Mid-June: Weed, Water and Wait

Highlights of this week

I planted my three spare tomato plants into containers.  Because there are water reservoirs in the pots, I cannot sink the ladders in very deep so I've bungeed them to the posts

Flea beetles showed up to devour the eggplants so I covered the plants that seemed most delectable.  I need to sew a few more covers.  These are holding up very well.  On a nice sunny day I can just remove the covers and let the plants get as much sun as possible

Tomato plants look nice.  The round leafed plants are my Nasturtium which I use as living mulch.

The direct seeded cucumbers are finally participating.  Next week I will fill in with the plants I started in the cold frame.  This will leave me with enough spares to plant a second row.  I will rake in the buckwheat in the bed I planned for the second planting a bit early.  I am still planning a later planting in July which will go into one of the beds vacated by the peas.  Which means I will be planting 50% more plants than planned

All of the pea varieties are forming pods but they are not filling out yet.

A few of the Garden Sweet variety plants are putting out purple blossoms.  I always enjoy these.   It saves me planting sweet peas.

The first planting of lettuce is in its prime.  I am thinning it out as I pick. We have more lettuce than a small village could eat.  I have three more rows growing behind these and two more rows worth in pots to be transplanted

My Gotta Have It sweet corn is doing well and pumpkins have been seeded around it.  The pumpkins have gone in a week to ten days later than planned.  I hope that since our spring is about three weeks late that fall frost will come late as well.  

Cauliflower and broccoli.  I don't think we could have asked for better temperatures for these (today was sunny, breezy with a high of 68 degrees), but the maturity dates have come and gone and there is only one broccoli plant that is showing signs of producing  (Dinner Plate Dahlias in the background)

Potatoes are growing like wild.  They haven't been in this bed for several years, and it has always proved to be their favorite spot.  Planting and hilling potatoes in a raised bed can be a challenge but I will give you step by step photos of how I deal with it in another blog soon.

Bed #1:  Buckwheat making way for 2nd row of cukes planted earlier than expected

Bed #2: Lettuce in its prime being thinned and cucumbers growing

Bed #3: Peas forming pods - bush beans later

Bed #4: Peas forming pods - Cucumbers later (revised plan)

Bed #5: Sweet corn growing and pumpkins seeded

Bed #6: Sweet corn growing and pumpkins seeded

Bed #7: Cantaloupes growing

Bed #8: Tomatoes and eggplants growing

Bed #9: Peas forming pods - lettuce growing - buckwheat later

Bed #10: Peas forming pods - lettuce growing - bush beans later (revised plan)

Bed #11:Buckwheat and zucchini growing

Bed #12:Vacant - buckwheat later - this is my nursery bed

Bed #13: Cauliflower and Broccoli

Bed #14: Potatoes growing fast

Containers: Carrots growing

Containers: Spare Tomato plants growing

Of course there is always a little something that needs to be done outside this time of year, but the main gardening chores have been checked off of the list.  Now all I have to do is wander around and fix anything that isn't as it should be.  This includes washing lawn furniture, cutting back daffodil leaves as they start getting messy, fertilizing, weeding, raking gravel, deadheading and pruning.

One fill-in job is bagging the apples.  We have fewer apples set this year than last.  Probably because the weather was rainy and gloomy while they bloomed which does not encourage pollinators. But I bagged 11 apples on the lazy tree which has never produced a single full-term apple, and I bagged 15 on the over-achieving tree.  Last year I bag a few dozen on this tree.  I have a few still to bag now that I bought another box of sandwich bags.

I have several clumps of daylilies and daffodils that have gotten too crowded.  Hopefully this fall our new landscape area will be hardscaped and I will have lots of spots to put them in.

A "Top Five" Weekend

I know almost all of America has been dealing with unpleasant, tumultuous or dangerous weather this year.  Here in western New York we have had a lot of Blah weather.  Cool.  Overcast. Rain.  Rain. High winds.  Did I mention rain?  Every weekend this spring, we might get one (or half of one) sunny day but we will also get at least one rainy or stormy day. 

