Out in the garden yesterday evening, innocently checking on the ripening progress of my tomatoes, I got buzzed by a dragonfly. I barely had time to duck, much less see what was coming at me, but on its return path back to the huge bushes of asparagus, I saw that it was a dragonfly.
We seem to get dragonfies around this time each summer, and I wondered if they are good or bad bugs when it comes to the garden. Turns out, they’re good:
Dragonflies eat the larvae of other water-loving insects, including mosquito larvae. (I don’t know where they’re finding water in our neighborhood - we’re quite land locked, unless you count the neighbors’ pool) In fact, I learned that they can eat many times their weight in mosquitoes every day. Dragonflies also eat other kinds of flies and (eek) the occasional honeybee. Let’s just hope that there are enough mosquitoes to take care of that they can leave the poor honeybees alone.
I love having fresh flowers in vases scattered throughout the house, but many times it means hacking away all the flowers in my garden and not being able to enjoy them outside.
A good solution to this is a cutting garden. Many common varieties of flowers make excellent candidates for a cutting garden. Check out this list of 45 fantastic cut flowers at Organic Gardening. Simply plant extra of the flowers you wish to cut to avoid having bare spots when you do pick flowers, or separate the plants you have and place them into a separate garden designated as a cutting garden, and get cutting!
I am a huge fan of composting. The bin on our kitchen counter is filled up almost before dinnertime with waste from the kitchen — and other areas around the house.
There are many household items that you might throw away that can actually be put in the compost bin. Here are just five of my favorites:
- Paper towels and tissues. As long as there isn’t animal grease or cleaners on them, they’re safe.
- Human hair. Being pregnant and long haired, I find a lot of hair in my hair brush, shower drain, bathroom sink drain, etc…
- Dryer lint.
- Animal fur. The cats shed about as much as I do, so why not throw their fur into the compost too?
- Fabric. Old t-shirts that are beyond wearing, dish rags, etc., can all be put in the compost bin.
While I’m still coming to terms with the fact that it is already July (where do the days go?), it’s time to start thinking about mid-summer gardening to-dos.
My gardening to dos are as follows:
- Water all containers regularly.
- Prune and deadhead all perennials to stimulate further blooms.
- Pull spent annuals and replace with fall bloomers such as mums.
- Weed, weed, weed.
- Pull the lettuce that’s bolted and sow some new seeds.
- Keep picking raspberries and strawberries, keeping an eye out for evidence of pests.
- Divide the bearded iris before they take over everything.
- Prune and fertilize roses.
- Keep checking on those tomato plants, watering regularly and watching for any color (other than green, of course) on the fruit.
- Keep cutting and using the herbs in the garden to encourage further growth.
- Enjoy my garden! As fast as summer arrived, fall will be here and the temperatures won’t be nearly as friendly and encouraging for outdoor activities.
What’s on your to-do list this month?
Cats are lovely animals and make great house pets, but when they start to use your garden - especially vegetable and fruit garden - as a litter box, it’s time to take action.
There are natural and non toxic ways to repel cats from your garden. You can start by adding plants to your garden that will keep cats away. Herbs and plants such as lavender, rue, geranium, absinthe and lemon thyme all serve to repel cats.
You could also try the bait and switch approach by luring the cat into a different part of your garden. Instead of trying to keep him out of one spot, plant a patch of catnip in another area to attract the cat there instead. He’ll be much happier in that area, and so will you.
While there are thousands of gardening products on the market, how does a new gardener decide what’s truly necessary? Usually through reading reviews online, talking to friends and family, and by trial and error you can learn which tools you will need, and which ones are nice to have but not essential.
Here’s my list for the gardening tools that I find essential for quick, easy and happy gardening:
A hoe. Digging trenches is made easy work with a garden hoe. What’s more, you can use it to dig up weeds in the garden.
A rake. A large garden rake can help to work soil amendments into the dirt.
A hand trowel. For planting bulbs and plants, and for digging up weeds.
A shovel. For digging larger holes in the dirt.
Gardening gloves. There’s nothing worse than getting dirt under your nails — and nothing harder to get out. Use gloves and eliminate the problem before it can start.
Pruming shears. For cutting flowers and herbs quickly and efficiently, as well as for light pruning.
A watering can. For watering, of course.
Lettuce is an easy to grow annual vegetable that should be a staple in every garden. There is nothing like going out to the garden and snipping off a few cool, crunchy leaves of lettuce for a salad or a sandwich (mmm …. BLTs!). Lettuce is easy to grow - just sow the seeds right into the ground (or in a container), and in a few weeks you’ll have leaves or bunches of lettuce ready for the picking.
Lettuce is a cool weather crop so start the plants early in the spring, or later in the summer. Keep the plants shaded for the most part, and pick off a few leaves every few days so that the plants continue to grow and produce.
Here’s how my garden has been growing. The warm weather has done wonders for my tomatoes and they all have several blossoms! In fact, at last check, one of them had wilty, about to drop flower and a teeny, tiny little green tomato starting to come in.
Beans are doing well, too. In fact I am having trouble deciding whether to pick them now and eat them, or save them to dry and use later in soup or chili.
The raspberries’ blooms have fallen and been replaced with fruit buds, which are just beginning to get a blush of color.
And the blackberries are flowering like crazy; soon we will have an abundance of the dark, sweet berries.
Sadly, my peach trees aren’t doing as well. The trees seem to be fine, but they are dropping fruits. Also on the fruits themselves we are finding more evidence of pest. I think it’s too late in the season to save any of the fruit, so there won’t be the bushels of peaches I was dreaming of. The fruits still on the tree sure look pretty, though.
If you’re a pet owner, be sure to do your research before purchasing and using cocoa bean mulch. Cocoa bean shells are a byproduct of chocolate production, and frequently sold and used for residential landscaping. Some dogs find the mulch appealing and will ingest varying amounts.
In general terms, while unprocessed cocoa beans, which come from the Theobroma cacao plant, contain approximately 1-4% theobromine and 0.07-0.36% caffeine, the amount of theobromine in processed cocoa bean shell mulch can be anywhere from 0.19-2.98%. Dogs are very sensitive to these chemicals, called methylxanthines.
If a dog has eaten cocoa bean mulch, immediately contact your local veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. Depending on the amount ingested and whether the dog is sick will affect treatment. The vet may suggest bringing your dog in for observation, inducing vomiting, and/or controlling a rapid heartbeat or seizures.
I can’t believe the weather we are having lately. Here in zone 4/5 we are recovering from a serious heat wave. It’s the beginning of June and temperatures have passed 90 degrees. As I sip an icy cold lemonade and enjoy the air conditioning, it’s a good time to talk about hot-weather crops.
There are several vegetable plants that love hot weather. If you haven’t already, now would be a good time to plant them. If you have them already planted, be sure to water them regularly and check for wilt. You may also need to move them to a less sunny location to prevent them from drying out and wilting too quickly - especially if they are in containers.
Six hot-weather-loving plants every garden should have are: tomatoes, corn, hot peppers, beans, squash and cucumbers. All are easy to grow and will provide an abundance of veggies in mid- to late summer. Check the plant tags for complete instructions and be sure to mulch to conserve water and help the plants grow healthy.
