Garden Q&A: Shade vegetables, leaf damage, knowing when to water
We’re already sweaty and running into some garden troubles, so we’re seeking answers to our many, many questions. Good thing our NC Extension Master Gardeners have come to our rescue.
The News & Observer chatted with Ashley Troth, an NC State Cooperative Extension agent at the Durham County Center, to answer reader’s questions sent during the month of May.
Here’s what you wanted to know:
Which summer vegetables can I grow in the shade?
I built a raised bed for my wife to grow veggies. Unfortunately, the spot doesn’t get full sun, so she found that tomatoes last summer didn’t make any fruit. What veggies will grow successfully in a partial shade environment? She did have some success with cucumber, kale and leaf lettuce.
Troth:
“Veggies are hard to grow in partial shade because they’re using all that sunlight to make fruit and make what we eat, but there’s a real emphasis on fruit. So instead, if you can focus on growing the roots and shoots, you’ll have a lot more luck.
“This is stuff like leafy greens, carrots, turnips, potatoes — those cool season veggies, but you can get summer varieties. You won’t have as much success as if you had them in a full sun bed, but it’s all about picking varieties that are heat tolerant.
“One of the main reasons we don’t get full sun in our area is because of the trees, so that’s an extra reason for growing roots and shoots. But in the winter, the leaves will drop, and you’ll have that sun again. So you can grow these year round, but if you’re growing in the summer, make sure you get heat-tolerant cultivars of your favorite cool season vegetables.”
How can we avoid pollen in the garden?
What can you tell us about pollen when gardening and hiking? What should we do to protect our eyes and help with breathing?
Troth:
“It’s worth finding out what you’re allergic to. If you’re only allergic to a few things, you can check out what’s blooming or figure out the pollen count by some online trackers. Another helpful tip is to go outside right after it rains, which can take down pollen a little bit. But I spend my spring with a face full of antihistamine.”
Do my plants need more water?
It’s so hot, and I want to water my plants all the time! How do I know they need more water?
Troth:
“If you’re growing in containers or pots, you always have to water. They say for established plants, like three to five years, it’s an inch of water a week. It’s so hot in the summer that the plants can’t keep up. My own garden has been in the ground for eight to 10 years. In August, I’ll do some supplemental watering, once a week with a watering system.
“The best thing is to always be looking at your plants. Put your finger in the first couple inches and see if it feels dry. These plants will 100% tell you when they want water. Drooping and wilting – a tiny bit is usually OK. It encourages the plants to grow better roots, but they can’t learn that lesson when they’re not established. In the first year, they really just need water.”
The NC State Extension has a blog post all about summer watering:
“The ‘1 inch’ of water guideline confuses some of us because we have different containers to water with, so I just use my finger,” wrote Minda Daughtry, an extension agent at the Jackson County Center. “To test the soil with your finger, poke down a few inches near the stem to check the root zone, because that is where the water take-up happens. A soil moisture meter works well too. Even if the surface appears to be a bit dry, there may still be moisture down at the roots.”
For the full post, visit lee.ces.ncsu.edu.
Caring for plants with leaf damage
Do you always have to cut off damaged leaves? For sunburn, disease, etc. How can you revert damage to save the plant?
Troth:
“There’s something important to know about plants: They don’t heal themselves the way animals heal themselves. Once tissue is damaged, all they can do is close that part off or seal around it. Basically, once there is damage, you cannot undo that damage. If there’s a spot or burn on a leaf, there’s no way to have that leaf be plump and healthy again. The only way to get rid of damage is to prune out the dead or diseased tissue, which is an easier environment for more damage and disease to grow.
“If there’s sun damage, you have to address that at the root. Shade the plant, make sure the plant doesn’t get burnt all day. Prune off the damaged leaves, since they’re not going to make a recovery. You’ll only get good leaves by waiting for new ones to grow.
“If when you’re pruning the damaged leaves you find yourself pruning everything, then you have your answer. At that point, you’re asking the plant to entirely rely on a healthy root system, since it doesn’t have leafy greens to help it photosynthesize.
“Disease doesn’t tend to take plants that are otherwise perfectly healthy. Bad diseases hit plants that are already struggling for whatever reason, so you need to figure out what the underlying stressor is if your plant gets hit with a disease to entirely wipe it out.
“If you worry that you’re going to prune out so much that you’re going to kill the plant, the plant is going to die soon. You can prune it out if you want, but if 75% of the leaves are so damaged that they’re getting snipped, you’ve answered your own question. If a plant has diseases like that, it’s a petri dish. It might feel like plants are always new and seasons, but this is a long game, and you want to keep the soil OK. You need to get that plant out, because keeping it in is just poisoning your soil.”
June gardening tips
What are some June gardening tips for the first month of insane summer heat?
Troth:
“The Durham Master Gardeners blog has frequent information for what to do in your garden every month! And we just published a blog post with key information for the month of June.”
Here are some key takeaways from “June: To Do in the Garden:”
▪ Fertilize: “Vegetable gardens will reward you later if you side dress them now with a little balanced fertilizer,” wrote Gary Crispell, an extension Master Gardener Volunteer.
▪ Prune: “June is a fine time to prune lots of stuff. Make sure the pruning tools are sharp and lubricated (Not the operator, though. Only the tools should be lubricated.),” Crispell wrote.
▪ Pest control and herbicides: Look out for tomato early blight, Crispell wrote, and a plethora of worms and beetles that want to eat the delicious produce you’re growing.
For the full blog post (and to stay up to date on regular blog entries), visit durhammastergardeners.com.
Questions about backyard gardening?
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This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Garden Q&A: Shade vegetables, leaf damage, knowing when to water."
