Putting up walls to keep out the weeds

It is the first day of summer, and I am just getting some major crops in the ground.  I have had little time and energy which has coincided with dry soil.  This weekend became do or die time for me.  I worked this week on tomatoes and peppers during a couple evening hours.  Friday was dedicated to getting my daughter started on her own garden.  Saturday dawned early for me and I got out there.
Rain was a threat all day, so I determined I would work as quickly as I could for as long as it would allow.  In the end, time ran out and still no rain when we had to leave for a party invitation.  I was feeling pretty good about getting so much done even with so much still to do.  I made the garden space the size I did so I could do crops like pumpkins and squash this year  
My biggest obstacle is the prior occupants lack of interest in this garden space.  The fence was harboring all kinds of weeds and the interior was a solid mass 3' and taller with all kinds of weeds indicative of poor soil.  The seed bank in this garden is enormous.  I got busy early and got a fence up.  Potatoes, onions and peas are all flourishing.  I was eating the first ripe peas while burning weeds around the fence perimeter that the tiller can not reach.  Delicious!  My husband ran the tiller around the second half of the fenced portion for me yesterday so the beans could finally get in the ground.  I covered about half of the square footage with pieces of old weed barrier.  I cut holes, added compost and then planted each hole with a pepper or tomato.  Today I came on to a new solution.  The Weed Dragon.  I purposely singed the edge of the plastic based barrier yesterday to keep it from fraying.  I like the way it looked.  

This is my old method of creating planting holes in the weed fabric.  Effective but time consuming and requires a lot of time on the knees.
















This is the new method of a quick touch of the Weed Dragon to create fray-free planting holes.  I shoveled the compost on to the top of the hole, lifted at the edge and scooped all the compost under the fabric.  The hole is easy enough to access the soil underneath to work it with a trowel and add the plant.  I am hoping that the fabric will minimize the amount of weeding that I have to do.  In a garden this size with the weed seed waiting to sprout, it would be a full-time job just keeping my vegetable patch.  Time will tell if this method will be effective or not.

The last big job was setting up for my pole beans.  I purchased netting for trellising six feet high and 12 feet long.  With two of these, I am able to provide enough netting for all my pole beans.  The support structure for the netting is two old ladders held in place with T-posts on each side of both ladder legs.  This will be great for reaching the late season tall vines.  I am putting in the filet beans as well as Romano pole beans which are left over from last year.  I also have the Lazy Housewife which  can be eaten fresh or ripened for dry beans.  Expanded metal pieces which I used at home to keep my seeds in the ground and out of the chipmunks' cheeks are being used here as well.  The population of chippies is pretty high. and they can get in just about anywhere.  After germination and true leaves appear, I can remove the metal and work around the base of the plants as needed.  Floating row cover will have to be sufficient for the rows of bush beans since I ran out of metal pieces before I ran out of seed.

The spinach was starting to bolt earlier this week, so the remainder was cut.  This made a nice spot open for carrot seeds.  The soil that I mounded with the cow manure last fall is quite sandy.  I added some compost before seeding and covered the plot with a piece of wood to keep the soil moist.  This method has been the most reliable way that I have found for carrot seed germination.  I will have to check under the board every day and remove it at the first sign of green.

I am not done yet.  I still have sweet corn to be planted.  Mine will not be knee high by the 4th of July.  I plan on tilling the area a third time as the weeds have started coming up thick in this area.  The corn will be in blocks to encourage the best germination possible.  I will under-plant the corn with pumpkins in hopes of deterring the raccoon that makes its way to the bird feeders every night to pick up what has fallen down.  I haven't dismissed the thought of using electric fence to surround the entire garden both high and low to try and fight hungry wildlife.  I want to make sure that the price is right before making the commitment to power up.  Okra plants went in over the weekend.  I have never grown this before and think I may have planted enough for a crowd.

I hope to enjoy a good variety of plants and have plenty to share.  I am lucky to have the space to try so many new plants.

My favorite plants 2011

As a gardener who also spent 20 years working in a greenhouse, I have some favorites that I have grown for many years.  I also have some new favorites each and every year because I can't stay away from the garden centers. I love to check out the new developments as well as discover some  plants that have been around for awhile but are just getting recognized for their simple beauty all over again.  This is a collection of the plants that I really enjoyed in my garden this year.

Lisianthus and heliotrope were paired in a pot with the new petunia on the scene, Pinstripe.  The Pinstripe was beautiful for the first half of summer and then fizzled in the heat.  The lisianthus and heliotrope I found in 4 packs at my favorite local garden shop, Luxembourg Greenhouses, and they started off slow because of their size, but soon grew into a beautiful plant and with the heliotrope, wonderfully scented.  The lesson here is instant gratification is not always what is is cracked up to be.  I spent more on the one petunia, which I did enjoy while it lasted then I did on the eight other plants which were no where near bloom when I purchased them.

