The Tribune

By Gardener Jack FEBRUARY marks the midpoint of the vegetable growing season and provides an opportunity to review the successes achieved and failures endured. September was dominated by Hurricane Irene. The bell peppers and Cubanelles that had served me so well during the summer months were devastated. They had been grown in a lightly shaded area and I had hoped they would be productive through to Christmas while I waited for the September sowings to bear fruit. I tried an early sowing of Early Girl and Big Boy tomatoes in small pots. Irene forced me to store them inside the utility room and, of course, they sprouted in the dark and then turned into long, pale seedlings that had to be thrown out. So much for my early start. Irene caused many gardening friends of mine to delay their seeds sowing. As it turned out, October was a wonderful growing month with regular rain, a warm beginning and a cool latter half. The new sowing of tomatoes - that included heirlooms such as Chocolate Cherry, Black Krim and Cherokee Purple - developed well and produced fruit early because of the cool nights. In addition to tomatoes I grew eggplants, bell peppers, scallions, beets, garden peas, celery (for use as a herb), Italian parsley, and lettuce. The beets were a bust, even though the seeds were certified organic and labelled 2011. Butterhead lettuce was wonderfully productive but bolted after about four weeks. By that time it was November and I replaced the Butterhead with romaine and Salad Bowl. At the end of November I was picking my first tomatoes and encountering another problem. For years we have had mockingbirds nesting in our yard. Once the mating pair have produced their four offspring and taught them how to fly and hunt, the parents disappear and one couple remains to take over. The present mockingbirds were particularly daring and aggressive. Worst of all, they loved my tomatoes. I was reduced to picking tomatoes very early as even the slightest pink blush attracted an attack. There is the theory that birds often peck at tomatoes because they are thirsty and want the juice rather than have a taste for tomatoes. I provided water but the predation persisted. These mockingbirds love tomatoes. By December I had my second and third sowings of tomatoes under way, mostly heirlooms from seeds I have saved from last year. December is the time to sow onions and in late December and through January I sowed a packet every two weeks. I also planted onion sets as these produce faster and will give an early start to the onion harvest. I continued sowing onions until the middle of February, not worrying about a glut as onions can be plaited together and hung in a shady, breezy location and last for months. The last three winters have been extra cold but this January was mild in comparison, with plenty of sunny days. This inspired an early invasion of caterpillars. A single green tomato hornworm can destroy a tomato plant in a day. They should be picked off early in the morning and disposed of. Be careful not to harm other caterpillars, however. The frangipani hornworm may devastate your Bridal Bouquet, but it will grow back. Bougainvillea and cordia are also attacked, but only for a brief time as part of a moth's life cycle. In my yard the caterpillars were atala hairstreaks. They really chewed up my zamias then turned into chrysalides, hanging around until ecdysis. My fifth set of tomatoes is Big Mama and they are at the flowering stage. The mockingbirds are seeking out nesting material so maybe they will be too busy to bother the tomatoes. All in all it has been a fair year without being spectacular. The warmer weather March and April will bring is conducive to raising peppers and eggplants that will last into or through the summer. gardenerjack@coralwave.com