Hard to believe: most people are beginning to enjoy the harvest of the spring planting but it’s time to start thinking about those late-season crops. It’s important to first know the average date of the first killing frost in your area, such as Zone 5 would be early- to mid-October. Then you would need to consider the maturity days for each crop and count backwards from there. Some plants can tolerate a light frost so make sure you check the growing instructions to determine what temperatures your crop can handle.

There are some things that can be done to help extend your growing season. Placing crops beside a windbreak or wall can often create a microclimate adding up to 15 degrees to the growing area. Cold frames are another valuable tool in extending seasons. There are commercial ones available or you can make your own.

Here are some suggested late-season crops: At 90 days to maturity, or planting by mid-July for most of the growing areas, try tomatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, globe onions, Brussels sprouts, cabbages and cauliflower.

Crops with a 60-day maturity include green beans, early carrots, leeks, turnips, kohlrabi, early cabbages, collards, Swiss chard, perennial herbs and winter cauliflower.

For 30-day maturity look for radishes, broccoli, bunching onions, leaf lettuces, mustard, and spinach.

Many of these grow well in cold frames, extending your season even more. Remember to keep a record of when you planted and when the first frost hits. This will help you in the future to know precisely when to plant for late fall harvest.

I purchased some of your Jersey asparagus last year and am so thrilled with it that I am taking the time to share about how it has turned out.

I will start with how it was planted. When the asparagus crowns arrived, I soaked them in water for 15 minutes as you instructed. Then I dug my trench and laid down the crowns. Then I used some of your (Pro-Mix) Ultimate Organic Mix potting soil, and covered the crowns. I waited 2 weeks and added a thin layer of horse manure and a layer of garden soil. I waited 3 more weeks and filled the trench level with garden soil. I then allowed them to grow the rest of the year.

The following spring I added another layer of horse manure and another thin layer of garden soil. Then as the crowns emerged I added a handful of Blood Meal around each stalk. Then we waited as the asparagus stalks grew.

We were so pleased with the size of the stalks (3/4” diameter) that we are already eating them. Talk about great flavor! I have included a photo that you are welcome to use. Dan

Tomatoes are probably the most popular vegetable grown by gardeners. The majority of the problems in growing them are environmental and are generally not infectious to other crops you might have planted. Choosing the right plant is just as important as location in controlling some common issues. Look for a cultivar that is disease resistant, especially to verticillium wilt, fusarium races 1 2, nematodes, and tobacco mosaic virus. Using good general sanitation practices by keeping weeds and rotten or fallen fruit away from the plants, and washing your hands and tools after handling or working with plants, are the best ways to not spread any disease present.

Problems can be categorized into several groups: insects, physiological (culture or environment), fungus, bacterial or viral. Let’s start with those insects:

Common pests are tomato and tobacco hornworms, whiteflies, aphids, stink bugs, and cutworms. Southern gardeners are bothered by corn earworms and potato beetles. Methods of control for these pests vary.

For hornworms, hand-picking is the best solution because several of the species of Sphinx moths (the tomato hornworm is the larvae) are pollinators of endangered native orchids. You can also make netting covers if hornworms are a problem. For larger plots and if you need an environmental control use, Bacillus thuringensis. This the same control agent for cutworms.

For whitefly and aphids, using an Insecticidal Soap should be an effective control. The damage from whitefly is usually minimal; they’re mostly a nuisance when they fly up in your face!

Stink bugs cause damage visible on green fruit, appearing as dark pinprick spots that remain green or yellow as the fruit ripens. Keep the growing area and surrounding area free of weeds since the bugs overwinter in these areas. For earworms and beetles the same controls are recommended: insecticidal soaps and Bacillus thuringensis.

Environmental and cultivar problems include blossom drop, blossom end rot, leaf roll, sunscald, fruit crack, numerous trace mineral deficiencies, and over-fertilization with high nitrogen. Overwatering and underwatering, and sudden cold spells are common causes.

Blossom drop is the most susceptible to dry soils and cold spells but could also be caused by heavy rains, too much nitrogen or a bacterial or fungal infection. Blossom end rot is usually associated with extremes in soil moisture. This can also lead to calcium deficiencies.

Fruit crack happens with rapid growth during rainy spells followed by dry periods. During dry periods water plants and apply mulch.

Sunscald happens when green tomatoes are exposed to direct sunshine for long periods.  Allowing the plant to develop some suckers provides a canopy of leaves to protect the new fruit. If your plant has sprouted lots of bright green leaves but very few blossoms or fruit, cease fertilizing with a high nitrogen fertilizer and use one with a higher P and K number, the second and third number.

