Dog Dayz of August

It’s the first Monday in August 2020...must be time for a garden update! 

First of all, allow me to state the obvious: it is hot. And humid. When I clocked my morning walk today at 7:30, it was already 72° and 94% humidity. The forecast has a chance of rain today, but I’m not holding my breath...been there, waited in vain for that. You can probably tell how hazy that picture is. Hot and hazy.

Anyway...

It’s a good time to take stock of how this year is going in our gardens. One thing is certain, spending copious amounts of time in one’s gardens is a great pandemic survival technique! So, I will count “daily gardening” as a plus for this year so far.

We gathered an amazing amount of blackberries from the four 2-year old plants that are located in what we call “the fence garden.” It’s an area along the backyard wooden fence that runs north to south, which we have tried to protect from the dogs by adding a parallel wire fence, allowing for about three feet by thirty feet of fruit and flowers. Next year we hope to add some blueberries to the mix. The blackberries have finished for the year, so we will be cutting off the canes to prep for new growth for next year’s berries.

The year-old Rose garden is better than we’d initially thought, owing to our fear of losing so many new plants to the drought last Summer through Fall...when the poor babies had little to no established root systems. We did lose a few, but we’ve added six more from an auction of Alba’s roses (she the former president of the Gwinnett Rose Society who passed away late last year and who asked that her roses be auctioned for funds for the GGRS). Every single one of them seems to be thriving! And although the garden itself is starting to look weedy because it has been entirely too hot to work in it lately, it continues to give us bountiful blooms for our dinner table display. 

Also in the plus column was the decision to sow so many flowers in and around the kitchen gardens. The zinnias, marigolds, and sunflowers have been attractive assets, both in color and in being pollinator magnets. From mid-morning to early evening, we enjoy the activity of a record number of bees, butterflies, and birds. And we pack the vases of roses with many more colorful blooms!

In thinking about the Kitchen gardens, I think if I had to pick a veg winner this year, it would have to be our beans. We have picked enough to eat and to freeze...and given several “messes” to neighbors. I staggered planting several varieties, starting as early as March, and I pick them on a near-daily basis in order to keep the vines productive. 

However, a remarkably cold and wet April delayed planting of almost everything else, meaning all crops are behind schedule as far as production is concerned. And then Mother Nature turned up the heat and turned off the taps in July, meaning more stress on the already-stressed tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and corn. More stress=less...and smaller...produce. Sigh.

Still we continue to enjoy our little slice of Heaven on Earth here in Georgia...hot and humid as it may be. I am spending some time, researching plants to create a Dye Garden, hoping to make a match between two of my favorite activities: gardening and knitting. Speaking of knitting...here’s a picture of a recently-completed cotton shawl that was done for a Ravelry Mystery Knitalong (MKAL) called “Dog Dayz.” Timely, yes?

Anyway...again...

I’ve identified the area of the yard that will be converted from lawn to flowers, and I’ve started purchasing seeds to start the plants for Fall. I’ve also designated my old crockpot for a dye-pot, and I’m researching how to create dyes from the plants I grow as well as how to dye different yarn fibers. More on that at another time...

Between now and then, though, we came up with a rather unique way to both kill the grass in that area AND beat the heat of August: a play pool on any old rug! Missy M ordered it to be delivered here in time for her week-long staycation this week; Mr. T aired it up with the air compressor; and we filled it and hopped in yesterday! Ahhhh...

Long time...No See

Hello again! It’s been far too long since my last post. And in the intervening years (has it truly been 4 years?!?), we moved from North Carolina to Georgia...so, all new gardens to talk about. I will take the next few posts to catch you up, but for now... I just wanted to jump back in to my blogging journey at my current spot. It’s the first of June, 2020, so that means posting my “first of the month” photo. And here it is:

First of the Month Photo: June 2020

Well, that looks very different from the title photo, doesn’t it? Yes, when we retired, we downsized from 2500 square feet of row gardens with a few raised beds to about 500 square feet of raised beds (unimaginatively called the Raised Bed Garden or RBG) and containers (located mostly in the Garden Pen). You might notice a different pup, too. That’s Logan, my pointer mix garden guard guy...we adopted him in 2017 after we moved to our smaller abode in Loganville (called Casa 303), where we helped our hearts heal after having to say an unexpected goodbye to Abbie (who developed cancer of the spleen).

