Garden update for August

The garden is looking pretty this August. I wish it were more productive. We are not getting enough sun for the fruiting plants like tomatoes and peppers. Don promises to take down more of the offending tree(s) when the weather gets cooler. I wish he'd done it in the spring!

I picked out a rotten log and put soil in it. I planted basil, radishes, and lettuce seeds in it, both to hold the soil and to look pretty. These plants have pretty shallow roots, so I am hoping they will survive there.

The asparagus is thriving, but the bush beans have gone by. I've planted more. They grow fast, and Don loves them.

The asparagus looks pretty

 Our experiment with trellising butternut squash turned out OK.

Trellising butternut squash to save garden space

Dealing With Problems in My Garden

When I write about my garden, I like to take pictures of what looks pretty and to celebrate successes. But my garden has problems, just like any other.

My heritage pole beans, "Lazy Wife Greasy Beans," are supposed to be flavorful, disease resistant, and prolific. They have grown tall and beautiful but have not produced many beans. And the beans I did get did not taste as good as my bush beans. I've read that it is helpful to "go vertical" to increase yields in tight spaces, but it didn't work as far as the beans this year. I am not sure if the pole beans are not getting enough sun or space, or if the soil is too acidic, or what. I pulled several of the plants up to make room and light for the tomatoes and peppers around it. I planted bush beans in their stead. There may still be time to get another harvest. Next year I'll try the pole beans in a different spot and add some extra lime, since beans like alkaline soil.

One of my three yellow squash plants never produced well, so I also pulled it up. There's no sense in it taking up space and nutrients if it's not producing fruit. What little it has produced has tended to go soft before I can harvest it. My watermelon will need more space soon, anyway. The other two yellow squash plants are a good size and producing enough squash for us, but  it is succumbing to powdery mildew, a chronic problem here in the hot, humid South. I should probably have sprayed my vines at the first sign of the mildew earlier in the year. I will probably have to pull the two plants up soon to prevent the spread of the disease, but I am loathe to do it, because the plants are still flowering and producing well, and we like to have the summer squash. My research says the best way to deal with powdery mildew is to plant resistant plants and to plant and to be sure plants get enough air circulation and enough sun. More ideas for next year.

I found squash bug larvae on one of my butternut squashes. I think I squished most or all of them with the palms of my hand. I didn't see any other bugs or eggs on the undersides of the leaves, but I'll continue to keep a look out. I need to find a board to put in the bed. Squash bugs like to hide underneath wood. If you get up early and go out in the cool of the morning, before they get active, you can flip over the board and kill as many as you can.

On a positive note, when I pulled up the pole beans I found a sweet bell pepper, the first of the season. It had been hidden behind the other plants, so I had no idea it was there. I harvested it and scrambled it with some other vegetables and tofu for breakfast. Yum!

Wool "Natural Growers Pack" for Container Gardens

Portulacas thrive in hot, dry conditions (source)

I bought another impulse item from my online local-foods coop this week.

My understanding husband has taken in stride my purchase of red wrigglers for vermicomposting and wool dryer balls to replace fabric softeners in our dryer. But this week he actually raised his eyebrows and looked askance at me. There's a first time for everything, I guess.

The $8.00 purchase was a "Natural Growers Pack," a "sheep manure compost fertilizer and water retention system" from Breeze Hill Farm of Powhatan, VA. What arrives is a gallon zip-lock bag filled with unwashed, untreated sheep's wool and a small packet of composted sheep manure to use as fertilizer. It is meant to be used in container gardens. According to the packet:

Our product reduces the need to water the plant 

and provides one of the best all natural organic fertilizers 

available to feed your plants for the entire growing season.

I always have trouble keeping outdoor potted plants sufficiently watered in our hot, dry Virginia summers, so I am hoping the sheep's wool will help. And anyone who reads my blog knows I'm a big fan of composted manure! The directions are to line the bottom of the container with the wool, mix the sheep compost in with the potting soil, add the soil on top of the wool, then add the plant. 

That's what I did, except I sprinkled some seeds on top of the soil in my flower box instead of transplanting plants. The seeds are for dwarf phlox plants and portulacas, also called moss rose. Both are hardy, and I am hoping they will grow in the same container. The sheep's wool took up so much room that I wonder if there's actually enough soil in there for the plants. I'll provide an update on how the system works after my flowers are established.

Update on 7/21/12: The wool does seem to keep the planter moist for more time than I would expect, especially in our unbelievably hot summer weather, but my plants have failed to thrive. the phlox has all died. I am not sure if it is something I am doing wrong that is unrelated to the wool "growers pack" or not. If others have any experience with this growing system, I would appreciate the feedback.

 Update on 8/25/12: I moved the flower box into full sun, and the portulacas are thriving and blooming beautifully. I wish I'd planted more of them. And the soil does stay moist longer than I expect. I'm not sure what happened to the phlox, but the moss rose seems to be making up for it. Overall I'd say the experiment has been a success. I'd try it again.

Phlox (source)