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."
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