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Tuesday, July 31, 2018

July 31, 2018 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog


Hi Gardeners
Last week I thought the drought might be broken.  I was wrong. This is the last day of July and in the entire month of July we had 1 inch of rain here.  The average rainfall amount for our area in July is about 3 inches, so we have had about a third of what we should get. We may get some rain later today but I’m not counting on it.  The weather service has classified my area as in moderate drought, but if we don’t get rain by Thursday when they post the update we may move into severe drought. 

I’m not worried about brown grass and I can water most of my flower beds.  I am beginning to worry about the larger trees and shrubs.  If the dryness continues we will lose a lot of them, especially if winter is harsh this year. Drought damage often shows up in the following year or two and drought stressed trees and shrubs have higher rates of winter kill.
The drought is also impacting the wildlife around here.  There are deer tracks all around my farm pond. It’s drying up, but still has water unlike the creek that runs through the fields across the road.  That’s now just mud. I’ve been seeing a lot of deer in the daytime, in farm fields already damaged by drought. They may be moving around for water or for lusher places to feed. The birds are disappearing, my feeders have not been busy.  I’m seeing fewer butterflies and bees than normal.
What’s a shame is that when some areas of Michigan got rain it was around the heavily populated areas like Detroit, where a sea of concrete carried it into the storm drains.  Such a waste.  A few areas of Michigan got heavy downpours from time to time and those places might be little spots of green among the brown.
In my garden I noticed many things are shorter than usual.  My oriental lilies were blooming at 3 feet tall, when they normally get to six feet. The tithonia is only 3 feet tall, last year it was 6 feet. I water but unless one has drip irrigation or a good overhead irrigation system it’s not the same as good, consistent rain. Next year I just may have to put in a drip system.
My corn is making ears, but it too is smaller than normal.  We are getting more tomatoes and peppers now, I can water them.  The pumpkins are way out at the edge of our main yard, out of hose reach and they are really suffering.  My husband has been ferrying buckets of water to them, but they still look poorly.
I guess it could be worse – our area could be on fire as well as dry like many areas to the west and in other countries.  We have a red flag warning here and I do think about fire as we have huge brush piles from the trees that were cut down last spring.  Some are by the road, where a tossed cigarette could ignite them but there’s not much I can do about it but be watchful.  My heart goes out to any of you whose property and homes have been destroyed by fire.  Please, all my readers, think about what you would do if fire broke out in your area and make a plan for what actions you would take to fight it or escape.
Another thing I was wrong about was the Japanese beetles.  They are late this year, but unfortunately, they finally showed up.  My grape vines are getting hit but in other areas in the yard it’s not as bad as last year.  Maybe drought discourages them too.

My tropical hibiscus are happy though, all are blooming except the Hawaiian one.  My amaryllis has 2 huge blooms and is making more. The water hyacinth has filled up its tiny pond and is blooming like crazy. The buttered popcorn plant likes the hot dry weather too and is getting tall and is full of flowers. The dahlias, cleome, cosmos and zinnias are shorter than usual but blooming.  My summer bulbs don’t seem happy though, the cannas have some blooms and the glads have buds but the coral drops, crocosemia, and peacock orchids have yet to bloom.
The scents of summer
Yellow mirabilis
As I sat down near my butterfly bed to do some weeding I noticed a delicious smell. It was the yellow four o’ clocks (Mirabilis jalapa). The smell of yellow four o’ clocks in my garden are pure delight, a deep lemony jasmine scent I wish I could capture in a bottle.  The other colors of four o’ clocks are more subtle but still pleasant.
I have a new type of four o’ clock this year too, called fairy trumpets (Mirabilis longiflora).  The blooms have a very long “trumpet” neck.  They are white with a rose center, a nocturnal bloomer, and they also have a very pleasant scent.  In that bed I also have night phlox or candy phlox, (Zaluzianskya capensis), which also has a sweet scent.  The flowers look like little white pinwheels with a deep red reverse side.  In the daytime neither of these are very noticeable but after dark they shine.
Night phlox

