Hi Gardeners
We got two rain events since I last wrote. One was almost an
inch, a very good rain and the other, early Monday morning was about a half
inch. We may get more tonight. Plants love
a good rain. You can just see them perk
up and shoot up. I hope all of you got rain if you needed it.
Getting good rains gives me more time to catch up on weeding
and other garden chores since all my time isn’t devoted to watering. I still have
to wait until the sun is going down because of the heat but I’m getting a
little done. I have been going around
with the loppers and pruning snips and trying to get rid of the seedling
walnuts and box elders popping up everywhere.
There was also a forest of giant ragweed plants growing in
the back yard by the bird feeders, where the mower can’t get to them. Some of
them were up to the eaves of the house, easily 8 feet and had stems 2 inches in
diameter. But they cut easily, and I got
them before they bloomed. Yeah, the jungle is getting away from me.
Last week I talked about battling trumpet vine. This week it’s been grape vines. We have an
electric wire that runs from the house to the barn. I noticed it was sagging then noticed the
grape I had planted on the old dog kennel fence had scaled the 8-foot fence and
started sprawling out on the wire above it.
I hated doing it because there were many clusters of little
grapes hanging from that vine on the wire, but I had to cut it down. That many
ripe clusters of grapes might have brought that old wire down. There are still
a great many grapes on the vine if the Japanese beetles don’t ruin them all
this year.
There’s also a wild grape I’m trying to cut out of the young
oak tree and the old scotch pine next to it. Wild grape vines are everywhere
this year it seems. I’m cutting them out
of flower beds and off poles and fences.
In the garden this week it’s turning golden. The large
black-eyed Susan’s are beginning to bloom, the golden glow is blooming, I have
lots of various colors of yellow and orange daylilies in bloom, the yellow
martagon lilies are blooming, yellow canna’s are in bloom and the darn yellow quill
mum is beginning to bloom already.
My oxycontin orchid,
Epipactis helleborine, that exotic little invasive that some
people would scream at me to pull immediately, is in bloom. I like it and have
no intention of getting rid of it. It
popped up here 3 years ago in the shade of the oak tree. It’s up to 2 flower
stalks now of tiny pinkish orchid like flowers. It has minute amounts of a
chemical similar to oxycodone that intoxicates pollinators, but doesn’t harm
them. If it does start spreading, I’ll pull or mow it.
 |
| Epipactis helleborine, |
Crocosmia is starting to bloom and the larger salvias. The
oriental lily Casa Blanca is starting bloom. The pineapple lilies (Eucomis) are
blooming. Lots of hosta are blooming now,
some hosta blooms are quite pretty. I have been picking cucumbers and I will
pick my first tomato in a day or two. Just
waiting for that first BLT sandwich.
It’s supposed to storm on and off this week, and into the
weekend. Across much of the US there’s a chance for severe weather this
week. Pay attention to your local
weather and stay safe.
Weeds
from birdseed
Do you feed the birds? If you do chances are good the seed
has brought some weeds into your landscape. Even if you just feed black oil
sunflower as I do some weed seeds will be present. In my case the oilers seem
to be contaminated with giant ragweed.
It grows up around the feeders every year.
Birdseed is allowed to have a certain percentage of weed
seeds in it. They are accidental contaminates for the most part, although
certain seeds used in bird food are weedy in their own right. Niger (thistle) for example and buckwheat,
milo and wheat can also look weedy in the garden.
You can clean up spilled seed if you have no critters to do
it for you. But even so, some seeds will manage to germinate. It’s probably
best to move feeders away from ornamental gardens into the lawn, where
sprouting weeds will be mown down.
Using just black oil sunflower and thistle will also be
helpful. There is less waste with these seeds. Cracked corn can’t germinate,
although it can mold and smell. The cheaper the birdseed the more likely it is
to have weed seeds and seeds birds don’t like that well, like milo. Buy the best birdseed you can afford, and you’ll
have fewer weeds.
Potato
Growing Tips
Lots of new gardeners are growing potatoes this year. They are a crop that can really produce a lot
of food in a relatively small space, and the crop can be stored without much
preparation. However, there are some differences
in growing potatoes and other garden crops.
