Gardeners: A message from OSU South Centers…
“Downy mildew was confirmed today on watermelons from Medina County, OH. It is safe to say at this point that downy mildew is widespread in vine crops and growers throughout the state should be out scouting for the disease, especially in cucumbers. Susceptibility to downy mildew is as follows: cucumber>melon (cantaloupe, honeydew)>pumpkin>watermelon>squash. Squash is the only vine crop for which downy mildew has not been confirmed somewhere in Ohio (which doesn’t mean it isn’t out there). Fungicides need to be applied early – especially for cucumbers. It is not possible to stay ahead of this diseases if fungicides are not applied in a timely manner.”
My cucumbers recently got hit by powdery mildew. They were really productive before that. I sprayed them a few days ago with a baking soda solution. Now I’m not seeing mildew, but the leaves that were affected are all dying off. It was a good year for cukes, though. (And everything else, for that matter.) I’ll be happy if I can just get the little fruits that are still on the vine to finish growing before the plants are entirely dead. The sweet corn is doing great, but I didn’t plant enough to share. In light of the news above, I may try to squeeze in a crop of yellow squash before it gets cold. Mayda’s been wanting to try low tunnels.
The walnuts are getting big and I’m seeing quite a few pawpaws on the trees. I’m hoping the acorn trees produce as well as everything else has.
The deer fence around my small garden (about 25’x30′) has proven effective in keeping the deer out. Now I just have to deal with the groundhog. He (or she) has been eating whatever tomatoes he could reach and has begun to do the same with the cucumbers. Since the garden is in the front yard close to neighbors and we have cats loose on the property, my pest control options are limited. I’m probably not going to bother burying chicken wire around the perimeter of the fence. I’m guessing that when I fix the privacy fence out front, that’s going to disturb the groundhog enough to run him off.
Given how effective the deer fence out front has been, I’ll be spending much of the winter fencing in our north yard to keep the deer out of the large garden. If the weather is as good next year as it’s been this year, I expect a good yield.
