Weeding between the lines

By Jim McGinty

Finally, harvest time in the garden! Tomatoes, peppers, second-crop broccoli, third-crop radishes, blackberries, strawberries, and much more. The trick now is to finish the season with more ripe veggies and fruit: you will have to decide (I know, decision-making can be tough, or maybe not, I don’t know…) whether to clip off those baby plant flowers, and focus on finishing the crop of existing tomatoes, etc., or to leave those flowers, and hope/pray for a long, hot autumn. Lots of small, green tomatoes, or fewer, but red, ripe tomatoes – hmmm.

Here at Rancho McGinty, the potato and onion plants are starting to keel over, so we’ll be harvesting a LOT of spuds and onions – just in time for late night breakfasts: fried potatoes, onions, and garlic, with an overeasy egg or two. Sounds mighty good.

Our monster squash trellis is easily 6 feet tall, and 14 feet wide and deep – much bigger than our Subaru station wagon! If you want construction details for your own squash trellis, you can see pictures of the PVC frame, drip irrigation, and layout information here on the blog – just look back at the entries from summer 2016.

Speaking of the chicken squash trellis, I’ve been trying a new (to me, anyway) technique to encourage more and bigger zucchinis, spaghetti and acorn squash, etc.: once a week I prune back the older, larger leaves, leaving open spaces for the sun and wind to enter the green, heaving mass. My theory is that more sunlight stimulation will produce more fruit, and better windflow through the tubular jungle will reduce humidity-borne diseases like powdery mildew. If I can see squash blossoms and daylight back in there, it might improve the harvest – we’ll see, and the chickens LOVE those spiky squash leaves and vines.

Out in the orchard, be sure to prune (no pun intended) your plum trees right after harvest:  remove all the dead, damaged, or diseased limbs, and be sure to remove all the plums – don’t leave any to fall to the ground and turn into winter housing for evil insects.

Continue to remove any water sprouts from your fruit trees – you’ll know the sprouts when you see them:  shiny, new bark, pencil thick or so, and shooting right up to the sun, through the middle of your tree.

Garlic planting time is nearly upon us – at the end of September, just ahead of the rains (I hope!). I like to amend my soon-to-be planted garlic patch in early September with composted/aged cow and horse poo, and barnyard straw and litter. Rototill all the good stuff under, wet it down, and later plant the cloves: 4-inch-deep furrows, about 18 inches between rows. I plant the cloves pointy end up, about 6 inches apart in the rows, cover the cloves with dirt, and compact the area above the rows with the tines of a bow rake, to ensure good soil contact. Wet the area, and cover with a 6-inch-thick layer of mulch (leaves, pine needles, tax returns, etc.).

It’s time to stay weather alert – we saw 40 degrees Fahrenheit one evening here at Rancho McGinty just recently – the evil “F” word (“frost”) should never be far from our planning:  sheets of frost blanket (Ree-may or Agribon available locally from Northwest Seed and Pet in Spokane), flannel sheets, even light tarps can keep your precious crops safe-ish.

GARDEN CALENDAR

On the 12^th of September, our local garden club will meet in Camden Grange at 7 p.m., for an indoor meeting with our own club member, and favorite W.S.U. apple detective Dave Benscotter, for an update on his quest to find and identify heirloom and ancient apples in our area of the world. Dave offered a dynamite presentation last year on what he is doing in our local, older orchards, and answered a LOT of questions on apple trees in general – don’t miss this meeting, and if you have older, unidentified apple trees in your orchard, please bring some apple samples – if nothing else, we can help you dispose of those tasty questions .

On the 14^th, those green, gardening gurus, the Master Gardeners of Pend Oreille County, will offer a class, Pollinators: Honey Bees and Natives, taught by my own honey bee herself, Pat McGinty, and Master Gardener Vicki Green. The class will discuss and illuminate methods of attracting and feeding these beneficial insects: the class will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the W.S.U. Extension Office (227 S. Garden Ave., Newport), and will cost $5 per person, and you can call the office at 509-447-2401 for further information or to register for the class.

