of mulch (straw works great) around the base of the plant to help conserve water and keep weeds down.

Fall is just around the corner and now is the time to start veggies for a fall or early winter finish. You can use our Planting Calculator to see what can be planted in the fall and the times to plant. Just put in your first expected frost date then click calculate. The general planting guide will give you date ranges when you can direct sow seeds. Some seeds that you can direct sow now are beets, carrots, chard, most greens, peas, lettuce (hot regions may need to plant under some shade cloth), or peas. You can sow broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi or kale, but don’t wait, those are best sown June-July. Later in September you can plant your radishes, turnips, onions, shallots and garlic. Have some Agribon rowcover on hand in the fall for those early unexpected cold nights.

Fall will be here before you know it and it is time to start thinking about planting garlic. Planting large garlic cloves will produce larger bulbs but another consideration should be the soil. Preparing the soil properly is also key to a successful garlic crop the following summer. Before prepping the soil for your garlic bed make sure you are rotating the location every year. Make sure you are not planting garlic (also onions, shallots or leeks) in the same area every year. Also when you plant garlic, you should not plant it next to an area where you are planning to plant beans or peas. Garlic and other alliums seem to stunt the growth of these vegetables. If your soil is clay and/or has poor drainage, you should work on adding more organic matter to the soil. This can be done by planting a summer cover crop like our mix of  buckwheat and cowpeas (finished in 6-7 weeks) or working in some compost or soil conditioner into the soil. Prepare your soil now for a great garlic crop next summer!

There is nothing better than homegrown sweet corn freshly picked. But sometimes it is tricky to know when it is ripe and at its peak of sweetness. Look for when your corn silks start to appear. Usually corn will be ready to pick about 20 days later. To pick at the peak of sweetness and flavor, harvest early in the morning when the sugar content is at its highest. Test to see if your corn is at the “milk stage” by puncturing a kernel and if the liquid is clear wait a little longer, if there is no liquid the ear is past its prime. Also look at the silks, they should have turned brown at the top with a little green near the kernels. If your stalk has produced more than one ear, it is usually the top ear that ripens first. The ear will feel full and it will lean away from the stalk. You can peel back the husk on one ear to check the kernel size. Corn is best eaten right after picking, but if you are not going to eat it right away, leave the husks on. This will help keep the corn nice and moist until you are ready to eat.

If you see black or rotting bottoms on your tomatoes, peppers or eggplants (less common), it is most likely blossom end rot. Tomato varieties that set all of its fruit at once (determinate) are commonly affected; cherry tomatoes rarely get blossom end rot. It is caused by a calcium deficiency in your plants caused by soil deficiencies or from uneven watering (calcium is not taken up). To help prevent this, mulch around your plants to help conserve soil moisture, keep your plants evenly watered, and make sure your soil has sufficient amounts of calcium. If your soil has sufficient calcium, then no supplement is needed. Don’t over fertilize your plants with high nitrogen either. Excessive nitrogen will lead to more foliage which will reduce the amount of calcium available to the fruit. Remove the damaged fruit.