When temperatures reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit each day, large tomatoes may develop very thick stems; in extreme conditions a sharp sliver of woody material projects down into the fruit and makes it hard to separate tomatoes by hand from the plant. Use scissors or clippers when gathering ripe tomatoes, otherwise you might damage the vines.
Also remember to water tomatoes deeply at least twice a week while the temperature is above 90 degrees. An additional daily brief spraying on vines in mid-afternoon cools the plant and the soil beneath while also washing off many spider mites in the process, yet there is still time for the moisture to evaporate before nightfall. The practice often encourages plants to set more fruit than they would have otherwise.
If you have run out of compost, Ellison Feed and Seed carries an alfalfa/manure soil conditioner and fertilizer that is great to spread around tomatoes, peppers and any other vegetable or ornamental in the garden and landscape. The alfalfa compost works slowly yet steadily to keep foliage growing and repairing damaged leaves and/or outgrowing insect damage. You will still need to lay a mulch layer over the compost otherwise the sun will burn out the organic material in short order.
Keep your vines healthy. Trim off dead and diseased leaves; usually problems develop from the bottom up and remove from the garden. The night temperatures lately are just right for blooms to set fruit again. The healthier the plant the more tomatoes the plant will produce. As long as the health of the tomato vines holds, you should still be gathering ripe fruit until frost with lots of green tomatoes left over to make relish or fried green tomatoes.
So far I've picked a basket of large beef-steak, medium sized Cherokee Purple and several varieties of cherry tomatoes including Sun Gold and Egg Yolk. Speaking of garden produce, my most favorite summertime lunch consists of fried okra and sliced Cherokee Purple tomatoes on an open-faced melted cheddar cheese sandwich -- sometimes I substitute cottage cheese for the cheese and whole wheat bread or wrap the ingredients in a tortilla.
I've just come back inside this Wednesday morning after gathering the okra with two bird stories to share. As I walked the path under the willow I saw the most brilliantly colored large blue jay sprawled out, wings spread their full length body pressed against the two-inch mulch of fresh grass clippings that I had spread on a fallow garden plot. The regal jay eyed me calmly making no move to fly away for a couple of minutes until I began walking further along the path.
Before I had gone two more steps, a tiny iridescent male ruby-throated hummingbird hovered in place a couple of feet away for an instant seeming to study me. He then turned tail within the blink of an eye, his forked tail where his beak had been. He sailed away while his incredibly rapid wings beat the air sounding a muted hum.um.um. What a double-dip thrill.
This next week I'll be planting a small fall garden, so this weekend I'll devise lean-to shelters to shade lettuces, kale, collards, chard, turnips and mustard from the hot south and western sun until they are well established. I plan to use tall t-posts placed in the ground at a 45 degree angle to tie on shade cloth. I'll want to be able to raise and lower the shade-cloth for purposes of weeding and thinning the crops. Yes, this is a lot of work, but the rewards are worth the effort. I plan to work early in the morning and after 7 p.m. to catch the cooler temperatures.
The first of the fall greens I'll pre-plant in individual pots to be set out after they fill their small containers with roots so that the root structure will hold the soil intact around the roots instead of falling off when I turn the pot upside down to release the lettuce, kale, etc. If you can keep root and soil as they grow in the pot the plant will experience less transplant shock. As soon as the plants are in the ground, I gently water around them making sure the soil settles around the roots eliminating air pockets.
Betty Culpepper may be reached at bculpepper3@cox.com for comments, questions or ideas for future columns.
Outdoors
July 24, 2009
Keep tomatoes healthy in the heat
- Outdoors
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- Safety is vital when working with chain saws STILLWATER -- As Oklahomans clean up after the recent ice storm that left tree limbs shattered or lying around, care should be taken to ensure protection against unintentionally risking an arm or leg being added to the toll.
- Dolese Youth Park Pond teeming with trout for young anglers Oklahoma City resident Gaston Gallant goes fishing nearly every day of the two-month trout season at Dolese Youth Park Pond, a northwest Oklahoma City fishing destination currently teeming with nearly 2,600 rainbow trout.
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De-icing salt can harm landscape plants
Each winter, millions of tons of deicing salt are applied to state and municipal roads to keep the roads safe for vehicles to travel. Salt is spread near houses to avoid pedestrian injuries. This is necessary for safety, but did you know excessive salt can cause widespread damage to trees ? possibly leading to permanent decline and even death?
According to the Tree Care Industry Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the tree care industry, even severe salt damage might not be visible on a tree until the end of summer, leaving homeowners wondering what might have caused the problem. - Making it through That was a cold spell of what we used to call "Biblical proportions." It was made perhaps more interesting locally by the old heat-pump in the house, which died on New Year's Eve. For a week, the household was maintained by an old Franklin stove in the living room, and by the old owner, who had to carry in firewood so it could be fed every hour or so.
- University of Oklahoma team wins college fishing event ZAPATA, Texas -- The University of Oklahoma team of Mark Johnson and Chip Porche won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Texas Division event on Falcon Lake Saturday with six bass weighing 34 pounds, 8 ounces.
- Great Western Feedout entry deadline Friday It is time to start entering for the Great Western Feedout of 2010. For those of you not familiar with it, the Great Western Feedout is a producer information feedback program that allows cattle producers the opportunity to evaluate the genetic merit of the calves they produce for feedlot performance and carcass value following weaning and a winter stocker program.
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Part-time lakes are of full-time importance
For the unlearned, old age is winter, for the learned, it is the season of harvest.
--Hasidic saying
Today's topic is the most important wetlands you've never heard of: Playa lakes and oxbow lakes. Playa lakes are usually saucer shaped natural low places with clay bottoms located in dry landscapes. - Christmas Bird Count yields unexpected rewards What am I doing here? It is incredibly cold morning and I am crouched here in the dark in the willows on the banks of the South Canadian River with a few stalwarts indulging in an activity called "owling.
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Increasing deer population leads to ornamental and garden plant damage
STILLWATER -- With more than a half million white-tailed deer in Oklahoma, many landowners experience nature in its purest sense as the deer can be viewed at close range.
However, this has become a problem over the years as the deer population has increased, forcing thousands of these animals into peripheral suburban areas, leaving homeowners to deal with damage to ornamental and garden plants. -
Wildlife Department to host town hall meeting
Sportsmen will have an opportunity to voice their thoughts on wildlife, hunting and fishing related issues at a town hall meeting hosted by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
The meeting, one of a series, is set for 7 p. - More Outdoors Headlines