I was thinking I’d like to have a perfume with the scent of yellow four o’ clocks so I could enjoy it all year round.  So, I checked and sure enough several expensive perfumes are made with Mirabilis (four o’ clock) scent.  They include ‘Lucia Starlight’, Armani ‘Code Luna’, and ‘Belle de Nuit’.  No clue as to what type or color of Mirabilis is used.  It seems though, that several perfumes include the scent.  (I probably can’t afford them though.)
Other scents I adore in summer are the scents of Nicotiana sylvestris ‘Only the Lonely’, Casa Blanca lilies, moonflowers (Ipomoea alba), heliotrope, lavender, old damask roses, laurentia, summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), honeysuckle and peaches.  (Peaches are a fruit, but they do smell lovely.)
 Other summer scents include that of datura, brugmansia, agastache, some purple and white petunias, some snapdragons, garden phlox, mignonette, pinks, sweet alyssum, and melons. If you didn’t notice your favorite flower scent here it may be that they don’t bloom in summer. Spring and fall have their own suites of intoxicating scents.
If you live in other parts of the country you may be smelling gardenias, camellia, jasmine, orange blossoms, tuberose, plumeria, ylang ylang, freesia, banana shrub (Michelia figo), and probably many others I do not know about. But I do like the scent of many of these warm climate flowers.
Mirabilis longiflora
Even the foliage of many plants smells nicely.  I like the smell of crushed peppermint, anise hyssop, geranium (scented and common), beebalm (monardo), lemon verbena, clary sage, lemon grass, chamomile, rosemary, sweet bay, eucalyptus, and lavender. 
Houseplants can smell nicely in summer too.  Think hoya, jasmines, sanseveria, Michelia champaca (Joy perfume), Brunfelsia gigantea, (Lady of the Night), Clerodendron philippinum,( Cashmere Bouguet), Aglaia odorata (Chinese perfume plant), Telosma cordata ( Chinese violet), Hedychium hybrids ( Ginger lilies), Bouvardia hybrids, and Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Night blooming cereus).
Scent is rather subjective as to whether you like it.  For example, I dislike the smell of basil, but some people like it. I like the smell of patchouli, but some people hate it. Scent is strongly tied to memories for us.  If you only smelled lilies and carnations at funerals, you may dislike the smell of them because you associate it with death and mourning.  But you may smell honeysuckle with a smile, remembering hot afternoons as a kid when you sucked the nectar from the blossoms. Patchouli reminds me of hazy summer nights with another favorite herb when I was younger.
I like the smell of lavender, but I had a boss once who hated it.  No lavender scented products in his office. Lavender is usually associated with “cleanness” and is often used in soaps and cleaning products.  Maybe he had his mouth washed out with it too many times. 
There is a new study out that found lavender scent calms horses. It can be used when horses are being put into trailers or getting a farrier visit or any time they are under stress. Here’s a link; www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180728084141.htm   
Aromatherapy links certain scents with various effects on humans and other animals. Other than lavender, scents of summer such as geranium, chamomile, rose, clary sage, ylang ylang, and fruity smells like sweet orange and grapefruit are also calming and relieve stress.  Maybe that’s why most of us are happier and less stressed in summer.
If you’d like to have a perfume made from your favorite summer scents you can try to make your own essential oils or use a technique where you press scented flowers into a fat of some kind and let them sit.  Or you can go online to one of the companies that custom make perfumes. I tried one for kicks- you chose from a rather limited selection of perfume character groups like sensual or elegant and so on and your 1.7-ounce bottle costs about $80.  Not for me. 
Or you can purchase a kit of essential oils with “fixers” and carrier oils for about the same price.  One kit I saw had essential oils like “firewood” and “fresh dirt” whatever those are, but no Mirabilis or lily.  Some of the so-called scents like “amber” or “white musk” are also made up names for certain artificial scents.  It might be fun to experiment, but I’d rather spend the money on scented plants.
I guess I will be content with smelling summer in the garden when it’s summer and choose from my collection of scented wax melts to make it smell like summer inside in winter.

Dividing iris
August is a good month to divide your bearded iris.  As iris grow they make huge clumps of plants and as they get crowded your blooms will get less.  Iris should be divided every 3-5 years to improve blooming and keep the spot from getting too crowded. You may also want to divide iris to give some to friends or make another garden bed.  If you need to move iris to another location in the garden August is also a good time to do it. It’s pretty easy to divide iris and any gardener should feel competent to do it.  You’ll need a good sharp knife to help divide rhizomes, some scissors to cut the iris leaves and something to put your divided rhizomes in.  You may also want some common household bleach for disinfesting rhizomes.
Start by deciding what you will do with the divided plants.  If you need to prepare a new site, you should get that done.  Iris will “hold” outside of the soil for a few weeks but it’s best to get them planted as quickly as possible.  Next dig the whole clump of iris up.  Irises have shallow roots, and this is easy to do.  If the clumps are packed together in a bed you may cut through some with your spade as you lift them, but you will generally have plenty of good rhizomes left.
Put the clump of iris on a tarp, a board, or on cement and gently wash all the soil off the rhizomes with a garden hose so you can see what you have.  Cut the iris leaves back to about 3-4 inches; it doesn’t matter if they are cut on a slant or straight across.  Rhizomes are actually underground stems and you will see joints or nodes along the rhizome with leaves (or fans in iris terms), popping up along each node. Rhizomes are tan, knotty looking and can branch off in unusual ways.  There should be roots on the bottom of younger rhizomes.


