Weeding between the lines

By Jim McGinty


It’s warm out there in the garden, but the heat (one hundred degrees Fahrenheit or more) has yet to hit: the corn, ornamental squash, pumpkins, peppers, and tomatoes are all looking a little pathetic – for these tropical crops, it is NOT a jungle out there.

However, the cool weather crops, planted in late Spring, are almost completely harvested, and in some cases, eaten: turnips, cabbage, beets, kale, and broccoli have all been replaced with newly planted versions of themselves. Sustainable gardeners will remember to rotate plant locations, to avoid loading the same dirt with evil wire worms, root maggots, and various soil diseases. By September, the menu should again include fresh coleslaw, turnip frittatas, and steamed broccoli – “good stuff”, said the older version of the little boy who refused to eat anything that didn’t look and taste like sugar-coated, unnaturally-colored breakfast cereal.

Here at Rancho McGinty, the early potatoes, and the garlic are almost ready to harvest, while the onions and leeks are still weeks away from human predation.

My gardening partner, and full-time wife, Pat and I did learn a valuable lesson this last Spring, when the veggie seed racks in many stores were stripped clean by well-meaning first time gardeners. We implemented a basic seed saving program for our favorite crops: simple enough, we just tied paint can filter bags over the seed pods of our maturing second year onions, kale, and rutabagas. We also plan to save and overwinter bulbs from our turnips and beets, and we want to save and dehydrate some kernals from this year’s dent corn – the variety is “Roy’s Calais”, and the crop looks pretty good.

Out in the garden, you will want to keep those compost piles and bins wet, and it’s probably time to add some more fresh lawn clippings – the nitrogen in the grass blades will kick start a whole new batch of “brown gold” soil amendments.

Those potatoes will want to be hilled with more dirt, straw, or mulch to protect the escaping potatoes from turning green in the direct sunlight.

Speaking of protecting things from direct sunlight, you will want to guard your (hopefully NOT green!) skin out there: clothing that protects your tender epidermis from ultraviolet rays is inexpensive, and hiding in the shade during the hottest part of the day (the “sizzle” time) is a sure sign of intelligence – at least that’s what I tell my “can’t be a dedicated gardener without a deep tan” detractors.

If you are growing melons this year, this is a good time to place a hard, water-resistant object beneath the globe of goodness to prevent decay: a short piece of untreated lumber, a glazed tile, or a dog-chewed “Frisbee” will do the job.

If your bramble bushes or vines (raspberries, blackberries, etc.) have finished bearing, now is a great time to prune out those spent brown canes, leaving next year’s fruit bearing canes (the green, or blue canes) untouched.

Please remember that those devoted diagnosers of diseased foliage, the Master Gardeners of Pend Oreille County, have both an on-line and a phone answer clinic to provide sustainable garden and landscape advice: you can e-mail questions and photos to pomastergardeners@outlook.com, or call the illuminated ones at 509-447-2401.

Our local garden club is still following health department guidelines, which means no nose-to-nose meetings. We DO, however, plan a “virtual garden tour” this month of the growing fields of the “Backyard Market” – a home-grown, commercial fruit and veggie operation located just north of “Miller’s One-Stop” on Highway 2. To view July’s excellent virtual tour, and to watch August’s episode, you can visit our club’s blog site at elk-camdengardenkeepers.blogspot.com, or you can check out our Facebook page for more gardening advice: it may not be accurate, but it’s free.

Stay tuned for garden club news

facebook users?  please remember to check in at our garden club's facebook page (#elkcamdengardenkeepers) for updates on possible garden tours (another virtual tour in july, and maybe an actual outdoor tour in august are in the works), and other essential information.  i hope you all have viewed the june virtual garden tour, and if so, please comment/correct/admonish on facebook.  if you have yet to view the june virtual tour, please do so, as club videographer/facebook page manager geoff carson appreciates our feedback.

blog users?  please remember to comment on the postings, photos, virtual tours, and/or my spelling.  our blogsite (elk-camdengardenkeepers.blogspot.com) is there to keep us connected in these uncertain times.  our club blogmeister su chism goes to great efforts to make our blog posts both fun and educational.

oh, and keep pulling all those weeds - if you are currently weed-free, please let me know, as i have a few i can spare.

thanks, jim

Take our first virtual garden tour!

The first garden tour of the year is here!

COVID-19 is not keeping our club members from exploring our neighbors’ gardens. Thanks to club president Jim McGinty and videographer Geoff Carson, we can all step through members Marlene and Stephanie’s pristine and productive garden.

