Boston Bibb Lettuce, Day 57

Bibb Lettuce, originally uploaded by tpl108.

Weekly Update: Dills and Pruning (GDD 705)

June 19

• Colorburst, a slow-release fertilizer, applied to perennials.

June 23

• Rhody and Forsythia radically pruned. One-third of branches cut back to ground. You could imagine how flipping sweet they look now.
  
• Last of romaine lettuce harvested and removed.

June 24

• Dill planted where the last of the romaine roamed.
  

Need Pruning Advice? With the price of pruning going through the roof, who doesn't? Here are a few links that should put you on the right track.
Virginia Tech's Guide to Sucessful Pruning
University of Tennessee's "Pruning Landscape Trees, Shrubs, and Ground Covers"

Tale of the Tape (last week's measurement)

• Rudbeckia - 12" (11-12")
  
• Phlox -16.5" (16")
• Echinacea - 19-30.5" (18-25")

• Pepper 9" (8")
• Brandywine 16.5" (13")
  
• Yellow Pear 17" (13")
• Sungold 17.5" (13")
• Better Boy 23" (23")
  

Spirea

Spirea, originally uploaded by tpl108.

July 8th Target Date Set for Pea Harvest (Peas, Day 53)

Disregard my earlier posts about a disappointing pea harvest. Just a case a new-gardener jitters. Nothing a little Xanax and reruns of the Deadliest Catch won't control.

According to the seed packet, these sugar snap peas are ready 70 days from sprouting, giving an anticipated harvest date of July 8.

I'm so happy, I could plotz.

The Solstice. It's All Downhill until December

As nature-types celebrate the celestial significance of the day and hippies banter about how it's "the longest day of the year," (it's still 24 hours long in my book, Moonbeam), the Grange takes the contrarian view on the summer solstice. Here, it's just one long downhill slide without long pants into winter.

Hang in there, pal. The days will start getting longer again in December, at which point you'll probably be dead.

I'm kidding. You'll probably be frozen.

Pelargonium

Pelargonium, originally uploaded by tpl108.

Weekly Update; Heat Builds, Lettuce Out, Squash, Basil, Marigolds In (GDD 593)

A relatively slow week on the grange. Spring flowers are giving way to the heat of the summer. Perennials are starting to set flower buds while the lawn's growth begins to flag.

6/15

• Peony and Mountain Laurel blooms all but faded.
  

6/16

• Septoria leaf spot battle wears on. Infected foliage removed and a broad spectrum fungicide containing chlorothanil applied.

6/17

• 3 heads of red sails and romaine lettuce removed after one final harvest, leaving 5 heads of Boston bibb and 2 heads each of red sails and romaine.
  
• Squash plant added to the garden where the red sails and romaine once treaded.
• Marigolds interspersed throughout the raised bed.
• Two types of basil planted in containers.
  

Tale of the Tape

• Rudbeckia - 11-12"
• Phlox - 16"
• Echinacea - 18-25"
• Sedum - 24"

• Pepper - 8"
• Sungold - 13"
• Yellow Pear - 13"
• Brandywine - 13"
• Better Boy - 23"
• Peas - 46"
  

Pea Flower, Day 48

Pea Flower, originally uploaded by tpl108.

Septoria Leaf Spot; Oh, How they Were Warned

Call it Cupid's disease, indiscretion, or perhaps a case of flying a wee bit too close to the sun, but my rubeckia (Black-Eyed Susans) have contracted Septoria Leaf Spot: small, dark brown or purplish lesions peppered across its leaves.

Most likely caused by the fungus Septoria rudbeckiae, the damage is primarily cosmetic. The fungus overwinters on dead leaves and can remain viable for two or three years in the soil. By late spring or early summer -- right about now -- the fungus emerges and works its way up the plant from bottom to top. Moisture is essential to spread the creeping crud, so overhead watering is strongly discouraged. (Mutter-Natur take notice. Enough with the overhead watering already.)

Prevention is the only real treatment option. Remove infected leaves at the end of a growing season, consider spraying a fungicide early in the season, and have a candid and frank dialog about the dangers of running with a fast crowd.

UPDATE -- (6/24/07) A week ago, all infected leaves were removed and each plant was sprayed with broad spectrum fungicide containing chlorothanil. So far, so good. There are only a very small number of spots on the leaves and each plant appears to be doing well despite the loss of foliage. All other things being equal, the weather has turned much warmer and drier, so it's tough to pinpoint just what caused the spot to go away. At the least, removal of infected leaves was likely a major component of any turnaround.

