O Canada

June 2018

Pickaway to Garden

O Canada

By Paul Hang

I like to hear this anthem of our neighbors to the North. But oh Canada I wish you had kept certain emigrants on your side of the border. Canada thistle, and some would include their geese, but not me, is the bane of my existence as a gardener. As in some hideous horror movie, when you kill or wound one of these aliens two or more replace them.

Of course no plant, or bird for that matter, has any respect for political borders and no wall can be erected high enough to keep them out. OK, reality check, I know they are not from Canada. It’s just their name. American Canada thistle, and geese, are not Canadian. They are American. What’s in a name? A Canada thistle by any other name should still be beat.

My most successful crop is undoubtedly this damned weed. Without any effort on my part, quite the contrary, it thrives in my flower beds. I pull them, spray them and cut them down and every year a new bumper crop appears. I have not allowed a one to go to seed for years. Yet, here they are again. Like dandelions, if a piece of root remains, they will sprout up again. They put resurrection lilies to shame.

I will continue to pull, chop and spray them. After all gardening is a process not a result. But this is a process I could do without. The best advice seems to be to keep at it all summer and let them grow into the fall (Never Let Them Go To Seed!) then spray them with an herbicide (Follow the label). After exhausting them, and me, they will try to store energy to tide them over for the winter. The herbicide will keep them from hibernating with a full stomach. Come spring they will be gone. That’s the theory.

June 13^th the OSU Extension MGVs will hold their sixth annual Founders Day Celebration. It’s free and the public is invited. The program begins at 7pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, Noecker Hall on E. Mound St. Circleville. Chris Kline, founder of Butterfly Ridge Butterfly Conservation Center will present “Landscaping for Life: Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden.”

Things to do in the garden:

The gardening season is well under way and we can be overwhelmed with all there is to do. Take the time to enjoy this leafy month. Gardening is a process to be enjoyed.

First, if you haven’t started a garden it is not too late. When choosing plants, choose strong vigorous green ones. Avoid the yellowish leggy specimens. Plants of tomato, peppers, eggplant are the best bet for early June planting.

Some plants that can be planted from seed in early June are: green beans (successive plantings to mid-June can extend the harvest), beets, carrots, Swiss chard, corn (depending on the variety), cucumber, lettuce, lima beans, muskmelon, winter and summer squash.

To avoid the wilting of cucumber and melon vines cover the new plants with row cover material until the plants flower. Then remove the cover so that the pollinators can do their work. Mulch vegetables in mid-month after the soil has warmed up. At the same time you can fertilize all vegetables, corn two times, this month.

Weed and thin planted crops. Crowding plants more than is recommended usually results in all the plants doing poorly. Water deeply (not a little each day) one inch per week all summer. It is best to apply the water to the base of the plants rather than on the foliage. If you must use a sprinkler, water very early in the day so the foliage can dry before nightfall. Wet foliage overnight can encourage fungal diseases to develop.

Remove seed heads from perennials. Don’t allow fancy hybrids to ripen and self-sow as their offspring will not come true. Dead head flowers for more blooms. Iris can be divided and replanted after blooming. You can pinch back mums for bushier growth once they are 4 to 6 inches tall. Continue to pinch back until mid-July.

If your daffodils didn’t bloom well it could be because they are now growing in the shade of trees or shrubs which were small when the bulbs were planted. Or perhaps the daffodils are too crowded. Once the foliage turns yellow you can dig up the bulbs and divide and/or move them.

Fruit trees often shed small fruits in early summer called June Drop. Thin apples to one per cluster and one fruit every four to eight inches. This will cause bigger fruit. Pick up all fallen fruit whether caused by nature or man. Only compost fallen fruit if you have a “hot” heap. Otherwise dispose of the diseased fruit in the trash.

If you notice a “volunteer” tomato plant germinating in your garden resist the temptation to let it grow. You can’t be sure what variety it is. Yank it out or transplant it. Good gardeners, like good farmers, rotate their crops. By allowing a volunteer to grow in last year’s tomato area you are allowing disease to accumulate in that spot. Mulch under tomatoes keeps the soil from splashing up on the fruits, during those occasional downpours. Soil on the fruits promotes disease. If you don’t stake, trellis or cage your tomatoes and just let them sprawl on the ground, mulch will keep the fruit off the bare ground. Mulch keeps the ground from drying out and suppresses weeds. It also moderates the soil temperature. Several layers of newspaper topped with organic mulch, leaves, untreated grass clippings, coarse compost, shredded bark etc. should do the trick.

The Master Gardener Volunteers Helpline is open for your gardening questions. Call 474-7534 with your question or go to www.Pickaway.osu.edu, click on "Ask an expert." Master Gardener Volunteers will get back to you with answers to your questions. Try to provide as much information as you can.

June sometimes begins our droughty summers. Water your roses well but hold off on the geraniums. They will bloom best when kept somewhat dry. Newly planted trees and bushes should be watered well each week if the weather remains dry. Give them a good soaking. Don’t give them a booster feeding of fertilizer this year. Force those young roots to search for food by stretching out into the soil.