hot as hell with a side of drought

Black-Eyed Susan

Nashville saw its hottest day ever June 29, at 109 degrees. Throughout this summer we have shattered existing high temperature records and last week we had multiple 104-degree days. Not only was June one of the hottest months on record, it was also one of the driest and we are in the midst of a full-on drought.

Pretty much any plant not being watered regularly is a plant that is struggling. We will lose many trees this summer due to the high heat and drought conditions. Species that appear to be struggling the most include Sycamore (Platanus), Tulip Poplar (Liriodenron), and Redbud (Cercis).

These ArborRain watering bags will help newly planted trees and shrubs. The peppers and herbs are doing great. Of my tomatoes, only the Super Sweet 100, Yellow Pear, and Romas are performing well. A native Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) is pictured above, and is the only thing alive in that scorched field.

green peppers

tomatoes

With all of the blackberries I harvested from the backyard, I made a blackberry-peach cobbler that wasn't too shabby. This is the tried and true easy-peasy fruit cobbler recipe I used; simply switch out the fruit for whatever is in season or (in the freezer) at the time.

tomato hornworms

This year I became acquainted with a new garden pest, the Tomato Hornworm. This large bug is actually a caterpillar that chomps away on tomato plants, in a perfectly green disguise. My first clue they existed was actually the frass (bug poop), because it is dark and stands out against the leaves. The ‘horn’ is fake, and meant to scare predators.

These bugs can defoliate an entire tomato plant overnight, so let’s discuss prevention and control. One way to prevent these pests is to cultivate the top few inches of soil wherever tomatoes have/are being grown. This will expose the pupa to predators, like birds. It’s helpful to have a birdbath in the area where your tomatoes are growing.

Another environmental control are parasitic wasps (Braconidae) that lay eggs, hatch, and spin cocoons on the backs of the caterpillars that end up looking like grains of rice. These tiny wasps slowly eat the caterpillar as they grow into adults. If you find a caterpillar covered in these cocoons, place the bug and some leaves in a jar with large-holed screening to enable the wasps to escape and infect more caterpillars.

I have only seen a few of these caterpillars (each with the parasistic wasps present), but should the issue become worse, the next phase of control is targeted insecticide. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki) is a naturally occurring bacterium which targets caterpillars specifically. After eating the Bt sprayed leaves, they lose the ability to feed and die within a few days.

Bt is one of the safest insecticides on the market, sold under the names ‘Dipel’, ‘Green Step’ etc. and is certainly preferable to broad-spectrum insecticides. Lady Bugs and other beneficial insects will not be affected, and neither will the birds that eat caterpillars who have consumed Bt.

Some plant damage on plants has to be acceptable when gardening in an eco-friendly way; the Tomato Hornworm is after all the larvae of the Five-Spotted Hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata). But, if you are dependant on your tomato crop for food, spraying Bt every few weeks will prevent crop loss and is an environmentally sensitive means of pest control.

The image above is a Tomato Hornworm parasitized by wasp larvae.

April showers...

April has been a busy gardening month. When I've been in town, I've been working in the garden planting more seeds and tomato starters. The carrots, lettuce, and swiss chard have all sprouted and the Iris and Columbines have begun to bloom (and they make terrific cut flowers!).

As expected, I've had to spray the hibiscus with soapy water for black aphid control, which seems to have worked well. We’ve received lots of rain (which I’m now tracking on my newly installed rain gauge) which has helped the veggies (and weeds) grow. I need to install a support for the sweet peas and do some more weeding.

I’ve spent two weekends in Knoxville this month and enjoyed the Dogwood Arts trail and local garden centers. The picture above is a peony from one of the Dogwood Arts Festival’s open gardens. Last weekend my mom and I went to Mayo’s and I found two of the heirloom tomato varieties I’ve been looking for; they had a fantastic selection.