Logan is one of four current members of Our Drool Gang, the others being Winston (you remember him...Aussie mix); Pepper (another Georgia adoptee...supposed to have been part black lab; turned out to be mixed with either Great Dane or Appaloosa); and Rowan (the family basset hound...you know we have to have one, right? He is technically Missy M’s dog, but he has lived with us since he arrived...when he bonded with then-puppy Pepper.) All of that is to say, if we want to grow anything here, it must be protected by a fence or barrier of some sort. Sigh. We do what we must, right? At least we do not have a deer problem!

As we near the 3rd anniversary of closing on this property, I’m happy to report we have made great strides in putting down roots and making this our own. We started with excellent bones, including mature landscape with trees (including a gorgeous magnolia), flowering shrubs (like the gardenias ), and fencing around the rear and sides, as well as well-established bermudagrass lawn, front and back.

The first thing we added was the garden shed...the exact model as we built in HPNC...but we paid a bit extra to have this one built onsite for us.

Then, Mr. T built the U-shaped, hip-high raised beds...and we promptly enclosed the RBG with a gate. After one season, we knew we needed more growing area that could be a bit more adaptable to changing needs...and the (enclosed) Garden Pen was born. This year, he added a newer version of a feature of the Wayback Garden in HPNC that we missed (visible in the title photo): the tuteur!

Additionally we have planted our roses in our side yard, visible from our Coffee Room just off the kitchen. And we have recently tested the waters to see if any can survive the Backyard Dogs by adding 4 container specimens we bought at a recent estate sale of the former Prez of our local Rose Society. Mr. T took inventory last week of the survivors after the first winter: 33 bushes. Half of the number we had in High Point, but that’s ok...especially when it comes time to do the monthly rose care chores. One of the 6 successful transplants from the HPNC Rose Garden includes Don Juan, in full bloom on a trellis as I write this.

Don Juan

And you know we have our share of irises and day lilies...many brought as transplants when we moved. This is the first year to bloom in their new home for several...and we are doing our best to chart their new locations around the property.

Forever Redeemed 

Elvis’s Cape 

Strawberry Shortcake

So that brings us up to date...sort of. At least it gives us a place to begin...again.

Stay tuned!

Garden Party

As I said on a recent Facebook post, you leave for 10 days and your garden will have a party without you. Hoo-boy, howdy...no truer words!

See what you can see in this picture, taken on the morning after our return home.




It's a jungle out there!

Looking from the Box Garden (raised beds) back toward the southwest, you can see how some of the tomatoes have outgrown their cages...and almost over-topping their stakes.  The really tall ones you are looking at about center of the shot are German Johnsons, an Open-pollinated (AKA: "Heirloom") variety that is particularly happy here this year. In the right foreground, you are seeing the Fordhook Lima beans, growing up nicely in the box garden. Between the limas and the tomatoes, you can see the okra on the rise in the black fabric-covered row. And, off to the left, between the tomatoes and the fence and shed, you can see the daylilies in bloom.

Here are some of our daylilies, currently in bloom:

Elvis' Cape (and Abbie near Enon)

Alabama Jubilee

Joe Marinello

Persian Peach

Purple Pinwheel

Red Ribbons

No, I don't necessarily remember all of their names. I do need to look them up on occasion. Especially since we missed most of their blooms last year due to our extended stay in KY. Ah well, it's good to get reacquainted, don't you think?

Daylilies really bring the pollinators (bees and other beneficials) into the Way Back, which is good because most members of the cucurbit family are in bloom: the cucumbers (on a lattice-work trellis*), the yellow crookneck squash, the zucchini, and the watermelons (Sugar Baby and Crimson Sweet). The pumpkins and the muskmelons (which we persist in calling cantaloupes...:-) are not yet blooming...but that shouldn't be too much longer at the rate they are growing.

Crookneck Squash

 

 

Crimson Sweet Watermelon

Straight Eight Cucumbers on trellis

Now, all is not a bed of roses around the Kitchen Garden, sad to say. While we were away, the squash bugs came out to play...and lay eggs. Yuck. While I had kept them at bay for the early days of the vulnerable plants with row covers, when the cucurbits started to flower I had to remove the covers to give access to the pollinators, so they could do their part in giving us a good harvest. Upon my return, I was doing my due diligence in pest management when I noticed a few leaves that looked like this picture:



Where's my water bucket?

If you follow that link on squash bugs to the Organic Gardening site, you will learn that "they" recommend squashing the squash bugs on the leaf. My method is to cut the leaf off and dunk it in a pail of water. You see, I have a habit of tasting my harvest, straight off the vine...and I really don't want to think about having bug-egg guts on my gloves...or worse yet, on my fingers and under my nails.  Personal preference.

Speaking of tasting...

