Vegetable Garden at Huntsville Botanical Garden

This week in the DVG:

• We continued to work with and work around the Hardpan soil in the garden.  Hardpan is a layer of compacted soil that is impenetrable by roots and water.  In this case, it was probably caused by years of shallow tilling (only tilling 4-6″ depths).  We amended the soil last week, and over time will see improved soil.  In the mean time, we created 2 structures on top of the soil… a maypole & a teepee.  Pole beans were planted in pots and old recycle bins and will climb the bamboo and strings.  (See pictures below.)  The beans will require 60-70 days of growth until first harvest & will continue to produce until frost.
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This week in the DVG:

• We deadheaded flowers & pulled weeds.
• We prepared the okra bed by building mounds & hoeing out the clover, and then planted the okra (by the gourds).
• We planted watermelon, pumpkins, and bush beans by the keyhole garden, replanted bush beans behind the compost bins, planted peanuts in the old pot bin, planted pole beans in the front bed, planted tiny pumpkins in the back, and also planted beans at the fence & square foot garden.
• We observed that the soil in a couple of beds have “hardpan.” This is probably the result of yearly shallow tilling that causes very hard, compacted soil below the tilled surface.  We amended the soil by double digging and adding gypsum to break up the hardpan,  If we don’t do this, the hardpan will cause plants to have a shallow root system and water will not penetrate through the compacted soil.
• We observed a yellow flower resembling a dandelion.  We identified it as Carolina False Dandelion because when the stem was cut, a milky sap was exposed.  It is a member of the Aster family and is a cool season annual or biennial.  We pulled the weeds to prevent more seeds from germinating.
• We fertilized the Fig trees.
• We trimmed, tied up & removed the lower leaves of tomato plants.  We fertilized & placed blocks around some volunteer tomatoes located outside the fence (so they won’t get damaged by the weed eater).
• We planted Cowpeas.  They are a legume that we will used as green manure in the future.
• We checked the garden for cucumber beetles, caterpillars, and damage.
• We began construction of the teepee/maypole garden.
• Alan Markellhung  constructed & donated the new Welcome sign– thank you!!

June 15 & 17, 2020

• We planted flowers for pollinators.  They are annuals: red pentas, pink pentas, angelonia & zinnias.  Then we watered & mulched around the plants.
• We planted red basil and egg plant.
• We pruned the lower limbs of tomatoes to help avoid fungus infections and help stem strength.  You will see that there is 1 demonstration bed that shows different techniques on each tomato plant (red currant tomato plants).
  • #1 The lower leaves were pruned to the 1st set under the 1st bloom, leaving suckers for food.
  • #2 Multi stems
  • #3 Pruned the top out, mid-season.
  • #4 Used the Missouri system to prune suckers to one set of leaflets (for shading).
  • #5 Pruned all suckers.
  • #6 This is the control.  Only the bottom leaves on it were removed.  The control plant was originally planted in a trench because it was very tall at planting time.  All the other plants were planted deep.
• We planted beans along the front fence.
• We placed the watering technique trials into beds using Tomato Automator Watering Trays and pipes.
• We replanted onions in the square foot bed.
• Below are pictures of the Keyhole Garden, Square Foot Garden, and Herb beds that are planted.

This week in the DVG:

• We have been cleaning up the garden– removing spent or diseased plants and getting the beds ready for Fall planting (remove weeds or grass as needed, add compost, manure, turn the soil)
• When deciding WHAT and WHEN to plant, check out this app– “SOW- A Planting Companion” by the Alabama Cooperative Extension  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sow-a-planting-companion/id840347996

This week in the DVG:

• We continued to harvest.
• We watched for mildew on plants due to the wet humid conditions.  Planting resistant varieties, with proper spacing, to allow good air circulation, as well as planting in adequate sunlight, helps prevent mildew.
• Blueberries: if you’re interested in blueberries ready to harvest in mid-August, try the Baldwin variety.  They are a little larger than the early varieties and very sweet.

This week in the DVG:

• We took soil samples (approximately 1 cup) from where the tomato plants were removed.  The tomato plants appeared to be diseased and produced very little fruit.  We will take the soil sample to the Extension Office, 819 Cook Avenue.  After the soil is analyzed, we will receive the results & recommendations via email.  This process may take 2 weeks. In the mean time…
• After taking the soil sample, we covered the area with CLEAR plastic to solarize the soil. Solarization warms the soil & kills disease in the soil.  It must be done during the hottest summer months, for at least 4 weeks.

This week in the DVG:

• We removed many of our tomato plants.  They have not been producing tomatoes and look terrible.  When we pulled them up, we noticed the roots had not spread in 3 months and the soil was very wet down to 3 or 4 inches.  We will do a soil test with the Extension Office and amend the soil for a Fall crop.

This week in the DVG:

• This week we found Squash Bugs and Eggs on the squash plants.  We picked off as many of the eggs and bugs as we could find.
• We also found Powdery Mildew on the squash plants.  (see photos) We treated these plants with a fungicide.
• We found a Tomato Horn Worm on one of our tomato plants.  We removed it & will watch for more. (see photos)
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This week in the DVG:

• We harvested okra & beans from the Tilled Bed.  We still have nothing to harvest from the Non-Tilled side.
• We harvested blueberries, squash, tomatoes, peppers, okra, and potatoes.
• A pesky varmint enjoyed the corn in our square foot and row garden.  Notice in the pictures how they ate the corn right down to the cob!  We will replant with beans or something else.
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