Here’s some potato observations/tips.
Potatoes are a crop that likes lots of moisture and cooler
temperatures. The hot, dry summer many
places are having this summer is hard on them.
If it’s dry in your area, you’ll have a better crop if you water the
plants deeply at least once a week.
Growing potatoes in containers is just for those who have no
other place to grow them or for a novelty exhibition. You’ll get a much better
crop if they are grown in the ground.
Containers should be quite large, 5 gallons at least if you grow
potatoes in them.
If you are growing potatoes to get the maximum food
production use large tuber, commercial type varieties like russets and red Norlands. Heritage varieties have wonderful tastes but
often aren’t as productive.
Potatoes have flowers similar to tomatoes, but they are
purple or white. You’ll get potato tubers even if the flowers aren’t pollinated
but if they do get pollinated, they may develop small fruits that look like
green tomatoes. This is normal but the fruits are poisonous and should never be
eaten. The fruits have seeds, and the
seeds could be planted, but it’s much easier and faster to use small potatoes
or pieces of potato tuber to start new plants.
 |
| Potato flowers |
A few weeks after you see the plants flower you may dig down
and find some small potatoes. If you carefully remove some you can eat these as
new potatoes and let the rest mature into larger tubers. Try not to damage the roots too much as you
do this.
After blooming the potatoes will start to yellow and die
back. This is normal and when most of the vines have died and dried up you can harvest
your crop. You can however, harvest potato tubers anytime after they start
growing. The tubers will also hold in
the ground a long time before they need to be harvested without harm. Animals may find them however, voles and mice
like potatoes. They must be harvested
before a freeze.
To learn more about growing potatoes you can read this
article
Japanese
beetle traps
I talked a little about Japanese Beetles last week. Many people are buying Japanese beetle traps
hoping to protect their plants but there’s something you should think about
when you buy those beetle traps. Unless you have a large piece of property and
can put the traps far away from plants you want to protect, these traps can
actually make your problem worse.
Far away means 100 feet or more. Most subdivision lots won’t
give you that room. The beetle traps lure Japanese beetles from a wide
area. Not all of them will go in the
trap, many will pause to eat on your garden. As the traps fill up, they still
lure beetles but it’s easier for the beetles to get out of the traps and
continue feeding.
And after feeding those beetles will be mating and laying
eggs on your lawn areas. The eggs hatch into tiny grubs, that will overwinter
in the soil and begin feeding on grass roots in the spring, emerging as beetles
later in the summer.
Plants that attract Japanese beetles
Japanese beetles will eat over 300 species of plants, but
they are attracted to some plants more than others. Here’s a list of plants
that Japanese beetles really like;
Apple, crabapple, Malus spp
Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis
 |
| Japanese beetle on yellow dahlia |
Cardinal flower, Labelia cardinalis
Clematis, Clematis spp.
Clethra, Summer-sweet, Clethra spp.
Dahlia, Dahlia spp.,
Evening-primrose, Oenothera biennis
Gladiolus, Gladiolus spp.
Golden Glow, Rudbeckia lanciniata Hortensia
Grape, Vitis spp.
Hibiscus, Hibiscus moscheutos,
Hollyhock, Alcea rosea,
Japanese maple, Acer palmatum
Mallow, Malva rotundiflora,
Morning-glory, Ipomoea purpurea
Red raspberry, Rubus idaeus
Rhubarb, Rheum rhabarbum
Rose, Rosa spp.
Sunflower, Helianthus annuus
Sweet corn, Zea mays
Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Zinnia, Zinnia spp.
Japanese beetles are also attracted to almost any yellow
flowers and foliage. They prefer plants in sunny locations too.
Plants Japanese beetles don’t like very well.
Ageratum, Ageratum spp.
Begonia, Begonia spp.
Burning-bush, Euonymus spp.
California poppy, Eschscholzia californica
Columbine, Aquilegia spp.
Coral-bells, Heuchera sanguinea
Coreopsis, Coreopsis spp.
Dusty-miller, Centaurea cineraria,
Forsythia, Forsythia spp.
Foxglove, Digitalis spp.
Hosta, Hosta spp.
Impatiens, Impatiens spp.