Sun Gold tomatoes

My tomatoes are beginning to ripen, and I just couldn't help myself. I popped one of these luscious Sun Golds from the bottom grouping in my mouth just after taking this picture. Can you blame me? Oh, how sweet it is! JA, my Master Gardener friend and mentor, was the first to sing the praises of this wonderful tomato. And, then I learned that it had won two out of three of the top honors in the Greensboro Tomato Festival last year. Promise: this one will be on my "must grow" list from now on!

Yes, the daylilies and the Kitchen Garden have been particularly productive while we were away, as has the Berry Patch. I was so excited to get a cup of blackberries and nearly 2 cups of blueberries.  My recipe for blueberry pie calls for 4 cups...and if I can stop eating the ones I've harvested, I hope to have enough to start baking this weekend.

If only I can stop eating the ones I've already harvested...

Blueberries!

Happy hoeing!

rain...rain...rain...rain...rain

Here comes the umpteenth rain shower of the week. Nice gentle rain...but rain, nonetheless. We've poured out the rain gauges twice in two days, and with the addition of the amount from earlier this week, we have captured over 2". For the past 24 hours, we have been northwest of the path of the first named tropical storm of the season, Andrea. Now we (the Big Blue Dot in the picture below) are due West of the storm (the whirling red symbol, below), and we are getting soaked. Could be a lot worse...we could be getting the nasty storms (the red boxes below), but thankfully we have been spared that misery.

So, I can't actually do any work in the Way Back, but I certainly can slip outside during a lull in the showers with my camera for some photos to share. A little rain cleanses the dust, dirt, and debris of daily life in a garden...more rain gives everything a "green and growing" look...still more rain, and the blooms on the flowers begin showing signs of being bruised and beaten. Ah well, we will ALL be grateful for this rainfall when the next hot, dry spell comes upon us.

Enjoy the pretty pictures:

First Zucchini

Green Goliath tomatoes

Always and Forever rose
(Planted in 2013)

Edith Ann Daylily

Spanish Lavender

Chipmunk in the leaf bin

See you again when the sun shines!

Wrap Up for April; To Do's for Zone 7 Garden in May

Here's the wrap up on the Way Back Garden from April (look below for the May activities...:):

View of Kitchen Garden with new corner fences:
Lettuces, spinach, broccoli, and cabbage in foreground;
Early corn under cover in back. Taken 4/28/12

Things have been rolling right along, with lots of progress in all the gardens.  I eagerly tackled the planting checklist for the Kitchen Garden, following the average last frost date for our area (typically quoted as being April 15). Since we had experienced a later than usual frost, I had held off on getting many of the transplants and seeds in the ground (although I still had to make a mad dash 4/22/12 to cover some tender tomatoes and boxwood basil (in the photo, right) when I heard the weather forecast).

I'm happy to report that I got eight tomato transplants in, along with seven pepper plants. In the tomato row, I planted a German Johnson, a Marglobe, a Bush Goliath, two Early Girls, a Lemon Boy, a Bonnie Select, and a Rutgers. In the pepper row, I planted four sweet green bell peppers, a yellow bell, an early bell (which matures to red), and a Cubanelle. I still have seedlings of Better Boys, Jet Stars, Romas, and Juliets under grow lamps, along with Fish Peppers. These will all be ready to go into the garden in a couple of weeks, about the same time I plant the next four rows of corn.

I also got seeds planted for pole beans, bush beans, okra, yellow and zucchini squash, cantaloupes, watermelons, and cucumbers. Following a re-read of Louise Riotte's Carrots Love Tomatoes: The Secrets of Companion Planting (a new copy of which I downloaded to my iPad's Nook ap...:), I've interplanted herbs and flowers, such as basil and marigolds in the tomato row and nasturtiums with the squash...attempting to add some natural pest control. (I already have sage and onions planted with the cabbages and the broccoli.)

The blueberries and the blackberries have already flowered and are fruiting up nicely in the Berry Patch.  We knew if we wanted to have any fruit this year, we'd better get the bird nets up, so we did.  We also are seeing lots of strawberries, even though we probably should have removed all the flowers this year (per usual instructions for a new bed) to let them take root...as this is a new bed from the runners of the old bed (formerly in the space now occupied by the Rose Garden)...but I ask you, who can remove the pretty flowers?  Not I.

And I'm proud to report Mr. T put the last three trees in the Orchard, and got the last order of the English roses planted in the Rose Garden. We have three more hybrid teas on order, and that should do it for planting for this year...except for the perennials and annuals for accents, of course. There is ALWAYS an "except for...," isn't there?