After a rhizome section blooms it will never bloom again.  To determine which rhizomes sections are old you can look for the dead flower stem.  Old rhizomes may also be devoid of roots and have tiny holes on the underside where the roots fell off.  In a clump, old rhizomes are generally in the center. 
Examine the clump you lifted carefully.  You’ll want to divide iris between joints, leaving each section with one or two sets of leaves and a healthy section of rhizome consisting of 2 or more joints.  You can start new plants from a single node or section, but they will be smaller and may not bloom for 2 years.  Sometimes you can snap the joints apart with your fingers but cutting is more precise.
If the old rhizomes have new sections of rhizomes with no leaves or very small leaves on them you can save the old rhizome and replant it with the young daughter plants. It will provide food for them until they grow more leaves.  Otherwise discard old rhizomes that have bloomed. 
Examine the rhizomes you are keeping looking for mushy areas or large holes in the top side of the rhizome.  Large holes may indicate iris borers and there may be a large pink worm inside the hole.  Those pieces should be discarded in the trash, not the compost pile.  Soft, mushy areas indicate bacterial rot and should also be discarded.
Next add one cup of common household bleach, without scent added, to a gallon of water and soak the good rhizomes for 10 minutes.  Remove and allow them to dry in a sunny place for a few hours.  This removes disease organisms.   You can re-use the bleach solution for several batches on the same day. If you know the name or color of the iris you are dividing, you can write that on the leaves of the divided pieces with a marker or add a label held on with a rubber band to the piece.
Replant the divided sections of rhizome shallowly, root side down, leaves up, with the surface of the rhizome just under the soil.  Plant 1 foot apart.   Iris bloom best in full sun positions.  If the weather is dry water the replanted rhizomes once a week.  Larger rhizomes sections will probably bloom in the spring.  Smaller sections may take two years to bloom. 
If you buy iris to plant, try to get them into the ground by mid-September.  This will make it more likely that they will grow well for you and bloom the first spring.

