Garden Begins to Give

I love June! This is the month in the gardening year when the warm-season crops and many of the inhabitants of the Berry Patch begin to ripen. Every morning's coffee walk yields exciting finds, with just enough of a harvest to determine what we are having for supper...but not too much to start the panicked: "Yikes! What am I going to do with all this zucchin?!"

Since pictures tell a better story, here are a few for you, starting with the first zukes, the first cuke, the first blueberries...and the garlic and potato harvest:

A word about the potatoes...we realized we were fighting a losing battle with the potato bugs this year, so we dumped the potato bags and harvested what we had. (Yes, those ARE purple-skinned potatoes, called Midnight.) Our neighbor's fig tree (right over the fence from where we had the grow bags of potatoes) usually provides shelter for an army of birds that make short work of the potato bug larvae; alas, that tree suffered much in the harsh Winter past and the birds were little in evidence during the crucial time. I will try to get a late crop...fingers crossed.

A word about bugs...

With the arrival of the warm-season crops comes the arrival of the warm-season pests, especially the prolific squash bugs. I hate squash bugs! I have been diligent in squashing the squash bugs and squishing their eggs, then removing the affected squash leaves. These bypass the compost bin and go straight to the yard waste toter...getting them off the property! I'm taking no chances here.

In addition to employing "mechanical controls" in managing pests, I do use chemical controls in the form of insecticidal soap and neem oil. The latter seemed to do best sprayed directly on the nymphs, if I missed any of the eggs and they hatched. Need more info? Check it out here: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74144.html

I also hate squash vine borers, which haven't made their presence known...yet. I've done all I can organically do to prevent them (which is the best line of defense) by rotating the location of the squash from last year's planting and turning the rows after the first killing frost last Fall to expose the grubs that take to the soil to wait for the next opportunity to ruin my squash crop.

Speaking of pests I hate...with a passion...did I tell you that the Japanese beetles have arrived? Oh yes, they have once again invaded the Rose Garden, which has produced the first flush of blooms, taken a little rest, and is now on the second flush. The best organic line of defense for these terrors is...well, once again, a picture tells the story:

Some gardeners use a jar, filled with water and a squirt of dish detergent (to break the surface tension). I use a JUG, as I know a jar is totally inadequate. I use the top of the coffee canister to knock the beasties off the blooms and into the jug. Bwwwwwahahahahah! You do have to get rid of the contents of the jug, or the smell will overpower you.

I spent all day moving a mountain of leaf mold from the caged area where it has been composting in place since last Fall to its new home...as mulch for all the plants in the Row Garden. Whew! Ten wheelbarrows-full. That was a huge...and heavy...undertaking! But the plants look good...and I know they will do better in the hot months of July and August if mulched. 

I'll close out this post with some more pics, showing some good things to come.

Happy hoeing!

To Do in the Zone 7 Garden in June

It's the last month of Spring...how is your garden growing? Here's a photo I took after this morning's coffee walk...peas and carrots...and one ginormous onion! The "English" peas are winding down, the carrots are finally ready, and the onions just might take over our world...wow!

By now in Zone 7, you should be well into your planting of warm season vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, melons, cucumbers, okra, and Southern peas are all in the ground here in The Way Back Kitchen Garden. I chose to forgo eggplants this year since we are neither big fans.

And, like us, you are probably pulling up many of the cool season crops as they begin to bolt and go to seed. I made a contribution to the compost bin this weekend as I replaced the broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and bolting lettuce plants (all in the raised beds in the Box Garden) with plantings of a variety of bush beans and some Salad Bowl lettuce that is supposed to withstand the coming Summer heat "better." I'm giving it a good chance by planting it against the west-side boards on the raised beds (which will provide shade from the harsh setting sun) and under the cucumber trellis frame, over in the Row Garden...again for added protection.

I also decided to devote one box (L-shaped, with the equivalent of 3 3x3 squares...or 27 square feet, if you do the math) to a tomato trial. Last year, you may recall I put three Sun Gold tomato suckers I'd rooted in this box...one in each 3x3 square. And they thrived, to put it mildly. 