So far, the tomatoes I’ve purchased (and planted*) include: Early Girl*, Black Cherry*, Yellow Pear*, Cherokee Purple, and Black Krim. Early Girl is a hybrid red tomato grown for early harvesting (June). Black Cherry is a tiny black/purple tomato that I had success with last year.

Yellow Pear is another cherry tomato variety. I’ve never grown this variety before but I’m eager to taste test, as some tomato eaters prefer yellows. I’ve also never grown Cherokee Purple or Black Krim before, which are both large dark red/burgundy heirloom varieties.

A Roma (for homemade pizzas) and maybe a red beefsteak will round off my tomato acquisitions for the year. I’m also looking to purchase hot and sweet peppers, and more herbs including tarragon, sage, and oregano. The goal: to grow as much of my own produce and herbs as possible.

Garden Year In Review

It has been months since I blogged about my garden so there’s lots to catch up on; and I thought I would review this year’s garden successes and failures. By all accounts, I was far more productive in 2010 than I had been in previous years. I may not have weeded as much as I could/should have, but I had a modicum of success with the hollyhocks, veggies, and herbs. Also, I hope to have some quality compost to add to the garden at the start of the next growing season.

Into the fall we enjoyed tomatoes, peppers, and fresh herbs. I definitely plan on growing Romas and Cherry tomatoes again, but I may look into other beefsteak and heirloom varieties since Big Boy and Mr. Stripey didn’t perform as well. Although by all accounts, this was a difficult year for growing tomatoes in my area. The unseasonably hot nights prevented the tomato flowers from pollinating and ergo many folks had smaller yields this year.

My tomato staking system worked well; at one point all of the tomatoes were taller than me and I had to attach them to nearby shrubs and walls for support. Just before the first hard frost, I harvested all of the remaining (green) tomatoes and brought them inside to ripen. We had home grown tomatoes ripening for almost two months after that!

I plan on growing more peppers, especially more hot peppers next season. The jalapenos were very successful. I may try my hand at a few other varieties including Serrano, Poblano, and Banana peppers too. The red peppers fruited so late that I wasn't able to harvest a red pepper, instead I plucked the ripening (green)peppers off the plants and made stuffed peppers with them. All of the homegrown peppers proved far superior to their store-bought counterparts.

The last of the parsley was harvested two weeks ago, as it was snowing; and I'm frequently cutting sprigs of fresh rosemary for various recipes. Next year I will keep cilantro seeds around to plant every few weeks as they will inevitably bolt before I’m able to make my homemade guacamole. Thanks little sis for my new mortar and pestle!

This fall’s garden maintenance mainly consisted of cutting back all perennials, veggies and taking out the tomato and pepper supports. This was made slightly more cumbersome by the mesh fencing I installed mid-growing season. Using two of my favorite garden accessories, West County waterproof gloves and Felco pruners, this task took about fifteen minutes.

[It’s important to note that like rose clippings, tomato plant refuse shouldn’t be composted because there is a high likelihood of diseases outliving the composting process. I have decided to burn such debris in our fire pit.]

The reason the West County gloves are worth mentioning is that not only are they waterproof and washable, they’re warm. It is still easy to grasp things and do slightly detailed garden work year round. Also, the insulating material makes pruning tasks blister free!

The Felco’s are garden essentials and with proper cleaning and sharpening should last a lifetime; all parts are replaceable. The ergonomic Felco 6’s fit my petite hand very well and are the best pruners I have ever used. This size easily cuts through branches 3/4" thick. But one should be careful, they are very sharp and powerful; I have inadvertently cut through a small rock with these pruners before.

I have daffodil bulbs to plant if I could find the time when the ground wasn’t frozen. October through December is the best time to plant spring-blooming bulbs. The two varieties I have to plant are ‘Ice Follies’ and ‘Mount Hood’. 'Ice Follies' is a large white daffodil with a bright yellow center. 'Mount Hood' opens up a pale yellow, and then quickly becomes an all white giant trumpet. Both of these naturalize readily and perform well in the south.

