Hi
Gardeners
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| Oriental lily 'Josephine' |
Can you believe it’s August already? When I was a girl I was always sad when August
arrived because it was the last month of summer vacation and it seemed to fly
by. Now the whole year flies by, but
that’s another story.
It’s warm and muggy here today. Gizzy and I took a break and walked down to
our little pond. It’s finally starting
to shrink after a wet spring. The one
clump of purple loosestrife that grows in my pond is blooming. I’ve noticed it blooming along some roads
around here too. The color is beautiful
and it doesn’t seem terribly invasive around here. Last year I had 2 clumps of purple loosestrife
in my pond, this year only one has survived.
That clump has only slowly enlarged from a single plant that popped up 5
years ago.
The red flowers of the staghorn sumac are quite showy
right now. There are lots of chicory and
Queen Anne’s lace along the roads and in the fields. In the garden the Oriental and tiger lilies
are still blooming, phlox is blooming, the rudbeckia called Black eyed Susan,
coneflowers, bee balm, lavender and anise hyssop are among some things
blooming. If you like to attract bees
grow some anise hyssop, the old fashioned species. They cover those flowers all day long.
I noticed that the Incarvillea, hardy gloxinia, are
still putting out sporadic blooms. I’m
really happy with these plants and really hoping that they do prove to be
perennials here.
We had a meal with small new potatoes last week from
the garden. Tomatoes and cucumbers are
being harvested almost daily. My sweet
corn has some nice ears that will be ready this week. The blackberries are just starting to
ripen. We have some huge pumpkins going
already, a good year for them I guess.
On my deck I have a couple of tropical hibiscus
blooming but it’s been a slow year for the other two and my brugmansia, while
it looks quite healthy, hasn’t bloomed yet.
My pomegranate is also blooming.
The streptocarpus I put out under the cedar trees are blooming like
crazy. It’s funny how pretty deep shade
outside seems to be the equivalent of a south window inside for these
plants. The peace lily is also blooming
in the shade under the cedar trees.
Watering
tips
When you have a rainy day it’s easy to think that your
container plants and hanging baskets are getting a nice soaking. But if the rain was slow and light you might
be surprised to find your pots and baskets still pretty dry. By mid-summer when the canopies of baskets
and containers are pretty large and full, a lot of light rain will be shed off
the leaves and over the edge of the containers, leaving the soil inside dry.
Check your hanging baskets and container plants every
day to see how dry they are, even after a rain.
If you had a long hard rain they may be good and wet, and if there are
saucers under any of them, those may need to be emptied so roots don’t
rot. But if the rain was light or short
in duration you may need to water baskets and pots.
When the temperature is quite high, above 90 degrees, sunny
and windy container plants and baskets may need to be watered several times a
day. If you can’t do that you may want
to move them into shade until conditions improve or add some kind of slow
soaker device to the pot to provide water.
Don’t wait until plants wilt as a sign to water. They may perk back up but this is very
stressful to plants and you won’t get the best flowering. But do be careful not to over water too and
that can happen even in outside containers and baskets. Humid cloudy weather may contribute to pots
being too wet, as can drainage holes becoming clogged. It’s always wise to use the finger test before adding water to plants.
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| Tropical hibiscus 'Kona' |
August
almanac
The Great Lakes Native Americans called this moons full
moon (August 7th) Sturgeon moon, because that was when these large
tasty fish were easily caught in the Great Lakes. In other places this month’s full moon is
known as the Green Corn moon or the blueberry moon. The moon perigee is the 18th and
the apogee is the 2nd and the 30th.
The August birth flower is the gladiolus. When glads are given to someone they signify
remembrance and integrity, perhaps that is why gladiolus are frequently found
in funeral arrangements. The August
birthstone is the peridot- a beautiful green gem.
August is National Peach month, National Picnic month,
Family Fun month and National Catfish month.
The 9th is National Book Lovers day and the 10th
is National Lazy Day. The 13th
is Left Handers day, the 14th is Creamsicle day and the 26th
is National Dog day. The 29th
is More Herbs day. August 31st is International Bacon day.
