September 2013

Eric’s big zucchini weighed in at a whopping 10.4 pounds! His success is attributed to large amounts of homemade compost he adds to the soil before planting. His zucchini was grown outdoors at his home in Victor. Eric is an experienced gardener and has found giant zucchini lurking in his patch when he “ignores them”. Congratulations to Eric and all the contestants.

Zucchini is best when harvested at 6 to 8 inches long. Store it in the fridge and it will keep for at least a week. If you can’t eat all that zucchini, try this simple trick: Grate the zucchini, measure it out (one or two cup increments) into zip top freezer bags, label and freeze for later. Frozen grated zucchini is best used in cakes and breads such as this Chocolate Zucchini Cake:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake (Serves 12):

• 2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)
• I cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each. Mix in grated zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan.

Hardy and full-flavored, home grown garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow. Plant garlic anytime in September or October for next year’s harvest. Begin by preparing the soil. It should be about 12 inches deep and amended with compost and manure. Select garlic intended as seed. Separate a head of garlic into cloves. Plant each clove pointy side up about 4 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. One head of garlic will typically yield 8-10 heads next year. Water in thoroughly. The garlic will sprout next spring. Maintain even moisture. Hardneck varieties will send up a strong central stalk or scape which should be cut. Once the foliage begins to die back in July and become mostly brown, pull or dig up the heads. Leave the stalk on and cure the garlic by hanging in a dry, dark area for three weeks. Trim off the leaves and brush off any dirt. Kept cool and dry, home grown garlic will last for months.

Garlic Varieties: Garlic is categorized as either softneck or hardneck. Softneck varieties tend to have more cloves per head, stores longer and are more suited to braiding than hardneck. Hardneck varieties send out a strong central stalk, or scape which is edible and can be used like green onion. Hardneck varieties are usually more cold tolerant and larger but don’t store as well.

Bulbs are one of the easiest ways to add color around your home in early spring. Instead of dull brown, white and grey surrounding you next April, think of brilliant displays of yellow, purple, red or orange to gaze upon come early spring. A little investment in bulbs this fall will be well appreciated next spring. Planting is easy. Select a location with good drainage. Dig a hole twice as deep as the height of the bulb. For example, a 2 inch daffodil bulb needs a hole that is 4 inches deep. Sprinkle bulb food or bone meal at the bottom of the hole. For larger masses of bulbs, dig one bigger pit at the correct depth. Place the bulbs in, pointy side up and top with soil. Water thoroughly and enjoy next spring!

Bulbs and Critters: Worried that everything you plant will be eaten? Fear not, follow these tips:

• Select less palatable varieties such as daffodils, snow drops, crocus and alliums.
• Plant with a repellant such as Plantskyd ™, Repellex™ or blood meal.
• In extreme cases, bulbs can be planted within a wire mesh cage.

We hate to admit it, but summer is coming to an end and your planter from June may not be looking its best. Don’t give up on it yet! Try these tips to spruce up a planter:

• Cool weather annuals such as pansies can be trimmed back. They will often begin blooming again.
• Keep any ornamental grass or trailing vines that look good
• Pull out any spent or dead plants.
• Replant with cold tolerant fall annuals like ornamental cabbage, kale, pansies or mums.
• Fertilize with Blooming and Rooting ™ and keep evenly moist.

Your refreshed planter will continue to bloom through the fall until the first hard frosts.

Earwigs are easy to recognize by the two pincers on their tail. Earwigs are nocturnal, feeding on tender flowers and many plants. Home gardeners may not see earwigs due to their nocturnal nature. To reduce earwig infestation, the home gardener can take several approaches:

Trapping: When not feeding, earwigs like to hide in dark, damp places. Set traps where you notice plants being chewed upon. Check the traps in the morning and discard the earwigs. They are easily trapped in rolled up, damp newspaper or in shallow tin cans filled with a half inch of vegetable oil.

Diatomaceous Earth: This flour-like substance is like crawling over glass to an insect. The insect’s bodies get scraped, causing them to dry up and die.

Cedar Oil: Sold as Bug Blocker ™, cedar oil can be mixed with water and sprayed on plants.

Habitat Reduction: Earwigs like to hide in dark damp places. If you can remove some of their cover, earwigs will be less of a problem. Lumber, saucers, cardboard, plant debris, thick vegetation and even mulch can harbor these pests during the day.