Typically, I like to see daffodils planted in large swaths (anywhere from 500-1500) to create a bold statement in the spring. Since my gardening area is so small, I will be planting mere handfuls of them here and there. Van Engelen is an economical source for large quantity orders; another daffodil source I use is Brent and Becky's Bulbs.

corn, corn, everywhere, but not a kernel to eat

Freddie and his siblings flew the coop a few weekends ago. On Friday night, all four were in the nest. On Saturday morning, there was only one baby bird. By Saturday afternoon, there were none. Thus concludes our short stint as baby bird guardians. I wonder if bluebirds come back to where they were born to lay their eggs?

Just when I think the garden is winding down, my red bell pepper starts fruiting like crazy. I think this was caused by my pinching it back a few weeks ago, I was tired of it growing and growing without setting fruit. I hope there’s enough time for them to mature.

The ‘Black Cherry’ tomato is doing well and still producing lots of little tomatoes. The ‘Roma’, ‘Big Boy’, and ‘Mr. Stripey’ are still producing fruit, but it has been weeks since we were able to harvest a tomato (tomato thief). If they get close, I may just pull them off the vine early and let them ripen inside.

In the last big storm we had, the top of my large Butterfly Bush toppled over; so I had to cut it back and it looks a little unsightly. That hasn’t seemed to discourage any of the butterflies, luckily. I’ll have to do a better job of pruning this fall when I can really see its structure.

The Roses Of Sharon are completely hitting their stride now. At first I was disappointed in the lilac blooms; but now I’m overjoyed because I have three different colors at once. The white blooms which I love and remind me of my grandparents are now flowering alongside the lilac and pink blooming shrubs. It’s a beautiful palate of colors.

The Evening Primrose is STILL blooming, especially now that our evening temperatures are cooling off. That plant has got to be near the top of my “no maintenance required list.” Other no maintenance all-stars include the Oakleaf hydrangea and catmint that I have in the front beds and have basically neglected all season, but you’d never know!

Summer is definitely winding down. We’ve had a few evenings where temps dipped down into the low 60’s! I love the cooler weather, but I’m missing the long days of summer already. However, fall is one of my favorite times of the year; what with grilling out and college football, does sit get any better?

I’ve started reading ‘Omnivore’s Dilemma’, by Michael Pollan. This has been on my ‘plan to read’ list for sometime. I had read Pollan’s ‘Botany of Desire’ years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite the craze, I had put off reading ‘Omnivore’s Dilemma’, mainly because I thought it was an anti-meat eating campaign. So far though, the focus has been primarily on corn.

Turns out corn is in almost EVERYTHING: it feeds our livestock, fills our gas tanks, creates our processed foods, sweetens our sodas, and on and on and on. Corn and its cheap (government subsidized) products have a lot to do with our country's obesity and diabetes issues too. Not to mention our dependence on petroleum...

And while it’s not altogether new information, it has reminded me why it’s such a good idea to buy organic when possible. I prefer grass-fed beef (I felt like they were probably happier cows than feed-lot steer); but it wasn’t until reading this book that I was faced with the health and ecological consequences associated with the feed lots.

I’m finished with the first third of the book, having mostly to do with corn. The following are some of my notes from the book in the hopes that I may interest others in reading it. If you eat meat, shop in a grocery store, or have concerns about our reliance on fossil fuels, it’s a must read. Needless to say, I’ll be abstaining from chicken nuggets and reading more ingredient labels in the future!