Celestial
Happenings
If you want to see or catch a falling star this is the
month to do it. The Perseid Meteor showers peak will be August 12th through
the 13th. At the peak you
should be able to see 100 or so “falling stars” an hour. This year’s show will be somewhat hampered by
a nearly full moon but you will still be able to see some meteors. The meteor showers continue to be visible
until August 26th. Look
straight up and give your eyes a chance to adjust to the dark when watching for
meteors. At the peak you can see meteors
at any time of the night but pre-dawn viewing will be the time for maximum
sightings.
Of course the celestial happening of the year, maybe
the decade, is the total eclipse of the sun occurring August 21st. Michigan where I live is not in the path of
totality but I should be able to see about ¾ of totality. All of North America
will at least see a partial eclipse, as well as many other areas of the world. Here’s a NASA map that shows where the path of
totality will be.
Here in Michigan the peak of the eclipse for me will be about 2:26 pm. To find the time to watch it in your location
try this link: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa
The eclipse will last about two and 3/4 hours. Start viewing about an hour and 15 minutes before
your peak time if you want to watch the whole thing.
If you are in the totality path you should have a
really eerie, spectacular experience. It
will be dark as night. Provided it isn’t
cloudy the stars will be out. They say
if you experience it you’ll never forget it. In other areas you’ll see only part of the sun
blocked out and it will get darker but more like evening. It’s still worth watching though.
If you are thinking you might want to drive to where
the eclipse will be total, good luck finding a place to stay. Most hotels, motels and campgrounds are
booked to capacity along the totality route.
WARNING You must not look directly at the sun during
an eclipse, not even with sunglasses, a photo lens or binoculars. You can seriously damage your eyes. Camera and binocular/telescope lenses will
also be damaged. However there are glasses being sold that you can put on to safely
watch the eclipse. Make sure they say
they meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard. Some companies producing good glasses for
the event are American Paper Optics, Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold
film only), Rainbow Symphony, Thousand Oaks Optical, and TSE 17.
Without special glasses you can use the shadow/ pinhole
method to view the eclipse. Put a large
white piece of paper on the ground. Take another sheet of stiff paper and put a
tiny pin hole in the center. Stand
facing the paper on the ground with your back to the sun. Hold the piece of paper with the hole in it
toward the sun and move it around until the sun shines through the hole onto
the paper on the ground. You’ll see the shadow
of the eclipse on the paper on the ground. This only works if it’s not cloudy of
course.
The farther apart the two pieces of paper are the
larger the shadow image will be. (Do not look through the pinhole toward the
sun.) Or go even more rudimentary. Put your hand above your head with your
fingers splayed wide open in the direction of the sun. Look at the shadow of your hand on a piece of
paper on the ground or the bare ground.
Between some of your fingers you should also see the shadow of the sun
and you can watch as it goes through the eclipse stages.
Dahlias
are delightful
Late summer and early fall often find the garden in
need of color. One of the showiest late
summer blooming plants that you can add to the garden is the dahlia. Dahlias are not winter hardy in zone 7 and
lower but the tuberous roots can be dug and stored over winter to plant again
the following year. Dahlias range from huge 6 foot tall plants with flowers the
size of dinner plates to smaller 18-24” plants with daisy size flowers that can
be woven into mixed perennial beds.
There are even mini forms of dahlias.
There are hundreds of named varieties of dahlias and if
you are the type who likes to collect things, dahlias might be just the plant
for you. You can often find packaged
dahlia tubers in garden shops in the spring. Bedding type dahlias are often
sold in garden shops in the spring already beginning to bloom. But to get some of the truly fantastic types
of dahlias you will need to look at specialty catalogs.
Dahlias come in every color but true blue. There are many stunning color combinations
and there are even dahlias with reddish foliage that can add additional color
interest to the garden. Dahlias can
have single flowers that are daisy like, flowers with rolled petals, shaggy
flowers called “cactus type” and they can have the many layers of petals found
in the “dinner plate” type of flower.
Starting
dahlias
When shopping for dahlia tubers look for plump, firm
tubers. Tubers may come in clumps,
(preferable) or as singles. Avoid moldy
looking tubers or those that are dry and shriveled. Each tuber needs a tiny bit of the old plant
stem attached to it because that is where the bud for new growth will be. Handle tubers carefully so you don’t damage
the buds.
Dahlias can be planted outside in the ground after all
danger of frost has passed. However some
of the larger varieties may not have enough time to bloom before fall frost
kills the plants. It’s preferable to
start dahlia tubers inside, in a sunny window or under grow lights around the
middle of April in zones 6 and lower.
