Greene Acres

Community Garden, Inc

The Organic Community Garden
in Broadview Heights, Ohio
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August 2020: Fall Planting and Harvesting

August 5, 2020 by Jo Ann Bartsch Leave a Comment

When it comes to harvesting, it seems like a fairly easy task.  “Pick it when it’s ripe!!”  But we seem to have some trouble handling it.  Most of what I see in the garden is neglecting to harvest until it’s too late.  It may have nothing to do with not knowing when to do it, but rather finding the time and making the effort to get out to the Garden.  Remember, the Harvest Group will do it for you if we see that you’re neglecting your harvest. 

If you attended my “Seasons of Gardening” presentation that I gave last year, you know that there’s some math involved in calculating when to plant for successful fall crops.  (If you missed the presentation, or have short term memory loss, along with me, the presentation is on our website at https://www.greeneacres.org/2019/02/the-seasons-of-gardening/.  The Farmer’s Almanac has cleverly done the math for us and created a table based on our first and last frost dates.  You can find it here: https://www.greeneacres.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/almanac.com-Planting-Calendar-for-Broadview-Heights-OH.pdf.   Remember, fall planting is really a big experiment for many of us – we aren’t used to doing fall gardening. However, we’ve had some fairly good, long autumns in the past few years.  Try it!

Here are some harvesting guidelines and tips:

  • Ripeness is indicated by changes in size, color, or softness. 
    • Tomatoes turn from green to red (or yellow) and easily detach from the vine when they mature.
    • The skins of peas, eggplants, squash get glossy as they fully mature
    • Root vegetables tend to push up from ground…watch their shoulders as a clue to tell how big they are underground.
    • Garlic needs to be dug when the bottom five or so leaves begin to dry
  •  Vegetative crops (those grown for their leaves or stems or roots):  Pick while young and tender.
  • Fruit crops: most should be left on the plant until fully ripe.  However, beans, cucumbers, eggplants, summer squash all taste a bit better when they are slightly immature.  Tomatoes can be picked before full maturity especially if you’re in a harvest race with the critters.  They can ripen further on your kitchen window sill.
  • Potatoes or peppers can be harvested either immature or fully ripe and will taste differently depending on which you choose.
  • Some vegetables are forgiving – if you delay harvesting onions, winter squash or potatoes an extra week won’t matter that much.  Summer squash is not forgiving!  Waiting an extra day or two may result in overripeness (not to mention giant fruits!).
  • Some vegetables become sweeter after a frost.  Plan on harvesting brussels sprouts, kale, and parsnips later in the season.
  • Watch the weather with respect to harvesting:  a heavy rainfall can dilute flavor or crack the produce.  Drought can produce bitterness, especially in cucumbers.
  • Remember these harvesting how-to guidelines: 
    • Be gentle.  Any bruises or scrapes will reduce storage life
    • Don’t harvest when plants are wet to avoid disease spread.
    • Use shears or a knife with veggies that have tough or brittle stems
    • Leave tops on root crops (except for garlic)
    • Harvest before noon when sugar content is highest,
    • Cool the produce immediately (except for tomatoes, garlic, onions and basil)
    • Only wash produce right when you’re ready to use it.

I hope some of this helps reinforce how important it is to get to the end of the game:  THE HARVEST.  If you have any questions or need something else for your gardening experiment, please let me know.

Jo Ann

Gardening Library Tagged: Harvesting

June 2016 Master Gardener Notes

July 9, 2016 by Greene Acres Web Leave a Comment

Greene Acres, Year 4:  June Observations

It’s been a great start to our fourth year – despite the crazy weather.  Tomato plants like it warm, but no hotter than 85o and they don’t like anything below 60o at night, yet they seem to be flourishing in most of our plots!

I’ve heard relatively few bug complaints and it’s been the usual suspects:  flea beetles, especially on beans.  Remember, lots of things feast on beans and most of the time the damage is more cosmetic and the plant still produces.  Last year several of you planted radishes near the beans as a trap crop, with some success.  Notice, however, that the bugs don’t seem to be going after the plantings in the soil bags (containing Coco-Loco, not a native soil, but a natural growing medium).  What does that tell you about where these critters are coming from?

