Monthly Archives: February 2014

Garden Advice

Fight Downy Mildew in your Vegetable Garden: Pick the Right Varieties

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Left: Edisto 47 muskmelon, Right: Suyo Long Cucumber. Both varieties produced abundant, excellent quality fruits, even with severe downy mildew pressure.

The first defense against plant diseases is to choose resistant varieties: rather than waging war with biological or chemical controls, we can avoid problems before they begin!

downy mildew devastated cucurbits, with healthy plants growing alongside

We are so thankful to Edmund Frost, seed grower at Twin Oaks Seeds, for sharing with us the results of his downy mildew cucumber trial and downy mildew melon trial from last summer. And we are pleased to announce that two SESE varieties were among the top performers for excellent flavor and yield in his trials: Suyo Long cucumber and Edisto 47 muskmelon.

Summer 2013 was a terrible season for downy mildew throughout the Southeast, but that also made it ideal for studying downy mildew resistance. We have updated our 2014 Southern Exposure Catalog with the results of the Twin Oaks trials, indicating resistant varieties as well as varieties that were not as resistant as expected.

Over time, a seed line can lose resistance to a disease: we need more knowledgeable seed growers who can both evaluate varieties for disease resistance and do the selection work to keep a variety resistant.

Both Suyo Long cucumber and Edisto 47 muskmelon are excellent performers in high heat and humidity. Suyo Long is an Asian-type, burpless cucumber, lacking the bitterness of other cucumbers. Edisto 47 is one of our sweetest melons.

The Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) and Southern Exposure partially funded the Twin Oaks Seeds melon trial and Sow True Seeds and OSA partially funded the cucumber trial. We are determined to continue supporting high quality variety trials and selection work.

Events

We’re hosting a Garden Planning Workshop

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Join us at the new Southern Exposure office on our farm in Louisa County, Virginia, for this in depth workshop in garden planning. We’ll cover planting schedules, succession planting, soil fertility, and season extension. Browse our “picking room” following the workshop to choose your seeds!

Prepare for planting with Southern Exposure’s Ira Wallace and seed grower Debbie Piesen of Living Energy Farm. We will cover planting schedules, succession planting, soil fertility, and season extension. Browse our “picking room” following the workshop to pick up seeds!

This workshop is appropriate for both beginning and intermediate gardeners.

Location: our new Seed Office in Mineral, Virginia
Saturday, March 8th, 2 to 4pm.

RSVP and questions to: gardens@southernexposure.com
20 participants maximum.

Cost: $25 payable by check or cash on workshop day, no one turned away for lack funds.

Garden Advice

Pre-Sprouting Pea Seeds: give your pea crop the best start

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pre-sprouting seeds with an overnight soak

Watch them grow! These Wando English (Shelling) Pea seeds change dramatically with just an overnight soaking, the first step in pre-sprouting. (Wando is a favorite variety for excellent production in hot weather.)

the final product, sprouted peas
The final product! These are VERY ready to sow — don’t let the rootlets get any longer! I kept them moist after soaking by laying a damp cloth over them.

Pre-sprouting your seeds is an ideal technique for letting you see how well your seeds are germinating before you sow. If your seeds are old or haven’t been stored properly, you can pre-sprout them to make sure they’re still viable.

We only recommend pre-sprouting for large seeds, like beans, peas, spinach, and corn. Smaller seeds become difficult to handle when wet.

You don’t have to go all the way to sprouts: soak your seeds for at least 4 hours, but not more than 12 hours, to get much of the benefit of pre-sprouting, but without the hassle.

To pre-sprout the seeds, drain them after soaking and keep them evenly moist until the tiny first rootlets just barely emerge. We keep our seeds moist by rinsing them at least twice a day and covering with a damp cloth.

Watch your seeds very carefully! You should sow them as soon as the tiny rootlets emerge: they should only be about a quarter inch long. Wait just one or two days longer and you’ll have long, easily-damaged roots and stems.