After all danger of frost has passed the started plants are then planted
outside.
To start dahlias inside use a good potting mix and pots
that are big enough not to crowd the tuber clump. The pot just needs to be
about 2-3 inches deeper than the tubers are long. Place a little moistened
potting soil in the pot and set the tuber clump in the pot with the old stem
area facing up. Fill in around the tuber
clump with moistened potting soil to just cover the top of the tubers. If you can’t tell which way is “up” or the
find the stem area on a tuber, plant the tuber sideways.
Place the pots of dahlias in a sunny place or provide
an artificial grow light for them. Keep
them moist but not soggy. Make sure they are not too crowded so that air can
flow freely around the plants.
Temperatures can range from about 45 degrees to 80 degrees. If the potting mix did not come mixed with
slow release fertilizer use some water soluble fertilizer on them when you see
two leaves on the plant. Follow the
directions for potted plants on the fertilizer.
When the weather has settled and the danger of frost
has passed dahlias tubers can be planted in a sunny place outside. Plant the tubers so that the tops of the
tubers are just covered with soil, a bit of old stem can protrude above ground.
Care
of dahlia plants
If you started your dahlias inside transplant them
outside after all danger of frost has passed. You can plant tubers directly in
the ground after frost danger is over too. If your growing season is long and
warm direct planting works just fine. Plant dahlias in full sun and leave
enough space for the mature plants.
Dinner plate type dahlias need at least 2 feet between them. A wind sheltered location such as in front of
a fence, hedge or building helps prevent dahlias from wind damage when they are
loaded with heavy flowers.
Work some slow release fertilizer into the soil at
planting or transplanting time. About
August dahlia plants will benefit from more slow release fertilizer being
carefully worked in the soil around them or use some water soluble fertilizer
formulated for blooming plants on them every other week until frost.
The large types of dahlias should have a sturdy 4-5
foot stake placed next to them at planting time. As they grow the plants should be tied to the
stake to prevent them from being toppled in a high wind once they have
developed flowers. Dahlia stems are crisp
and easily snapped so handle them carefully.
Water dahlia plants deeply about once a week if there
isn’t enough rain. Dahlia’s survive dry
conditions fairly well because the tuberous roots can hold some water. But they will bloom better and have larger
blooms if they have a constant supply of moisture. Dahlias will not do well however, where the
soil is too wet.
Smaller bedding types of dahlias may begin blooming
soon after planting and bloom all summer if dead flowers are removed, plants
are fertilized and kept moist. The
larger types of dahlias usually begin blooming in mid-summer and if kept
fertilized and watered will bloom until frost.
Keep dead flowers trimmed off plants to promote additional blooms.
Insect
and disease problems of dahlias
Dahlias may be attacked by Japanese beetles, 4 lined
plant bugs, aphids and leaf hoppers. You
can use an insecticidal soap or any product sold for rose insect control to
help control these pests. The European
corn borer, a small pinkish caterpillar, may bore small holes in the stems of
dahlias, eventually causing the stem to topple or the plant to wilt. You can use a Bt product for gardens shortly
after planting and again in midsummer to help control borers or use a systemic
insecticide for roses and other flowers.
Dahlias are subject to several fungal diseases,
including powdery mildew, especially in hot humid weather. Make sure dahlias are not too crowded. Keep
mulch from touching the stems of dahlias.
To control fungal diseases you need preventative sprays of a garden
fungicide registered for use on flowers.
Use it according to label directions, beginning in early summer.
Digging
and storing dahlia tubers
Soon after a frost has killed the dahlia foliage the
tubers need to be dug and stored if you want to re-plant them the following
year. The good side of this is that most
dahlias will have produced a number of new tubers and you may have 2-3 new
plants the next year if you carefully divide the clump in the spring. Do not let the ground freeze before you dig
the tubers or they will turn to mush.
Wait for a series of sunny, dry days to dig the tubers
if possible. Carefully dig up the dahlia
tubers to avoid damaging them. Try to
keep the tubers in clumps and not knock off individual tubers. Individual tubers may produce new plants next
year if they have a bit of stem area attached but some loose tubers may not
grow.