Another handful of you are observing an increase in pill bugs, which aren’t even insects!  They are crustaceans (related to crayfish).  Try counting their legs (hint: ≠ 6 or even 8!). They are after decaying material in the soil and usually don’t bother our crops.  Just a bit of trivia for you to use at your next party.

Let me know if there are any other critters lurking about and we’ll sound the alarm.  For anyone interested, I’ve planted borage in my plot (#72) in an effort to confuse the bad bugs away and, at the same time attract pollinators.  That’s if it ever gets blooming!  Will let you know later if I agree with the claims I’ve read.

We’ve been in a funny weather pattern lately:  heavy downpours followed by hot days of no rain.  Watch the moisture in your plots carefully!  Most plants like even moisture, and benefit by watering at soil level (not “sprinkling”).  While it seems we don’t have to worry about water scarcity, we should still, as organic gardeners, conserve water where and when we can.  That brings me to my last topic:  using the rain barrel water.  A couple of you have questioned its safety.  Here are some recommendations provided by the OSU extension service:

  • Rain barrel water is not drinkable, nor should you use it to wash your hands.
  • Using it to water your vegetable plants is okay, but don’t use it directly on edible parts (leaves, fruits, etc.).  Drip or trickle the water at soil level around your plants using a sprinkling can.
  • Don’t use the rain barrel water close to harvest time (within a couple of days).
  • Don’t wash your produce with rain barrel water.  Any produce should be washed with potable (drinking) water prior to eating.

Please let me know if you have questions or comments about growing in the garden.  Harvest will be upon us sooner than you think!

Jo Ann Bartsch

Gardening Library

Notes from the Master Gardener 2016

May 10, 2016 by Greene Acres Web Leave a Comment

…. tomatoes in the ground in April…oh no!!!!!

I think it’s time to refresh our memories (or instill a new one) about the growing seasons in Northeast Ohio.  Here we go:

*  We have three (3) growing seasons:  two cool seasons and one warm season.  To be successful, it’s very important to match the season with the type of plant you want to grow.

* We are in the first cool season, which usually lasts until the end of May.  The second cool season generally starts the beginning of September and lasts until frost (maybe as long as early November).  In either cool season, you can grow cool season vegetables.  They include:  greens (lettuce, etc.), peas, radishes, onions, garlic, etc.  In general, vegetables where we use leaves and roots, can be planted in the cool seasons.

*  Our only warm season is generally from late May until September.  You cannot successfully grow  warm season vegetables during the cool season!  Don’t blame me…..I didn’t set up the rules!  The warm season plants that cannot tolerate even a hint of cold or frost are:  basil, beans, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, squash, and of course our beloved tomatoes.  Even if we don’t have a heavy frost, if the temperatures get below 50 degrees, your tomato plant could be damaged, and even if it looks okay, it isn’t going to grow until it warms up.  (By the way, garden centers love when we buy tomatoes and peppers in April….since we’ll be back to buy more in another 6 weeks.)

I know, I know, it’s so hard to resist the urge to go out and plant the whole garden at one time!  But there are other things you can do out there.  I’ve attached the handout from my Gardening 101 presentation because winter seems to put our gardening neurons in some hard to find place where it can’t be easily retrieved.  For those of you who have asked, I’m still trying to put together a day when I can do that presentation for you.  Stay tuned.

As always, please don’t hesitate to ask questions or request a private consult in the garden…..now only if it would stop raining and get warmer.

Jo Ann

Gardening Library

Upcoming Important Dates

Meetings and Work Days are currently canceled / postponed due to COVID-19 :(. We hope to see you all soon! The garden itself is still open though!

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If you're interested in a plot, please send an email to us by using the contact form on this website. Yearly fee for a plot is $30.00, Plots are 4ft x 10 ft.

Plot holders (current and future) must be either:
- A resident of Broadview Heights
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