digitS'
Garden Master
@Gardening with Rabbits , how was your August sown bok choy? I suppose that I shoulda sprinkled slug killer on my seed bed; the slimy critters made a mess of things!
Can I blame dry, hot weather for the slugs? Other than melting the slug bait by running sprinklers so often - maybe not. I am fairly sure that plant stress encourages aphids. The cabbage plants a little too much out of the irrigation had the most problems with them this year.
The broccoli and another patch of cabbage were in a different location. There was just enough aphids in the top of that broccoli to scar up all the secondary buds after the center had been cut. Those centers weren't very big because summer heat came on strong. Then, I continued cutting the buds and throwing them away as unusable while hoping that this would rid the plants of aphids. Finally had some nice ones by first frost and after.
Losing tried-&-true winter squash and such was unusual for the growing season but the brassicas often/always have problems in the heat and dry summer weeks. I've had broccoli make buds when they were only a few inches tall!
That was probably a year with spring heat and dry conditions. BTW, those broccoli buds were nipped off and the plants went thru summer and had nice lateral buds in September
. Most brassicas would not be as resilient, I don't suppose. I've learned that flowering bok choy is fine for the table if you get it before the flowers actually open and choy sum is a veggie that is supposed to be harvested at that stage.
Well, most varieties of choy sum from my garden are so tiny at maturity as to be an almost inconsequential crop. I can't see me going through the mustard greens and pinching back flower shoots hoping that the plants will survive in summer heat and grow some more leaves. About half of my 2019 red cabbage split!! If truth be known, I may be learning to like collards. Scotch kale can muscle its way through summers ...
Is there some brassicas that work through summers for you? Some that sound good to you that you would like to try?
Steve
Can I blame dry, hot weather for the slugs? Other than melting the slug bait by running sprinklers so often - maybe not. I am fairly sure that plant stress encourages aphids. The cabbage plants a little too much out of the irrigation had the most problems with them this year.
The broccoli and another patch of cabbage were in a different location. There was just enough aphids in the top of that broccoli to scar up all the secondary buds after the center had been cut. Those centers weren't very big because summer heat came on strong. Then, I continued cutting the buds and throwing them away as unusable while hoping that this would rid the plants of aphids. Finally had some nice ones by first frost and after.
Losing tried-&-true winter squash and such was unusual for the growing season but the brassicas often/always have problems in the heat and dry summer weeks. I've had broccoli make buds when they were only a few inches tall!
That was probably a year with spring heat and dry conditions. BTW, those broccoli buds were nipped off and the plants went thru summer and had nice lateral buds in September
. Most brassicas would not be as resilient, I don't suppose. I've learned that flowering bok choy is fine for the table if you get it before the flowers actually open and choy sum is a veggie that is supposed to be harvested at that stage.Well, most varieties of choy sum from my garden are so tiny at maturity as to be an almost inconsequential crop. I can't see me going through the mustard greens and pinching back flower shoots hoping that the plants will survive in summer heat and grow some more leaves. About half of my 2019 red cabbage split!! If truth be known, I may be learning to like collards. Scotch kale can muscle its way through summers ...
Is there some brassicas that work through summers for you? Some that sound good to you that you would like to try?
Steve
I had so much Swiss chard, kale and collards and not enough time to even get them in the freezer, so I thought I would really be pressed if I planted more bok choy. I think the Black Summer bok choy would have done well though. I did not have the aphid problem I usually have. Some of the red winter kale got damaged. Slugs put holes in the collards way more than usual this year. I am thinking of watering earlier next year and stop the night watering. I guess if I had planted bok choy the slugs would have had a feast. They seem to like cabbage and collards the best of anything, so I guess I better plan for early bok choy and quit thinking about fall. I still hope to get more kale in the freezer.