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| Dahlia tubers |
Spread the tubers out in a dry spot for 2-3 days to
cure. Then brush off most of the dirt
and cut off any remaining stems to about 2 inches above the tubers. Do not wash the tubers. The tubers should be
buried in barely moist sand, sawdust or peat in some kind of container. Do not use potting soil or garden soil to
store them.
Store the tubers in their containers indoors in a cool,
45-65 degree spot. Make sure they do not
freeze. Mice and other critters may eat
dahlia bulbs so make sure the tubers are protected from them. Old metal popcorn containers or metal trash
cans are good storage containers if they have a few small holes put in to
ventilate them.
Once a month try to look through the stored dahlia
tubers. Discard moldy or soft
tubers. Add a little water to the
storage material if the tubers seem too dry and are shriveling. In early spring you may notice reddish or
green buds appearing on the tubers. Be
very careful not to damage these. Pot
the tubers in late spring as described above for an early start.
Dividing
dahlias
If you harvested large clumps of dahlias in the fall
you can divide them in the spring to give you more plants for the garden or to
trade to your friends. Each new dahlia
clump needs a piece of the old dahlia stem.
Just before potting or planting in the spring examine the clump. Using a sharp knife carefully cut through the
stem in one or two places, leaving at least one tuber attached to each piece of
stem with a bud. Let the cut pieces dry
for a day before potting them.
Dahlias make fabulous cut flowers and a bouquet of
dinner plate dahlia flowers will astound your friends. They make a gaudy, flamboyant end to summer
in the garden border. The smaller
flowered dahlia’s can be artfully placed in the perennial border to lend color
just when it’s needed most. If you
haven’t grown dahlias in your garden give them a try. They are bound to become a favorite.
Tree
frogs
Gardeners
often run into frogs and that’s a good thing.
Frogs gobble down insects that can harm plants or even you. They eat spiders, mosquitoes, flies, beetles,
moths and numerous other insects. Some of
the smallest, cutest and noisiest frogs are the tree frogs. Tree frogs can be found in many suburban and
rural areas although people often overlook them. They are most obvious in the spring when
males are calling for a mate. They often
sing sporadically in the fall, especially on warm rainy nights.
The most
common tree frog in the Eastern half of the country, from Canada to Florida, is
the spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer). One
of the earliest frogs to emerge from hibernation, its shrill, fast “peeps” can
become deafening on warm spring evenings.
They are up to 1-1/2 inches long and gray-brown with a distinctive dark
x marking on the back. They lay eggs
quite early and the tadpole has turned to a frog and become adult sized by the
end of its first summer.
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| Spring peeper |
The gray
tree frogs ( Hyla versacolor or Hyla chrysoscelis) name is misleading because
it can be gray, brown or green. It
changes its color to match its surroundings. There is usually some black
mottling on the back. The undersides of
the upper back legs are yellow. It can
grow to 2 inches. Its call is a low
musical “trill.” The green tree frog (Hyla cinerea),is a smooth uniform green
with a yellow or white stripe from the jaw down the side. It’s usually found in the southern US.
Another
tree frog that is becoming rare is the Blanchard’s cricket frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi). While in the tree frog family, they lack
sticky pads on the feet. It is a rough,
warty skinned, 1 inch frog that is a brown-gray color. There is often a dark
triangle marking on the head and bars on the legs. Its song is a metallic clicking sound.
Chorus
frogs belong to the tree frog family but are not as likely to be found climbing
around the garden. The Western chorus
frog Pseudacris triseriata is found
from southern Canada to the middle of the country – Kansas, Oklahoma and east
to the coast but only as far west as the Dakota’s. The Pacific chorus frog Pseudacris regilla takes over from there, westward to the Pacific
coast. Another chorus frog found throughout the middle of the US is the Upland
Chorus frog, Pseudacris feriarum. There are other species of chorus frogs.
Chorus
frogs are tiny, less than 1 ½ inches. They can be gray, brown, olive or green
in the Pacific tree frog case. Some have
stripes or other markings. Their skin is
smooth and looks moist. Chorus frogs are
nocturnal, hunting at night, which is why the gardener may not know they are
there.
Chorus
frogs breed in ephemeral ponds, ponds that exist for only short times in the
spring and generally stay near these locations.
They rival the spring peeper in their early spring mating songs.