When to harvest hints for the vegetable garden
New gardeners and old gardeners growing something for the first time often wonder when the food crop they are growing is ready to harvest.  After all, when you go through the labor and time to produce your own food you want to pick it when it’s at its absolute best taste and nutrition.  While experience will eventually help you decide when to harvest here are some tips to help you decide if some food crops are ready to eat.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the most frequently grown plant in food gardens.  Tomatoes help you determine when they are ready to pick by changing color.  Not all tomatoes turn red however, some turn orange, pink, black, yellow, or a combinations of colors. Some even stay green, although there is generally a difference in the shade of green when ripe.  Know what variety you planted!  Pick those tomatoes when they are the right color and slightly soft.   If a tomato falls off before it’s completely ripe or a heavy frost is on the way don’t worry.  Tomatoes will continue to ripen off the vine, even though the taste is better if they are left to ripen in the sun.  Don’t let tomatoes get too ripe, when they get really soft and may even split or leak fluids.
Pick all the ripe tomatoes off a plant, even if you can’t use them.  Picking them keeps the plant producing and lessens the chance of disease from rotting fruits. Pick off those that have spots, cracks, rotted areas and so on.  Compost unwanted fruits or give them to animals like chickens or if you just have too many nice tomatoes and don’t want to can or freeze them donate them to a neighbor, senior center or soup kitchen.
Once you get them in the house don’t refrigerate tomatoes- this ruins the taste and actually makes them spoil faster.  Store them unwashed- wash them right before use.  Store tomatoes that need to ripen a bit in a bright location but out of direct sun.  Store ripe tomatoes in a darker location.
Peppers
Peppers vary tremendously in size, shape and color.  Most can be eaten at almost any stage.  For sweet bell peppers you can harvest them when they are large, but still green or let them ripen to red, yellow or orange.  Hot peppers will be at their hottest at maturity.  Read the variety description to know what the “ripe” color is.  As with most garden plants, keep the peppers picked to keep them producing.  Once you pick them store them in a cool, but not refrigerated place.  Wash just before use.  Peppers can be cut up and frozen, dried, pickled or canned to preserve them.
Eggplant
Eggplants are much the same as tomatoes and peppers- when they are mature they generally change color.  All eggplants are not purple when mature however, there are varieties that are orange, yellow, white and other colors.  Pick eggplants when the mature color is reached.  Like tomatoes eggplants should be stored at room temperature. 
Cucumbers
The aim in harvesting cucumbers is to pick them when they are young and small for the best flavor, thin skin and keeping qualities. Different varieties of cukes have different shapes when mature.  Some are long and slender, some short and plump. The long ones are better for fresh eating but any cuke can be eaten fresh at a young age. Even cucumbers designed to be pickles should be picked while they are still young and small.  Most cucumbers will be green at this correct eating stage although novelty cucumbers that are white or yellow when young exist.  When most cucumbers start turning yellow however, they are getting past the best eating and pickling stage. 
Pick all cucumbers off the vine before they turn completely yellow to keep the vines producing. You can store cucumbers refrigerated or unrefrigerated for several days.
Cabbage
Cabbage is ready to harvest when a tight firm head has formed.  You’ll want to harvest these heads before they split, which if left in the garden too long they will do.  If a split head is harvested immediately it is fine to eat, but after a few days a split head will spoil and be filled with bugs.  If you aren’t ready to harvest your cabbage and want to keep them in the garden a bit longer, give each plant a half turn to break some of the roots.  This can delay splitting for a few more days. 
To store cabbage, you can pull the whole plant and hang them upside down in a cool dark place.  This is how cabbage was stored through the winter in earlier times, but few people have the right conditions for this. Heads may sit for a week or two in a cool place without being washed or having the outer leaves stripped off. Or strip off some of the outer leaves and wrap the head tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator crisper or other cool place. 
Lettuce/greens
Greens should be picked when they are big enough to eat but before the plant starts sending up a tall, flowering stalk.  Once greens bolt or go to seed, they turn bitter.  This usually happens as the weather gets hot.  You can remove all or part of a lettuce plant (except heading types).  Wash greens and store refrigerated after they air dry.  Lettuce that looks wilted as you harvest it can be soaked in a bowl of cold water in the frig for an hour or so and it may revive and crisp up.  There’s no real way to store leafy greens for very long.
Green beans/ wax beans
For the best tasting, tender green beans pick the beans when the pods are small and the “bumps” inside barely noticeable.  Keep beans picked off the plant before they get too large and the pods begin turning yellow as this keeps the plants producing new beans. (Wax beans will be yellow.) Don’t wash until just before cooking.   Beans can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days before use.  Can or freeze them if they can’t be used in a few days.
Radishes, beets
Harvest these when they are still small.  As they get older they get woody or pithy.  Radishes can be round or long like carrots.  The color of beets and radishes doesn’t change much as they mature.  You’ll be pulling up the whole plant.  Wash the roots, trim the leaves back to about half and store refrigerated if you aren’t going to use them immediately.
Carrots
You can pull carrots when they are small, about the size of a pencil or let them get larger.  Some carrots will be a bit woody as they get larger, but most will still have good flavor. Carrots can even be heavily mulched and left in the ground to harvest in late fall and winter.  If carrots are going to be stored for any length of time, trim off most of the leaves and leave them unwashed until just before use. Store carrots in a cool, moist place.  A few can be wrapped in a moist paper towel and stored in the crisper of the refrigerator.
Squash/pumpkins
There are two types of squash, summer squash which includes zucchini and winter, which includes Hubbard, acorn and other types.  Summer squash are harvested when they are young, and the skin is still thin.  When they get large and mature they have a lot of seeds and are tough and not flavorful.  Some summer squash are green when young and change color as they mature.  But some like the patty pans are the same color when young or mature and this can be white or yellow or even other colors.  Summer squash types don’t store for long and should be stored in a cool place.
Winter squash are meant to mature before eating.  They usually start out green and can be a variety of colors when mature.  You want them to have a firm, thick skin.  Pumpkins are winter squash.  You’ll want them to be fully colored before you pick them as squash do not color up much more after picking.  Harvest all winter squash and pumpkins before a hard freeze or they will rot.  Some squash will taste fine if not quite mature, but the really immature ones should probably be put in the compost if you have to pick them early. Store your pumpkins and winter squash in a warm, (room temperature), dark place for long term storage.
Melons
Melons includes cantaloupe, honeydews, watermelon and some other varieties.  Melons are one of the harder things to judge when they are ready to harvest, and an unripe melon just doesn’t taste very good. Melons don’t continue to ripen after they are picked.  An overripe melon is equally awful.  As you grow melons year after year you will get adept at recognizing ripeness but until then count on a few mistakes.


