Guest Contributor: Cassey Anderson, Horticulture Agent, Colorado State University Extension
This month we're doing something a little different. Readers and the staff at Fresh Food Connect sent in their gardening questions, and Cassey Anderson answered them in an Ask Me Anything format. Every question included here was worth asking, and we think you'll find something useful no matter where you are in your gardening journey.
Pests, Pollinators, and Plant Health
How do you keep Japanese beetles off plum trees without resorting to constant hand-picking?
Reducing Japanese beetle populations, for those who have them, can feel like a full-time job for about six weeks every summer. Realistically, short of exclusion (covering with netting) there are limited options available for keeping them off your plants. Using the pheromone traps can attract more beetles to your yard than the trap can hold so may exacerbate your problem.
Do plan to continue to hand pick into soapy water, this will reduce next years population. If you have areas of irrigated turf it could be wise to look at using GrubEx, an insecticide that will kill the Japanese beetle in their larval form. Although it is an insecticide it is one of the safer options on the market.
How do you attract pollinators like bees and butterflies to a home garden?
The simple answer is flowers! Having a variety of flowers that bloom spring through fall is the first step in attracting pollinators. However, it's not the whole story. It can also be important to have host plants for the overwintering and larval stage of our pollinator friends, as well as open soil for solitary bee nesting.
During the growing season providing a wet patch for butterfly "puddling" and a water dish with rocks in it for bees to drink can all be beneficial to providing a nurturing habitat for our landscape bees. If you want to know how to provide full season bloom look for bloom phenology and try to have something blooming March through September.
Watering, Harvesting, and Composting
What are the best harvesting practices, and how do you know when vegetables are actually ready to pick?
This is going to be very dependent on what crops you're growing, but overall it is better to clip or cut your produce than to tear it off the plant. Harvest in the coolest part of the day if possible. If it's getting warm you can harvest and drop produce directly into a container of water to keep it crisp and fresh (this does not apply to crops such as onion or garlic or others that need to stay dry). For many varieties if the plant looks like it does when you purchase it at the store then it's a good bet it's ready to harvest from your garden. For specific crop tips check out the Harvesting 101 article.
How much water do plants really need for optimal production, and how do you avoid over- or under-watering?
This one can have a scientific answer, that plants need 1-2" of supplemental water a week unless you're lucky enough to get that naturally from rain. This will penetrate deeply into the soil and enable the plants to grow deep roots. However, it is better to water deeply and infrequently rather than a little water frequently. If your soil is still moist 2-3" down, then you can likely wait another day (or two!) until you irrigate again.
What's the easiest way to start composting at home, and what should never go in the pile?
The easiest way to compost at home would be to start! Designate a place to start a pile, or build an enclosure. If you want compost within the same year you'll need to be more precise on balancing "browns" (leaves, straw, sticks, dry material) with "greens" (moist green plant material, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds), chopping them up small and turning the pile regularly.
However, even if you put it all in a pile and leave it for several years you'll come out at the end with compost! If the pile is stinky, you need more browns, if it's not breaking down you may need more greens or to add moisture.
Small-Space and Beginner Gardening
Are grow lights worth the investment for an apartment, and what should someone look for if buying one?
Yes! Honestly, an indoor grow light is probably the best investment that a year-round or indoor gardener can make. Light intensity is low inside of a house, even in a direct beam of light once inside, a plant may only get 50% of the intensity of the light as it would if it were on the other side of the window. When choosing a light you want one that has the full spectrum of light, many indoor lights focus only on a small range of light and won't provide benefit to growing plants.
You also want to ensure the lights are the right distance from your plants, small plants may require the light to be closer and you may need the ability to adjust them as the plant grows. The most benefit typically comes with having grow lights around 12-24" away from the plants, a lot closer than you may think.
LED grow lights are often the right balance for homeowners between price and efficacy, and as a bonus, they don't get extremely hot like incandescent or fluorescent lights, so you can keep them closer to your plants. Many LED grow lights may have a pink or purple tinge to them, these colors help to provide a broader spectrum of light. The blue/purple lights can work, as can the full spectrum options.
What's one plant you'd recommend a total beginner try first, whether they have a big yard or just a small apartment?
Love this! I think that for a true beginner there are several good crops to try to grow. If high production for donation purposes is your goal, then trying leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, or spinach is a good place to start. They are easy to germinate, grow relatively quickly, need fewer inputs (i.e. fertilizer) than some crops and you can have success within 1-2 months. For a very quick almost instant gratification option the radish cannot be beat. It germinates very fast and can be harvested in just a few weeks. Be sure to water well, however, as it can get spicy fast if it gets water stressed.
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</div>Climate-Aware and Season-Extending Gardening
How do you take advantage of long summer daylight hours without stressing or scorching plants?
This is a problem common to many parts of the intermountain west, higher elevation leads to more intense sun which can be both a blessing and a curse. Many plants get sufficient sun in only half a day of full sun growing and may become stressed with too much light. This is where introducing shade cloth can prove beneficial. Shade cloth can reduce the intensity of the light while still letting light through.
You can purchase shade cloth that reduces light intensity in varying levels, generally ranging from around 20%-70% shade reduction. Usually, it's good to aim for a 30-40% shade reduction level. For gardeners in hail-prone areas shade cloth can double as hail protection as well! Peppers, tomatoes and cool season crops you want to grow a little longer are those that can most benefit from using shade cloth, but experiment and see what you can figure out!
How do you protect a garden from sudden temperature swings or early/late frosts?
Understanding the needs of the plants and when you're putting them in the ground is a great first step. Planting a squash in March is going to lead to crop failure because the squash simply cannot tolerate extremely cold temperatures. However cool season crops such as kale, carrots, beets, onions etc. are going to be able to withstand minor frost events much better as they evolved to do so. If you got overambitious and planted warmer need crops too early and a freeze is on the horizon you can cover with fabric or plastic overnight.
For added protection or even a little bit of season extension you can build a "low tunnel" with plastic and even add C4 style incandescent Christmas light bulbs which emit warmth to increase the ambient temperatures. Helping a garden adapt the other way, to heat spells can prove a little more challenging but ensuring you're watering deeply and incorporating shade cloth into your garden can make the space more adaptable.
With shifting climate patterns affecting growing seasons and yields, how can home gardeners adjust their practices to keep contributing extra produce to local food banks or donation programs?
I think, in some ways, annual vegetable gardens may be even better set up to adjust to shifting climate patterns as gardeners can adjust what they plant and how they plant year over year. Additionally ensuring that you water well (deeply and thoroughly), use mulch and shade cloth where appropriate can all help to mitigate weird climate seasons. Drip irrigation can be a more effective and efficient way to get water just to the plants that need it, compared to sprinkler irrigation.
There are many good mulch options. Mulch can help insulate the soil from temperature extremes and retain water in the soil. A deeper layer will have more benefits, but it can be important to select your mulch carefully. High carbon mulch such as wood chips or straw can be problematic if turned into the soil. Lower carbon mulches such as grass clippings can be turned in at the end of the season without substantial consequences. If adding mulches like a grass it's important to move slowly, add a thin layer at a time as too much grass can get smelly and slimy if it doesn't dry sufficiently.
When selecting your plants it can be a good approach to find those that tout "heat tolerance", "cold hardy" or "fast growing" depending on the climate quirks of your region.
Thanks so much for sending in your questions! Keep them coming, and keep growing.
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