June in the garden

June

"Clippings"

Think you need a lot of time, like an entire afternoon, or a whole weekend, to make headway in your garden? It's possible to tackle some significant gardening chores in a series of 30-minute segments. By mastering these short stints, you'll accomplish two things: your yard tasks, and exercise for your physical and emotional state. Check out the tips at the end of the newsletter on "how you can be a 30-minute gardener."

Happy Gardening!
Barbara

Flower of the Month
Do you know what it is?

It blooms like crazy and doesn't need a lot of attention to do so. See picture above. The common variety has larger flowers than most of its relatives. Deadheading will keep it blooming for you and for the butterflies that love it. To make short work of this chore, simply cut the whole plant back by a third after the flowers fade. This plant can be short-lived, you can keep it around longer by dividing it every couple of years.

12 to 36 inches tall
18 inches wide.
Blooms in the summer in well-drained soil.
Not bothered my pests.
Hardiness Cold: USDA zones 2 to 10
Hardiness Heat: AHS zones 10 to 1

Take your mouse pointer and hold it on the picture above for the answer.

Planning Your Organic Gardening

Early Summer

Check out the garden planner that shows you at a glance what jobs need to be done and when. This is a lovely time in the garden, when every time you step outdoors you are greeted by masses of fresh flowers and foliage, the first results of all the hard work you put in over the spring. A little extra attention now will keep that freshness going throughout the season. Learn how...

Early Summer

The Good, Bad, and Buggy

Don't lose your cool over summer pests

By Joe Lamp’l

America’s most popular home crops, including tomatoes, corn, peppers, squash, melons and beans, demand the heat of the summer to produce their fruit. To get the most productive output from your garden during these months, you’ll want to be vigilant about a few things.

First, make sure your plants are getting adequate water. Most plants need 1 to 1 1/2 inches each week. Soaker hoses are a great way to deliver this water to the plant through drip irrigation as the water seeps out slowly. This method is very effective because it places the water at the soil level. Evaporation is eliminated, the root zone is soaked and the foliage stays dry.

Besides drought, the other major threat to your garden in the summer is pests. Fortunately, there are several ways to control any pests you may find. First, inspect your garden as often as you can to control populations and minimize damage as early as possible.

Be sure to identify the bug you think may be a pest. Only about three percent of bugs and insects are considered pests. The others are beneficials (good for the garden) or neutral. Whenever possible, handpick any pests you can. Dropping the offenders into a cup of soapy water will finish the job. This works well for most pests including squash bugs, potato beetles, and cutworms.

In my opinion, the second line of defense in pest control is to use the least-toxic methods available. This includes organic controls such as B.T or Bacillus thuringiensis. B.T is a bacteria that when ingested, paralyzes the digestive tract of certain insect larvae. B.T products are pest specific, so they don’t harm beneficial insects, and they are non-toxic to mammals.

Next in your arsenal of pest defenses should be insecticidal or horticultural oils. These products are derived from plant and petroleum oils, which kill eggs and immature stages of insects by blocking their supply of oxygen. Don’t apply these products to plants during times when temperatures are below 40 or above 85 degrees or when plants are under stress. Applications at these times can damage the plants.

Insecticidal soaps are another good choice, comprised mostly of fatty acids. These products act on contact by paralyzing the insects and work well for pests such as aphids, whiteflies and spider mites.

The best time to apply insecticides is in the evening. At this time, most pollinating insects have retired for the night, and pollen-filled flowers have closed until morning.

By then, much of the toxicity has broken down, and exposure to beneficials will be greatly reduced. Do not apply non-selective pesticides in the morning as this would certainly wipe out many lady beetles, soldier bugs and pollinating insects such as honey and bumblebees.

Summer is a great time to garden. Remember, knowledge is power. The more you know about gardening, the more confidence you’ll have to accept and welcome the challenges you’ll face.

Garden Wisdom
Stake Tomatoes

By supporting and training tomatoes, you can save space, prevent soil rot and leaf blight, and make harvesting easier. It's important to put the supports into place before the plants get too large. I like to get them in when they're 3 inches tall.

Tips-How you can be a 30-minute gardener:

1. Mind over matter. If you put your mind to it, you will actually be able to complete some substantial tasks in a half-hour and feel productive about what you have done.
2.Make a list and prioritize. Divide up tasks in order to complete in 30-minute periods.
3. Break larger jobs into smaller, manageable tasks. For example, if you have three garden beds that need weeding, select just one for the 30 minutes.
4. Practice "mindful gardening." Focus completely on the task at hand, without any interruptions from children, spouses, cellphones, or that report at work. Once you get the hang of it, you'll look forward to your 30-minute sessions as much for the calm rejuvenation you'll feel as for the sense of accomplishment you'll gain.