Episode 76: Summer Squash, Shade, and Leaf Scorch

This podcast episode of Nature Calls: Conversations from the Hudson Valley is perfect for summer!

Master Gardener Annie Scibienski starts us off with a yummy segment on a wide range of ways to prepare zucchini and summer squash, some simply using your pantry staples, while others are more creative. If you’d like to know how to cook squash blossoms, make frittatas, or serve it with eggs or rice, this segment is for you. Your mouth will be watering!

This is followed by a segment from Master Gardener Barbara Bravo on how to add contrast and texture to your summer shade garden. Leveraging plants like Ligularia ‘Britt Marie Crawford’, Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Athyrium niponicum, Dryopteris Ferns and others, your shade garden doesn’t have to be ‘boring’.Keep it going into the fall with Colchicum autumnale ‘Pleniflorum’ a/k/a Autumn Crocus, or Asarum Europa a/k/a European wild ginger.Listen to the possibilities!

Master Gardener Devon Russ closes out this episode by dispelling the common myth that watering your garden on a hot summer day will result in leaf scorch. In reality, this condition is caused by either drought, root damage, or acidic damage. Learn about the science behind leaf scorch to keep your garden thriving.

Here’s hoping that you get to enjoy a wonderful New York summer in sun and shade!

Hosts: Jean Thomas and Teresa Golden

Guests: Annie Scibienski, Barbara Bravo, and Devon Russ

Photo by: Tim Kennelty

Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Teresa Golden and Annie Scibienski

Resources:

Patch to Plate: Cornell Cooperative Extension (ccecolumbiagreene.org); Summer Squash Growing Guide; Vegetable Varieties for NY Gardeners - look under Summer Squash ; Zucchini Stir Fry; How to preserve zucchini; Cornell Cooperative Extension | Food Gardening (cce columbia greene.org)

Made in the Shade: Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford' - Plant Finder (missouribotanicalgarden.org) ; Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' - Plant Finder (missouribotanicalgarden.org) ; Athyrium niponicum var. pictum - Plant Finder (missouribotanicalgarden.org) ; Dryopteris erythrosora (Autumn Fern, Japanese Shield Fern, Shaggy Shield Fern) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox (ncsu.edu) ; Adiantum pedatum (Northern maidenhair fern) | Native Plants of North America (wildflower.org) ; Autumn Crocus, Colchicum spp. – Wisconsin Horticulture ; Asarum europaeum - Plant Finder (missouribotanicalgarden.org)

Hits & Myths: Can water droplets on leaves cause leaf scorch? - Jones - 2010 - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library ; Does Watering Plants on a Hot Sunny Day Scorch Their Leaves? – Deep Green Permaculture ; Microsoft Word - B&B #24 - Leaf scorch.doc (wsu.edu) ; Leaf Scorch - 2.911 - Extension (colostate.edu) ; physiologicalleafscorch.pdf (cornell.edu)

Last updated July 6, 2023