Check out the metal and wood raised beds, the hoop houses keeping heat-loving veggies happy, and the young fruit trees.

And check back here at the blog, or our club Facebook page, for the next tour!

Weeding between the lines

By Jim McGinty

Summer 2020 is officially here, and the garden and orchards are exploding with green leaves, baby fruit and veggies, and (sigh) lots of weeds.  One of the nice things about the “unified” gardens and barnyard here at Rancho McGinty, is that our weeds become food for our goats, sheep, and chickens.  Our chickens lay eggs with dark orange yolks from eating all the greens, and our four-legged “petting zoo” residents really enjoy their treats – I would like to say that all those wheelbarrow loads of handpicked weeds cut down on our feed store bill, but that’s a pipe dream.

For those of us who would like to control (as if we could!) the weed takeover, here is a time-tested recipe for a vinegar-based weed killer/controller (though I sometimes think the weeds are just amused by our efforts):  combine one gallon warm white vinegar (store-bought is fine), 2 cups Epsom salts, and 3 tablespoons liquid dish washing detergent (“Dawn” brand works really well).  Spray on offending greenery, and watch the little devils shrivel and … we’ll see.

This recipe is courtesy of local garden club members Marlene Routt and Stephanie Routt, who also hosted our club’s first “virtual garden tour” in June.  As we cannot legally assemble for outdoor gatherings, this event was filmed by club member Geoff Carson, and will soon be available to other club members and the public – stay tuned for details.

Other notes:  long time readers of this gardening column will undoubtedly remember my seasonal mini-rants on organizing, inventorying, and buying garden seed before those “out of stock” notices show up on your shopping list.  This Spring, of course, a whole lot of us discovered that all the new or returning gardeners bought up transplants and seeds meant for US!  So, I will again ask everyone to check the status of their seed supplies, as I continue to hear that seed suppliers are already predicting shortages in many crop varieties.  This is also a good year to learn how to save seed from the varieties you enjoy – for the most part, seed saving is easy, and there are literally hundreds of “Youtube” videos on the topic, though my favorite book on seed saving is “Seed to Seed”, by Suzanne Ashworth.  ‘Nuff said.

Out in the garden, now is the time to watch for signs of insufficient water or nutrients.  When checking the plants (something I do daily), I check for soil moisture content by poking my pointer finger (the “Mark I Digital Moisture Meter”) down into the dirt alongside a sampling of the row, and if there is no sign of wet/moist dirt, it’s time to irrigate.  Underfed plants usually show limp or weak or yellow leaves (though there may be other underlying causes – just to make life fun for us gardeners!), and a good foliar drenching (spraying the leaves until the solution runs off) of your favorite plant juice (“Alaska” brand fish fertilizer, “Miracle Gro” if you are so inclined, or even homemade manure tea) may be indicated.  Long term fertilizing methods might include poultry poo (we use chicken house floor scrapings which include the aforementioned poo, pine shavings, and dirt), commercially-produced 10-10-10 fertilizer, or some of the organic “Gardens Alive” (513-354-1482) plant specific products (my gardening partner Pat and I really like using their “Root Crops Alive”, and “Tomatoes Alive” powders – makes for great potatoes, beets, tomatoes, etc.).

If your June-bearing strawberry plants have produced their last berry, now is a good time to fertilize the plants, or if you have ever-bearing plants, now is NOT a good time to fertilize the plants, unless you want a LOT of ornamental strawberry leaves – best to wait until mid-season.

As you empty garden spaces of cool-weather plants (broccoli, cabbage, etc.), now is a good time to fill in the areas with warm-weather plants (lettuce, other salad greens, more basil, more green beans).  You may want to re-fertilize those areas before planting, based on how hungry were the cool-weather crops.

In the fruit tree orchard, now is the time to finish thinning the baby fruit, such that they do not knock into each other during high winds, and damage/bruise their branch mates – bruised fruit = rotten fruit.

Remember to check daily for aphid infestation on the tree leaves, especially the tender new leaves, as the sap sucking aphids can really ruin a harvest.  I use this spray mixture, applied once a week for three weeks:  combine one gallon of warm water with two tablespoons of Neem oil, one tablespoon of liquid dish washing detergent, and one or two teaspoons of diatomaceous earth (NOT the pool grade of D.E.).  

GARDEN CALENDAR

Our local gardening club members are hoping for the opportunity to gather for a garden club tour this Summer, and I hope we will be able to legally do so, maybe in August?

