Asking the age-old question: How does your garden grow?

Our gardener's guide to tending seasonal vegetables

By Tony Tomeo

If your vegetable garden is anything like mine, it has been very slow to produce summer vegetables. It just hasn't been warm enough for tomatoes, squash, green beans and the various other vegetables which rely on summer heat for healthy growth. It is hard to believe that it is already the end of July, when autumn vegetable planting begins.

If you grow your own seedlings to plant in the garden later, it is now time to start broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce; or they can be planted from seed directly in the garden in August. Early winter vegetables such as carrots, beets, radishes, spinach, kale and loose-leafed lettuce can also be planted from seed within the next month. If spring-planted cucumber vines are old and unproductive, a late crop can also be planted from seed. If you can keep your older cucumber vines vigorous, keep them tied up off the ground to minimize powdery mildew.

Tomatoes should also be kept up on a trellis or in a cage. Because this summer is exceptionally mild it's probably better to plant sooner than later.

One advantage to the mild weather is that it gives us an opportunity to take our house plants out for some fresh air. Although house plants are sensitive to hot temperatures, they are also uncomfortable in the cool weather of spring or autumn. What they are most intolerant of, however, is direct sunlight. It is imperative that even those that have been grown with direct sun exposure be kept in the shade of a dense tree or eaves of a building. Foliage that has adapted to household conditions will almost instantly succumb to sunburn if exposed.

Once the plant is outside, its potting soil can be flushed of soluble salts that have accumulated as irrigation water has been used by the plants or evaporated from the soil. If possible, the dish under the pot should be removed before a heavy watering and the water allowed to flow out the bottom of the pot. Repeated waterings wash out more toxins. If the dish is attached to the pot, tip the pot to pour out drained water between waterings and before bringing the pot back inside. It is also advisable to scrub mineral deposits from the undersides of pots and drainage dishes. If distilled water is used for irrigation and not much fertilizer is used, salt buildup and mineral deposits will be minimal, and not much flushing and scrubbing will be necessary.

While your house plants are outside, you might want to do all the messy work, such as adding soil, pruning or removing dead foliage. Because most potting soil has such a large ratio of organic matter, its level drops as this organic matter decomposes. It is helpful to add fresh soil under the root system by removing it from the pot, adding the soil and replacing the plant.

If the pot widens toward the top, soil will need to be added around the edges. This procedure is most beneficial, because roots prefer to grow down and out, away from the root ball, rather than up into soil added on top. Adding soil on top around a formerly exposed stem may also promote rot.

A last procedure to perform outside is washing dust off the foliage, even if it is not evident. Due to the lack of rain inside, the pores (stomata) on the foliar surfaces used for respiration may become obstructed with dust. If dust is heavy enough to see, it may also be limiting sun exposure. Foliage can be washed with light spray from a hose. It is important that the spray is not heavy enough to damage the plants. With my own bamboo palms, I am still impressed with how this simple procedure invigorates even the most apparently healthy plants. It is also good to know that although many of us spend so much time and money at health spas, most house plants only require these simple procedures to feel refreshed enough to film a shampoo commercial (or would if they had hair).

Tree of the Week: Crape Myrtle

Possibly the most commonly planted small street tree of the '90s is crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, a reliable source of summer color. During the July-to-September bloom cycle, its flowers may be seen in various shades of red, pink, rose, purple or white. The 11Ž2-inch blooms are suspended in 6- to 12-inch-long trusses at the ends of the branches. Though commonly a single-trunked tree, L. indica can be grown with many trunks to show off its interesting, smooth, pink and light-brown bark, as well as its picturesque branching structure.

It can also be grown as a shrub. Dwarf varieties, which are limited to about 6 feet in height, are most suitable for use as shrubbery. However, some varieties grown as trees can get as tall as 25 feet. The oval leaves are 1 or 2 inches long and glossy green. New growth in the spring emerges bronze or pink before fading to green. In autumn, the foliage turns a pale yellow, but does not stay on the tree long. Once established, the crape myrtle is somewhat tolerant of dry conditions and prefers to be irrigated deeply but infrequently. If chlorosis is a problem, deep leaching of the soil may be necessary in conjunction with mild applications of iron. Aside from that, it prefers only moderate fertilizer but does fine without it. Its main requirement is full sun exposure. Powdery mildew is often a problem, but usually in less vigorous trees.

Heavy winter pruning and removal of spent blooms and superfluous twiggy growth within the canopy promote profuse growth, which is less susceptible to powdery mildew and produces more flowers.

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Readers can call horticulturist Tony Tomeo at 358-2574.

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