So, here's what's on our 'To Do' List for May*:

Kitchen Garden:

·         May 1^st is the beginning of the recommended planting time for bush lima beans (through July 1^st), okra (through May 31^st), and both sweet and hot peppers (through May 31^st ).  May 15^th marks the date to begin planting sweet potatoes (through June 15^th).  I've got a good start on this one.

·         Continue planting pole beans (through July 1^st), cantaloupe/muskmelons (through June 1^st), sweet corn (through June 1^st), cucumbers (through May 15^th), pumpkins (through June 15^th), summer and winter squash (through May 15^th), tomato plants (through July 15^th), and watermelons (through June 1^st).

·         When setting out tomato plants, set up stakes or cages so you won’t disturb the roots later.  Be sure to remove any suckers to encourage the plant’s energy be used for larger fruit rather than side shoots. (I always attempt to root the suckers; many times I'm lucky and get a freebie tomato!)

·         When planting beans (pole and/or bush) and corn, make successive plantings every two weeks to ensure a longer harvest.

·         Plant basil and dill directly in your garden this month.

Orchard and Berry Patch:

·         Fertilize blueberries, blackberries, and grapes this month.  Read more about it in the NC Cooperative Extension publication Grapes and Berries for the Garden.

Rose Garden (and perennials and annuals):

·         To prevent black spot on roses, continue a weekly fungicidal spray regimen, if you don't use the 6-week systemic variety.   The latest research says NOT to remove black spot infected leaves UNTIL you don't see anymore green...thereby giving your rose bush all the help it needs in continuing to produce chlorophyll.

·         Prepare beds for summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds, and zinnias; a location with 6 or more hours of sun each day is ideal.

• Additionally, on our list is to finish the Rose Garden Patio I wrote about in an earlier post.  We are installing three lattices that will support beautiful red mandevillas.   

Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees in the Front and Back yard gardens:

·         It’s time to plant summer-flowering bulbs, especially caladiums and gladioli. I already have some glads coming up that seem to have made it through the mild winter we had.  We shall see...

Our rhodo in full bloom in April.
Time to fertilize and prune in May.

·         Prune and fertilize Spring-flowering shrubs such as azalea and rhododendron (photo, right) after they have bloomed.

·         Remove broadleaf weeds from all landscape planting areas. If left to grow, they will rob water and nutrients from your plants.

Lawns and Grasses

·         According to the Home Lawn Calendar for May from the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education at NC State, mow tall fescue lawns at 3 to 3 ½”, and at least once each week.  This article also encourages grasscycling, which is the practice of leaving grass clippings on the lawn.  “Grass clippings decompose quickly and can provide up to 25 percent of the lawn's fertilizer needs.”  We actually use the clippings from the Way Back (around the Orchard and the Berry Patch) to "feed" the compost piles.  Good as gold!

·         Lawns need 1 to 1 ¼ inches of water per week.

Other             

• Take some time to enjoy the butterflies, honeybees, and hummingbirds!  Remember to use low toxicity pesticides to protect these beautiful and beneficial creatures.  And, even though Neem Oil is marketed as an Organic spray, it is still toxic to bees...so don't spray when in the morning when bees are most active.
• Move houseplants out-of-doors when the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees.  
• After incorporating finished compost into your garden, begin a new compost pile. Or, make this the year that you start composting.  Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the subject from the NC Cooperative Extension publication:  Composting: A Guide to Managing Organic Yard Wastes.

Remember, May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Awareness Month.  Before you dash outside to your May gardening activities, put on a hat, sunglasses, and adequate sunscreen protection.

Happy hoeing!


==================================
* This May To Do List is updated and revised from an article I had published on GoGreenTriad.com in 2011.

May Arrives!

Another basket of leaf lettuce...and an onion

The month of May has arrived, with welcome sunshine and much calmer weather.  I don't know about you and your garden (wherever that may be...:), but we are happy for the respite from the severe thunderstorms and tornadoes of April.

So, how is our garden doing these days?  I've neglected this blog for a variety of reasons, one of which is that I've spent more hours in the sun than I have at the keyboard.  And, that's as it should be...this time of the year.  From April 15th (often quoted as the Average Last Frost Date for this area, although there is data to show that it's as early as April 3rd for High Point) onward, there is something going into the ground almost daily.

