8.22.26 - Late Summer Color
Transcript
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Good morning, friends, and welcome to another episode of The Keep Growing Podcast from Bob’s Market and Greenhouses. I’m John Morgan, coming to you from right here in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
We’ve been growing flowers, friends, and family right here since 1970, and this podcast is one more way we share practical tips with our neighbors across Mason, Belpre, Gallipolis, and the rest of the region.
Let’s dig in.
This week runs from Saturday, August 22nd through Friday, August 28th. We’re in that late-summer stretch where the garden is still putting on color, but it’s also time to start the next wave of greens and keep things tidy so plants can finish strong.
Weather first.
Active weather looks to stretch into the start of the weekend as a cold front drives through the Central Appalachians by tonight. Thunderstorms ahead of that front may bring damaging wind gusts and hail, so keep an eye on the sky if you’re planning to be outside today.
After that, high pressure builds in for the start of the new work week. That should give us a stretch of drier weather and below-normal temperatures across parts of the Ohio Valley. That’s a welcome change after the heat, humidity, and torrential rains we’ve had.
Plan the heavier outdoor work around the drier window once the front passes. If storms do roll through this weekend, do a quick walk-through afterward: pick up debris, straighten anything that’s leaning but still healthy, and check hanging baskets and taller annuals that can catch wind. Then use that cooler, drier stretch early next week for seeding.
Main garden focus this week: deadhead what’s left and enjoy the late-summer color.
A lot of our annuals have been running a summer marathon. Petunias, begonias, vinca, impatiens, marigolds, coleus, and those flowering hanging baskets can still look great if we give them a little help.
Deadheading—snipping off spent blooms—keeps plants from putting energy into seed and often brings another flush of color. You don’t have to be fussy. Pinch or snip back to a leaf or side shoot. On petunias, take a bit of stem with the old flower, not just the bloom. If they’ve gone long and leggy in the heat, you can cut them back by about a third. They usually bounce back.
While you’re out there, water containers and baskets thoroughly instead of with light sprinkles, and take a look for tired leaves or pests. A little tidying now is the difference between plants that look worn out and plants that still belong in the garden.
I went into more detail in this week’s blog post, Keeping Your Annuals Going into Autumn. You can find it at bobsmarket.com/blog/. That’s watering, feeding, plant-by-plant notes, and how to squeeze more color out of what you already have as we head toward a typical late-October frost.
Next up: seed Ethiopian kale and fall green bunching onions.
This is a good week to get two fall crops in the ground: Ethiopian kale—Brassica carinata—and fall green bunching onions.
Let’s start with the kale. Ethiopian kale is also called Ethiopian mustard. It isn’t the same plant as curly garden kale. Those are Brassica oleracea. This one is Brassica carinata, a leafy brassica with a peppery bite, which is why it makes such a good arugula replacement. Arugula often bolts or turns harsh when late-summer heat hangs on. Ethiopian kale is a little more forgiving in that in-between weather, and the flavor is usually better as nights start to cool.
The seed is small, so sow it about a quarter inch deep in loose soil with a little compost worked in. Keep the surface evenly moist until it sprouts—often about a week. Grow it close for baby salad greens, or thin to 12 to 18 inches if you want larger plants you can pick leaf by leaf. Full sun to light shade is fine; just avoid soggy ground. A lightweight row cover helps if flea beetles show up. Start picking young leaves in several weeks, taking the outer ones and leaving the center to keep growing.
Now the onions. Fall green bunching onions are the scallions we use all the time—the white stem and green tops, not a big storage bulb. Most are Allium fistulosum, the Welsh or Japanese bunching type, and they’re made for this job.
Direct-sow them a quarter to a half inch deep in a sunny, well-drained row or a two- to three-inch band. You can sow them fairly thick, about a half inch apart, with rows about a foot apart. Keep the soil from crusting until they come up. Then harvest by pulling every other plant as they reach pencil size and leave the rest to size up. In good conditions you’re often looking at 50 to 70 days to a usable bunch.
If Saturday is wild, wait. Seed after the front passes, when you can keep the bed moist without washing seed out. We’re still well ahead of a typical mid-to-late October frost here in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Friday, August 28th is the Full Moon.
Traditional planting wisdom around a full moon is a good time to focus on root crops or soil-building tasks. If you’ve been meaning to turn the compost pile, this is a solid day to do it. Turning compost now helps it finish and gives you material to work into beds as we head toward fall.
If you’re adding a late sowing of something that grows below ground—or just tending the soil itself—Friday fits that rhythm. Even if you don’t follow the moon closely, turning compost and tidying beds is never wasted time this time of year.
To Recap:
Watch Saturday’s storms and do a light check afterward if needed.
Deadhead remaining flowers and enjoy the late color. Read Keeping Your Annuals Going into Autumn at bobsmarket.com/blog/.
After the front, seed Ethiopian kale—Brassica carinata—and fall green bunching onions. Shallow seed, even moisture, then harvest young and often.
Friday the 28th: Full Moon—roots, soil, and turning compost.
As always, we’re here growing right alongside you.
Last week we were finishing up the new parking lot at Belpre. This week we would like to thank Buckeye River Medical, LLC for helping update our first responder team bags and also adding AEDs to all of our growing facilities and retail locations. That’s the kind of care that helps us look after our team, our customers, and our community.
Check out our website at bobsmarket.com for show notes and more.
Until next time, get your hands dirty when the weather allows, stay curious, and, of course, keep growing.
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