When our first frost threatened last Fall, I harvested all the remaining tomatoes, green and gold ones, and turned them into Green Tomato Relish (great on hot dogs...and black-eyed peas, by the way!). But I didn't pull the plants. Well, they survived that first frost. We had another warm spell, as we often do...and the plants flowered again...and more Sun Golds arrived. But many of these fell into the box when I did finally pull the plants. I tried to remove as many as I could, but apparently missed as many as I got. 

I didn't plant this box with cool season veggies, as I was going to let it rest. Nature had other plans! Before I knew it, I had worlds of tiny Sun Gold tomato plants. Good grief! Knowing that SG is a hybrid tomato, I "knew" that I couldn't count on any of these reseeded babies to produce fruit like the 3 parent SG plants. But, what would the fruit look like? And would there be any fruit at all? Sounds like an experiment to me!

I pulled all except three "baby" plants...the ones that had seeded themselves in the center of their respective squares, more or less. I wanted to see what I will get from the seedlings of hybrid plants. Well, one question is answered: will they fruit? Yes! The three remaining (and many of the ones I removed) have all flowered and are developing tomatoes...and they look just like the tiny bunches of Sun Golds that the parent plants produced last year. I'll report back on how the reseeded plants' fruit tastes soon. Very soon!

Additionally, I seeded my garden borders with marigolds and zinnias, using the seed-heads we save every year after frost kills off our favorite annuals. The seeds we harvested last Fall are descendants of flowers we had around our garden in O'Fallon, MO...over 5 years ago. The originals were hybrids, so the first generation of plants from the saved seeds weren't "true," but subsequent flowers are pretty reliable. And the whole point is to get lots of flowers to attract pollinators...without spending a fortune. Check!

Speaking of pollinators...

Mr. T cleaned and cultivated the Pollinator Garden, which starts its second full year in the Orchard. The pineapple lilies we purchased at the Daylily farm in Garner last year have all survived this past Winter (how, I will never know!) and are sending up reddish-purple leaves. I set out tiny transplants of zinnias and marigolds (started from purchased seeds), plus some Root-tone-dipped cuttings of the Moonlight mums and Shasta daisies, which are thriving elsewhere on our property. I also planted a few sunflower seeds, but I think the crows were observing me from their high perch on the transmission line tower...and will probably make a meal out of my efforts before I can say "shoo!"

So what else is on this month's checklist? Here goes:

Checklist for Zone 7 Gardens:

• Mulch container gardens to help retain moisture in the coming hot weather, using a top-dressing of compost
• Remove Spring annuals as the weather heats up
• Set out seedlings of warm-weather annuals; direct-sow seeds of annuals like nasturtiums. 
• Prune and fertilize spring-blooming vines such as clematis and wisteria after they bloom
• Fertilize and prune spring-blooming shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons after they bloom
• As vegetable plants start to flower, begin regular feeding with diluted fish emulsion
• To direct growth of new canes, pinch tips off of blackberries and young grapevines
• Keep blueberry bushes well-weeded and well-watered as their fruit ripens; wait until after the harvest to prune and fertilize
• Weed strawberry beds and add a mulch of compost topped with a layer of straw
• Prune indeterminate tomatoes by removing suckers and topping off the main vine as it reaches the height of its cage and/or stake; try rooting a couple of the hardy suckers to have more plants.
• Sow seeds of heat-loving vegetables (squash, pumpkins, melons) directly into the ground
• Continue to feed roses monthly and treat with a 3-in-1 systemic per label instructions; deadhead as they finish their first round of blooming
• Prune once-blooming roses after they've flowered this month
• Check the undersides of leaves of warm season veggie plants like squash, tomatoes, cukes, and melons for the eggs of pests such as the potato beetle, squash bugs, etc. Squish ALL eggs...or if that doesn't sound like fun, remove the egg-infested leaf and put it in a container (I use a 3-lb coffee canister) half-filled with soapy water; ditto with any adult pests you see. Don't just leave the eggs! The goal is to keep the next generation of pests from hatching. The more pests, the less produce. Simple math.

June is a busy month in the Way Back gardens, as we transition from one season to another. Happy hoeing!