While dodging the raindrops this week, I have tried to be thankful that I don’t have to drag the hose around the vegetable garden as I have in other summers when the rain barrels are empty. Sadly, the rain does not keep the beetles away completely—though it did slow them down.
In my walks around the gardens, I am primarily scouting for beetle infestations, but I also appreciate the flowers that have avoided beetles so far. My wildflower meadow is enjoying summer number two. More perennials have come into flower, as have better grasses. I will need to identify and dig out weeds, but right now, it’s great.
I am plotting a simpler method for snatching beetles—vacuum perhaps? Or a large spun polyester cap for my peach tree—like a shower cap? I am not feeling inventive this week, so maybe this weekend. The task is disheartening. Even after beetles are removed to the soap-filled jar, their scent remains on the plants. I return to their favored party spot every day to remove more of them.
While circling the magnet plants (roses, hibiscus, zinnias, raspberries, dahlias), keep tools handy as you pick your beetles; snip broken branches or gather cut flowers to bring their beauty indoors where you can study them over your breakfast cereal. Try to find gardening joy while hunting the iridescent pests. Luckily, we are in harvest season, and I am getting leafy greens, peas, and now raspberries even while beetle hunting.
If tomato leaves suddenly disappear (as in overnight), you may have tomato hornworm. Look carefully near the stem that is suddenly missing foliage. The hornworm is the color of the tomato stem and can be tricky to spot. Leave alone those with white cocoons on their backs. The cocoons belong to a parasitic wasp which will kill the hornworm. As long as you’re inspecting the tomatoes, snip off yellowing leaves near the bottom of tomato plants, but clean clippers with alcohol between cuts. This will prevent diseases from spreading up from the moist soil.
It’s just about time for me to pick my garlic. It will be when one-third of garlic leaves have turned brown. Gently lift the whole plant out of the soil, but using a garden fork underneath rather than pulling the stem from the top. Shake off the soil and spread the plants—leaves, stems, and bulbs—one layer deep on a dry screen or hang loosely by the stem in a dark ventilated location like a shed or barn to allow the soil to dry.
After a couple weeks, you can rub off the extra soil, trim the leaves, and keep the bulbs in an onion bag. Store the cured garlic in a cool, dry location, like a cellar entry. Choose a spot close to the kitchen!
Did you spot beetles on the squash or bean plants? While scouting for pests, harvest beans, zucchini, yellow squash, and cucumbers while they are small and especially tender. Harvesting will bring more flowers and more fruit.
I will be pulling out my pea plants soon to make room for the bean plants. I didn’t give the pea vines much of a trellis. It was an experiment to see what would happen. They flowered and pods formed, but many soil dwelling insects found and damaged them. We blanched and ate most anyway, but I have decided it is worth providing a small trellis to lift the vines off the soil.
Harvest new potatoes by gently reaching under the stems to find small nuggets of tastiness. Leave the plants intact for larger potatoes to form.
If vegetables aren’t your thing, or if nothing has ripened yet, visit your farmer’s market. Recent rains have destroyed many strawberry crops, potentially some corn crops, and other small vegetable farms. Support your favorite farmer; please buy the produce that they have been able to save.
I am still circling the garden collecting beetles. As I pass by the flower gardens, I have snipped off dead blooms on these perennials to encourage rebloom: bachelor button, coreopsis, salvia, nepeta, and cone flower. I am grumpy about beetles. Then, I spot a lovely moth. The Ctenucha virginica (Virgina Ctenucha, pronounced ten-OOCH-ah) larvae feed on grasses. Hey, I have long grass in my meadow area! The adults—like the one I found—feed on nectar of common garden flowers (like my shasta daisy)!
I didn’t seek out this lovely moth with the silky gray wings and bottle-blue body; it arrived because it found the habitat I have provided. I think that will have to be one of my lazy wins of the week.
While beetle hunting with your tools at the ready, you can cut the flowering stems of lavender, straw flowers, celosia, globe thistle, baby’s breath, marigold (plus more!) to create dried flower bouquets. Choose flowers that have yet to open completely or you may have a shower of seeds when you handle the dried flowers later. Tie a few stems together and hang upside down in a dark ventilated area (yes, that spot again!) to help them dry in a natural position.
Beetles don’t usually infest the milkweed, but I pick one off anyway, and I notice the common milkweed flowers are drooping to form seed pods already. And voila! There is a handsome monarch caterpillar! (Latin name: Danaus plexippus, if you want to know). That caterpillar has confirmed another lazy choice for me this season: to let the milkweed grow and not cut it all down.
Speaking of cutting, do you know how gardeners keep pots of annuals looking nice? They give the leggy annual flowers a haircut! You can cut back one-third to one-half of the trailing stem to encourage fresh growth and flowers. Mid-July is the time to do that.
Mid-July is also the time to measure how many hours of sun reach your gardens. Four to six hours counts as part shade, part sun. More than six hours counts as full sun. Two to four hours of direct sun will help shade-loving plants bloom best.
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’m willing to live with the consequences if I miss something.
