Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Durham County

By Astrid Cook-Dail, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteer of Durham County

Many people are familiar with the “Ask a Master Gardener” tents at local Durham events such as the farmers’ markets (both at Durham Central Park and in south Durham)… but did you know you can also ask all the plant questions you can think of from the comfort of your couch?

If you’re looking around your garden and see something curious, you can snap a few photos and email mastergardener@dconc.gov or call the helpline (919-560-0528). If you prefer, you can visit the Durham County Cooperative Extension Master Gardener^SM program office in person at 721 Foster Street, Durham, NC. The helpline and office are both open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Entrance to office 110 marked 'Master Gardener Volunteer Office' with wooden door and a sign above.

Outside the EMGV office at 721 Foster Street (Image credit: Astrid Cook-Dail)

Today, we are going behind-the-scenes at the office in an interview with Tina Falker to share some of the most popular questions asked and some helpful tips for submitting questions to make sure you get the most helpful assistance possible!

Tomatoes

The most common question for the office in late summer: What’s wrong with my tomato, and what can I do about it?

Of course tomato questions are pouring in right about now, when plants are tired (like all of us) of the unpredictable weather and relentless heat and humidity. So here are just a couple of quick tomato tips:

Tomatoes drop their blossoms in high heat both during the daytime and when nighttime temperatures don’t cool down. They are a warmth-loving crop but they don’t like it too hot. (More about tomato blossom drop from ACES)
Unpredictable weather such as extended drought and extreme rain events – both of which our area has seen this year – increase the likelihood of tomato issues to due heightened plant stress.

If you would like more tomato growing advice, we did a whole post about that: Achieving Peak Tomato Performance.

Tips for Submitting Questions

Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteers often play the role of “plant CSI.” It is our job to do some important detective work as we try to help answer your questions as thoroughly and accurately as possible and provide a trustworthy source of research-based information, especially in the AI era. Including the following information with your question helps us help you more quickly:

Do you know what the plant is? Are you sure? If you’re unsure, tell us what you know about it – whether it’s evergreen (keeps foliage all year) or deciduous (drops leaves usually in autumn or winter), what its flowers look like if it has any, etc.
What are the growing conditions? How much sun does it get? How much moisture?
Where is it growing, and how long has it been there?
Have there been any recent changes to your landscape?
When did you first notice the problem?

These three photos of Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) illustrate how different levels of detail in plant photos can help diagnose issues. Photos further away and closer up provide essential context. (Image credit: Matt Lavin; Cathy DeWitt; JC Raulston Arboretum)

Photos are very helpful in assessment. If possible include a landscape shot to give the setting, then a separate photo of the plant itself and a closeup photo of the problem. A photo that shows both healthy and unhealthy portions of the plant can provide key information.

A ziplock bag containing green Morning Glory vine leaves with visible holes, accompanied by a handwritten note asking about the cause of the damage.

An example of what a plant sample dropped off in-person looks like. (Image credit: Astrid Cook-Dail)

You can also stop by the office and submit a physical sample, but beware that samples of dead, dried up foliage is usually not helpful. Instead, the sample should show the full range of symptoms, including healthy and unhealthy portions.

Reminder: Soil Tests Are Still Free!

You can find soil test boxes and forms (remember to take both!) to pick up and drop off samples here in the blue box outside the office. (Image credit: Astrid Cook-Dail)

Late summer and early fall is a great time to do a soil test, especially if you are looking to plant a fall vegetable garden or decide on cover cropping. (Read more about the importance of soil health in our post: A Better Way to Think About Soil.) Want to pick up a soil test kit, or drop off your soil sample? April through November, boxes and forms for sampling are available in the blue cabinet on the north side of the Durham County Extension Building at 721 Foster St. When complete, your results will be sent to you by email. If you need assistance interpreting your soil test report, we are happy to help with that as well.

Additional Recommendations and Resources

How to submit a sample to the NCSU Plant Disease and Insect Clinic

Edited by Astrid Cook-Dail, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteer of Durham County

By Kathryn Hamilton, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteer of Durham County

Various leafy green vegetables tied and some bagged on a table.