My rainfall total for May is just over six inches.  Four to five is a much more reasonable number.  This weekend is supposed to be mid seventies to eighty degrees and sunshine and everyone in the area is collectively excited and looking forward to some nice weather.  The weather forecasters have been promoting this as a "Top Five" weekend.  I sure hope we get more than five.

Last night I was touring the landscaping, spraying deer repellent on all of the iris and lily buds, squishing through the lawn in water deeper than my flip flops, when I noticed that in the "wilderness" strip of brush and trees between the large garage and the vegetable garden, there was several inches of standing water.  Can you say M-o-s-q-u-i-t-o?  And here I was worried that we no longer had enough habitat to keep our dragonflies fed...

Pests report for this year so far.  Obviously, mosquitoes and biting flies will be abundant.  Coons are scarce.  I have only seen signs of them feeling around once.  Something has been digging for grubs a just a little bit in the lawn as opposed to some summers when all of the sod has been torn up, but I believe it is a skunk that has been through the garden walkways regularly and not multiple coons like some years.  We regularly treat the lawn with Milky Spore to keep the grubs down.  I'm sort of hoping the grubs have all drowned, however U of K says that Japanese beetle grubs can withstand high soil moisture, so excessive rainfall or heavy watering of lawns does not bother them (source)   Bummer.

When will we ever get on top of the chipmunk population?  For several many years in a row we have killed at least a dozen.  We don't bait traps, we just place traps where the chipmunks are not supposed to be to keep them out from under the house and out of the drainpipes.  Our count is up to eight.  We started in February.  Its ridiculous.  And I have one red squirrel that almost every day I see him run out of the woods and smack into the garden fence.  He isn't trying to get into the garden because he doesn't climb the fence and he goes on his way to the other wooded area, but he is obviously a bit dumb or near sighted because he always hits the fence in the same spot behind the daylilies.  I've named him Crash.

Back in mid-March when the weather warmed up enough that I could get out to the cold frame on a regular basis, I seeded some lettuce in containers.  It didn't give them any sort of head start.  Here they are next to one of my mid-April plantings.  And the potted one is what is left after the three larger batches have been planted.

Obviously the planters weren't doing well and didn't deserve any more attention or worry with all of the other lettuce available but I'm not the sort to throw out a plant, so I dug them out and planted the better ones along the Easy Peasy  peas interspersed with some of the potted lettuce because most of what came up in the containers was red romaine and I wanted more variety.  I probably should have done this earlier in the week when we didn't have three days of sun forecast, but they'll be fine.  

Its hard to kill lettuce

The tomatoes have tripled in size and the Paul Robeson is already blooming.  The eggplants are established and the Nasturtium seedlings are growing fast.  This year I only saw one flat of Nasturtium in the greenhouses and it wasn't Alaska, so I'm glad I got two packets of seeds.

My spare tomatoes are doing awesome.  Two of them are blooming and I had to stake them.  If my Dad doesn't take any, these will have to go into containers because they are way too good to waste.

The Garden Sweet peas are actually growing better than the Wando which usually reach six feet tall.  Something tells me this variety will need extra tall trellis in the future.

These are the Penelope Peas.  You can see that the left end of this raised bed must be a little "hot" with nitrogen.  That is the spot where the one cucumber vine produced July through September.

This is my non-existent row of cucumbers  In addition to the cool soil and cloudy weather, each time I seed them we get a torrential downpour which buries them too deeply.  Yesterday two seeds popped up, and today two new ones add those to the one plant from last weekend that hasn't done a darn thing and I now have five teeny tiny cucumber plants.  Yesterday I also put one packet of seeds into pots in the cold frame as a backup plan.

All of the perennial plantings around the landscape are doing well, but this snow on the mountain cracks me up every time I walk by it.  It is so dense that the Creeping Charlie has turned around and is trying to get back out.

Anyone who has dealt with Creeping Charlie ought to appreciate that.

