This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Uncle Buck's Garden Secrets: Reviving Your Weather-Damaged Crops

Veteran apple/vegetable/flower farmer Randy Brown shares the secret to saving your plants from Mother Nature.

As she so often does, Mother Nature is playing the extremes game with us this year and it can cause whiplash in the unprepared or slow-to-react gardener.

But I've been here before my friends, so do not be discouraged. Let's recap for a moment all the temper tantrums Mother Nature has thrown this year:

  • In March we had wind and record rain,
  • June brought draught and no rain,
  • July broiled with record heat,
  • and now in late July and August, in addition to heat, we're being hit with strong winds and heavy rains.

You are understandably confused weedhopper, but do not despair. There are still eight weeks of summer left, six of them before Labor Day!

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

So prop up those windfalls, they will straighten up and be just fine with a little support. Clean out the dead foliage that was stressed by the drought and heat. Use some good, organic fungicide like Oil of Neem or one of the Bacillus formulations like Companion or Serenade to prevent powdery and downy mildew. Add in some copper to prevent the Tomato Blights.

Be especially vigilant of your tomatoes and cucurbits, which if they are anything like mine have a gap in fruit production from when the babies dropped off in the heat.

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Or maybe you had some vines break or damaged in some other way from all the extreme weather. Don't fret, as long as those roots are in good shape you have time to set and ripen a late crop -- but to do so you need to stay the course and keep that foliage healthy.

Mid-season crop failures can be replanted if they are short day plants. There is still ample time for a second crop of  zinnia, beans, summer squash, lettuce, sunflowers and radishes to name a few. You can still replant just about anything with 60 days or less to maturity.

At this time of year, with a little water, the seeds seem to germinate overnight and they leap out of the ground. Keep the feed going, as all this rain will leach nutrients and we need to keep replenishing. Any good organic fertilizer that is quickly available like the fish emulsions, chicken manure, or seaweed products will help.

If you don't mind using them, this is a great time for the chemical fertilizer calcium nitrate which helps with micronutrient uptake, blossom end rot and foliage growth. The great thing about calcium nitrate is the leftovers make really good ice melter in the winter and won't poison the grass along your walkways and driveway!

But if you only remember one thing, remember this: No matter what Mother Nature throws our way, there's always light at the end of the tunnel -- just as long as you follow my advice.

Keep on growing!

---

Randy Brown, a.k.a. Uncle Buck, sells insurance by necessity and grows flowers by choice here in New Canaan. Look for his chronicles of life as a suburban farmer each Wednesday and tips for your gardening adventures weekdays in New Canaan Patch. Look for his flowers at Walter Stewart's and the New Canaan Farmers Market. Contact him at unclbk@aol.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?