Chores and tips for mid-season
Although Wednesday, June 21, is the first day of summer, a more
important date on the calendar is Saturday, June 24.
This is because farmers and gardeners regard June 24 as the
midpoint of the growing season. Whether that’s actually true this
year is iffy. The weather has been cool and growth has been slow.
Most of us are waiting for our first tomatoes to ripen, although
squash, beans and all kinds of spring flowers are blooming.
Chores and tips for mid-season
Although Wednesday, June 21, is the first day of summer, a more important date on the calendar is Saturday, June 24.
This is because farmers and gardeners regard June 24 as the midpoint of the growing season. Whether that’s actually true this year is iffy. The weather has been cool and growth has been slow. Most of us are waiting for our first tomatoes to ripen, although squash, beans and all kinds of spring flowers are blooming.
So, what’s a gardener to do? Continue to water and fertilize on a faithful schedule. Water deeply about once a week, although some vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers need watering about every third day, depending on the weather. Do not water by overhead sprinkling. Soak the ground, not the leaves.
Put in a second planting of squash, beans and a few more tomato plants. Don’t forget to weed, weed, and weed some more. While other plants may be growing slowly, weeds are thriving.
A visit to the nursery will turn up a treasure trove of flowers and vegetables for the garden. For the fastest returns, buy well-started healthy plants in 4-inch pots or larger containers, plant in compost-rich soil or containers, and watch for marauding snails and slugs.
Here are some other June gardening tips:
– For greater yields, feed eggplants, peppers, squashes and tomatoes when they blossom. Assure a plentiful set of peppers and tomatoes by increasing the magnesium available to the plants. The way to do this is dissolve one tablespoon of Epsom salts in one quart of warm water, and spray the solution on the leaves and blossoms. Repeat this treatment several times during the blossoming time.
– Hand pollinate tomatoes by flicking each bloom during the driest part of the day. The pollen is naturally sticky and this helps spread it around.
– When transplanting, space seedlings so the leaves of the mature plant will shade all the soil between plants. This will keep plant roots cooler, and the sun can’t bake the soil, so you will have to water less.
– Feed fruit trees approximately every three weeks during their growing season with a half or quarter dose of fertilizer to encourage them to produce fruit and grow strongly for next year’s fruit.
– Indulge in a little pinch and pruning. Pinch back tips or remove faded flowers from annuals. Cut back azaleas, carnations, chrysanthemums, geraniums, hydrangeas and marguerites. Prune wisteria to shape and control its growth. Prune spring-flowering shrubs including forsythia, lilac, and weigela. Remove old, deformed and dead branches at the soil level, and trim off about one-third of the growth.
– Hold back on watering established bougainvilleas to stress them into fuller bloom. No fertilizer, please. Bougainvilleas thrive on neglect.
A Reader Wants to Know: I saw a TV program in which the gardener, Jerry Baker, said to use Gatorade to fertilize the lawn. Have you ever heard of this? – Derek
Joan Says: I’ve heard of various sugar-base soft drinks that can benefit the lawn, particularly Coca-Cola and Gatorade. My thought is this is a pretty expensive way to fertilize the lawn. Why not buy a bag of lawn fertilizer and do it right?
Plant a Row for the Hungry: Backyard gardeners shared 67 pounds of citrus and fruit with Community Pantry this past week. This brings the Plant a Row for the Hungry total to 306 pounds so far this year, with the bulk of the growing season still ahead.
If you have fruit or produce to share with those in the community who need it most, the Pantry is located at 30 Airport Ave., Hollister. Call 831-637-0340 for more information.
