As of this writing, we may finally be getting some promised September rainfall. If you have kept watering, you have extended the growing season of annuals and vegetable gardens. My late-planted summer bulbs of Gladiolus, Zinnia, and Crocosmia are finally blooming.
To be a lazy gardener can be very hard these days when the temperatures and rainfall swing so far from historical norms. Luckily, I have a couple household members to do daily watering of vegetables. The perennials need to put up with my sporadic attention or, well, they are out of here!
I am reaching that time of year when I try to assess what worked or didn’t work and why. The two to three weeks of temperatures over 90 degrees played a major role. The June-fruiting raspberry plants cooked. Other stressors may have been in play, but I should have provided a light shade cloth mounted on posts above the raspberry plants. Spun polyester reemay attached to temporary bamboo poles could have prevented sunburn and helped the plants set fruit. Tunnels of cloth could also protect the plants from early frost. I think I need to make an investment now that temperatures can swing so widely from day to day.
I also learned that tomatoes won’t set fruit in temperatures over 90. That, in addition to the hornworm, mentioned in previous columns, may be why this year’s tomato harvest is relatively poor.
On the upside, I still have tomatoes coming. The climate changes we experience now in Berkshire County have forced us to allow for dramatic temperature differences from one year to the next. I kept watering my tomatoes even though fruit seemed sparse. Now, more fruit has started to form. With frost predictions still two weeks or more into the future, I may have more tomatoes to put away in paper bags and allow to ripen.
Start cutting back perennials that have stopped growing or producing chlorophyl. By removing dead stems and foliage, you expose spaces between plants and expose voles to predators. Where perennial plants abut shrubs or trees, the open spaces will reduce rodent activity and subsequent damage to young, woody plants.
Chop spent cornstalks or any vegetable stems into pieces to speed their breakdown into compost. Start a compost pile now if you haven’t already. Whether contained or piled out of the way at the edge of the garden, the decaying plant material of compost reduces waste and produces a valuable addition to your gardens. Use a rough ratio of three parts carbon to one part nitrogen material. Carbon would be any brown or twiggy and fibrous material—even newspaper. Nitrogen would be green leaves, peelings, or ends of vegetables, as well as coffee grounds. Compost “cooks” best in a pile at least three feet by three feet by three feet. Don’t add weeds with seeds. Rotate or turn or invert your pile regularly. The more you turn the faster the pile turns into usable compost.
Things I won’t be chopping for a while are asters. I have a wide selection of native asters blooming right now. I love asters because they need very little from a lazy gardener. The blooms draw our native bees, have a beautiful range of colors, and easily self-sow. I am still trying to learn their names and differences. The heath aster self-sows easily and makes a great fall ground cover. I know I will always have some and feel fine editing it out of the garden bed earlier in the summer.
If you have acidic soil, consider blueberry plants now for their attractive fall foliage. Plus, if you plant two or more, you will get good fruit in July and/or August depending on the variety.
While you open the landscape to predators to expose those voles, you can also install barriers around tender young trunks. Do it while the weather is mild—for your own comfort—and make sure barriers sink into the soil as well. Repellents make up the other winter protection strategy. Use a different repellent every six weeks to keep deer from getting used to one type. Rabbits and woodchucks may be harassing your garden. Now you can purchase predator urine to send these rodents away.
To protect valuable plantings, suspend plastic vials that contain a cotton ball soaked in predator urine repellent. The threat seems to work at sending annoying pests away.
A few more reminders:
Purchase local firewood to reduce risk of spreading invasive wood-boring insects. Plant material also spreads on the soles of our shoes. Always check your children, compatriots, and self for ticks or other insects hitching a ride.
Don’t throw out leftover garden seed by tossing it into the compost pile. It will last from season to season if kept in a cool, dry location. Also consider donating it to a local food pantry or community garden plot.
Our rains have been too sparse lately. Keep watering recently planted trees, shrubs, and perennials. Watering encourages good root growth now. A healthy start now makes them more resilient to winter sunburn and healthier plants next year.
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.