 Government subsidies acct for nearly half of an Iowa corn farmer’s income.
 Without humans to plant corn every spring, modern corn would disappear from the earth in just a few years because it physically cannot reproduce on its own.
 Fritz Haber, the “father of chemical warfare” discovered how to synthesize ammonia while working on dirty bombs for WWI. His discovery, which won him a Nobel Prize, allowed us to fix nitrogen to the soil and completely revolutionized our industrial food chain.
 It takes more than a calorie of fossil fuels to produce a calorie of food in our industrialized agricultural food chain.
 Cargill is the largest privately held corporation in the world; Cargill and ADM combine to purchase 1/3 of all American corn.
 3/5 of our corn ends up on American factory farms, being eaten by primarily cows, who are not corn eaters by nature. Corn fed cows are problematic; this diet makes the cows sick, creates antibiotic and acid resistant bacteria, and creates a toxic waste dump of their feces.
 1/5 of America’s petroleum consumption goes to producing and transporting our food.
 From birth to slaughter (1200 pounds), a cow will consume the equivalent of 35 gallons of fuel, that’s a nearly a barrel.
 1/10 of our corn crop ends up in our gas tanks.
 The chicken nugget, invented in 1983 is the reason chicken has surpassed beef as America’s favorite meat.
 Of the 38 ingredients in a chicken nugget, 13 can be derived from corn.
 The most alarming chicken nugget ingredient: TBHQ; this toxic preservative is derived from petroleum and is a suspected carcinogen and known mutagen, tumorigen, and reproductive effector.

photo credit

tomato thief

We have a tomato mystery on our hands presently. At first, a ripe ‘Big boy’ tomato went missing from the vine. I chalked it up to perhaps a critter or hungry neighbor. But today I have discovered that 2 ripe Roma tomatoes were swiped from the vine. I am at a loss.

If it is a critter, than how do they know the precise moment that the fruit is ripe and why are there no left over tomato parts strewn about the garden and lawn? And why would a hungry/thirsty critter ignore the seemingly more manageable ‘Black Cherry’ tomatoes which remain unscathed?

I have more questions than answers, but I have a plan. I will put up some kind of wire or netting to discourage any potential critters. And then if I still see ripe tomatoes go missing I will have to assume that a tomato thief of the human variety is involved.

There are still many green Roma tomatoes ripening, and even a few more Big Boy tomatoes that should be ready soon. The ‘Black Cherry’ tomatoes continue to perform well and I probably harvest about 4 everyday. I’ve had to improvise support for the Black Cherry’s by tying twine to the electrical meter support since they’ve outgrown the 5’ stakes.

Mr. Stripey still has no fruit, but lots of flowers! And I’m hoping the bell peppers start growing more fruit soon. For a few days we feasted on jalapeño peppers from the garden and they were SO hot. I think they were the hottest jalapeños I’ve ever put in my mouth. I wonder if home-grown = hotter?

The ornamentals are doing well too. Half of the Rose of Sharon is blooming really well. The Black-eyed Susan’s and Butterfly Bush are blooming like crazy. And there are no pest or disease problems to speak of. Things are good in the garden, but I do wish it would rain more often!

le jardin de pizza

It has been 3 weeks since my last blog post and all I can say is I’ve been busy; and so has my garden. Last night we made a pizza using homegrown Roma tomatoes, basil, and bell peppers. It was so delicious, it has inspired this ‘pizza garden’ blog!

Part of the reason I have been too busy to blog was that I read 'My Life in France' in record time for my first book club meeting. Julia Child's book was absolutely delightful in every way; I felt as though I was travelling and eating all over France with her, ergo the blog's title. [Pizza, however, was not a part of her French culinary escapades.]

Pizza gardens are gardens that simply contain the ingredients one may want to put on a pizza. Looking into it, I found that ‘pizza gardens’ all usually contain at least tomatoes and basil. The rest of the ingredients/plants could include sweet peppers, hot peppers, oregano, onions, parsley, eggplant, scallions, rosemary, jalapeños, cilantro, spinach, etc.

This theme could be wildly popular with kids too; picture a raised vegetable/herb garden actually in the shape of a pizza pie, with dividers made to look like ‘slices’ of pizza! It was a lot of fun enjoying the ‘fruits’ of my vegetable garden labor. And as the Roma’s continue to ripen and the garden yields more peppers, I hope to try another pizza soon!