This mid-November harvest included collards, Swiss chard, radishes, Lacinato kale, mustard greens, and a few bags of parsley. (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)

Among the beneficiaries of Briggs Avenue Community Garden is the Durham Tech Harvest Food Bank. Each Tuesday we harvest food grown expressly for them in our “pantry” beds and deliver to the school. With a goal of maximizing our harvest, we continuously experiment with new vegetable varieties. High priority are hardy “cut and come again” veggies we can harvest over a longer period. Here are some “favorite fall and winter greens” that have worked for us along with some personal favorites and a few recommendations from Durham County Extension Master Gardener volunteers.

Swiss Chard

Two types leafy greens growing in a raised garden bed. They are partially covered by a light white frost cloth for cold protection.

Swiss chard, planted in early September, is ready to harvest eight weeks later. Broccoli is growing to the left. (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)

Under a row cover, Swiss chard overwinters beautifully. For the last several years, colorful and cold-tolerant “Celebration,” has been a winner for us. In October we’ll harvest colorful, youngish leaves until the heavy frosts set in then tuck it under a row cover for some “cold storage.” Come February it will begin springing back to life. This year we picked leaves until mid-July.

For her own garden, Durham Extension Master Gardener volunteer Caryl Cid favors the even more colorful “Bright Lights.” Though not as cold hardy, it is more bolt resistant adding to a longer spring harvest. To round things out even further, this year we will add “Ford Hook,” a heavy-yielding, cold hardy green Swiss chard, likely the one found in your grocery store.

Pak Choi

Small, but dense and heavy, the “Green Gem” Pak Choi are delicious broiled with some garlic and olive oil. (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)

For small or single servings, we find “Green Jewel” minis hard to beat. Plump, solid plants are only four inches tall, about five inches in diameter, and heavy for their size. They are very erect, easy to protect against insects, and ready in about 45 days giving us an early-season harvest. We can usually harvest two crops before the Persephone period sets in mid-November, then start again in early spring.

Collards

Greenish/blue leafy greens with broad leaves growing as a large loose head growing in mulched garden soil.

“Georgia Southern, Creole” is a favorite of volunteer John Murray, who prefers to hold harvest until after the first frost or two when the collards “sweeten up.” (Image credit: John Murray)

Thanks to a recommendation from pantry-team member and Durham Extension Master Gardener volunteer Eric Wiebe, our go-to collard is “Champion.” Like any brassica they need to be protected from slugs, aphids (especially as young plants), and cabbage worms. Except in the worst multi-night freezes, they can remain uncovered all winter, getting even sweeter. We begin our leaf-by-leaf harvest in September and can often harvest through March.

When I asked Durham Extension Master Gardener volunteers to share their favorite fall/winter veggies two other collard varieties emerged.

John Murray favors “Georgia Southern, Creole,” which he purchases in bulk from Stone Brothers & Byrde. Around August 20, he direct sows three seeds about 2.5 feet apart then thins to one plant once the seeds germinate in about 10 days. He harvests after the first couple of frosts.

Gene Carlone is partial to ”Vates” and “Morris Heading” varieties for “their taste, smaller leaves, and cold hardiness.”

Kale

The long, narrow, dark curly leaves of “Lacinato” (also known as Tuscan or dinosaur kale) are most familiar to many gardeners, if only because it’s the variety also sold in grocery stores. The baby leaves of this hardy plant, that has a maturity of 60 – 65 days, can be harvested within 30 days. It has been a staple at Briggs for its cold hardiness (it has survived snow without a row cover) along with resistance to early bolting. This year to balance the picture we are adding “Dwarf Siberian” kale. This kale produces a low, compact, spreading rosette. It is considered hardier than Lacinato in the extreme cold, but will also bolt and turn bitter faster in warmer weather. It has a slightly faster maturity and is regarded as one of the quicker kales to “bulk up.”

Lettuce

Over the years, two of the most reliable lettuces for the pantry have been “Paris Island Cos” and “Little Gem.” We alternate these plants in the same row to minimize space and extend the harvest. This past year, we harvested 94 pounds of lettuce between March and May. Both lettuces stand upright helping to minimize insect predation and “bounce up” soil from watering. When harvesting, we have found lettuce knives to be invaluable in helping make a clean cut that keeps the outermost leaves in tact.