Meanwhile, those persistent plant propagators, the Master Gardeners of Pend Oreille County are offering on-line and “Zoom” gardening classes.  You can check for class details on their website:  http://extension.wsu.edu/pendoreille/gardening, or you can call the extension office in Newport at 509-447-2401, for more information.

Our local gardening club also has current (?) information on growing food and flowers in our area of the world, and you can check back here at our blog or at our Facebook group page.  We hope to have our June “virtual garden tour” video up and running soon-ish, so please check out those two club resources.

I can see ripe, red strawberries growing in the garden, from my office chair, so it’s time to harvest, and, just maybe whip up some milkshakes – blueberries are next, then blackberries – I do love being a gardener (and a consumer of homemade milkshakes J) at this time of year.

2020: Underwater gardening

In the year 1815, an Indonesian supervolcano named Tambora blew itself up into the earth's jetstream, causing worldwide crop failures for many years.  In 1816, the world-circling ash cloud caused Northeastern America to suffer "the year without summer", with colder, wetter weather, and a significant lack of summer heat and sunshine.  Many rural families were reduced to eating rodents, pernicious weeds, and there were unsubstantiated rumors of cannibalism.  In our garden this spring of 2020, here at Rancho McGinty, we have seen some day time temperatures into the low 70 degree Fahrenheit range, with a few days of sunshine, and though I would never compare our wussy weather to "the year without summer", I've gotta say that this is a garden season for the record book.

Thankfully, Pat and I planted a bunch of cool weather crops (cabbage, broccoli, potatoes, etc.) in early April, and those plants look pretty good (see pictures below) - that said, our warm weather crops (grinding corn, squash, pumpkins, etc.) have yet to show their eager green faces through the dirt.  We may have to plant new seeds, or forego some or all of our favorite locally-grown foods, if the weather does not warm up in time for the plants to mature before the appearance of the evil first frost (which appeared with a BANG last year at the end of September!).

I planted onions and leek starts through black weed fabric, with drip irrigation beneath, and that combination is a winner, at least for now.  The second year seed onions I planted (salvaged from last year's bountiful harvest) have already produced seed pods (hopefully, every gardener, both the new and the experienced gardeners, learned this spring that veggie seeds are not always available).

Our annual garlic crop looks fantastic, with spears about thirty inches tall, and just starting to form "pigtails" (garlic plants produce delicious seed pods called "scapes").

My Korean sweet potatoe experiment is still on hold:  though planted a month ago, we have only recently noted a few reddish-brown leaves where there should be neighborhood-sized leaf invasions by now.  I plan to cover the dirt around the individual plants with black polyfilm in an attempt to boost the soil's heat.  Stay tuned.

Pat transplanted some cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts into raised beds, and through black weed fabric in the main garden, and they seem to be in good shape - additionally, she covered the plants with hooped (is that a word?) floating row cover, to increase the soil temperature.

Finally, Pat planted some seed potatoes into green "grow bags", as an experiment, to determine if a small scale spud crop is possible. 

By August, we all may be whining at high volume about the Summer heat and drought, but for now, I make sure to examine the areas between my toes for webbing, every time I shower off the mud.

So far, our local garden club may not legally meet, though the rules may relax sometime soon, and we can perhaps gather for an outdoor garden tour or two.  Meanwhile, I plan to buy better rain gear, mow the jungle/lawn between rain showers, and expand our recipe binder with meals involving potatoes.

See you on the dry side, Jim.

Weeding between the lines

By Jim McGinty

Thus far, the 2020 gardening season has been wet and cool – torrential rain at times, an irritating drizzle an hour later, and daytime temperatures not exceeding 65 degrees Fahrenheit.  Perfect (!) weather for growing cool weather crops:  potatoes, onions, leeks, beets, cabbage, etc.  Let’s not just dismiss this “yukky” weather, and decide to wait for “real” Summer temperatures – we can successfully grow food now, while awaiting tomato and pepper planting time.  

Speaking of which, mid-June looks pretty good for finally setting those precious warm weather crops outside into the dirt:  beans, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn and grinding corn, ornamental pumpkins and livestock-grade squash, tubular Styrofoam ® (I mean eggplant), and cucumbers.