On the 20^th, I will be teaching a class on planting my favorite bulb, garlic! We will learn how to select, plant, encourage, and harvest this delectable member of the rose family – the class will be in the Newport College Center (1204 W. Fifth St., Newport), and will run from 6-8 p.m.  Cost is $17 per person, and you can call to register for the class at 800-845-3324, or you can register on-line at www.sccel.spokane.edu/ACT2.

On the 27^th, I will be teaching a class on backyard fruits and berries, with an emphasis on selecting, planting, maintaining, harvesting, and (my favorite part!), eating the good stuff.  The class will cost $17 per person, will run from 6-8 p.m., in the Newport College Center, and you can register for the class at either of the two above contacts.

Speaking of berries, our Doyle blackberries are ripe and ready to blenderize with vanilla ice cream – I have to go collect berries now, before I drool and need a new keyboard.

got poop?

In need of aged horse and cow poop for your garden, orchard, or flower bed? One of our club members has a GIANT pile of poo, just waiting for you and your truck to arrive!

This particular poo has been carefully cultivated and turned, over the spring and summer, and is ready to apply. You can call me at 509-292-0326, and we'll arrange a group poo-pickup day. And, yes, you are responsible for the unloading – remember to wear gloves, and mind the daytime temperatures.

jim

Sunflowers for the bride

Reminder to those club members who grew sunflowers for the early September wedding of member Joe Gannon's daughter: please call Joe at 509-863-6902, so he can arrange to pick up said sunflowers at your home.

Thank you to each of the sunflower bunch – your sunny contribution will bring a smile to the bride. Well you have done, young grasshopper.

jim

Garden club tour warning

We will be touring the Pend Oreille County Master Gardener's show-n-tell garden in Newport (227 S. Garden Street) on Tuesday, the 8th of August:  lasagna layer garden, straw bale garden, composting facility, free gardening brochures and practical advice, drip irrigation, raised bed berry garden, and much more.  We will depart from Camden Grange promptly at 7 p.m., for the 20 minute or so drive to Newport. Be sure to bring your cameras, as you will not remember all the cool examples you will see!

In september, our favorite apple detective Dave Benscotter will return to our indoor meeting at 7 p.m., for a discussion of, what else (!?), heirloom and antique apples. Bring your questions, examples, and photos for an evening of apple-licous fun.

jim

Weeding between the lines

By Jim McGinty

It’s that time:  barbecues, family reunions, sweaty hours in the garden, and don’t forget to take your salt tablets!

Here at Rancho McGinty:

The garlic is harvested, hanging, and curing in readiness for cleaning and dispersal. This year, the bulbs are overall smaller (due to spring’s monsoon rains followed by summer’s prolonged 90-degree heat?) than in previous years – the flavor seems more intense and concentrated – we’ll have to monitor our food seasoning efforts.

Potatoes are next out of the ground – we have some BIG spuds out there (based on a sneak peek), and maybe we have the potato scab problem licked for this year – no fertilizer was applied to the 2017 potato patch last autumn. 

Broccoli is being harvested and eaten, while the cabbage is still at the large softball (bocci-ball size?) stage. 

Red raspberries and strawberries are being massaged into vanilla smoothies, and the apples and pears are still golf ball diameter – regular watering now is most important!

It goes almost without saying that the zucchini and squash (chicken food, at its best!) plants and vines seem to squeal all hot summer night long as they grow veggies long and wide – our neighbors no longer welcome our grocery-bag-toting visits.

Out in the garden, be sure to keep your compost bins and piles moist – our goal is damp and hot, not dry and hot!

Remember that some veggie plants (cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers) will produce more of the same only after you harvest the ripe versions – if you leave the ripe veggies to wither on the plants, you have created an expensive ornamental-only garden.

Your potato patch needs to be checked for exposed potatoes – cover or hill up with dirt any uncovered spuds.

As your expended plants shrivel in the sun, pull the plants, re-fertilize as necessary, and replant with short season varieties that might (?!) make it to maturity before the looming cold season is upon us: peas, spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, kohlrabi, lettuce, and radishes – look for short season (sixty days or so) varieties.