There are ‘Black Cherry’ tomatoes ripening everyday, from the bottom of the plant upward. That tomato plant is now almost 7’ tall. I also harvested my first ‘Big Boy’ tomato over the weekend and will be trying that soon. ‘Big Boy’ only has a few more tomatoes ripening so I’m a little disappointed in its yield.

‘Mr. Stripey’ has yet to produce any fruit, but I am hopeful as it continues to grow and flower. The other no-name tomatoes are still growing, but remain fruitless as well. The jalapeño plant is producing lots, though I have yet to actually try one. And the red bell pepper is growing like a weed, but hasn’t set fruit yet.

The Black-eyed Susan’s are blooming profusely, and look great next to the sedums which are finally flowering. The butterfly bush and Verbena are flowering nicely as well. Although I was surprised that the butterfly bush I relocated across the drive has a lighter bloom color, almost a soft pink/purple as opposed to the lilac of the parent plant.

The Rose of Sharon are starting to bloom more, but are darker in color than I was expecting. Now, the blooms are lilac with a darker, magenta eye. The hollyhocks have completely petered out and I see no signs of seed pods so I’ll be cutting them all back soon.

The mint is almost taking over that planting bed, but it is nice to smell. The evening primrose is still blooming, and its fragrance is light and lovely in the evenings. We’ve received plenty of rain lately, so I’ve been able to cut back on watering. Also, our mid-to-upper 90 degree days have cooled slightly. Until next time, happy gardening!

the image used above is not my creation, instead i found it here.

Cooper, my garden companion

Whenever I garden, my trusty watch dog is looking out for me. At the top of our hill, Cooper sits and keeps watch over the goings on of the street below. Now he may be simply looking for squirrels to chase, but I think he is genuinely looking out for me and our homestead while I am busy gardening away.

He sits there, at attention, sometimes for hours. And he always resumes his post in the exact same spot. Occasionally, he will take advantage of my inattentiveness to slip off and play with the neighborhood dogs or chase squirrels. For the most part though, he is my constant garden companion and watch dog.

I was pleased to discover a plant that I thought might be a ‘weed’, turned out to be garden phlox (Phlox paniculata). I had kept several of this tall plant with strap-like leaves in the hope it was something worth keeping and I’m really glad I did. They bloomed bright fuchsia this week, and after passing the ‘phlox test,’ I knew I had something special.

What is the ‘phlox test?’ I believe Dr. Alan Armitage taught me this, but I’m not totally sure. Basically, if you pull the flower petals out of the stem and they remain as one flower unit instead of separate petals, than you have a phlox. Seems elementary (and it is) but I have found this technique very useful in plant identification. After all, there are hundreds of phlox species ranging from groundcovers to 4’ tall perennials, and a wide variety of flower color.

Bright fuchsia is not a color I would have ever picked for my garden, but I love it. It’s so vivid and eye-catching. This phlox is supposed to bloom throughout the summer and into the fall. We’ll see how it looks with the other summer blooming flowers…

The tomatoes and herbs are doing well. The Black Cherry’s are the first tomatoes to start turning a reddish color. My singular jalapeño fell off the plant, so picked it up and may try it out soon in some cooking, despite it’s small size (about 1 ½” long). I need to fertilize the veggies again, maybe today. I try and fertilize a few times a week with a liquid fertilizer.

I’m still a little befuddled by the Hollyhocks and Rose of Sharon. The Hollyhocks bloomed well, but only bloomed white. And the Rose of Sharon (there are five plants in total) have had less than three blooms combined. I have neighbors with Rose of Sharon’s that are covered in blooms.

I have found many tips for improving my Hollyhocks next year, like pinching off new growth a few times before flower buds appear. And I can also conceive that since this is the first growing season the Rose of Sharon have been in the ground, maybe they are focusing more on foliage than flowers. Bottom line, these plants may just need more sunlight.

