A look back at the gardening season

Fall is approaching rapidly, and along with the season come cooler temperatures, shorter days, bonfires, roasted hot dogs, s'mores, falling leaves, no more lawn mowing -- the list goes on. Many times in the fall, I like to look back at the summer and reflect on where we came from and where we're going.

This past summer was a bummer for many gardeners. Gardeners had beautiful tomato plants with lots of blooms, but no tomatoes. I don't know if this is the culprit, but there may not be enough pollinators.

A couple of years ago, I planted some zucchini in one of my high tunnels, and they would bloom and grow little zucchini, but then they'd rot and slough them off. I asked some gardening friends of mine who have high tunnels, and they said it was probably one of two things, or maybe even both. One was because there were no pollinators. I had the tunnels shut up, and it was really early in the spring. The other problem might have been lack of calcium. Most likely it was the lack of pollinators.

I wonder if this was what was happening to the tomato plants? There were no pollinators, so the tomatoes simply didn't put on fruit.

Did you see honeybees or bumblebees in your gardens? I hardly ever see a honeybee, but I see bunches of bumblebees. But I also kind of self-pollinate when I wrap the tomato plant around my supporting string.

A couple of good friends of mine, Monte and Jim, take a small paintbrush and pollinate their tomatoes. They swish each of the blossoms on the tomato, going from bloom to bloom, doing what the bees do. Whether or not there are any bees, their tomatoes are pollinated. As new blooms appear on the tomato plant, my friends drag out their paintbrushes and swish the blossoms.

One insecticide that is deadly on bees is Sevin, or carbaryl insecticide. If at all possible, I wouldn't use it.

There are several alternatives that work, maybe not as well as Sevin, but are much safer for the bees. One is a mineral-oil spray I use out of one of my pump-up sprayers. You can buy this mineral oil at most any garden supplier or your local hardware store. Simply follow the directions on the container.

One insecticide I have never used is neem oil. Neem oil is made from an evergreen grown in India. This oil, when used properly, has been shown to be effective even on Japanese beetles, yet it won't harm bees if you don't spray it directly into their habitats or directly on their food sources. Be mindful that you mix as instructed and don't overuse.

Many of you have talked about how the squirrels have ruined your tomato harvest.

We have squirrels where we live, but our cats must be saving our tomatoes throughout the summer. I have actually watched our cats chase squirrels, and we have found evidence of them catching a few.

Granted, we have more cats than most people, but a couple or three cats who are hunters might be the best way of growing squirrel-free tomatoes next summer.

About the only other way I can think of is to put an electric fence around your tomatoes.

Once a squirrel gets buzzed a few times, I bet he'll go on to your neighbor's patch of tomatoes.

Our son, who lives in Scott City, helped his daughter put out several tomato plants last spring.

The squirrels began to cause them problems, so they put out some live traps. I think our grandson caught No. 28 in his live trap this past week. They have been coming up here where we live and turning the squirrels loose on a regular basis.

One other problem many gardeners faced this summer was fungus or blight. If you are growing your tomatoes outside where it can rain on them, I'd be sure to mulch around them with mulch or straw or even shredded paper. Many times, the fungus in the soil is splashed up on the tomatoes by the rain or the sprinkler.

If possible, don't mess with your tomatoes if they are damp. You might transfer fungus from one tomato plant to the next.

If you prune on your plants, keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol with you to disinfect your pruners.

When you buy your straw, make sure there isn't any mold or such in the straw. If the bale is bright and golden, most likely there won't be any mold.

Dig down into the bale and see if it is loose or if the straw is kind of glued together. Moldy straw will be kind of glued together. Moldy straw is also a gray or brown color. I wouldn't use it.

Your turnips should be up and growing. I am anxious for them to get big enough to eat. I was talking to an older gentleman the other day, and he said he always planted garlic around Columbus Day or Oct. 12. He can't garden anymore, and one thing he misses is growing big bulbs of garlic.

Happy gardening.

Until next time.