Madman Struggles With His Sensitive Three

We made it through the season’s first heat wave. Just before the wave struck, we had a stretch of cool nights. Daytime temperatures were in the low 80°s. Great for our seedlings. But overnight temperatures dropped into the high 40°s. Not so good.

We watered our transplants during the day and covered them at night. But the hot sun beat on our seedlings all day. And, then the overnight 40°s finished them off. If the temperature swings weren’t bad enough, all the rainstorms missed the madman’s garden back then.

Tough Conditions

This year’s temperatures and lack of rain were particularly tough on our Eggplants, Sweet Potatoes and Okra. The madman considers these three his sensitive hot weather plants. Other plants like the warm growing temperatures but are more tolerant of cool nights. In fact, pores in plant leaves close to retain moisture (most of our summer crops almost welcome a bit of rest) in the evening. Not so with the sensitive three.

The madman has found that cold weather seriously harms them. And, if he doesn’t have replacements, he’s out of luck. This year we had replacements. After all, he is the madman.

Changing Forecasts

Eventually we had some good weather for planting. Warm days, warmer nights. We knew the heat wave was coming. We figured we could handle it with judicious watering, ample mulch and covers to protect from the sun. But then forecasts changed. The heat wave was extended and our plants were in trouble. All our free time was spent watering, mulching and checking our sensitive seedlings. And, that doesn’t even address newly sprouted seeds. We think if the heat wave ended as initially predicted we might have been okay.

But, let’s get back to our sensitive three. First among them are the Eggplant. You either like Eggplant or you don’t. If you like it, most likely it is a staple in your summer garden. You can guess the madman likes Eggplant.

Eggplant

Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a Solanaceae related to Peppers and Tomatoes. Although Peppers and Tomatoes originated in the new world, Eggplants got their start in southern Asia. They followed the trade routes west through the southern Mediterranean and worked their way into Europe through Spain. European settlers brought them to the new world.

Growing Eggplant can be difficult. The madman has no problem starting seeds. But seedlings can be extremely sensitive to changes in growing conditions. A mere day of dryness will do them in as the madman once learned. Tomatoes and Peppers usually rebound, not so with Eggplant.

Temperature Change

They are also sensitive to temperature changes. This year, the madman was in a rush to move seedlings from under grow lights to the greenhouse. Better growing light, he thought. Besides, the calendar told him OK. However, when outside temperatures dropped into the 30°s for a couple of nights, the madman lost 50 % of his Eggplant seedlings. The others just sat there.

In May, the madman was dupped into planting 16 of his best-looking Eggplant seedlings. After all, they had survived a week of hardening off. And again, the calendar said OK. That’s when the nighttime temperatures returned to the 40°s. We covered them at night and babied them during the day. He now has five Eggplant seedlings in the ground.

Since he is the madman, he does have others in reserve, but he won’t plant them yet. Now the temperatures are too high. He’ll wait out the hot weather. I must say that the five in the ground are looking pretty good. As are the ones still in the greenhouse.

Sweet Potatoes

The second crop that proved to be a challenge this year was Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas). Originally from South America, this plant is an interesting traveler. It was discovered and brought to Europe around 1500 by explorers like Christopher Columbus.

But, hold on a second – here’s an in interesting tidbit. There is scientific evidence that Sweet Potatoes began their travels some 400 years before the Columbian voyages. Researchers found proof that someone brought Sweet Potatoes from South America to Polynesia between 1000-1100 A.D. Hmmm…           

Travels aside, Sweet Potatoes grow best in warm temperatures. They are not very popular in northern Europe. Although Connecticut’s climate is not ideal, the madman loves them. So, of course, he has to grow them.

Root Crop

Sweet Potatoes are a root crop. The madman grows his from slips. Our supplier usually ships slips to the Northeast around Memorial Day. By then the ground should be warm enough for planting.

And this year it was. The ground was warm, but air temperatures weren’t. The madman put them in water while waiting for air temperatures to settle above 65° consistently. But he couldn’t wait forever, so we planted them in 4” deep trenches.

As we always do, we left some leaves above ground, mulched and watered. We even covered the Sweet Potato cloches with tobacco netting to prevent burning during the day and retain heat at night. They died anyway.

No worries, our supplier was still shipping and had some left. Our second batch shows promise. During the heatwave, the madman was out there twice a day to make sure they were watered. They like a lot of moisture as they establish themselves. With luck we will have 85 to 120 days for them to mature before the frost. We’ll see.

Okra

We aren’t doing so well with our third sensitive crop – the Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus). In fact, at the moment we aren’t doing at all. The madman used up all his seeds. It takes 55 to 60 days to mature, so we are debating whether to order more or pass this year. Days to maturity is not the issue, keeping seedlings watered is. In the summer we are not always around and sensitive young seedlings need daily care.

Okra is native to east Africa. It worked its way west along the southern Mediterranean, finding its way into Spain and Italy thanks to the Moors. But it never gained popularity in northern Europe. The madman thinks they just couldn’t grow it. The slave trade brought Okra to the Americas. It became a staple in the southern United States.

Bad Beginning For Us

Our first adventure with Okra was in our early days of gardening. Not sure why the madman felt like he needed to grow it. That first summer, it grew very well for us. We didn’t know when to harvest it. So, our pods grew nice and long, and stringy and tough. We couldn’t cut them and quickly put the vegetable on our “Don’t bother with” list.

There it stayed until the Middlesex County Focus Garden was asked to grow it. They gave a few seeds to the madman, and we tried it again. This time we knew to pick the pods small. We actually liked it, both cooked and in salads.

Accepted Plant

Now we try to grow it every year. Sometimes with success, sometimes not. Okra grows well in any soil and withstands heat and drought, but don’t let it get cold. Remember, it’s from the tropics. While mature plants can handle heat and dry conditions, young seedlings need water. Which brings us to our dilemma.

But I’ll tell you, the seedling dilemma is not the biggest dilemma facing the madman. The deer dilemma is. I guess we’ll re-read our blog on deer and other pests.

First a glass of lemonade.