Cantaloupe doesn’t develop the netting on the surface until late in development.  They may look green and smooth at an earlier stage.  Other melons may also change appearance as they mature. A few melons have been developed to change color when mature so they are easier to pick at the right time.  Study the descriptions of melon varieties so you know what to expect and mark the variety in the garden.  Garden experts get many questions about what type of melon is growing in another gardener’s garden each year as people try to figure out what the odd-looking fruits are.
Most melons when mature develop a yellow spot where the melon rests on the ground.  The tendril on the end opposite the stem should be dried up or absent.  Some melons will easily slide off the vine when mature but this isn’t a reliable test as some ripe melons will need to be pulled or cut off.  If a melon begins to crack its generally ripe- on the verge of over ripeness, although excessive rain may cause some unripe melons to crack too.  It’s ok to eat cracked melons if insects or animals haven’t beat you to it.
You can thump the melon, but it takes experience to recognize the hollow sound of a ripe melon.  Smelling muskmelon, cantaloupe and honeydew can be a good test; a ripe melon can be smelled without cutting it.  That’s the way chickens and other animals recognize ripe melons and extra interest in your melon patch means the melons are ripening.
Old-timers often use the plug test on watermelon.  When you think a watermelon looks ripe take a pocket knife and cut a small plug out of the melon and examine it.  Cut a bit off the end and taste it.  If the melon isn’t ripe you can put the plug back in and wait a few days.  The same plug won’t be a reliable indicator for a second test though.
Potatoes
Potatoes can be harvested starting about 2 weeks after they bloomed, for new potatoes.  You can dig down and harvest just a few baby potatoes, leaving the plant or dig up one plant in your patch. You can harvest any time the tubers are the size you like.  When the tops of potatoes have wilted and died, the crop is mature and can be dug, as the tubers will not grow any larger.  If the weather is dry and pests aren’t a problem, you can leave the potatoes for a while in the ground.  Harvest before a hard freeze or harvest as soon as mature if the soil tends to get soggy for long periods. If a hard freeze is predicated and your tops haven’t died yet the potatoes can still be harvested. 
Let potatoes that you intend to store for a while sit spread out in a warm, dark spot for a day or two to cure.  Then brush off the dirt and store in a cool, dark place.  Don’t wash until used.  Don’t refrigerate potatoes for storage- the starch will turn to sugar and give them an off taste.
Sweet Corn
Sweet corn is ready to harvest when the ears feel plump and the corn silk looks brown and dry.  You can peel a little husk back and poke your fingernail into a corn kernel.  If a clear fluid squirts out it’s not quite ripe.  If a milky fluid comes out it’s at the perfect stage.  If no fluid comes out it’s probably starting to get tough and is past the best eating stage.
Corn will hold on the stalk for a few days and ears will ripen over several days to 2 weeks in any patch of corn.  Try not to harvest corn until right before you are going to cook it for the best taste.  If the corn patch is producing more than you can eat each day give some away, can or freeze it.  Next year plant small patches of corn at two-week intervals so it won’t ripen all at once. 
To hold sweet corn for a few days leave it in the husk, keep it moist and refrigerated.  Corn loses flavor each day it is stored as you will realize the first time you have your own corn picked just before it’s cooked.
Onions
Like many crops onions are ready to eat at many stages.  For green onions pull the plants when the stems are the size of a pencil.  Let the rest mature until you like the size they are or need an onion.  Onions need to be kept from going to seed or the bulb will stop growing.  When the leaves get tall and start to thicken at the base bend them over.  This helps them put energy into bulb production and not flowering.
If onion tops have died down and dried the bulb isn’t going to get any bigger so they should be dug and stored.  If the weather is dry you can leave them in the ground for a while before harvesting if you need to.   After harvesting let them dry in the sun for a day or two, then remove the tops. Don’t wash them until just before use and leave the outer papery skin on.  Store onions in a dark, dry place above 40 degrees.  Some types of onions, usually the sweet types don’t store well whole.  Those are best chopped and frozen for storage.
Cosmos- light and lively summer charmer
No, we aren’t talking about the magazine or the vast universe but rather a delightful annual flower that can light up the summer garden.  Cosmos are unusual because the common name and scientific name are the same, although Cosmos is the genus name and there are several species.  Cosmos bipinnatus is a common garden species, but many cosmos species have been hybridized to make some garden varieties. Cosmos atrosanguineus, often sold in catalogs as chocolate cosmos or chocolate daisy is thought to be extinct in the wild.
Cosmos are native to Mexico, South America and the southern United States. It is thought that Spanish priests growing them in Mexican named them because of the orderly spacing of the petals – cosmos refers to “orderly universe” in Greek or Latin.  Most garden species are annuals, but some perennial species exist.  In many places around the world cosmos have naturalized or gone wild.  Cosmos will grow in poor, dry soil and are easy to grow.  They are excellent for children’s gardens, cottage style and informal beds and also attract butterflies and bees.  Cosmos are good cutting flowers too.
The Cosmos bipinnatus plant and related cultivars has fine, narrow leaves that occur in pairs along the stem, giving them a lacy or ferny look. Their flowers generally occur in pastel colors, rose, lavender and white. Cosmos sulphureus or the yellow cosmos has broader, lobed leaves that remind one of marigold leaves. The colors of this cosmos and its cultivars are hot colors, red, orange and yellow. Cosmos range from about 2 feet to 4 feet or so tall, depending on the variety and growing conditions. 
All cosmos flowers are daisy like, with a yellow center and colored petals surrounding the disk.  Some ornamental cosmos have the petals rolled into a quill or “shell” shape.  There are now cosmos flowers that are bi-color or streaked as well as double flowered.  Cosmos begin blooming in mid-summer, as the days begin to shorten and with a little deadheading will bloom until frost.  
Some varieties of cosmos are ‘Seashells’ – a mixture of pastel flowers with rolled or quilled petals, 'Candy Stripe'  which is white with red streaks, 'Day Dream' is white with a red center, 'Picotee' has white petals with red edges, ‘Antiquity’ comes in shades of dusky pinks and mauves, ‘Double Take’ is a lovely double flowered form white , with red or pink stripes, ‘Double Click’ has double flowers in soft pinks, ‘Bright Lights’ is a mixture of hot colors, ‘Sensation’ is a mix of pastel colors.  A cultivar of the chocolate cosmos, Cosmos atrosanguineus  is ‘Choca Mocha’ which is a deep chocolate color.
Cultivation of cosmos
You can sometimes find started plants in the spring but cosmos are very easy to grow from seed sown directly in the garden.  Simply sprinkle the seeds on bare moistened soil where you want them to grow after danger of frost has passed and lightly cover them with soil.  Plants grown from seed will often bloom at the same time as plants set out as transplants because cosmos don’t bloom until the days are getting shorter.  Thin seedlings to about a foot apart.

