Hort Shorts for September 17, 2020 -- Fruits and Vegetables
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Frosted ApplesApples on trees can tolerate temps approaching 25°F before damage occurs. If they freeze, wait until they thaw before picking. Use promptly. |
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WaspsWasps are looking for food and will be attracted to wounded/cracked fruits. Be cautious when harvesting fruits or picking up fallen fruits. The wasps will die after a hard frost. |
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Apple MaggotFruits develop dimples (left photo) where flies laid eggs. Maggots hatched and created trails inside (right photo). To prevent next year, pick up the fallen, maggot-infested fruits. Hang traps next July and spray insecticides if needed. |
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When to Harvest Pumpkins?Harvest before a killing frost (28°F). Leave a few inches of stem attached. Fruits with an orange blush will turn more orange if exposed to sunlight and warmth. Place on a deck or indoors near a sunny window; green side toward the sun. Keep indoors during hard frosts. |
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When to Harvest Winter Squash?Signs of ripeness include dry stems, a dark-orange spot on fruit bottoms, and hard, glossy rinds. Harvest before a killing frost (28°F). Leave at least one inch of stem. Wipe but don’t wash fruit. Cure buttercup, butternut and hubbard squash in a warm (80°F) spot for 10 days to toughen skin for storage. |
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Ripen Tomatoes IndoorsPlace your blushing, crack-free fruits on a newspaper and then place another newspaper sheet over them. This traps ethylene, which fruits emit when ripening. Keep away from windowsills and direct sun, which redden fruits before their inner flesh matures. Room temperatures develop fullest flavors. |
Written by Tom Kalb, Extension Horticulturist, North Dakota State University. Photos were made available under Creative Commons licenses specified by the photographers: Fredrik Alpstedt; Nathan Feir, ; LeAnn Beck; E.H. Glass, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Bugwood.org; melina1965; danbruell; and Andrea R. Published in the NDSU Yard & Garden Report for September 17, 2020.
Recent Hort Shorts for Fruits and Vegetables: October 2, 2020.