Rain Rain Go Away

An unfortunate Maple tree

When I plan my garden each year and set out tasks to do each week I never imagine that I will have to be doing them in fifty degrees and pouring rain.  But it seems like it always works out that way.  

Last evening we got two inches of rain in about an hour, dime sized hail, and circular winds that took out one tree and sent us to the basement for a few minutes.  After the worst of it had passed the power went out for three hours and the water pumping station went down.  The BPU lost power and their emergency phone lines were down (poor planning with running the phone through the internet service?  This never used to happened with Ma Bell) So we had to call the Sheriff's dispatch to report the outage.  You don't need to live in a flood plain to have water troubles.  We live on a hill, but it has a large flat top, and every time the rain and lightening would break we would go out to clean drains (dry wells and "dry" creek beds) and look for trouble.  We finally had to get the generator out to run the basement sump pump.  The power came back on at midnight.

One lawn flooded completely, one end of the garden and two raised beds were standing water, mulched washed into gravel and lawns, there were arm loads of leaflets and branches down everywhere and the whole place looked completely bedraggled.

Freshly sealed fence looking pretty good for its age.

Friday was lovely weather and I spent six hours sealing the fence with Thompson's Water Seal.  I had spent a day last weekend staining the new top rails to blend with the old wood.  It was nice spending six hours in the garden on a beautiful sunny day, but after about four hours it ceases to be fun.  I told myself that when I either fell off the step ladder, or spilled the Cool Whip container of sealer on myself I would quit.  Luckily I got just about to the end before that happened.  Then I quit.

Dirty Tomato plants

So after our long and trying night, I went out this morning to start the clean up.  The tomatoes and lettuce needed baths so after two inches of rain I spent some time with the watering wand washing dirt off.

Of course it began to rain again this morning.  Basically another downpour.  When I mentioned that I never imagine I will end up doing these projects in the rain I was referring to the Sunpatien and Begonia pots for the front landscaping.  I had planned to do these three weeks ago and it hasn't happened, so I set everything up in the temporary building where my potting bench is and potted in the rain.

They were getting pretty leggy and root bound.  I cut them back severely so they will branch out and thicken up.  In two or three weeks they ought to look really nice (or at least that's the plan) and at that point the peat pots will be sunk into the front landscape.  The past couple of years I have used four inch peat pots for individual plants and this year I am going bigger to make it easier to water.  Its tough to water a four inch pot underneath a large bushy plant.

Last year's Sunpatiens and Begonias in August

Two varieties of peas are beginning to bloom

My spare tomatoes need to be staked.  And possibly need a home.

The garden is beginning to look like a garden.

The only things left to plant are the pumpkins

Memorial Day 2019

Around here, Memorial Day weekend is THE big gardening weekend.  Some people get their garden tilled up, head to the greenhouse, and stock up on plants.  They spend all day planting and seeding and staking.  This year on Saturday evening we had an inch and a quarter of rain fall in about half an hour.  I know of at least one garden that got washed away.  Not mine.  Of course by this time I've been gardening for months, but Memorial Day is the deadline.  So I also had a busy weekend.  While I've been at this for months, I still had four beds that hadn't been touched.  I cultivated and amended them and I planted buckwheat in a couple that are not going to be used until later.

Bed #1:  Vacant - planted buckwheat - cucumbers later

Bed #2: Lettuce planted and cucumbers just now germinating

Bed #3: Peas planted - bush beans later

Bed #4: Peas planted - bush beans later

Bed #5: Sweet corn seeded and pumpkins next weekend

Bed #6: Soil warming for sweet corn

Bed #7: Cantaloupes seeded

Bed #8: Tomatoes and eggplants - mulched and finished

Bed #9: Peas planted  - buckwheat later - lettuce added

Bed #10: Peas planted  - buckwheat later - lettuce added

Bed #11:Buckwheat and a zucchini seeded

Bed #12:Vacant - buckwheat later - this is my nursery bed

Bed #13: Cauliflower and Broccoli

Bed #14: Potatoes growing fast

Containers: Carrots getting their first true leaves

Still waiting on my cauliflower and broccoli to do something.  But it's a pretty bed.  The plants are big and healthy.  The soil looks perfect.  Its nice to walk by ten times a day.

