The heat had me running (more like staggering) for air-conditioned indoor locations this last week. The Lazy Berkshire Gardener tried to spend only brief periods in the heat doing things after planning gardening strategies in the cooler indoors. Two important words for these days: Keep hydrated.
Minimum things to do now:
Keep your annuals and vegetables moist by watering them in the earliest part of the day. Hanging baskets in full sun might need another dose of water at midday.
Gaze lovingly on the container combinations you created in May (from indoors if you must). But do go outside to make sure they are fertilized and evenly watered. Take a photo to remember what you chose/purchased and save it for next May’s shopping expedition.
You can also photograph other container combinations that you enjoy—at local stores or at garden centers. Many businesses make a special effort to put together beautiful containers to attract customers. If you like what you see, mention it to the store staff or managers. Ask them the plant names or varieties now and you can try to replicate it for yourself next year.
Midsummer is also a good time to assess exactly how much sun plants receive. If a spot gets at least six hours of direct sunlight now, that location is a full-sun location. I thought my little potted-plant feature in the backyard received full sun, but I realized last year that there was more shade in the middle of the day. I planted shade-loving impatiens to the north side of the dahlias in these pots and million bells (Calibrachoa) to the south side. Both annuals seem happy with the conditions. Last year, the million bells petered out by August once they became too shaded.
Strategize what to do about pests. I have been feeling too lazy about Japanese beetles. They were all over my raspberries and peach tree and that is not tolerable for me. But I can’t be out in the heat of every day picking beetles. I want to enjoy the fruit of these plants and want the plants to flourish. And so, I have invested in Japanese beetle traps. This investment comes after many years of avoiding them. But now, I feel that careful placement of the traps can help me in my efforts to reduce the overall population of local beetles. I have convinced myself that the traps are working.
I mostly followed the directions for trap placement. Honestly, I didn’t purchase enough traps. You will want two traps for every planting that you wish to protect. You need to place a trap far enough away (at least 10 feet) so that beetles don’t miss the trap only to spill over onto your protected plant. You also need to place it on an upwind side of your plant. The second trap should be the same minimum distance but upwind on the other side. You are creating a cone of protection. The problem is the prevailing wind can change! You will not catch every beetle, but traps do create peace of mind.
In this heat, who doesn’t want to be more efficient and/or lazy with weeding? Spraying herbicides can work quickly on gravel paths or driveways. Be extra cautious with herbicide. The slightest drift can affect the health of non-target plants. Suddenly, your peony could be showing some spots and then rapid decline! Avoid spraying on windy days and spray only the targeted weed.
Minimum efforts from the Lazy Berkshire Gardener this week also include harvesting vegetables:
Harvest beans, cucumbers, and summer squash while they are small, tender, and sweet. If your cucumbers taste bitter, the plants need more water.
While hand-watering the vegetable patch, look closely for pests or diseased leaves. Yellow or spotted leaves near the bottom of tomato plants should be removed as soon as possible. Not only can disease spread up the plant, but the yellow leaves will also attract insect pests.
Handpick small hornworms off tomato foliage before they strip foliage. Hornworms can be very difficult to spot. They look like a tomato leaf curled on itself against the plant stem. They would be fascinating insects if they weren’t such jerks.
If you want to have a long season of vegetables from your garden, transplant seedlings of cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli now. You could also try direct sowing (in the cool of an evening). These vegetables taste better after a light frost, so you have time.
Last weekend, I wanted to plant beans where I had strawberries growing. That meant I had to renovate (or clear out) my strawberry bed. Though perennials, strawberry plants benefit from a vigorous renovation every year. I dug out plants from a section and planted pole beans instead. The strawberries will get a new dedicated bed all their own. If you aren’t scraping around for garden space, renovate your strawberries immediately after fruiting by mowing or shearing the old leaves off. New growth will spring from the crowns along with new flowers and fruit if you have everbearing strawberries. June-bearing will not fruit after renovation but will strengthen for a good crop next year.
Our early heat this spring seems to have rushed the garlic. Some garlic plants were ready to harvest but not all. Let your crop guide you. When about three leaves at the bottom have died back, gently dig down around the stem with a trowel to leverage the bulb out of the ground. I loosen the soil with the trowel and gently pull the stem up with one hand while leveraging the bulb up with the other. My larger German white garlic seems ready, but the Russian red has another week of growth to go.
While hand-watering this week (or by Sunday night), I plan to prune:
- Waterspouts from the base of trees like birches, cherries, and apples with my hand pruners. Small cuts now will heal fast.
- Faded flowerheads of coneflower and coreopsis to encourage more blooms.
- Canes of raspberries that have fruited, back to the ground once all the fruit is harvested.
- Spent flowers of annuals like geranium, zinnias, marigolds, and calendula to keep the blooms coming all summer.
Last observation from me this week: I love thyme growing in a large lawn of turf. The thyme mixed with lawn grasses stays low. It will make the lawn height uneven, but unless you manage a golf course or sports field, the height variation doesn’t matter. Thyme in a lawn will benefit pollinators and minimize the fuss as well as expense of maintaining perfect turf. Kudos to this property owner for a lazy, beautiful win.
I call myself the Lazy Berkshire Gardener because I don’t want to work too hard in my gardens. I want to enjoy them. I find it easier to observe my landscape and let the compost happen, the water pool up, or daisies to self-sow. I look for ways to do the minimum task for the biggest impact. For example, mulching is better than spraying and much better than weeding all season. I look for beautiful, low-maintenance plants that thrive in or at least tolerate my garden conditions. Plus, I am willing to live with the consequences if I miss something.
