The Yellow Farmhouse Garden

In July I planted 30 broccoli plants for a late season harvest and they have been growing like crazy. That is, until one morning last week I went out to check them only to find they were attacked overnight.

It wasn’t rabbits because their feeding leaves behind clean-cut edges, like someone snipped them with a pruner. These were torn leaves with the damage mostly on the top growth — it was deer nibbling on the broccoli.

This patch is outside the fenced-in area of the main garden. Instead of putting up more fencing, I decided to try something different, coyote urine.

Torn leaves mean deer are in your garden

I have not used a deer repellent for several years because most of the older materials never seemed to work very well.

The package label said that it would take two to three weeks for the urine to work but, in this case, it worked immediately.  I treated that patch and the next morning those plants looked fine, while an area way on the other side of the garden sustained heavy feeding.

I’m now a believer in coyote urine and plan to keep some around to use in the future. By the way, the urine is not in its original liquid state, the manufacturer formulated it into a fine granular material that is easy to apply.

Now, I have to ask, when pronouncing coyote do you say: “ky-yoot” or ky-o-tee?

Bob

It’s all in the timing when it comes to harvesting sweet corn. Prime picking time can be as short as two or three days depending on daily temperatures.

Sweet corn is ready to pick about two to three weeks after the silks first emerge from the developing ears — mark the date on your calender.

After a couple of weeks check the condition of the silks. If they are still quite green you have plenty of time to wait, if they are starting to turn brown check them every few days or so.

When the silks have turned completely brown and have dried up, it means the corn kernels are approaching the “milk stage” — the best time to pick.

This sweet corn needs about another week before picking.

These is a test you can do to make sure your corn is at it’s peak flavor: Peel back the husk on an ear and use your thumbnail to squeeze a kernel until it pops. If the juice is looks milky, it is time to pick. This is the stage of development most people prefer for their sweet corn.

One week later, the sweet corn is ready to go.

Watery-looking juice means the ear needs a couple more days to mature. Immature sweet corn while having a tender texture, doesn’t have much flavor.

Over-ripe sweet corn kernels are doughy when you give them the squeeze test. The kernels are chewy and have a less-sweet, starchier flavor. I know of some older people who prefer their sweet corn at this more mature stage, but they are in a small minority.

I planted my sweet corn this spring on three separate dates about ten days apart.  Doing that will spread my harvest over a longer period of time.  I won’t have to frantically pick and freeze my crop all at once.

Bob

This cool growing season has got me worried about my tomatoes. These are not ordinary tomatoes, they are my own strain that I have been propagating for seven years.

Back in the spring, I started the seeds a little later than I should have but wasn’t concerned. In a normal growing season they would have had plenty of time to mature and produce the seeds I need to continue my strain. This year, it looks like it will be nip and tuck for these tomatoes — no tomatoes , no seeds. Unfortunately, these are the last of my seeds, I have no more in storage so I really need them to produce.

My plan now is to build small plastic tents this week to help raise the temperature during the day and keep them warm overnight. Hopefully, that will push them along enough to produce tomatoes and allow me to continue my variety. A few warm weeks will help too.

These tomatoes will make explosive growth if we get a period of warm weather.

If not, I have a plan B. I’m growing a few in pots that I can move indoors in the fall and get seeds that way. With any luck, in a few more decades, my grandchildren should have their very own heirloom variety.

Bob