Autumn

At this time of the year, people often tell me that their vegetables are looking woeful and ask me what’s wrong! The leaves are going brown, falling off and the plants generally look like they’re dying. Cucumbers, zucchinis and pumpkins are all getting mildew and tomatoes are looking very sick indeed. 

Despite this, they are still producing, which seems crazy!  And you can see in the photo that mine are doing just that. In spite of my efforts to keep them looking green and lush, they certainly know what they are doing! The truth is, that this is how some annual vegetables grow.

Scientifically speaking, many annual productive plants grow in a lazy ‘S’ curve. For example, researchers found that sweetcorn grow slowly during the first month, then shoot up sharply, doubling in size each week until they reach their maximum height and weight at 3 months of age. Following this, their weight drops, and by the time they begin to flower and produce seed, the plants weigh only about 80% of what they had been at their largest. 

So why would a plant decrease in mass just when it nears it maximum productivity? Because as the green plants reach maturity, some of their nutrients are pulled back and used for producing flowers and seeds. The plant gives of itself for the next generation!

So when your tomato & pumpkin plants start to look awful, don’t panic, just look forward to the rewards!

Happy gardening,

Amanda

(Research courtesy of  Hope Jahren, whose book Lab Girl is a fabulous read – part autobiography, part horticultural gems! Hope is an award winning  American geochemist and geobiologist)