Occasionally
other tree frogs hitch a ride on plants from the south or tropics. The bright green squirrel tree frog is a good
example. They are often found on
tropical plants brought from the south but are not known to survive northern
winters.
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| This is actually a gray tree frog, in its green camouflage |
Tree frogs
are often found up off the ground on plants of various types, but rarely do
people actually find them in trees. They are excellent climbers however, and
can ascend high into trees if needed.
They are found in wild and cultivated areas with the natural habitat
being swampy woods, forest edges and wetlands.
Tree frogs can also be seen around ponds and pools of water after spring
rains and even in birdbaths. They may even
hitch a ride inside when you bring houseplants in from a summer outside.
Tree frogs
require only modest amounts of water when not reproducing; dew on the grass can
do the job. But like most frogs they
need to lay their eggs in water, which turn into tadpoles then gradually into
tiny frogs. Tree frogs breed early in
the spring, often before other frogs and the young develop rapidly.
Tree frogs
have tiny sticky suction cups on the bottom of the toes that allow them to
climb. Tree frogs have been seen
climbing glass and plastic. They climb
off the ground to be safer from things like snakes and bigger frogs and to look
for insects to dine on. They love
spiders, slugs, aphids and all manner of nasty bugs.
All species
of frogs are declining and they should not be captured for pets or harmed in
any way. Protecting wetlands on your
property and avoiding pesticides will help the frogs survive.
Cucumbers
(Cucumis sativus)
Cucumbers are one of the best additions to a salad that
I know. But I want them crisp and sweet, not soft and bitter or covered in wax
like many grocery cukes. It’s easy for
gardeners to grow their own cucumbers and skip those expensive, limp and waxed
cucumbers in the grocery. And when you
have too many cucumbers you can turn them into pickles and relish.
Cucumbers are cooling; the flesh is 10 degrees cooler
than the air the plant is growing in. They
are low in calories but full of vitamins and minerals and help keep you
hydrated with their high water content.
Leaving the peel on a garden fresh cucumber keeps the most nutrients
available.
Types
of cucumbers
Cucumbers have roughly heart shaped leaves and the
vines are covered in prickly “hairs”.
They have yellow flowers about 1 inch across, which are either male or
female. Male flowers begin blooming first,
female flowers should shortly follow.
Female flowers have a tiny cuke at their base. Seedless varieties don’t have male
flowers. Cucumbers are pollinated by
insects.
In most varieties of cucumbers the fruit is long and cylindrical,
green when young and maturing to yellow.
However the shape can vary quite a bit, with very narrow, long cukes,
plump short cukes and even ball shaped cukes.
There are white, orange and brown skinned varieties. Many cucumber fruits have short spines,
either white or black. There are cucumbers that are better for pickling and
some that are better for fresh eating.
There are also seedless cucumbers now, for fresh eating.
Most cucumbers form a long vine but there are a few varieties that are
more of a bush in form.
When you are choosing a cucumber to grow you need to
decide what you want to use the cucumber for.
All cucumbers can be eaten when picked young but some cucumbers don’t
make very good pickles. Read the
descriptions in seed catalogs or on plant tags and look for words like “table
or slicing” if you don’t want to make pickles.
Eating cucumbers are long and narrow with smooth thick skins, dark green
in color, and white spines or no spines (prickly bumps on the skin). The flesh
is softer than pickling cukes and some are seedless. Varieties listed as “European” are table
cucumbers.
Pickling cucumbers are shorter and fatter with thin
skins, a more bumpy look and dark colored spines. Their flesh tends to be firmer and the skin
is lighter in color than table cukes. Pickling types have less moisture in the
flesh and thin skins which makes it a bit easier to get them crisp. They are fine to eat as table or slicing
cucumbers too.
Gardeners who make lots of pickles will probably want
to choose pickling types. You can’t tell
what type you have by looking at the plants, only by the label or by looking at
the cucumber fruit. Many pickling types
will have “pickling” or “pickles” in their names. You can make pickles with table cukes but
they may not turn out as nice. Some
older varieties of cucumbers are listed as dual purpose and are good for ether
use.
If you are going to grow cucumbers in a pot or have
very little gardening space choose cucumber varieties that indicate they are
“bush” types. These are usually slicer
or table types.
