July garden pics and tips

One hill of each summer squash (not 3) this year. Four varieties are framing the okra in the center which is on a 10" spacing between plants and about 2' from the squash plants.

We are so dry it was time to get out the soaker hoses.  I have cabbages and other cruciferous veggies in a raised mound. Peppers, eggplant, and a few tomatoes are sharing space with radicchio, fennel, and kale in my 3 wooden beds.  Mulch surrounds most of the beds, wood chips while rotted straw is around plant rows.  The soil isn't what I would want, but it will build with time.  

I have a 6x6 patch of onions (Alisa Craig and Copra on kitty corners) alternated with Ambition Shallots and Lancelot leeks.  I have watered them regularly to keep them well hydrated but not wet.

Pole beans and  bush beans are sharing the same space.  I pulled out the netting with twine in the centers to give me more room as my tepee was closing in on my for picking.  I got my first handful of baby beans on Sunday.

My fencing is hardware cloth around the base with a nylon mesh to bring the total height around 8'.  The rest of the garden is at the mercy of what surrounds us.  I hope for the best every day that I see the woodchucks running around the nursery.

The Swiss chard has gone gang busters on me this year.  I planted so few, but boy did they grow!  I don't think the carrots that are interplanted stand a chance.

The garlic ended up in the enclosure because I didn't have anything else ready last fall.  It is almost ready to pull and dry.  My lettuce crop bolted, so the dino kale has been liberated.  The adjacent carrots are loving the space and will really appreciate the garlic leaving their south exposure open.  I tucked a row of fennel plants next to my pea trellis.  I am letting the peas dry down again this year as the seed saving worked out so good last year.  Peas are self-pollinating so they came true from seed.

I am done hilling the potatoes for the season.  There is about 18" of dirt, compost, and rotting straw around the plants. Winter squash was put in at the head of the potato area.  Yukon Gold and Molly purples are my varieties this year.  I miss my Norland reds.

I went with 18 tomatoes this year.  I have a single stake method with twine corkscrew twisting around plants and stems to hold them up.  I put the tags at the top of the poles this year as I couldn't find them in the foliage last year.  Soaker hoses wind through tomatoes and potatoes on mostly separate lines.  I am trying a French variety of rhubarb Glaskins, from seed in the corner of the garden.

Vacations and the garden

We just got back from a camping vacation and it is amazing how the garden took off while we were gone. My neighbor took over watering duties and had the fortune of well timed rains in her favor.  After so many weeks of dry weather, she had to only water once even with the heat Milwaukee had this last week.  She should have bought a lottery ticket with luck on her side.

If you have to ask someone to water for you while you leave town, remember a few simple rules to make life easier for that person.  First, move your pots together whenever possible so they can be watered as a group.  They will need it more often so make it a quick job for your friend filling in for you.

Second, leave your hoses off the reels so they are easily moved back and forth for your water person.  If you leave it on the reel, they will feel the need to put it back, leave it out and they will do the same.  So what if you have yellow lines over your grass when you come back, It will recover.

Third, set up sprinklers in the important spots so it just requires a quick hook up and go.  If you have soaker hoses, make sure that using those are an easy task for the person taking over.  They don't know what goes where so make it easier for them.

Fourth tip: Get a quick hose coupler system so it is a quick turn of the spigot rather than connecting and reconnecting hoses.  I have one set to the front yard, one to the back, and the tomatoes are on a soaker right at this point.

Fifth and sixth, keep all the tools visible and keep the pots close to the water source.  It shouldn't be a game of hide and seek for water heads, hoses, or plants.  If you have things that need more water, keep them close to the water source so a quick hit can be done easily.

Seventh tip:  Stake the plants before you go.  Plants put on a lot of growth in a week.  Make sure they will be staked and trellised in anticipation of the growth that will take place while you are gone.  This will keep the plants up out of the way for watering as well as secure them if a wind storm should hit while you are away.  Your plants and your neighbor will thank you.
Finally, remember your friend with an appropriate gift when you return.  They did bring your garden through the week for you.