Sources & More Information: U. of Minn., Plant & Pest Digital Library, Purdue U., New England Greenhouse, Walters Gardens, U. of Ill.

Lettuce Harvest, Day 50

As the weather warms up, lettuce tends to become bitter. So far, only the romaine lettuce has been affected, and only just slightly.

This picture was taken before a large harvest. We've been regular ever since.

Compare what it looked like 50 days ago.

Sugar Snap Peas, Day 42

A shady garden and failure to inoculate seeds with helper bacteria, a good crop of peas do not make.
It's the first attempt at growing peas on the grange, but it seems that the unexpected shade and failure to inoculate the peas with rhizobia bacteria have harmed flower production. As a "nitrogen-fixer," a pea plant supplies its own nitrogen by plucking it out of the air with the help of rhizobia bacteria. According to some studies, pea inoculant boosts crop yield by over 75%. Never will the words, "rhizobia's for suckers," cross my lips, at least not in the backyard.

It's been said that knowing is half the battle, so next year bodes well for peas.

Sources: Oregon State, U. Idaho, You Grow Girl

Weekly Update: Weeds, Shrubs, Peonies, & Gardening Ego in Bloom (GDD 500)

6/4 - Mountain Laurel blooms, white clover blooms
6/7 - Fertilizer applied to lawn
6/8 - Peony "Sarah Bernhardt" blooms
6/9 - Snap peas set flower buds, 41 days after sprouting
6/10 - Hydrangea layering propagation started.

Peony Blooms in 49 Days

Peony, originally uploaded by tpl108.

Emerging back on April 20th, it finally bloomed yesterday, about a week or two after most peonies in the area. Unfortunately not labeled when planted, this is most likely the "Sarah Bernhardt" variety, taking its name from a famous Victorian-era actress prominent when this variety was hybridized in 1906.

Weekly Update - Tomatoes and Peppers (GDD 418)

5/28

• 4 types of tomatoes, sun gold, brandywine, yellow pear tomato, and best boy, along with a green pepper were planted in the vegetable garden.
  
• The test spinach seedlings, having never grown more than an inch or so high, were cleared out to make room for the tomatoes and peppers.
  
• Boxwoods treated for psyllids.
• Big rhododendron begins bloom.
  

6/1

• paeonia lactiflora "Shirley Temple," impulsively purchased at Wal-Mart in April, was planted in a one-gallon pot awaiting creation of space in some as yet undesignated part of the garden.
• Despite application of pre-emergent crabgrass control in late April, a few patches of crabgrass were spotted.

6/3

• Chives dead-headed
  

Yellow Pear Tomato, Day 5

Overestimating the amount of sun the edge of the yard receives, it appears that the garden only gets 5 hours of direct sun. This probably explains why the leaf vegetables look relatively good while the other crops -- especially the beans -- look anemic.

My fingers are crossed, hoping for the best for this little guy, but, in all likelihood the bed will need to be moved next spring in order to escape the shade.

Chard, Day 42

Chives

Chives, originally uploaded by tpl108.

You've Got Lice! Boxwood Psyllid Control

Dusty in appearance, underhanded in action, the boxwood psyllid, also known as jumping plant lice, starts out looking like some sort of powdery fungus (or lice on that dude sitting next to you on your morning commute). Fortunately, the damage it causes is mostly cosmetic, short-lived, and, as any second-grader with lice will tell you, primarily focused on social ostracism and exclusion from birthday parties.

Of course, finding this out before an insecticide was applied would have been good, but my spraying should at least prevent these guys from laying next year's generation of super psyllids in my boxwoods.

What You Need to Know
1) Eggs hatch at around 80 growing degree days and adults appear at around 300.
2) They cause the leaves to cup, which is mostly an aesthetic issue.
3) No treatment is necessary as they'll soon die off but not before laying next year's eggs in the leaves.
4) If you do spray, they appear to be relatively easy to conquer with permethrin. However, permethrin can cause all sorts of nasty stuff, so maybe it'd be better to to accept your new identity as the kid with jumping plant lice.

Sources: University of Massachusetts Extension

Update: Lost Hosta Makes It

Planted three weeks ago, this puppy was in sorry shape. It quickly turned the corner and today it suavely conceals its lowly origins.

Red Sails & Romaine Lettuce, Day 39

Both types of lettuce are growing quite well and practically trouble free, enough so to allow us the first harvest of the red sails. Kind of tasted like chicken.

(l to r: harvest, romaine, red sails lettuce)