Growing
cucumbers
Gardeners can buy transplants to set in the garden or
start cucumbers from seed directly in the garden. Both seeds and transplants need to be planted
after all danger of frost has passed.
Cucumbers aren’t fussy about soil type but they should be planted in
full sun.
Plant the cucumbers about a foot apart. Fertilize at
planting with a slow release vegetable fertilizer. Water the young plants every day if it’s dry for
the first week, then water if you notice the vines beginning to wilt.
Most cucumbers are quite productive. If you aren’t going to make pickles a family
will rarely need more than 3-4 plants.
If you do want to make pickles you’ll want more plants, how many will be
determined by how many quarts of pickles you want. However I find most people plant more
cucumbers than they need, rather than too few.
You can let cucumbers sprawl on the ground but I
recommend you trellis them- get them to climb a fence of some sort. You’ll find the cucumber fruit more easily
and cucumbers off the ground are cleaner and the plants are a little less
likely to get fungal diseases. Training the plants upward also saves space. Cucumber vines can easily take up 6 feet of
space. If you do allow cucumbers to sprawl
a mulch under them, such as straw, is a good idea.
Cucumbers begin blooming about 6-8 weeks after
planting, depending on variety. When you
see female flowers, flowers with tiny cukes on the back, start watching your
vines closely. Cucumbers go from blossom to ready to pick in just a few
days. The aim in harvesting cucumbers is
to pick them when they are young and small for the best flavor, thin skin and
keeping qualities. Even cucumbers designed to be pickles should be picked while
they are still young and small. Most
cucumbers will be green at this correct eating stage although novelty cucumbers
that are white or yellow when young exist.
When most cucumbers start turning yellow however, they are getting past
the best eating and pickling stage.
Pick all cucumbers off the vine before they turn
completely yellow to keep the vines producing. Yellow cucumbers are edible, but not as tasty
as young green ones and they don’t make good pickles. You can store cucumbers refrigerated or
unrefrigerated for several days. (If you
want to save seeds from your cucumber you will want them to turn yellow and
mature to the point of softness.)
Problems
of cucumbers
Cucumber beetles eat the flowers of cucumbers, squash,
and pumpkins and prevent fruit from forming. They also eat holes in leaves,
fruits and damage stems. The beetles carry viral and fungal diseases to plants
also. Cucumber beetles are ¼ inch long
and yellow and black striped. You can
use insecticides safe for food gardens or hand-pick them to control them. Rotate where you plant your vine crops each
year.
Downy mildew is a serious disease of cucumbers and
melons, and also damages squash and pumpkins.
It is different from powdery mildew, which is a common problem but less
destructive.
Symptoms of downy mildew are light green turning to
yellow spots on the top of leaves and the bottom of the leaves will have black,
water soaked looking areas, then a purple-brown dusty or dirty appearance to
the bottom of leaves when spores appear.
Cucumber plants quickly seem to dry up and die. Downy mildew is carried
to crops by the wind and usually begins in hot, wet or humid weather. Once in your garden it will spread
rapidly.
Powdery Mildew begins with yellow spots too, and then
the surfaces of cucumber leaves, top and bottom, take on a white/gray powdery
look. Infected leaves soon dry up and
shrivel. In Powdery Mildew new leaves
continue to form on the ends of vines.
If these are treated with fungicides the plant may continue
producing. If Powdery Mildew appears
late in the season plants may manage to produce until frost. Removing and disposing of any leaves with
infection as soon as they are spotted helps keep the disease from spreading.
Cucumber plants rapidly die from the Downy Mildew and
slowly from Powdery Mildew. The best thing to do is to prevent Downy or Powdery
Mildew by applying protective fungicides.
Look for home garden fungicides that have chlorothalonil or mancozeb in
the ingredients and apply as directed.
If caught early fungicides may help crops that are lightly infected.
Heavily infected crops won’t be helped.
There are no organic products that are effective for
downy or powdery mildew. Baking soda,
Epsom salts, dish soap and so on are useless.
If you can’t bring yourself to use a conventional fungicide then pull
the plants if they are infected with Downy Mildew and bury them away from the
garden or put them in plastic bags for the landfill. Plants with Powdery Mildew can be left for a
while to see if they will produce more fruit.
But if the plants look very bad disposing of them is probably the best
option.