The potato plants visibly grow taller each sunny day.

The tomato and eggplant bed is finished, mulched, and I planted basil in between the tomato plants.  There are also Nasturtium seeds in there. 

I planted rows of lettuce along the east side of two pea beds.  I still have enough transplants for two more rows but I am holding them back.  I will begin trimming lettuce for salads today.

This is the lettuce I stuck into the ground and ignored.  I only lost one seedling.

There are cucumbers seeded along the left side.

So far just one tiny cucumber plant.  

This is the last bed to be cultivated.  It is nearest the gate and the water so it usually ends up as my nursery bed.  It will get buckwheat later.  I have my late lettuce babies, some spare Marigolds and all of the Sunpatiens and Begonias that go in the front landscaping.  There are also volunteer Calendula growing well at the far end.  When I get a minute I am going to transplant some of the Calendula into four inch pots.  I took a minute and transplanted the Marigolds from cell packs into four inch pots.  It is IMPOSSIBLE to keep cell packs watered out in the open sun/wind.  Some of them have an intended home, but this will buy me some time and any leftovers will go into gallon pots.

We are still in construction mode.  

We have been stockpiling city street bricks for walkways.

We had a large Hemlock tree on the property line with our next door neighbors.  Have you ever had a tree that was just in the wrong place?  Especially a dirty tree that drops a lot of cones or nuts or needles?  This one had worn out its welcome.  We have a walkway that goes past there and it is always full of Hemlock crap, and in the winter, the roots heaved the edging and it was basically a mess.   The tree also did a lot to shade the portion of the lawn that we call "Lake Johnson".   Tim said he could hear the lawn drying out as soon as that tree was gone.  After it was gone, the neighbor wife came over to survey he hole and asked what we were going to plant there to replace it.  Well, that's fair.  I suppose they can have a large bush or a small tree.  We had at least figured on an arrangement of tall grasses and some more rocks.  Once Tim gets the roots pulled out and the hole filled, we'll go shopping for a shrub.

It seems like there is always an empty hole around here that needs to be planted...

Surviving Greenhouse Season

Greenhouse Season, the most wonderful time of the year, is finally here!  In Zone 5 anyway.  Those of you in Zones 6-7 or higher are already planted and maybe even harvesting.    Those of you who got snowed on this week - you have my sympathies.  We have had one of those Mays where people are having to put off planting.  We've only had two light frosts, but the ground has been wet, and the sun hasn't shone and overall it was hard to get into the spirit.  Also, the plants are behind schedule.  There just hasn't been any sun and things are not growing well.  Up until this past week, things have looked pretty lack-luster.    But now it's Game On!

Last weekend the Home Depot garden center was a mad-house.  People were buying mulch and potting mix and hanging baskets by the truckload.  I slipped in quietly to get a few supplies while hubby bought some bolts at the other end of the store.  I retreated to the car parked in the lot which was even more frightening.  I prefer to do my shopping during quieter times.  In fact, I have a very well thought out, tried and true method for surviving greenhouse season.  Each year I spend about $200 on annuals and some replacement perennials.  I frequent six greenhouses, and check out three or four more.   Even WalMart and KMart can have some unique, hard to find items.  But they might kill them before you get there.

Me at four years old in our geranium house

Since I was practically born in a greenhouse and spent many hours behind the counter as well as shopping I consider myself to be a bit of an expert.  So here is my advice:

1. Make a List
2. Conduct Reconnaissance Missions
3. Bring Appropriate Footwear
4. Get a Cheap Tarp
5. Bring a Box
6. Read the Tag
7. Buy a Spare
8. Take Notes

#1. Make a List:  how are you supposed to navigate this field of choices without a detailed plan?  Everyone has their own method of keeping track and mine might be a little excessive.  I keep a spreadsheet with a tab for each year so I can refer to last year's list and make changes as I go.  It is important to keep your numbers in individual plants, not in packs because if you need 24 marigolds and you mark down four packs because last year you bought four 6-packs, you may be surprised when you come home with 4-packs and only have 16 marigolds.  This is the voice of experience speaking.....