The larger plants are “Paris Island Cos,” the smaller “Little Gem.” They will mature at slightly different times. The shredded paper is an attempt to make it more difficult for roly-polys to take up residence in the lettuce. (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)

This year we are adding “Winter Density,” (AKA Winter Gem). It checks many of our boxes: sits high on the stem, is both heat and bolt tolerant and can be grown “year round” with winter protection. Other winter lettuces Extension Master Gardener volunteers have grown successfully over winter include: “Marvel of Four Seasons,” “Gustav,” “Red Sail,” and “Cegolaine.”

More Fall/Winter Greens We Love

Some veggies just aren’t practical for us to grow for a food bank. For some it takes too many leaves to make a meal; sometimes they just grow up full of dirt and are hard to clean and too tender to preserve. Others are just “one and done.” Among my personal favorites (and always in my fall / winter garden) are broccoli, spinach, and arugula.

Broccoli

Broccoli can be tricky to start from seed. It wants to germinate warm, but grow fast and cool. RGB grow lights are the way to go if you are starting from seeds. But for most gardeners the best alternative is to find the healthiest starts at retail in late August / early September, with Labor Day as the target planting date. This will allow them to mature prior to and during the Persephone period. Two varieties stand out: ”Lieutenant” (60 days) and “Green Magic” (57 days). “Lieutenant’s” advantage is that it is bred for the stress of Durham’s heat and humidity and has good resistance to downy mildew. I have grown both, and both are delicious.

Small plants that are leafy greens tightly packed growing in a tray used for starting seeds.

Broccoli, under full-spectrum LED grow lights, four weeks after seeding. Sizeable, healthy plants should be ready for transplanting in the first or second week of September. (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)

This year, to extend the harvest, I am adding “Iron Man.” This variety is slightly more cold resistant and has a longer maturity window, extending our harvest into January or February. My spring broccoli crop will be planted around Valentine’s Day.

Spinach

I have tried several varieties of spinach including: “Monstreux de Viroflay” and “Abundant Bloomsdale.” Through research and my own personal experience, “Longstanding Bloomsdale” is the way to go. I love the flavor and the deeply savoyed leaves that add texture to almost everything. And the adjective “longstanding” is very apt.

Four large planters with broad leafy greens growing in them.

Started in August, this spinach will carry me through to March or April when it’s time to seed pollinator flowers in these pots. (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)

Spinach is a frustrating vegetable to get started. Research and personal experience is all over the board: warm soil; cool soil; soak the seeds; refrigerate the seeds; germinate in tissues. I’ve tried them all with varying degrees of success. My preferred method, to start them in a hurricane, happened accidentally. One August I seeded the pots on my patio just as a hurricane passed through. With the heat and a LOT of rain I had a bounty. So, for the last several years, that’s how I’ve been doing it.

Arugula

Annual “Rocket” arugula in August and in December–note Santa’s appearance. (Image credit: Kathryn Hamilton)

This peppery vegetable grows on my patio all year. While it is more prone to bolt in the summer, the leaves can be continuously picked, and it grows so easily it is a cinch to seed continuously. I literally toss some seeds on top of the pot and water them in. When it does bolt you can let it go to seed and have even more of your favorite variety.

There are two types of arugula. Standard salad arugula (Eruca sativa) and wild /perennial arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia). With their broad, lobed leaves in a fairly open rosette structure, “Rocket” and “Astro” are the more common salad varieties. Wild rocket or “Sylvetta” has deeply serrated narrow leaves which are often smaller and more numerous.

Fall Planting Planning and Cultivation

Almost all of our fall/winter decisions are dictated by the Persephone period, which in Durham lasts between November 25 and January 17.

During this time, when there are fewer than 10 hours of daylight, veggies take a nap and grow slowly if at all. Our goal is to time our planting so that we can harvest some veggies before that, others during the dormant period, and still others in early spring when they get a new burst of energy. To insure they get a good start on the Persephone period, by having healthy, strong plants, we usually start our fall veggies in seed trays in Mid-July through late August, depending on the variety and its maturation date, and transplant in early September. For more tender vegetables in particular, it also means extra watering and vigilance against aphids, slugs, and cabbage worms.

It’s not too late to start many of these leafy veggies, especially if you are not racing against the Persephone period and are happy harvest later in the winter or early spring. Many actually prefer to be direct sown. But if growing your own from seeds is not in the cards this year, be sure to visit the Briggs Avenue Community Garden Festival and Plant Sale on September 12.

Resources and Additional Information

Mustard: It’s Not Just for Hot Dogs

Growing and Preparing Collards