Surprise

 

June 2022

Pickaway to Garden

Surprise!

By Paul Hang

Thomas Fuller was a 16th century prolific writer, historian and churchman who was noted for his humor, except when it came to his sermons. He said, “Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.” Perhaps you have had the experience of surprise when you discovered a plant in your landscape that you didn’t plant, or perhaps you forgot you planted it? I am not referring to the ubiquitous weeds that pop up incessantly the result of who knows what, the wind, an animal, bird poop, or maybe a seed stuck to your shoe and you are responsible. Those are unfortunate surprises.

I prefer the pleasant variety. Just the other day as I was coming into the house I noticed a different leaf lifting above the Hairy Mountain Mint patch by the garage. It wasn’t the usual Canada thistle or its look alike poppy. Upon closer examination I saw the telltale signs, veins that curve to the tip of the pointed smooth-edged leaf, of dogwood. (I know, you thought the only way to identify a dogwood is by its bark.) We have a dogwood tree on the other side of the driveway and so a seed must have blown from there and germinated all by itself. Surprise!

A couple years ago I left a flower pot with soil under a large gold-tipped arborvitae tree at the corner of the house. One day I noticed a very small gold tipped arborvitae leaf sticking out of the soil in the pot. Every year it got a little bit bigger. Eventually I planted it. The “mother tree” was overhanging the roof promoting moss and algae growth so, when we were adding on, I had it removed. I don’t miss that tree near as much because I have one of her offspring that is about 15 feet tall. Surprise!

This spring I thought I had a weed growing in a flower bed as it was getting quite tall very fast. I decided to wait before pulling it. I am glad I did. It has become a handsome pink foxglove that I planted last year. Being a biennial, foxglove, or digitalis, blooms in its second year. Surprise! All these pleasant surprises and many more, were the result of being observant and patient. These traits were not something I was born with but have worked hard to acquire. Now that I am in my golden years I am grateful to have at least a modicum of them. I think gardening has taught me those and other lessons.

I hope you will walk more in your garden, no matter how modest or new, observe, be patient and you may agree with the philosopher Francis Bacon, “Gardening is the purest of human pleasures.”

Things to do in the garden:

It is not too late to start a garden. Plants of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are the best bet for early June transplanting. Plants that can be planted from seed in early June are: green beans (successive plantings every three weeks 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. Use row covers on all vegetable plants that do not need to be pollinated: cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, lettuce, onions and root crops are examples. We eat them before they flower and go to seed, thus no need for them to be pollinated. I have begun to do this on more vegetables and it keeps most pests away. Mulch vegetables in mid-month after the soil has warmed up. You can fertilize all vegetables, corn two times, this month.

Weed and thin plants. Crowding plants more than is recommended results in all the plants doing poorly. Water deeply (not a little each day) one inch per week all summer.  Apply the water to the base of the plants rather than on the foliage. If you use a sprinkler, water early in the day so the foliage can dry before nightfall. Wet foliage overnight encourages 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. Deadhead flowers for more blooms. Iris can be divided and replanted after blooming. Pinch back mums once they are 4 to 6 inches tall. Continue to pinch back until mid-July. If your daffodils or other bulb plants didn’t bloom well it could be because they are now growing in the shade of larger grown trees or shrubs. Or, perhaps they 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 after this occurs. Thin apples to one fruit per cluster and one fruit every four to eight inches. Other tree fruit can be thinned a little less. This will cause bigger fruit. Don’t thin cherries. Pick up all fallen fruit. Only compost fallen fruit if you have a “hot” heap. Otherwise dispose of diseased fruit in the trash.

If you notice a “volunteer” tomato plant in your garden, yank it out or transplant it. Good gardeners, like good farmers, rotate their crops. A volunteer growing in last year’s tomato area allows disease to accumulate in that spot. Mulch under tomatoes keeps the soil from splashing up on the fruits. Soil on the fruits promotes disease. If you don’t stake, trellis or cage your tomatoes and let them sprawl on the ground, mulch will keep the fruit off the bare ground. Mulch keeps the ground from drying out, suppresses weeds and 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. Never let your tomatoes wilt. Uneven watering causes blossom end rot.

Water your roses well but hold off on the geraniums. They will bloom best when kept somewhat dry. Roses sprouting from below the graft should be replaced. Peonies should be fertilized after they finish blooming. Newly planted trees and bushes should be watered well each week for the first two years if the weather turns 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. Mow the lawn high, 3-4 inches, it crowds out weeds and needs less water, and mowing.

The Master Gardener Volunteers Helpline is open for your gardening questions. Call 740-474-7534 with your question or go to www.Pickaway.osu.edu, click on "Ask an expert."