This is an unfortunate conclusion, because I have only one ‘full sun’ planting bed. And it’s getting very crowded as is. But alas, since these Hollyhocks and Rose of Sharon are so important to me, I’m sure I’ll be relocating some to the west side planting bed this fall.

Another Hollyhock issue that has developed is Hollyhock Rust (Puccinia malvacearum). This fungus is characterized by yellow-orange bumps throughout the leaves and stalks of the plant. At this point, there’s not much I can do except remove unsightly foliage.

In the fall I will be sure to cut back the Hollyhocks hard and destroy all foliage instead of composting. I may consider an early spring fungicide application as well as spread the plants out more to improve circulation.

My garden is on the cusp of having lots of blooms and veggies by the end of the month. I hope I can keep up with all of the watering until then. It’s been topping out in the mid-nineties here lately with rain showers few and far between.

tall tomatoes and such

Now my tomatoes are taller than me, 5'-5". Well Big Boy and Black Cherry are at least, with Roma (pictured) right behind. Mr. Stripey had a later start and I’ve even relocated him once so I’m not surprised his growth is dwarfed by the others. I may have to buy several more, larger stakes to secure the three larger tomatoes, which continue to reach for the heavens.

The three large tomato plants all have multiple baby tomatoes that grow larger and more numerous everyday. I need to prune out some of the excessive foliage and suckers ASAP. And, I have a baby jalapeño! So far, however, that’s my only pepper.

I won’t be posting photos of my herb pot anytime soon, it has seen better days. The thyme is doing great and the parsley is fine, the variegated basil even looks to be making a comeback. But the cilantro has ‘gone to seed’ and looking worse each day. I’m hoping I’ll be able to harvest some coriander, but I’m not holding my breath.

I have planted a new basil plant and hope to add others as I count more tomatoes everyday! The Rosemary is doing great and has probably doubled in size since I planted it earlier this year. And the mint is going gangbusters, taking over the driveway planting bed.

Also in the driveway planting bed, the last remaining Hollyhock flower buds are blooming. Still all white! And the Rose of Sharon (pictured) has begun to bloom! I have counted only two blooms so I’m hoping for more. It is one of my all-time favorite flowers; admittedly this may be because they remind me of my grandparents, but nonetheless, gorgeous.

Back across the drive, in the west side planting bed, the Black-eyed Susans have begun to bloom. They will look great alongside the pinkish reds of the sedums and daylilies close by. Along with the tiger lilies, the pink/red, orange, yellow combination is actually quite lovely.

Also, I have discovered that a beloved annual, Verbena bonariensis, has reseeded itself. While not the most ideal location (in the front of the flower border), it’s a welcome surprise! This annual has rose purple flower clusters at the end of slender square stems growing 4’ or more in height.

I prefer this plant in the back of the flower border, and often pinch it back a few times to induce a more compact habit. Once it starts blooming, you will have color on into the fall. Another benefit is this plant attracts butterflies and gold finches. The only downside is an occasional powdery mildew episode; if this occurs, I just cut back all affected foliage.

And finally, a favorite perennial planted on the bank at the rear property line, the evening primrose (Oenothera), has begun to bloom! I don’t know much about this plant, but I’m delighted that it seems to have spread and I now have at least twice as many plants as last year. [I believe it spreads by seed, because one popped up in a nearby pot.]

I’m amazed that this inconspicuous plant has thrived where it has, competing with the likes of ivy and euonymus. As the name suggests, swirls of buttery yellow blooms open up after the sun goes down. It’s great in combination with the tiger lily; especially since they both bloom at a height of 3-4’. The flowers are truly beautiful, and the perfect crescendo to a summer day.

baby tomatoes!

While replacing the tomato stakes last weekend, I discovered I had baby tomatoes! There are baby Roma’s, and Black Cherry tomatoes. Still no fruit on any of the pepper plants or Big Boy and Mr. Stripey, but all have flowers. I think I’m still on track to be harvesting the first tomatoes at the end of the month.