Lantana, Lantana camara.
Larkspur, Delphinium spp.
Lilac, Syringa spp.
Lily-of-the-valley, Convallaria majalis
Lychnis coronaria
Pachysandra, Pachysandra spp.
Poppy, Papaver spp.
Moss-rose Portulaca grandiflora
Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus
Redbud, Cercis spp
Sedum, Sedum spp.
Violet, pansy Viola spp.
In addition, Japanese beetles rarely feed on evergreens like
pines, spruce, junipers and arborvitae.
Hollyhocks
Hollyhocks are popular this year and I am glad to see an old
favorite being used in gardens again. However, there are some things to keep in
mind about hollyhocks.
Most hollyhocks are bi-annual. The first year they grow only
vegetation, the second year they flower and then die. Many hollyhocks you buy
in garden stores, especially if they are blooming, are not going to return next
year. There are some varieties that tend
to be more perennial than others, coming back for several years but they are
not long-lived perennials by any means.
The good news is that most hollyhocks will reseed if you let
them and once you have hollyhocks blooming, you’ll probably have them for many
years. If you collect hollyhock seeds plant them soon after collecting them,
don’t wait for the next spring. New plants may start growing and you’ll have a
good chance of them blooming next year. If you wait until spring to plant seeds
the plants that come up probably won’t bloom that year.
A few new varieties of hollyhocks will bloom the first year
from seed if you start them early inside. But be aware they probably won’t
return the following year.
If you would like to know more about growing hollyhocks
here’s an article I wrote about them.
How
to can green beans
If you have an abundance of green
beans right now you can either freeze or can them. You can also buy them at the farmer’s market
to store for winter. To can them safely
you’ll need to use a pressure canner.
Choose young tender beans for
canning, the baby bumps in them should still be small. Go through them before using,
discard any with bug holes, or that look discolored or moldy.
Purple beans usually turn green when
cooked but using some yellow pod beans mixed with the green beans makes for
pretty jars.
Wash the beans well then remove
strings if they have them, use your fingernails to pull the “string” off the
pod. Newer varieties of beans are stringless. Cut off both tips of the beans. You can leave beans whole or break or snap them
in half. If you like French style green
beans use scissors to cut the bean pod down its length or use a special “frenching”
tool. In pint jars the beans probably should be in smaller pieces.
Wash pint canning jars in hot soapy
water. Rinse well and leave them in a
pot of hot water. You need a pint jar for every pound of beans you intend to
can.
Now place the beans in a large pot of
water and bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
Take your hot jars out of the hot
water, drain, and place a ½ teaspoon of salt in the bottom of each jar. You can leave out the salt or use less if you
want.
Pack the hot beans loosely in the
jars. There is some swelling during the canning process so don’t pack them
tightly. There should be 1 inch of headspace
at the top of the jars.
Pour hot cooking water from the beans
over the beans in the jar. The beans must be completely covered but leave the
inch of headspace at the top. You can
boil extra water to use if you need to.
Run a knife or bubble stick through
the jars to remove bubbles. Wipe the jar rims.
Add lids to jars and tighten. Place in pressure canner as your canner instructions direct.
For 0-2000 feet in altitude set dial gauges
at 11 pounds, for 2001-4000 feet set at 12 pounds, 4001 to 6000, set at 13
pounds, above 6000 set at 14 pounds. For weight gauges use 10 pounds to 1,000
feet and 15 pounds above that. Follow
instructions for adjusting pressure on other pressure canners.
Process pint jars in a pressure canner
for 20 minutes. Turn off heat.
Let pressure release, following your
canner directions. Remove jars, wipe, and let cool. Check seals, label and store.
I used pint jars here because for a small family that’s the
average size needed for a meal. Quart jars need 25 minutes processing time. If you use other size jars you’ll need to look
up canning times and pressures for them.
"Those who in July do wed,
Must labor for their daily bread. . .
Married in July with flowers ablaze,
Bitter-sweet memories in after days."
―New Zealand Proverb
Must labor for their daily bread. . .
Married in July with flowers ablaze,
Bitter-sweet memories in after days."
―New Zealand Proverb
Kim Willis
All parts of this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without
permission.
And So On….
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