Here at Rancho McGinty, the garlic stalks are 20 inches tall, and dark green – a result of an earlier application of chicken house litter and poo dust, I believe.  Potato plants are continuing to pop up (thanks to Joe S. for planting help), and I continue to hill dirt and compost over most of each plant as they reach for sunlight, in an effort to increase the spud yield.  Our onion and leek spears are about 10 inches tall, while the broccoli and cabbage plants look healthy and happy – and did I mention the asparagus spears – an early Spring application of organic “Vegetables Alive!” supplemental fertilizer (available from “Gardens Alive”, 513-354-1482, or on-line at Gardensalive.com) caused these two and three year old crowns to LAUNCH three feet long shoots into the air.  Next Spring, we harvest and EAT!

If your berry bushes and vines are leafing and flowering now, be sure to keep an appropriately-sized piece of floating row cover (Northwest Seed and Pet carries both Ree-May and Agribon brands) nearby, to throw over the fragile flowers, just in case we benefit (?) from a late frost – the row cover will protect your precious flowers down to plus 26 degrees or so.

Out in the orchard, the fruit trees are full of new leaves and fragrant flowers – we want to leave the trees alone now, to allow them time to decide what our harvest will look like.  By the end of June or early July, the flowers will have turned into baby fruit, and that will be a great time to thin the numbers of nickel- to golfball-sized immature fruit hanging from each branch:  6 to 12 inches between each fruit will help preclude them from banging into each other in the wind, and causing early fruit rot.

With all the recent (and well-appreciated, I’m sure!) rain, be sure to empty all those miscellaneous water catchers around the homestead, before the mosquitoes start breeding - we might yet have a mighty harvest of the droning bloodsuckers – a suboptimal consequence, in my opinion.

During this health-related opportunity to stay home, many families have decided to grow a first time garden (especially after seeing supermarket tomatoes with a five dollar per pound price!).  I recently visited with a local-to-me family to see how they were doing out in their new garden:  parents Brian and Carrie have an older, but reliable polyfilm greenhouse full of healthy plant starts, courtesy of hardworking Carrie and her sister Donna.  Brian is just finishing his solid-looking garden fence (pressure-treated four by fours extending nine feet above ground, and heavy-gauge black plastic deer netting), knowing as he does from his parent’s garden, that protection from the white-tailed marauders is paramount. 

The next step for the family (including youthful, if occasionally unfocussed helpers Jon, Malachi, Isaac, Kaleb, and Christian) is planting their food crops:  cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, some Spring garlic, and new asparagus crowns.  Later, the family will plant some warmer weather crops:  pepper, squash (sigh), beans, cucumbers, and sweet corn.

Then comes watering, weeding, fertilizer side-dressing, and finally harvest – it is satisfying work – a lot like raising a family.

GARDENING CALENDAR

Once again, I know of no nose-to-nose gardening events or classes this month, though the Newport Farmers’ Market (236 South Union Street) is now open on Saturdays, from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M., so you can go there for friendly farmer confrontations, produce, crafts, and plant starts.

On the internet, youtube continues to provide gardening education, though one must sort out the advice, coming as it does from both backyard gardeners and commercial gardeners with a platoon of unpaid interns.

You can also access our local garden club’s infallible information, pithy pictures, and scandalous scuttlebutt via our club blog here or our Elk-Camden Garden Club Facebook page. 

I see a break in the rain, and I’d better rush outside to – oh wait, it’s dripping again.  Shucks.

TOMATO PLANTING SEASON ARRIVES (probably)

On the second of May 2020, our garden club offered drive-up, pick-up services in the Camden Grange parking lot for the many club members who pre-ordered their tomato plant starts from the nonpareil plant provider, Barbara Midtbo.  Barbara grows and sells (with proceeds benefiting our garden club!) tomato plants that have thick, hardy tree trunks, and dark green foliage - I have had many reports over the years, of unsuspecting tomatoe plant buyers, who have mistakenly planted Barbara's big, green guys, and who failed to get out of the way fast enough to avoid leafy whip burn from tomato plants forcing their way up into the sky!

Thanks to the garden club members who helped pass along a LOT of tomatoe plants, free seed potatoe starts (Red Lasoda, German Butterball, and Red Gold varieties), and some second year seed onion plants:  Pat McGinty (the Official Club Photographer), Barbara Midtbo herownself, Jim Hoffman, Jane Bolz (the club's Official Secretary and Treasurer), and Joe Schofield (our club's Official Newest Member).

During the Great Tomato Pick Up experience, many club members asked "when, oh when will we meet again??!!".  Hopefully we can squeeze in a 2020 garden tour before our October Harvest Dinner ends the club meeting season.  We'll see.

jim.