There are a variety of fungal diseases and most can be treated with Bordeaux Mixture, Copper Soap or Sulfur Dust. The best control is to plant resistant-strain cultivars. Before treating determine which fungal infection your plants are infected with (anthracnose, botrysis fruit rot, damping off, fusarium wilt, gray leaf spot, early or late blight, septoria leaf spot, or soil rot fungus). As with all diseased plant material, it’s best to not compost any diseased material and to clean all tools.

Bacterial spot causes small lesions on leaves that turn black. Green fruit will develop black, raised spots that will become pitted. There is no effective treatment for bacterial spot and it’s best to remove and destroy the plant and to wash all tools to keep the infection from spreading.

Watch as we plant tomatoes and install different tomato cages. Then watch the tomato plants grow in the cages.

Check back through the summer to see our progress.

The first tomato cage we will put up is the Ultomato cage. The Ultomato cage is very easy to install. Simply clip the side pieces onto the three main stakes and then push it into the ground. This tomato cage allows for easy adjustments for the side supports as the tomato plant grows. Just move them up and down to accommodate the growing plant.

It is early August and as you can see, the Ultomato Cage is filling out nicely.

The Ultomato continues to fill out nicely.

The second tomato cage we will put up is the Veggie Cage. It requires a bit more work because of the stake you must drive into the ground to hold it up. But once it is up, there is little more you will have to do with this tomato cage.

The Veggie Cage continues to keep the tomato plant growing upward and off of the ground.

The third tomato cage we will put up is the Heavy Duty Folding Tomato Cage. This is a very easy cage to use. You simply pull it open from its flattened storage position, put it in place over the tomato plant and then push the legs into the ground.

The tomato plant is growing well inside the folding tomato cage.

As you can see the folding tomato cage is filling out nicely with some tomatoes poking themselves out for us to see.

The folding tomato cage continues to come along wonderfully.

The final tomato cage we will trial is the Tomato Tower. To use this cage, simply put the bottom stake into the ground, put the sections togather and insert into the ground stake. Very easy and simple.

The Tomato Tower is handling the job very nicely.

Mixing technology with scientific research and some good old fashioned gardening experience, our Better Reds plastic mulch was designed to serve many purposes. It was developed to increase tomato yields and improve overall garden conditions. By allowing water, air and nutrients through while holding in heat, this mulch prevents weeds from proliferating and stealing the soil’s nutrients that feed the tomato plants. But best of all, it encourages the plant to produce the best fruits by reflecting a particular wave of sunlight to the leaves’ undersides. Both yields and fruit flavor are increased! It’s reusable for a couple of seasons by simply shaking off, rinsing, drying and storing. Also, it’s incredibly easy to use. Just unfold the squares, cut a slit in the center and plant the small plant directly into the soil. For mature plants, cut a slit from an outside edge to the center, and cut a center hole large enough to fit the stem of the plant. Lay it right on top of the soil around the plant’s base. You can keep it in place by placing small rocks on the corners. Better Reds can also be used with tomato relatives like peppers and eggplants, as well as strawberries and melons.

Dear GHS: We want to start a small garden this year and use organic seeds. We are going to use a raised bed 4ft x 8ft and use garden soil to put in it. We will be using landscape timber —untreated, of course. My question to you is will the seeds grow in something like that or not, and what do you think we can and can’t plant? We live in a subdivison so we are limited to what we can and can’t do but want to go the organic route really bad. Also, are the organic seeds safe? I am sorry to ask you these questions but we are new at this and wanted to know before we wasted our money. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you soon. Bob & Penny B.