Speaking of the Last Frost Date, I broke the rules and put five tomato plants in before April 15th. Three of them succumbed to the blistering hot temps and high winds we had the day after I put them in the ground, but two of them survived...and are thriving! Here's hoping for some Better Boy tomatoes by July 4th!
And with the more-than-an-inch-every-week rains we have been experiencing, the lettuce (photo, above), onions, carrots, beets, and peas are leaping out of the ground.  As are a wide variety of weeds.  Sigh.  I wish I could say the same for the spinach, which is sadly stunted.  Still, I mustn't complain...for, this time last year, we had no lettuce, peas, or spinach.  The bunnies had eaten them all.  The onions shriveled up and died from a dry spell.  And, the carrots never even made it up through the hard-packed Piedmont clay soil.  So, all-in-all, our 2011 Spring Garden is a winner already!

Why no bunnies this year? you ask.  Well, remember...we put a temporary fence across the back property line so that the dogs can now go into the Way Back garden without fear of their wandering away.  I believe that the bunnies don't care for the scent of the hounds...or, else, it's because I've planted onions everywhere this year, and the bunnies don't like that scent.  Whatever.  All I know is that we are harvesting lettuce in '11, thank goodness.

The potatoes plants are rising higher and higher, in spite of being covered with 5 bags of leaves.  I think we will have to mound some dirt on them to keep them from getting too much light.  And, I may have to wait until Fall for cabbage; but I'm not pulling up the plants just yet.  We'll see.



Strawberry bed...loaded with blooms...
looking toward the lettuce and onions

Oh, and I really should mention our strawberries.  I created a small bed (photo, left) and put in several plants last year, which did not flower due to how late I got them in and how hot and dry the Spring weather was in general in 2010.  So, just like it says in all my garden books, all the energy went to developing runners (or "daughter plants").  After I enlarged the bed last Fall, by incorporating the space formerly occupied by the sweet potatoes,  I transplanted the daughters.  They over-wintered under straw and row covers...and apparently settled in rather well.  Additionally, I allowed the 7-Top turnip greens, in the rows adjacent to the strawberry bed, to continue to grow from last Fall's crop through the Winter...right on into Spring.  They had loads of beautiful yellow flowers, which attracted lots of bees and other pollinators...who went right to work on the strawberry flowers as soon as they appeared last month.

Well, we have loads of berries that should begin to ripen this weekend!  What a treat that will be, to go out to the garden and pick strawberries for our morning cereal bowls.  I'm already picking so much lettuce every-other-day that I've threatened to start serving salads for breakfast (!).  Berries would be better, for sure.

Speaking of berries...the 3 new blueberry bushes we got at the 4-H sale are loaded with berries, too.  And, the 2 thornless blackberry bushes are flowering and showing signs of putting on berries.  The "naturalized" blackberries (the ones with the wicked thorns...:) have tiny flowers, too, so we shall see which have the tastiest fruit soon.

I noticed today that the pole beans I planted recently are beginning to pop up, as is the corn.  I had covered the corn with row covers to protect the tender shoots from the crows who frequent the garden, but the recent high winds just whipped the covers right off.



Mardi Gras Rose bud -
Way Back Garden, April - 2011

I did get some herb transplants in the bed that runs along the side of the center path:  sage, dill, parsley, basil, oregano, and thyme.  I planted some nasturtiums there, too, after I nicked the seed-pods with a nail file (called "scarification").   Then, I planted some zinnias and marigolds from seed we collected from last year's crop.  I started a new bed next to the picket fence with some gladioli corms and more zinnia and marigold seeds. We currently have roses blooming (photo, right), along with iris; soon, we will have daylilies abloom.  I think herbs and flowers are every bit as important to our garden as the fruits and vegetables.

Coming up this week...the Annual Master Gardener Passalong Plant Sale at the Guilford County Extension Center on May 5-6. I've been tending several "babies" that I started in the Propagation Workshop we had in March.  I've also been working on a Culinary Herbs display for the Festival area. 

Going in the ground next:  the rest of the tomatoes, the peppers, the squash (yellow, zucchini, and patty pan), the cantaloupes (which are really muskmelons...:), the watermelons (3 kinds!), and the eggplants.  All of these are currently growing in the controlled environment known as the plasticized screen porch.  Then, I'll purchase some sweet potato slips, and lastly I'll plant some okra seeds and some purple hull (AKA: Southern) peas.  And, then it should be time for the pumpkins to be planted.  It's so exciting!

OK, that's the Garden Report for the first week in May.  If you'd like to see what you should do in your Piedmont garden this month, be sure to check out my article on GoGreen.com:  http://gogreentriad.news-record.com/content/2011/04/29/article/mastering_the_possibilities_of_may.  I'm sure it will have a short shelf-life, so look quickly!

Happy Hoeing!