The status of the herb ‘garden’ is virtually unchanged. I did have an opportunity to use some mint in a recipe I tried last week, Jamie Oliver’s ‘mini shell pasta with a creamy smoked bacon and pea sauce’ from his book, Food Revolution. It turned out quite well, click here for a link the recipe.

The Hollyhocks are still blooming (all white) and while I get annoyed with the mint most of the time, it is nice to have something covering up the Hollyhock’s unsightly legs. Also in the driveway planting bed, there are many flower buds forming on the Rose of Sharons, and the butterfly bush and black eyed susan’s that I relocated to the driveway bed are also doing well.

Out front, the Hellebores still have flowers, and the Oakleaf Hydrangeas are doing so well. This seems to be a particularly good year for hydrangeas in our area. ‘Not of this World’ is the first of my Daylilies to bloom, and the tiger lilies are still going strong. In the west side planting bed, the sedum is also about to bloom.

I’ve only had to water a few times all season, thankfully; that has saved time and money. I’m still fertilizing the veggies and herbs once or twice a week with a liquid fertilizer, but that’s really the only maintenance I’ve had time for lately.

bugs are gone!

The ant/aphid infestation on my Rose of Sharon is completely gone. And since spraying my hollyhocks with Sevin I haven’t seen any more hollyhock sawfly larvae chomping away. They still haven’t bloomed, but I’m hopefully every day when I come home from work to catch a glimpse of color.

Last weekend I removed a portion of my Black-eyed Susan’s in the west side planting bed to make room for two more pepper plants and give my rosemary some more space. In addition to the new red and green bell peppers, I also planted an heirloom tomato in the driveway planting bed. I’m hoping it will get enough sun there, because I’m running out of space elsewhere.

Mr. Stripey, as he’s called, is an old-fashioned beefsteak that will have yellow and red stripes outside and mostly yellow coloring inside the fruit. It has tiny leaves and the flavor is supposed to be sweet and mild. We’ll see in approximately 56 days!

I think I initially underestimated the support my tomatoes would require. But now I regret skimping on the stake size, because my ‘big boy’ and ‘black cherry’ tomatoes have already grown almost to the top of their stakes. So, I will have to purchase taller/stronger stakes to support these veggies and re-tie all of the tomatoes. Bummer.

I also (finally) replaced the pansies in my pots by the front steps with a ‘lemon chiffon’ million bells (Calibrachoa) in each pot. I’m not usually one for monochromatic pot plantings, but my front door is hardly used and there’s enough going on in the nearby planting beds to warrant simple pots.

My oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) have started blooming on both sides of the front door and look really great behind my patch of catmint (Nepeta) to the right of the front door. To balance that, the Nepalese columbines I planted on the left side of the front door bloomed well and are slowly taking over one side of that planting bed.

The Hellebores are still blooming and look great next to the sensitive ferns (Onoclea sensiblis) out front. My Iris have finished blooming and I need to weed the bed by the mailbox to get it ready for the daylilies which will start to bloom soon.

The only other annual I have added this season is a ‘Mini Blue-Veined’ Supertunia. I added this to my blue pot with the Salvia and Spirea. The salvia has already started blooming and the Spirea will soon follow.

My herb pot is not looking so good. The cilantro started to bolt last week, so I cut off some of the flower buds. The basil, which has been looking ill ever since the floods, now looks awful. My parsley and thyme are the only things doing well. They seem to have had good drainage and decent sun where they are. I may have to start over with new cilantro and basil, maybe even from seed.

veggies and such

The tomatoes I have included in my garden thus far include Roma, ‘Black Cherry’, and ‘Big Boy’. Roma is a smaller tomato that should have a plentiful harvest starting in 70-80 days from transplanting. ‘Black Cherry’ is a sweet-flavored, round dark cherry tomato that should ripen within 60 days of transplanting. ‘Big Boy’ is a meaty, large hybrid introduced by Burpee in 1949. ‘Big Boy’ will ripen within 80-90 days from transplanting.