Cosmos will thrive in almost any soil and can tolerate some drought, although they appreciate some watering when it’s really dry.  They need full sun.  Moderate fertilization, such as a timed-release flower food mixed into the soil at planting, may increase the number and size of flowers but it may also cause the cosmos to “flop” which they are somewhat prone to anyway.  They are best mixed in among sturdier plants that help support them or planted in a dense group to help them support each other.  Cosmos have few insect pests or diseases and will generally flower reliably for you.
Deadheading- removing the flowers as they fade- keeps the cosmos plant blooming longer and encourages it to produce flowering side branches.  As frost approaches you may want to leave some flowers alone and collect the seeds that form.  Or you can let the seeds fall in the garden, which some seem to do anyway, and they will usually sprout when the weather warms.  Be watching the area for the tiny seedlings next spring and don’t pull them thinking they are weeds.
If you need a tough, easy flower to add late summer color to the garden try some cosmos.

Blueberry Jam
In many areas of the country blueberries are being harvested.  Here’s how to make blueberry jam.
This recipe will make about 7 half pint jars.  Sterilize the jars and lids before filling and let them sit in hot water until just before filling. 
Combine 9 cups of crushed blueberries with 6 cups of sugar in a large pot.  Do not add water! 
Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then turn up the heat slowly and bring to a full boil.  Cook and stir until the mixture is very thick. 

Pour the jam into hot jars to a ¼ inch from the rim.  Wipe the rim, put on the lids and tighten them.  Process jars for 5 minutes in a water bath canner.  Cool on a towel, make sure they have sealed, and label jars before storing.

Note:  A water bath canner is simply a large kettle with a rack in it for jars and a lid.   You fill it with water to 2 inches above the jars. Use warm water when adding hot jars.  Bring the water to a boil and then start counting your minutes for processing.

Six weeks of summer left, get out and enjoy!
Kim Willis
And So On….

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