Spring is finally here! Time to start dreaming of bright, colorful containers of wonderful flowers. We have some of the best annuals for containers, but don’t limit yourself to annuals. For a shady spot, combine a perennial Heuchera ‘Amber Waves’ with Calibrachoa ‘Noa™ Amber Star’ and some trailing Dichondra or Ipomoea and a nice spiky Dracaena for a great spotlight to brighten a porch. Or several Hostas in a pot make a great accent, plus they can be moved around as the summer progresses and you need a spot of color in a different part of the garden or patio. Mixing perennials and annuals is a great way to bring continuous blooms and interesting leaf textures together. Just remember to choose plants with similar requirements—combining all sun or shade lovers, and similar water needs. Choose plants that spill over the container edge, tall ones for height at the back and one that stays more compact to fill the middle. Anything that can hold dirt and has a hole for drainage can be a container. Just remember: smaller pots will dry out quickly when temperatures reach 90+ degrees. Large containers get really heavy so we recommend that you use PRO-MIX® Ultimate Container Mix. This peat-based growing mixture is ideal for containers, formulated to have a good ratio of water-holding capacity and air space (roots need air space to be happy). Leave about two inches of space above the top of the soil so ample water can drain through and not just run off. When filling your pot with soil, do not pat it down; instead, water it down to settle it. Patting compresses the soil too much. And during the growing season don’t forget to feed your live plants to keep them blooming and growing, using something like Espoma Flower-tone 3-5-7 Plant Food. It’s a great choice because it is a rich organic fertilizer and cannot harm or burn the plants if you happen to give them a bit too much. Remember, for blooming plants you want a fertilizer with a higher middle number; for just foliage plants the higher first number works best. Happy planting!

Tomato plants can be determinate or indeterminate, and the type of plant will dictate how you should prune.

Determinate tomato plants will stop growing at a certain point and direct all of their energy into producing more leaves and fruit. They produce a large crop of tomatoes that mature all at once. Most beefsteak and sandwich tomatoes are determinate varieties.

Indeterminate tomato plants have a more vining, vigorous habit. They produce tomatoes that ripen over a period of several weeks.

Pruning determinate tomatoes. Remove all blossoms until the plant is well established in the garden. This helps the plant to direct its energy into growing stronger and larger, instead of producing fruit too early. Next, remove the suckers as they appear. They have to grow quite long before they will produce fruit, and they direct needed energy away from the main stem of the plant. Try to check your tomato plants for suckers at least once a week. Near the end of the growing season, you’ll need to “top” the plant. Topping means pinching off the growing tips of the plant. It’s necessary to do this so that the remaining fruits have a chance to ripen. If you want very large tomatoes, you can remove all but one blossom from each cluster. The plant will direct all of the energy from that stem into a single tomato.

Pruning indeterminate tomatoes. Pruning indeterminate tomatoes is more complex, but it is a necessary task. Indeterminate tomato plants will form as many as ten vines if left on their own. This means that the plant ends up lying on the ground, an easy target for sunscald, disease and pests. Remove all blossoms until the plant is between 12 and 18 inches tall. Next, remove all suckers below the first fruit cluster. You can continue to remove all suckers if you want just a single vine. However, most people prefer to let two or three vines grow. To do this, let a second stem grow just above the first fruit cluster. If you would like a third stem, let the sucker just above this stem grow, also.

Keeping the side stems close to the first fruit cluster ensures that they will be strong and have enough energy to produce abundant fruit. Some people choose not to prune their tomatoes at all. The fruit that is formed on unpruned plants is generally smaller and not as flavorful as from pruned plants, although it is more plentiful.

Keep tomato plants off the ground. Give plants room. Never prune or tie plants when the leaves are wet.

Here is a photo of where to locate a sucker on your tomato plant. They always grow between the main stem and a side stem. Simply hold the sucker and break off.

Asparagus can either be grown from roots or seeds. GHS carries only roots. The all-male Jersey cultivar crowns are one year old and are an excellent long-term perennial (15 years or more!). Spears will be ready to harvest the second year after planting. Male plants are superior growers; female plants drop seeds that develop into seedling weeds. Female plants also produce lower yields than males.Asparagus crowns should be planted in the early spring in furrows a foot wide by 5-6 inches deep, and about 18 inches apart. Rows should be about five feet apart. Roots should be soaked in water for 8 hours before planting, so they are better able to absorb moisture from the soil. Allow 3 feet between asparagus and other garden plants. Well-drained, sandy loam soil with a pH between 6.5 and 6.8 is ideal. You can test your soil’s pH with a kit, or have it tested through your local cooperative extension. Water-logged soil can cause crown and root rot. Asparagus needs 8 hours of full sun daily. Once established and growing, feed with natural fertilizers like a combination of well-rotted livestock manure, compost, blood meal, bone meal and wood ash. Also, depending on your soil’s needs, you will want to amend the soil to reach the correct potassium and phosphorous levels. Each asparagus crown will produce 1/2 pound of spears, once established. Spears should be cut in intervals to continue producing throughout the season. For excellent and thorough advice on planting, nurturing and harvesting asparagus plants, look up the cooperative extension service website for your growing region. Proper planting and cutting of asparagus will provide many years of produce that is low in calories, high in nutrients and packed with flavor!