Tips

Watch out for powdery mildew on squash and zucchini plants. Spots of white fuzzy are indicators; dying / wilting leaves mean it's spreading. To counteract:

• if leaf is wilting, cut it off at the vine and put in the green bins (not the compost - don't want to spread it to next year's plants)
• if only some spots, spray every 2-3 days with a mixture of one part milk and 9 parts water. This seems to change the pH of the leaf so the mildew can't grow

If you leave you plant alone, it will die - so keep a watchful eye, especially when it is hot and humid.

(Courtesy of Raymond, everyone's favourite gardener!)

Homegrown lettuce is so tasty and tender for salads. But special tricks are needed to pick lettuce from the garden now, when it’s hot.

This time of year, lettuce tends to bolt — that is, to flower and make seeds. Once a flower stalk starts pushing up through the whorl of leaves, those leaves turn bitter and tough.

Bushy tomato plants are lovely, aren't they? However, it is important to sucker your tomatoes as a bushy plant will actually have less tomatoes. A sucker is a non-bearing branch that grows out of the stem at a 45 degree angle off the branch that will have tomatoes (these grow straight out). Pinch these off as soon as you see them started (idealy before they get an inch long). [Picture credits: finegardening.com and about.com]

If anyone wants to reap the benefits of rape, sai sai, roquet, etc. I suggest the investment in garlic and pepper spray as a natural/organic deterrent and a shade-cover system to send them packing. (They are not a flea at all but are named such for their jumping ability)

These are ripe when:
- you see a colour change
- they have a hard skin (can't puncture with fingernail)
- they sound jollow when knocked
- the stem is hard and dry

To harvest, cut off the vine leaving as much stem as possible. Wash them to remove bacteria that might cause them to rot (spray with peroxide if you don't want to use bleach). Store in a cool, dry area out of sun. If they are not quite ripe, but you have to pick them, you can let them cure / ripen in a dry, warm place (80F / 27C).

When there is lots of rain and high humidity squash, pumpkin and cucumber plants are susceptible to powdery mildew. You'll quickly see the white spots on the green leaves to know if you have it.

This will continue to spread, so take action as soon as you notice the signs:

1. Cut off the most diseased and dead leaves. These shouldn't go in the compost pile as they can infect next year's crop.

2. Spray the remaining leaves regularly with any of these:

Some crops are harvested early, like peas and salad greens, which means you might have empty spaces in your garden mid-season.

What now? You can re-plant in that spot for a second harvest!

Beans are quick to mature and are an ideal choice. You can also put in cold weather and frost tolerant plants like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower, as well as kale, which you'll be able to harvest into October.

Tips on harvest dates for plants are pinned up in the shed

Natural pesticide & fungicide sprays are available in the shed, with instructions for use on the label.

So far, we've seen these weeds in the garden. If you see the, pull them out and put in the compost bins:

Harvesting in early June

Lettuce, spinach: Cut leaves off and let the plant grow more - they come back! If you don't cut them, they'll go to seed and the leaves become bitter.

Peas: first of the season!

Also - time to stake your tomatoes!