Judith takes us on a stroll through her multifaceted garden to see what spring has brought forth.
Greetings fellow gardeners,
Oh, my goodness it is hot and dry. Hopefully, the temperatures will go down to normal soon and we get some rain. So many of my plants are blooming right now, which is lovely, but the heat makes the blossoms end quickly. Irises, roses, and peonies are flowering fast and then gone. Lower temperatures should slow things down.
Early Monday morning I walked to the back of my property where huge thorny roses grow against the fence. The rose I went for is the one I know as Frontenac. I brought a four-cup measuring cup with me and filled it with rose petals. My first batch of rose petal jelly is ready to eat.
Picking rose petals.
It is a good time to take a walk around your garden and see what is going on. Last fall I tried layering bulbs in a large pot. I have been hoping for some sign of flowers, but so far all that has emerged is a few blue alliums. The red orach I seeded over the surface has done well and is ready to eat. I planted a tomato in the center and some purple alyssum to show off the colour of the orach. When my orach reaches about four feet, I can cut it and harvest the leaves, or I can harvest the leaves as I want them. I usually pull off a few leaves for every salad, chop them and enjoy their rich spinach taste.
Pot with orach, tomato, alyssum, and allium
I checked on the cool crop planter and it is doing well. The radishes are huge and need to be thinned. The peas are starting to climb, as is the spinach and the Swiss chard is happy. I need to fill the little bee-waterer every day because there is a red squirrel that continuously sucks the water out of it.
Cool weather crops
Although we have hot weather, I still have plants that need to get planted. I have several peppers that will be potted up and placed here and there. I don’t want a concentration of peppers as I am trying to avoid pests. The Queensland Blue squash I planted in the hügelkultur are doing well. I cut the bottom out of some pots and planted them into the ‘pot sleeve’ so they could have a concentration of nutrients. I am planting the rest of the squash there as well, and those roots can work on mixing up the components of the hügelkultur. There are several Kevin tomatoes that need to be planted. One of my too-many cats, Kevin, has a problem with labels and reaches through the netting to pull out the labels and hide them. Last year he did that with my zucchini and cucumber seedlings, and this year I find myself with many unnamed tomato seedlings. A friend is coming by this week as she enjoys working in the garden and I have more than enough goutweed that needs to be destroyed. It is a very productive time.
Keep watering and feed your tomatoes once a week; you do not want blossom-end rot. If you are using a commercial tomato food, follow the directions carefully or you may burn your plants. Enjoy your week.
Judith. (Email: sghorticultural@gmail.com)
Veggie Bites are available at https://gardeningcalendar.ca/articles/veggie-bites/
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