I was also fortunate to find Merlin Blue petunias in the 4 packs of which I bought two for the front entry.  They took off and provided the best scent I have ever had at my front entry.  It was like the lilacs did not stop blooming this year.  They also performed great most of the summer but were over-run with the alysum that I directed seeded with them as well as the heat and drought.  Since the alysum still looks good and also has a nice scent I am alright with the loss.  The direct seed was definitely the right move rather than plant purchase for them.  Try that one for yourself.

Nasturtiums have been in my garden for years.  I have tried many varieties and hands-down my true favorite is Whirlybird.  The plants mound nicely, are prolific bloomers, and can be started easily from seed.  The flowers are edible as well as the newly formed seed pods which are a substitute for capers.  See the blog on edible flowers for more information.

Coleus are a staple plant in my yard.  The foliage comes in so many colors and textures to please just about anyone.  Pictured here is one of the newer varieties, Henna.  Henna is nice with its bi-colored foliage, yellow-green on top and purplish on the lower.  The fringed foliage is also nice for texture in the landscape.  The leaves really show off their color when they are blowing in the breeze.  My other all-time favorite is Alabama Sunset.  The leaves vary in color from the center and leaf base out just like a sunset in colors of yellow, orange and pink.  Coleus are not affected adversely by high nitrogen like most flowers because the foliage is its main feature.

Alpine strawberries came into my garden last year when a co-worker started some seeds and had great success with germination.  He shared his bounty with the rest of us.  The plants were so tiny to start, I found it hard to believe they would actually become anything.  I moved the starts from cell packs into plastic window boxes.  I enjoy the few berries as they come right in the garden (there is a total of 16 plants in two boxes each 3' long).  I put the boxes directly into the soil for winter and pulled them out in the spring.  They were kept close to the garden hose for watering.  The berries are small and you must wait for them to be totally red for the best sweetness.  The fall berries have been the best tasting bites I have ever had.  The concentrated flavor and sweetness is worth the small harvest.  My daughter, Elizabeth, has enjoyed them most of the summer as they produce all season long.  I think they are worth looking into for their unique qualities.

If you have been reading my blog at all you KNOW tomatoes are on my list this year.  The small yellow Sungolds are the sweetest cherry tomato you will ever enjoy.  Wait for it to get to its orange-yellow stage for the best flavor.  Picking a few off the vine on my way in the door after work was a treat.  A bowl on the corner of my desk never saw the end of the work day with everyone stopping for a few.  The round Celebrity tomato is great for a full-size tomato.  An All-American Selection winner has great flavor with disease resistance.  The Roma rounds out my garden in the paste tomato category for reliability.

Beer-lover's edamame was a great producer this year.  I had enough to share and freeze.  If you can't find the seed (I got mine through Pinetree Gardens in Maine) edamame is also available in the freezer at the grocery store.  I will say no more as I dedicated a whole blog to the wonders of they humble soy bean already.
Who needs any more reason to enjoy a beer at the end of the day?

Purple trifiono pole beans have been in my garden for years.  I like pole beans as they take up very little space and produce for a long time.  They are still setting a few beans even with the cool, short days.  They were the last thing I gave my dog, Jake, before our last trip to the vet as they were also his favorite.  The purple beans make picking them easier as they do not blend in with the leaves like green beans do.  Pole beans, in general, sell out earlier so I make sure my order gets in with these on the list.

This pot had three lovelies in it this year that are all worth mention.  The coral calibracoa is still in bloom (left side of pot).  On the right side of the pot is lantana with a bi-color bloom.  I plucked the plant out of the pot and brought it in the house for winter as the color was so unique and it performed wonderfully without much dead-heading.  The pink star-shaped flower in front is an ivy geranium which I have been propagating for a long time just to keep it in my garden pots.  The heat and drought have no effect on this reliable plant.  It also attracts hummingbirds to the backyard more than the hummingbird feeder does.

I will end my list of favorite plants with the Baby Tut papyrus that I enjoyed so much.  I had a King Tut last year that no matter what I did, kept blowing over and the stems would bend in the wind.  Baby Tut fit my smaller water feature better and was much sturdier.  It took a wild wind to blow it over and the stems stayed strong.  It was worth the money spent. I have decided to not try and over-winter this one and find it at the garden shop again next year.  I have to have some reason to shop for plants, don't I?




***I apologize if there are misspellings on plant names in this post.  Going out in the dark to verify all the spellings was not all that appealing.