#2. Conduct Reconnaissance Missions:  Each year I am frustrated by the ever changing national gardening trends as well as the individual grower's reactions to the market.  One of my favorite greenhouses used to have two large houses full of individually potted Calibrochoa, Wave petunias and Supertunias.  This year they potted them all up in their own combination pots or baskets leaving only a few dozen flats of leftover singles to choose from.  Combination pots do me no good.  Even if I could get the monsters home easily and transplant the plants without damage, I'd soon have a huge inventory of unwanted large containers.  But that doesn't mean you can't find what you want at another greenhouse.  That's why I like to make the rounds first and rework my list before I start back at the beginning and start buying. 

#3. Bring Appropriate Footwear:  I conduct most of my buying and reconnaissance during my lunch hours.  Greenhouses deal in soil and water.  When you mix soil and water you get mud.  Some greenhouses have nice wide concrete paths, but even those can have low spots.  I keep a pair of garden clogs in the trunk of my car so I can slip them on instead of having to clean mud out of the treads of my good office shoes.

#4. Get a Cheap Tarp:  A trunk load of plants can make a real mess.  Dropped soil, petals, leaves and water don't have to be cleaned out if you just keep a cheap plastic tarp handy.  Line your trunk before you load it, then just pull the tarp out and shake it when you unload.  Voila'!  Clean car.

#5. Bring a Box:  We used to always provide boxes to our customers.  In the evenings Dad would take the truck to one of the local convenience stores and load up all of the boxes that soda shipped in.  They were the perfect size.  When we ran out of those, we did have custom boxes that we purchased flat and stapled together as needed.  This was less expensive than letting our customers run off with all of our plastic trays.  Modern growers don't seem to care.  And that, my friends, is why our oceans are full of floating plastic.  We also used to plant in peat pots and terracotta, but I digress.  Sure, if you are buying three full flats of marigolds, take the trays.  You may be able to use them at home if they're any good.  I have even let the containers influence my buying if I, for instance, need a couple more really good gallon pots to fill out my inventory at home... But if you are picking up two packs of this and a few pots of that, it's more convenient to walk around with your own box.  The tops of copy paper boxes are perfect for this.  I always have one or two in my car.

#6.  Read the Tag: You can probably skip this step if you are buying the same variety year after year.  But my neighbors get caught out now and then because they can't remember there are more than one kind of yellow marigold.  Janie, Safari, and Inca are very different critters.  Janie gets 6-8" high, Safari 10-12" high (fact: that's potentially twice as tall as the other one :/ ) and the old style Incas would be 18" or more.  And it doesn't hurt for an old pro to freshen up on the facts now and then either.

#7.  Buy a Spare:  I've always said that if you want to be bold, plant a pair of something but if you are a real risk taker, plant a whole row.  Nature laughs at symmetry.  One or more plant will either be eaten by wildlife or lack the will to live.  Also, no matter how closely you scrutinize a flat of annuals, you cannot guarantee that every cell has a plant in it or that every plant will be vigorous and healthy.  I usually buy a spare of everything and pot them up for use later.  If nothing else, you can use them to fill in bare spots late in the season when early plants are beginning to die back or lose color.

For instance, these three spare plants later went to fill a bare spot near our front steps, and due to their special care in the spares area, they far out preformed all of the similar plants I put in during the earlier planting season

And finally, #8. Take Notes:  If you potted up a beautiful combination pot that you would like to duplicate in the future, write down how many of what went into it.  Take notes of which greenhouse had the exact mix of marigolds you prefer so you won't have to go searching or miss out on what you want.  Keep track of your costs so you can budget the right amount next year.  Add all of this to your list (See #1) and you are all ready to start again next year.

HAPPY PLANTING!