If you can't beat 'em - join 'em

I am planning on using Purslane as a ground cover around my lettuces.

If you can't beat 'em - join 'em.

Yikes!  At this point I think the only solution to this is solarization.  

At least it is the only kind of weed in there.  I'm not a weeding fanatic.  I control my weeds and spend a lot of time in the of season cultivating the soil to keep weeds in check.  But every now and then I get over run with something.  This happened in 2018 in the Strawberry bed when black Oxalis took over.  I pulled the Strawberries, cultivated the soil over the winter, and planted cauliflower and broccoli last year which is an easier crop to weed around.  This year the Oxalis is gone.  So I'm not going to stress over this bed of Purslane.  I will cultivate the strip where I am transplanting the cucumbers, and leave the rest.

This is a nice time in the garden.  Its the Weed-Water-Wait time of year.  All major planting is done.  All major harvesting is yet to come.  The weather has been cool and sunny.  Daily highs about 80 degrees with a breeze and almost no clouds or humidity.  Perfect weather for making hay incidentally.  Night time has been even cooler with no dew.  I've been covering my tomatoes at night, and the lack of dew or rain is bothersome.  My rain water tank is at half full (250 gal).  Which means I can water the whole garden well twice, maybe three times, and then I will be out.  But I can still run hoses from the house so, given the choice, I'd rather have the sun.

I finally got all of my pots and trays washed out, sorted and stored away.  They had been accumulating in the wash tubs in the garden like a stack of dirty dishes!

Saturday we took the time to remove five large ash trees that had died in the wooded strip along the west side of our property.  For one thing were were tired of picking up sticks after every windstorm.  So what happens when you fell a large, very dead tree?  It shatters into a million pieces.  This was just number one of five.  After each one we cleaned up so we wouldn't be tripping over hazards while we worked around the next tree.  Now we won't have to pick up sticks after wind storms because we spent all day doing it at once.

Next to last crop to go in are the cucumbers.  I already have a half row of pickling cukes planted and growing well.  These are the slicing cucumbers.  Right on time compared to last year.  This variety can be rather moody about germinating.  You can see the one in the upper right corner germinated immediately and has been impatiently waiting for the others.  I think I may transplant the ones that are ready today.  I have a second tray a week behind this which is now popping up.

My sweet corn is looking really nice.  It should be "knee high by 4th of July"

Bed #1 Sweet Corn

Bed #2 Pole Beans, Pickling Cukes and Lettuce

You can see I have a bit of a Purslane problem around the pole beans too.  I've been half-heartedly cultivating this out while I still can.  But I don't want to disturb the bean roots too dramatically.

Bed #3 second planting of Lettuce and spare Tomato plant. 
Cucumbers to come.

Bed #4 First planting of Lettuce
Cucumbers to come

The Garden Sweet peas that I gave the double stacked trellis this year are finally making use of it.  This past week we had a line of storms coming with high winds expected.  All day the wind came directly from the south confusing the peas because they were used to west wind.  Some of them began to lose their grip so I ran two rows of twine along each side to support them and keep the wind from picking them apart.  This worked just fine and they weathered the 25 mph wind without coming apart into a jumbled mess.

Bed #5 Garden Sweet Peas.

The Penelope peas are thick and lush.  They are flowering heavily and already have a lot of pods started.  The Garden Sweet only have a few flowers turned to pods.  They began to bloom on the same day but the Penelope are 59 day pea and the Garden Sweet a 65 day pea so the Penelopes are jumping ahead.

Bed #6 first and second planting of Penelope Peas

Bed #7 Cauliflowers and Broccoli

First Cauliflower head of the season will be a Vitaverde

Bed #8 Brussels Sprouts in the middle, Broccoli this end

Bed #9 Third planting of Penelopes

Bed #10 second planting of Sweet Corn

Bed #11 fourth planting of Penelope Peas and Lettuce

Bed #12 Fordhook Lima Beans and Cabbages

Golden Acre and Red Acre Cabbages

The Tomato plants are doing great.  I have been wrapping them with garden fleece each night.  These containers, with their reservoirs and leaf mulch are very easy to water.  In fact, I haven't added water in a week and the soil is still moist.  They seem to be getting plenty of sun where they are so I have decided not to move them.

Container Tomatoes - Black Brandywine

My Grow-Bag Potatoes are beginning to sprout through the soil.

Grow-Bag Potatoes

Strawberries
Incidentally, this is the bed that had the horrible weed problem two seasons ago.

Container Eggplants and Portulaca

Along with weeds, you sometimes have to ignore a few pests.  Below is a picture of what I am calling "an acceptable level of damage"

Years past (including last year specifically) I have lost entire Eggplants to the flea beetles.  This year I decided to move them up on the patio where #1 the flea beetles were not hatching out right at their feet. And #2 I would walk by them dozens of times a day making it easier for me to keep an eye on things.  The flea beetles showed up on Thursday the 4th.  I sprayed with Neem Oil four days in a row, and now every few days depending on the presence of beetles.  Neem Oil is a topical insecticide but also works as a systemic insecticide which means once it absorbs into the plant any susceptible pest that munches on the plant will die.  So far so good.

Weed Potatoes and Summer Squash

Dunja Zucchini plant

Rebecca Clematis

June is also the most fun in the flower garden.  The annuals are getting established and the perennials are beginning to bloom.  Three years ago I ordered a bare root Itoh Peony.  They say when you transplant something the first year it sleeps, the second it creeps, and the third it leaps.  The peony flowered right on cue.  Thing is I am no longer sure what variety it is.  My notes say it is a Canary Billiants and the one I planted the next year in a different bed is a Callie's Memory.  But it hasn't finished fading to its advertised color yet.  Thing is, on Day 1 it was bright lipstick pink!  The same color as the Salmon Pink Geraniums around it.  Neither "creamy yellow with apricot hues" nor "yellow cream color with maroon flares".  I'm taking a photo each evening at the same time so I can document the color volution.  This photo is Day 2.

Callie's Memory(?) Itoh Peony

I know that there are variations in strains of plants, and that peonies are one flower that fade a lot through their life cycle.  But until next year when the second peony may bloom to compare it to, I'd say the jury is still out on this one.