Patience

July 2015

Pickaway to Garden

 

Patience

By Paul Hang

 

In James 5:7 we find, ”Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.” A characteristic that gardeners must share with Job, and eventually cultivate, is patience. If we don’t, the resulting anxiety may lead to our being patients. Most of us have learned to control this desire for instant results or else we gave up gardening as just too frustrating. But for those of us who still practice this ancient scientific art we have learned to wait, impatiently of course, for results.

 

I plant a seed and wait for it to germinate. I plant a plant and wait for it to grow, to bloom, to fruit. If it seems late I check the seed packet or the label for the time when results should be showing. Usually we anticipate results too soon. Sometimes results are overdue. Then, do we re-seed, re-plant, take it back to the nursery? Patience.

 

Why aren’t my tomato plants flourishing? Why are there no tomatoes on my plants? Why aren’t my tomatoes ripening? When will my compost heap turn to compost? When will the leaves of my daffodils and tulips turn yellow so I can cut them off?  When will the grass seed I planted germinate and fill in those bare spots? Why haven’t the weeds I sprayed with herbicide disappeared? Patience.

 

July is early to mid-summer. By the end of the month days will be noticeably shorter. I hesitate to say it but we will also begin to experience hints of the coming fall.  By the end of the month we will have lost over a half hour of daylight and the dog days will begin. For this I can be patient.

 

With the rain, heat and humidity of late we can expect an increase in mosquitoes, fungi and lawn diseases.  If you have good drainage you still need to water one inch per week. If your drainage is poor look for root rot (plants turning yellow), leaf spot (pick off the affected leaves and put them in the trash).Check ohio-line.osu.edu for bulletins addressing these problems. All this rain has really produced healthy weeds but has also made them easy to pull. Pull them before they go to seed. Don’t be patient.

 

Cheryl Harner, in her presentation for our Founders Day celebration on June 10 made some suggestions on lawn care that bear repeating: Keep your mower blades sharp; cut your grass long, 3 inches is ideal; if you water your lawn continue to water during drought (yes we have been known to have them). Repeatedly letting the lawn go dormant and reviving it by watering can kill the grass. Either keep watering or wait for Mother Nature to do it for you. Patience.

 

Support the Farmers Market at E. Franklin Street, Saturdays 8:30am to 12:30pm. Fresh produce, plants and flowers are for sale by local growers. Look for the Master Gardener Volunteer’s information table and stop by for chat.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

This is the time to dry herbs. The best flavor is to harvest just before they flower. Pick on a sunny dry day and in the morning. Tie them in small bundles with rubber bands. Hang them upside down in a hot, dry, dark, well ventilated spot in an attic, barn or shed. This is also the time to harvest garlic and hang them or lay them out to dry and cure. Harvest when leaves are turning yellow but there are still one or two green leaves.

 

The gardening season is in full swing. Weeding, deadheading and watering are high on the list of routine activities. If July turns out to be bone dry, water the equivalent of one inch per week. Mulch to conserve moisture and keep down weeds. If you haven’t mulched yet do so after a soaking thunderstorm or a good watering. Vegetables higher in water content need more water e.g. watermelons vs. green beans.

 

Keep the lawn cut at 3 inches. If we get a long dry spell, don’t forget to water your compost heap. It needs to remain moist for fast decomposition.

 

Going on vacation? Water well before you leave. Place container plants in a shady area. They should do fine for a week depending on the weather. If you will be gone longer have someone reliable come over and water regularly. Container plants in the hot sun may need watering daily.

 

If your grafted trees or roses are sprouting below the graft, cut the sprouts off.

Keep picking seed pods off the annuals and clipping spent flowers (deadheading) to encourage bloom all summer. Pinch back mums July 15^th for the last time.

 

Always read the labels on your plants for fertilization, however most woody plants have pretty much completed their growth and their buds for next year. So fertilizing trees and shrubs after early July is a waste of money and may harm the plant.

 

Consider planting a fall garden this month. Cool weather vegetables can be planted  this month to take advantage of the coming cool fall weather. Plants such as cabbage, broccoli, spinach, collards, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts (plant seeds now, seedlings by mid-month), kale, Swiss chard even beets and parsnips thrive in our fall weather. If it is hot and dry, consider starting your plants indoors (except for root crops). Acclimate them to the sun before putting them out in the garden.

 

Other vegetables that grow well in cool weather but should be planted a little later because they mature quickly and don’t do well in heat are: lettuce planted through August and September, carrots and radishes in September.  With a cover, when frost threatens, I have harvested fresh salad greens for Thanksgiving dinner.  

 

Finally, garlic and shallot bulbs should be planted in October, and into November. There are also some other varieties of vegetables that can overwinter for harvesting in the spring.  Check varieties in seed catalogs or on-line.