Don’t mess around with home remedies, allowing the
disease to continue spreading. Don’t
compost infected plants at home. Don’t
plant in the same spot next year and make sure all plant residue is removed
from the garden in the fall. Next year
look for varieties that are resistant to downy and powdery mildew.
Herbal
uses of cucumbers
Cucumber fruit and juice is mildly diuretic. Cucumber slices and juice are used in
cosmetics, to tone and cleanse skin and supposedly to lighten freckles and age
spots. Cucumber is sometimes used as a
fragrance for perfume and soap.
Cucumber seeds are ground up and used as an emetic or
to kill intestinal worms.
Cucumber
recipes
Here are some good ways to use that bounty of cucumbers
your garden may be producing. Since
cucumbers don’t freeze well making pickles is the only way to preserve them for
an extended time.
Cucumbers
in yogurt sauce
3 medium cucumbers, washed and thinly sliced
1/2 cup of plain yogurt- Greek is good
3 tablespoons of salad dressing such as Miracle Whip
1 tablespoon of fresh chopped dill leaf
1/4 teaspoon of celery salt
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon
white pepper
Blend yogurt and salad dressing with spices. Add cucumber slices and gently toss to
cover. Refrigerate for at least one
hour. 3-4 average servings.
Instant
pickles
Serve these with a meal then discard.
2 thinly sliced and peeled cucumbers
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 dill flower or a few chopped leaves
Combine everything in a bowl and let marinate in the
refrigerator for 15-minutes to an hour.
It can sit longer but the longer it sits the saltier the cukes
become. Discard after 1 day.
Refrigerator dill pickles
This is how I make pickles. When I have a couple cucumbers I can make up
a quart, which doesn’t take long. Food
safety rules say keep these pickles only about 2 months but we had pickles all
winter and into June without a problem and my husband eats pickles nearly every
day. You must keep them refrigerated and that can take up a bit of room in the
frig.
For each quart jar of dill pickles you will need:
Cucumbers, about 2 medium or 1 and ½ large
1 tablespoon pickling salt- or kosher salt, do not use
iodized salt
2 cups of white vinegar
warning- do not reduce the
vinegar to water ratio
2 cups of water
1 heaping teaspoon of dill seeds- or 3-4 dill flower
heads
½ teaspoon of
mustard seeds
Several peppercorns, black or mixed
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced or garlic juice
1 grape leaf - optional, adds crispness
(About spices- they can be adjusted to your taste.
These amounts are what I use. You can leave one or two out. Since these are refrigerator pickles you
could leave the salt out, but the pickles won’t taste as good. Do not use salt substitutes in pickles. You
can use garlic powder but it makes a scummy layer on the jar bottom. Some
people add a tablespoon of sugar, or things like dried red pepper, celery seed
or a slice of horse radish. Make one jar of pickles first and taste it after 3
days and see if you like the spice mixture then adjust if necessary. Pickles get stronger in taste as they age.)
Wash your cucumbers well. They should be fresh, firm ones. It takes about 1 and a half large cukes or 2
medium ones to fill a quart. You do not
want to pack the jars too tightly for pickles. Cut off the blossom end- if you
can’t tell which end that is cut a slice off both ends and discard. The blossom
end has enzymes that will cause the pickles to be mushy.
Cut the cucumbers into thin slices or spears, whichever
you prefer. The pieces must be about an
inch below the jar rim because they must be completely covered with the
brine. Put them in the jar.
I put a grape leaf in each jar before the cuke
pieces. Grape leaves help pickles crisp
up. You can use any type of grape leaf,
wild ones are fine, just don’t use any that are sprayed with pesticides or that
come from close to a road, where they are often covered with pollutants in road
dust. Wash them before placing them in
the jars.
Heat the vinegar, water and spices in a pan until they
come to a boil. Pour the hot brine over
the cucumber pieces until they are completely covered. Make sure the spices go into the jar with the
fluid. Put on the lid and tighten. If you have extra fluid save it in the
refrigerator to add to your next batch or discard.
After the jars cool to room temperature put them in the
refrigerator. Some jars may seal as they
cool but these jars are not safe to store outside the refrigerator. Store these pickles refrigerated. They’ll keep for 1-2 months this way. You can taste the pickles right away but they
will be better if you let at least 3 days pass.
The taste gets stronger as they age.
Start planning that eclipse party now!
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used
without permission.
And
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