If you have melons sitting on the soil, place something waterproof (board, brick, dog-chewed Frisbee) underneath to prevent rot or wireworm damage, and those berry canes (raspberries, blackberries, etc.) that produced fruit this summer can be cut away, leaving nutrition and space for new canes.

GARDEN CALENDAR

On the 6^th of August, those greens-growing groupies, the W.S.U./Pend Oreille County Master Gardeners will offer their annual garden tour, with day-long tours of demonstration gardens and private gardens displaying veggie gardens, hosta and perennial gardens, water features, and garden art (I recently placed some garden “art” in our veggie plot: the decorative sign reads “If thou art here, pull up a weed!”). Tickets for the tour, which starts at 1 p.m. at the W.S.U. Extension Office at 227 South Garden Avenue, Newport, are $12, and you can call to register at 509-447-2401.

On the 8^th of August, our local garden club will tour an educational display garden in Newport, which demonstrates a compost and biochar facility, raised bed and container small fruit and veggies, square-foot garden, pollinator garden, straw-bale garden, lasagna layering and hugelkultur beds, and much more!  We will depart from Camden Grange at 7 p.m.(sharp!), and, as always, the public is invited. Check back here at the blog for additional details.

That’s it for this month – stay cool and in the shade whenever possible – and take your salt tablets – those midnight leg cramps will be a thing of the past!

Daylilies, anyone?

Local flower fancier Janet called to ask if anyone in our garden club would be interested in "over 150" orange flower daylilies. Janet lives about 3 miles east of Elk, and if you are interested in digging up (officially called "dividing") a passel of daylilies, you can call her at 1-307-749-1500 to make an appointment. 

Daylilies divide and transplant very easily at this time of the year (you just need a sharp shovel, and remember to keep them watered in this heat), and a mess of them looks really cool - one day at a time.

jim

July garden club tour report

Eastern side of the large community garden, complete with nosy club members.

We toured the community garden at the North County Food Pantry (40015 N. Collins Road, Elk) on the evening of July 11. Twenty-four of us ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the many cool gardening features, and we mercilessly harassed the garden staff with our many questions and demands.

Club members and garden staff trading time-tested gardening techniques,
or maybe just laughing about the impossibility of raising food in Elk, Wash.

The community garden is only three years old, but already produces TONS of high quality food for Food Pantry clients. Dedicated volunteers (including Sandi, Joe, Mark, Kathy, Chris, Lisa, the Two Mikes, Lester, Ellen, Kathy, Dee, and Virgil) grow healthy, good-looking plants that are covered with fruit and veggies.

Coveted garden club gnome tightly clutched by garden staff.

The community garden is watered using drip irrigation to save time and water, and the crop locations are rotated each spring to discourage permanent pests and diseases.

Other features in the garden include a large compost operation, a garden-wide mulch of barnyard straw and wood shavings over heavy kraft paper, and rows of sunflowers grown on the south and west fence lines to provide shade, protection from wind, and to hold humidity at the drier garden edges. Large, tall-sided raised beds line the east edge of the garden - those tall beds are SO much easier on tired backs!

Tall, well-designed raised beds

The community garden receives donations from local individuals and organizations including Catholic Charities, All Around Rentals, Ponderay Newsprint, Ziehnert's Dairy, Northwest Seed and Pet, and North 40 to name only a few.

A big "thank you" to the garden staff and Food Pantry helpers for allowing us to cruise the garden, and for their efforts to assist our community.

Be sure to mark your calendars for the 2018 Garden Fest on the first weekend after Mother's Day, sponsored by the Food Pantry, and held in the community garden: kids' games, plant sales, delicious food, and much more.

It was also fun to see a bunch of long-time garden club members (from the beginning days of 1998) all in one place: Pat, Barbara, Linda, Tim, Carolyn, Virginia, and yours truly). 

Also, if you still have garden space available, club member Joe Gannon is looking for more volunteers to grow sunflowers (Joe will provide the seeds) for his daughter's wedding late in the summer.  You can call me at 509-292-0326 for contact information.

jim