So, by the end of June, I should be harvesting the first tomatoes. I would still like to add an heirloom variety tomato and some more varieties of peppers. I have already planted one Jalapeno pepper which will ripen in 78 days.

Everything else in the garden is doing great. My Iris is now blooming very well by the mailbox, white and yellow blooms. The Baptisia and Peonies are about to bloom. My Azalea in the secret garden is blooming wonderfully.

The only pest problems I’ve had continue to be the aphids and ants on my Rose of Sharon. I used soap spray on them last week, but it has rained off and on since then so I don’t think it’s had a chance to work yet. I’ll keep trying the soap spray.

The photo is of my ‘herb garden’ container and some other perennial plant containers that I keep directly off my back deck. I'll probably add a petunia or million bells to the blue pot soon. But, I love all the different colors foliage and the pots themselves provide right now, without a single flower!

taking up space, in a good way!

I finally planted my herb garden (in a pot), Roma tomato (with stake), and all of my hollyhocks. In order to plant the tomato, I had to relocate some Black-eyed Susans and realized I just have too many. So, in addition to the previously offered sedum, mint, and creeping jenny, I would also like to offer some Black-eyed Susans.

When planting the tomato, I was reminded that all tomatoes are virtually vines. Because tomatoes try to root wherever the stem touches soil, planting lower will create more roots and better support. I removed the lowest pairs of leaves and then literally back filled the hole just under the first leaves. I put a 4’ green stake next to it and will use flexible cloth ties to secure it as it grows.

I also finally got to plant my new blue pot! I relocated an existing Salvia and ‘neon flash’ Spirea to the blue pot and will add some sort of flowering, trailing annual as well. The pot itself was already quite heavy and the thought of filling it with soil was less than attractive. For this reason, I put two empty plastic bottles in the bottom to take up some space (pictures). This is a great way to save soil and reuse some of those plastic bottles too!

The aphids (and ants) are still coming back on my Rose of Sharons, so my next step is to spray them with a soap solution. There are a variety of homemade soap spray recipes on-line. I think I’ll just mix some dish soap and water in a small hand-sprayer and see how that works.

a redneck garden

After moving to Nashville I kept hearing the term ‘Redneck Garden’. This term refers to an ornamental garden that includes edible plants normally associated with a vegetable garden. [I’ve chosen to ignore other components of said ‘redneck garden’, i.e. beer can wind chimes and the like] I’ll concede the idea was a foreign one to me, having grown up with a separation of ornamental and vegetable.

However, when you think about it, it really makes sense. I don’t know many people that have the space for fully separate ornamental and vegetable gardens, at least in an urban setting. Also, I think most people forget how aesthetically pleasing some veggies can be. Not to mention, growing your own vegetables saves money! So why not grow veggies in our flower beds?

I’m totally on-board and look forward to having my very own redneck garden soon. Just think of the positive consequences this idea could have if implemented in low-income ‘food deserts.’ We could all be eating better and/or more cheaply if we grew a few tomato plants in with our holly bushes, as an example.

The attached photo shows peppers grown alongside Salvia and Black-Eyed Susans. The color combination is phenomenal. I think I’ll achieve a similar effect planting veggies next to my Butterfly Bush and Black-Eyed Susans. Aesthetic benefits aside, growing some ornamentals like Marigolds with your tomatoes will actually prevent pests.

At the garden center this week I found a variety of herbs and vegetable starters available. For $15, I picked up Italian parsley, variegated Basil, a variety of Cilantro, and a Roma Tomato plant. Those herbs, along with the thyme and mint (and Rosemary) I already have will complete my herb ‘garden’ (which will actually be a pot to ensure good drainage).

The Roma tomato plant caught my eye because my boyfriend really likes Roma’s. But I’m also trying to grow several different varieties of tomatoes to hedge my bet that some will thrive. I should be able to plant all of these this weekend, and I’m still searching for more tomatoes and peppers to add.